The purpose of this study was to examine collaborative composing in high school string chamber music ensembles. Research questions included the following: (a) How do high school string instrumentalists in chamber music ensembles use verbal and musical forms of communication to collaboratively compose a piece of music? (b) How do selected variables…

There is a growing interest in alternative forms of pedagogy for students in K-12 settings. Free improvisation, a relatively new and unfamiliar genre, offers potential as an ensemble for teachers to provide in order to offer more egalitarian and creative music experiences for their students. The purpose of this multiple case study was to determine…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the four sources of self-efficacy in music performance and examine responses from the Music Performance Self-Efficacy Scale (MPSES). Participants (N = 290) were middle and high school music students from 10 schools in two regions of the United States. Questions included the following: (1) How much…

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to describe the process of adolescent choral singers' social identity development within three midsized, midwestern high school mixed choirs. Forty-nine interviews were conducted with 36 different participants. Secondary data sources included memoing, observations, and interviews with the choir…

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships of teaching effectiveness, ensemble performance quality, and selected rehearsal procedures to various measures of intrarehearsal achievement (i.e., musical improvement exhibited by an ensemble during the course of a single rehearsal). Twenty-nine high school bands were observed in two…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of newly initiated string programs on teachers, schools, districts, communities, and existing music program administration and students. Research questions pertained to (a) locations, student access, and instructional offerings; (b) educators; and (c) perceived impact on student outcomes. Data…

The purpose of this collective instrumental case study was to examine the experiences of six undergraduate students from traditionally marginalized populations with regard to their preparation for, admission to, and retention within a music education degree program. Analyzed and reported through the lens of critical theory, data sources included…

Authors of previous research have reported that U.S. English language learner (ELL) students participate in school-sponsored music ensembles (band, orchestra, and choir) at a lower rate than their native-English-speaking peers (non-ELLs). The current study examined this phenomenon using a nationally representative sample of U.S. 10th graders (14-…

The purposes of the study are to describe characteristics of the voice change in sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade choir students using Cooksey's voice-change classification system and to determine if the singing self-efficacy of adolescent males is affected by the voice change, grade level, and experience. Participants (N = 80) consisted of…

The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesized model that proposes a causal relationship between motivation and academic achievement on the acquisition of jazz theory knowledge. A reliability analysis of the latent variables ranged from 0.92 to 0.94. Confirmatory factor analyses of the motivation (standardized root mean square residual…

The purpose of this study was to investigate nationwide enrollment in high school music courses from 1982 until 2009 to determine what trends in music enrollment existed and whether these trends were affected by the passage and implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). With data from 10 separate nationally representative high…

The purposes of this study were to identify the body regions where young string players report experiencing musculoskeletal discomfort and explore factors that may impact their perceived discomfort. A purposive yet nonprobability sample of elementary (n = 101), middle school (n = 97), and high school (n = 159) students participated in the study by…

Entrance examinations and auditions are common admission procedures for college music programs, yet few researchers have attempted to look at the long-term predictive validity of such selection processes. In this study, archival data from 93 student records of a German music academy were used to predict development of musicianship skills over the…

In this study approaches to teaching melodic dictation skills used by Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory teachers were examined. Twelve high school teachers from four states were interviewed. Four themes emerged from the interview transcripts: cognitive frameworks, processing strategies, rhythm, and course design. Participants generally…

Multiple forms of support for teachers new to the profession are important and necessary. The use of an online community by 11 novice instrumental music teachers at the middle school and high school levels was investigated in this case study. The teachers exchanged messages and information within the online community during the 2010-2011 school…