The purpose of this study was to examine the association between curricular high school music participation, academic achievement, and social-emotional learning. The analysis involved a "doubly robust" approach combining propensity score weighting and nested multiple regression using data from the nationally representative High School…

The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the perceived impact of personal circumstances, past and present learning environments, and musical culture on the development of playing-related pain and injury among tertiary string students. The study used a multi-phased mixed-methods methodology with elements of both quantitative…

This paper is based on the data collected from a longitudinal study of seven maintained, secondary schools in England that have adopted Musical Futures as an approach to teaching music. The research had a particular focus on key stage 3 (11-14). For the purposes of this paper, data gained from 18 music staff and 325 student interview…

The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of how one classically trained musician adapted his pedagogical practices to accommodate the needs and interests of his students. A case-study methodology was employed to explore the perceptions and practices of this teacher, and data were collected over a two-year period through…

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to document the musical journey of Sarah, a young mother taking piano lessons. The research questions explored how Sarah's journey influenced her young children's musical expressions, their expressed desires to participate in music outside of their current experiences, and Sarah's experience of musical…

Previous research suggests that students participating in school-based musical ensembles are more engaged in school and more likely to connect to their peers in school; however, researchers have not specifically investigated peer connectedness among adolescents in school-based music ensembles. The purpose of this study was to explore middle school…

In music education, current assessment trends emphasize student reflection, tracking progress over time, and formative as well as summative measures. This view of assessment requires instrumental music educators to modernize their approaches without interfering with methods that have proven to be successful. To this end, the Longitudinal Scales…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of preservice music teachers' concerns using Fuller and Bown's model. Participants were 8 instrumental teachers who participated in the previous Berg and Miksza (2010) study. Data sources included goals essays, journals, a midterm growth plan, and teaching observation reports with…

We examined the associations between academic achievement and arts involvement (access to a musical instrument for the child at home, participation in unspecified after-school arts activities) in a sample of 2339 11-12-year-olds surveyed in the USA between 1998 and 2008. We compared the contributions of these variables to other kinds of cognitive…

This article addresses individuals' decisions to continue or cease playing a musical instrument from a basic psychological needs perspective. Participants began learning music 10 years prior to the study and were the subject of previous longitudinal research. They completed a survey investigating the three psychological needs of competence,…

Previous research has demonstrated a benefit of music training on a number of cognitive functions including verbal memory performance. The impact of school-based music programs on memory processes is however relatively unknown. The current study explored the effect of increasing frequency and intensity of classroom-based instrumental training…

This article presents a longitudinal case study investigation of three young cellists' self-directed preparation of a new piece of music for an informal performance. The investigation considers how musical understanding starts to emerge in children's practice and performance. It explores practice at early stages of learning and examines the…

This study is an examination of the melodic improvisations of a group of children (N = 62) for 3 years, from ages 7 through 9. Participants improvised as part of a class rondo for Orff instruments, in ABACADA form, in which the B, C, and D sections were 8-measure alto-xylophone improvisations in C pentatonic. Each participant improvised three…

This article reports on a three-year longitudinal study with 157 children in school grades 3 and 4 (aged between 7 and 9 years), who commenced learning an instrument in one of eight school music programmes. The children were administered tests at the end of each school year to assess their abilities to perform rehearsed music, sight-read, play…