The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the process of composing educational music. As part of a research project titled "Sound Connections: Composing Educational Music" Canadian composers completed email interviews, responding to semi-structured questions about the process of composing educational music. Using…

The ability to recognize and distinguish among varying musical styles is essential to developing aural skills and musicianship. Yet, this task can be difficult for music learners, particularly nonexperts. To address this challenge and guide music education practice, this study drew on cognitive psychological principles to investigate the effect of…

Although many programs aim to develop students' listening skills and promote the appreciation of Western classical music, relatively few such programs incorporate visual art. This study examined the perceived effectiveness of the Edinburgh International Festival's (EIF) "Art of Listening" program in reaching its stated goals to: develop…

This study focused on the development and psychometric evaluation of the 16-item Critical Musicality Scale (CMS). The participants in the study comprised (N = 118) secondary students (mostly 13 to 14 years old) from Singapore. Four factors of critical musicality were hypothesised and empirically tested. The full sample was used to conduct an…

This study extends Zimmerman's research on children's music conservation to adult listeners, investigating participants' ability to conserve melody under different harmonic conditions. Specifically, I investigated whether listeners in the study could identify melody when primary, diatonic, and secondary chords were added (Task 1) and when melody…

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common in the United States. All age groups are at risk for TBI, but there is a larger occurrence among school-age children and young adults. No matter the severity of a student's injury, he or she can benefit from music education, whether listening to music, singing, or performing on an instrument. Students can…

Students pursuing college degrees in fields other than music must often take a music or arts course. Teaching these non-majors has been a traditional responsibility of college and university music departments. While experts agree that a single, widely accepted approach to teaching the non-major is unavailable, many experts concur that developing…

How is the tradition of Western classical music faring on university campuses? Before answering this question, it is necessary to understand what has transpired with classical music in the wider culture, as the relationship between the two is so strong. In this article, the author discusses how classical music has taken a big cultural hit in…

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between institutional and instructor characteristics and the assignment of the concert report within American college music in general studies courses. Four research questions were addressed: (1) Do significant differences exist in instructor practices regarding the assignment of, and…

Phenomenology has been defined as "an approach to philosophy centering on analysis of the phenomena that flood (human) awareness" (Jorgenson, 1992), including the essences, meanings, and essentially necessary relations of these phenomena. In the last fifty years, an increasing number of writers have begun to examine the music-listening experience…

Over the last forty years, popular music in America has consistently shown great variety, originality, and evolution. While American music has clearly flourished and evolved over the last several decades, it is difficult to say the same for American music education. Although there are important reasons to preserve long-standing traditions of…

Author dealt with two aspects of movement in music--rhythm and pitch--and described means of developing sensitivity to each. He did not simply theorize about sensitivity; he pinpointed specific techniques for bringing it about. (Editor/RK)