Digital Commons Network^™

The Romanian Church Musician: Biblical Foundations For Training Musicians To Serve The Romanian Evangelical Church, Gary Mathena

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Emanuel University of Oradea, Romania, was founded in 1986 as an underground training school for pastors and missionaries during the brutal regime of communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. In December of 1989, Ceaușescu’s government was overthrown. The new democratic government not only officially recognized the school (then the Baptist Biblical Institute) as a theological seminary, but also commissioned the institution to train teachers for the newly emerging, publicly funded religious schools being established across the country. The school accepted that mandate and in 1998 changed its name to Emanuel University of Oradea. The music program began in those early days for …

Transmission Of Araquio Music, Songs, And Movement Conventions: Learning, Experience, And Meaning In Devotional Theatre, Florante P. Ibarra

The Qualitative Report

Araquio, a verse play on the search of the holy cross, is an indigenous folk theatre in the town of Peñaranda, province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines that has survived for over a hundred years. This ethnographic-phenomenological study explores the holistic nature of the transmission and learning processes of araquio music and songs as a theatre-ritual. Its transmission as a social phenomenon is an avenue for music learning that may in fact overshadow its being a diminishing tradition. Using the framework of three modes of enculturation (Merriam, 1964) and interpretation of culture (Geertz, 1973), I investigate the music transmission and learning …

Music Theory For Student Composers: A Course Designed For Engagement By Using Both A Flipped Classroom And Praxial Philosophy, Michelle Nagy

Masters Theses

In a world filled with innovation, technology and hands-on learning, the subject of music theory in the high school classroom has stayed relatively the same for the past fifty years for the student composer. By using the same tried-and-true methods, teachers are introducing concepts through lectures, while students reinforce concepts on their own during their homework assignments. Music examples are given on a regular basis and they are usually played on the piano by the professor or through recording. These methods, while effective, are not meeting the needs of today’s tech savvy and hands-on generation. While students are engaging with …

Does College Prepare The Worship Pastor, James Cooper

Masters Theses

This study shows the relevance that musical skills, theological knowledge and ministerial experience provide in the encompassed ministry of a worship pastor and focuses on how colleges and universities prepare these ministers for a life called to service of the King. The literature reviewed showed an overwhelming response to the worship pastor being qualified in three areas: Musical Ability - there are certain aspects of this ministry that require the worship leader to be able to handle various musical situations. While these ministers need not be piano prodigies, it does require them to be able to lead musicians effectively and …

A Survey Of Elementary And Secondary Music Educators’ Professional Background, Teaching Responsibilities And Job Satisfaction In The United States, Wendy K. Matthews, Karen Koner

Research & Issues in Music Education

The focus of this exploratory study was to examine the current trends of K – 12 music educators in the United States regarding their (a) professional background, (b) classroom teaching responsibilities, and (c) job satisfaction. Participants included seven thousand four hundred and sixty-three (N = 7,463) currently employed music teachers who were members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) during the 2015 – 2016 academic year. To assess the variables, participants responded to a researcher created 49-item Music Educator Survey for K – 12 Teachers. Results indicate that overall, K – 12 music educators were predominately Caucasian …

Redefining The Performance Degree Curriculum For The Crossover Saxophonist, Ian M. Cruz

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Many collegiate saxophone performance degree programs are overwhelmingly classical, adopting from other performance programs in the Western music tradition. However, there is a growing number of saxophone compositions that are “crossover” in nature. Crossover is a term used to describe the fusion of popular music styles in a classical setting. There is also evidence that collegiate music education as a whole is moving towards a more diverse curriculum, which emphasizes ethnomusicology. Due to this trend in composition and education, it is becoming increasingly important that saxophonists have the training of both classical and jazz disciplines.

The problem is that while …

Research Practices Of Music Educators: A Review Of The Journal Of Research In Music Education, Clifton Brent Mcreynolds

Dissertations

Music Education researchers face the same challenge of producing valid, reliable, and thorough work as any field in education. A content analysis was conducted on the Journal of Research in Music Education from 2011-2016 to determine what research trends were occurring and whether or not those trends are continuations of existing literature. Investigation included distributions of research designs as well as the four components Crotty recommended for quality research. Findings supported previous research indicating more qualitative studies within the journal. Also, for those articles having three or four of Crotty’s components, qualitative coding of these components were categorized into constructive-where …

Flash Study Analysis And The Music Learning Profiles Project, Radio Cremata, Bryan Powell, Joseph Michael Pignato, Gareth Dylan Smith

John J. Cali School of Music Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper introduces the Music Learning Profiles Project, and its methodological approach, flash study analysis. Flash study analysis is a method that draws heavily on extant qualitative approaches to education research, to develop broad understandings of music learning in diverse contexts. The Music Learning Profiles Project (MLPP) is an international collaboration to collect and curate a large number of flash studies exploring musicking and music learning in a variety of contexts that fall outside traditional school music education. In this paper the authors present context, rationale, and methods for the project, along with indicative preliminary findings. The project aims to …

A Comparative History And The Importance Of Chamber Music, Aaron M. Sacks

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone presentation focuses on the role of chamber music in both social and academic contexts. Using examples from the past five centuries and including local examples, parallels and divergences are drawn to points of most import. The spotlight is upon three areas: a) what the role of chamber music was in the past, compared to today; b) why it is an important genre, to both musicians, as well as non-musicians, and c) in what ways more exposure to the form can be built. Much of the focus is on composers and their influence, but the impact of and upon …

Program Notes And Translations, Kelly Frailly

Honors Projects

This project consists of program notes about sixteen pieces of music that I publically performed on April 10th, 2016. These notes are comprised of research done about each piece on the program, its composer, the history of the era in which the song or aria was composed, and an analysis of the text. The pieces ranged from Baroque operatic arias all the way to twenty-first century musical theater works. I have also included translations of all of the foreign language pieces.

Towards A Framework For Creativity In Popular Music Degrees, Joe Bennett

Faculty Works

This chapter discusses popular music curricula by talking about classical conservatoires in order to demonstrate that the latter were called into existence with an employability agenda – to provide people who could fulfil society's musical needs. Popular music's aural product manifests itself in one of two ways – as a sound recording, or as a performance. Music industry administrative systems reward the songwriter separately from the performer, and copyright protects the song as a composition differently from the sound recording of the song, privileging melody above all other creative content. This pre-digital-age definition of the songwriting act is problematic for …

Missa Yielu: Music In The Dagara Mass, Karin Rau

Masters Theses

This paper explores the music of Dagara Masses in Ghana. The Dagara people are defined and described according to the geography of their land and linguistic dialects spoken in the region. A discussion of cultural indicators highlights traditional occupations, family structure, and social practices. Dagara musical practices are outlined by function and include descriptions of instruments and how they are played. Examination of indigenous religious beliefs describe the behaviors, values, and symbols that permeate Dagara life. A summary of the Dagara's encounter with Christianity sets the scene for present-day celebrations of the Mass. Through observation and interview, research was conducted …

Music For Caroline: Including Students With Autism In The Elementary General Music Classroom, Meredith B. Dayoub

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose ofthis paper is to research and analyze the history ofspecial education, special education in music, and Autism. The goal is to provide elementary general music educators with a detailed understanding ofthe history ofspecial education and ways to modify lessons to accommodate students with special needs, specifically Autism. Through an analysis of special education history and the legislation that has impacted special education, music educators may find new ways to teach students of varying learning levels. Understanding the medical definition and characteristics of Autism should help educators modify existing lessons or develop new lessons that allow all students, including …

Teaching Music History With Your Mouth Shut, Anne Stone

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

From A Chat In The Parlor To Viral Music Videos: An Analysis Of Music As A Social Occasion, Emma Plotnik

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Imagine an intimate room filled with people playing cards and casually chatting, while one of Chopin’s piano sonatas plays elegantly in the background. This scenario is characteristic of the atmosphere surrounding Classical and Romantic European salons. Salons served as havens of musical discourse from the Baroque era to the early twentieth century. However, with the advancement of technology from the mid-twentieth century to the present, there has been a decline, or, arguably, even a cessation of salon life.

The aim of this project was to recreate the salon environment through the generation of the online discussion forum, "Music Soirée." To …

Diva Diversity: National Vocal Schools And Qualities, Emma Plotnik

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Hearing the term “opera singer” for many triggers an image of a German dramatic soprano bearing viking horns and powerfully bursting into a high C. Yet, what is it that perpetuates this stereotype that German singers possess weighty instruments with dark timbres? Why are classically trained North American vocal students told by their teachers to sing lightly and delicately when performing French mélodie, and not any other genre?

Research in vocal pedagogy has demonstrated that singers from particular regions have been typified by their vocal qualities in terms of size and color. These qualities by nation mainly stem from contrasting …

Jazz And Puerto Rican Traditional Music: A New Generation Of Musical Exploration, Pedro Lavezzari

Masters Theses

Many musical styles around the world have been born from struggle and search for cultural identity. The same idea applies to Jazz and the Afro-Caribbean music created within the African diaspora and influenced by Latin and European styles in the United States. More recently, the meaning of diaspora has been used to refer to a group of people and some aspects of their culture (Rivera 2010, 104). For older and newer generations of Puerto Rican musicians two traditions have intersected to create a modern form of expression that reaffirms Puerto Rico’s musical creativity and contemporary tendency. In 1989 Warren Pinckney …

A Jamaican Voice: The Choral Music Of Noel Dexter, Desmond A. Moulton

Dissertations

As we approach the twenty-first century, the world generally is moving away from the dominance of the European aesthetic towards a world music that owes much to the musical resources of the African-American tradition. Jamaica’s social and philosophical music belong mainly to that tradition, which includes the use of rhythms, and timbral and melodic resources that exist independently of harmony. Already in this century, Jamaicans have created two totally new music - Nyabinghi, which performs a philosophical function and Reggae, which performs a social function. The choral music of Noel Dexter is important because it is uniquely Jamaican/Caribbean in its …

Educational Psychology In Undergraduate Music Education Degree Programs In Nasm-Accredited Institutions: Topics Covered And The Emphases Of Those Topics In Music Methods Courses, Ben E. Light

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to (1) describe educational psychology course offerings within undergraduate music teacher training programs at National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) accredited institutions and (2) to examine the emphasis of common educational psychology topics in music methods courses. The study was guided by three research questions: (1) How are educational psychology courses situated (i.e. credit weight, course level) in the undergraduate music education degree program; (2) What are the demographics for the institutions and the music methods instructors sampled; and (3) How do music methods instructors emphasize educational psychology topics commonly cited in the …

“Mi Alma Cantará”: Tracing Issues In Music Education Within The Colonial And Contemporary Latin American Church, Kerry Digiacomo

Senior Honors Theses

Music education and institutionalized Christianity have been criticized by historians and ethnomusicologists for their role in the domination and transformation of indigenous Latin American cultures since the late 15th century. However, indigenous peoples, including Amerindians as well as more recent mestizo and Ladino people groups, have also taken an active role in transforming European musics to reflect an emic understanding of their own cultural identity. Music education within the Latin American church has provided an interface for these complex interactions between foreign and native cultural influences. This paper will explore the connections between colonial and contemporary-era music education movements in …

The Irish Experience: Identity And Authenticity In Irish Traditional Music, Elizabeth Graber

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Over the last century, Irish traditional music, or “trad,” has become a global phenomenon that has flourished in communities from the United States of America to Japan. A musician need not be Irish in heritage to play and do justice to Irish traditional music or to feel a strong emotional connection to it; yet ethnic ties, real and imagined, constitute a powerful reason to play. The music is inextricably linked with the poetically-titled Emerald Isle even if its musicians are not. In this project, I explore and analyze the many facets of perception of and participation in Irish traditional music, …

Social Justice Issues And Music Education In The Post 9/11 United States, Cynthia L. Wagoner

Research & Issues in Music Education

The purpose of this paper is two-fold: first, to examine the impact of historical socio-political events on music education, particularly post 9/11 with the intent of establishing a context for social justice issues; and second, how we might examine the broad implications to further music education research focusing on social justice. Issues of social justice are inextricably woven into the fabric of post-9/11 U.S. education, as evidenced through reform efforts aimed at job-related skill sets, standardized testing, national standards, and economic gridlock resulting in the diminished access or elimination of the arts in the public schools, including music. Traditionally music …

Something’S Happening Here: Popular Music Education In The United States, Bryan Powell, Andrew Krikun, Joseph Michael Pignato

John J. Cali School of Music Scholarship and Creative Works

Although the number of opportunities to learn popular music in the United States continues to grow, popular music education (PME) programs remain exceptional at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of institutionalized music education. This article provides insight into the unique characteristics of a number of PME initiatives currently operating in the United States. A historical background is established to provide context regarding the history of PME in the United States. Additionally, a focus on an expanding landscape for American PME is included, as is an examination of six specific initiatives that are particularly noteworthy. This review of popular music programs, …

Music And Memory: A History Of Depauw University School Of Music Using Bifurcated History And Personal Interviews, Rachel Robin 15

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.

Singing With A Sanxian: A Study Of The Principal Instrument In Bai Musical Tradition , Christian Stanbrook

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Bai people, a minority group in the People’s Republic of China numbering at least 1.8 million, are heavily concentrated in Yunnan Province’s Dali Autonomous Prefecture. Music has historically been a significant part of Bai culture, as Bai musicians across the region enjoy performing Baizu diao, or popular Bai folk tunes, in the form of singing or on various instruments. These diao, or melodies, often describe the lifestyle of Bai people and the region in which they live in and are commonly performed on a threestringed member of the lute family called a sanxian. This study uncovers both the history …

Music, Personhood, And Eudaimonia: Implications For Educative And Ethical Music Education, David J. Elliott, Marissa Silverman

John J. Cali School of Music Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper proposes that educative and ethical music making and teaching, which is based on a praxial philosophy of music education (Elliott and Silverman, 2014), can be carried out in a variety of ways that create places and spaces, in schools and community settings, for a variety of human values or "goods" that include, but go beyond, making and listening to classical instrumental music, or any other kind of music, for "the music itself." One premise of this philosophical discussion is that music does not have one value; music has numerous values, depending on the ways in which it is …

Global Music Perspectives: Music Outside The Western Canon In Local Schools, Jane A. Best, John F. Grimsley, Alan C. Heise, Lauren M. Mascioli, Samantha F. Moroney, Lauren A. Satterfield, Emily I. Zeller

Celebration

As a class, we are designing a research project for investigating how music teachers from counties in South-Central Pennsylvania use music from outside the Western canon (i.e. "world music"). We are performing a qualitative study by interviewing k-12 music teachers from school districts in South-Central Pennsylvania. Teachers may choose to participate in a focus group interview with other teachers or in one-on-one interviews. The focus group interview will not exceed two hours and the one-on-one interviews will not exceed an hour. The interviews will be guided using a questionnaire (see attached), but the conversation may deviate from these questions at …

“Why Do You Sing To Me?”: A Case Study Of Form And Function Of Children's Songs In The Caribbean Diaspora Culture In South Florida, Finley Walker

Masters Theses

How does a child gain a musical identity? Music resides in the depths of personhood. Even before birth we are all touched by its power. Music is a language in that it communicates--thoughts, feelings, desires, information, and more. As children grow physically and mentally, they also grow musically. A person's musical development will be directly influenced by their culture and family. The following qualitative study looks at the form and function of children's songs, specifically children's songs from the diasporic Caribbean culture in South Florida. Twenty-one interviews, including 53 participants, were conducted to see how children's songs might play a …

“That’S The Way I’Ve Always Learned”: The Transmission Of Traditional Music In Higher Education, Alexandra Frank

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the establishment of degree programs in traditional music in institutions of higher education. It defines traditional music and discusses the history of traditional and folk music programs at universities and conservatories in the United States, Finland, Scotland, and England. The institutionalization of American traditional music is compared to the institutionalization of jazz music in the United States. This thesis focuses on the Bluegrass, Old- Time, and Country Music Studies program at East Tennessee State University and features original ethnographic interviews with lecturers from the program. Two similar programs in Tennessee and Kentucky are also discussed. Some of …

Academic Hazing In Music Education, Cameron Whitworth Jenkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract: academic hazing in this context is defined as the academic misuse of new or prospective graduate students in music education. Academic hazing can also refer to senior faculty who haze junior faculty during the years prior to tenure. This study was designed in two parts to examine academic hazing in graduate music education programs. First, twelve (n=12) faculty academic advisors, each serving as director of music education at their respective four-year comprehensive universities, were intervievia electronic mail. Then, fourteen (n=14) current graduate students in music education were intervieto gain the perspectives of their graduate experience. Each student was intervieby …