Music education researchers and conducting pedagogues have identified numerous behaviors that contribute to increased verbal and nonverbal teaching effectiveness of conductors on the podium. This article is a review of literature concerning several conductor behaviors that may (a) increase the effectiveness of rehearsals, (b) enhance the…

Students pursuing college degrees in fields other than music must often take a music or arts course. Teaching these non-majors has been a traditional responsibility of college and university music departments. While experts agree that a single, widely accepted approach to teaching the non-major is unavailable, many experts concur that developing…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to measure music educators' ("N" = 9) self-perceptions of their use of interpersonal skills. Participants rated themselves on 32 statements included on the "My Use of Interpersonal Skills Inventory" in pre- and posttest formats. Participants participated in a 4-week period of…

The purpose of this study was to determine the pitch-matching ability of high school choral students. Years of piano experience, middle school performance experience, and model were considered as variables that might affect pitch-matching ability. Gender of participants was also considered when identifying the effectiveness of each model.…

Choral experts, namely conductors and textbook authors, have long recommended separating middle and junior high school singers into all-male and all-female choirs to address the unique challenges facing young adolescents and those who teach them. However, limited research-based evidence exists on the decisions conductors and choral music educators…

Compares the effects of fundamental exercises and music excerpts approaches on sightreading and performance proficiency of 58 students in a symphonic and concert band at a suburban high school. Finds that the students using music excerpts were no weaker in sightreading ability, had a higher performance achievement, and indicated more positive…

Investigates whether solo as opposed to group instruction would improve students' acquisition of rhythmic skills. Finds that individual echoing of rhythm patterns may be advantageous with regard to sight-reading performance. Maintains that it is reasonable to include solo opportunities for the echoing of rhythmic patterns by elementary school…

Explores the literature from physical education psychomotor research in order to answer questions concerning elementary music psychomotor skills acquisition and retention by focusing on four aspects of motor-learning theories: (1) knowledge of results; (2) contextual interference; (3) cognitive strategies; and (4) modeling. (CMK)

Examines whether the consistent or inconsistent use of pitch labels during instruction in pitch terminology affected French kindergarten children's identification of pitch in the two chosen classes. Finds that the children who were taught one pair of terms provided significantly more correct verbal responses than did the group who learned two…