Music Education Commons^™

Notes From The Editor, Bruce Gleason

Research & Issues in Music Education

Along with publishing work of a more traditional vein, one of the goals of RIME is to publish articles that lie somehow outside the parameters of established research—either by research design and approach, or by content and subject matter. I am happy to be presenting the second issue of RIME, and am especially pleased to be publishing four unique articles on diverse aspects of music teaching and learning.

How Composers Compose: In Search Of The Questions, Bernard W. Andrews

Research & Issues in Music Education

The Genesis Project is a multi-phase research project designed for the purpose of developing an in-depth understanding of the nature of musical creativity by investigating how composers compose. In this first phase of the project, an understanding of the four dimensions of musical creativity: 1) the person, 2) the compositional process, 3) the pre-requisite training, emotions and context, and 4) the musical piece itself, provided a theoretical framework for investigating how composers compose new music through expert review. Questions in each of these dimensions were generated from the literature, examined by a panel of composers and educators, and then refined …

K-4 Pre-Service Classroom Teachers' Beliefs About Useful Skills, Understandings And Future Practice In Music, Francine Morin

Research & Issues in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate K-4 pre-service classroom teachers’ beliefs about useful skills, understandings, and future practices in music. Questionnaire (N=74) and interview (N=35) data were gathered from teacher candidates enrolled in music methods courses at a large, western Canadian university. Music skills and understandings such as singing, listening, and integrating music across other subject areas were rated as "most useful," indicating a definite valuing of pedagogical content knowledge over content knowledge like music fundamentals, music history, or playing accompaniment instruments. Future music practices discussed by pre-service teachers were closely aligned to the beliefs they hold about …

Comparing Two Approaches For Teaching Rhythm Reading Skills To First-Grade Children: A Pilot Study, Delores Gauthier, Robert E. Dunn

Research & Issues in Music Education

This pilot study compared two approaches for teaching rhythm reading skills to first-grade children. Two intact first-grade classes participated in six lessons focusing on simple rhythms (4 beats using eighth and quarter notes). The lessons were based on the same musical materials; only the approach was varied. After random assignment, Class 1 experienced the “Subdivision Approach” where the quarter note is the beat, and eighth notes are subdivisions of the beat. Class 2 used the “Additive Approach” where, in this case, the eighth note is the “shortest sound” and a quarter note is the equivalent of two short sounds.

Pre- …

Canons In Harmony, Or Canons In Conflict: A Cultural Perspective On The Curriculum And Pedagogy Of Jazz Improvization, Kenneth E. Prouty

Research & Issues in Music Education

This essay examines how jazz educators construct methods for teaching the art of improvisation in institutionalized jazz studies programs. Unlike previous studies of the processes and philosophies of jazz instruction, I examine such processes from a cultural standpoint, to identify why certain methods might be favored over others. Specifically, jazz education is treated as a fusion of two distinct historical and cultural forces: those of musical academia, and of the jazz community. I argue that methods of teaching improvisation reflect a dual identity, in which these two cultural traditions sometimes exert an uneven influence upon the learning environment. Improvisational curricula, …

Teaching Instrumental Music To Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students, Phillip M. Hash

Research & Issues in Music Education

Many Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH) individuals have successfully participated in instrumental music programs for over 100 years. In spite of proven success, however, many directors are reluctant to involve students with hearing loss in school bands and orchestras. Reasons may include a lack of knowledge regarding the needs and capabilities of these learners, or the fear that D/HH musicians will negatively impact the performance quality of the ensemble. By becoming familiar with the characteristics and abilities of D/HH students, as well as methods for instructing these individuals, music educators will be better prepared to serve this population. This article provides …

Historical Research In Music Education And The Historiography Of Kant, Spengler And Foucault, George N. Heller

Research & Issues in Music Education

This essay examines historical research in music education in connection with historiography and the writing of history, using the works of three exemplary writers recently reviewed in book-length studies. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) representing classic, enlightenment philosophy as it pertains to historiography was primarily a philosopher who wrote tangentially on history. Oswald Spengler (1880-1936), a modernist German historian and philosopher famous for his pessimistic tome, The Decline of the West (1924-26), was primarily a historian with an interest in philosophy. Michel Foucault (1926-1984), who stated the case for post-modern historiography from a French perspective, seems to have been interested in history …

Effects Of Sequenced Kodaly Literacy-Based Music Instruction On The Spatial Reasoning Skills Of Kindergarten Students, Marlene Hanson

Research & Issues in Music Education

This study was an investigation of the effects of sequenced Kodály literacy-based music instruction on the spatial reasoning skills of kindergarten students. Subjects in the pretest-posttest control group design were 54 kindergarten students who were enrolled in three kindergarten classes in a rural elementary community school. Experimental group one (n = 18) received Kodály music instruction and experimental group two (n = 18) received computer instruction (with no classroom music training) for 30 minutes twice a week. The control group (n = 18) received no classroom music instruction or computer instruction. The instructional-treatment period spanned seven months from October, 2000 …

Notes From The Editor, Bruce Gleason

Research & Issues in Music Education

RIME marks another step in the grand experiment of on-line research publishing—an idea that is gaining stature in academic circles with the advent of quality journals. While on-line research reporting formats will probably never subsume print journals (I can detect a future music education historian quoting me here), RIME was founded with the premise that there is indeed room for a quality web-based music education research journal.

Cultural Contexts Of Exclusion: Women College Band Directors, Elizabeth S. Gould

Research & Issues in Music Education

Despite gender affirmative employment practices, women constitute little more than 5% of all U.S. college band directors. Researchers have investigated this situation in terms of historical precedent, traditional socialization, discrimination, segregation, professional identity, and lack of role models. They have not, however, addressed the culture of conducting college bands. Cultural analysis is essential because the percentage of women conducting college bands in the U.S. has remained virtually static during the past thirty years. It is appropriate because it provides a multi-layered, broader view of the problem which make possible explanations that may be more appropriately generalized and less subject to …

Brain-Based Music Appreciation For Middle School Students, Robert Fauth

All Graduate Projects

This project examined the human brain in relationship to understanding, teaching, and appreciating music. Included is a handbook that provides middle school teachers a brain based researched curriculum that emphasizes the listening aspects of music appreciation.

The Integration Of Music Education Strategies Into The Regular First Grade Elementary Classroom, Gloria Jane Frueh

All Graduate Projects

A handbook of activities for teaching music in an elementary first grade classroom was developed for use by first grade regular classroom teachers. A review of current educational research implicates music as being a valued discipline in early educational development of children. A number of public schools do not have a music specialist. If music education is to be part of the school's curriculum, it will have to be taught by the regular classroom teacher. Using the National Standards for Music Education and this handbook as a guide, teachers can address the nine music education fundamentals. Integration and assessment strategies …

The Mathematics Of Sound: Integrating Music Into A Math Curriculum, Shawn William Meacham

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop prototype lesson plans that connects and integrates musical and mathematical concepts at the 5th grade level. Both musical and mathematical concepts can be enhanced when studying the correlation between the two subjects. This project will provide lesson plans and activities using the Washington State Essential Academic Leaming Requirements as a basis for the concepts being taught. The goal of the project is to inspire teachers to use integration throughout the curriculum. An integrated curriculum develops and supports the coherence of ideas and concepts taught within our schools. By fostering our natural instinct …

A Model Music Curriculum For Elementary-Level Students In Taiwan, Mei-Fang Ho

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a model music curriculum for elementary-level students in Taiwan. With the current music curriculum utilized recently in Taiwan, this project will help the elementary-level students to develop their music potentials. In addition, teachers can educate students according to their level oflearning at different periods of time. To accomplish this purpose, a review ofrelated literature was conducted. Additionally, selected materials were obtained and adapted for use.

The Management, Growth, And Development Of The Suzuki Method Of String Pedagogy At Cork School Of Music From 1969-1999, Patricia Mccarthy

Theses

The Suzuki method of string playing was introduced to Ireland, and indeed to Europe, by the Cork School of Music in 1969.

This study examines the way the method was ' discovered' in Cork, the reasons why it was introduced, how it was misunderstood in the beginning and how, through careful management and by staff development it changed and developed into the successful programme it is today.

Through empirical research I have conducted a detailed investigation into the way in which the programme was managed from its earliest introduction.

Chapter 1 explains what the method is and how it operates. …

An Integrated Curriculum For Music And Social Studies, Carol Jane Alldredge

All Graduate Projects

Music exists as a discipline that often enhances other subjects. An integrated curriculum can provide students with connections to the real world, greater depth of study, and can generate enthusiasm. Through integration, many boundaries can be crossed. The purpose of this project is to create an integrated curriculum for music and social studies for the fifth grade. The curriculum is for the period of the Renaissance and the American Revolution. Topics explored relate to the subject of integration. Guidelines from Washington State Commission on Student Learning as well as national standards for music and social studies are used as the …

Multiple Intelligence Theory And Its Application In Modern Vocal Pedagogy, Robb Dennis

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In 1983, Howard Gardner shook the foundations of intelligence testing and the field of education by suggesting that there are seven distinct intelligences. These intelligences had testable and distinct attributes that were supported by his research at the Boston Veterans Administration. This research cited the existence of savants and prodigies, isolation by brain damage, and psychometric findings as support for Multiple Intelligence Theory. Widely accepted by the education community at large, the application of MI principles has been further elaborated in the writings of Thomas Armstrong and David Lazear. Can the principles of Multiple Intelligence Theory be applied in the …

Verbal Rehearsal Methods And Their Effects On Expressive Music Performance: A Comparison Of Verbal Explanation And Transformational Verbal Imagery, Leonard M. Upham

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to determine if use of transformational verbal imagery rehearsal methods, when compared to use of methods based on verbal explanation, resulted in (a) higher levels of expressive performance by wind quintets and (b) greater appreciation of the composition by quintet members.

The study used a posttest-only control-group design. Thirty high school brass and/or woodwind quintets were randomly assigned to experimental groups (n = 15) or control groups (n = 15). A composition rich in expressive aspects of music was used. Each quintet had three rehearsals. The first rehearsal dealt with the technical aspects of …

Spokane Conservatory Guestbook Catalog, Hans Moldenhauer, Mary Moldenhauer

Moldenhauer Archives

An alphabetically organized list of signers of the conservatory guest book. A short description of each signer's addition to the book is included. The list is not a complete list of every individual who signed the book.

An Overview Of Pedagogical Techniques Of Vibrato For The Flute, Deborah R. Ribelin

Theses and Dissertations

Through a study of flute vibrato, including the historical and pedagogical aspects, and advanced level flute teacher will acquire the necessary knowledge to direct students in developing their own individual vibrato.

Singing Schools In Southcentral Kentucky, Donald Beisswenger

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Singing school teachers, who teach rural church congregations to sing from shape-note gospel songbooks, are still working in southcentral Kentucky, but the demand for them is smaller than it was in the first half of the twentieth century. The interdependence network in which singing school teachers, songbook publishers, and community singing events were key parts began to weaken in the 1940s as a result of the growth in popularity of professional gospel quartet concerts and gospel record albums. Many gospel music enthusiasts who once looked to songbooks as a major source for new material and for developing singing skills turned …

Semantics And An Operable Definition Of Art; With Implications For Inclusion Of Art Criticism Into The Curriculum, Bill Cooksey

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty in the Department of Art at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in Art by Bill Cooksey on May 4, 1978.

A Study Of The Reliability Levels Of Student Trainees In The Evaluation Of Individual Junior High Lesson Playing, Robert Edwards

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the project was to determine if two Junior High band student trainees could accurately evaluate the performance of individual band students from a pre-selected method book. Band students would record specific musical exercises which were evaluated by two student trainees and the band director. The purpose of the project was to check the reliability between the student trainees and the director.

Developing The High School Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Bruce Edwin Brummond

All Master's Theses

This paper offers proven methods and techniques of organization and performance with the high school vocal jazz ensemble. Hopefully, these methods and techniques will assist the high school vocal jazz director, trained in traditional choral music or instrumental music, to develop a successful high school vocal jazz ensemble. Suggestions for selecting members, materials, equipment, and the costumes are offered. The intricacies of vocal jazz interpretation and performance are analyzed and equated with facets of traditional choral music, helping to paint a clearer picture of programming.

Single String Improvisation On The Guitar, Allan Jonathan Galante

All Master's Theses

During the past decade the guitar has become increasingly popular. As a result, there are many more students who wish to participate in legitimate programs of study in all areas of guitar, especially jazz guitar. Formal instruction, especially in jazz guitar, is available on a very limited basis.

Guitar players are demanding sophisticated courses of study incorporating the fundamentals of music and are demanding that these courses be made a part of the music curriculum at colleges and universities. Therefore, it would be possible to earn a music degree in guitar performance.

Evaluation Of Intermediate Piano Literature, Beverly J. Boland

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Unsure Singer In The Primary Grades, Jane Troth Jones

Graduate Student Research Papers

This paper will attempt to present a method of dealing with the unsure singer which can be used by classroom teachers or the music specialist. The various activities outlined have proven somewhat successful in correcting this problem with the singing voilces of primary children. A paper or thesis could be written on the progress of individual children. However, it will be the intent here to present ways of handling the problem so that the average classroom teacher may work with the unsure singers. Host of the ideas have been tried out successfully with first and second grade classrooms in Eugene, …

A Study Of Some Aspects Of The Clarinet Embouchure, Philip C. Lowry

Graduate Student Research Papers

This paper will (1) investigate some mechanical aspects of the clarinet embouchure, (2) investigate some physical aspects of the embouchure, and (3) report the findings of the study.

The Development Of The Italian Madrigal, Jack D. Waddington

Graduate Student Research Papers

In recent years the madrigal has gained considerable popularity. While this is good, unfortunately, the intricacies of this type of music demand a thorough understanding. To properly interpret and perform this music, a knowledge of the stylistic characteristics of the period in which the work was written is of the utmost importance. In view of these factors, this study would seem to have value.

The English Madrigal School, Wayne Delbert Hunziker

Graduate Student Research Papers

Many present day directors and performers show little stylistic understanding of original madrigalian literature. This music, with its Renaissance character, requires specific knowledge for correct performance. In view of this, a study of this nature seemed of value.