The purpose of this study was to trace the development and growth of the University of Illinois Band Clinics during their twenty-five-year history (1930-1954). Founded by A. Austin Harding, Director of Bands at the University of Illinois, the Band Clinics served as an important forum for the reading and performance of contest pieces and new band…

Individual instrumental tuition has been the focus of some new research in musical scholarship during the last two decades. The main conclusions that appear to be shared by scholars in this field such as Gerald Jones, Knud Illeris, John Heron, Andrea Creech and Helena Gaunt is that a combination of modern social circumstances together with rapidly…

Playing musical instruments represents an engaging and important feature of music-making for children. Music teachers can support students with physical differences and disabilities using inclusive mindsets and practices, such as making adaptations to the instruments or the playing style. If teachers are aware of the variety of options available,…

Many researchers have discussed the feasibility of teaching and learning practical skills, such as playing a musical instrument, through distance education. One of the central issues considered in music education is that of motivation, leading educators to wonder how students might remain motivated when learning music at a distance. In this…

Coursework across the music education curriculum provides teacher educators an opportunity to introduce and reinforce a range of instructional practices (i.e., creating, performing, responding to, and connecting with music) into the music classroom. Although instrument techniques courses are a foundational part of an undergraduate music education…

Values for physical constants are commonly given as abstractions without building strong intuition, and are too often utilized solely in the pursuit of more easily conceptualized properties. The goal of this experiment is to remove the obscurity behind Young's modulus by exploring the phenomena associated with it--namely, the frequency of a…

This paper reveals contemporary issues of music education in post-soviet Armenia. The author analyses the state of music education and draws special attention to the music education of adult beginners, which is a new challenge for the educational system of Armenia. In particular, the author reveals new problems in the performing arts, especially…

The purpose of my inquiry is to learn more about how young children learn to play the piano through examining my own teaching practice. By using autoethnography as a creative nonfictional form of storytelling, I illustrate my learning journey in search for joyful and meaningful ways of exploring music and piano playing with young beginner…

Students come to the music classroom with varying degrees of skill, interest, and comfort toward making music, yet educators must consider how to meet the needs of all students regardless of ability. Using differentiation as a framework, we examine how participatory music making (PMM) might meet these needs. We offer strategies for implementing…

Many K-12 teachers face hurdles when it comes to running a Modern Band, including the pedagogical challenges of facilitating large scale ensembles with unfamiliar repertoire and instruments. Approximation and scaffolding are two important tools teachers can use to help learners thrive in this environment. This article uses music examples to…

In this column, we encourage early childhood music teachers to include music listening lessons in their teaching. We suggest five guiding principles for music listening lessons: selecting varied repertoire, using high-quality recordings and playback, communicating with families and teachers, incorporating movement, and considering the broader…

As a response to the ban on singing and playing woodwind and brass instruments, and with the heightened exposure of Auslan interpreters in the media due to COVID reporting, many music teachers considered Auslan choirs to be a safe singing-replacement activity for end-of-year performances. Auslan holds deep cultural significance to the Deaf…

How do we motivate students to practice and persist when facing challenges inherent in learning to play an instrument? In this article, I synthesize research findings into strategies to encourage students' mastery goal orientations and intrinsic motivation. Educators can use these strategies in the classroom or as inspiration to create innovative…

Secondary general music is hard to define. For some, this denotes an accelerated version of elementary general music or a decelerated version of a college music appreciation course. Others view this as any nontraditional ensemble geared for middle or high school students, such as guitar, keyboard, or steel pans. Still, for others, secondary…

Given its importance in children's development and learning, researchers have rigorously studied play, and many teachers have used it as a classroom tool. Music researchers have observed that music regularly accompanies children's play because music is part of their culture, and "playing with music" is the most natural form of expression…