The purpose of my inquiry is to learn more about how young children learn to play the piano through examining my own teaching practice. By using autoethnography as a creative nonfictional form of storytelling, I illustrate my learning journey in search for joyful and meaningful ways of exploring music and piano playing with young beginner…

In 1947 T. Carol Agee resurrected the Fort Collins High School Orchestra (FCHS) program after his return from WWII, and became the first music teacher to be hired as the full-time orchestra director at the school. He quickly created a "storied" program in the state of Colorado culminating, for him, in a 1955 Colorado Music Educators…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the experiences of beginning music teachers as they navigate starting instrumental music programs in a large urban school district in the southern United States. A team of researchers collected data from three first-year music educators launching new instrumental programs at seven schools.…

This qualitative study explores the changing pedagogies of 11 urban ensemble music educators as they experienced virtual and hybrid learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following questions guided the study: (1) What challenges did ensemble music teachers face in meeting the current music education standards for students in urban districts…

The rise in demand for string teachers is a sign of support for string programs across the United States. Despite an increase in string teacher positions, there is growing concern regarding the lack of qualified string music education graduates to fill the vacancies, sometimes leading administrators to close programs. This study investigated the…

The pedagogical literature strongly suggests that when a musician works on a specific piece of repertoire, one should choose practice strategies tailored to the challenges presented by that material. Such a behavioral choice could represent an instantiation of focused and deliberate practice, a critical aspect of the relationship between…

Students come to the music classroom with varying degrees of skill, interest, and comfort toward making music, yet educators must consider how to meet the needs of all students regardless of ability. Using differentiation as a framework, we examine how participatory music making (PMM) might meet these needs. We offer strategies for implementing…

Rote versus note beginning instrumental pedagogy has been an active topic for music educators. Traditional method books have often comprised a significant portion of beginning instrumental curricula, though content has varied and may have been based on convention. Advocates of a rote-before-note approach have recommended that singing, movement,…

In this research, it was aimed to illustrate the voices of primary school students about how they imagine their music lessons in school and the classroom. For this purpose, a focus-group interview structure was based on children's perspectives, ideas and imaginations about their music lessons. First, a pilot study consisting of a focus-group…

The Xindi Applied Piano Pedagogy (XAPP) was self-formulated by Professor Xindi, the Dean of the Music Education Institute of Xinghai Conservatory of Music (MEIXHCM), in 2001. After a series of scaffolding developments over a decade, the single instrumental teaching method is now developing into a holistic music educational system for the…

Many K-12 teachers face hurdles when it comes to running a Modern Band, including the pedagogical challenges of facilitating large scale ensembles with unfamiliar repertoire and instruments. Approximation and scaffolding are two important tools teachers can use to help learners thrive in this environment. This article uses music examples to…

The purpose of this multiple-case study was to examine the career development, choices, and goals of elementary general music teachers who identified as instrumental majors during their undergraduate degree programs. Data collection included a questionnaire, interviews, participant journals, and observation field notes; data were organized using…

This paper presents the results of a study (Johnstone, 2016) which investigated the nature of professional collaboration between the visiting instrumental teacher and the primary school class teacher in the Wider Opportunities instrumental programme. The potential for exchanging knowledge appears to be significant when the visiting instrumental…

This article is based on a case study of how the Rocksmith entertainment music video game can be used in the context of studying electric guitar and bass as part of music teacher training. In empirical terms, we were interested in how music teachers' knowledge becomes articulated in the pedagogical discourse of our participants. As conceptual…

In this study, it was aimed to examine existing condition of parental support taken by pre-service music teachers in instrumental education according to some variables and to determine the relationship between them. 123 students, who study in Uludag University Department of Music Education, constitute the sample of the research. The data collected…