Modern band: A descriptive study of teacher perceptions

This study is a descriptive evaluation of the work of Little Kids Rock, a US non-profit organization that provided at the time of data collection free music instruction and instruments to over 187,754 students, 1120 teachers, in 30 cities around the United States. Music teachers (N=62 of 1120, 68% response rate) completed an end-of-the-year assessment of their perceptions of the learning outcomes of students involved with the programme. According to teachers’ perceptions: a majority of the programmes around the country utilize the acoustic guitar (94%), students have performed a few songs that they choose (66%), and students appear to be more engaged (76%) in their music classes. However, teachers believe that a majority of students have not composed an original song (68%), and cannot improvise on an instrument (68%). Implications for the future of the programme include better equipping teachers to teach songwriting and improvisation.