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…

"Accompanist" is the old term. "Collaborative pianist" is the new one. "Accompanist" implies a mostly subservient role, whereas "collaborative pianist" gestures toward a more equitable relationship between the soloist and pianist, no longer a mere follower. Degree programs that prepare collaborative piano…

Improvisation is an important element of global musical practices. However, musical improvisation is often neglected in K-12 and collegiate music education programs, with some music educators suggesting that improvisation cannot be taught. Rather, improvisation must be facilitated, enabled, and fostered. In this review of literature, I examined…

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…

Children with severe multiple disabilities face numerous possibilities for enjoying music and participating in performance activities; however, the research practice for realizing these possibilities involves various difficulties. To understand the disabilities of children and their engagement with music, awareness of one's perception of…

Many researchers have discussed the feasibility of teaching and learning practical skills, such as playing a musical instrument, through distance education. One of the central issues considered in music education is that of motivation, leading educators to wonder how students might remain motivated when learning music at a distance. In this…

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…

The purpose of this study was (1) to examine the impact that small ensemble free improvisation experiences had on dispositional empathy development when compared with other forms of collective music making; and (2) to examine the relationship between co-performing musicians' empathy levels and their performance achievement in small ensembles using…

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…

Limited consideration has been given to the challenges young composers and performers face when learning to communicate through notation in contemporary classical music, and the specific opportunities presented for peer learning. This article describes a project at a Swiss music conservatory in which two student composers wrote pieces for solo…

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…

Identifying precisely what teachers do to elicit desired changes in their students' knowledge and skill is a long-lasting challenge of educational research. Here, we use conversation analysis to contribute to a deeper understanding of this matter by considering how Finnish-speaking musical instrument teachers use directives to guide their…

Venezuela's youth symphony program, the Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar, commonly referred to as "El Sistema," combines musical achievement with learning important life skills through orchestral practice and performance. Although the history most commonly reported outside Venezuela is of the program's director, José Antonio Abreu,…

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,…

Whereas most articles in this special issue demonstrate careful and close-up views of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in a performing arts or humanities discipline, my approach is opposite; I look in on music teaching and learning to interrogate current conceptions of SoTL. I begin with Sloboda's cognitive explanation of music…