Tan, Leonard Yuh Chaur

In this paper, we systematically reviewed the research literature dealing with expectancy-value motivation theory within music contexts. Employing the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) approach, a total of 1,120 records were retrieved and examined, with 110 eventually included in the analyses. Frequencies/percentages were generated for research output in 5-year time periods, type of publication, sampling locations, and methodologies. Summaries of all 110 records were provided; content analyses on topics covered were also conducted. Findings indicated a clear increase in research interest over the past 15 years with quantitative methodologies being twice as prevalent as qualitative approaches. While the vast majority (97.7%) of quantitative research employed self-report questionnaires, the most common form of qualitative data collection was interviews (59.1%). Salient topics covered included students' expectancy-value beliefs across music and other school subjects, continued music participation, intentions to pursue a career in music, and parental influences.

In 1990, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi warned against an excessive emphasis on how well music learners perform rather than on the experiential aspect of music in and of itself. Whereas the former approach is, in his words, “a source of psychic disorder,” the latter approach offers access to “flow”: the optimal, enjoyable, meaningful, and happy state. What might an approach to music education that aims to optimize optimal experiences (i.e., flow) look like? This article presents concrete strategies to facilitate flow experiences in music classrooms and rehearsal halls by drawing on flow theory, research findings, and the authors’ own professional and applied experiences. The authors clarify the nature of the flow experience, sketch the benefits of flow, and propose ten strategies to facilitate flow for music educators.

The purpose of the study was to investigate how university band students’ (non-music majors) motivational goal orientations towards band and academics differ across participants from Singapore (n = 200) and the US (n = 227), and examine how they relate to a suite of adaptive dispositions (i.e., flow, grit, and commitment) relevant for twenty-first century learning. Data were gathered via a self-report questionnaire that measured achievement goal orientations towards academic major, individual and collective goal orientations towards band, flow during rehearsals, grit while practicing, and commitment to band. An unexpected lack of cross-cultural differences was found, with participants from both cultural groups reporting higher levels of motivation towards their major academic field compared to band, indicating that achievement domain rather than culture accounted for differences in motivational goal orientations. Results also suggest that the optimal motivational profile to cultivate in large ensemble is a combination of individual mastery-approach and collective performance-approach goals.

Practice, skill and competition are important aspects of participating in school bands and orchestras. However, writers have questioned their value. In this philosophical paper, I mine the writings of the American pragmatists–in particular, their theories of habit and experience–to construct a theory of action for instrumental music education, that is, a proposed framework of active musical doing in large instrumental ensembles. It comprises two facets: effortful practice and effortless performance, and serves as lenses to address issues with respect to practice, skill and competition in instrumental music. Central to this paper is the thesis that the active doing of music in bands and orchestras enables students to encounter the aesthetic peak experience.

This paper reports a qualitative study that investigates how five different video-based online prototypes impacted in-service music teachers’ professional knowledge and their learning experiences. Through an examination of participants’ posts and interviews, the findings showed that video-based professional development (PD) could impact teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge as they afforded reflections that could change participants’ thinking and provided a vicarious experience for music teaching. Situated in a forum, the video-based PD sessions allowed for co-construction of knowledge amongst participants. The findings also revealed challenges in participants’ active and sustained participation. The findings are discussed with extant research on effective PD and video-based PD, and take cognisance of heutagogy. We discuss considerations for online video-based PD in terms of PD content design in presenting and exploiting the video material, how we could include the diverse and flexible ways of participation, and the role of the facilitator in providing a safe environment and encouraging multiple perspectives.

The purpose of this study was to examine the development of 21st Century Competencies (21CC) through the secondary school band program. The researcher used ethnographic research methods to document the lived musical experiences of students from a high performing secondary school band in Singapore, captured the voices of the participants through extensive focus group discussions and informal interviews, coded and analyzed the data using the Singapore Ministry of Education’s (MOE) 21CC framework. Findings provide empirical support for MOE’s (2010, 2014) initiatives to developing 21CC through music and the arts. Three interrelated themes–performance, peers and patience–emerged as specific enablers of the school band to nurture 21CC. These enablers, however, may paradoxically be impediments for the development of 21CC; an awareness of how these enablers may sometimes be hindrances is necessary to optimize 21st Century learning through the arts.

Half a century ago, calls had already been made for instrumental ensemble directors to move beyond performance to include the teaching of musical concepts in the rehearsal hall. Relatively recent research, however, suggests that conceptual teaching remains relatively infrequent during rehearsals. Given the importance of teaching for long-term musical goals, revisiting this critical topic, backed by research and learning theories, is important and timely. Enriched by insights from my own teaching experience, the goal of this paper is to clarify the nature of conceptual teaching and encourage conceptual teaching in large instrumental ensembles by addressing the following questions: What is conceptual teaching? Why teach conceptually? How may musical concepts be taught through the rehearsal hall? I conclude this article with some thoughts toward the future.