hi, i'm nick
about me
My name is Nicholas Roseth (pronounce), and I am an assistant professor and the coordinator of music education at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA.
At Bucknell, I teach a range of courses for music education majors who aspire to become music teachers in our K-12 schools. My work is informed by my time as a middle school instrumental music teacher and teacher mentor in Colorado, where I taught band, orchestra, jazz band, class piano, class guitar, and STOMP.
My primary research interests include inclusion, well-being, creativity, and the role of the physical classroom environment in teaching and learning. I have presented research and pedagogical sessions at music education conferences ranging from local to international, and have published research and pedagogical articles in journals such as the Journal of Music Teacher Education, Journal of Research in Music Education, Psychology of Music, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, and the Music Educators Journal. I also serve on the editorial committee for the Journal of Research in Music Education.
I hold a Bachelor of Music (BM) in Music Education from Susquehanna University, a Master of Music Education (MME) from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Music Education from Indiana University Bloomington.
updates
- Much to Share
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Spring '23 Update
What a productive semester! This semester I presented at two conferences, conducted an honor band festival, wrote and/or submitted three papers, taught an overload (a writing-intensive course with each student producing very different and significant papers), and advised two senior honor theses (still in progress).
What a productive semester!
This semester I presented at two conferences, conducted an honor band festival, wrote and/or submitted three papers, taught an overload (a writing-intensive course with each student producing very different and significant papers), and advised two senior honor theses (still in progress).
I am grateful to have wonderful colleagues with whom I can collaborate. I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with the amazing middle schoolers at the PMEA District 8 Band Fest (even if an unexpected fire drill happened in the middle of rehearsal and we had to go stand in the rain!). I am grateful to have found some routines and strategies that have improved my writing productivity. And I am grateful to learn alongside some incredible students at Bucknell who are doing brilliant work.
This summer I will be teaching several classes at Bemidji State University, in their new MME summers program. I am looking forward to working with great folks and playing great music (hopefully my chops hold up)!
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Music-Making for Beginners
I often consider the many ways music education prevents entry into music-making. For example, in many places, unless you join beginning band in sixth grade, there may be few (if any) opportunities to join band through middle and high school.
I often consider the many ways music education prevents entry into music-making. For example, in many places, unless you join beginning band in sixth grade, there may be few (if any) opportunities to join band through middle and high school. Many such road blocks exist in K-12 education. Higher ed, of course, presents another significant barrier. Unless you've come to the university with years of musical experience, opportunities to create and perform music as a beginner are usually limited or non-existent.
In an effort to create an entry way into music-making for college students, I created MUSC 120 Music-Making for Beginners. Students learn ukulele or guitar (they choose) and GarageBand (and piano and/or drum set if time/equipment is available). They learn various music reading skills (traditional notation, chord charts, TAB, etc.) and compose music in GarageBand with keyboards and loops with no specific literacy/theory skills.
These last few weeks of the semester, students are working on a project of choice. Some are scoring videos, others are playing and singing their favorite tunes, some are creating arrangements of their favorite songs, while others are writing their own songs with lyrics.
Students make tremendous progress in a relatively short period. Importantly, they leave with skills and resources to continue music-making into the future. And I'm thrilled to share that students have emailed me semesters and years after the course to tell me they are still making music.
publications
- Roseth, N. E., & Blackwell, J. (in press). Teacher use and perceptions of feedback on student creativity tasks. Journal of Research in Music Education. doi.org/10.1177/00224294251407632
- Roseth, N. E., & Blackwell, J. (in press). Preparing music teachers to give effective feedback on creative tasks. PMEA News.
- Roseth, N. E. (2026). On ensemble setup, engagement, connection, and culture. Music Educators Journal, 112(4), 21–25. doi.org/10.1177/00274321261434958
- Roseth, N. E. (2026). PROSPERing in music: A positive education framework for flourishing. Music Educators Journal, 112(3), 40–47. doi.org/10.1177/00274321261419435
- Roseth, N. E. (2025). A survey of secondary choir teachers' immediacy, ensemble setup, and use of classroom space. UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education, 43(4), 38–48. doi.org/10.1177/87551233241256353
- Roseth, N. E. (2025). Prepare, present, and practice: A framework for developing conceptual understanding and musical independence through method books. Teaching Music.
- Roseth, N. E. (2025). Welcoming space [Invited contributor to a "Jam Session" column]. Teaching Music.
- Roseth, N. E. (2024). Workplace well-being and classroom space: An exploratory survey of K-12 music teachers. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, (241), 75–88. doi.org/10.5406/21627223.241.04
- Roseth, N. E. (2024). Immediacy, ensemble setup, and use of classroom space: A quasi-experimental study among secondary instrumental teachers. Psychology of Music, 52(5), 503–518. doi.org/10.1177/03057356231212350
- Roseth, N. E. & Blackwell, J. A. (2023). Relationships between well-being and teaching adaptability among music teacher educators: A snapshot of the 2020-21 academic year. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 32(2), 86–100. doi.org/10.1177/10570837221120762
- Roseth, N. E. (2023). Flourishing in the music classroom. PMEA News, 88(2), 64–66. view.publitas.com/pmea/pmea-news-winter-2024
- Roseth, N. E. (2020). A survey of secondary instrumental teachers' immediacy, ensemble setup, and use of classroom space in Colorado and Indiana. Journal of Research in Music Education, 68(3), 305–327. doi.org/10.1177/0022429420944227
- Roseth, N. E. (2019). Establishing reliability and validity of a tool for large ensemble teacher use of space and interactions. Research & Issues in Music Education, 15(1), 1–30. commons.lib.jmu.edu/rime/vol15/iss1/6
- Roseth, N. E. (2019). Features of university environments that support well-being as perceived by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning undergraduate music and art students. Journal of Research in Music Education, 67(2), 171–192. doi.org/10.1177/0022429418825146
- Blackwell, J. & Roseth, N. E. (2018). The use of problem-based learning in a woodwind methods course: An action research study. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 28(1), 55–69. doi.org/10.1177/1057083718769262
- Miksza, P., Blackwell, J., & Roseth, N. E. (2018). Self-regulated music practice: Microanalysis as a data collection technique and inspiration for pedagogical intervention. Journal of Research in Music Education, 66(3), 295–319. doi.org/10.1177/0022429418788557
recent work
- Workplace well-being and classroom space: An exploratory survey of K-12 music teachers
- Teacher use and perception of feedback on student creative tasks
- Teacher use and perception of feedback on student creative tasks view
- Well-being and teaching adaptability among music teacher educators: A snapshot of the 2020-2021 academic year view
- Immediacy, ensemble setup, & use of classroom space: A quasi-experimental study of secondary band and orchestra teachers view
- Survey of secondary instrumental teachers in Indiana and Colorado: Immediacy, ensemble setup, and use of classroom space view
- An exploratory analysis of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning music and art students' perceived institutional support of well-being view