Research Studies in Music Education

This article describes the importance of mentor relationships in the training of musicians. Using in-depth interviews with professional musicians, the study describes the construction and meaning of mentorships in the training of musicians and shows mentorship to be meaningful for both the mentor and the protégé. It identifies key functions relating to both the psychosocial and career development of the protégé. Results highlight the need for music teachers and music administrators to be more aware of the developmental importance of the mentor relationships in their teaching.

The term modernization in the West has been typically used to describe all modern developments of industrialization and mechanization. Western modernization was originally advocated in the nineteenth century by a class of citizens called the bourgeoisie who attempted to become independent of the dominant political powers and the authoritarian state in Europe. In order to develop European social structure, several thinkers, including Descartes, Hegel and Marx, played important roles, by criticizing the human desire to propose a style of modern European ethics. The Japanese nineteenth century, however, differed fundamentally from the nineteenth century of the West. The concept of 'man' or 'meaning' in nineteenth century Europe was absent from Japan. In the last years of the nineteenth century, Japan originally imported certain Western practices using their basic adaptive capabilities with some urgency and speed for survival to offset American colonial ambitions. The introduction of Western music education in Japan was a policy that was cleverly engineered by the Meiji Restoration Government in order to westernize the Japanese nation. The music curriculum in Japan has been based on Western aesthetics and many teachers have blind faith in the 'power and glory' of Western music. However, both structuralist and post-structuralist theories show us that the European aesthetics does not have any autonomous power which can apply to all musical cultures around the world. Thus, the 'power and glory' of music should be re-examined, and any concepts which can possibly bring exteriority to open the closet are urgently needed. Since the official Japanese music curriculum called the 'Course of Study' (COS) is based on this Western notion of aesthetics, the COS itself should genealogically be re-examined. In order to clarify these issues, some ontological and epistemological analysis of modern music education, more particularly in Japan, will be provided.

This study investigated the effect of varying the extent of music teacher involvement and training with concert-related instructional materials on student achievement and interest in music following live symphonic experiences. Three hundred and ninety-two middle school students were randomly assigned to one of six music teachers for the purposes of receiving pre-concert instruction. These six music teachers were randomly assigned to one of three different levels of involvement and training relative to the development and use of pre-concert instructional materials. Steps were taken to minimize teacher differences confounding with teacher involvement and training.

There were no significant differences in music achievement or interest scores among middle school subjects based on the extent of their music teacher's involvement and training with pre-concert instructional materials. Based on this study, there are no benefits, specifically in terms of student achievement or interest, in music teachers having a high degree of involvement or training with concert-related instructional materials. Future researchers may wish to examine possible affective benefits when music teachers are involved in the design of and training with concert-related instructional materials.

This paper reports on a study with 349 instrumentalists between the ages of 9 and 18 who completed a self-report questionnaire immediately before undertaking an externally assessed music performance examination. The first purpose was to clarify the degree to which internal (e.g. effort, ability, nervousness) and external (e.g. task difficulty, luck) attributions were cited by students to explain their results on the performance examination. The second purpose was to investigate a range of self-regulatory and motivational influences which predict student results in the performance examination. Results show that an ability to perform proficiently relies not only on technical and expressive skill, but also on the employment of a range of motivational resources. It is suggested that how students think about themselves, the task and their performance is just as important as the time they devote to practising their instrument

What makes a successful choral rehearsal and performance? What are the essential skills and characteristics of the conductor / teacher? Such intriguing questions have been the subject of a number of research studies, but few have used description of the encounter to gain insight into the area. This article outlines research into effective choral conducting by exploring aspects of the choral phenomenon. Five contrasting musical encounters, from Finland, USA and UK, between the conductor/teacher and singers are described. The conductors' strategies and rehearsal styles are analysed and some conclusions and implications are drawn in order to develop ways in which such activity might be encouraged and enhanced within schools, churches and the wider community.

The planning of a course in popular music for pre-service music education trainees raises issues through which relationships between course content and course design can be analysed. Specifically, ways in which teaching approach, course delivery, and assessment tasks are responses to students' backgrounds and Australian music syllabus expectations for the teaching of popular music are discussed. Investigation of popular music practices and aesthetics from music education perspectives demonstrates how music teaching and learning strategies can be derived from the characteristics of music being studied.

Approaches to the teaching of culturally diverse music programs have become an increasing concern of international music educators in recent years. These concerns are reflected in the Australian state of New South Wales where teachers of all curriculum areas are responsible for educating all students about Aboriginal heritage and cultures. As a consequence of limited guidelines regarding the use of Aboriginal music in schools and perceived shortcomings of preservice training in providing models for the teaching of Aboriginal music programs, many teachers lack the confidence to engage in such programs. This article discusses the effect of a 1997 project conducted with pre-service education students at a university in Sydney. The project, involving fieldwork study of an Aboriginal performer in residence program at a Sydney school, is seen to have positively affected student attitudes to the teaching of Aboriginal music in educational settings. It is presented as an example of the way in which personal contact with culture-bearers can create new levels of cross-cultural understanding for music education students.