This study had three goals: (1) to investigate the potential connection between music experiences in early childhood and later music making as a parent, (2) to report the frequency of music making in a sample of American families with young children along with parents' opinions on possible benefits of music classes, and (3) to compare…

This study was designed to investigate the extent to which the presentation of an auditory model prior to learning a novel melody affects performance during active practice and the overnight consolidation of procedural memory. During evening training sessions, 32 nonpianist musicians practiced a 13-note keyboard melody with their left…

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 study was to investigate the effects of internal and external focus of attention on novices' rehearsal evaluations. Thirty-two undergraduate instrumental music education students led bands in a series of three 6-minute rehearsals on their assigned excerpt. Prior to these rehearsals, participants were led in score study and…

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…

The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to examine the intersections of music making and teaching for four string teachers. Data included background surveys, three interviews per participant, videotaped classroom observations (jointly viewed during the second interview), and a focus group interview that included music making. Findings…

Caregivers and early childhood teachers all over the world use singing and speech to elicit and maintain infants' attention. Research comparing infants' preferential attention to music and speech is inconclusive regarding their responses to these two types of auditory stimuli, with one study showing a music bias and another one…

The purpose of this research project was to examine whether music teachers' perceptions of effectiveness of inclusion, curriculum adaptations/modifications, or student achievement had altered from previous research findings 20 years before. A survey based on that used by Gfeller, Darrow, and Hedden was sent to music educators through the…

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 purpose of this study was to determine relationships among pacing, teacher effectiveness, and teacher intensity in the context of a realistic teaching situation. A scripted stimulus video was created in which the teacher demonstrated predefined pacing lapses to measure their effects on observers' ratings of teacher effectiveness, teacher…

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…

This article presents the transcript of Peter Webster's 2014 Senior Researcher Award Acceptance Address. Webster comments on several big ideas in music education: (1) The consideration of teaching as a blend of constructivist approaches and direct instruction that values student-centered work primarily as evidence of learning; (2) The…

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…