Attempts to identify and describe the characteristics of effective teaching in the piano studio. Videotaped lessons with independent piano teachers and students were evaluated according to specific behavioral measures (general approval, music talk) and separately by pedagogical measures. Includes statistical and tabular data. (MJP)

Studies videotapes of different band directors and their rehearsals to ascertain the various approaches and emphases of expert, novice, and student teachers. An analysis of frequency distributions for performance and rehearsal variables reveals that all three categories stress rhythm and tempo the most frequently. Includes further analysis of…

Surveys preservice and experienced music teachers to discover opinions on what specific skills are important for the first three years of teaching. Teachers rated skills using a Likert-type scale. Includes a list of the skills, statistical analysis of responses, brief literature review, and summary of the results. (MJP)

Examines graduate and undergraduate music majors' ability to detect pitch and rhythm errors in various settings of textually contrasting musical excerpts. Students listened to intentionally marred excerpts and attempted to identify the errors. Analysis of variance revealed that the predictor variables did not function independently of each other.…

Revises an earlier experiment that revealed age-related increases in sensitivity to rhythmic information when judging the difference between a theme and selected pitch and rhythm variations. Tested the possibility that the developmental differences found earlier were due to characteristics of the test melody. Results supported the earlier study.…

Presents the results of a study where musicians listened to 20 minutes of Puccini's, "La Boheme," and indicated which of the five musical elements (melody, rhythm, timbre, dynamics, or everything) commanded their attention. Two groups responded using differing instructions for the Continuous Response Digital Interface. Analyzes the different…

Describes the development of computer-assisted instructional software designed to supply future teachers with a repertoire of songs and related music concepts for classroom use. Tests the efficacy of the software at two preservice teacher education programs. Students in both programs thought the software served their needs. (MJP)

Surveys 101 wind instrumentalists to reveal major differences in the pattern of influences leading to the re-creative skill of performing a repertoire of rehearsed music for a formal examination compared to the creative ability of improvising. Uses a path analysis to determine links between the data and theoretical model. (MJP)

Identifies those women mentioned most frequently in general U.S. music education history books and examines the contexts in which the books discussed their work. Surveys individuals interested in music education history to determine name recognition of these women and opinions regarding the importance of their contributions. (MJP)

Summarizes several citation analyses of articles appearing in the "Journal of Research in Music Education,""Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education," and "The Journal of Music Therapy." Identifies the most productive scholars, researchers, and universities. Investigates retrievability of related work by specialists outside the…

Provides a statistical profile of the current state of music research as well as recommendations for future research. These recommendations explore and define approaches including the acquisition of interdisciplinary knowledge and skills, the importance of philosophical inquiry, and the definition and isolation of variables affecting musical…

Reports on a study that investigated possible effects of visual information on non-music students' cognitive responses to music. One group rated the affective response of musical excerpts from the film "Fantasia" without the accompanying video while another rated the excerpts with the video. Reveals little significant difference between the two.…

Reports on a study that examined the nature of vocal jazz improvisation and the factors that influence achievement in improvisation. Participating subjects performed two jazz improvisation tasks that were measured for tonal, rhythmic, and expressive items. Correlating independent variables included jazz theory knowledge, jazz experience, and…

Examines the vocal demands of teaching in a noisy environment for elementary vocal music teachers. Uses the Voice Conservation Index (VCI), a 31-item self-report scale, to collect data on vocal stress. Correlates this data with other factors including years spent in teaching and teaching schedule. (MJP)

Reports on an experiment where 64 elementary school students participated in reading, clapping, and vocalizing rhythms notated in color. Results after a 23-week treatment period revealed that the experimental group scored slightly higher reading both colored and uncolored notation than a control group. (MJP)