High school band teacher, Mr. Alex Smith, received a request from the Republican presidential campaign for the marching band to perform at an upcoming local rally at which both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates would appear. With support from the principal and superintendent, Mr. Smith moved forward with plans for a Monday…

The purpose of this study was to construct and validate a rating scale for collegiate wind jazz improvisation performance. The 14-item Wind Jazz Improvisation Evaluation Scale (WJIES) was constructed and refined through a facet-rational approach to scale development. Five wind jazz students and one professional jazz educator were asked to record…

A sample of 1060 Malaysian children were surveyed in order to examine differences in their motivation to study music in school and to learn a musical instrument outside of school. Adopting the expectancy-value motivation theory, the children were asked questions concerning their perception of music as being important, useful, interesting,…

University-community collaborations are a fairly recent phenomenon, which has often been manifested through the establishment of university partnerships with schools. This research sought to document the process and outcomes of a university-school collaboration called Music Alive! in the Valley (MAV), a yearlong partnership between 33 university…

My exploration of the nature of the high school music experience was undertaken with 33 young adults who had graduated from high school one to six years previous to the data collection. All of these participants had been involved in their school music programmes and 30 had not continued formal music study following graduation. One might predict…

Researchers have reported public school band directors as experiencing noise-induced hearing loss. Little research has focused on collegiate band directors and university student musicians. The present study measures the sound pressure levels generated within a university concert band and compares sound levels with the criteria set by the…

Koreans are a growing minority in the United States. Worldwide, it is believed that more than seventy million people speak Korean, approximately as many as who speak Italian. The music of Korea offers a delightful addition to the general music classroom. There are several reasons why Korean music is not readily accessible to most general music…

In this article, the authors address the conversation that, given the recent developments in the philosophy of mind, especially in terms of its cognitive turn, one task for philosophers of music might be to begin to speculate about the properties of music and organized sound that enable them to perform their various moral and cultural roles. The…

How to choose the right conducting baton is a mystery to many music educators, especially young teachers who are less experienced on the podium. The selection of batons has grown dramatically, and a wide variety of materials, shapes, sizes, and even colors are available. Choosing the right baton requires finding a personal fit. In this article,…

Modeling is used in numerous educational settings, particularly with performing ensembles. When used appropriately, teacher modeling for student imitation is a useful tool. When used inappropriately, it can be a crutch that actually prevents students from learning. The best use of modeling is to introduce new musical concepts and performance…

Because there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of honor choir events each year across the United States, most choir directors will likely be invited to conduct an honor choir at one point or another. Additionally, many conductors will work with honor choirs at the city, municipal, and county levels. Still others will work with ensembles from…

This study examined the relationship between band director leadership styles and the strength of student leadership within the bands. This study also examined the differences between leadership styles, student leadership strength, and band festival ratings (marching and concert). Subjects (N = 42) were band directors from Texas and Arkansas who…

This paper examines music in the home of a Chinese family in Singapore with specific attention to the children (aged five and seven) of the household: an exploration of what constitutes the lived 'musical' memory of a family enmeshed in the technology and media of a globalised world. The study is part of a larger ethnographic study on the musical…

Teachers plan for instruction in band, choir, and orchestra; this typically includes selecting repertoire and planning outcomes and strategies for achieving those goals with a vision toward excellent musical performance. Teachers in school music ensembles plan instruction that will lead to student learning. In the ensemble setting, this learning…

The last three decades have been marked by significant expansion of music education within higher education, the outcomes of which can be seen in the increased numbers of students studying music and in the diversity of activity and purpose within music courses. This article interrogates the relationship between stylistic diversity and music…