Modern band programs have spread throughout the United States to create learner-centered and culturally affirming school music experiences for children. The four key concepts of modern band, (1) approximation and scaffolding, (2) decision-making, (3) iconic notation, and (4) culturally sustaining (music education), are congruent with many…

The purpose of this study was (1) to examine the impact that small ensemble free improvisation experiences had on dispositional empathy development when compared with other forms of collective music making; and (2) to examine the relationship between co-performing musicians' empathy levels and their performance achievement in small ensembles using…

Musical performances provide a rich context for studying complex spatial and embodied modes of group learning. This article proposes a framework for analyzing gesture in musical performances to highlight the ways musicians' movements reflect and promote their emerging and changing conceptions of a piece of music. The constructs of "expressive…

By starting with a foundation of sound before sight, we can help our students learn notation organically in a way that honors the natural process. This article describes five organic approaches to learning notation in beginning band: (1) iconic notation, (2) point and play, (3) student lead-sheet, (4) modeling, and (5) kid dictation. While…