The present study was designed to examine attitudes toward private lesson teaching of a cross-section of string instrument instructors ("N" = 1,617). The participant pool was drawn from the membership of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA). Results were similar in many ways to responses in previous studies also involving…

Listener perception of musical expression in collaborative performance was explored in this study. Performances of two duos (a violinist and pianist, and a vocalist and pianist) were recorded. The level of expressivity of the violinist and vocalist remained stylistically appropriate during pieces; however, the pianist alternated between very…

The purpose of the present investigation was to investigate music students' tempo changes of a soloist's performance in an excerpt from Mozart's "Concerto No. 1 in D Major for Horn and Orchestra." We then compared the composite rubato pattern to tendencies found in a previous investigation using Mozart's "Concerto No. 2 in E[flat] Major for Horn…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived pitch of string vibrato tones. The authors used recordings of acoustic instruments (cello and violin) to provide both vibrato stimulus tones and the nonvibrato tones that listeners adjusted to match the perceived pitch of the vibrato stimuli. We were interested especially in whether there…

This study was designed to ascertain musicians' tempo and pitch level preferences when listening to orchestral music. Ninety graduate and undergraduate music major students were assigned randomly to one of three groups. Participants listened individually to recorded symphonic excerpts, 5 with relatively fast and 5 with relatively slow tempos.…

Performance assessment is an integral part of young musicians' development. Students enrolled in music programs frequently participate in adjudication festivals and many audition for select ensembles. Outcomes of such events are deemed consequential among all concerned: students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Furthermore, the number of…

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…

A continuing line of research indicates that focus of attention is perhaps the most important attribute of actively participating in meaningful music listening and a model accounting for these findings has been developed. Music teachers are especially concerned with meaningful listening when having students discern important elements or attributes…

We investigated the effect of legato and staccato articulation styles on the perception of modulated tempos. Ninety music majors served as participants. Listeners heard music examples that had been selected from two pieces, each of which included staccato and legato passages. Excerpts were presented to listeners in three conditions of tempo…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate aspects of vibrato performance among high school and university string players. The main questions were to determine whether students consistently initiate vibrato in an upward or downward direction and whether players vibrate continuously when performing slurs. Forty high school and university…

The purpose of this study was to investigate vibrato performance of university student and high school string players. Forty violinists and cellists performed an eight-measure passage both with and without vibrato. Analyses indicated that the mean rate of vibrato was approximately 5.5 Hz, with no significant differences between instruments or…

Offers the speech by John M. Geringer, recipient of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) 2000 Senior Researcher Award, that was presented to the Society for Research in Music Education. Focuses on how to mentor researchers, publications in the field, and the importance of academic pluralism to all music related research. (CMK)

Investigates effects of variations in tone quality on listeners' perception of both tone quality and intonation. Indicates that more inexperienced instrumentalists rated stimuli that were "brighter" in quality as sharper in intonation, and those that were "darker" as flatter. Also, finds differences for brass versus woodwind instruments. (DSK)

Investigates the effects of audiovisual media on preschool children's attitudes toward music presentations from "The Lion King" and "Fantasia." Finds that the listening times for music-plus-video presentations of both selections were longer and a majority of the children expressed a preference for "The Lion King" over "Fantasia." (CMK)

Continues a line of research attempting to ascertain the focus of musicians' attention when listening to music, particularly whether musicians demonstrate consistent listening patterns across excerpts designed to be perceived as good and bad performances. Indicates that musician-listeners consistently discriminated between good and bad…