In this study, we examined demographic patterns of participation and persistence in high school elective music ensembles. We extend prior research that has only compared music and non-music students by explicitly modeling persistence across multiple years of ensemble enrollment. The research draws on data from the High School Longitudinal Study of…

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among high school band festival ratings and director gender as well as school locale, school size, student socioeconomic status (SES), student race, repertoire difficulty, and ensemble name. Data included overall ratings of bands (N = 257) that performed at District Concert Assessments held…

According to music educators, persistence beyond a student's initial enrollment in middle and high school music is a problem; however, there has been little research to substantiate this claim. Although several recent large-scale, longitudinal studies of initial selection into music classes have been conducted, longitudinal studies on who…

School-based bullying is a serious issue facing adolescents within the United States and relational bullying and victimization behaviors within music ensemble classrooms have become a topic of inquiry among music education researchers. Using data from a convenience sample of high school youth enrolled in an instrumental music program, we examined…

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between high school jazz band directors' efficacious sources, self-efficacy for teaching strategies, and pedagogical behaviors. Participants (N = 264) completed the Jazz Band Director Self-Efficacy for Teaching Strategies Scale and responded to items about their formal and informal learning…

This quantitative study explained relationships among independent variables that included instrumental music participation and achievement on a standardized test by participants in the ninth grade at a western Wisconsin high school. The ACT "Aspire" (2017) test is a vertically articulated, standards-based system of assessments. Subtest…

Entrance examinations and auditions are common admission procedures for college music programs, yet few researchers have attempted to look at the long-term predictive validity of such selection processes. In this study, archival data from 93 student records of a German music academy were used to predict development of musicianship skills over the…

The purpose of this study was to examine collaborative composing in high school string chamber music ensembles. Research questions included the following: (a) How do high school string instrumentalists in chamber music ensembles use verbal and musical forms of communication to collaboratively compose a piece of music? (b) How do selected variables…

The experiences of 72 adolescent musicians who had been members of an advanced youth symphony orchestra or concert band were investigated. An online survey explored previous participation and the importance of past experiences when making future decisions about participation. Previous experience was very positive. Enjoyment of public performances,…

This article investigated possible gender associations with world music instruments by secondary school-age music students from the USA. Specific questions included: (1) Do the primary instruments played by the students influence gender associations of world music instruments? (2) Does age influence possible gender associations with world music…