Musicians practice to build endurance, flexibility, and dexterity. They practice to maintain good performance, to sight-read better, to memorize, and simply, to enjoy music making. There are other motivations for practice, but one, more than others, is a catalyst for consequential change in musical development--practicing to solve performance…

In this article, the author asks music educators to imagine their band students being able to identify the melody of a piece as it jumps among sections after playing it just a few times. How about recognizing harmonic modulation, or applying dynamic contrast through understanding of compositional form? While these elements may seem obvious to…

Why do musicians specialize in the specific instruments that they do? Research has shown effects of such factors as the perceived masculinity/femininity of instruments and musician's personality but there are little background data on other factors. The present study had two major aims. The first aim was to gather some useful background data on…

The purpose of this study was to describe the current practices (band setup, musical instruction, member interactions, and challenges) of adult beginning instruction in ensemble settings. Subjects in the current study were 35 adult band/orchestra directors from 19 US states and one province. The responding directors were 24 men and 11 women…

Adult instrumental musicians are not the only ones to develop painful problems that interfere with their practice and performance--young musicians are affected, too. In fact, some young instrumentalist are more likely than their elders to be bothered by these painful conditions. Health professionals who frequently see musicians in their offices…

The primary research question for the study was, "Will older adult amateur musicians' personality profiles reflect the traits found in professional musicians?" Participants (N = 58, ages 52 to 79) recruited from a New Horizons Institute "band camp" for older adult amateur musicians completed a musical background questionnaire and the Cattell…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of the learning experiences of gifted young string players in Taiwan. Nine musicians under the age of 40, who had been accepted into music programs for the gifted, were invited to discuss their experiences and the development of their careers. Thorough interviews were conducted and then…

This article describes an innovative approach to analysing, describing and evaluating the careers of musicians, and applies it in the case of 37 "professors", that is, instrumental teachers, working at a conservatoire in the UK. The professors emerge as flexible and committed musicians who enjoy teaching conservatoire students, and who…

This article was motivated by a staff development session when the brass faculty of a conservatoire were invited to share and discuss their approaches to teaching. It presents the results of interviews with six well known woodwind or brass players who have also taught at one or more conservatoires in London for periods of between one and 40 years.…

Part of a section, "Essays in Musical Retribalization.

Author considered dynamic contrasts of music and proposed a philosophy that student musicians can readily understand. (Author/RK)

Musical trade schools can provide a reliable means of training apprentice musicians while removing pressure from conservatories to turn their attention from artistic to commercial skills. (Author/RK)

This article describes an experience the author had in July. He was the guest of honor at the fortieth class reunion of the 1965 graduating class of Shawnee Mission West High in Overland Park, Kansas, where he taught. These "kids," many of whom were in the band or orchestra, are now fifty-eight years old! Some had already retired but…

In the minds of some music teachers, school bands and orchestras are divided into two camps: the talented and the musically challenged. Considering their conventional methods of introducing rudiments to their young percussionists, it's no wonder that some students struggle. Take the snare drum as a classic example. First, the percussionist must…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact that education level and primary performance instrument have on the evaluation of music performances. Participants (N = 423) in the study were middle school (n = 187), high school (n = 113), and college (n = 123) musicians who performed on either a brass (n = 115) or a nonbrass (n = 301)…