The structure of music preferences has been investigated extensively. However, development of music preferences in terms of consistency of music taste is as yet understudied. In this study, intra-individual consistency of music taste was assessed among Dutch adolescents and young adults over three points in time in a 21-month period. An…

This paper describes an investigation into the nature of musical intelligence and its links with creativity across two continents, Europe and Africa. In seeking to identify the intellectual processes associated with musical intelligence, improvised music was examined as an example of problem solving in this domain. Twenty-four musicians (twelve…

Performance assessment is an integral part of young musicians' development. Students enrolled in music programs frequently participate in adjudication festivals and many audition for select ensembles. Outcomes of such events are deemed consequential among all concerned: students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Furthermore, the number of…

In many parts of the United States, there is a growing shortage of music teachers to take the place of the retiring teachers. This is most evident in rural areas. If music teachers are not available to fill openings, music positions are sometimes combined, spreading music teachers too thin and requiring them to possess multiple music…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether viewing a musical score while listening (as opposed to not viewing the score) would affect musicians' ratings of choral performance excerpts. University musicians (N = 240) listened to four excerpts of choral music (from Vivaldi's "Gloria") and rated them on a 10-point Likert-type scale for…

In this study, the authors examined whether a conductor's use of high-expressivity or low-expressivity techniques affected evaluations of ensemble performances that were identical across conducting conditions. Two conductors each conducted two 1-minute parallel excerpts from Percy Grainger's "Walking Tune." Each directed one excerpt…

This paper analyses the perceptions of 20 students in a conservatoire in the UK about one-to-one tuition, and forms part of research also investigating the perceptions of the students' teachers. Findings suggested that these students had significantly different experiences of one-to-one tuition in terms of frequency and length of lessons.…

Discovering the perceptions that non-professional adult musicians hold regarding their participation in community ensembles may help improve instruction as well as the ability to more fully understand the implications of lifelong music making. Andragogy, or the teaching and learning strategies associated with adult learning, provided the impetus…

Most people who stumble across the YouTube video of the self-proclaimed rock star Gory Bateson singing to a scantily clad prostitute in Amsterdam's red-light district probably have no idea that the work is part of a research project--or that the man holding the guitar is a tenured professor. The video has attracted more than 12,000 views and won a…

In a retrospective study, we compared school performance of 53 children practicing music (group 1) with 67 controls not practicing music (group 2). Overall average marks as well as average marks of all school subjects except sports were significantly higher in children who do (group 1) than in those who do not practice music (group 2). In a…

The study examined the various motives (reasons) that may have led an individual to become an orchestra conductor interpreting classical works, using Apter's (2001) Metamotivational Theory framework. Questionnaires derived from the theory, consisting of 92 possible motives for becoming an orchestra conductor, were presented to 101 orchestra…

The New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) runs an annual evaluation of students' musical performance. The purposes of the evaluation are to promote music programs in the schools and communities of New York State, and to provide a means of objective evaluation of musical performance. The evaluation is influential because the selections…

Results of this qualitative study suggest that membership in the Rochester New Horizons Band programme provides an important vehicle for identity construction and revision in later life. Identities emerge from and are shaped by the social interactions among members in the ensemble setting. Players form new musical identities, reclaim identities…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of physical movement on listeners' perception of musical performance. Participants ( N = 112) rated a professional pianist performing with a recorded musical excerpt under three physical movement conditions: "no movement", "head and facial movement" and "full body movement". Relationships…

American composer Ruth Crawford Seeger grew into the role of music educator as a consummate musician with a deep interest in connecting children to their American musical heritage. This article examines the contributions of Ruth Crawford Seeger to American music education, principally through examination of primary and secondary sources and review…