_.png)
Dr Eugene Seow, FHEA, FLCM, FVCM(hons)
Higher Music Education Lecturer & Practice-Led Researcher
Musical Judgement · Aural Fluency · Ensemble Pedagogy · Assessment · Academic Standards
RESEARCH
Research Programme and Publications
Research focus: Aural fluency, musical judgement, ensemble pedagogy, assessment, and practice-led curriculum design in higher music education.
Dr Eugene Seow’s research examines how contemporary musicians develop listening, coordination, structural awareness, and evaluative judgement through embodied, practice-led, and ensemble-based learning. Working across rhythm pedagogy, aural fluency, ensemble cognition, curriculum design, and assessment, his work develops practice-led frameworks for musical motion, judgement, and pedagogy in contemporary higher music education.
This research programme connects three overlapping concerns: how musical motion is generated in performance, how it is perceived through listening and embodied attention, and how it is evaluated through assessment, curriculum, and professional judgement. These concerns form a developing research programme on structural momentum, musical motion, and judgement in contemporary music learning, while remaining grounded in practical questions of teaching, supervision, ensemble learning, and higher education design.
Selected publications are catalogued by The Ngee Ann Kongsi Library, LASALLE College of the Arts, including work on aural fluency, ensemble pedagogy, curriculum design, arts assessment, and higher music education.
Research Strands
Aural Fluency and Plural Listening
Work in this strand examines how musicians learn to hear across rhythmic, modal, timbral, harmonic, and intercultural systems. It develops genre-inclusive approaches to aural skills, listening pedagogy, and curriculum design.
Ensemble Pedagogy and Embodied Coordination
Work in this strand examines groove, timing, role awareness, cueing, gesture, and collective musical interaction. It develops practice-led frameworks for ensemble fluency, pocket, facilitation, and collaborative musicianship.
Assessment, Judgement, and Higher Education Design
Work in this strand examines how artistic and musical judgement can be taught, evidenced, assessed, and supervised in higher education. It connects assessment validity, evaluative judgement, practice-led research, and curriculum architecture.
MONOGRAPHS AND LONG-FORM RESEARCH
Decolonizing Aural Skills in Higher Music Education: Rhythm, Listening, and Practice-Led Curriculum Design
Monograph under contract · Forthcoming 2027 · IGI Global Scientific Publishing
Develops a perceptual reframing of aural fluency pedagogy in higher music education, positioning rhythm as propulsion, melody as gravitation, and harmony as directional expectancy. The monograph proposes a practice-led framework for plural-modal listening, assessment design, and curriculum reform across contemporary and intercultural musical systems.
PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES
Peer-reviewed articles are grouped by publication status, with forthcoming articles listed first, followed by published articles in reverse chronological order.
Forthcoming Articles
Walking Bass as Melodic-Formal Accompaniment: Selected Paul Chambers Hard-Bop Blues Close Readings
Forthcoming 2026 · International Journal of Arts, Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies (JOLLS)
Examines Paul Chambers’s walking bass on “Bags’ Groove,” “Straight, No Chaser,” and “Blue Train” through transcription-based close readings. The article shows how target orientation, chromatic continuity, and motivic development shape harmonic direction and formal motion across three hard-bop blues performances.
Harmonic Flow as Directional Expectancy: Teaching Harmonic Motion in Contemporary Music
Forthcoming 2026 · International Journal of Creativity in Music Education
Reframes harmony as perceptual motion rather than static chordal succession in contemporary music pedagogy. The article develops harmonic flow as directional expectancy, proposing harmonic topologies and momentum states as tools for teaching creative harmonic judgement across genre-inclusive theory and aural-skills contexts.
Assessing Aural Fluency: Toward an Anti-colonial, Inclusive, and Intercultural Framework for Undergraduate Music
Forthcoming 2027 · Finnish Journal of Music Education
Develops a conceptual framework for assessing aural fluency in undergraduate higher music education. The article reframes aural assessment through multimodal demonstrations, distributed aural evidence, dialogic orals, and co-assessment, arguing for plural and context-sensitive ways of recognising listening, evidence, and musical judgement without abandoning rigour.
Reflective Practitioner Framework for Contemporary Music Pedagogy: Ensemble, Improvisation, and Cross-Cultural Hearing
Forthcoming 2026 · TOPICS (Themes, Opinion, Practices, Innovation, Curriculum, and Strategies for Music Education Praxis)
Develops a reflective-practitioner framework for contemporary music pedagogy centred on ensemble work, improvisation, and cross-cultural listening. The article proposes structured reflective cycles for connecting practice-based musicianship with plural, critically aware, and responsive higher music education pedagogy.
From Notation to Motion: An Embodied Facilitation Framework for Community and Higher-Education Ensemble Contexts
Forthcoming 2026 · International Journal of Community Music
Develops a practice-led framework for ensemble facilitation centred on temporal grounding, structural mapping, and expressive anticipation. The article reframes gesture, cueing, and entrainment as pedagogical sites through which musical judgement, participation, and coordination are developed across community and higher-education contexts.
Published Articles
Making Professional Reliability Visible in Higher Music Education: Assessment Signals in Preparatory Simulation
September 2026 · Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 14(3), 49–61 · DOI · Access publication
Develops assessment signals as a framework for making professional reliability visible within preparatory simulation in higher music education. The article examines how staged assessment, consultation checkpoints, collaborative accountability, and reflective professional judgement can connect assessment design with the conditions of creative professional practice.
Motion Before Patterns: A Pedagogical Framework for Cajón Groove Fluency in Low-Volume Acoustic Ensemble Contexts
September 2026 · Malaysian Journal of Music, 15(1), 39–59 · Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris / UPSI Press, Malaysia · DOI · Access publication
Develops a motion-first pedagogical framework for cajón groove fluency in low-volume acoustic ensemble contexts. The article proposes a mini-rudiment substrate and three notation-supported style modules, connecting hand motion, timbral function, dynamic control, structural listening, and ensemble-sensitive musicianship beyond pattern memorisation.
Decolonizing Aural Skills Assessment in Higher Music Education: Epistemic Authority, Evidence, and Judgment
August 2026 · Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 25(4), 115–138 · DOI · Access publication
Examines aural skills assessment as a site of epistemic governance in higher music education. The article identifies construct misalignment, evidence restriction, rubric monoculture, moderation drift, and examiner-preparedness gaps, and develops implications for admissible listening evidence and defensible judgement across plural musical contexts.
Supporting Piano Motivation through Structured Autonomy and Contextual Teaching: Three Teacher Perspectives
August 2026 · Jurnal Seni Musik, 15(1), 13–23 · Universitas Negeri Semarang · DOI · Access publication
Develops structured autonomy as an interpretive framework for piano pedagogy. The article examines how student choice, contextual teaching, embodied learning, and guided practice can support motivation, musical understanding, and perceivable progress while maintaining structured progression.
Disrupting Periodicity in Jazz Composition through Gagaku-Informed Listening Constraints
June 2026 · Virtuoso: Jurnal Pengkajian dan Penciptaan Musik, 9(1), 16–35 · DOI · Access publication
Develops a practice-led account of jazz composition through gagaku-informed listening constraints. The article examines how intercultural listening can disrupt habitual 16- and 32-bar periodicity, translating temporal perception, pitch-centre anchoring, rotating pitch cells, and retrospective formal recognition into two performable jazz compositions.
More Than Just Piano: Patch Literacy as a Core Competency in Contemporary Ensemble Practice
May 2026 · College Music Symposium, 66(1) · College Music Society · DOI · Access publication
Defines patch literacy as the ability to select, program, and perform with context-appropriate keyboard timbres in contemporary ensemble settings. The article proposes a role-based framework connecting sound selection, programming, and performance with ensemble pedagogy, sonic decision-making, and curriculum application in higher music education.
Designing Genre-Inclusive Diploma Pathways in Contemporary Theory: A Practice-Led Curriculum Framework for an Independent Awarding Body
April 2026 · Asia-Pacific Journal for Arts Education, 23(1), 1–45 · The Education University of Hong Kong · ISSN 1683-6995 · Access publication
Develops a practice-led curriculum framework for genre-inclusive contemporary theory diploma pathways beyond conventional written-theory models. The article proposes a three-level qualification structure grounded in international benchmarking, assessment validity, and intercultural curriculum design.
When Formal Criteria Fail: Judgment and Validity in Arts Assessment
March 2026 · Journal of Arts and Humanities, 15(3), 1–5 · DOI · Access publication
Argues that criteria-based assessment in the arts can misrecognise expert judgement as error, producing validity failures that cannot be solved by greater rubric specification alone. The article introduces assessment formalism as a way of explaining persistent tensions between transparency, reliability, disciplinary expertise, and valid arts assessment.
The Intentional Pocket Project: A Jazz-Informed Workshop Series for Emerging Ensemble Musicians
January 2026 · Jazz Education in Research and Practice, 7(1), 98–119 (Indiana University Press / Project MUSE) · DOI · Publisher page · Author-accepted manuscript
Articulates a structured workshop model for cultivating groove cohesion, role clarity, and ensemble fluency among emerging musicians. The article proposes a three-pillar framework of Specific Listening, Technical Awareness, and Macro-Sight, positioning the pocket as a teachable and transferable ensemble design pattern.
Creative Health Through Music Pedagogy: Case Studies in Identity, Listening, and Cultural Belonging in Higher Education
December 2025 · International Journal of Arts Education, 23(2), 95–112 (National Taiwan Arts Education Center, Ministry of Education, Taiwan) · ISSN 1728-175X · Official listing · Open-access archive · Access publication
Examines how ensemble-focused pedagogy can foster wellbeing, inclusion, and identity formation in higher music education. The article advances a practice-led account of creative health through listening, collaborative musicianship, culturally responsive pedagogy, and student belonging.
Decolonising the Rhythm Curriculum: Integrating Global Groove Practices in Undergraduate Aural Skills
October 2025 · Music Education Research, 27(5), 593–603 (Taylor & Francis) · DOI · Publisher page · Author-accepted manuscript
Develops a decolonising model for rhythm pedagogy that integrates African, Indian, and other global groove practices into undergraduate aural skills curricula. The article reframes rhythmic literacy as plural, embodied, culturally situated, and central to contemporary higher music education.
BOOK CHAPTERS
Book chapters extend this research programme into curriculum design, creative health, decolonial pedagogy, cross-curricular learning, and practice-led ensemble education.
Ensemble Rhythm as Didactic Space: A Bildung-Oriented, Cross-Curricular Design
Forthcoming 2027 · in Cultivating Didactic Spaces with Bildung Theories and Cross-Curricular Approaches in Educational Practice · Vernon Press
Frames rhythm-based ensemble pedagogy as a Bildung-oriented model for cross-curricular teaching. The chapter connects musical practice with mathematics, language, civics, and embodied learning through a transferable ensemble design framework.
Rhythm as Decolonial Pedagogy: Ensemble Practice for South African Creative Arts Education
Forthcoming 2026 · in Voices of Creative Education: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in South African Arts Education · UNISA Press
Proposes rhythm-centred ensemble pedagogy as a pragmatic route for decolonial Creative Arts education in South Africa. The chapter shows how cyclic, participatory groove practices can support collaboration, belonging, and culturally sustaining teaching.
Music on Screen – Reflections on Livestreamed Concerts
March 2022 · in Things Will Never Be the Same – Or Will They? (UBSS CSR Learning Futures Vol. 2, Smart Questions) · ISBN 978-1-907453-34-2 · Access publication
Reflects on artistic adaptation during the COVID-19 period through the lens of livestreamed performance. The chapter considers how digital presentation reshaped audience engagement, performance design, and artistic responsiveness in pandemic-era music practice.
DOCTORAL AND REPOSITORY OUTPUTS
Integrating World Percussion into Graduate Jazz Training: A Practitioner Reflection
August 2025 · CUNY Academic Works · Queens College, City University of New York · Access publication
Reflects on the pedagogical and artistic implications of replacing conventional graduate jazz drum-set lessons with personalised world percussion study at Queens College. The article considers how cross-cultural rhythmic study can reshape listening, technique, ensemble understanding, and later approaches to rhythm pedagogy.
Teaching Aural Skills in Undergraduate Music Using World Music Concepts: A Narrative Inquiry
August 2024 · Doctoral thesis · Liberty University School of Music · Doctor of Music Education (DME) · Download thesis
Explores how rhythmic and modal concepts from African, Indian, Arabic, and Japanese traditions can inform undergraduate aural skills pedagogy. The thesis proposes integrative frameworks for cross-cultural listening, plural musicianship, and genre-inclusive curriculum development.
CONFERENCES AND INVITED RESEARCH
Selected conference papers, invited webinars, and research presentations extending this work across music education, artistic research, jazz pedagogy, intercultural musicianship, and higher education.
After AI Feedback: Designing Authentic Assessment for Evaluative Judgement in AI-Mediated Higher Education
December 2026 · IEEE TALE 2026: International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineers · IEEE Education Society · Pattaya, Thailand
Peer-reviewed full paper proposing a five-layer framework for designing authentic assessment after AI feedback, connecting construct definition, AI role, judgement evidence, assessment inference, and accountability across higher and professional education.
Making Musical Judgement Visible: Assessment Design for AI-Assisted Musical Creating and Performing
November 2026 · AI for Education Conference (AIFE 2026 Singapore) · National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University · Singapore
Peer-reviewed full paper proposing the Musical Judgement Evidence Matrix for making human listening, comparison, diagnosis, revision, justification, and embodied verification visible and assessable in AI-assisted musical creating and performing.
Experience Is Not Evidence
November 2026 · Andragogy for Impact (AnfI) 2026: Adult Learning: Reimagining, Reinventing, Transforming · Singapore University of Social Sciences · Singapore
Peer-reviewed conference paper examining how adult learners convert professional and artistic experience into explicit, assessable, and transferable judgement through reflective logs, process documentation, and curated portfolios, connecting experience with defensible evidence of learning.
Assessing Aural Fluency in Contemporary Music Education: An Experiential, Genre-Inclusive Framework for Listening, Reflection, and Evidence
September 2026 · Symposium for Experiential Education Research Asia (SEER Asia), AEE Asia-Pacific Regional Conference 2026 · Association for Experiential Education / JUMP! Foundation · Bangkok, Thailand
Peer-reviewed conference paper examining aural fluency as an experiential assessment construct, connecting listening, reflection, evidence, and musical judgement within situated contemporary music-learning contexts.
Re-centering the Decolonising Ear: Rethinking Time, Pitch, and Harmony in Higher Music Education
September 2026 · CARE Webinar Series · Centre for Arts Research in Education, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University · Online
Invited research-sharing webinar developing aural fluency as the capacity to orient, anticipate, and respond musically as sound unfolds within particular systems and contexts.
Pocket as Authored Space: Distributed Authority in Embodied Ensemble Practice
July 2026 · ADPRex × APARN 2026: Who Speaks? Authorship, Authority, and Authenticity · Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore · Singapore
Peer-reviewed conference paper examining ensemble pocket as a distributed and embodied phenomenon. The paper reframes authorship in collaborative music-making as contingent and emergent, shifting authority from individual performers toward shared processes of timing, gesture, density, and collective momentum.
When Phrases Feel “Short” or “Long”: Teaching Phrase Awareness in Ensemble Rehearsal
July 2026 · WBAS Symposium 2026 · Wind Bands Association of Singapore · Singapore
Proposal-selected 50-minute lecture-clinic examining phrase awareness and structural listening in ensemble rehearsal. The session translates irregular phrase spans, phrase mapping, listening exercises, and conductor cueing into practical strategies for strengthening ensemble orientation, phrasing stability, and musical awareness.
Beyond the Single Sound: Re-defining Piano Learning through Timbre, Listening, and Ensemble Role
July 2026 · SIMPeF Pedagogy Conference 2026 · Singapore International Music & Pedagogy Festival · Hosted by Singapore Raffles Music College · Singapore
Peer-reviewed general session reframing piano learning through timbre, listening, patch awareness, and ensemble role. The presentation connects contemporary keyboard pedagogy with aural fluency, sonic decision-making, and ensemble musicianship.
Re-centering the Decolonising Ear: Aural Fluency and Plural-Modal Listening in East-Asian-Adjacent Pedagogy
July 2026 · 9th Symposium of the ICTMD Study Group on Musics of East Asia · Hosted by National Taiwan Normal University · Taipei, Taiwan
Peer-reviewed conference paper examining aural fluency and plural-modal listening in higher music education. The paper reframes listening beyond singular tonal-metric norms through intercultural approaches to rhythm, tuning, modal colour, and ensemble texture.
When Techniques Travel: Translating Indian and Afro-Cuban Hand-Motion Logics into Contemporary Cajón Groove Fluency
June 2026 · Roots & Routes Intercultural Music Symposium (Poster Session) · Pasat Merdu · Singapore
Practice-led poster presentation examining how Indian and Afro-Cuban hand-motion logics can be translated into contemporary cajón pedagogy. The poster proposes split-hand articulation and heel-toe bass motion as transferable tools for groove clarity, sound-function, and intercultural pedagogy in low-volume ensemble contexts.
Identity-Aligned Repertoire Mapping for Engagement and Participation in Higher Music Education
June 2026 · Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference (RPIC) 2026 · National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University · Singapore
Peer-reviewed conference paper examining how identity-aligned repertoire selection can function as a pedagogical lever for engagement and participation in higher music education. The paper proposes a transferable framework for linking culturally legible repertoire to disciplinary concepts while maintaining rigour, coherence, and curricular intent.
Teaching Musical Judgement in the Age of AI
May 2026 · NTU Annual Learning and Teaching Conference: From Good to Great 2026 · Centre for Teaching, Learning and Pedagogy, Nanyang Technological University · Singapore
Peer-reviewed conference paper examining evaluative judgement, embodied listening, and musical responsiveness in AI-mediated higher music education. The paper argues that generative AI should function not as a substitute for musicianship, but as a prompt for comparison, critique, revision, and accountable artistic decision-making.
The Intentional Pocket Project: A Jazz-Informed Workshop Series for Emerging Ensemble Musicians
April 2026 · Jazz Education Network (JEN) Invited Research Webinar · Online
Invited research webinar based on the peer-reviewed article published in Jazz Education in Research and Practice. The presentation frames groove as a trainable collective skill, using the Intentional Pocket model of Specific Listening, Technical Awareness, and Macro-Sight to address timing, articulation, rhythm-section roles, rehearsal interaction, and ensemble fluency in higher music education.
Rhythm as Decolonial Pedagogy: Cyclic Ensemble “Rhythm Labs” for Creative Arts Education
March 2026 · Music and Society – 6th International Music Conference · Faculty of Music, University of Debrecen · Online
Peer-reviewed conference paper proposing a rhythm-centred pedagogical model for Creative Arts and higher music education. The paper frames ensemble rhythm as a socially situated practice and outlines short cyclic rhythm labs for developing listening, embodied coordination, and formal awareness through low-resource classroom routines.
Pocket as Embodied Space: Reflections from the Bandstand
February 2026 · 5th International Network for Artistic Jazz Research (INARJ) Conference · JAM MUSIC LAB Private University (Vienna), hosted by Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel & Erasmushogeschool Brussel · Brussels, Belgium
Peer-reviewed conference paper examining groove and ensemble interaction through embodied, practice-led inquiry. The paper positions pocket as an emergent, relational phenomenon shaped by microtiming, gesture, and collective listening in small-group performance contexts.
ESSAYS, PROFESSIONAL COMMENTARY, AND PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP
Selected public-facing essays and commentary translating research concerns in music education, artistic practice, decolonising pedagogy, credentials, and arts advocacy for wider professional audiences.
Extract, Transform, Transfer: Bebop Language in Contemporary Drumset Practice
August 2026 · Percussive Notes, 64(4), 28–31 · Percussive Arts Society · Access publication · Download published PDF
Practitioner-facing drumset pedagogy article examining how bebop-derived vocabulary can be extracted, transformed, and transferred into contemporary drumset practice. The article connects jazz language, technical adaptation, practice design, and teaching application, extending practice-led musicianship.
Diplomas: pros and cons
November 2025 · Music Teacher · Mark Allen Group · Read article
Reflects on the role of performance diplomas in a musician’s professional development. The essay examines how formal recognition, lived experience, discipline, and sustained artistic practice shape credibility in contemporary music careers.
Decolonising Music Education Across Diverse Institutions
July 2025 · Music in Africa · Read article
Reflects on decolonising music education across schools, universities, and community settings. The essay considers how culturally responsive approaches can support inclusion, musical belonging, and pedagogical relevance across diverse institutions.
The Arts Aren’t Optional Extras; They Are Essential
June 2025 · RSA Circle · Royal Society of Arts · Read article
Argues for the arts as civic and educational infrastructure rather than discretionary enrichment. The essay links music education to wellbeing, resilience, cultural identity, and community renewal in post-crisis contexts.
ACADEMIC SERVICE, EDITORIAL, AND EXAMINING
Selected editorial, examining, and academic-service activities supporting peer review, standards calibration, assessment literacy, and higher-education development.
Associate Editor, Frontiers in Education — Higher Education
Current · Frontiers in Education
Serves as Associate Editor in the Higher Education section, contributing to peer-review management, reviewer selection, and editorial decision-making across higher-education research.
Co-facilitator, EdeX Faculty Learning Communities Grant 2026–2027
AY2026/27 · Nanyang Technological University
Co-facilitates a cross-institutional Faculty Learning Community examining experiential learning, pedagogical design, emerging technologies, implementation, and evaluation across Singapore higher-education contexts.
Examiner — London College of Music Examinations
2026–present · London College of Music Examinations · University of West London
Undertakes practical music examining within LCME assessment frameworks, applying standards calibration, mark-comment alignment, and professional evaluative judgement across performance assessment.
PRACTICE-LED CONTEXT INFORMING RESEARCH
Selected professional practice contexts that inform ongoing research into rhythm-section fluency, ensemble coordination, intercultural musicianship, evaluative judgement, and contemporary higher music education.
Selected Performance Contexts
A Night of Jazz with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO)
October 2025 · Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra × Julian Chan Jazz Orchestra (Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS, Kuala Lumpur)
Performed drum set in a large-ensemble collaboration with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Julian Chan Jazz Orchestra. The performance situates rhythm-section practice within symphonic jazz, large-ensemble coordination, and intercultural ensemble contexts.
Selected Industry and Ensemble Engagements
The TENG Company
2018–present · Arranger, Percussionist, Bassist
Ongoing practitioner engagement with a leading Singapore arts company and intercultural ensemble specialising in Chinese percussion and contemporary hybrid performance. This work informs research into ensemble cognition, rhythmic organisation, intercultural listening, and contemporary musicianship.
Singapore Armed Forces Band
2009–2013 · Principal Drummer, Percussionist, Pianist, Bassist; Combo Band 2IC
Served as a principal rhythm-section musician across ceremonial, orchestral, jazz, and popular repertoire within a national band context. The role developed ensemble leadership, multi-instrumental fluency, rehearsal coordination, and cross-genre rhythm-section practice across large and small ensembles.
Selected Major Arts Venues
Esplanade – Concert Hall & Outdoor Theatre; Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music; Singapore Conference Hall; Berklee Performance Center (Boston); Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center (New York)
Selected professional performance venues across Singapore and internationally, reflecting sustained drum-set, percussion, bass, rhythm-section, and ensemble practice across diverse professional contexts.