Music educators are guided by learning standards designed to foster comprehensive music literacy through development of four artistic processes: "Create," "Perform," "Respond," and "Connect." In-service teachers, however, cite lack of comfort and insufficient preservice preparation to engage students with…

Group improvisation encourages students to improvise in a collective setting to build confidence in their individual and group improvisational skills. In this article, I describe group improvisation methods that offer an accessible entry into creative music-making for learners in secondary school instrumental ensembles. Instructional…

This paper presents findings from ethnographic case study research that investigated teacher practices and student engagement in classroom music. The data collection was undertaken in a primary (elementary) and a secondary school in Australia and focussed on the classroom practice of two teachers and four classes of students aged 10 to 16 years.…

Group music making has the potential to develop socio-emotional competences. This study describes how responsibility and respect--both of which are socio-emotional competences--were developed through a socio-musical program, called "Musiquem," in a Spanish primary school. The research consisted of a case study with students from Grades 3…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of three schedules of practice on high-level violinists' learning. The contextual interference (CI) effect occurs when two or more tasks are practiced in an interleaved manner, which has been shown to impair initial learning but improve retention. How a musician alternates between tasks…

In this study, we investigated how musicians use descriptive imagery to perform expressively. The study's procedure was carried out by university musicians alone in a naturalistic practice environment. They recorded their performance of two melodies both before and after receiving imagery-based instruction designed to make performance of the…

When a new topic is introduced in the curriculum, teachers seek various ways to teach students the related concepts. For the novel topic 'materials' in the revised Dutch curriculum, I developed an experiment in which students determine Young's modulus using a guitar string. The experiment not only covers several concepts related to 'materials' it…

The aim of the study is to analyse the teaching methods and materials that are currently used in the basic piano education of children at the age of 4-6 years, using the existing literature, and to develop suggestions and recommendations regarding the process. The study covered various teaching methods and techniques that are used in introduction…

The agency of primary school students has been studied increasingly in recent years; yet, we know relatively little about student agency in music educational settings or how students experience their participation in joint musical action. This study explores sixth-grade students' experiences of their agency in whole-class playing. Qualitative…

Wind band has a deep and long-lasting connection to folk-song sources. Societal expectations around music choices and sources are changing, including calls to diversify repertoire and eliminate traditional songs that include offensive language and stereotypes. Concerns about music usage in relation to cultural appropriation are also being…

The role of executive function training in supporting child development has been increasingly studied. Executive function is largely related to the prefrontal cortex. The anterior portion of the prefrontal cortex, which is area 10 on the Brodmann map, is essential for the emergence of higher-order executive functions. Accumulating evidence…

This research was carried out to reveal the reflections of the ear training performed with viola on instrument deciphering in terms of intonation. The research was conducted with viola students at Afyon Kocatepe University State Conservatory. The research was planned as a semi-trial model and a single group pattern. The data were collected through…

One-to-one lessons based on the master-apprentice model are recognised in research and practice as an indispensable foundation for the training of professional musicians including singers. Given its primary importance to musician training, it is essential that researchers of this pedagogical model adopt methodologies and methods well-suited to…

There are many factors that influence the ability to play with accurate intonation, and this extending-the-discussion article provides contextual information and suggested teaching strategies for helping students develop such abilities. This Part 2 article describes a series of music activities and teaching strategies that can allow teachers to be…

Feedback is a powerful influence on learning and achievement in the instrumental music lesson, though this impact may render positive as well as negative implications to learning. The impact of feedback is thus foundational to the ways music teachers impart knowledge, skill, planning, reflection, and student motivation. This article provides an…