This study explores the potential of drumming to enhance emotional and social functioning of children in residential care. Fifteen children (aged 7-12) from a child and youth care centre in South Africa attended four months of weekly drumming sessions. Gestalt theory principles informed the workshops' theoretical foundation and interpretation of…

Primary classroom teachers can play a vital role in the music education of primary school students, providing a basis for lifelong learning in music and the arts. Research shows that not all Victorian primary school students have equitable access to music education and that the role of the classroom teacher becomes valuable in supplying or…

This article examines how key components of holistic tone production can help flutists form a resonant tone. This is framed in an exploration of tone pedagogy and includes a model of tone evaluation and education. This research is also applicable to other instrumentalists, especially wind players. In this case study information was collected by…

Research on pre-service music teacher occupational identity often highlights two competing identities: performer and teacher (L'Roy, 1983; Roberts, 1991; Pellegrino, 2009). Of the many factors that contribute to the occupational identity of the pre-service music teacher (Woodford, 2002), conducting has the potential to integrate performer and…

This article reports on a case study of three directors of large ensembles within a large conservatoire and the ways in which they attempted to scaffold their students into professional music careers. The core aim in this article is to respond to the question "What is the role and function of the ensemble experience on the training of the…

This article discusses the five-string kantele as an example of the Finnish national heritage, a school instrument and an example of sustainable design. A qualitative case study was made by collecting the data from the Finnish students--prospective teachers--and the sixth form pupils, who had designed and carved their own five-string kanteles. The…

This study explores the nature of the elements that co-influence collaborative creativity in nd the intrinsic potential for enhancing pupil wellbeing as evidenced in a particular secondary-school (extra-curricular) group instrumental programme "Percussion 1." Wenger's Community of Practice (CoP) and Engestrom's Activity Theory (AT)…

In this case study, the author investigated intersections of secondary students' musical engagement in a Songwriting and Technology Class (STC) and outside of school. The study traces the experiences of three individual participants and three participant groups (six embedded cases in total) in the creation, performance, recording, and production…

Participation in meaningful school music programs is the right of all children. Although music education is widely supported by policy, significant gaps exist in practice in most developed Western countries. These gaps mean the extrinsic and intrinsic benefits associated with participation in tailored programs are not equally available to all…

In this article, we provide a process description of scaffolding in music lessons based on the scaffolding model of Van Geert and Steenbeek (2005). Scaffolding is a form of socially mediated learning in which teacher and student constantly adapt their behavior to one another in order to reach a goal. To illustrate this process, data from…

Dealing with traditions is a central issue in music education. I investigate different perspectives on tradition by engaging in a local hermeneutic study surrounding an interpretive event from a viola studio. To understand the function of tradition in this event, I construct a theoretical perspective with roots in hermeneutics and educational…

This article explores the process of determining an approach to the analysis of qualitative data collected as part of a case study research project involving children and teenagers from a community of musical practice--an all ages community-based fiddle group in central Scotland. The researcher's overarching goal is to find ways to increase…

The purpose of this article is to provide a mnemonic device that when incorporated into practice behavior is shown through case study to help students develop an understanding of the relationship between exercises, new and old, and the music that they are preparing. I developed the mnemonic "Preparation of Relevant Activities Causes Technical…

This case study compares the teaching strategies employed by a novice and an expert instructor of two beginning children's group-piano classes. In the United States, there is a century-long tradition of teaching piano to children in groups, and group teaching is championed in pedagogy texts and at professional educator conferences throughout…

In this thematic case study in a rural primary school, young children of diverse socio-cultural origins use transformative and transmodal redesign in music as they explore new conceptual meanings through self-reflexive interaction in classroom music events. A focus on music dialogue created by interaction between modes is seen to promote…