USF University of South Florida College of The Arts School of Music
 
  Center for Music Education Research
 
 
 
 
Music Education Research International MERI

Editorial & Table of Contents - Volume 2 (2008)

Editorial:

I am pleased to serve as the Editor for the first two volumes of this refereed online research journal, working with the Executive Board members of the Center for Music Education Research (Lynne Gackle, Jack Heller, William Lee, Janet L. S. Moore, Carlos Xavier Rodriguez, and David A. Williams). Appreciation is due to the International Review Board, in which members donate their valuable time and expertise to make this a high quality journal. I also would like to acknowledge the technology systems staff of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, University of South Florida, where this journal resides, making this journal capable of incorporating media-rich elements.

I would like to express our great sadness for the lost of Janet Mills (Research Fellow at the Royal College of Music, London, United Kingdom) in December 2007. Not only because she was a member of the International Review Board for this journal, she had been an esteemed scholar and practitioner in the field of music education. Her continued contributions to music education and to this journal will forever be missed.

This annual volume includes five outstanding pieces of research. I would like to thank the authors who work persistently on their papers to bring readers their best quality work. Eros’ article furthers our understanding of pedagogy in an Indonesian musical tradition—the Balinese gamelan. Killian and Buckner’s study shows us some factors that contribute to starting-pitch preference when singing familiar songs. Leung explores student’s motivation as outcomes of various composition instructions in Hong Kong. Wong and Davidson’s study informs us of the importance of reflection-in-action in the relationship between a music teacher trainer and a teacher mentor, also in Hong Kong. Smith’s case studies provide insights in how auditory, visual, and kinesthetic processing styles affect the musicality of children’s composition.

As shown in the diversity of articles, we aim to disseminate recent research that contributes to global views of music education, which contains two different meanings. First, a global view pertains to various peoples, musics, or activities in music education worldwide. It cuts across geographic, cultural, political, and international boundaries. Second, a global view is a comprehensive view in music education. It refers to a broad definition of music education, in all settings (e.g., community, home, school, individual, group), at all age levels from prenatal through the entire lifespan, and with regard to all aspects of music. I sincerely hope that you will find this and future volumes of the journal invigorating.

C. Victor Fung
Editor, Music Education Research International

Table of Contents:

John Eros
The hammer is the teacher: Taking world music instruction to a higher level as experienced through Balinese gamelan (pp. 1-10)

Janice N. Killian & Jeremy J. Buckner
Comparison of starting pitch preferences among fourth graders, undergraduate music majors and elementary education majors (pp. 11-20)

Bo Wah Leung
The effects of composition assignments and teacher presentation on student motivation in secondary schools (pp. 21-34)

Janice P. Smith
Brief descriptions of process styles: How twelve children went about composing (pp. 35-50)

Paulina W. Y. Wong & Jane W. Davidson
The peer support attachment scheme for school choral teacher trainer and mentor (pp. 51-65)