This article explores the work of conductors to develop an understanding of verbal feedback in the context of professional-level big band orchestras. A big band conductor must have strong musical and social skills to guide a big band to the performance level. This qualitative study is based on Vygotsky's theory of learning as a social process. The…

In 1950, percussionist and pedagogue Paul Price established an accredited collegiate percussion ensemble course at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the first of its kind in the country. In this article, I argue that Price's accreditation of the genre, coupled with his many other entrepreneurial initiatives, was made possible by the…

The process of making an original music album is highlighted to illustrate aspects of the music production process in addition to how leadership and related factors play out during this process. Background information is detailed regarding musicians as entrepreneurs, the music production process, group dynamics, learning approaches, aspects of…

Convention refugees are individuals who have fled their home countries due to a substantiated fear of persecution. As a consequence, many young Convention refugees are disconnected from their environment as they enter schools and communities and are often misunderstood in their new country due to cultural barriers. Given the universality of human…

Offering music programs in prisons is one way that artists may contribute to the correctional system's rehabilitative goals. To explore the role music may play in rehabilitating youth in detention, I developed a string program at a Youth Development Center. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the outcomes of implementing the…

The purpose of the current study was to describe the musical life experiences of an active, adult community musician through a narrative investigation. Jon is a musically-engaged retired instrumentalist who shares a trust and respect relationship with the researcher. Through data sources of observations, interviews, emails, journals, and pictures,…

Listener perception of musical expression in collaborative performance was explored in this study. Performances of two duos (a violinist and pianist, and a vocalist and pianist) were recorded. The level of expressivity of the violinist and vocalist remained stylistically appropriate during pieces; however, the pianist alternated between very…

This study explores the potential of drumming to enhance emotional and social functioning of children in residential care. Fifteen children (aged 7-12) from a child and youth care centre in South Africa attended four months of weekly drumming sessions. Gestalt theory principles informed the workshops' theoretical foundation and interpretation of…

The digital or information age promotes a liberal, more empowering way of learning and interacting or as Bob Stein, founder of the Voyager Company and the Institute for the Future of the Book, says, "If the printing press empowered the individual, the digital world empowers collaboration." Cynthia Johnston Turner, director of wind…

This article focuses on selected outcomes of the European Association of Conservatoires (AEC) "Polifonia" Working Group for Instrumental and Vocal Teacher Training in Europe (2007-2010). The introduction provides the background to the project, explains the rationale and objectives, describes the research process and gives an overview of…

Most parents and educators agree that playing an instrument offers wide ranging benefits to students of all ages and backgrounds. While such benefits are typically described in terms of personal and academic success, it's possible that gifted students may need music making for reasons that have little to do with achievement and much more to do…

The project on which this report is based set out to establish how exploring children's musicality might encourage adults to consider their engagement with the musical play and learning of children under the age of five. Through reflection and evaluation the participants became aware that they were challenging their own teaching style in response…

This article reports on a study of collaborative music-making on instruments among 3- and 4-year-old children. An area equipped with musical instruments was provided as a free-choice play option in an early childhood setting and a fixed camera recorded the children's play continuously during a number of visits. From the total 17 h of data five…

The Pan African Society of Musical Arts Education (PASMAE) initiated the concept of Music Action Research Teams (MAT cells) at the grass-roots level for the collaborative sharing and learning of educators throughout Africa. The current number of 27 cells in Africa is a modest realization of the society's aims. However, it is strongly felt that if…