Music students often encouter problems in reading sheet music, because of the complexity of Traditional Music Notation (TMN). Klavar is an alternative music notation system that is simple, intuitive, and easy to learn. Thousands of compositions from many composers are available in Klavar. In its original form, Klavar can be considered as tablature…

The history of female piano teachers, especially those working with children, remains largely unstudied. Estelle Philleo (1880-1936) is one example from the early 20th century who specialized in group lessons for beginners. A New Woman who never married, she began as a junior piano teacher at the Michigan Female Seminary before graduating in 1902.…

Instrumental music teaching traditionally emphasizes the cognitive, motor, and motivational processes of score reproduction, often at the expense of creative musical activities, such as improvisation or composition. Since today's international art school curricula prominently include creativity competencies, opportunities to integrate creativity…

The purpose of this research was to learn about the short-term residue of composing and improvising activities experienced in a woodwind lab course. Five undergraduates enrolled in a Music Learning and Teaching program in the United States shared what they retained after completion of the course and how they were thinking about composition and…

The presence of popular music education in schools has expanded significantly in the past two decades within the United States in part due to the expansion of modern band programming. Initially developed and propagated by the non-profit organization Little Kids Rock (LKR), modern band is a term used to describe school-based ensembles that use…

The purpose of this study is to explore the life and work of Pierre Sancan (1916-2008), an exemplary piano teacher who, like many masters in the apprenticeship tradition, is chiefly remembered today by his pupils alone. An all-round musician, Sancan had early success as a composer when he won the Prix de Rome in 1943, and enjoyed a flourishing…

Gender in music has been explored over recent decades with growing recognition of the challenges that are faced by women in the field. There has been substantial work exploring the Western music canon but little that addresses the music of Australian women, and more specifically, repertoire written for the wind band genre. With thousands of…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine elementary music teachers' planning times. The existing literature on planning time is scarce and the literature on elementary music teachers' planning time is nearly nonexistent. The following research questions guided the study: (a) How many minutes of planning time do elementary music…

Research suggests that exploratory experiences in the music classroom are a crucial developmental stage as students begin making the kinds of decisions required of them during composition and improvisation. The aims of this article are to (1) articulate a rationale for exploratory learning experiences in the music classroom and (2) outline…

The purpose of this collective case study was to examine how four elementary music teachers (from different U.S. regions) integrated modern band into their curricula. Data included semi-structured interviews, videos, emails, and a researcher journal. Teachers integrated modern band to improve student "buy-in" and to gain instruments. All…

The purpose of this study was to examine participating orchestras and performed repertoire at the American String Teachers Association's (ASTA) National Orchestra Festival from 2004 through 2020. Participating orchestras (N = 309) primarily consisted of string orchestras and high school-level orchestras with a majority originating from the…

This research uses three of the lesser-known concerti by Antonio Vivaldi to discuss how the musical material in these concerti is equally suitable to those concerti that have found popularity through printed editions earlier in the twentieth century, such as RV 484 in E minor. These concerti are excellent resources for musicianship development for…

Piano lessons which take place in music education departments involve example works of Turkish and world composers, education music examples, piano literature and learning-teaching techniques. Within this context, Ulvi Cemal Erkin, who is a member of The Turkish Five, wrote a composition called "Duyuslar," which consists of 11 pieces and…

Musical composition is widely considered to be a fundamental component of good musicianship. Recent state and national standards make it clear that preservice music teachers will be expected to include the teaching of musical composition in their curricula when they enter the field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the integration of…

Selecting excellent literature for a small or unbalanced band can be challenging, especially if the ensemble is ready to perform literature beyond Grade 2.5. This article describes a process for choosing high-quality repertoire for the small band, focusing on high school/college groups. Also examined is how to analyze and alter pieces to fit the…