A team of researchers at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota has been exploring ways in which scientific observation can be used to advance musical pedagogy for more than 20 years. The core of the team consists of a psychologist, Dr. Mark Kruger and a musician, Dr. Mark Lammers. Over the years we have been joined by members of the Physics faculty at Gustavus (and recently at SUNY-Geneso), members of the Music and Psychology Departments at Gustavus, and two kinesiologists from the University of Minnesota. Recently, Dr. Jon Kruger, Department of Fine Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology has begun to work closely with us. The evolution of the team came as a result of work done by the musician, the psychologist and one of the kinesiologists (Dr. Lela Stoner) over a period of years which focused on the right arm of trombone players. In 1993 the team was expanded when they were awarded a National Science Foundation Grant to continue the study. Several studies have been conducted on the right arm of trombone players. The first was done in 1981 and reported in 1983 (Lammers, 1983) involving fourteen trombonists. Seven of the subjects were professional players and seven were college student performers. Electromyography (EMG) and electrogoniometry (ELGON) were used in that first study. The muscles studied using EMG were the biceps and triceps of the upper arm and the extensor and carpi radials of the forearm. The electrogoniometers used were single plane instruments that measured flexion and hyperextension of the wrist and the angle of the elbow Because the findings in the first study involving the electrogoniometer at the wrist were inconclusive, a second study was done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in 1987 (Lammers & Kruger, 1991). An orbital electrogoniometer was used to measure both hyperextension-flexion and abduction-adduction of the wrist. Ten student trombone players were the subjects. A third study involved ELGON, videography (both fast and slow speed) and a range finder called sonic ranger. Forty-two subjects were studied ranging from sixth graders to professional trombonists. Data has been collected at the University of Minnesota and at Gustavus Adolphus College. The results support the hypothesis that professionals move more quickly from position to postion and that movement of the wrist is an integral part of the motion of the right arm. Since these initial studies, we've gone on to look at the performance of beginning trombone students, to examine the extent to which pedagogical materials on slide placement correspond to slide movement of performing trombone players and to examine differences in the errors made by players as a function of expertise. A highlight of this work was our invitation to give an address to the The Physics Congress in Brighton, England in March 2000. Recently, we've expanded our interests to the practice habits of all applied music students, to trumpet and horn performance, and to understanding the impact of autobiographical memories of musical experiences on orchestral musicians and their audiences.