The purpose of this study was to uncover the approach that a professor in Lithuania utilized in successfully teaching undergraduate music education majors how to improvise during a one-semester course. The research questions focused on the participant's philosophy of teaching and learning, his methods for motivating students, the learning…

The Aural Learning Project (ALP) was developed to incorporate jazz method components into the author's classical practice and her applied woodwind lesson curriculum. The primary objective was to place a more focused pedagogical emphasis on listening and hearing than is traditionally used in the classical applied curriculum. The components of the…

The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of anxiety that students experienced according to whether their public performance consisted of a free improvisation or a repertory piece. The researcher had two objectives: (1) examine the relationship of students' levels of anxiety to free improvisation and repertory pieces during a…

To test the extent to which learners performing a simple keyboard passage would be affected by directing their focus of attention to different aspects of their movements, 16 music majors performed a brief keyboard passage under each of four focus conditions arranged in a counterbalanced design--a total of 64 experimental sessions. As they…

Some pianists have idiosyncratic ways of keeping their hands and fingers relaxed. Glenn Gould, for example, religiously soaked his digits in hot water before performing or recording. While the jury is still out on the effectiveness of Gould's routine, there are plenty of other exercises and practices that will keep a pianist's fingers limber.…

Community bands play an important role in Brazilian music education. Often the only point of musical access, they provide free instrumental teaching for thousands of people who cannot afford to pay. One challenge that needs to be continually addressed is the issue of attrition, especially during the first stages of instruction. Considering this…

This article focuses on the influence of parental support and interactions on the young musicians' learning processes. In an attempt to corroborate the findings of the wider research, a case-study has been carried out comprising observations of 34 parents and 34 piano students taught by the author in three different locations (private studio,…

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;…

We observed 17 graduate and advanced-undergraduate piano majors practicing a difficult, three-measure keyboard passage from a Shostakovich concerto. Participants' instructions were to practice until they were confident they could play the passage accurately at a prescribed tempo in a retention test session the following day. We analyzed the…