Music in early years classrooms is an important learning area for young children. Young children need access to hear different genres of music, learn a variety of repertoire, engage in composing and play musical instruments. With the changing reform agenda in early childhood education however, little is known about the way music is positioned in…

In this thematic case study in a rural primary school, young children of diverse socio-cultural origins use transformative and transmodal redesign in music as they explore new conceptual meanings through self-reflexive interaction in classroom music events. A focus on music dialogue created by interaction between modes is seen to promote…

The introduction of the influential Orff Schulwerk approach to music education in Australia is generally reported as occurring in the late 1960s. However, this was not the earliest encounters with the pedagogy in Australia. Patricia L. Holmes included Orff materials in teacher inservices in the late 1950s, before she travelled overseas to work…

This article examines how key components of holistic tone production can help flutists form a resonant tone. This is framed in an exploration of tone pedagogy and includes a model of tone evaluation and education. This research is also applicable to other instrumentalists, especially wind players. In this case study information was collected by…

Playing the piano can result in intense muscular activity with the potential to cause injury to the hand and fingers. It was reasoned some time ago that technique had to be made sustainable. This resulted in the exploration of ways to make muscular use more economic in playing because even small energy savings are worthwhile in making technique…

This article focuses on the influence of parental support and interactions on the young musicians' learning processes. In an attempt to corroborate the findings of the wider research, a case-study has been carried out comprising observations of 34 parents and 34 piano students taught by the author in three different locations (private studio,…

Education degrees are constantly shifting in order to remain relevant and contemporary within changing curriculums and teaching paradigms. This change is vital to ensure the degrees meet the requirements of a practicing teacher in today's schools. One method of informing such changes is to investigate the views and mine the wisdom of practicing…

Previous research has demonstrated a benefit of music training on a number of cognitive functions including verbal memory performance. The impact of school-based music programs on memory processes is however relatively unknown. The current study explored the effect of increasing frequency and intensity of classroom-based instrumental training…

Pre-service teacher degree programs are increasingly crowded with subjects covering the wide gamut of knowledge a teacher requires. Ensuring musical knowledge and language for classroom teaching poses a difficult problem for teacher educators. This article examines the challenges of including in the pre-service classroom teaching program a music…

Many young West Australians learn musical instruments through school based elective programs. However, many students drop out from these programs, particularly in lower secondary school. This paper reports on a study I conducted into the motives of 48 lower secondary school students for playing a musical instrument, and the role of the instrument…

The current paper retrospectively evaluates the efficacy of implementing a large-scale music education program into a regional cluster of Victorian primary schools. The program's primary aim was to increase access and quality of music education for students in these rural schools. The methods utilized to evaluate the program and the discrepancies…

This paper reviews latest research findings on practising in an attempt to encourage studio music teachers to trial new approaches. Literature shows that expert performers begin learning an instrument at an early age, and sustain and increase their deliberate practice over at least 10 years. A certain amount of practice hours is needed to achieve…

Students with communication disabilities present challenges to general music teachers with inclusive music classrooms. Typically, students perform, compose and improvise with others in the class, but students with physical disabilities that include communication difficulties or students with autism are left out or at best marginally participate.…

This paper focuses on the category of electronic musical instruments described as "gestural controllers"--motion sensor technology and specially adapted switches--which are widely used in special education. The therapeutic benefits of this technology in emancipating children from their cognitive or physical limitations are increasingly…