Music Education Commons^™

The Art Of Sustaining Orchestras Through Intentional Educational Experiences, Kimberly Souther

Dissertations, 2020-current

The purpose of this study is to identify the most current and successful advances in audience engagement that champion connection and result in sustainability through purposeful educational experiences.

The Symphony Orchestra currently serves an audience which represents a multiplicity of perspectives, background, and understanding. In an era of expanded canon and outreach to local communities, the orchestra must acknowledge that change is necessary if we are to truly create fulfilling experiences for our listeners. Unfortunately, many orchestras fail to connect their outreach to the concert hall, woefully categorizing their patrons into pre-determined subsets. What if all patrons were trusted with …

What Is A Folk Song? An Exploration Through Collection, Gregory S. Conway

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Over decades of work, scholars have created varying definitions of folk songs. While many have developed clear definitions (Karpeles, 1973; Lornell, 1993; Seeger, 1948; Texas Folklore Society, n.d.), others have concluded that no true definition exists (Brumfield, 1998; Nettl 2011). This lack of clarity in what a folk song is invites an exploration into how we define this genre. The purpose of this multiple case study was two-fold. First, I collected songs sung by families within a rural school community and examined them by using interview data to identify the characteristics of folk music in this context. Second, I shared …

Factors Influencing Student Continuance In Instrumental Music Classes: A Quantitative Analysis, Andrew Duncan

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In this quantitative study I investigated relationships between motivation, music aptitude, academic achievement, race, gender, and instrument type and student continuance in their first year of instrumental music study. Beginning instrumental music students (n = 30) completed the EVC Survey (Kosovich et al., 2015) to determine expectancy, value, and cost. I collected data on music aptitude, gender, race, and instrument type from teacher and school records, and conducted binary logistic regression and Chi-Square tests in order to determine predictors of continuance in instrumental music classes. I excluded gender, race, and instrument type from the logistic regression model because they did …

Video Game Sound As Educational Space, Leonard Grasso

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Synergizing fields such as music theory, computing, musicology, cognition, and psychology, scholars and practitioners have approached game music from many directions. However, research on pedagogical usages of game music is still emerging. While many education scholars have researched game-based-learning (Bourgonjon et al, 2013; Simões, Redondo, & Vilas, 2013; Beavis, Muspratt, & Thompson, 2015; Hamari et al, 2016), music education authors have largely remained distant from ludomusicology (the study of music as it relates to play). I intend to bridge that gap by examining the intersections of game music and sound, player interaction, and learning. My research synthesizes the work of …

Pieces Of Us: Songwriting Our Stories In Harrisonburg, Va, Davina Miaw

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Storytelling is a way in which humans communicate their lives as narratives and understand the world around them. Storytelling through composing music allows students not only a means of personal expression, but also enhanced literacy skills, social skills, and understandings of basic musical concepts (e.g., Barrett & Stauffer, 2012; Kaschub & Smith, 2009). This thesis contains a digital storybook of fifth grade students’ original songs that documents their processes of turning ideas into final products and examines their thoughts and words about songwriting and identity development. It also shares autoethnographic reflections on ways in which my identity as a musician …

Tone Production, Musicianship Training, Repertoire Development, Performance Practice: A Pedagogical Overview Of Selected International Children's Choirs, Janet Hostetter

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Abstract

Directors of children’s choirs benefit greatly from understanding the pedagogical processes used in internationally-recognized children’s choirs. The sharing of ideas and resources among children’s choir directors is especially critical in the United States where diverse populations are the norm. Cross-cultural collaboration produces inspiration for new repertoire and exposes developing singers to the established performance practices upheld in choral communities of other nations. The effort to incorporate musical practices across regions builds meaningful relationships as directors and singers learn to understand, respect, and perform music of other lands. Finally, when children’s choir directors understand the pedagogical practices embraced by global …

Documenting Fifth-Grade Band Students’ Experiences In A Kodály-Centered Beginning Band Curriculum, Elisabeth Henderson Dhillon

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

ABSTRACT

Based on the work of Hungarian composer and educator Zoltán Kodály, the Kodály method, a sound-to-symbol approach to music-making and literacy stemming from an aural and auditory entry point, forms an integral aspect of many elementary level general music curricula in the United States. In this process-oriented, experiential approach, students hear and explore music kinesthetically, aurally and through folk and art song before visual concepts in the form of notes in formal notation are introduced.

In contrast, traditional beginning band methodologies tend not to incorporate a sound-to-symbol approach, teaching the intricacies of a complex new instrument in conjunction with …

Playing Together: A Chamber Music Guide, Nicholas Scott Matherne

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Chamber Music, as purported by numerous academic and non-academic music education sources, is a valuable for developing the essential skills for musical development. The guide is designed to serve as scaffolding for young musicians to play chamber music together without the structure of a formal teacher. To facilitate this process for a variety of students, the music is designed using diverse instrumentation scoring so that any group of 5 musicians can play together the music arranged for this book. By examining all of the exercises in this guide, young musicians will complete self-driven content lessons in all of the nine …

Rockin’ Around The Clock: An Exploratory Study Of Music Teachers' Personal Listening Choices, Virginia Wayman Davis

Research & Issues in Music Education

This study aimed to explore the personal music listening choices of music teachers. Specifically, in which formats do teachers listen to music for personal pleasure, how do they obtain the music they choose, and how frequently do they choose to listen to certain genres of music. Using an online survey, music teachers answered questions about their listening and purchasing habits. Results were then analyzed using simple statistics and Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) to discover listening preferences for the group as a whole, as well as what differences may occur with regards to age, teaching situation or other factors. Through this …

The Variety Show: Why Classical String Musicians Are Exploring A Multistyle Approach To Teaching, Kelly C. Wiedemann

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The Variety Show: Why Classical String Musicians are

Exploring a Multistyle Approach to Music

Kelly C. Wiedemann

This case study examines the experiences of five classically trained string teachers who now include alternative styles in their teaching. The research questions are: (1) What factors inspire a classically trained string educator to begin teaching alternative styles to their students? (2) Why is it important to keep classical music in string pedagogy? (3) How have these teachers, their peers, students, and community reacted to multistylism? The interviews revealed four major points of motivation: Opportunities for developing creativity and finding a personal voice …

Pre-Service Music Teachers' Perspectives Of Experiences In An Informal Music Learning Group, Veronica Jane Sharpe

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Pre-service music teachers’ undergraduate preparation is often geared towards formal music making (i.e., large conductor-led ensembles). However, recent research suggests that many school-aged students are making music in informal settings (e.g. garage bands) outside of school. Despite a recent influx of research in informal music learning, there is little information on pre-service music teacher’s opinions towards and preparedness in incorporating informal music making into the classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine how pre-service music teachers’ informal music learning experiences shaped their perspectives on the importance of informal music learning and its role in the classroom. For this …