The landscape of music education in the UK is constantly shifting and developing. This book provides a timely and unique overview of this restless sector by considering the achievements of music education, analysing its current performance and setting out aspirations for the future. "Music Education in the 21st Century in the United…

This article reports on a retrospective study of Finnish pre-service elementary teachers' assessments of their musical experiences in nursery school and elementary and secondary school and real-time study of their experiences in teacher training. The participants (N = 590) had received musical instruction in five age groups (4-6 years, 7-12 years,…

This observational study analysed the lesson content of 24 instrumental lessons (piano, strings and winds) using a gender-balanced sample (equal numbers of male/female teachers and students) from five Australian higher education institutions to ascertain the priorities of topics in advanced applied music lessons in the Western Classical tradition.…

Within a theoretical framework drawn from sociologists of education Bourdieu and Bernstein, this paper will examine some of the findings of an ethnographic case study conducted with a secondary school music teacher and one class of her pupils in Wales. This teacher attracted 25% of Year 10 (14-year-old) pupils to study music as an optional subject…

Despite a large body of research into learning styles from cognitive, personality and activity perspectives, the definition of learning style is still unclear. The assessment instruments commonly in use have methodological problems. The learning styles of conservatorium instrumentalists are scarcely known and are best studied using an…

Describes the historical development of the British Maidstone Movement, a group violin instructional program for children. Examines the impact of the movement upon instrumental classes in U.S. public schools. (RKM)

This article reports on parents' perceptions of the way music CDs and DVDs were used with children under the age of five in the home environment. This was part of a study that explored the musical practices of parents with children at home. A survey was sent to parents in three preschools, asking about parental music background, young children's…

This paper explores one-to-one teaching in an academy of music as culturally constituted. Taking Foucault's concept of discursive practice as a point of departure, the practice of two instrumental teachers is analysed and compared with regards to how the teachers adopt professional discourses to construct their teaching in quite distinct ways, and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of the learning experiences of gifted young string players in Taiwan. Nine musicians under the age of 40, who had been accepted into music programs for the gifted, were invited to discuss their experiences and the development of their careers. Thorough interviews were conducted and then…

This article describes an innovative approach to analysing, describing and evaluating the careers of musicians, and applies it in the case of 37 "professors", that is, instrumental teachers, working at a conservatoire in the UK. The professors emerge as flexible and committed musicians who enjoy teaching conservatoire students, and who…

This article was motivated by a staff development session when the brass faculty of a conservatoire were invited to share and discuss their approaches to teaching. It presents the results of interviews with six well known woodwind or brass players who have also taught at one or more conservatoires in London for periods of between one and 40 years.…

In the fourteen years since the 1990 MENC preconference symposium Multicultural Approaches to Music Education in Washington, DC, music educators have come to recognize the need to include a variety of world musics in all music curricula, from elementary classrooms to advanced performing ensembles. Accordingly, there has been a significant increase…

The harp as a symbol of the Irish people is discussed. The first part of the paper discusses the early use of the harp in Irish society and how the magical powers of this instrument affected the natives and invaders of the small island for centuries. From the time of the Celtic occupation of Ireland in 500 BC, music played by harpers has been…

In this article, the author argues that researchers and practioners aiming to improve practice in our institutions are called upon to "open up" the field of instrumental teaching. Music educators need to reflect on how particular lesson behaviours or types of teacher-pupil interactions are influenced by the specific institutional,…

With all the music that is available for instrumental performance in the schools, the music of Thailand is under-represented. Yet Thailand has a rich instrumental tradition. This article focuses on the possibilities of adapting the Thai "mahori" and "kruang sai" ensembles to the western instrumentation available in school music…