Music Education Commons^™

Singers’ Experiences Of Community In The Shenandoah Valley Children’S Choir, Heidi B. King

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In the music and education fields, researchers have explored the ways people experience community in classroom and ensemble settings; however, few studies have focused on the ways adolescents experience community in the children’s choir setting. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore singers’ perspectives of their experience of community in the Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir. Fifteen singers participated in focus group interviews to generate primary data; rehearsal observations and document analysis served as secondary data sources. Analysis revealed that participants’ goals and motivations aligned with the stated goals of the organization, and that these shared goals gave …

Multicultural Music Education: Preparedness, Perceptions, And Practice Among Virginia Elementary Music Educators, Benjamin J. Luna

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Benjamin Joel Luna, M. M.

James Madison University, 2021

Supervisor: Lisa M. Maynard

The purpose of this study was to examine the Multicultural Music Education (MME) practices of established (i.e. more than three years of music teaching experience) Elementary Music Teachers in the state of Virginia by examining their responses to a series of survey questions specific to the topic. Participants (N=18) were all current Elementary Music Teachers in the state of Virginia with more than three years of experience.

Participants were asked to use Likert-scale ratings for the majority of the questions but were also given the …

Stress And Burnout Among Undergraduate Music Education Majors: An Examination Of Trends, Influences, And Coping Mechanisms, Emily Carroll

Honors Projects

Previous research points to an increase in undergraduate music education major stress. A stress questionnaire was sent to three Midwest collegiate institutions: one was a mid-sized liberal arts school, another was a conservatory, and the last was a large state institution. Findings confirm concerning elevated levels of stress among undergraduate music education majors. The levels of stress appear to be a universal issue in this particular degree program, implying there is a need for change to better student wellness.

Shaping The Mind Through Music- A Family Challenge Of The 21st Century, Elisa H. Meyer

Honors Projects

This research provides reasoning for the importance of music education in America's schools. Music education is an integral ingredient in the cognitive development of the child- benefiting long term functions such as speech and language skills, memory, creativity, critical thinking, and general intelligence. Music allows a child to develop into their whole selves, encouraging the growth of their fullest potential. Various educational philosophies, such as the Rudolf Steiner philosophy and the Suzuki method describe the significance of this and outline substancial ways in which this integration is made possible. These philosophies are defined and discussed within this paper. Finally, insight …

Constructivist Peer Review In Music Theory And Composition Courses: Technologies And Practice, Brendan Mcconville

Journal of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction

This article considers the supporting technologies and practices for effective semi-anonymous peer review in traditional music theory and composition-related courses: orchestration, arranging, and composition. A coordinated approach probes two questions nested within one broad case study: (1) does the use of peer review in music theory and composition-related courses create meaningful, constructivist-inspired learning experiences, and (2) what web technologies can efficiently and effectively accomplish its activities? The article first provides a constructivist theoretical framework; next, it explains the methodologies, technologies, and resulting feedback from using peer review in a three-course study; and finally it provides concluding remarks on the many …

Remixed, Remastered: Investigating Organizational Adaptation In Higher Music Education, Jacob Bruce Hertzog

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Higher music education presents a unique opportunity to examine change within higher education due to the digital revolution in the music industry over the past two decades. The purpose for conducting this study was to describe, map, and explain the strategies that higher music education programs are using to adapt to the digital revolution in the music industry. This study was grounded in organizational adaptation theory, drawing upon nine well-established theories: population ecology, life cycles, strategic choice, isomorphism, symbolic action, resource dependence, cybernetics, and network theory. Critical concepts of the turbulent environment, environmental perception, and organizational adaptation strategy emerged from …

Constructivism In Choral Music Education: Supplemental Activities For The Traditional Choral Ensemble, Allison Renee Fojo

Graduate Thesis Collection

Constructivism in music education can help teachers and students alike better their educational experience by working as a collaborative team. In the choral classroom, constructivist teaching establishes the teacher as the facilitator of learning rather than the “teacher as conductor.” Teachers help foster the musical-thinking of the ensemble. Students learn and retain information when teachers can support learners’ understanding of musical ideas and work within the student’s zone of proximal development. Through the use of teacher-guided questioning, cognitive apprenticeship, informal music-making, CMP, problem-solving, and Understanding by Design, students become active participants. Included are supplemental activities for the traditional choir classroom …

Breaking The Cycle: Incorporating A Pedagogy Of Expression In Secondary Ensembles, Autumn Mortenson

Senior Honors Theses

Western music education is caught in a cycle of constant concert preparation. Even though teaching expression is an important standard of music education, it is not often the focus of secondary ensembles. This thesis explores the rationale for teaching secondary instrumental students to think expressively, the benefits of teaching expressive performance, and the methods to successfully incorporate this pedagogy. This project aims to show that the creation of expressive opportunity and responsibility during regular rehearsals would allow the students to further develop these skills without detracting from the quality of public performances. The conclusion of this project will provide ensemble …

Serving Special Education Students In The Music Classroom: Accommodating And Advocating For Learners With Exceptionalities, Kathryn Lambert

Masters Theses

Music education programs positively impact the lives of students both socially and emotionally. As the following research suggests, music may have an even greater impact on students with disabilities or exceptionalities. Due to the lack of accessibility, funding, time, training, and other issues, opportunities in music education programs may be limited to groups of students who may not fit the standard music education student profile. As teachers of common core classes may struggle to accommodate students with exceptionalities and may feel as if they are lacking in resources or other needed preparation to adequately serve these students, these struggles are …

An Exploration Of Team Teaching In The School Band Setting, Aaron Zane Thomas

MSU Graduate Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the goals, structure, and director perceptions of team-teaching practices within a vertically-aligned band program. Previous research has indicated that “team teaching” can provide many benefits to both students and teachers. Since not all school districts apply such a system, the objective of this study was to explore a school band program that has implemented vertically-aligned team teaching. I wanted to understand how the directors perceived its benefits, drawbacks, and difficulties. I selected a band program with an established vertically-aligned program that used team-teaching as a pedagogical strategy. I interviewed and observed band …

An Analysis Of Effective Practice Strategies For The Performing Undergraduate University-Level Pianist, Elizabeth Ann Duncan

Music Theses & Dissertations

The intent of this study was to provide awareness of the trends surrounding piano practice pedagogy as determined by students either immersed in a university piano program or graduates thereof. The areas of study include a historical context of university music programs and the field of piano pedagogy, trends of imitative instruction, the importance of qualitative and quantitative practice, and the discovery of piano practice routines of collegiate pianists. This research project was approved for an IRB exemption by the Old Dominion University College of Arts and Letters.

Within this study, the subjects were either graduates of a collegiate piano …

A Mentoring Network For Novice And Experienced Music Teachers: Concept, Design, Outcomes, And Recommendations, Kristina R. Weimer, Daniel J. Albert

School of Music Faculty Publications and Presentations

Two university music education faculty aimed to expand mentoring beyond a one-to-one relationship to a more collaborative approach by creating a year-long online mentoring network of experienced and novice music educators. The purpose of this article is to describe the network’s structure and content, and discuss outcomes and recommendations based on participating teachers’ perspectives and experiences. Network materials promoted discussion and reflection on various music teaching and learning topics; the sharing of strategies, ideas, and resources; and mutual support and encouragement. Participants discussed topics with direct application for their classes and shared rewarding teaching moments, student successes, positive assessment outcomes, …

Work In Progress. Haydn’S Schemata And Hexachords: Two Analytical Case Studies, Gilad Rabinovitch

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

Two analytical case studies, from Haydn’s minuet al roverso (from the Symphony Hob. I: 47) and the opening movement of the String Quartet Op. 50, no. 6, show the interaction of galant schemata (Gjerdingen 2007) and the hexachordal solmization of the solfeggio tradition (Baragwanath 2020). Haydn plays upon conventional galant schemata—presumably elements of style shared by listeners who are closely familiar with the idiom (even if they do not have explicit schema labels); he also plays upon a more esoteric element of his own training and that of many other musicians in the period: hexachordal solmization. By considering both schemata …

Audiation And Its Applications For Intonation In Beginning Band, Jake G. Maine

Honors College Theses

Music educators take on the daunting task of teaching students a wide array of skills necessary to promote independent musicianship. Among this list of skills is the ability to play with good intonation. The theoretical basis of this study draws on the work of Edwin E. Gordon, his music learning theory, and his audiation based approach to the acquisition of musical proficiency. This study implements three separate treatments: singing with Curwen hand signs, playing with an accurate tonal model, and playing over a tonic drone to measure the effectiveness of each treatment. Participants were 7th grade band students who play …

The Vocal Point: Honoring A Legacy: The Final Conversation With Arthur Woodley, Justin John Moniz, Minnita Daniel-Cox

Music Faculty Publications

AMERICAN BASS ARTHUR WOODLEY APPEARED with prestigious opera companies around the U.S. and abroad, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, L'Opera de Montreal, Opera Philadelphia, Dallas Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Pittsburgh, Opera, New Orleans Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. His many roles included Varlaam in Boris Godunov, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro, the Four Villains in Les contes d'Hoffman, Kuno in Der Freischütz, Banquo in Macbeth, Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress, Sulpice in La fille du régiment, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Rocco in …

Introduction To Special Issue, Music In World Religions: A Response To Isabel Laack, Heather Maclachlan

Music Faculty Publications

This article serves to introduce a special issue of Religions, titled Music in World Religions. A 2015 article by religion scholar Isabel Laack claimed that the study of music and religion has been neglected by Laack’s peers in the field of religions. Responding to Laack, I argue that scholars of music have been making important contributions to the study of music and religion and, indeed, have been addressing the twelve specific topics she highlights for decades. After summarizing academic works which respond to Laack’s twelve categories of inquiry, I introduce each of the articles in this special issue, showing that …

Equipping The Wearer Of Many Hats: Considerations For A Classroom Choir Teacher And Theatrical Music Director, Joshua Burfeind

Senior Honors Theses

A high school choir teacher also serving as the theater music director is faced with the challenge of facilitating the learning process for a similar group of students at two different times of day in two different types of performance. One general key to success is to keep the aim in mind. For classroom choirs, the goal is to perform an intricately refined set of songs, calling for a long-term plan supplemented by learning moments. By contrast, the vocal rehearsal for theater must focus on efficiency because of the limited amount of rehearsal time considering the various other aspects of …

Re-Forming Music: Martin Luther’S Impact On Church Music Through The Lutheran Reformation, Soraya Peront

Musical Offerings

Martin Luther is regarded as a seminal figure in 16th-century Europe, having a profound impact on the development of the Protestant Church as it separated from the Roman Catholic Church. Though Luther is most commonly known for his theological influences during the time, his upbringing and musical education strongly influenced his theological beliefs. Not only did this result in a development of a new Christian denomination, but Luther permanently changed the way music was written and performed in the church. How is it, though, that we can credit this musical change to Luther? Through an examination of Luther’s musical understanding …

Karlee Sanders And Clara Taylor In A Joint Senior Voice Recital, Karlee Sanders, Clara Taylor

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the program for the senior voice recital of Karlee Sanders and Clara Taylor held on October 22, 2021, in the McBeth Recital Hall in Mabee Fine Arts Center.

Book Review: Globalization, Nationalism And Music Education In The Twenty-First Century In Greater China, By Wai-Chung Ho, Amsterdam University Press, 2021, P. 342, Isbn: 978-9463729932, Frank Abrahams

Visions of Research in Music Education

No abstract provided.

Inspired Practice: The Values Of High School Band Directors, Gregory X. Whitmore

Visions of Research in Music Education

This study addresses how high school band directors operationalize their values for music education in their band program s. High school band directors described that their values developed from a variety of influences, namely their educator identity, and the experience of their own participation in high school and collegiate music. I employed a qualitative methodology to determine emergent themes and compare participant responses and band program curricula. Findings from this study indicate these values inform many band directors’ decisions regarding high school band curricula, which they operationalize in curricular outcomes, and through a variety of artistic and educational opportunities for …

Vocal Techniques For The Instrumentalist 2nd Edition, Amy Rosine

NPP eBooks

Vocal Techniques, the course title used at many institutions, is essentially a voice class for instrumentalists, and is often a required course for instrumental music education majors seeking all-level certification. Students take at least one Vocal Techniques course to learn proper singing technique along with basic pedagogy. Some courses include teaching techniques as they apply to adolescent singers. The focus of the course is the development of the individual singing voice. This includes breathing, tone production, articulation, musicality and textual expression and understanding. Students also develop confidence in front of groups, improve their general vocal quality, and learn that a …

Investigating The Music Learning Journeys Of A Student From Cyprus: A Case Study, Maria Papazachariou-Christoforou

Visions of Research in Music Education

The purpose of this case study was to explore the music-making and learning practices of a male elementary student from Cyprus in different settings, inside and outside school. It considers that individuals take many different pathways to become musicians. Their journeys might include contexts in a broad educational spectrum from highly structured and sequential, to informal, and enculturating. The study investigated the characteristics and practices of the diverse teaching-learning contexts involving the participant, the intersection of those settings, and the student's perceptions, feelings, and thoughts about the value of music experiences in those settings for his musical growth. The study …

Musical Knowledge And Choral Curriculum Development, David Bower

Visions of Research in Music Education

This paper examines the nature of musical knowledge as it impacts choral curriculum development. The author suggests that musical knowledge is broader than the mere recitation of facts and therefore argues for a praxial conception of musical knowledge. Based on David Elliott's philosophy of music education, the author suggests that the choral curriculum emphasize process over product and explores ways that constructivism may inform the delivery of choral music instruction.

The Application Of Critical Theory To A Sixth Grade General Music Class, Frank Abrahams

Visions of Research in Music Education

This article looks at critical theory as a post-modern philosophical foundation for a sixth grade general music curriculum. The author reviews the literature on critical theory, discussing the origins of the theory in Frankfurt, Germany in the early 1920s and traces the applications critical theory finds in American schools of the current era. The author suggests that critical theory is appropriate for music education as it empowers musicianship and enables music teachers to connect the music children experience in school with the music they hear outside. The author describes how critical theory may inform and transform the development of a …

The Relationship Of Vocal Accuracy, Gender, And Music Aptitude Amoung Elementary Students, Susan C. Guerrini

Visions of Research in Music Education

The purpose of the study was to gain insight into how children in the fourth and fifth grade acquire singing ability. The question to be pursued in the course of this study is as follows: What differences are found in children's singing accuracy relative to tonal music aptitude and gender? The students in the sample comprised the entire fourth and fifth grades in a suburban middleclass school. There were 174 students with gender almost evenly distributed; specifically 86 males and 88 females. Students were audio taped singing three separate tasks: 1) patterns from the Singing Voice Development Measure (SVDM), 2) …

A Hierarchy Of Rhythm Performance Patterns For Kindergarten Children, Debbie Lynn Wolf

Visions of Research in Music Education

The purpose of this research was to improve understanding of the musical abilities of kindergarten children and to establish a hierarchy of rhythm patterns performed by these subjects. The "Rhythm Pattern Performance Test" (RPT), an investigator-designed music achievement test for kindergarten subjects, examined the ability to perform rhythm patterns in imitative response to a recorded model. The test consisted of thirty recorded rhythm patterns, and required approximately four minutes to administer to each subject. Subjects (N =165) were audiotape recorded as they listened and imitated each of the patterns; their recorded responses were evaluated by two independent judges using a …

Influences Of Gender And Sex-Stereotyping Of Middle School Student's Perception And Selection Of Musical Instruments: A Review Of The Literature, Mark J. Walker

Visions of Research in Music Education

Gender stereotypes continue to persist at all levels regarding male and female participation in music. Indeed, stereotypes are evident at the elementary and middle school levels when children choose a musical instrument for study in beginning band or orchestra. Research has shown sex-stereotyping of instruments to exist, often unconsciously, in both males and females. Usually, trombones, drums, tubas are viewed as being overtly masculine instruments while the flute, clarinet, and oboe are viewed as being overtly feminine instruments. These masculine and feminine characteristics that are placed on these instruments are often transferred to the individual who plays them. These stereotypes …

The Application Of Critical Theory To A Sixth Grade General Music Class, Frank Abrahams

Visions of Research in Music Education

This article looks at critical theory as a post-modern philosophical foundation for a sixth grade general music curriculum. The author reviews the literature on critical theory, discussing the origins of the theory in Frankfurt, Germany in the early 1920s and traces the applications critical theory finds in American schools of the current era. The author suggests that critical theory is appropriate for music education as it empowers musicianship and enables music teachers to connect the music children experience in school with the music they hear outside. The author describes how critical theory may inform and transform the development of a …

A New Vision, Cecil Adderley

Visions of Research in Music Education

No abstract provided.