The aspiring composer's development is commonly described using the metaphor of finding one's own composer voice. A central goal for teaching composition in higher music education is to guide students toward finding such a voice--toward personal expression and creativity. In order to shed light on the teaching strategies associated with this goal,…

Making Music: Composing "with" Young Musicians is a multi-year, multi-site research project partnered with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Canadian Music Centre to commission composers to collaborate with teachers and students (age 11 to 18) to write a piece of music. This article outlines findings on the analysis and…

It is almost as if there are two Bartóks -- the amiable collector of Hungarian folk music and the 'infernal' barbarian intent on destroying the music of the past (Gillies, 2010). These two sides of Bartók's character may be seen in such disparate works as "The Miraculous Mandarin" (1919) and his "Suite" No. 2, Op. 4 (1904-07).…

The current study was conducted with the goal of helping to address the research gap of improving preservice teachers' pedagogical knowledge about probability by investigating how preservice teachers explored concepts of probability during aleatoric music composition, as well as their contemplation process during follow-up reflections focused on…

Musical composition is widely considered to be a fundamental component of good musicianship. Recent state and national standards make it clear that preservice music teachers will be expected to include the teaching of musical composition in their curricula when they enter the field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the integration of…

Evidence found throughout the history of Western European art music reveals traditions that encompassed improvisation. This furthers the idea that without improvisation, music education based on canonized works of Western European art music is incomplete. When the goal of music education is to preserve works exactly as notated, improvisation…

Many students possess their own unique potential and "genius," but seem to base their worth on the status of grades instead of their connection to education itself. Antonio Salieri, for instance, created wonderful, emotionally binding music throughout his lifetime. Salieri however, never saw the beauty in his work because Mozart, a child…

This pilot study focuses on the use of mobile tablets to allow secondary students to compose in class with the application "GarageBand." The empirical research has two aims: to demonstrate the possibility of using mobile tablets as a composing device, and to examine professional practices for using mobile technologies in music learning.…

The purpose of the present study was to learn about the characteristics of independent music teachers, their beliefs about music teaching, and their studio practices. A self-report survey included questions about the teachers' (a) background experiences, (b) pedagogical approaches, (c) use of digital technologies, and (d) professional development…

This article describes the process used to develop and assess an NSF-funded instructional innovation: an online collection (https://www.CAUSEweb.org/smiles/) of 28 interactive songs of high esthetic quality designed to span literature-based learning objectives of introductory statistics that develop statistical literacy and reasoning. The…

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…

Interdisciplinary teaching and interpretation of technology for various applications provides a challenging and engaging environment for students to enhance their creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. This paper presents results of a joint effort between faculty in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology and the…

This study presents strategies for teaching highland Afro-Ecuadorian culture and for broaching the topic of race and racism through the documentary film "Más allá del fútbol." Produced in 2008 by the author, this film explores "afrochoteño" identity and culture as well as the issues of race and racism in Ecuador through a…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the effect of ear playing instruction on adult amateur wind instrumentalists' musical self-efficacy. Ten volunteer members of a community band in a small town in Ohio completed the "Ear Playing Profile" both prior to and following an eight-week period of instruction in playing by ear…

A class was developed for 10 musically talented students in an elementary school, to enable the students to increase their musical interest and knowledge and to improve their music performance skills. Strategies for providing a more challenging musical environment for these students included: a pull-out class, teaching of music theory and…