In Singapore, students who wish to learn to play a musical instrument can join music co-curricular activities (CCAs) as part of their formal after school activities. These CCAs include the Concert Band, Chinese Orchestra and Guitar Ensemble. These CCAs are typically taught by freelance specialist instructors hired by the school and supported by appointed teachers. This study investigated 6 primary schools each with a music CCA (Band, Chinese Orchestra or Guitar Ensemble) that have consistently attained high levels of performance at the biennial Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation. It sought to better understand the teaching and learning processes and other factors that underpinned the performance effectiveness of these CCAa and the student experiences by examining the learning, pedagogy, community dynamics and environment in these CCAs (Seidel, Tishman, Winner, Hetland & Palmer, 2009). Findings can support and guide the development of resources or guides that enable more effective instrumental learning in all schools. Using a case study approach, investigators conducted embedded video observations, focus groups with students and interviews with teachers and CCA instructors in each school to gain a multi-faceted understanding of the factors impacting the quality of arts teaching and learning in each CCA. The findings from each study were then consolidated to deepen understanding of learning in the music CCA context and draw possible learning points that impact the quality of learning in instrumental CCAs. Preliminary findings suggested the following: (a) For the 'learning' lens, students were generally engaged in the rehearsal room and mostly took their practices seriously to learn their repertoire. (b) For the 'pedagogy' lens, practices were coordinated so that the instrumental instructors modelled good practice habits and techniques while preparing the students for the full practices led by the conductor, who then built what was taught to bring the music together. (c) For the 'community dynamics' lens, there was generally adequate communication between the different school stakeholders, namely the instructors, teachers and school leadership that facilitated the success of these groups. In a few schools, systems and structures were intentionally set up to support the growth of the CCA. (d) For the 'environment' lens, while some schools had specialised training facilities, instructors would adapt to whatever resources available to effectively carry out teaching.