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In 1993 the Victorian Music Teachers' Association (VMTA) published a fund-raising cookbook, Prestissimo Food for Agitato Musicians. Community cookbooks provide social historians with valuable windows into the lives and personalities of the contributors. The VMTA cookbook is no exception, bringing individuals into sharp relief and including asides that delineate the life of a studio music teacher. This narrative historical research relies on primary and secondary sources that are analysed and interpreted to explore this more informal insight into past lives. The data reveal busy lives negotiating teaching schedules and competing demands, with humour and practicality. The glimpses into the lives of past studio teachers resonate with current practices in this somewhat conservative profession. In this research, we also recognise the contributions of past colleagues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many students learn to play the piano but some lack the motivation to continue learning. Many students learn for extrinsic reasons. This research will explore understandings about student motivation held by expert piano teachers who have developed strategies to improve their students' intrinsic motivation to begin and continue learning. This small scale phenomenological case study examined three expert and experienced piano teachers' understandings of student engagement and motivation. The analysis generated a number of themes in relation to students' motivation in piano learning. The findings of this current study could offer a range of ideas and reflections to assist instrumental teachers build their students' intrinsic motivation in learning and foster lifelong music making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a primary school student in the 1960s I learnt the recorder. This paper explores how the recorder became a staple of Australian primary school music programs. At that time recorders were comparatively recently revived Renaissance musical instruments that were adopted by music educators as a way for children and their teachers to engage in instrumental music making in classes. The inclusion of recorders in school music lessons was not always as successful as hoped but a lucky few had recorder teachers who were expert musicians like my teacher. This personal history explores the arrival and presence of the recorder in school music in South Australia. Data were gathered from primary and secondary documentary sources, personal recall and an interview with my recorder teacher, Cecily Wood. This research considers a commonplace occurrence in the lives of many Australian children and by focusing on a taken-for-granted practice in school music, adds to the historical record and to our understanding of what we do and why we do it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musicians and musical genres circulate around the world within the exponentially increasing influence of globalization. This research explores the understandings of six Greek musicians and their engagement with jazz. These musicians have complex cultural and musical identities formed by migration and nationalism that are enacted in different musical genres. The participants either play or appreciate jazz. They also play Greek traditional musical styles and a range of Western musical styles, ranging from 'classical' to rock, blues and pop. The participants are also music educators who work with students in a range of styles. Musical identity is acquired through interaction with others in their cultural group. For these musicians jazz appears to be problematic in their cultural and musical situation. It seems to be less acceptable than other music. Their insights into the tensions that surround their music making can inform others with curricular and cultural impositions on musical engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's understanding of school music classes is demonstrated by their participation in music activities, such as singing, dancing, instrument playing, composing and improvising within groups or individually. Children can be asked to speak or write about their music making, but for younger children it may be easier to reveal their thoughts through drawings. Increasingly music education researchers are analyzing drawings of music engagement by children. Three classes of Year 4 students (aged 9-10 years) at a suburban state primary school in Melbourne, Australia were asked to write a sentence that began with "Music is..." and to produce a drawing entitled "Music and Me" in an empty frame. Year 4 students were selected because they had already experienced classroom music for four years and were involved in the music activities associated with the school's music program, including the violin group, recorder group, and the Years 3-4 choir. The drawings were analyzed in different ways and offer a revealing insight into students' experience in their music learning environment and their perceptions of music that can inform educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a study of a bilingual and bicultural Pontian Greek Australian dancer. His musicking involves performing and teaching dancing. Dancing has been and continues to be a major part of the self-identity of the participant. This phenomenological single case study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyse the data collected by interview. The findings are presented thematically and address the formation of identity and its enactment via performing and teaching. Many people carry multiple identities and an understanding of one may inform the provision of opportunities for learning and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a universality to the sight of groups of children celebrating public events. These groups might be large or small but teachers and students put much time and effort into preparing performances for appreciative audiences. These events occur across cultures and countries, are commonplace and expected but also highly memorable to participants and spectators. Sometimes such events gain greater historical significance due to time, place and context. One such example occurred in the years preceding World War 2 in the small but staunchly patriotic State of South Australia. In 1936 13,000 school children gathered in Adelaide to perform a Pageant of Empire as part of the State centenary celebrations. Despite there being rumblings across the globe about the viability of the British Empire or its successor, the Commonwealth, Adelaide was overwhelmed by the spectacle. Miss Inspector Adelaide Meithke brought the production to fruition. The pageant presented choreographed musical displays representing England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The Empire was represented by Indian rajahs, dancing girls, guards, and an elephant, followed by Canadian scenes, then Australian iconic images. The event concluded with the 'Family of Nations'. This article includes participant recollections and is framed by contemporary discussions of the place and role of the Empire. This South Australian celebration can be understood as a looking back to what had been, using visual icons, music, dance and a cast of thousands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally countries are faced with an aging population and Australia is no different. This creates challenges for the maintenance of well-being which can be enhanced by active engagement in society. There is extensive research that confirms that engagement in music by older people is positively related to individual and community well-being. Music engagement encompasses a range of social participation and has the potential to recognise the contribution of older people to their local communities. Music participation can contribute to a better quality of life, particularly in relation to health and happiness. There are many possible forms of music engagement. This study is part of an on-going Deakin University and Monash University research project, Well-being and ageing: community, diversity and the arts in Victoria. This article focuses on three members of a mixed voluntary singing group formed by older residents of an outer suburban community in Melbourne, Australia. This group, The Skylarkers, were established in 1999 as a four-part choir. Over the years the nature of the choir has changed under subsequent music directors. Since 2009 the group has focused on music theatre repertoire and performance style. Membership of the group is fluid reflecting changing life circumstances of the members but the ensemble is resilient. This small amateur music theatre group is based in suburban Melbourne, rehearses weekly and performs regularly at retirement villages, nursing homes and facilities for senior citizens. This article presents a phenomenological qualitative single case study of members of the Skylarkers. In this study, interview data were gathered in 2011-2012 and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Two significant themes emerged that concern musical self-identity and gaining a sense of purpose and fulfilment. The Skylarkers are more than a choir; they are an amateur entertainment troupe that engages with each other and the wider community. This resilient group holds true to the motto 'the show must go on'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of the influential Orff Schulwerk approach to music education in Australia is generally reported as occurring in the late 1960s. However, this was not the earliest encounters with the pedagogy in Australia. Patricia L. Holmes included Orff materials in teacher inservices in the late 1950s, before she travelled overseas to work with Doreen Hall, Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman. Historical research is lacking in many aspects of music education in Australia and this article attempts to chronicle early efforts and add to our understanding of what has been done in the past and shapes our present practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this time of national curriculum re-thinking, tertiary institutions are positioned to create opportunities amongst pre-service teachers for the cultivation of knowledge, skills and understandings concerning cultural diversity in music education. The demographic profile of the State of Victoria is the most culturally diverse in Australia and the curriculum framework for schools, Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS), mandates multiculturalism as an integral part of the education. The Arts domain offers a range of suggestions as to how school students might develop an awareness of aesthetic and critical aspects of arts works from varied cultural, social, and historical contexts. In preparing pre-service teachers to embrace these ideas and understandings, tertiary educators continue to face a mismatch between curricular expectations and the realities of the school music classroom. In 2005 we began a research project that sought to explore fourth year pre-service music education students' understandings about curriculum constraints and classroom practices in music education. This article focuses on the data collected in 2008 and 2009 from students from Deakin and Monash Universities. The semi-structured interviews were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The findings revealed a disjuncture between VELS and what our students found during their school placements. This study reports on two themes: perceptions of multiculturalism and the teaching and learning of multicultural music in schools. As tertiary music educators, we endeavor to encourage our student teachers to examine their own experiences and understandings in multicultural music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extra-curricular instrumental learning is an integral component of Australian music education. The Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) offers a detailed syllabus of graded examinations for orchestral instruments. The focus of the research was to explore the effects of undertaking AMEB examinations on 'cello students and to understand how they perceive their development as instrumentalists. This phenomenological case study research collected data from journals and interviews undertaken with three participants. Data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. From this data several themes emerge, which are reasons to choose the 'cello, reasons to do AMEB examinations, and the advantages and disadvantages of AMEB Examinations and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance anxiety (PA) is an exaggerated and sometimes incapacitating fear of public performance that may impair performance skills. Some degree of performance tension may be necessary to reach peak performance but excessive stress can be debilitating. In extreme cases, such debilitating anxiety can discourage performers from further study in music. In this research, performance anxiety is explored through a single in-depth case study. The data gathered from a semi-structured interview was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The subject is a cellist who has long suffered from performance anxiety. As part of the discussion, the issue of perception of audience appeared to be particularly significant. PA can be identified as a form of evaluation anxiety. Transition from secondary to tertiary music study can be a significant catalyst in the onset of PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to a special edition of the journal is presented which discusses various papers published within the issue, including one on the history of Iranian music pedagogy, one on the progress of music education in New South Wales, and another on the inclusion of patriotic songs in Australian school music textbooks during the second half of the 20th century.