Throughout the learning process, it is common for students to transition to a new teacher, whether they relocate, decide to change teachers, or study at a summer program. During this transition, students must adapt to a potentially different pedagogical philosophy, language, and performance expectations. Using a multiple case study research…

The purpose of this narrative action research study was to tell Marcus's story as an ensemble director learning how to teach composition in his middle school orchestra program. Marcus collaborated with Sam, a university professor, and designed a study to examine his teaching in his 49-member advanced orchestra class. As time passed, the focus of…

Method books serve as a key curricular resource in beginning band classrooms. Previous examinations of beginning band method books focused primarily on performance technique and pedagogy; however, a curriculum with a singular emphasis on performance will not meet all elements of the 2014 National Core Arts Standards. Therefore, we analyzed 16…

Improvisation is an important element of global musical practices. However, musical improvisation is often neglected in K-12 and collegiate music education programs, with some music educators suggesting that improvisation cannot be taught. Rather, improvisation must be facilitated, enabled, and fostered. In this review of literature, I examined…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate changes in advanced musicians' self-regulated practice as they worked to acquire mastery of an étude across 2 weeks. Four advanced collegiate violinists recorded themselves practicing an étude in seven practice sessions, each approximately 20 min in length. Data were gathered via…

Recent curriculum policy changes in British Columbia (BC) require that educators in all subject areas--including music--embed local Indigenous knowledge, pedagogies, and worldviews in their classes. Yet facilitating such decolonizing cross-cultural music education activities requires knowledge that music educators may not currently possess. We use…

In this study, I examined the relationship between undergraduate music education and nonmusic education majors and their music self-perception, or how they perceived themselves as musicians. A secondary purpose of the research included investigating the relationship between music self-esteem, gender, concentration, year in school, and continued…

Music reading is a central part of most band programs, yet research about music reading has rarely included articulation markings. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of four experimental practice conditions to a control condition on woodwind players' performance of slur, accent, and staccato markings. A secondary purpose was to…

We asked school- and college-aged instrumentalists (N = 32) to imagine an ideal performance of a brief passage of music, record a performance of the passage, and describe discrepancies they noticed between their imagined and actual performances. The more experienced participants took at least as much time to imagine their idealized performances as…

The documentation of popular music curricula in K12 schools is used to suggest the secondary ensemble directors in schools can learn more about the role of popular music in the lives of students. Further, ensemble directors are encouraged to consider bridging music-making in school to young adulthood by way of providing encouragement and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of undergraduate music education majors regarding the skills needed to teach popular music classes, and their comfort level with those skills. Preservice music educators (N = 81) completed a researcher-designed questionnaire describing their previous experiences with popular music, their…

COVID-19 mitigations significantly altered college marching band operations during the fall 2020 football season. Modified band operations may have affected students' sense of community and togetherness. The purpose of this study was to investigate college marching band students' perceptions of community and other band experiences during the…

The purpose of this study was to examine invited orchestras and their selected repertoire at the Midwest Clinic from 1990 through 2019. A majority of invited orchestras (N = 261) were from the United States and primarily consisted of high school musicians. The most performed piece for full orchestra was "Symphony No. 8, op." 88 by Dvorák…

The purpose of this study was to examine inservice high school band directors' perceptions and applications of democratic rehearsal procedures in concert band rehearsals. Respondents (N = 216) were members of the National Association for Music Education who were currently teaching concert band at the high school level. Respondents indicated that…

I surveyed inservice instrumental music educators (N = 96) to determine their comfort level for teaching and performing on secondary band instruments. Research questions included the following: (1) How comfortable do inservice music educators feel teaching and performing on secondary instruments?; (2) Does grade level affect educators' comfort…