The publicity material for the British Journal of Music Education states that the journal is ‘written by professionals for professionals’, and that claim is certainly true of this Special Issue, in which teachers in British conservatoires have taken up the challenge of becoming practitioner-researchers. By carrying out small-scale investigations in their home institutions, these authors demonstrate the multiple functions of educational research: to inform practice, to increase understanding of teaching and learning processes, and to develop the researcher him- or herself through critical reflection on students' and teachers' experiences.

The new millennium has brought a number of research articles and books that relate to instrumental (including vocal) teaching in higher education (Hunter & Russ, 2000; Jørgensen, 2000, 2001; Ritterman, 2000; Davidson & Da Costa Coimbra, 2001; Davidson & Good, 2002; Froehlich, 2002; Mills, 2002, 2004a, 2004b, 2005, in press; Nerland & Hanken, 2002; Nielsen, 2002; Federation of British Conservatoires 2003; Kokotsaki & Davidson, 2003; Mills & Smith, 2003; Mills et al., 2004; Burt & Mills, in press). Many of these publications have been written, at least to some extent, from a distance. The researchers have looked at instrumental teaching in higher education from their experience of schools, ‘academic’ teaching in universities or institutional management, for example, and have set their research questions, and sought the answers to these questions, accordingly.

Undergraduate training represents a crucial stage of development for instrumentalists, including singers, as they begin to mature as independent musicians and learners. This paper asks how instrumental and vocal teachers in higher education approach this stage of student development. It focuses on the use of questions by teachers, as they cultivate the students' contribution to their own learning. The basis of the study is a research project in a UK University College, investigating the conduct of instrumental lessons through video evidence, interviews and questionnaires.

How can we use practice time in the best possible way? Do we, as performers, have a keen enough awareness of the workings of our mind and body to be sure we are learning in the optimum way for secure performance? If not, how can we readily convey to others good habits for learning and memorisation? By demonstrating aspects of how experienced solo instrumentalists prepare for performance, this paper makes some progress towards answering these questions. In order to extend existing piano based research and to establish possible instrumental differences in working patterns, this study is based on data from interviews with a guitarist and a 'cellist. Thematic analysis of the interview data reveals that despite some variation due to the respective nature of the instruments, most practice strategies are common to both and these strategies are always generated by interpretative goals. Firstly, the clear links between interpretative goals and the formation of playing techniques are demonstrated by the subjects' intuitive mental constructs involving imagery, giving considerable insight into their thought processes and working patterns. Among the forms of imagery identified, motor imagery was found to be unexpectedly significant. Next, there is some discussion of how imagery associated with simultaneous technical and emotional input can help to embed information securely in the memory. The value of creating idiosyncratic structures relating to learning and performance is then shown. Finally, advantages of introducing a more imaginative approach into practice at all levels are proposed, together with potential benefits for both motivation and memory retention.

This article examines the special relationship between students and their instrumental teachers in UK conservatoires. Conservatoires in the UK provide a higher education for aspiring performers and composers and the students' choice of conservatoire will often be guided by their desire to study with a particular ‘professor’ who will teach them their major or ‘principal study’ instrument. Many such professors are visiting part-time staff whose teaching commitment represents only a small proportion of their wider professional lives. Here, the relationship between student and professor is revealed through the perceptions of piano students at a UK conservatoire and a picture emerges of partnerships which are remarkably productive, but vary widely in the degree and range of musical and personal support that students ideally hope to receive from them.

This paper is one of the first presentations of research into brain gym's effectiveness in learning musical instruments. Brain gym (or Edu-K) is the popular, over-arching name for a system of exercises, approaches, and techniques intended to improve mental and physical performance. We explain the basic concepts and activities of brain gym and review the literature already published in other disciplines. We also track the short-term progress and experience of five instrumentalists when coached in brain gym. After one week, every participant rated brain gym as having a positive effect upon their playing. We also found that every participant had a more positive opinion of brain gym than they had prior to the experiment. While the findings are purely qualitative, they do suggest that brain gym has the potential to be an effective tool for music learning, and we encourage further research.

Through interviews with ten conservatoire students and ten professional orchestral musicians teaching at conservatoires, this paper seeks to establish whether young people regard the orchestral music profession as a worthwhile ambition. If so, are teachers preparing students sufficiently for their careers and passing on the benefits of their considerable experience? While interviewees express deep enthusiasm and love for the orchestral profession, both students and professors seem less sure about the consistency and quality of career preparation at the conservatoire level. Professors explain the difficulties of prioritising multiple agendas during lesson time, while students, though determined to pursue their dream of becoming orchestral players, reveal only partial understanding and knowledge of the profession.

This article was motivated by a staff development session when the brass faculty of a conservatoire were invited to share and discuss their approaches to teaching. It presents the results of interviews with six well known woodwind or brass players who have also taught at one or more conservatoires in London for periods of between one and 40 years. All are male. The six instruments represented are: trumpet, horn, trombone, flute, clarinet and bassoon. While there were commonalities in the approach of teachers, marked differences also emerged. Although some of these may reflect the particular demands of the instrument on which a teacher specialises, and the ease with which accomplished students of that instrument may be recruited to conservatoires, there also appear to be substantial differences in the individual approach of teachers. The findings raise the issue of whether it may be appropriate to provide some training for instrumental teachers at conservatoire level; surely one way of making the pool of accumulated wisdom more readily available, to prospective teachers and to the research community.

This article presents the results of research into methods and scorings for jazz assessment in Trinity College of Music, London, focusing on the possibility of introducing group assessment. It considers the advantages of group assessment methods, contrasting these with the more traditional approach, firmly established in conservatoires, of evaluating individual musicians. We question the role of jazz within the conservatoire, exploring not only the way institutions may transform jazz practice, but also the ways jazz may contribute to the evolution of higher education. The research formed part of a larger grant aimed at curricular development at Trinity College of Music. As such, we present it as an example of research's potential for immediate impact upon education policy. The project is also unusual in its use of students and instrumental professors not only as subjects of research but as participators fully involved in their own self-assessment and development.