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Based on findings from a large meta-data-based literature survey, this article is intended to provide a comprehensive synthesis of key features of China’s music education system as seen through the lens of n = 116 major research studies, drawn from a total of N = 3,257 high-impact Chinese journal articles published during 2007 to 2019. The synthesis suggests that (1) education reform, aesthetic education, Chinese traditional music and cultural identity were found to be the most prominent topics across all levels of formal music education; and (2) in most studies, government financial support, policy priorities, curriculum enforcement and paedagogical innovation are proposed as general cures to address perceptions of an unsatisfactory situation within music education. However, (3) by relating these findings to national statistics, a clear gap is identified between several research studies and actual social contexts, suggesting a possible deviation of academic communities from realistic educational and social challenges. Thus, external validity issues related to these studies are also discussed critically, along with their potential influence on views of what counts as Chinese music education in domestic and international research communities.

‘The Sequence of Musical Development’ by Swanwick and Tillman was published in the British Journal of Music Education (BJME) in 1986. This year marks its 35thanniversary and provides an occasion to look back on the article’s content and legacy. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the antecedents for the article’s underlying concepts, as well as how our understanding of children and young people’s musical behaviours and development has evolved. Alternate and more nuanced perspectives, both available at the time and since, draw on an expanding, diverse, multidisciplinary research base. These enable us to have a better grasp of the strengths of the original, as well as what continues to need investigation.

This article reports findings from an ethnographic study investigating the culture of children’s musical games played in school playgrounds. The research took place in nine primary schools in Greece and lasted for 6 months. Data collection methods included open observation of children aged 6 to 11 years, focused small-group observation, semi-structured interviews of 53 children (aged 8–11 years), and video recordings of the children’s musical games. Analyses of the research data, in light of the relevant literature, revealed the physical and human geographies of musical games, gender preferences, transmission sources and processes, learning and teaching practices, improvisations and variations, and communication among participants. The article concludes with implications for music education research and practice.

The purpose of this study was to explore music teachers' perceptions of, and approaches to, creativity in Primary education. Even though teachers' perceptions on creativity have been investigated broadly and extensively, qualitative research on music teachers' beliefs nurturing the students' creativity in Primary education are less common. In the present paper, data were collected through in-depth interviews with 10 individuals in the Greek-Cypriot Primary Education. The results of this exploratory study indicated that activities should include the promotion of the students' self-action and autonomy, and the pedagogical initiatives that enable students to come up with original outputs in order to be creative. This understanding, in turn, provided the researchers with access to the teacher participants' perceptions of creativity: a multifaceted concept related to students' autonomy, initiative, and the application of imagination and unrestrained thinking to any musical activity. These findings offer some initial insights and are discussed with respect to their implications for policy and practice. Suggestions for future research are also made.

Music early learning programs (MELPs) that provide music services to parents and carers of children aged birth through 8 years are proliferating. Parents make significant financial and social investments in MELPs, yet little is known of their motivations and aspirations nor of the enduring outcomes of participation. This article reports the findings of an interview study with 10 parents, 1 grandparent, and 8 child former participants in a MELP program in regional Australia that investigated perceptions of MELP participation. Findings indicate that parents come from a range of musical backgrounds. Reasons and aspirations for MELP enrolment encompass developing both parents’ and children’s musical skills, providing social benefits for parent and child, exposure to musical experience, value-adding to their child’s education and expanding the family social circle. Enduring outcomes include developed music knowledge and skills, future investments, physical and emotional development, and new patterns of learning that are potentially transferable. Findings suggest that children arrive at formal schooling with a rich repertoire of music, a capacity to engage in embodied musical experience, and a set of expectations concerning their participation in music. Such knowledge holds implications for the ways in which music learning might be structured within the early childhood classroom.

The aim of the current research was to investigate the nature of feedback when a digital technology system was introduced in the higher education (HE) piano studio alongside three teacher and student pairs in Brazil. Data were collected by using video-recorded observations of lessons, participant interviews, and also data related to the use of a specific technology. A thematic analysis of the resultant data suggests that participants used verbal and non-verbal feedback in three areas of lesson focus: music (score), performance (e.g. dynamics, articulation), and technology (Musical Instrument Digital Interface [MIDI] parameters). The application of technology seems to allow the focus of the lesson to become clearer, making students more aware of their performances and their learning processes. Data suggest that the engagement with technology varied across the three observed cases. There seems to be a valuable use for technology-mediated feedback; this could, in turn, optimize more traditional pedagogical approaches in HE piano learning and teaching, and also enrich private practice.

The article reports research concerning the potential and actual benefits for young children in engaging in musical activities, whether in the home or outside, such as in community nursery settings...

The article discusses a lifelong perspective for growing music teacher identity, particularly related to the in-service development of music teachers. It presents a theoretical framework which is developed from literature reviews on teacher identity development and construction and from case studies of the transformative learning journeys of serving music teachers in Singapore. Seven themes – personal self, activist identity, music, teaching, students, social relations, and the ecology of the social world – are found to interact and contribute to the transformative learning of music teachers.

Research on technology-based learning and teaching has demonstrated evidence of its relevant role in music education. However, the application of technology to studio-based instrumental learning and teaching remains a relatively under-researched area. The article draws on findings from a recent exploratory study (HAMOND, 2017) which included fieldwork in Brazil. The aim of this study was to investigate the nature and potential pedagogical use of technology-mediated feedback in a higher education piano studio. Participants were one student-teacher dyad plus the researcher (the first author) with the dyad working on a memorised movement of a classical sonata of the student’s current repertoire. The technology system involved a digital piano connected to a laptop computer running Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software via Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) interface, and an additional computer screen. Three data sets were collected: videoed piano lessons (n = 2), semi-structured interviews with participants after each piano lesson (n = 4) and technology-generated MIDI data through the use of DAW software. Qualitative data analysis (QDA) involved a multi-methods approach. Research outcomes demonstrated how new digital technology can improve accessibility to aspects of advanced musical behaviour and learning that are often outside the individual’s conscious awareness. The use of new digital technology can also optimise traditional pedagogical approaches in one-to-one piano studios, since it is likely to make the lesson foci clearer and the learning process more efficient.

Peg tapping tasks are commonly used as a measure of inhibitory skill in young children. However, differences in the way the task is presented may influence children’s performance. For example, if a peg tapping task is presented at regular intervals, children can entrain to the presentation pulse, which may in turn support their performance. This study assessed how speed and regularity of presentation may support or impair children’s responses. An experimenter was filmed delivering the tapping task at two different speeds (120 bpm/3,000 ms per trial and 150 bpm/2,400 ms per trial). Additionally, they were filmed delivering the task at regular intervals (i.e., the onset of each trial was predictable), or at irregular intervals (the onset of each trial was unpredictable). N = 103 children aged between 5 and 6 years old were tested on the task. They completed one block with 20 regular interval trials and another block with 20 irregular interval trials. Block presentation order was randomized. Children who achieved over 90% accuracy on the task were then presented with two more blocks at 150 bpm. Children’s response accuracy was measured. Our results show a difference in children’s accuracy across all conditions with trials presented in an irregular manner producing poorer performance on the task. The study demonstrates how speed and regularity of presentation can affect children’s scores on a tapping task used to measure inhibition. Demands on working memory, motor ability, and speed of processing are all affected by adjustments in presentation. Entrainment to a pulse is also a potential mechanism employed by children to support their performance on this task.

Scholars have asserted for the need for music teachers to be engaged in music-making and have drawn links between performing and music teaching identities. Drawing on a questionnaire study ( n = 72), this article reports (a) the impact of music and non-music experiences on specialist music teachers and (b) the associations between experiences, perceived music (teaching) abilities, and their pride as music teachers. Through using a combination of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, the study found that besides performing abilities positively impacting on music teachers’ perceived teaching abilities and their pride as music teachers, music compositional experiences also significantly impact on music teachers’ perceived teaching abilities. In addition, teachers’ other experiences in the context of their work environment are also significantly associated with their perceived teaching abilities. The implications are that more attention needs to be given to positive music composition experiences and its relationship to music teaching. Moreover, the professional and personal growth of music teachers is constituted by both musical and non-musical development aspects and is impacted by their relationship with their students and their colleagues. Therefore, professional development of music teachers should look beyond their competency development to facilitating and supporting the growth of their music teacher identities.

This paper reports an evaluation of a pilot programme of workplace music mentoring for generalist classroom teachers in eleven early childhood education settings in Australia. Mentoring in the arts...

Most investigations of musical performance anxiety have employed quantitative methodologies. Whereas such methodologies can provide useful insights into the measurable aspects of the experience in a larger group of participants, the complexity, subtlety and individuality of the emotional experience and the importance of the individual's interpretation of it are often overlooked. This study employed a phenomenological approach to investigate the lived, subjective experience of performance anxiety, as described in professional musicians' narratives. Semi-structured interviews with four professional musicians (two males, two females) specializing in Western classical and jazz music genres were conducted and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The analysis revealed the presence of four overarching themes: (1) Intensity of performance anxiety experience, (2) perceived effects, (3) development of coping strategies, and (4) achieving release from anxiety. Findings suggest that the lived experience of performance anxiety is multifaceted, characterized by a physical and a psychological dimension. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis is a useful research tool that can facilitate our understanding of the subjective experience of performance anxiety (how it is felt and understood at an individual level) and can thus be useful in the development of tailor-made intervention programs for musicians.

This article reports on the impact of a generalist teacher-led music program on early childhood school children’s singing skills and attitudes to music. Singing tests and class surveys were administered to students in 11 Australian primary schools where music specialists mentored classroom teachers over the period of one to two school terms. The results show that implementing music activities in early education settings can positively impact young children’s singing skills and attitudes to music regardless of gender, ethnicity and socio-economic standing of the school. The study provides empirical evidence of the benefits accrued by children through access to music education.

There is a growing body of evidence that early engagement in active music-making impacts beneficially on children’s wider development. Recent research indicates that individual and shared music-making in family settings contributes to positive parenting practices and identity development in young children. Children who participate in shared music-making at age 3 are better prepared for school experiences at age 5. These findings suggest music should be a compulsory requirement in any early childhood programme. This article reports the findings of a case study investigation of the provision of music in an Australian Early Childhood Education Centre. Findings suggest that music provision is best supported when there is a high value for music amongst staff, there is a range of value-added as well as integrated uses of music, and there is sustained music professional development for all staff.

Este trabalho visa discutir a musicalidade humana sob um prisma cognitivo-evolucionista. Busca refletir acerca da complexidade da manifestação musical num panorama que articula os períodos transcorridos entre os tempos remotos da espécie Homo sapiens até a sua interação na era da Cultura Digital. As reflexões são fundamentadas em pesquisas que mostram um fazer musical ininterrupto, que inicia nos primórdios da humanidade e segue significativo até o presente momento, sofrendo, contudo, transformações que vêm sendo aceleradas pelas Novas Tecnologias Digitais (NTD). Esse cenário implica, também, mudanças na construção da performance musical, bem como nos conceitos de aprendizagem e autoaprendizagem de música. This paper discusses human musicality from a cognitive-evolutionist perspective. It reflects on the complexity of music manifestation in a panorama that articulates the periods between the remote times of the Homo sapiens species to their interaction in the era of Digital Culture. The reflections are based on research that shows uninterrupted music making that starts at the beginnings of humanity and continues significantly until the present moment, undergoing, however, transformations that are being accelerated by new digital technologies. This scenario also implies changes in the construction of musical performance, as well as in the concepts of learning and self-learning of music.

Previous research has suggested a link between musical training and auditory processing skills. Musicians have shown enhanced perception of auditory features critical to both music and speech, suggesting that this link extends beyond basic auditory processing. It remains unclear to what extent musicians who also have dyslexia show these specialized abilities, considering often-observed persistent deficits that coincide with reading impairments. The present study evaluated auditory sequencing and speech discrimination in 52 adults comprised of musicians with dyslexia, nonmusicians with dyslexia, and typical musicians. An auditory sequencing task measuring perceptual acuity for tone sequences of increasing length was administered. Furthermore, subjects were asked to discriminate synthesized syllable continua varying in acoustic components of speech necessary for intraphonemic discrimination, which included spectral (formant frequency) and temporal (voice onset time [VOT] and amplitude envelope) features. Results indicate that musicians with dyslexia did not significantly differ from typical musicians and performed better than nonmusicians with dyslexia for auditory sequencing as well as discrimination of spectral and VOT cues within syllable continua. However, typical musicians demonstrated superior performance relative to both groups with dyslexia for discrimination of syllables varying in amplitude information. These findings suggest a distinct profile of speech processing abilities in musicians with dyslexia, with specific weaknesses in discerning amplitude cues within speech. Because these difficulties seem to remain persistent in adults with dyslexia despite musical training, this study only partly supports the potential for musical training to enhance the auditory processing skills known to be crucial for literacy in individuals with dyslexia. (PsycINFO Database Record

The question of how and what boys should sing during adolescent voice change has challenged educators and choir leaders for the last century. As the larynx enlarges during adolescence, most boys will follow the descending pitch of their speaking voice and move to singing vocal parts with a lower pitch range. Occasionally a boy may continue to sing in his treble (soprano) range while his larynx is growing and his speaking pitch is lowering. There is much opinion on the wisdom of such practices, but until now there has been no quantifiable evidence to illustrate the discussion. The established historic and cultural practices can now be reassessed in the light of quantitative analyses of vocal function. This longitudinal case study used electroglottographic measures from one boy over a 3-year period to investigate the efficiency of vocal fold adductory behavior in both prechange and midchange singing. In the first recording, he is aged 10 years old and has an unchanged voice. In the second recording, he is aged 13 years old and has a speaking voice in the Cooksey Stage III of voice change. Up to and including the time of the second recording, he had chosen to remain singing exclusively in his treble (soprano) range. The comparison between the two recordings of the observed regularity and efficiency of vocal fold adduction suggests that singing in this pitch range has become less healthy and effective; this is also represented in the overall perceived vocal comfort levels heard in the recordings. The implications for educators are that the longitudinal development of singing habits will be enhanced for boys who move to singing with their new baritone range as their larynx grows, rather than remaining in a treble range.

This paper reports the findings of a study that aimed to identify the music beliefs and values of educators in early childhood education and care settings in Australia. The aims of the study were 2-fold: to adapt and pilot a survey of music beliefs and values which might be implemented subsequently nationally in childcare settings; and, secondly, to identify the music beliefs and values held by early childhood and care educators concerning music in children's learning. The research questions that guided this component of the study were: What is the profile of early childhood and care educators? What beliefs and values for music engagement are held by early childhood and care educators? What shapes early childhood and care educators' music beliefs and values? Findings indicated that educators' beliefs and values on all items are above the mid-point indicating overall positive attitudes toward music despite the majority having no formal qualifications in music or a history of instrumental performance and/or singing. Given the overall positive attitudes toward music we suggest there is enormous potential within this population for further professional learning and development targeted at music and its potential wider benefits in young children's learning and lives.

Este artigo discute o modo como a Cultura Digital afeta a atuação docente na área da Educação Musical, problematizando o uso de recursos tecnológicos e seus desafios na prática pedagógica. A partir da reflexão sobre os conceitos de Musicalidade e Cultura Digital, o trabalho analisa um recorte sobre as transformações dos processos de aprendizagem e autoaprendizagem das práticas musicais subsidiadas pelas Novas Tecnologias Digitais (NTD) no contexto da Educação Musical. A metodologia foi constituída de revisão de literatura, questionário on-line e entrevista semiestruturada com músicos profissionais experientes, cujos dados coletados foram analisados na perspectiva quali-quantitativa. Os resultados demonstram que a Cultura Digital permeia as práticas pedagógicas do planejamento e pesquisa de materiais à implementação de recursos de aprendizagem e autoaprendizagem. A pesquisa aponta desafios da docência no campo da Educação Musical, considerando o descompasso constatado entre a fluência na Cultura Digital dos estudantes e as limitações materiais de infraestrutura, de conectividade e de formação inicial e continuada de professores. Defende que a Educação Musical se beneficia com o emprego das novas tecnologias digitais, porém exige uma mudança paradigmática ao entender o estudante como um ser integral e protagonista do processo educativo-musical, cuja bagagem tecnológica pode ser crucial no processo educativo. This article discusses how Digital Culture affects teachers’ work in the field of Music Education, debating the use of technological resources and their challenges in pedagogical practice. Reflecting upon the concepts of Musicality and Digital Culture, the work analyzes a focus on the change in processes of learning and self-learning of music practices assisted by New Digital Technologies (NDT) in the context of Musical Education. The methodology consisted of literature review, on-line questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews with experienced professional musicians, and data were analyzed under the qualitativequantitative perspective. The results demonstrate that the Digital Culture pervades pedagogical practices from planning and research of materials to implementation of learning and self-learning resources. The research points out challenges to teaching in the field of Music Education, considering the gap between students’ fluency in the Digital Culture and the material limitations of infrastructure, connectivity, and initial and continuing teacher training. It is argued that Music Education benefits from new digital technologies but requires a paradigmatic change to understand students as whole beings and subjects of the musical-educational process, whose technological experience may be crucial in the educational process. Este artículo discute el modo como la Cultura Digital afecta la actuación docente en el área de la Educación Musical, problematizando el uso de recursos tecnológicos y sus desafíos en la práctica pedagógica. A partir de la reflexión sobre los conceptos de Musicalidad y Cultura Digital, el artículo analiza un recorte sobre las transformaciones de los procesos de aprendizaje y autoaprendizaje de las prácticas musicales subsidiadas por las Nuevas Tecnologías Digitales (NTD) en el contexto de la Educación Musical. La metodología fue constituida de revisión de literatura, cuestionario en línea y entrevista semiestructurada con músicos profesionales experimentados, cuyos datos recolectados fueron analizados en la perspectiva cualitativa y cuantitativa. Los resultados demuestran que la Cultura Digitalpermea las prácticas pedagógicas de la planificación e investigación de materiales a la implementación de recursos de aprendizaje y autoaprendizaje. La investigación apunta desafíos de la docencia en el campo de la Educación Musical, considerando el descompaso constatado entre la fluidez en la Cultura Digital de los estudiantes y las limitaciones materiales de infraestructura, de conectividad y de formación inicial y continuada de profesores. Defiende que la Educación Musical se beneficia con el empleo de las nuevas tecnologías digitales, pero exige un cambio paradigmático al entender al estudiante como un ser integral y protagonista del proceso educativo-musical, cuyo equipaje tecnológico puede ser crucial en el proceso educativo.

This article describes the design and implementation of a survey instrument specifically developed for 6–17-year-old Australian choral singers to access and measure participants’ perceptions of their self-esteem, self-efficacy, musical identity and social engagement as outcomes of participation in a high-quality choral ensemble. After reviewing existing music surveys and identifying their strengths, complementarities, differences and potential weaknesses, we adapted established surveys from psychology and social science literature to the choral music setting. An initial draft survey was trialled with higher education choristers and refined prior to implementation in six young choirs that were noted for their high-quality performance. Data from 202 surveys were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and this resulted in a four-factor model. The validated survey was implemented twice over a six-month period with 61 choristers drawn from three choirs. Results showed that social and psychological benefits of choir participation were evidenced, maintained and even improved over time. Findings support the suitability and psychometric soundness of this new survey instrument, and demonstrate the usefulness of adapting psychological/social survey instruments to music research.

Recent literature suggests that traditional approaches in folk music education are not necessarily compatible with the pedagogical conventions of formal music education. Whilst several recent studies have tended to define these non-classical-music learning contexts as ‘informal’, the practice of folk music that was recently introduced into Chinese Higher Music Education appears to be much more complex and fluid, at least in its real world setting. This case study presents a detailed example of the teaching and learning of folk singing in contemporary society in Western China. In this particular context, both ‘informal learning’ and ‘formal’ music practices were observed and compared, based on research data collected from four music lessons and subsequent interviews with the participants. Drawing upon the analytical evidence, the research discusses a possible pedagogical model where two apparently contrasting approaches to learning (i.e. a conservatory model vs. traditional folk learning) could coalesce to ensure more effective learning outcomes of traditional folk music in higher education contexts.

Human vocalization contains key essences of our musical development and fosters our earliest abilities to communicate musically. Speech melodies are the first linguistic elements experienced and mastered, and are indistinguishable from the melodic precursors of singing as essential elements in intra- and inter-personal musical communication. Singing as communication originates in vocal pitch contours whose musical intervals are exploited by caregivers in infant-directed speech to foster language development. Similar, but more explicit, features are evidenced in caregivers’ infant-directed singing, such as in lullabies and play songs. These basic musical elements of communication can be perceived in utero and underpin the infant’s subsequent vocalizations and musical behaviors. Additionally, the underlying integration of emotion with perception and cognition generates a network of linked vocal and emotional behaviors that are central to human communication. The chapter will examine the growing evidence for musical communication as integral to human vocalization and emotional expression.

Modern personal computers are fast enough to analyze singing and provide real-time visual feedback of relevant acoustic elements. This feedback provides a quantitative dimension to the learning process in support of developing appropriate sung outputs. However, no computer-based system can replace the singing teacher, as the qualitative listening of an experienced musician cannot be replicated by a computer algorithm. The application of real-time visual displays can facilitate greater efficiency in learning fundamental skills through direct feedback in lessons and during private practice, leaving the teacher more time to work on qualitative aspects of performance that a computer cannot contribute to, such as stagecraft, interpretation, understanding the words, collaborating with an accompanist, and when to use different voice qualities. This chapter describes typical displays that are used in real-time visual feedback systems for singing training and considers how spectrography in particular can be used in pedagogical practice in the voice studio.

The relationship between music and mathematics has often been the subject of discussion, both inside and outside the field of education. As part of an exciting project on a European scale, the paper explores the changing contexts in Catalonia (Spain) and England (UK) in relation to the integrated approach to the teaching of music and mathematics. We analyse three areas: academic literature, the curriculum frameworks and publications and resources prepared by and for teachers. Our findings suggest that due to the more favourable attitude towards cross-curricular approaches in education, more progress has been made in England, in terms of developing resources to support an integrated approach to the teaching of music and mathematics, than in Catalonia. Nonetheless, teachers in both locations are very interested in developing these approaches. Although there is a need for further teacher training and support, there is evidence of progress already being made in schools. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion