The purpose of this study was to describe the development of a valid and reliable rubric to assess secondary-level solo instrumental music performance based on principles of invariant measurement. The research questions that guided this study included (1) What is the psychometric quality (i.e., validity, reliability, and precision) of a scale…

When music education is formalized within schools and non-governmental organizations, it often becomes aligned with justice-oriented aims of providing universal access to music education. This qualitative case study examines the formation of a marching band within a Haitian school in northeastern Haiti. Data sources collected and analyzed included…

The purpose of the study was to examine students' experiences of independent music lessons, and to ascertain what factors predicted enjoyment and success, especially those predictors arising from self-regulation learning theory. A self-report survey was used to gather data on student demographics, practising habits, musical skills, achievements,…

This paper describes the use of activity theory to compare dissimilar cases in a study of adult online music learners. The purpose of the study was to better understand the barriers that keep self-motivated users of online open education resources from experiencing successful independent learning. Eleven participants were given tutoring-style help…

A significant amount of literature exists about how to design and implement an effective assessment process for students in a music program, specifically in the classroom setting. This article suggests a framework for incorporating individualized assessment in the private-lesson setting based on effective classroom assessment practices. Many…

Steel bands were introduced into U.S. schools and universities during the 1950s and 1960s. There are now more than 600 U.S. school and university steel bands. The range of teaching methods and repertoire choices must be examined to more fully understand the variety of steel band traditions present in K-12 schools and universities. U.S. steel band…

At most any performance today, you will be notified to turn off your cell phone. The smartphone has become such an integral tool in our daily lives that turning it off is tantamount to severing our connection to our community and challenging the way we view and negotiate the world. Many audience members, particularly young ones, will be looking at…

Traditional methods of teaching music are largely subjective, with the lack of objectivity being particularly challenging for violin students learning vibrato because of the existence of conflicting theories. By using a computer-based analysis method, this study found that maintaining temporal coincidence between the intensity peak and the target…

Our inquiry centres on a hopeful tale about creative teaching and learning, trusting one's teaching intuition and processes, caring for children, and believing that children will respond to opportunities to learn music when they are invited with thoughtful care. Though the process of writing, both our young student and ourselves, we evoke the…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the perceptions of private piano instructors on the role of challenge in teaching and learning the piano and to examine the potential application of catastrophe theory in understanding the role and outcomes of such challenges. A 23-item electronic questionnaire was administered to collect quantitative and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe various vibrato characteristics of university double bass students. The primary objectives were: (1) to describe vibrato rate and width for commonly used fingers in first, fourth, and thumb positions; (2) to investigate whether students initiate vibrato in an upward or downward direction;…

Early in my teaching career, my goals were to teach students to play their instruments beautifully and to help them correctly and independently interpret music notation. However, many of my students were missing the internal musicianship skills that enable high-level music-making. As we teach instrument technique and notation, we sometimes…

This article explores career opportunities in the United States Army available to recent high school or college graduates trained as instrumental musicians. Two current U.S. Army musicians share their journeys to the military ranks. The recruitment process, training requirements, professional opportunities, and day-to-day life of a musician in a…

Over the past three decades, piano learning has witnessed an upsurge in popularity in China. To examine why, between 2016 and 2018 ethnographic fieldwork was conducted among piano teachers, students, and parents of students. Employing the concept of piano pathway, this article tracks the relationship between piano learning and formal schooling and…

A short piano piece was prepared by undergraduate and graduate piano students (N = 15) without guidance from their piano teachers. Temporal parameters were analyzed in several time frames, from a phrase-to-phrase level to an interonset interval. At a macro level, local tempo was shown to be a crucial parameter that divided the students into two…