Conrad F. Toepfer's experiences as a symphonic, jazz, and folk player influence his anxieties and concerns about education's moral obligations to further human development and freedom for all. Committed to learning as an active, interactive process, Toepfer has helped gather, organize, and motivate groups to design and implement middle-level…

Discusses the use of computers in music and music education. Topics discussed include the use of computers to assist in music composition and performance; changing employment opportunities for studio musicians; multimedia applications, including high resolution graphics; editing and publishing music; and database projects. (14 references) (LRW)

Personality profiles of industrial scientists, musicians and artists, and general undergraduates (total n=99) showed no difference between scientific and artistic groups on the Creativity composite index. Self-reports of involvement in creative behavior, collected from 590 individuals, revealed that creative people tend to cross-train and to…

Presents results of a study of whether undergraduate music majors would prefer sequenced piano music to recordings of actual performances. Finds no significant differences between ratings for technical merit, artistic merit, and overall impression. Finds recording quality ratings higher for sequenced pieces. Suggests that sequencing may allow an…

Discusses research literature dealing with measurement of solo instrumental music performance. Compares the Watkins-Farnum Performance Scale with facet-factorial and other rating scales. Covers acoustic analysis and evaluation of tone, loudness, and pitch. Includes discussion of computer-assisted acoustic analysis and instrumental evaluation.…

Presents an interview with Rebecca Bower, principal trombonist with the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Symphony Orchestra. Reviews her career as a music student and performer and her experiences in battling sex stereotypes. Explains Bower's belief that students' instrument choices should have nothing to do with gender. Stresses her advice to female…

The centennial year of Edward K. "Duke" Ellington's birth has inspired many American colleges and universities to convene tribute concerts and conferences. However, few schools offer majors in jazz-related studies; those that do often maintain strict separation between jazz and classical music instruction. Many in the jazz-education…

Interviews Betty Allen, an opera singer and music educator, on the importance of arts in the schools. Recounts incidents from Allen's early life in Ohio--how she became interested in opera, her teachers' encouragement, and her college studies. Discusses the color barrier encountered by a black singer in the 1940s and 1950s when Allen was beginning…

Examines the performance of expressive dynamic variations by advanced pianists in an aural modeling performance task. Indicates that the performer's identification of dynamic features and their incorporation into a performance goal influenced expressive performance of dynamic variations. Subjects who identified features played nonidiomatic…

This article discusses problems in the training of gifted musical performers and evaluates the role of a musical maestro in talent development, argues that musicians may suffer from the expectations and traditions inherent in "conservatory culture" and suggests that maestros may at times be unsuitable teachers and mentors. (Contains extensive…

Provides information on the career and accomplishments of Ella Jenkins focusing on issues such as her musical background, the similarities among children in various countries, teaching children to sing in different languages, and how music teachers can reach more children and improve musical instruction. (CMK)

Creating the "comprehensive musician" has been discussed by music educators for many years. While its definition varies, essentially comprehensive musicianship is a means of engaging students in musical learning with a goal of creating greater independence. This can be accomplished by creating a rehearsal setting in which performance and…

This study is an investigation of what musicians consider to be their aesthetic experience with jazz music selections that vary in level of conceptual advancement (melodic complexity during improvised solos). Music major participants (N = 128) were assigned to either the jazz musician (n = 64) or nonjazz musician (n = 64) group. Data were gathered…

In this study, the effectiveness of recorded models in the context of ensemble rehearsals was examined. Over a 5-week treatment period, directors of three middle/junior high and two high school bands systematically included professional recordings as part of their preparation of selected pieces. Students completed weekly self-evaluation reports…

The Central Bands Commissioning Project was a multidimensional endeavor. One dimension included organizational details, such as selecting a composer, negotiating a contract, and securing funds. A second dimension was made up of teaching and learning activities related to the commission, such as meeting local composers, writing letters to composers…