Music Education Commons^™

Teachers’ Observations Of 2-Year-Old Children’S Musical Vocalizations Elicited By Purposeful Silence Techniques, Kathryn Ward Reardon

Theses and Dissertations

With the intent of improving early childhood music development understanding, the purpose of this research was to examine young children’s music vocalizations. The guiding research question was: When a music teacher implemented purposeful silences while performing a song and a rhythm chant, what techniques encouraged vocalizations made by 2-year-old children as observed by music teachers and classroom teachers? I implemented a qualitative design utilizing participant observation techniques to investigate the research purpose and question of this study. Four teachers served as a panel of experts to provide observational data. I video recorded myself teaching music activities from Music Play (Valerio, …

Deconstructing David Lang's The Anvil Chorus, Brandon M. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Usually, when a piece of music is taken out of context, that is, when it is learned and performed without studying the piece, the composer, the musical genre, or the historical significance, the understanding of it for the performer is narrow and limited and the performance is less than ideal. This leads to a substandard realization of the music. Contrarily, a musician should integrate research with the learning process as to enhance the comprehensive understanding of the piece, which ultimately results in a high level of performance. This idea is important for the complex and extensive musical repertoire of the …

Effects Of Physical Movement In Rhythm Instruction In Early Instrumentalist Development, Jessica Horne-Greene

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was to investigate if including physical movement in instruction improves instrumental music student's rhythmic abilities. Within the rhythmic instruction, the research study specifically focused on student's rhythmic ability and note reading improvements. Participants in this study included instrumental music students in grades four, five, and six, in a middle-class school district (N=18). The control group was given four weeks of traditional rhythm instruction, with a traditional counting method. The experimental group was given rhythm instruction incorporating physical movement over a period of four weeks. Prior to the lessons, both the experimental and control groups were …

The Effect Of Choral Music Education On Literacy Achievement, Keith Alan Hearnsberger

Theses and Dissertations

American education was going through dramatic change in the beginning of the 21st century. The way children were educated was constantly evolving. Public schools, private schools, parochial schools, charter schools, and many other types of educational institutions were affected by various federal and state regulations since the 1960's. The students, teachers, and educational leaders in these institutions were consistently affected by regulations, increased academic demands, and an ever-changing educational landscape. The educational administrator and music educators were required to be innovative when seeking change in policy in regards to educational achievement while maintaining a commitment to choral music education. The …

Examining Middle School String Students' Sight Reading Processes, Natalie J. Deen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to document, analyze the strategies and techniques being used, and explore the feelings and perceptions often sixth-grade string students while individually sight-reading over the course of 11 weeks. The students were presented with a five lesson unit on sight-reading that focused on different musical elements and presented the students with strategies and techniques to be used as a class and during individual tests. Each student took the Watkins-Famum Performance Test, form A as a pretest and posttest to the unit. Between lessons, each student took an individual sight-reading test which reflected the musical element …

A Systematic Analysis Of Risks To Adolescent Vocal Health, Debra P. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze risks that threaten adolescent vocal health. Qualitative interviews revealed risks associated with vocal over-use, lack of scientific vocal pedagogy, poor tonal ideals, inadequate choral procedures, and vocal difficulties in high school musical theater productions. Anonymous student surveys (N=60) from two rural high schools in West Georgia revealed over-use and lack of knowledge about chest voice singing as risky to adolescent vocal health. Anonymous choral director surveys (N=2) from the same high schools indicated that choral directors may be uncomfortable teaching chest voice production, allowing students to use their chest voice …

Exploration, Language And Application: An Approach To Teaching Beginning Instrumental Jazz Improvisation, Jeremy Todd Pownall

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide preservice and inservice teachers with an alternative approach to teaching beginning jazz improvisation to instrumentalists in a classroom setting. It was determined that there exists a need for an accessible (to both teacher and student) method for teaching beginning jazz improvisation to instrumentalists. This is due to the lack of emphasis on jazz improvisation at both the public school and university level, as well as the inclusion of improvisation in both the national and Georgia state standards for music performance. The teaching method presented in this study is based on previous research, …

An Examination Of College Flute Professors' Approaches To Improving Students' Intonation Skills, Kelly Theresa Cato

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine what methods college flute professors use to improve their students intonation skills and to highlight resources to aid future practices on the subject of intonation. The research questions guiding this study were (a) Do college flute professors teach students how to improve intonation skills? (b) What methods do college flute professors use to improve students' intonation skills? (c) What resources do college flute professors use in conjunction with teaching intonation? Research was conducted using a researcher-created online survey that was distributed to college flute professors throughout the United States. Findings suggested a …

An Analytical And Educational Survey Of Howard Hanson's Dies Natalis For Band, Emily Anne Spradley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine Howard Hanson's composition, Dies Natalis for Band, from both an analytical and an educational perspective. To accomplish this objective, research on Hanson's personal and professional development as a composer, teacher, advocator, and otherwise contributor to the field of music was executed, information on and within Dies Natalis for Band was investigated, and suggestions were made for educational techniques to employ when teaching this composition. The author suggests that more analysis using Hanson's own theoretical system on intervallic relationships may yield additional information on his thought processes in composition. Biographical information on Howard …

An Analytical And Educational Survey Of The Sacred Harp By David Liptak, Joshua Payne Howard

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will explore analytical and educational domains of The Sacred Harp by David Liptak. Influenced by the history and compositional techniques of shape note singing, the composition is a tribute to the past and current Sacred Harp singing conventions nationwide and the exuberance expressed within the shape note tradition. The structure and unique style of The Sacred Harp will be examined within the history of shape note singing. Part I of this thesis addresses the history of the Sacred Harp tune book and the shape note singing schools; Part II is a formal analysis of the composition and Part …

Bedford: Sun Paints Rainbows On The Vast Waves - A Historical And Analytical Perspective, Christian Eden Merchant

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will investigate "The Sun Paints Rainbows on the Vast Waves" by David Bedford with consideration given to analysis of the work itself, historical perspectives, and educational conceptions. The work was commissioned by the Huddersfield Festival of Contemporary Music with additional financial assistance provided by the Hinrichsen foundation. Composed between June and August of 1982, this is the first piece by Bedford in the wind band medium. Part I of this written project is a short biographical sketch of the composer, Part II addresses influences on David Bedford's style while simultaneously elaborating on the historical significance of the musical …

Shifting Slides: The Effect Of John Cage's "Solo For Sliding Trombone" (1957-58) On Modern Trombone Literature And Pedagogy, Andrew Michael Shelton

Theses and Dissertations

The trombone has a limited history concerning literature and technique development. A turning point for the literature of the trombone was with John Cage's Solo for Sliding Trombone. This composition brought about new techniques that would permeate throughout subsequent literature. These new techniques would also impact trombone pedagogy and accepted technique. This paper explains the impact Solo for Sliding Trombone had on the development of the instrument including literature and pedagogy.

Historically Informed Performance Practice Of The Baroque Era, Amanda Beard

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, much debate has ensued regarding the level of consideration that should be given to the historical context of musical compositions that were written and performed during the Baroque era, which extends from 1600 to 1750 CE. The question arises as to how closely we should strive to emulate the performance conditions that would have been present during the Baroque era. Robert Donington, an English musicologist and author of two definitive texts on Baroque performance practice, suggests in his Performer's Guide to Baroque Music that we can meet the expectations of the Baroque composers to a greater degree …

Interdisciplinary Teaching And Learning, Adonna Clark

Theses and Dissertations

In the early 1600's, the Pilgrims and the Puritans brought their musical traditions with them to establish a new life. The survival of their families depended upon their ability to provide food, shelter and clothing. Despite the challenges they faced, the colonists recognized the importance of educating their children. In 1642, the Massachusetts School Law was passed. It required town leaders to require parents to provide their children with an elementary education. Music training was not part of this newly required education. Due to the demands of life, the colonists were unable to nurture their musical abilities. Those who had …

An Analytical And Educational Survey Of Roger Boutry's Métachrome, Kimberly Renée Perkins

Theses and Dissertations

This project is an analytical and educational survey of Roger Boutry's Metachrome, a French wind band piece written in 2003. Part I of this project explores the history of modem French music. Part II is an analytical perspective of the composition. Part III presents a teaching approach, including teaching materials such as lesson plans, assignments, and rubrics. Part IV includes student handouts that coincide with the teacher lesson plans. Additional resources for the conductor can be found in the Appendix section.

A Beginning Teacher's Guide To Beginner Violinists, Anjuli Coe

Theses and Dissertations

In the following pages, the beginning teacher will find a guide to establishing a studio and ideas for teaching students. These ideas are meant to be a springboard for developing personalized organization and teaching tools for the violin studio. Ability to play the violin is not the only ingredient for a successful violin studio. Teaching the violin requires skill in understanding students and how they learn. It also requires a significant amount of planning, preparation, organization, and the setting of goals and objectives.

Beginner violinists may vary from a four-year-old with highly involved parents, to a professional trumpet player who …

Bassoon In The Baroque Era, Emily Spradley

Theses and Dissertations

Good afternoon! Welcome to my lecture recital. I hope you will enjoy learning about the bassoon in the Baroque era. This lecture focuses on the origins and developments of the Baroque bassoon, elements of Baroque style found in music for bassoon, and the application of those elements through Antonio Vivaldi's composition for bassoon, Concerto in G minor, Op. No. 23.

In the 1901 edition of his book, The Holy Cross and Other Tales, Eugene Field states:

If you have never beheld or heard a bassoon you are to understand that it is an instrument of wood, of considerable more length …

The Effect Of Home Musical Environment On Child Attitude And Aptitude, Donna Lyon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent the home musical environment affects a child's attitude towards and aptitude in music. Factors that were explored were parent attitudes, parent music background, child attitudes, child aptitudes, age, and gender roles. Parents (N=95) from a suburban elementary school completed an online survey to determine the nature of the musical environment of their home. Their children (N=121), who were first and fourth graders, completed a student attitude survey. The Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation was administered to determine student aptitude. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyze the data …

An Analytical And Educational Survey Of Kenneth Hesketh's Vranjanka, Alisha Marie Wooley

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will explore Kenneth Hesketh's "Vranjanka" in both analytical and educational domains. Timothy and Hilary Reynish commissioned this piece in 2005 in memory of their son William. Tim Reynish is the former conductor of the Royal Northern College of Music's Wind Ensemble. He has also been deeply involved with the Commissioning Project of the Royal Northern College of Music (1982-2002), which produced over seventy compositions for wind band, and the William Reynish Commissioning Project (2002-2007) that has commissioned over twenty works for wind band. The piece is based on the Serbian Folksong Sano Duso. Vranjanka, literally translated, means "from …

An Introduction To Baroque Ornamentation For Solo Trumpet Literature (1638-1709): A Preliminary Guide For Applied Trumpet Teachers, Adam Seth Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

This graduate music project is designed to be a pedagogical supplement for high school trumpet teachers who wish to incorporate baroque music into their curriculum. This document addresses the interpretation and execution of select ornaments during the years 1638-1709. The chosen ornaments include the appoggiatura. mordent, inverted mordent, and trill. These notated ornaments were selected based on their relative frequent use in Italian Baroque music. These ornaments are defined via prose and supplemented with musical examples that illustrate their original notation and execution. In addition, musical excerpts from composers such as Jan Krutel Jiri Neruda and Dominico Gabrielli will be …

Classical Guitar Instruction For The Pre-College Classroom, Blake Wuestefeld

Theses and Dissertations

This project is a curriculum for secondary guitar instruction. It consists of eight levels of study and is designed for the beginning to intermediate student. It has repertoire selections and explanations of the pedagogical validity of the works. These works were selected due to their cumulative and didactic nature and because of the specific technical issues they utilize. These technical issues are introduced gradually to ensure a student's steady and incremental progress in both technical and musical aspects.

The student executes exercises from such sources as Aaron Shearers: Learning the Classic Guitar, the Royal Conservatory of Music graded repertoire series, …

A Two-Year Classical Guitar Ensemble For Pre-College Educational Settings, Andrew Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Forty-seven classical guitar ensemble works of various styles have been selected and ordered sequentially with regard to both right and left-hand technical, notational, and ensemble concepts. An evaluation of each work's representation of the aforementioned concepts is provided with illustrated excerpts from the music scores. This collection of works is presented in a logical and sequential order to form a two year, classical guitar ensemble curriculum for pre-college educational settings.

A Comparison Of The Kodaly Methodology And Feierabend's Conversational Solfege, Aimee Noelle Peek

Theses and Dissertations

This paper compares and contrasts Zoltan Kodaly' s music methodology with John Feierabend's Conversational Solfege. Both systems for teaching music are founded upon similar philosophies and goals and emphasize singing in the classroom. Solfege, rhythmic syllables, and movement are incorporated in both methodologies. The order in which these solfege syllables and rhythmic meters are introduced to students differs between the two methods. The reasons behind this difference are discussed in detail. Folk music, the primary musical material utilized by both methodologies, is also examined.

All concepts in either the Kodaly method or Conversational Solfege progress through specific stages to ensure …

A Singer's Perspective On Recruitment, Auditioning, And Vocal Technique In The Choral Program, Lindsay Patten

Theses and Dissertations

Choral singing has been a part of culture for centuries. Choirs are comprised of singers with a near endless variety of experience levels in terms of training and technique. Three problems that face directors of choirs are: 1) How to recruit and retain students for their programs, 2) How to audition and structure, and 3) How to incorporate vocal technique into the choral rehearsal. In this paper I address some suggestions for recruitment that will touch on the ideas of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations as well as the basics of group vocal technique - breathing, tone, and diction, and …

The "Choral-Vocal Conflict": Explorations On An Established Problem With Offerings Of New Means For Improvement, Laura Anne Foster

Theses and Dissertations

Many students are exposed to both solo and ensemble vocal activities throughout their music education opportunities. For many years, there has been an unspoken conflict between vocal ensemble directors and private voice teachers as to the self-proclaimed, perceived importance of one practice over the other. This graduate music project will attempt to explore the ways this conflict materializes. It will outline the players in this conflict, the actions that fuel the conflict, as well as possible solutions to eliminate the "choral-vocal conflict".

Integrating Vocal And Musical Techniques In The Choral Rehearsal, William W. Rayfield Iii

Theses and Dissertations

The vocal warm-up is an aspect of the choral rehearsal which is many times seen as nothing more than a brief period in which a singer in an ensemble "warms''' his or her vocal mechanism in preparation for singing. It is also considered by many to be separate from the review of literature to be performed. However, if a conductor plans carefully for the warm-up period, it can serve to teach both vocal technique and the repertoire to be reviewed. There are numerous aspects of vocal technique that should be addressed during the choral warm-up. Among these is posture, breath, …

Redefining Multicultural Education And Its Applications In The General Music Classroom, Emily C. Hardwick

Theses and Dissertations

"Understanding music in relation to history and culture" is the ninth standard for music education developed by the National Association for Music Educators (MENC) in 1994 (Mark, 1996, p. 50). This principle is very broad and it is up to individual teachers to make sure they include history and multiculturalism in their curriculum. The term multicultural education is extensive and because many teachers do not understand what all it entails, some students do not get a comprehensive multicultural education.

In the general music class for example, teaching students a Japanese folk song is a typical multicultural lesson. I do not …

Rock, Rhythm, And Rap, Wayne Helmly

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis suggests an alternative approach to teaching general music/music appreciation to students in grades 7-12 that incorporates the history of rock and roll and pop music. An approach to teaching rhythm reading skills through rap music is also suggested using Rockin ' Rhythm Raps by Cheryl Lavender (1998). Rare is the student that has not been saturated with popular culture during most of his or her lifetime. The case is made that teaching what is relevant to students, namely the history of vernacular music, can contribute significantly to the development of music appreciation. Sixteen lessons are provided. These lessons …

The Study And Application Of Rhythmic Analysis For Wind Band Repertoire, Christopher Keith Dye

Theses and Dissertations

The ultimate goal of this thesis is to inspire an interest in rhythmic analysis and an understanding of its tools and applications, particularly to the repertoire of the wind band. The content is divided into two sections. Part I deals with a general overview of the subject matter. It includes a review of literature on the subject of rhythm, an outlining of terms and systems that attempt to reconcile the broad approaches taken in the literature, and a general look at the tools and applications of rhythmic analysis. Part II deals directly with applications of rhythmic analysis. It consists often …

Curriculum For Middle School Percussion, Amanda Hertel

Theses and Dissertations

Based on three thirty-six week school years (6-8th grade)

-With thirty-five lesson plans for percussion sectionals outside of daily hand curriculum

-A set of weekly objectives that are applicable to in class ensemble instruction.

-Twenty periodical examinations and testing material -Assignment and Examination grading logs

-Guidelines for projects and writing assignments

-Questions for Reading checks