Bringing together literature from music education, posthumanism, sound studies and ethnomusicology, this article considers what sound 'does' in music education spaces. Within posthumanism, the role of sound, as a manifestation of material-human entanglements, is under-theorised. This article, diffractively plays with the literature and evidence…

The voice plays a paradoxical role -- it is inclusive because everyone has one, and it is exclusive as it is used to falsely separate 'singers' and 'non-singers'. A new choral movement has emerged, with a low threshold for participation and inclusive practices, where one of the early offerings was "Everyone Can Sing" (ECS) in Norway. As…

In this article I explore the construct of the 'natural' voice within the context of the natural voice movement, before invoking perspectives on voice from the posthumanities and D/deaf studies in discussion of "The Walk," a performance between a puppet, a natural voice choir, a refugee choir and a large audience that occurred in London…

Criticism of the foundational whiteness of western classical music's socio-cultural heritage remains relatively rare, and the field continues to export a prestigious self-image of cultural and technical superiority. Building on Ben Spatz' epistemology of practice, I argue that the foundational whiteness of western classical music is principally…

This article presents a close ethnographic reading of an intercultural community choir's experience recording lullabies in a professional studio setting. Bringing together Chadwick's (2020, 2021) posthuman voice analytics with interdisciplinary voice studies, I turn ethnographic ears to the voice-as-vocalised by attuning to its materialities and…

A small group (n = 11) of singers from the same community of musical practice in the UK participated in focus group workshops to reflect on their experiences of group singing in nature. The study found that group singing in nature was considered to be a (non-religious) spiritual practice that enhances participants' experience of both communitas…

This article examines the integration of citizenship education into school music education in China, highlighting the influence of state control and political ideology. It focuses on three key areas: the historical context of embedding citizenship values in music education, the regulation of music textbooks, and the promotion of citizenship…

Reggaetón music is very popular among young people of school-age. Thus, we intend to examine the values of equality transmitted in the lyrics of this music genre. Using critical discourse analysis and assisted by the Maxqda software package we analysed the lyrics of 65 of the most popular reggaetón songs of 2020. Results suggest that reggaetón…

The purpose of this study was to examine the development and characteristics of invented notation for musical representation. A total of 168 young children aged 3, 4 and 5 years participated in this study. The children listened to rhythm and melody, which represented music, to reveal their use of invented notation. The Korean children used various…

Top performers create stage magic through their command of nonverbal communication. While students aspire to the highest levels of performance, they may be unprepared for the intricacies of professional stagecraft. This study trials an experiential learning workshop about optimising nonverbal communication on the concert stage. Five emerging music…

Based on narratives on six choral conductors' unfolding careers, the article investigates significant moments in professional trajectories -- "turning points" -- and how these shaped ongoing practices. The empirical material comprises interviews with conductors that represent different pre-conducting platforms -- musicologist, music…

This study explores the co-development of music theory resources for Grades 7 and 8 at the Malta School of Music using a case study methodology. The first author collaborated with learners to create and refine music theory guides, testing sample chapters in classrooms and incorporating iterative feedback. Data collection included focus group…

The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to examine music education majors' lived experience of negotiating cultural differences in an international choral trip from the US to China. Eight music education majors from a music college in the eastern U.S. participated in this study. I collected three types of data describing their cultural…

Investigations of the English Cathedral Choral tradition have ranged from studies of the pedagogical practices and environmental affordances and constraints that support choral excellence to the introduction of female voices into a male-dominated musical practice. Studies of choral participation have investigated the health and wellbeing outcomes…

For decades, the transmission of Cantonese opera in Hong Kong and China has faced considerable challenges, including a lack of valid assessment. This study aims to propose a holistic theoretical framework for the assessment of Cantonese operatic singing after {1) analysing two graded examinations of Peking opera and Cantonese opera and {2)…