For many music students studying classical piano in tertiary institutions, techniques in improvisation are not included in their undergraduate curriculum. Despite the acknowledged musical benefits of improvisation, piano pedagogy curricula remain firmly rooted in the nineteenth century, focusing on the performance of the familiar canon of…

This paper presents findings from ethnographic case study research that investigated teacher practices and student engagement in classroom music. The data collection was undertaken in a primary (elementary) and a secondary school in Australia and focussed on the classroom practice of two teachers and four classes of students aged 10 to 16 years.…

Feedback is a powerful influence on learning and achievement in the instrumental music lesson, though this impact may render positive as well as negative implications to learning. The impact of feedback is thus foundational to the ways music teachers impart knowledge, skill, planning, reflection, and student motivation. This article provides an…

Valuing diversity in education and educational research is at the heart of higher education institutes. This research takes place in Australia, a multicultural society that is still predominantly Western Anglo-Celtic. Through blended modes of delivery, this paper focuses on three tertiary educators collaborative autoethnographic voices sharing how…

Metaphors are an important linguistic device that can enable music teachers to explain expressive performance features in a way that makes sense to their students. This study extends the limited literature on the application of metaphors within advanced music instruction, providing new insights into the nature and function of metaphor in the way…

Music sight-reading is a valuable skill that eludes and frustrates many musicians. Techniques for teaching sight-reading are varied, with teachers mostly falling back on personal experience or simply hoping that, somehow, the penny will drop for the student. This study reports on a survey of the music learning and playing habits of expert and…

This article reports on a pilot project exploring the viability of a teaching-through-playing approach in chamber music instruction in higher music education. Literature suggests that teaching traditions such as the one-to-one setting need renewal, and socio-cultural theories of learning propose that collaboration and participation are a way…

This study, generated from considerations of embodied cognition, observational learning, and cognitive load theory, investigated the effect of mimicking gestures on learning to play piano tasks. Fifty university students from an Australian University, with two different levels of piano-playing experience, were randomly assigned to one of the two…

There appear to be considerable differences in the outcomes of group string teaching programs in Queensland. Some teachers appear to be able to generate, manage, and administrate highly efficacious programs; others seem to experience difficulty transferring the knowledge and skills required for students to become successful string players. As a…

Generally, one-to-one music lessons in tertiary settings are delivered by practicing professional musicians. While contemporary musicians draw upon a broad foundation of musical skills, they tend to develop highly specialized skills in a narrow area of performance. This may not be ideal for the one-to-one teaching studio, a situation that calls…

Cultural hegemony permeates society and is spread through social institutions. These institutions socialize people into the norms, values and beliefs of the dominant social groups. Moreover, cultural hegemony is spread and perpetuated through education in the form of compulsory education, a national curriculum, national assessments, as well as the…

Technological advances in digital video and videoconference technology around the early 2000s led a number of researchers to investigate the practicalities of using videoconferencing technology for instrumental music teaching in online and blended learning contexts. Technical and instructional strategies were developed and recommendations made…

The metronome is a frequently used time-keeping tool in music instrument practice. However, if its speed is set beyond a comfortable level for the performer, their eye movement (EM) patterns can betray pressure that might have been placed on the visual processing system. The patterns of the eyes moving forward or back, (saccades); when the eye…

Research suggests graduates from music courses in Australian tertiary institutions typically undertake portfolio careers that include a combination of performing and teaching. Both of these activities could have ongoing artistic ripple effects on the musical communities the graduates inhabit. This paper reports on a qualitative post-graduate…

This study investigates the compositional and contextual thinking of composer, Stuart Greenbaum, and the preparatory thinking, and teaching experience of pianist, Yvonne Lau, in the preparation of the solo piano work, "First Light". Adopting a practice-informed interview approach with questions drawn from the researcher's own preparation…