This article presents a study conducted by Cornelia Yarbrough and Jennifer Whitaker titled "Analysis of Reviewer Comments About Quantitative Manuscripts Accepted by the "Journal of Research in Music Education"." The study aims to analyze reviewers' comments for quantitative manuscripts with regard to the following categories: section discussed…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of music experience and excerpt familiarity on the internal consistency of performance evaluations. Participants included nonmusic majors who had not participated in high school music ensembles, nonmusic majors who had participated in high school music ensembles, music majors, and experts…

We observed 17 graduate and advanced-undergraduate piano majors practicing a difficult, three-measure keyboard passage from a Shostakovich concerto. Participants' instructions were to practice until they were confident they could play the passage accurately at a prescribed tempo in a retention test session the following day. We analyzed the…

This study investigated infant listening preferences for two versions of an unfamiliar Chinese children's song: unaccompanied (i.e., voice only) and accompanied (i.e., voice and instrumental accompaniment). Three groups of 5-, 8- and 11-month-old infants were tested using the Headturn Preference Procedure. A general linear model analysis of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate three primary variables concerning the starting grade level of beginning string instruction in public schools: (a) initial enrollment, (b) retention data for both the end of the first year and at the seventh-grade year of instruction, and (c) music performance level in the seventh grade. Secondary…

Vocal demands of teaching are significant, and this challenge is compounded for choral directors who depend on the voice for communicating information or demonstrating music concepts. The purpose of this study is to examine the frequency and intensity of middle and high school choral directors' voices and to compare choral directors' voices with…

Attention to subtle changes in music, whether inadvertent or purposeful, occupies a great deal of practice and rehearsal time for the performer. Regardless of the extremely subtle acoustic changes that have been found to be perceptible within almost all studies, it is the total overall effect that most occupies the individual listener. This study…

Recent policy initiatives instituted by major accrediting bodies require the implementation of specific assessment tools to provide evidence of student achievement in a number of areas, including applied music study. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of a multidimensional assessment rubric, which was administered to…

The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of music sight-reading ability. The authors hypothesized that speed and accuracy of music sight-reading would be predicted by a combination of aural pattern discrimination, spatial-temporal reasoning, and technical proficiency. Participants (N = 70) were wind players in concert bands at a…

In this study, the authors examined whether a conductor's use of high-expressivity or low-expressivity techniques affected evaluations of ensemble performances that were identical across conducting conditions. Two conductors each conducted two 1-minute parallel excerpts from Percy Grainger's "Walking Tune." Each directed one excerpt using high-…

The purpose of this study was to document the history of the National High School Orchestra (NHSO), a select ensemble organized by Joseph E. Maddy under the auspices of the Music Supervisors' National Conference during the 1920s and 1930s. Research questions examined the orchestra's (1) origin, performances, and operation; (2) instrumentation and…

The purpose of this study was to explore factors that may affect string teachers' career decisions. Six hundred string teachers were mailed a questionnaire designed to elicit responses about multiple factors and projected career plans in 1 year and in 5 years, and 304 teachers responded. The majority of teachers planned to remain in their…

American composer Ruth Crawford Seeger grew into the role of music educator as a consummate musician with a deep interest in connecting children to their American musical heritage. This article examines the contributions of Ruth Crawford Seeger to American music education, principally through examination of primary and secondary sources and review…

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the experiences of college and community choir members in a collaborative intergenerational performance project. Data included an initial focus group interview with college choir participants (n = 8), an initial focus group interview with community chorus participants (n = 8); collaborative…

In this article, the author describes two events in his personal life that seem to him illustrative of why a person with his particular involvements might be regarded as somewhat off the center of commonplace images of the music education researcher. He assures the readers that these descriptions will be more than only of personal interest to him.…