This article discusses the usefulness of Braille music as a mediational means for musicians with visual impairment (MVI). Specifically, three broad issues are the focus of this study: (1) three notions as the conceptual frameworks, namely, mediation, appropriation and mastery; (2) three criteria of the usefulness of Braille music, including…

This paper evaluates three teaching approaches to improving sight-reading skills against a control in a large-scale study of advanced pianists. One hundred pianists in four equal groups participated in newly developed training programmes (accompanying, rhythm, musical style and control), with pre- and post-sight-reading tests analysed using…

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships of teaching effectiveness, ensemble performance quality, and selected rehearsal procedures to various measures of intrarehearsal achievement (i.e., musical improvement exhibited by an ensemble during the course of a single rehearsal). Twenty-nine high school bands were observed in two…

This study explores the career paths, employment, business opportunities and community contributions made available through the provision and development of the contemporary performance bands' culture in the State of Victoria. It is framed with the support given to live music performers by Arts Victoria, Small Business Victoria and Music Victoria.…

The research literature concerning gesture in musical performance increasingly reports that musically communicative and meaningful performances contain highly expressive bodily movements. These movements are involved in the generation of the musically expressive performance, but enquiry into the development of expressive bodily movement has been…

Centring on a small-scale capability-based case study of music provision for adults with profound dis/abilities, this paper considers the significance of music and music education in people's lives. It offers a philosophical defence of music's importance in enjoying a truly human life and then, drawing on an overview of the work of dis/abled…

This paper explores the interrelationship between performance teachers' professional identity and the various forms of professional knowledge they bring to their work. The data derive from an ethnographic case study conducted across a period of 12 weeks in each of two distinct music training institutions in Greece--a University Music Department…

During the past 60 years, jazz music has slowly become recognized as a genre worthy of study in high school music programs throughout the United States. Only a few researchers have analyzed large samples of jazz-related instruction in instrumental music programs, and of these studies no data were collected to investigate the inclusion of jazz in…

Successful partnerships between policy makers and deliverers, providers and recipients can be both strategic and operational. Partnerships can operate in several different ways at the same time. Joint programmes achieve more than each organization or individual can achieve separately. The impact on children and young people can be profound if the…

The DuFour PLC model is one of several reforms today based on the theory that organizing teachers into learning communities will promote professional collaboration and collegial relationships which will improve teacher skills, motivation, and increase student achievement. A small number of studies have explored the impact of PLC's on teaching…

Many American university percussion students in the early 21st Century are expected to have performance abilities in genres outside of the Western percussion tradition. With the increase in ethnomusicology programs and the active hiring of teachers with non-Western musical capabilities, many universities now offer multiple options for performance…

While many music educators learn how to teach through teacher training programs, the standard mode of transmission in which piano teachers learn to teach applied piano is through proficiency of the instrument under the guidance of a master teacher. This tacit development of pedagogical knowledge occurs through the master-apprentice model of…

Research in higher education has established a relationship between student approaches to learning and their perceptions of the learning environment. This study aims to make a contribution to music education literature by investigating undergraduate music students' perceptions of the learning context and their attitudes towards learning and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of social intelligence on effective music teaching. Forty teachers from "exemplary programs" and "more challenging programs" across band, chorus, orchestra, and general public school music programs were administered the Interpersonal Perception Task-15 (IPT-15). In addition, 84 external…

Measurement and assessment are becoming increasingly important to all music educators. The purpose of this study was to investigate the following questions: 1) in what specific ways are current high school band directors assessing students in their ensemble classes; 2) what are high school band directors' attitudes toward the assessment process;…