Music Commons^™

Learner-Centered Pedagogies In A Secondary Choral Classroom, Bobby Matthew Reidling

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this research is to develop practice-informed recommendations for integrating learner-centered pedagogical approaches within secondary choral education. Secondary choral instruction has generally been organized around teacher-centered rehearsal models in which teachers retain primary responsibility for musical and instructional decision-making. While teacher-centered approaches remain widely used, learner-centered models described in broader educational literature have been less frequently examined in ensemble-based choral contexts, particularly regarding their alignment with the collaborative nature of choral instruction. This study is guided by the following research question: How can learner-centered pedagogical approaches be integrated into secondary choral classrooms to support student participation, engagement, and …

Improvisation, Ear Training, And Sight-Reading Ability In Class Piano Students, Kimberly Witt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Sight-reading is considered an essential functional piano skill for music majors and a component of keyboard proficiency exams in the university setting. While many studies have been completed on sight-reading over the years, research on developing sight-reading as a skill is lacking or incomplete. Additionally, conflicting results among studies have created uncertainty about how to develop sight-reading as a skill. Developing sight-reading skills is crucial for class piano students who need functional piano skills relevant to their future profession. Studying the correlation between improvisation, aural skills, and sight-reading development may show how sight-reading can be built as a skill and …

Safeguarding Mission And Sustainability: A Qualitative Study Of Legal, Financial, And Governance Strategies In Faith-Based Nonprofit Performance Conservatories, Kathey G. Spurr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study examined how nonprofit attorneys, certified public accountants, and board members describe legal, financial, and governance strategies that support faith-based nonprofit performance conservatories. The study addressed a gap in nonprofit governance scholarship by examining professional advisory and board perspectives within religiously oriented performing arts institutions. Semi-structured interviews with nonprofit attorneys and certified public accountants, along with questionnaires completed by board members, provided the primary evidence for thematic analysis. Observation notes and reflexive journaling increased procedural documentation, triangulation, and analytic accountability. Analysis identified five themes: governance structure and board accountability, financial controls and internal safeguards, regulatory and legal compliance, …

“The Rubber Lung” - An Original Instrument Design, San Gonzalez

2026 Symposium

This project presents an experimental sensor-based instrument designed to produce unconventional sound textures for horror media. The device uses a flex sensor on a balloon that is then connected to an Arduino, which responds to bending and movement, sending data to a Max/MSP patch where the input controls sound processing such as filters and frequency. The physical motion of flexing the sensor on the balloon mimics the expansion and contraction of lungs, creating a breathing like interaction between performer and instrument. This design allows subtle gestures to alter the sound in real time. By using a bodily, breathing motion into …

Performing Methods Of Beethoven’S Violin Concerto In D Major, Op. 61, Third Movement: “Rondo: Allegro”, Zike Qi

Dissertations, 2020-current

This document examines the third movement “Rondo: Allegro” of Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven, focusing on how structural relationships in the score are transformed into auditory experience through performance methods. Rather than treating performance as a direct reproduction of the text, this research understands it as a process in which structure becomes perceptible in time.

Combining structural analysis, recording comparison, and self-recording practice, the study interprets the movement within a rondo–sonata framework (A–B–A–C–A–B–A). It demonstrates that the rondo theme assumes different functions—presentation, transition, and development—depending on its structural position.

Through comparison of recordings by …

Music 274 Syllabus (Theory Iv, Harmony, Counterpoint, Keyboard Skills), Gilad Rabinovitch

Open Educational Resources

This is a syllabus for Music 274 relying on open-access / zero-cost materials on Open Music Theory (Gotham et al.) and developed by the instructor. Modules developed by the instructor include Szymanowska-style and Joplin-style model composition projects and an analytical focus on chromatic harmony in Schubert.

Sing Lustily And With Good Courage: Reinventing Methodist Hymns In The Context Of The Indonesian Methodist Church, Budi Taniwan

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

The majority of Methodist churches continue to uphold the legacy of hymn singing, a practice highly esteemed by early Methodists. John and Charles Wesley employed hymns alongside sermons as a means of teaching Methodist theology, shaping Christian discipleship, and forming Methodist identity. However, in contemporary times, Indonesian Methodist churches recite fewer doctrinal hymns. Inadequate early translations, the absence of authentically Indonesian Methodist hymns, and the emergence of contemporary Christian music have contributed to this decline. Changes in liturgy, worship culture, and technology have also transformed the way congregations learn and sing their faith. This study explores the historical and theological …

Heuristic Inquiry As A Research Method In Music Education, Austina F. Lee

Visions of Research in Music Education

This article presents heuristic inquiry as a form of autoethnography and its potential as a methodological resource for music educators. Rather than reporting findings from a single study, the article illustrates how heuristic inquiry can serve as a structured yet flexible process of critical reflection that helps teachers navigate the cultural and political contexts of their work. Drawing on the author’s experiences as a high school choral director, the discussion highlights the six phases and seven processes of heuristic inquiry, showing how personal reflection, cultural awareness, and relational care can be interwoven into professional practice. By framing autoethnography as both …

Disrupting The Silence: A Case For Critical Race Theory In Music Education, Preston Wilson Jr.

Visions of Research in Music Education

In response to the inequities within music education, Critical Race Theory (CRT) offers an approach to analyzing how race and racism operate within music education and prompts educators to critically examine existing structures and practices. CRT is a comprehensive framework that offers fundamental insights, perspectives, methods, and pedagogical approaches. Its primary objective is to identify, analyze, and transform the structural and cultural factors that perpetuate the marginalization and subordination of People of Color. CRT’s origins can be traced back to the legal system, where it emerged as a means to challenge and dismantle the pervasive influence of race and racism …

Professionalizing Folklore In Latin America: Four Paradigms Of The Musician And The Coloniality Of Music Education, Matias Recharte

Visions of Research in Music Education

In this article, I discuss the professionalization of folklore and its entanglements with coloniality through an analysis of four paradigms of the musicians I encountered in conversations with students, administrators and instructors at the Escuela Nacional de Folklore Jose Maria Arguedas in Lima, Peru. I contrast two pairs of paradigms, the empírico with the académico and the chivero with the professional in order to show how the “professional folklore musician” is constructed through similarities and differences with these paradigms. For my analysis, I use a coloniality theory framework (Casto-Gomez, 2021; Quijan, 1980, 2000, 2007; Segato 2011, 2022) which considers social …

La Profesionalización Del Folklore En América Latina: Cuatro Paradigmas Del Músico Y La Colonialidad De La Educación Musical, Matias Recharte

Visions of Research in Music Education

En este artículo discuto la profesionalización del folklore y su imbricación con la colonialidad a través de un análisis de cuatro paradigmas del músico que emergieron en conversaciones con estudiantes, administradores e instructores de la Escuela Nacional Superior de Folklore José María Arguedas en Lima, Perú. Contrasto dos pares de paradigmas, el empírico con el académico y el “chivero” con el profesional para mostrar como el “músico profesional de folklore” es construido a través de similitudes y diferencias con estos paradigmas. Para el análisis utilizo un marco teórico decolonial (Casto-Gómez, 2021; Quijano, 1980, 2000, 2007; Segato 2011, 2015) que toma …

Consequences Of Teacher Violence Among Musicians, Karla María Reynoso Vargas, Basilio Fernández-Morante

Visions of Research in Music Education

This is a standalone work, but it is complementary to the study, “Teacher violence in university music education: An exploration in a Mexican context.” It presents the analysis of emerging information found in 53 stories of victims of teacher violence in university music programs. We incorporated reflections and contributions from students, professionals, and dropouts of music careers in the Mexican Republic, who voluntarily shared their stories. The first category describes the consequences of teacher violence. On one hand, there were effects interpreted as positive, including the activation of achievement orientation, overexertion, and self-demand. It is pointed out that these consequences …

Consecuencias De La Violencia Docente: Recuentos Desde El Campo De La Formación Musical Universitaria En México, Karla M. Reynoso Vargas, Basilio Fernández-Morante

Visions of Research in Music Education

Este es un trabajo independiente, pero complementario al estudio «La violencia docente en la educación musical universitaria: una exploración en el contexto mexicano». Presenta el análisis de la información que se desprende de 53 relatos de víctimas de violencia docente en programas universitarios de música. Incorporamos reflexiones y aportaciones de estudiantes, profesionales y personas que abandonaron sus carreras de música en la República Mexicana, quienes compartieron voluntariamente sus historias. La primera categoría describe las consecuencias de la violencia docente. Por un lado, se observaron efectos interpretados como positivos, entre ellos la activación de la orientación al logro, el sobreesfuerzo y …

Teacher Violence In University Music Education: An Exploration In The Mexican Context, Karla María Reynoso Vargas, Basilio Fernández-Morante

Visions of Research in Music Education

This article presents the results of an exploratory phenomenological study aimed at identifying expressions of teacher violence in university music training environments in the Mexican context. We analyzed 53 accounts from students, professionals, and dropouts of music degree programs who studied at universities or conservatories across nine Mexican states and voluntarily shared their testimonies through the Mexican Association of Music Psychology (AMEPSIM). We address sociological assumptions about the dynamics of violence, the socio-educational weight of the conservatory tradition and its potential link to the limited application of contemporary pedagogical principles, as well as the normalization of teacher violence. Various forms …

Violencia Docente En La Educación Musical Universitaria: Una Exploración En Contexto Mexicano, Karla M. Reynoso Vargas, Basilio Fernández-Morante

Visions of Research in Music Education

Este artículo presenta los resultados de una investigación fenomenológica exploratoria cuyo objetivo fue identificar expresiones de violencia docente en entornos de formación musical universitaria en el contexto mexicano. Se analizan 53 relatos de estudiantes, profesionales y desertores de carreras musicales que cursaron estudios en universidades o conservatorios de nueve estados de la República Mexicana, quienes compartieron voluntariamente sus testimonios a través de la Asociación Mexicana de Psicología de la Música (AMEPSIM). El estudio aborda supuestos sociológicos sobre las dinámicas de la violencia, el peso socioeducativo de la tradición del conservatorio y su posible vínculo con la limitada aplicación de principios …

A Sociological Framework For Spatial Analyses Of Institutional Musicking In Conflict Spaces, Carol Frierson-Campbell

Visions of Research in Music Education

This essay presents a framework that brings spatial sociology together with Small’s (1998, 1999) concept of musicking and Born’s (2011, 2012, 2015) Planes of Music Sociality. It was developed as an analytical scheme for an ongoing case study of musicking via the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music (ESNCM), the national music conservatory of Palestine. Small’s notion of musicking reminds music educators that musicking activities communicate meanings beyond the obvious: Individual and collective ideals about relationships with sound, with other people, and with the spaces they inhabit. Born’s conception of musical socialities as four interacting planes goes beyond Small’s ideas …

Editorial: Colaboraciones A Través De Las Culturas/Collaborations Across Cultures, Cara Faith Bernard, Jennifer Lang

Visions of Research in Music Education

No abstract provided.

New U Showcase Program, 1974, University Of North Alabama

Documents

New U Showcase Musical, 1974 program.

Rockin’ Rover On The Rainbow Road, Michael Kolta, Lawrence Burgee, Ying Yuan

Transformations

This paper presents a progressive series of age-appropriate lesson plans for grades K-12 that all use the same interdisciplinary activity to educate students about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) simultaneously. Technology from Texas Instruments (TI) was employed including a TI Nspire graphing calculator that can run Python programs, a TI Innovator Hub, and a TI Rover. The TI Rover is a small, robotic car that has sensors and is controlled by the calculator via the Hub hardware interface. A Python program was developed that uses the color sensor in the Rover to detect the color on colored paper …

We Are All In This Together Now: Exploring Community Based Partnerships Focusing On Hip-Hop Based Education, William C. Hunter, Tarol Page Clements, Gregory Washington

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

This article explores a community-based collaborative partnership between three Hip-Hop educational nonprofits, Upward Light Community Cyphers, Project STAND (Social-Emotional, Transition, Academic and Network Developing), and the Center for the Advancement of Youth Development (CAYD), all focused on mental health support for youth, and a public-school program that has serves students with and without exceptionalities. The goal shared by all organizations involved is enhanced educational access and engagement for students with and without exceptionalities. Rooted in the core elements of Hip-Hop — emceeing, DJing/music production, breakdancing, and graffiti art, the collaborative partnership has offered culturally sustaining, arts-integrated instruction that supports both …