The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable rubric to be used for the evaluation of large ensemble wind band performances. The guiding questions for this study were: (a) what are the psychometric qualities (i.e., reliability and validity) of the scale developed to assess wind band ensemble performance at the high school level?…

Musicians are appointed to positions in professional symphony orchestras--both rank and file and section principals--following a blind audition process. They perform set repertoire works and orchestral excerpts behind a screen. In many higher education programs, musicians focus on learning the orchestral excerpts and instrumental repertoire that…

The purpose of the present investigation was to investigate music students' tempo changes of a soloist's performance in an excerpt from Mozart's "Concerto No. 1 in D Major for Horn and Orchestra." We then compared the composite rubato pattern to tendencies found in a previous investigation using Mozart's "Concerto No. 2 in E[flat] Major for Horn…

Performance assessment is an integral part of young musicians' development. Students enrolled in music programs frequently participate in adjudication festivals and many audition for select ensembles. Outcomes of such events are deemed consequential among all concerned: students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Furthermore, the number of…

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…