This research, carried out between 2020 and 2021, involves an online questionnaire and individual interviews with undergraduate music students at universities and conservatoires in the UK, to examine student experiences of receiving and delivering instrumental and singing tuition. There is no regulation of instrumental teaching in the UK, and…

Research on the role of the ballet pianist is limited. A gap in the literature concerns the ways in which dance instructors and accompanists 'make sense' of their collaboration. The working relationship between a dance teacher and a dance musician in a ballet class was investigated. The researcher, a ballet pianist, conducted a semi-structured,…

Expressiveness is an important aspect of an excellent music performance as it adds quality and interest to the playing and listening experience. Although several studies have investigated tertiary students' learning of expressiveness, little is known about effective approaches for teaching children to perform expressively. In the present project,…

Motivation is a crucial aspect of learning, particularly in the field of music. For decades, motivation for learning music has been a much-discussed subject, and yet its influence still remains a convoluted issue. This study systematically analyses peer-reviewed English language studies, according to PRISMA guidelines, in order to understand how…

Music education takes place in socio-political systems that institutionalise cultural hegemony and social stratification through perpetuating symbolically violent practices and unconscious assumptions regarding the purpose of music and music education in society. Education systems serve to perpetuate class divisions and structures, excluding the…

There is increasing international evidence that playing a musical instrument has a positive impact on attainment at school but little research has been undertaken in the UK. This study addresses this drawing on data on attainment at age 11 and 16 relating to 608 students, 115 of whom played a musical instrument. The fndings showed that the young…

Instrumental and vocal tuition is an important part of music education but relatively little is known about musicians who participate in this profession or their views on what makes someone 'qualified' to do so. An online survey was completed by 496 musicians teaching instrumental or vocal pupils in the UK. Findings focus on respondents'…

What can be done to re-orient a field of education like music, when far too many teachers teach the way they were taught using traditional procedures that stupefy and deaden students to the subject matter, rather than working creatively to invigorate and empower them to become thoughtfully engaged, independent music makers? The essays in this…

Music education has faced considerable challenges in trying to bridge the gap between music in young people's lives and that taking place in the classroom. The 'Musical Futures' initiative aimed to devise new and imaginative ways of engaging young people, aged 11-19, in music activities through a process of informal learning based initially on…

This article offers a model to assist music teachers in reflecting on their teaching practice in relation to their aims and values. Initially developed as a workshop aid for use on a music education MA program, the model is intended to provoke critical engagement with two prominent tensions in music education: that between mastery and enjoyment,…

This study investigates whether the musical development of children can be enhanced by using children's stories. The musical skills being developed are composing, performing, listening, and appraising. Two stories by well-known author Julie Donaldson and inquiry-based learning were used to engage the pupils' imaginations. The study shows that…

Local authority music services have held a central place in the UK's music education landscape since the end of the Second World War. Nonetheless, the provision of these services has always been a non-statutory responsibility, and local levels of opportunity have varied in response to prevailing economic and political climates, along with broader…

The use of music technology in the enhancement of young pianists' musical improvisations has been scarcely explored in instrumental music teaching and learning research. In the present study, 19 piano pupils aged 6-10 from the UK and Greece used an interactive improvisation system called Musical Interaction Relying On Reflexion (MIROR)-Impro for…

While many piano students successfully progress beyond beginner status to reach what is commonly referred to as the intermediate stage, there is minimal research specific to this area of practice. This is despite the fact that there is a high drop-out rate at this stage. This research study therefore set out to develop an in-depth understanding of…

This qualitative research examines the influence of learning Javanese gamelan on aspects of musicianship, attitudes and approaches relating to the learning and performance of Western instruments experienced by a sample of UK university music students. In addition to benefits to musicianship, students delineated positive developments in attitudes…