This article explores bells, and objects in general, from a philosophical perspective. More specifically, it explores the way objects orient our being, but only partially as aspects of things always remain withdrawn from access. Through an exploration of the elemental forms of bells, this article positions object exploration as a wholly spiritual…

The Burmese arched harp, known as "Saung Gauk," is the national icon of the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar (once called Burma). It is both ancient and contemporary, and its music frequently carries stories that are threaded with long-standing philosophical principles of the Burmese. The music of the Saung Gauk consists of five…

In a report commissioned by the Society for Music Analysis to address a gap in music literacy, McQueen (2020) identified instrumental teachers as an important part of music education both within schools and in the community. This article takes as a starting point McQueen's (2020) proposal that 'it is through instrumental tuition that music…

Music, considered as a field of discourse, has important implications for how educators think and act within their classrooms. Based on the work of Ruben Gaztambide-Fernandez, Murray R. Schafer, and feminist music education scholars, this paper aims to delineate these implications and to propose "sound education" as an alternative.…

Common approaches to teaching music listening emphasise 'attentive listening' and 'active listening' (Campbell, Patricia Shehan. 2005. "Deep Listening to the Musical World." Music Educators Journal 92 (1): 30-36. doi:10.2307/3400224) and minimise explorations of everyday music listening practices (Madsen, Clifford, and John Geringer.…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe children's lived experience of enjoyment during musical play. Data sources included class video from 15 weeks of a 24-week extracurricular music class for 4- to 7-year-olds taught by the researcher, parent-filmed video of child participant music-making in home settings during the same…

The overlapping of pragmatic philosophy and the Aristotelian concept of praxis is explored with application to music and music education. John Dewey's philosophy of "Art as Experience" is contrasted with tacit aesthetic assumptions about music that music teachers often hold as a result of the aesthetic meme inherited from their…

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common in the United States. All age groups are at risk for TBI, but there is a larger occurrence among school-age children and young adults. No matter the severity of a student's injury, he or she can benefit from music education, whether listening to music, singing, or performing on an instrument. Students can…

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…

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…

For many people, the appeal of music lies in its connection to human emotions. A significant body of research has explored the emotions that are experienced through either the formal structure of music or through its symbolic messages. Yet in the instrumental music education field, this emotional connection is rarely examined. In this article, it…

The current study sought to assess the progress and effectiveness of a partnership program between a university and two high school drumming ensembles. A total of 32 students enrolled in world drumming courses in two urban high schools (n[subscript 1] = 16, n[subscript 2] = 16) participated in the study. An assessment tool was developed and…

MENC's first Music Education Week in Washington's purpose was twofold: to celebrate the value of music education and to give those in the profession the chance to come together and explore ideas and techniques both old and new. Most of the celebrating was reserved for special events such as the Jazz Academy Showcase concert featuring celebrated…

For the past century and more, music education in the United States has focused primarily on Western European music traditions. Despite considerable efforts to include music from other regions and peoples in the curriculum, traditional music from world cultures is still not greatly represented. The benefits of a curriculum that incorporates…

Although many adults take up or return to instrumental and vocal tuition every year, we know very little about how they experience it. As part of ongoing case study research, eight older learners with modest keyboard skills explored what their musical skills meant to them during conversation-based repertory grid interviews. The data were…