Instrumental music education students\u27 perceptions of tensions experienced during their undergraduate degree

In response to recent concern regarding music education major retention and as an effort to contribute to the lives of teachers scholarship in music education, the primary research question for this study was: How do undergraduate students describe their lived experiences within the instrumental music education community? Data included a questionnaire from sophomore, junior, and senior undergraduate students (N = 34); researcher journals; 12 undergraduate student interviews; an undergraduate student focus group; and 6 study team meetings. What the authors learned from this inquiry is organized by the following themes: (a) participants perceive themselves as different from other music students; (b) participants perceive music education to be different within the music school; and (c) participants\u27 musician/ teacher identity changed throughout their experience. © 2010 MENC: The National Association for Music Education