Questions the extent to which assessment of solo musical performance can be made under the General Certificate of School Education exam in England and Wales. Discusses performances as criterion. Reports on experiment which attempted to assess a student's overall music performance. Offers a model which can be used to better measure solo music…

Presents an interview with Elliot ("Ellie") Mannette who has played a major role in the development and application of steel drums. States that he has spent most of his life designing and teaching the steel drums. Covers interview topics and background information on Mannette. (CMK)

A project explored the Internet's potential to teach instrumental music online to students in regional or remote regions of Western Australia. The project was established on the expectation that, at some time in the not-too-distant future, instrumental music tutors located in metropolitan regions may have, in their normal studio practice, a…

Examines whether fourth grade students prefer band or nonband instrument timbre. Identifies differences between student preferences in the United States and Greece, examining how cultural differences influence instrumental timbre preferences. Reports that band instrument timbres often are preferred in the United States but are less so in Greece.…

Discusses the subjectivity, reliability, and musical validity of both holistic and segmented assessment of musical performance. Summarizes an experiment investigating the extent to which holistic assessment can be accounted for by means of a segmented grading system. Concludes that, although a single grade provides limited information about…

Discusses how to develop both African drum and steel pan ensembles providing information on teacher preparation, instrument choice, beginning the ensemble, and lesson planning. Includes additional information for the drum ensembles. Lists references and instructional materials, sources of drums and pans, and common note layout/range for steel pan…

We compared teacher behaviors, student behaviors, and student achievement in private piano instruction in the People's Republic of China and in the United States. The research questions were: (1) What were the similarities and differences in private piano lessons regarding teacher verbalizations, teacher modeling, and student behaviors? (2) Was…

This study explored the development of rhythm among eight kindergarten children with profound hearing loss in Ankara, Turkey. Musical instruments were used whose frequency ranges matched those the children were capable of hearing. After a pretest, students spent 5 half-days per week in training over the course of 2 months. Training included…

This document, written in French introduces a group of Swiss researchers (Groupe des Chercheurs Romands) that has been examining music for beginning students. The specific focus of this study was the concept of creativity in music. The researchers are striving to alter the general perception of creativity as an inborn talent with no relationship…

Describes the Lab Band project used with 12th grade students at the Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Thunder Bay, Ontario (Canada). Explains that each band student taught a peer how to play their instrument which created versatility in the band. States that all students kept a reflective journal. (CMK)

Describes an improvised science lesson that grew out of elementary students' interests and questions about music and sound. Students designed, built, and performed with their own musical instruments. (WRM)

Explores whether the tsumari phenomenon appears in the performance of keyboard instruments and maintains that tsumari will be severe among subjects with little music training. Finds that tsumari was seen most conspicuously in this beginner group. Concludes that the structural arrangement of the music plays an important role in the tsumari…

This study is the second in a series of investigations attempting to clarify relationships between variables that impact on a young musician's ability to perform music (as assessed on a graded music examination). Consistent with studies on school academic subjects, our previous investigation demonstrated the importance of self-efficacy in…

This paper concerns the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in music classrooms, with the focus on the secondary school music curriculum in the United Kingdom. In particular, it reports on a study of learners in a UK school using software designed to support practical music skills. The paper begins by briefly raising and…

The aim of the study was to acquire a deeper understanding of how small children learn an instrument in the presence of their parents. It is qualitative in nature and concerned six pre-school children (five years old) who were learning the violin together and where their parents were present at the lessons. All the children's homes were visited…