This study was designed to examine whether the presence of excellent or poor ensemble performances would influence the ratings assigned by ensemble members to conductors who demonstrated highly expressive conducting. Two conductors were videotaped conducting one of two excerpts from an arrangement of Frank Ticheli's "Loch Lomond." These videos…

The question of competence in providing music therapy has rarely been the focus of interest in empirical research, as most music therapy research aims at measuring outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse and describe musicians' learning processes when they study music therapy as a caring intervention. An initial presumption is…

The Aural Learning Project (ALP) was developed to incorporate jazz method components into the author's classical practice and her applied woodwind lesson curriculum. The primary objective was to place a more focused pedagogical emphasis on listening and hearing than is traditionally used in the classical applied curriculum. The components of the…

Connectivity in the human brain has received increased scientific interest in recent years. Although connection disorders can affect perception, production, learning, and memory, few studies have associated brain connectivity with graded variations in human behavior, especially among normal individuals. One group of normal individuals who possess…

In recent years, popular music has become a growing area of music study and is increasingly accepted in schools and universities around the world. Despite this general enthusiasm, classically trained music teachers bring a certain hesitation to this art form, perhaps because too few have had formal hands-on experience with it. This article…

Most musicians strive to create performances that are both technically correct and musically expressive. They make specific changes to their performance to bring out the music's expressive potential. Researchers have attempted to identify these particular changes in order to better understand how expressive performances are created. This is an…

Professional growth, like personal growth, comes only through an investment of effort, but it can provide significant returns. Music educators--indeed, most serious musicians--are naturally curious and intensely interested in opportunities for continuing education. If music educators are looking for ways to increase the level of knowledge they…

This paper considers the following questions: Do existing models of training, based in higher education/conservatoire institutions, equip today's musicians with appropriate skills to work in community settings and can vocational training be incorporated within conventional music courses as options, or do we need to see specialist full-time…

Conductors play a significant role in creating a podium-centered atmosphere by encouraging ensemble members to become overly reliant on them. Due in part to well-developed egos, a lack of confidence in the ability of the ensemble members who actually make the music, or simple naivete, many conductors insist on placing themselves at the center of…

This paper reports results from three experiments using the Musical Ear Test (MET), a new test designed for measuring musical abilities in both musicians and non-musicians in an objective way with a relatively short duration (less than 20 min.). In the first experiment we show how the MET is capable of clearly distinguishing between a group of…

Allegheny Echoes is a summer programme of instruction and performance of music and poetry held in Marlinton, WV. The Bing Brothers learned their traditional music from the Hammons family of Pocahontas County, WV, in an informal setting of friendship and collaboration. The Hammons family was recorded in the 1970s by Alan Jabbour and others; the…

Community music practices may offer paths to broaden the scope of the music education field by providing meaningful alternatives to traditional approaches found in many formal music education systems. As specific social settings shape and define community music, prominent researchers have called for further investigation into practices in the…

This two-part article revisits the British group Everything But the Girl. In this first part, the author describes Dr. Patricia Shehan Campbell's (2004) exciting ideas for fully engaging students during listening lessons. The author uses Everything But the Girl's song "Lullaby Of Clubland (Jay "Sinister" Sealee Remix)" to model Dr. Campbell's…

Highlighting the application of ethnomusicology beyond the traditional boundaries of the academy, this article investigates the use of music in adult literacy education. In 2005, as part of the Literacy and Equality in Irish Society (LEIS) project, adult literacy tutors working in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom (UK), were invited to enrol in…

In this article, the author describes a multimillion-dollar project that aims to save traditional expressions of music from around the world and reflects a shift in ethnomusicology. The $5-million project led by Huib Schippers on "sustainable cultures for music futures" is using nine case studies, including Western opera, Balinese…