The aim of this research is to contribute to students, trainers and performers by examining the materials prepared for the effective and fast performance of the scales. As a descriptive study, literature review and document analysis were used in the analysis of the data. The results of this study revealed that guitarists should determine a sitting…

In a series of three video-recorded assignments over a 6-week period, undergraduate music education students (N = 16) enrolled in an instrumental methods course described aloud what they were thinking about as they practiced a three-note melody on a secondary brass instrument. Later, I completed a content analysis of the students' practice…

Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) are highly prevalent among concert pianists due to the unique sociological and historical predispositions of the instrument. Although current literature explores PRMD risk factors in isolation, few studies have explored the complex interdependencies that exist between the procedural and postural…

Improvisation is an important element of global musical practices. However, musical improvisation is often neglected in K-12 and collegiate music education programs, with some music educators suggesting that improvisation cannot be taught. Rather, improvisation must be facilitated, enabled, and fostered. In this review of literature, I examined…

The Alexander Technique is a method that emerged as a result of Actor Frederick Matthias Alexander's work on himself to solve the problems he had with his voice during his performance. This technique, which was effective for himself, rapidly became widespread because it was tried by different people over time and positive results were obtained.…

This study emphasizes findings from literature reviews that aimed to describe and present the current teaching strategies in Music education. These teaching strategies are one of the needed primary skills of Music teachers to address the learning challenges, competencies, and diverseness of the existing curriculum, help them to explore the needs…

The goal of this dissertation project is to use embodied learning--an emerging approach to supporting student engagement--as a focal point to demonstrate how a multidimensional engagement framework can help us understand, evaluate, and design for new ways of learning. The project is situated in the context of third-grade students learning about…

In this article, Carl Czerny's "Letters to a Young Lady on the Art of Playing the Pianoforte" (1837) is studied as a machine manual within the cybernetic economy of James Watt's governor. It is argued that while the young pupil is encouraged to subject herself to a strict discipline of physical deportment at the piano, this activity is…

Results from recent research have demonstrated positive effects of somatic approaches, such as the Feldenkrais Method, somaesthetics, and body mapping in the field of music. However, the direct impact of such approaches on instrumental sound has not been studied so far. The present pilot study was thus designed to investigate the influence of…

This article deconstructs some of the underlying assumptions that inform projects in Paynter and Aston's 1970 book, "Sound and Silence." Foucauldian and Deleuzian technologies of power and technologies of desire are used to frame an argument that Paynter and Aston's projects play into the fabrication of sonorous bodies and sonic selves…

Traditionally, pedagogical research has been child centered, where materialities often have been considered as objects and tools. However, in recent posthuman research, attempts have been made to consider human materiality combinations to have impact on pedagogical activities in preschool, but to a large extent music as an issue has been…

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…

Acquiring nonverbal skills necessary to appropriately communicate and educate members of performing ensembles is essential for wind band conductors. Virtual reality learning environments (VRLEs) provide a unique setting for developing these proficiencies. For this feasibility study, we used an augmented immersive VRLE to enhance eye contact, torso…

The main purpose of this study was to compare differences in approaches to teaching children's song by kindergarten teachers in Taiwan and the USA. Five public school kindergarten teachers in Taipei, Taiwan, and five public kindergarten teachers in Seattle, USA, were invited to voluntarily participate in this study. They were asked to teach six…

Playing the piano can result in intense muscular activity with the potential to cause injury to the hand and fingers. It was reasoned some time ago that technique had to be made sustainable. This resulted in the exploration of ways to make muscular use more economic in playing because even small energy savings are worthwhile in making technique…