The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of verbal-only and paired verbal-gestural instruction on the performance skills of wind instrumentalists with no more than three years of performance experience. Reviewed are different conducting strategies and their effects on musical expression in ensemble performance as demonstrated by small ensembles. Two sets of participants were used in this study. Audio stimulus files were derived from performances generated by the first set of participants, student musicians, who were randomly assigned to one of the two instruction groups. The primary sample consisted of students (n=30) from one intact public junior high school band. The second set of participants consisted of university undergraduate and graduate music majors (n=40) who evaluated the audio stimulus files. The first set of participants, middle school student musicians, who were randomly assigned to one of ten performance trios; trios were randomly assigned to one of two teaching conditions: (1) verbal-only, or (2) paired verbal-gestural. Students in each trio were assigned to perform Part 1, 2, or 3 of a two-minute performance selection that had been arranged purposefully to take into account participants’ performance level. Student participants performed this selection during a rehearsal in their assigned teaching condition. The student-investigator was the conductor/teacher in each condition. Rehearsals, consisting of sight-reading the work, investigator-led rehearsal, and final performance, were audio recorded for subsequent evaluation. Evaluators, undergraduate and graduate instrumental music majors (n=40) from a large research institution in the northeast United States, listened to the recordings and evaluated each rehearsal using a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) using the following criteria: musicality (phrasing, dynamics, balance, and expression) and technical accuracy (rhythm, articulation, intonation, and tempo). A paired-samples t-test was used to compare pretest (performance before rehearsal) and posttest (performance after rehearsal) outcomes. Aggregate data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) comparing performance ratings among the three variables (rehearsal style, music mode, and grade). All Pairs Tukey-Kramer was used to show differences among groups and performances. Analyses indicated that this sample of middle school instrumentalists was significantly successful at their performance of two different variations (musicality and technical accuracy) after a rehearsal (posttest) in both verbal-only and verbal-gestural conditions than their first performance before a rehearsal (pretest). Pretest and posttest scores of the verbal-gestural group were higher than that of the verbal-only group, but rehearsal in the verbal-only condition showed more significant effectiveness in their development than under verbal-gestural conditions. Instrumentalists’ technical accuracy was rated as higher compared to musicality ratings in both pre- and posttests. Eighth grade players received higher scores on pre- and posttest in both verbal-only and verbal-gestural conditions than that of seventh grade players which might be expected since these players had more experience. Both verbal-only and verbal-gestural instruction conditions have similar effectiveness on student performance ratings, and based on the evidence derived from this study, it seems that both verbal and nonverbal instructional methods should be considered equally effective music teaching tools in an instrumental setting for students at this level of development. These findings should be taken into account when instrumental music educators are planning and delivering instruction, particularly in light of data showing that verbal instruction is more frequently used during rehearsals than nonverbal instruction. / Music Education