This paper, presented upon receiving the Outstanding Long-Term Achievement in String Research Award at the 2025 American String Teachers Association (ASTA) National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, explores how faculty at non-doctoral institutions overcame challenges related to limited time and institutional support in developing a body of research worthy of national recognition. Through reflections on the author’s personal journey in music and research, the paper suggests that embracing uncharted research topics and innovative research methods, while maintaining rigorous scientific inquiry, led to new discoveries and creative rejuvenation. Ultimately, the author highlights the importance of inspiring the next generation of musicians and scholars to explore their own unique research paths, thereby contributing to the development of string research as a distinct field within music education.

Understanding the potential relationships between musicians’ different primary personality traits, ages, and their music preferences could be relevant in music teaching and learning. We surveyed participants ( N = 362) from four groups: middle school orchestra students, high school orchestra students, collegiate orchestra students, and in-service music teachers and examined if: (a) there was a relationship between musical preferences of the four age groups, (b) there was a relationship between musicians’ primary personality traits and their preferences of string orchestra repertoire, and (c) there was a relationship between musician’s ages and their primary personality traits. Evidence supported that middle and high school orchestra students prefer music in the Arousal music attribute dimension significantly more than collegiate orchestra students and in-service orchestra teachers. Participants with Extraversion as their primary personality trait preferred repertoire in the Arousal music attribute dimension significantly more than music in the Valence dimension. In addition, Extraversion was the most common primary personality trait for middle school orchestra and collegiate orchestra students, while Conscientiousness was most common for in-service orchestra teachers.

This study was designed to explore nonstring specialists’ comfort teaching students in string ensembles. Comfort was defined as an individual’s ease when teaching the subject matter. Data were gathered, using a 7-point Likert-type scale related to 15 string topics administered through a researcher-developed study. Participants ( N = 180), who were identified through the National Association for Music Education membership list, were contacted via email. Responses were analyzed using descriptive and parametric statistics. Results revealed that band specialists felt significantly more comfortable in string teaching situations than choir and elementary general music specialists. Participants who took a string methods course, as compared with those who did not, felt more comfortable teaching seven specific string topics. Participants who were currently teaching string ensembles felt more comfortable teaching all string topics, except for vibrato technique. Participants who had taught strings in the past were significantly more comfortable teaching string ensembles than those who had never taught strings. The findings of this study could help higher education string methods instructors select instructional activities and course topics that were revealed to provide the most beneficial experiences.

There is an expected increase in the need to provide adequate string-specific training for non-string specialists in the future and for preservice music teachers to develop the requisite pedagogical content knowledge to teach a variety of instruments. A multiyear instrumental lab ensemble university course was designed to help preservice music teachers integrate knowledge and skills in various instrument- and ensemble-specific areas. The purpose of this intrinsic evaluative study was to determine the extent to which the new course was successful toward these aims. Data included interviews of students and instructors, observations of lab classes, and reflective journals of teaching faculty and two external observers. Data were coded and then analyzed using the program goal statements found in the course syllabus. Findings indicated that students considered the lab format more authentic to their teacher preparation than their previous coursework, and that performance and pedagogy skills on secondary instruments elevated more rapidly than anticipated. Recommendations include the need for more explicit connection between course readings and lab activities, and improved guidelines for course teaching assistants.

This report is a summary of two studies. In the first, we compared examples of Irish fiddle performances with Western classical violin performances. Acoustical analyses showed that both classical examples produced average spectral centroids higher in frequency, higher harmonic to noise ratios, more use of vibrato, more disjunct intervals, and less ornamentation. Expert listeners described the classical examples as resonant, ringing, and brighter. Tone in the Irish examples was characterized as varied, gritty, and full-bodied. In the second study, we asked 72 music majors to listen to different recordings and respond in two ways. The first section consisted of extremely brief examples of four different solo violin styles: classical, jazz, old-time fiddle, and Irish. The second section consisted of longer examples of either Irish or classical performances. The listeners were asked to describe salient features of each. They frequently identified the following characteristics of the Irish excerpts: grace notes, double stops, ornamentation, and dance-like. In contrast, classical extracts were described using the terms: vibrato, melody, intervals, and extended technique. Implications for music listening are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of repertoire performed by youth orchestras in the United States. Through an online survey, youth orchestra administrators ( N = 39) provided information about repertoire performed by their program’s premier orchestra during their 2015-2016 season. Orchestras performed 302 different pieces of music by 158 different composers. The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky, Carmen Suite No. 1 by Georges Bizet, and Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture by Mikhail Glinka were performed most frequently. Approximately three quarters of all compositions were written after 1850, and only 7.14% were composed after 2000. Compositions by Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, and Brahms were the most frequently performed, and female composers only wrote 0.78% of the repertoire performed by youth orchestras during their 2015-2016 season. Conductors should use these findings as an impetus to identify culturally diverse repertoire appropriate for youth orchestras by non-male composers.

This study was designed to explore the intonation performances of highly regarded concert violinists in an unaccompanied context. I chose eight solo artists representing different generations of performers (Heifetz, Grumiaux, Milstein, Perlman, Hahn, Midori, Barton Pine, and Shaham). Pitch performances were analyzed in commercial recordings spanning 65 years of two unaccompanied pieces composed by Bach, one in d minor and one in E major. I investigated whether similarities in intonation tendencies would occur among these respected artists, and whether the displayed patterns would approximate the theoretical tuning systems that have been studied previously: Just, Pythagorean, or equal temperament. The artists appear to have their own individual tendencies, and none of them conformed consistently to any theoretical tuning system. Although there are average tendencies on isolated intervals that approximate one tuning or the other, multiple repetitions show a wide range both between and within individual performers. However, performances of the thirds and sixths in the major key and less so in the minor key (intervals that illustrate the largest differences in tuning between systems) did display a propensity toward Pythagorean tuning of these scale degrees. Deviations away from all three tuning systems are common, and these artists never play exactly in one tuning or another.

The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of event type (solo and ensemble), school level (middle and high school), and event level (district and state) on overall performance ratings assigned to string musicians attending solo and ensemble festivals. Data consisted of participants’ (N = 10,275) ratings from district - and state-level solo and ensemble festivals sponsored by the Florida Orchestra Association from 2010 to 2014. Participants performed more solo events (n = 6,745) than ensembles (n = 3,530). Performances by middle school string players (n = 5,403) outnumbered those from high school (n = 4,872). Ninety-five percent of all participants (n = 9,761) earned a I/Superior or II/Excellent rating. Solo performances received more favorable ratings than ensemble performances at district festivals. However, ensembles were assigned more favorable ratings at state festivals. Evaluations of middle and high school participants’ performances were similar. District festival performances received more favorable ratings than state festival performances. With the increased importance of student data, student participation at adjudicated festivals, and providing a positive musical experience for students, directors may use these results to help their students receive beneficial assessments that influence long-term success.

In this two-part study I compared the endpin lengths and resulting cello setups produced by the Scroll to Nose Method, the Hand Span Method, and the Drop Method, and asked if height or gender affect endpin length. The endpin lengths produced by the three pedagogical methods were compared in part one. Participants (N=62) consisted of a convenience sample of adult volunteer students and faculty from a large comprehensive university school of music in the Midwest. Endpin lengths produced by the Scroll to Nose Method and the Drop Method were significantly longer than those produced by the Hand Span Method. There was also a significant interaction between pedagogical method and height. In part two I compared the cello setups resulting from the use of the three pedagogical methods. Participants (N=93) were string teachers responding to an online survey. Participants were asked to select pairs of pictures that, in their opinion, showed the best cello setup. Responses indicated an even split in the overall choice of the Scroll to Nose Method and the Drop Method.

This paper was presented upon receiving the Outstanding String Researcher award at the 2015 ASTA National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. It offers reflections on one string educator's ongoing work as a person who helps children learn to play string instruments, who helps teachers learn to teach string instruments, and who studies teaching and learning. The author traces those pivotal events and key influences in her life, inviting readers to consider similar turning points in their own lives, and to continue adding to the collective stories of the profession.