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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 questionnaire, practice diaries, behavioral observations, an automated offline score-following program (which documented the measures played during practicing), and stimulated recall interviews in which participants commented on their own practice recordings. Several compelling changes in self-regulation sub-processes pertaining to forethought (goals, plans) and performance (strategies used, material addressed, time spent) self-regulation sub-processes across practice sessions were found. In addition, distinct differences in self-regulated learning tendencies were observed between participants. These results suggested that the participants struggled to implement a self-regulated learning approach, despite being advanced musicians and having much knowledge of practice methods. Suggestions for making practice instruction more explicit are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to explore a microanalysis technique for measuring instrumentalists' self-regulation tendencies during music practice. A secondary purpose was to investigate whether an intervention informed by the features of the microanalysis technique would increase the students' self-regulated learning tendencies. Three undergraduate instrumental music education majors volunteered to participate in this study. This study was designed as a multiple-baselines experiment spanning 15 consecutive days. Data sources included (a) entrance interviews; (b) daily practice efficacy ratings; (c) data gathered from pre- and posttest microanalysis sessions; (d) detailed behavioral analyses of video-recorded, pre- and posttest practice sessions; and (e) a focus group exit interview. The microanalytic intervention designed for this study involved a coaching session in which a member of the research team explicitly drew attention to the affective, behavioral, and metacognitive qualities related to effective practicing during a student's practice session. The pretest microanalysis data revealed distinct learning profiles for each student that were corroborated with information from the other data sources. The intervention had modest effects that varied across participants, suggesting that it was useful for bringing to light and addressing individuals' specific self-regulatory deficiencies in a manner respective to their needs.

The purpose of the study was to investigate how university band students' (non--music majors) motivational goal orientations toward band and academics differ across participants from Singapore (n = 200) and the United States (n = 227) and examine how they relate to a suite of adaptive dispositions (i.e., flow, grit, and commitment) relevant for 21st-century learning. Data were gathered via a self-report questionnaire that measured achievement goal orientations toward academic major, individual and collective goal orientations toward 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 toward 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.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether students' practice efficiency, flow during practicing, and self-efficacy for self-regulation varied as a function of their practice tendencies, their tendencies toward self-evaluation, their self-regulatory tendencies to be self-reflective when practicing, tendencies to exhibit grit in their learning, and their teachers' methods of instruction in practicing. Participants were 52 studio lesson teachers and 241 of their students from 25 large collegiate music programs in the United States. Both the teachers and students represented a diverse range of instruments: flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone, French horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, and tuba. The data for this study were self-reports collected via online questionnaires. Findings indicated that of the five predictor variables examined, only two--students' tendencies to exhibit grit in their learning and their tendencies to be reflective about their practicing--were consistently related to the three outcome variables. Furthermore, all outcome variables were significantly related to one another.

The purpose of this study was to examine undergraduate music education and performance alumni's career path, retrospective institutional satisfaction, and financial status. Data for this study were drawn from respondents from the 2010 administration of the nationwide, multi-institutional survey conducted by the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP). Regarding career path, nearly half of the music performance degree graduates reported performing as their current job, and slightly more than half of the music education degree graduates reported working in K-12 schools. Participants were generally satisfied with their institutional experiences, although relatively low levels of satisfaction were reported for networking and career advising services. The respondents reported being most satisfied with aspects of their current jobs that reflected the intrinsic benefits of contributing to a greater good, satisfying personal interests and values, and opportunities to be creative. The majority of the sample reported accruing student loan debt ranging between $10,000 and $30,000; however, no significant differences were found between groups, and 40 percent of the participants reported having accrued no debt at all. The reported annual income of the participants varied significantly, with music educators reporting higher earnings than performers.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of preservice music teachers' concerns using Fuller and Bown's model. Participants were 8 instrumental teachers who participated in the previous Berg and Miksza (2010) study. Data sources included goals essays, journals, a midterm growth plan, and teaching observation reports with accompanying lesson plans that were collected over a 1.5-year period. The participants expressed less concern for self-survival and more concern for making an impact on students as time progressed from their junior-level practicum experience to the end of student teaching. Concerns regarding basic competencies and professionalism ultimately gave way to specific contextual aspects of the participants' teaching placements and more nuanced instructional issues. Results indicated that the focus of the participants' concerns also was greatly affected by their teaching context. Implications for music teacher preparation as well as extensions of Fuller and Bown's model are discussed. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between observed practice behaviors consistent with conceptions of deliberate practice (Lehmann & Ericsson, 1997) and the performance achievement of collegiate wind players (N = 55). The secondary purpose of this study was to explore relationships among observed practice behaviors, performance achievement, and individual differences in impulsivity and achievement goal motivation. Participants completed: (1) a 23-minute practice session; (2) pre- and post-test measures of performance achievement; (3) a researcher-adaptation of the Elliot and McGregor (2001) 2 x 2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire; (4) the Eysenck Impulsiveness Questionnaire for Adults (Eysenck, Pearson, Easting, & Allsop, 1985); (5) the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (1985); and (6) a researcher-constructed practice habit questionnaire. Reliability results for all measures and observations were acceptable. Results indicated: (1) significant positive correlations between performance achievement and the observed behaviors "repeat two to four measure chunk," "whole-part-whole," "slowing," "chaining," and "use of metronome;" (2) significant negative correlations between performance achievement and the behaviors "varying pitch" and "singing, whistling, buzzing;" (3) a significant increase in performance achievement from pre- to post-test with less impulsive participants having higher scores at both points in time; and (4) several significant correlations between impulsiveness and achievement goal motivation sub-scales and observed practice behaviors. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

This study is an investigation of relationships among impulsiveness, locus of control, sex, observed practice behaviors, practice effectiveness, and self-reported practice habits in a sample of 40 college brass players. Practice effectiveness was defined by the amount of change in pretest and posttest performance achievement scores over one 23-minute practice session. Each subject's practice session was analyzed for frequency of practice behaviors. Measures included the Eysenck Impulsiveness Questionnaire for Adults (1985), the Nowicki-Duke Locus of Control Scale for Adults (1974), and a researcher-designed practice questionnaire. Results indicated (a) a significant interaction effect (p less than 0.01) between performance achievement and impulsiveness, with subjects in the low-impulsive group outperforming those in the high-impulsive group; (b) a significant relationship (p less than 0.01) between subjects' locus of control and impulsiveness scores; (c) no significant differences (p greater than 0.05) in impulsiveness, locus of control, or performance achievement by sex; (d) significant relationships (p less than 0.05) between performance achievement and the observed practice behaviors "repeat section," "whole-part-whole," "marks part," and "varying pitch"; and (e) no significant relations (p greater than 0.05) between amount of time spent playing during the practice session in the study and performance achievement. (Contains 1 figure and 4 tables.)

The purpose of the study was to investigate how university band students’ (non–music majors) motivational goal orientations toward band and academics differ across participants from Singapore (n = 200) and the United States (n = 227) and examine how they relate to a suite of adaptive dispositions (i.e., flow, grit, and commitment) relevant for 21st-century learning. Data were gathered via a self-report questionnaire that measured achievement goal orientations toward academic major, individual and collective goal orientations toward 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 toward 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]