Music Education Commons^™

Vista Kicks & Bad Suns Concert Review, Issadora Tulalian

Backstage Pass

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor, Keith Hatschek

Backstage Pass

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Collaboration On Harmonization In College Group Piano, Yining Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Current university-level group piano classes may not provide adequate training on functional keyboard skills needed by non-keyboard professional musicians. Innovative teaching strategies involving collaborative learning have been successfully demonstrated in other areas of education (e.g., math, science, and English) and might efficiently improve students’ functional keyboard skills. This dissertation examined the effects of collaborative learning on harmonization in college group piano classes. This study explored the differences between performance outcomes among students who collaborated to learn harmonization, as opposed to those who worked alone. It also investigated how collaborative work influenced students’ attitudes and confidence toward learning and performing harmonization. …

Her People And Her History: How Camille Lucie Nickerson Inspired The Preservation Of Creole Folk Music And Culture, 1888-1982, Shelby N. Loyacano

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Over the twentieth century, Camille Lucie Nickerson excelled in her multi-faceted career as an educator, musician, and interpreter for the advancement of musical education for generations of black students in New Orleans and at Howard University in Washington D.C. Nickerson devoted herself to furthering her musical education through private instruction with her father, Professor William J. Nickerson. She then graduated with a diploma from Southern University and with a B.A. and M.A. in music from Oberlin College. Nickerson’s leadership in musical associations on a local and national level enhanced her ability to reach audiences of all ages through her performances. …

Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Students’ Perceptions Of The Kodaly-Inspired Music Class, Katherine Simmons

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

This study focused on the perceptions of elementary students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing in a music class. The author was a preservice teacher serving her year-long clinical teaching. The goal of the study was to better understand deaf and hard-of-hearing students’ perceptions of a Kodaly-inspired class, their favorite aspects of music, what they believed would make their musical experience more enjoyable, and what areas of music that they, and their music teacher, believed they could improve. Qualitative data consisted of school records, surveys of the students and their interpreters, interviews of the students and music teacher, and observations of …

Investigating The Use Of Digital Media In The Music Classroom With Experienced And Pre-Service Teachers, Anne M. Power

The Qualitative Report

A Western Sydney research project investigated the question, “What are the practices of pre-service teachers and experienced teachers of music in secondary schools that successfully engage their students with digital media?” The hypothesis underlying the project was that digital media offers school students opportunities, and has the potential to allow more self-paced, interactive and personalized learning. Consequently, the research sub-questions were: (1) How are music teachers preparing students with the techniques and skills needed to take advantages of the opportunities that ICT offers? (2) How can music teachers develop their students' capacity to use and contribute to this wealth of …

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 …

For The Culture: The Importance Of A Critical Social Theory Within The Music Education Classroom, Brianna Thomas

Senior Honors Theses

This paper will analyze the history of music education in the United States and discuss how the music classroom can contribute to and dismantle social inequalities including social class, gender, and race. Class effects music education by creating barriers to necessary resources and opportunities as a result of economic positions.[1] Gender is the second focus because music has historically been a male-dominated profession. As a result, many textbooks and curriculum highlight the achievements of men while erasing the contributions of women which has taught women to devalue their own work.[2] The last focus is race. While the arts …

The Clarinet From Antiquity To Today, Nathaniel Estes

Student Scholar Showcase

The clarinet, coming from simple cane instruments with a slit cut into the cane to create a reed, to the modern clarinet with scientific advancements in the instrument and reed making process, not only shows how the clarinet has evolved, but how technology itself has evolved over hundreds of years. With the intent of improving music pedagogy and performance, the purpose of this research is to investigate how the clarinet evolved to become the modern clarinet. The particular problems of this study were to (1) trace historical development of the clarinet, (2) identify mechanical and stylistic characteristics between the Basset …

Warning: Music Therapy Comes With Risks, James Hiller, Susan Gardstrom

Department of Music Faculty Publications

Bob Marley sings, “One good thing about music—when it hits you, you feel no pain.” Although this may be the case for some people and in some circumstances, we dispute this statement as a global truth. After all, couldn’t any phenomenon commanding enough to alleviate human pain (ostensibly instantaneously) also harbor the potential to catalyze undesirable, even injurious, effects? And couldn’t this influence then logically extend to music employed within the context of a therapeutic process? As music therapist and Concordia University Associate Professor Dr. Laurel Young writes, “the ‘miraculous’ effects of music as featured in popular media along with …

Epic Beginnings: A Symphonic Work And Aaron Copland (The American Stravinsky) Versus Igor Stravinsky, Terrell O. Jones

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The first part of my dissertation is the original music written for this dissertation, which consists of tonal music that describes my life’s journey. I wanted to write something dark, melodic, and very energetic that described my struggles and shows the road I have taken. It exhibits everything that I have learned from my time here at the university. One of the many things that makes my passion so strong is the desire to express myself through music written for ensembles and used in films. The piece is entitled “Epic Beginnings.” Originally, it was named “The Last Dance,” a …

Editor’S Essay, Michael E. Ruhling

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

No abstract provided.

Going For Broke: A Talk To Music Teachers, Juliet Hess, Brent C. Talbot

Sunderman Conservatory of Music Faculty Publications

In 1963—a racially-charged time in the United States—James Baldwin delivered “A Talk to Teachers,” urging educators to engage youth in difficult conversations about current events. We concur with Giroux (2011, 2019) that political forces influence our educational spaces and that classrooms should not be viewed as apolitical, but instead seen as sites for engagement, where educators and artists alike can “go for broke.” Drawing upon A Tribe Called Quest’s 2017 Grammy performance of “We the People…” as an example of the role of the arts in troubled times, we consider ways to work alongside youth in schools to respond, consider, …

Scipp: An Expanded Community Of Practice - Community Publishing, Juan Delgado, Kelly (Kl) Straight Dortch, Daiana Rodriguez, Alex Avila, William Beshears, Juliana Cruz, Gina Hanson, Frank Houlihan, Lacey Kendall, Larry Light, Cati Porter, Molly Tor, Timothy "Isaac" Pieper, Bianka Sanchez, Sara Trowbridge, Daniel Aguilar, Bernardo Benigno, Arely Bernal, Alejandra Bueno, Emily Campos, Jason Cannon, Griselda Caudillo Gallo, Joshua Clemente, Sarah Coblentz, Diana D'Arcangelo, Georgia Darwin, Mary Grace Deasis, Kaylan Els, Keith Fernandez, Maria Flores, Khiyara Frontela, Anthony Galvan, Monica Galvez, Martin Garcia, Jessica Godin, Freda Guzman, Madison Hall, Diana Huitron Munoz, Jennifer Ledesma, Maria Lias Chacon, Rebekah Linares, Prisma Loya, Elijah Magana, Alberto Mancillas, Lorinda Maya, Jennifer Pimentel, Nancy Ramirez, Angelica Rodriguez, Alexis Ruvalcaba, Sandra Sandoval De Rosas, Emily Stoddard, Andrea Tinajero, Lesly Velez Montenegro, Saulo Velez Montenegro, Matthew Vigil, Sergio Zamora, Marylou Alvarez, Roxanna Cervantes, Tenaya Fuentes, Wendy Moreno, David Valenzuela, Philip Colunga, Augustine "Auggie" Fuentes, Nadia Fuentes, Olive Fuentes, Sophia Fuentes, Miraya Martinez, Diego Mercado, Iker Valenzuela, Roma Valenzuela

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

SCIPP redefines and expands the existing notions about what makes for a vibrant and robust community of practice by partnering CSUSB students and professors with K-12 students, parents, and educators, along with committed community partners. SCIPP encourages curiosity in ways that leads to critical thinking, exploration, "risk taking", confidence building, open-mindedness, and other personal traits that equip them with the softskills to be active, critical, and creative contributors to our communities. SCIPP pedagogy embraces our students' collective wisdom and focuses on relational building where multi-directional communication is promoted and students are viewed as equal stakeholders in their own educations. SCIPP …

An Analysis Of Violin And Viola Instructors’ Opinions Of Using The Third Position As The Home Position For Beginning-Level Violin/Viola Education, Eylem Arıca

Research & Issues in Music Education

Despite the existence of educators who use the third position as the home position for beginner violin training and get positive results, repertoires of violin pedagogues and current music school curricula show an overwhelming preference for the first position. I determined that studies on this preference and research related to the use of the third position technique as an alternative in beginner violin/viola education were scant and narrow in scope, and sent a questionnaire to violin/viola teachers to garner their views. Ninety-four participants who wrote comments in Part 4 of the questionnaire made up the study’s sample. The study aimed …

Instructional Decision-Making Among Expert Choral And Instrumental Directors: How Musical Setting Influences Pedagogy, Wendy K. Matthews, Daniel C. Johnson

Research & Issues in Music Education

In large music ensembles, directors make countless instructional decisions on a daily basis that indicate their learning priorities and guide student learning. In particular, expert music directors (i.e., those having earned a master’s degree and/or National Board Certification) have advanced problem-solving strategies and effective means of fostering student learning in their ensembles. To explore the influence of musical setting on directors’ instructional decision-making, the authors examined expert choral and instrumental directors’ perspectives on instructional decision-making. Forty experienced music teachers employed as either a choral or instrumental ensemble music teachers wrote open-ended responses to three scenarios, each representing different instructional challenges. …

Establishing Reliability And Validity Of A Tool For Large Ensemble Teacher Use Of Space And Interactions, Nicholas E. Roseth

Research & Issues in Music Education

The primary purpose of this study was to design a reliable and valid continuous-time coding tool for measuring teacher use of space and teacher interactions based on prior research (Hesler, 1972; Martin, 2002). The tool captured teachers’ use of space as they moved through 14 identified areas of the large instrumental ensemble classroom and engaged in 10 types of verbal and musical interactions with students. Evidence for content validity is presented, and the tool was found to have high inter-rater reliability. The secondary purpose of the study was to explore the effect of a brief expository lesson on preservice instrumental …

Exploring The Effect Of Professional Development On Practice In World Music Education: A Mixed Methods Study, Jennifer Mellizo

Research & Issues in Music Education

The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore K–12 music educators’ changes in practice one year after completing a three-week professional development experience in world music education. Results from the quantitative phase of research indicated all participants (n = 10) perceived distinct changes in practice after taking this course. Findings from the qualitative phase of research indicated participants (n = 3) understood their changes in practice as a combination of critical reflection and pedagogical confidence. These music educators articulated strong personal rationales for including diverse perspectives in the curriculum and discussed the ways in …

Disparate Trajectories In Pre-Tertiary Music Education In Ghana: Implication For Holistic Education, Moses Nii-Dortey, Adwoa Arhine

Research & Issues in Music Education

This paper investigates an obvious paradox in the pre-tertiary music/aesthetic education of Ghana, which defies the pedagogical principles of continuity and progression. This paradox involves the simultaneous disappearance and growth of music/aesthetic education at the foundational basic schools and high schools respectively. Growth at the high schools is evinced by rising number of schools, students and teachers offering and teaching the subject, as well as registering for and writing the West African Examinations Council’s West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examinations since 1990. The initial assumption, based on the logic of educational continuity and progression, is that private tuition and basic …

Vocal Accuracy In Preschool Children: Are The Curwen Hand Signs Really Useful?, Stéphanie Boisvert

Research & Issues in Music Education

The effects of learning to sing with and without Curwen hand signs on singing accuracy in kindergarten-age children were compared. Participants comprised an experimental group (Curwen signs) and a control group (without signs), each containing 33 children aged 5 to 6 years. All participants took 30 music lessons centered on learning songs. The experimental group learned songs using Curwen signs and the control group learned the same songs without signs. Before and after instruction, all participants were tested on singing accuracy and melodic perception. Short-term memory was assessed to ensure between-group equivalence. Complementary data were gathered from a parent-completed questionnaire …

Armchair Philology For The Post-Truth Age, James Brooks Kuykendall

Music

In music history classes, interactions with musical notation often take place via printed anthologies including material from many sources with varying editorial principles. Questioning how the music on the page got there likely does not cross students minds. They are presented with a polished text, with all the complications removed, that underscores the fixedness of the work concept. This article outlines an exercise that invites students to think like philologists, exploring a familiar and simple piece with a complicated textual situation: the hymntune generally known as ANTIOCH (usually associated with the text Joy to the World) appears widely in hymnbooks …

Notes From The Editor 2019, Bruce Gleason

Research & Issues in Music Education

No abstract provided.

A Survey Of Music Teachers’ Working Conditions, David N. Sanderson, Timothy D. Buzza, Christopher S. Jannings, Kangwon Kim, Bryan D. Maurer, Jonathan Soderberg-Chase

Research & Issues in Music Education

For this study the researchers examined music teacher responses to survey items pertaining to their working conditions. Participants reported their satisfaction about factors related to music program funding, facilities, workload, professional development, and school culture. Responses were analyzed to detect possible differences in responses due to demographic factors of teachers, schools, and teaching assignments. Initial findings indicated that teachers were generally satisfied with their all aspects of their working conditions with the exception of professional development. A MANOVA was conducted to determine if there were any significant differences in responses based on participant demographics. While our study found no disparities …

Finding The “Tech” In Technique: A Pedagogical Approach To Electroacoustic Concert Percussion Performance Practice, William Brady Harrison Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Premise and Objectives

In our increasingly technology driven society, the impact of technology touches nearly every aspect of our lives in some form or another. This has been acutely felt within the world of percussion, with electroacoustic works representing perhaps the most rapidly expanding area of concert percussion over the last twenty years. Electroacoustic music couples electronic technology with traditional acoustic instruments and/or performance practices.

Broadly, this paper outlines a systematic approach to teaching electroacoustic performance practice, based on elements found in a cross-section of percussion literature. In using such an approach, not only does each student become more capable …

The Origins Of Western Music And Its Influence On Modern Popular Music: Teaching Music Through A Musical Exploration Of Seven Countries, Johanna Katelyn Hatt

Masters Theses

The topics of music history and music appreciation cover a wide range of composers and musical contributions that at times, can be overwhelming to a student who does not have any musical knowledge. Through limiting the music appreciation course to the discussion of composers’ works from various countries, students are able to learn about the important contributions those composers and countries had to music, including modern popular music. This topic will bring value to the field of music education as it offers an alternative approach to the traditional method of teaching a music history course. With this holistic approach to …

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 …

A Brain-Friendly Approach To Music Literacy, Taylor Davis

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The purpose of this study was to explore how the brain processes information, stores it in long-term memory and then applies that knowledge to teaching music in a classroom/rehearsal setting. We observed how the working memory, the system responsible for processing information from short-term and long-term memory can function with greater efficiency. We observed how the number of items available for processing in the working memory may be increased through a process identified as “chunking.” Chunking is when short patterns, or bits of information, are combined to form longer sequences. When applying these brain-friendly learning concepts to music, the instructor …

Editor’S Essay, Michael E. Ruhling

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

No abstract provided.

Marching Percussion Techniques For Prospective Band Directors: A Course Designed For Instrumental Music Education Majors, William K. Garrett

Masters Theses

Instrumental Techniques courses are imperative to prospective instrumental music educators. After all, it is not practical or possible to major in every instrument in a band or orchestra. These classes provide students with a chance to get a basic understanding of the fundamentals covered on each instrument. For wind instruments, these fundamentals include foundations such as embouchure placement and breathing/articulation techniques. Most of these lessons are covered in a limited course of study. Although the instruments are different, many of the techniques, like tonguing and articulation, are consistent. With regards to technical percussion techniques however, things like instrumentation, notation, and …

String Fundamentals For The Non-String-Playing Conductor, Dianna Fiore, Dianna Marie Fiore

Dissertations, 2014-2019

There are presently few resources on stringed-instrument fundamentals geared specifically toward the conductor who does not have string-playing experience. This paper is designed to fill this void through an explanation of string fundamentals, which the non-string-playing conductor should comprehend before addressing a string section on the podium. In addition to covering string fundamentals, this paper includes options for designing bowings and case studies of W. A. Mozart’s Divertimento in F major, K.138 and Edward Elgar’s Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20.