The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to examine the intersections of music making and teaching for four string teachers. Data included background surveys, three interviews per participant, videotaped classroom observations (jointly viewed during the second interview), and a focus group interview that included music making. Findings…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of specific practice strategy use on university string players' performance. Participants ('N" = 40) volunteered for the study and were string players enrolled in orchestra at a major research university. Within a pretest-posttest designed study, participants were assigned to one of four…

Music uniquely provides for human beings what cannot be provided in any other way. Affording opportunity for undergraduate general education students to express musical identity and experience musical otherness through musical decision making in an e-learning environment propelled the creation of the two courses that became the context for this…

This column presents an outline for the secondary general classroom. The project, called a "soundwalk," requires students to use music, sounds, and technology to create immersive, cinematic audio tours of their school and community. The author argues that the soundwalk is a perfect opportunity for students within secondary general music courses to…

Jean Marzollo creates two beautiful texts using a child's first words, "Mama, Mama" and "Papa, Papa" as a recurring theme. Wildlife artist, Laura Regan, illustrates Marzollo's poetry with loving images of parents and children in the animal kingdom. Poetry and illustrations highlight the tenderness and care of Mama and Papa as they bond with their…

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was the ultimate child prodigy. It is said that Mozart, after attending a service at the Vatican, wrote down an entire sacred piece of music after one hearing. There are countless examples of the amazing feats that Mozart accomplished through his childhood, not to mention his huge compositional output through…

This essay explores the role of music composition within the curriculum of a typical small liberal arts college and the faculty composer's role(s) in facilitating the study of composition. The relationship between composition and campus performance is discussed, particularly in light of the increased emphasis on performance in formerly all-male…

A description of a listening activity for "Children's Song," a piece by Chick Corea, is introduced and developed. The use of materials and strategies for music making in early childhood settings was developed as a result of a teacher training and consultancy program implemented in a network of early learning centers in Spain. The main…

One computer, one class, and one educator can be an effective combination to engage students as a group in music composition, performance, and analysis. Having one desktop computer and a television monitor in the music classroom is not an uncommon or new scenario, especially in a time when many school budgets are being cut. This article…

This study examined the programming trends of the elite wind bands/ensembles of the Atlantic Coast Conference universities. Using survey techniques previously employed by Powell (2009) and Paul (2010; in press), we contacted the directors of the Atlantic Coast Conference band programs and requested concert programs from their top groups for the…

This article reports on the practice and evaluation of a music education model, In Harmony, which utilizes new technologies and current theories of learning to mediate the music learning experience. In response to the needs of twenty-first century learners, the educational software programs Teach, Learn, Evaluate! and Impromptu served as central…

The City of Melbourne's ArtPlay is open to children and young people aged 3-13 years, and provides a wide range of artist-led programs that serve a broad community within and outside the municipality. Its sister facility, Signal, caters for young people 13-22 years. An Australia Council of the Arts funded Creative Community Partnership Initiative,…

A compelling body of research demonstrates that music continues to offer powerful potential for enhancing health and well-being in old age. Active music-making has been found to provide a source of enhanced social cohesion, enjoyment, personal development, and empowerment, and to contribute to recovery from depression and maintenance of personal…

The creative music strategy is a dynamic and flexible seven-step model for guiding general music students through the music concepts of improvisation and composition, followed by critical reflection. These are musical behaviors that cultivate the development of our students' deeper conceptual understandings and music independence by helping them…

This article reports on a case study where a professional musician was assigned to a primary school as mentor in a project where 14 primary-aged children, with their teacher's direction, were involved in the composition of a piece of music that would act as prologue to the school's major production. The researchers were interested in aspects of…