Music Education Commons^™

The Benefits Of Singing And Audiation For Beginning Musicians, Elissa Harris

Graduate Research Showcase

This literature review explores the impact of audiation and singing on the aural sensitivity of novice musicians, shedding light on the fundamental role of these processes in music education. Audiation, the cognitive ability to internally hear and understand music, and singing, as an active manifestation of audiation, are integral components of musical development. However, their precise influence on the development of aural sensitivity in beginners remains understudied.

Through a comprehensive review of existing literature and empirical investigation, this review seeks to uncover the relationship between audiation, singing, and the enhancement of aural skills among novice musicians. Furthermore, the literature review …

Seeking A Feminist Approach To Scholarly Innovations In Music Teacher Education, Andrea Maas

Visions of Research in Music Education

The marketization (Marchand & Orsorno Velázquez, 2016) of higher education impacts faculty through hiring practices, workload structures, and reappointment and promotion policies. Women faculty in fields such as music education need to negotiate masculine discourses and gendered constructions of innovation (Alsos et al., 2013) in a STEM focused economy. Values held by feminist pedagogues could serve as a framework through which to consider a more feminist approach to research and scholarship. Qualities such as equalization of power, collaboration, affective learning, inclusiveness of diversity, and social responsibility may surface through a researcher’s approach to inquiry or in the content itself. This …

Gender And Participation In Popular Music Ensembles: Perspectives Of Modern Band Teachers, Bryan Powell

Visions of Research in Music Education

This article explores gender dynamics in popular music education, focusing on the perspectives of modern band teachers across the United States. Drawing from existing literature and a survey of 390 modern band educators, the study examines the extent to which modern band teachers perceive their own gender identities influence student participation and enrollment in elective modern band classes. While the majority of respondents believed their gender does not significantly impact enrollment, female teachers were more likely to indicate that they felt that their gender had an impact on student enrollment compared to their male counterparts. Additionally, the study uncovers challenges …

Musical Engagement: A Conceptual Model Of Contextual Influences, Allison R. Durbin

Visions of Research in Music Education

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model of contextual influences on musical engagement in a person’s life. I developed this domain-specific conceptual model based on Bronfenbrenner’s (2001) bioecological theory of human development. The model accounts for multiple, interacting contexts that may influence an adolescent’s musical development. In this model, I consider one’s musical life as an acknowledgment of the multitude of ways that music is a part of their daily life. A musical life encompasses more than a formal music education, and as Abeles (2010) posits, “Music education does not exist isolated in the music classroom. …

Dissertations Chaired By Professor Harold F. Abeles: 1975-2021, Colleen Conway

Visions of Research in Music Education

This manuscript provides discussion of the 152 dissertations in which Dr. Harold F. Abeles served as the chair during his career in higher education. The first two were at the University of North Carolina Greensboro in 1975 and the next five were at Indiana University between 1979 and 1982. The final 145 (!) were chaired at Teachers College Columbia University between 1987 and 2021. Sections in the introduction include: (a) What Makes a Good Dissertation Chair?; (b) Who Was Studied?; and (c) How Studies Were Done. Topics of the collective works include gender, applied music study, and program evaluation, among …

Storying Research: A Conversation With Hal Abeles, Mary Hafeli

Visions of Research in Music Education

In this interview, Hal Abeles describes the conceptual and methodological origins and evolution of his published scholarship. With a focus on his work in gender studies in music education, evaluation of music studio teaching in higher education, and assessment of community arts and orchestra programs, he traces his scholarly passions and achievements over the course of his fifty-year career.

Applying Student-Centered Strategies In The Applied Teaching Music Studio, Jeanne Goffi-Fynn

Visions of Research in Music Education

Applied studio instruction is a field of education set in the context of a one-to-one setting, traditionally seen as a master-apprentice model, where the “training of skills” is said to be a priority. However, as the field evolves and is influenced by other areas in teaching and learning, one begins to look for ways to apply student-centered or constructivist strategies to the music studio. In this article, we will look broadly at what it means to be student-centered in the music studio, breaking down the areas into five categories of rapport, motivation, critical thinking, content specific areas such as practice, …

Epilogue: “Succinctness Is Next To Godliness”, Cara Faith Bernard

Visions of Research in Music Education

No abstract provided.

From Childhood To Seniorhood: A Developmental Study Of Identity And Challenge, Lori Custodero

Visions of Research in Music Education

I met with Hal Abeles in January, 2024 to interview him about his childhood and his career and to see whether there were connections between his past, present, and future aspirations. Although memories from his early years were a bit difficult to recall, he was able to take me through three quarters of a century of musical experiences that were reflective of who he is and what he does. In this essay, I discuss his early and middle childhood; learning environments including church, schools, and ensembles; his instrumental identity; and the various motivational conditions that created contexts for him to …

From Dissonance To Consonance: Bringing Clarity To Music Assessment And Program Evaluation, Rob Horowitz

Visions of Research in Music Education

Dr. Hal Abeles is a foundational leader in developing music performance assessments, conducting program evaluations of arts partnerships, and publishing basic research on the effects of arts instruction on learning in and across cognitive, social and personal domains. This article explores the theoretical and practical issues in music performance assessment and program evaluation, and how Dr. Abeles clarified, explicated, and created solutions with a broad and deep influence on music and arts education. Dr. Abeles modeled the application of the facet-factorial method for developing assessments of musical performances. Originally designed for assessment of clarinet performance, the method was adapted and …

Celebrating One “Hal” Of A Mentor, Colleen Sears, Lindsay Weiss-Tornatore

Visions of Research in Music Education

No abstract provided.

Richard H. Brown Collection, Lane Dunman

Guides and Finding Aids

American Hymnals and music methods books from the early to mid-20^th century collected by an emeritus Professor of Biology at Ouachita Baptist University.

Julia Smith Taylor Papers, Taylor Lawson

Guides and Finding Aids

These papers are a collection of material pertaining to the life, career, hobbies, volunteer work, and family history of Julia Smith Taylor, who is a native of Arkadelphia, Arkansas and was voice teacher at Arkadelphia High School. The papers contain correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, audiovisual material, church records, and physical objects that are related to her and her family’s involvement with local clubs, churches, schools, and organizations.

The Migration Of South Asians From India To Guyana: The Journey, Struggles In A New Land, Reasons For Changes Over Time And Their Cultivation Of A New Culture., Cynthia C. Harry

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Indians from different regions of India arrived in Guyana through indentureship in 1838. They were under a five-year contract and had to work on the sugar plantations for the duration of their indentureship. While they tried to persist their Indian culture, assimilation in their new environments and interaction with people of different cultures, allowed them to develop a culture unique to Indo Guyanese heritage.

This thesis focuses on the history of Indian diaspora in Guyana. It evokes the struggles they faced on the ships, and during and after indentureship. It also touches on the political and racial issues they had …

The Influence Of Western Music And The Wind Band In The Republic Of Korea, Mark Reimer

Journal of Global Awareness

Beginning with the arrival of American missionaries in 1885, the music of South Korea continues to reflect Western tonality, aesthetics, education, and popular taste. Through this musical and historical evolution, however, the country has not forsaken its traditions, musical imprint, and cultural identity, as will be discussed in the examination of select composers and music compositions.

Preserving The Historic And Cultural Music Of Louisiana Through School Music: An Ethnographic Case Study, Christopher S. Song

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnographic case study was to examine the lives of teachers, students, community members, and culture bearers within a musical community located in South Central Louisiana. The geographic area of focus in this research was Vermilion Parish and its surrounding area, known as Acadiana, the heart of Creole and Cajun culture where Traditional Louisiana Music finds its origins. Participants’ intrinsic cultural understandings of Louisiana’s music and impact on school music programs was examined through ethnographic interview and observation. A resource pedagogy known as funds of knowledge was used as a theoretical framework meant to maintain participants’ intrinsic …

Music Educators' Experiences Integrating Jazz Studies Into The Music Curriculum, Gail Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The inclusion of jazz studies in the secondary school curriculum varies widely across the United States. School district personnel could miss opportunities to instruct students about cultural diversity, self–expression, and collaboration. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the experiences of music educators' challenges integrating jazz studies into their curriculum. Elements from constructivism and culturally relevant pedagogy formed the conceptual framework. The research questions focused on how music educators described their challenges and what skills and strategies were needed to integrate jazz studies into the curriculum. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 12 participants across three …

With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner

Whittier Scholars Program

My Whittier Scholars Program self-designed major, Teaching Creativity, is a mixture of Art, Literature, and Education classes. My research and praxis classes have been focused on the ‘how?’s and 'why?’s of creativity, so it felt only right that my project should be a constructivist, generative project. The project I have been working on throughout my time at Whittier, and that has just fully come to fruition on April 11th, 2024, was a solo art gallery/open mic event entitled ‘With Love,’. With Love, was conceptually inspired by the research I’ve conducted on creativity and creative arts education over the past few …

Implementing Music To Increase Elementary Student Focus, Kathryn Garceau

Master's Theses

This action research project used a mixed methods design to address the effect of different types of music on student focus while performing an independent task. Despite its success with memorization, does music work equally as well on student focus? Data was collected over a period of three weeks for 30 minutes each morning for 5 days each week. The music played while students completed the task changed each week. This included lyrical songs during week one, classical music during week two, and instrumental versions of songs students knew the lyrics to during week three. Four behavior markers were observed …

Eliciting A Syncopated Response From An Ensemble, Thomas Trautman

Dissertations

This dissertation began the process of aggregating available knowledge on the subject of eliciting a syncopated response from a musical ensemble from professors of conducting and conducting textbooks, searching for commonalities, and distilling them into several independent variables which can then be quantitatively tested in an experimental or quasi-experimental setting in future research.

Participants (n = 11) were Directors of Choral Activities, or any other job title with similar responsibilities, at universities which confer doctoral degrees in Choral Conducting. Each participant was required to have a different educational background than every other participant. Participants were given 15 examples of …