In secondary general music classes, music educators have the opportunity to bridge the gap between the music students' experiences in school and the music they engage with outside of school. According to Williams, nontraditional music students have musical lives outside of school but choose not to participate in traditional ensembles. In this…

Piano lessons which take place in music education departments involve example works of Turkish and world composers, education music examples, piano literature and learning-teaching techniques. Within this context, Ulvi Cemal Erkin, who is a member of The Turkish Five, wrote a composition called "Duyuslar," which consists of 11 pieces and…

In this study I analyze and describe the contents of recommended band repertoire lists to explore which composers' music is recommended and arranged for band most often. Fourteen repertoire lists provided by state-level music associations and independent publishers were included in the analysis, comprising a total of 32,267 entries. Previous…

The purpose of this study was to examine the life and work of Frank William Westhoff (1863-1938), a leader in music education during the progressive era (circa 1890s-1950s). Research questions focused on his work as a music supervisor, teacher educator, pedagogue, and textbook author. I also explored Westhoff's contributions to the profession and…

A number of studies suggest a link between musical training and both specific and general cognitive abilities, but despite some positive results, there is disagreement about which abilities are improved. This study aims to investigate the effects of a music education program both on a domain-specific competence (meta-musical awareness), and on…

This article analyzes how embodied learning was enhanced in a project in which students made a music video with a tablet, combining music and movement compositions, in a Finnish seventh-grade music classroom. Student interviews and reflections, as well as researcher's field notes were used as material for the analysis. In the project, embodied…

Musical composition is widely considered to be a fundamental component of good musicianship. Recent state and national standards make it clear that preservice music teachers will be expected to include the teaching of musical composition in their curricula when they enter the field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the integration of…

Selecting excellent literature for a small or unbalanced band can be challenging, especially if the ensemble is ready to perform literature beyond Grade 2.5. This article describes a process for choosing high-quality repertoire for the small band, focusing on high school/college groups. Also examined is how to analyze and alter pieces to fit the…

This paper describes an action research project that investigated female high school orchestral students' reflections after they had spent a term playing an all-female composed repertoire set. Analysis of conversational interviews showed that participants commonly held two misconceptions: that few women composed music in the past and that there is…

In a global society, 21st century skills are fundamental for every student. Furthermore, in today's digital world, technology is expected to be part of students' learning experiences. In the following research-to-resource article, I provide practical strategies and ideas for integrating technology into a performing ensemble program in order to…

Evidence found throughout the history of Western European art music reveals traditions that encompassed improvisation. This furthers the idea that without improvisation, music education based on canonized works of Western European art music is incomplete. When the goal of music education is to preserve works exactly as notated, improvisation…

The purpose of this literature review is to define verbal protocols and explore how two methodological tools -- think-alouds and stimulated recall -- may apply to research in music education practices. Pinpointing the inner workings of these processes may extend the ongoing work within music education and further support how novice music teachers…

The purpose of this study is to examine guitar tablature as a strategy to facilitate student-led learning in order to contribute to liberation of music students in the elementary setting. This researcher seeks to understand the effect it has on beginning guitar students in elementary school and what role, if any, it should take in an elementary…

American music education is focused primarily on music written by White men (Baker, 2003). However, women are more likely to believe they can find success in a career in the arts when they have positive female role models (Quimby & DeSantis, 2006). Similarly, college students are more likely to name career role models who match their own…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two listening strategies on rhythmic dictation scores. In a within-subjects design, 54 undergraduate music majors completed two-measure rhythmic dictations under each of three conditions: (a) no prescribed approach, (b) required listening before writing, and (c) required writing while…