The purpose of the study is to teach urban young children music concepts and English by composing creative music and songs with contrast elements. The subjects were seven urban young children aged from three to four in a Taiwan kindergarten. The duration was twenty-four weeks, with two sessions per week. The teaching contents included Hello Song,…

This article raises questions about three features of musical education that have been explored in the pages of the "British Journal of Music Education" ("BJME") over the last 25 years: the assessment of creative work; the nurturing of an elite among young musicians; the uses of electronics in music classrooms. The article…

This article examines the division of music styles according to the conventional categories of classical, traditional and popular, and proposes the term "vernacular" as a complementary way of viewing various types of amateur music-making among diverse groups in modern societies. "Vernacular", as it is used here, includes the…

Explains that quality refers to those attributes of sound and silence that give music its expressive character. Explores quality in four areas of music (dynamics, articulation, texture, and tone color) by tracing the research behind each of these areas. Provides different ideas for teaching quality in secondary general music classes. (CMK)

Much composing that takes place in the lower secondary school is undertaken as a group activity. This paper investigates what is involved when pupils work in this way, and offers a model of processes and phases, which can be used to account for group composing. The model describes what is taking place, and charts the ways in which groups of pupils…

Explores invented notation and the role it plays in the compositional process of children. Identifies the various areas of research on this topic and discusses the effects computer technology has on children as they notate their musical ideas. Reveals the educational implications of invented notation that enable students opportunities for…

Most research in music education has so far dealt with music training in institutional settings, such as schools, and is accordingly based, either implicitly or explicitly, on the assumption that musical learning results from a sequenced, methodical exposure to music teaching within a formal setting. However, in order to realise and understand the…

Today's children live in a world where music in all its different forms has become a significant factor in their everyday life. This article describes a 2-year empirical study of nine 8-year-old Swedish children creating music with synthesiser and computer software. The aim of the study is to describe and clarify the creative processes of…

The Genesis Project is a multi-phase research project designed for the purpose of developing an in-depth understanding of the nature of musical creativity by investigating how composers compose. In this first phase of the project, an understanding of the four dimensions of musical creativity: (1) the "person", (2) the compositional…

The practical training of contemporary popular musicians, that is, the preparation of performers, songwriters, and music production personnel for the global popular music industry, is still in its infancy. This article seeks to discuss the specific issue of what musicianship skills should be taught, by interrogating the perceptions of a cohort of…

This report addresses the question of what libraries and archives are legally empowered to do to preserve and make accessible for research their holdings of pre-1972 commercial recordings, the large aural legacy that is not protected by federal copyright. The report is one of a series of studies undertaken by the National Recording Preservation…

Studies children's use of transformation (as a cognitive process) in identifying altered musical phrases in four phrase songs. Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) software was used to record the children's responses. Includes statistical tables. (MJP)

Examines possible musical and sociocultural influences on decision-making by untrained 8- and 9-year-olds during open-ended, non-notated composing tasks through a classroom ethnography. Uses one of the 21 child-composers participating in this study as an illustrative case. Discusses the results and implications for teachers and researchers. (CMK)

This essay examines how jazz educators construct methods for teaching the art of improvisation in institutionalized jazz studies programs. Unlike previous studies of the processes and philosophies of jazz instruction, I examine such processes from a cultural standpoint, to identify why certain methods might be favored over others. Specifically,…

Draws on six instances in which students were engaged in improvisational musical composition with peers and/or a teacher in music classroom settings. Offers an analysis of the creative process and product. Discusses the findings and the role of shared understanding in empowering independent musical thinking. (CMK)