Music Education Commons^™

Teach Your Choir To Read Music, Bryan Cody Rante

Masters Theses

Teaching chorus presents many challenges to directors and one of the main challenges that directors face is teaching their students how to read music. Many students rely on rote teaching or aural repetition to learn music, and this can prevent students from becoming proficient musicians. Bryan Rante researched different ways to assess the choral group and simultaneously teach them how to read music proficiently. The curriculum used for this research was Andy Beck’s Sing at First Sight: Foundations in Choral Singing Level 1 & 2 to help students learn how to sight-sing and become confident in reading music. The curriculum …

Daring To See: White Supremacy And Gatekeeping In Music Education, Brian A. Gellerstein

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Music education in the U.S. maintains a legacy of cultural hegemony that has historically and systemically benefited the White students it was designed to serve, at the expense of Black and Brown students and teachers. As a subdiscipline concerned with cultural production and reproduction, the persistence of White supremacy within music education contributes to its indefatigability within the broader society.

This study is cast within a theoretical framework that connects critical race theory and critical pedagogy in order to address the ways in which music teachers make meaning of gatekeeping practices mediated within hidden structures of White supremacy. This inquiry …

Tennessee High School Band Directors' Knowledge, Perceptions, And Training Regarding The Teaching Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd): An Initial Inquiry, Cameron L. Phillips

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In hopes to add to the existing, yet limited literature surrounding music educators’ experiences with students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), our study surveyed n=62 high school band directors currently serving in the state of Tennessee about their knowledge, perceptions, and training regarding the teaching of such students. By administering an originally designed, twelve-item survey, it was discovered that the majority of respondents had been underprepared in both their preservice and in-service training to effectively address the needs of students with ASD. Despite their lack of preparedness, an overwhelming amount of the surveyed band directors reported their students experiencing social, …

A Middle School Choral Methodology And Curriculum Pairing: An Introduction, Eunice Nogueras-Negron, Rebecca Watson

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Theoretical Proposal

Teaching To A Screen: Investigating The Effects Of Hybrid Teaching On Modern Music Education, Jasmin Limqueco, Jeremiah Armstrong

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

First Generation College Students' Lived Experiences In An Undergraduate Music Education Program: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Joseph Earp, Susan Quindag

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Applied

Mental Health In Music: Why Are We Not Talking About It?, Christian Pence

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The music business has taken many hits over the past 20 years, and we are seeing musicians slowly going extinct. There are so many factors that are hurting musicians, and workers in the music business. Back in the 80’s and 90’s, we were investing in music like no tomorrow. So many concerts were happening, and so many Broadway shows were going on. We were really supporting our musicians, and we were helping them in any way we could. But society, has not been investing in musicians, causing certain problems, like financial stability, mental health problems, and making music more of …

Music For All? A Comparison Of Florida Middle School Music Enrollment In Traditional, For-Profit, And Nonprofit Charter Schools, Melissa Salek

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Project of Merit Winner

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) lists music as part of a “well-rounded education,” yet several studies have shown that charter school students have less access to music than traditional schools. The purpose of this study is to explore if this trend extends to Florida charter middle school students. Of particular interest is whether the for-profit or nonprofit status of charter management organizations and school characteristics impact music course enrollment. The researcher created a database using publicly available school data and accountability reports for the 2019-20 school year. Results find a significant difference between charter and …

Importance Of Technology For Music Students During Covid-19, Alejandro Ledesma, Joseph Hamlet

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Honorable Mention Winner

As the world approached the Summer of 2020, many would-be taken back at the reality of an undermined virus, Covid-19. This virus has single-handedly impacted the entire world including travel, the economy, and education. For many musicians, especially classical musicians, summer is essential for gaining performance, teaching, working, or internship experience specific to one’s career aspirations. Summer music festivals allow students to make tremendous progress on their instruments as they can focus solely on their art. Summer music festivals are also important for making important connections with potential teachers for graduate school study. This is possible through …

Development In Singers With Perfectionism, Melody F. White

Honors College Theses

According to Stoeber and Childs (2011), perfectionism is “a personality disposition characterized by striving for flawlessness and setting excessively high standards for performance accompanied by tendencies for overly critical evaluations” (p.2) Dispositions such as perfectionism may be prominent in individuals in the performing arts, as it may help or hinder their development. This study explores development in singers with perfectionism and ways of coping. Studies have shown that there are both positive and negative aspects of perfectionism. Positive aspects include goal progress, agreeableness, and higher functioning. Negative aspects include depression, anxiety, stress maladjustment. These negative aspects manifest in musicians through …

Lifetimes: Fred Aman '67, Merging The Worlds Of Law And Music, University Of Rochester

Alfred Aman Jr. (1991-2002)

Now the holder of a named professorship at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University Bloomington, University of Rochester Life Trustee Fred Aman '67 retired last year after a decorated career as an attorney, legal scholar, and academic administrator. Along the way, he's been an accomplished jazz drummer.

To read more and hear some of Aman's music, visit uofr.us/fred-aman

Non-Performance Music Classes: Benefits & Hurdles, Brian Lonergan

Graduate Research Showcase

THE BENEFITS AND HURDLES OF OFFERING NON-PERFORMANCE MUSIC CLASSES AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL

Brian Lonergan

Many schools at the Secondary Level focus their music program around performing ensembles, such as band, orchestra, or choir. These ensembles are based in traditional Western music practices and exclude a large portion of the school’s student population. The purpose of this literature review was to share the benefits of providing non-performance music classes, as well as highlight some of the likely roadblocks that may be encountered when trying to implement these classes into the school curriculum. There are a number of anecdotal accounts of …

Music And The Brain: A Review Of Neuroscientific And Clinical Applications, Jacqueline Larivee

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

My research examines the relationship between neuroscience and music, exploring its clinical applications. I extensively review the specific neuroanatomic structures implicated in musical perception. Knowing the function of each brain structure as it relates to musical perception provides insight as to how music is able to elicit certain physical and emotional responses. As music interacts with the human brain, it is also able to provide social, cognitive, and emotional benefits. Given these benefits, my research argues that music is an effective therapeutic intervention for vulnerable populations. I examine the impact of music therapy on preterm infants, hearing impaired individuals, intellectually …

Aural Skills In Developing Musicians: Uncovering Disparities In Secondary Music Learning, Karly Fitch

Senior Theses

This study was conducted to evaluate the scope of aural skills development occurring in secondary music classrooms. The researcher hypothesized that several disparities would exist, namely regarding melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic dictation. Participants took a survey in which they were asked to recall from a prescribed list, aural skills learned while in high school. They were also asked to provide demographic information including high school attended, current college major, and the number of collegiate aural skills courses completed to date. A number of subjective questions were asked as well, such as desired skills prior to collegiate study, and how aural …

The Role And Possible Impact Of Music Administrators On School District Music Programs, Tracee Garrison White

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In order to assist in building a successful music program that is conducive to the learning of all students within a school district, administrators and board members must be informed of the role and impact of a district music administrator. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to identify perspectives that have not yet been explored and documented concerning the positive effect district music administrators have on school music programs. Perspectives on support, accountability and advocacy have emerged as themes through an exploration of limited existing literature and feedback from questionnaires. Although the information is available for administrators who …

A Study Of American Rural Music Educators: The Impact On Community Involvement In Music, Stanley Norman Harris Iii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study intends to discover and evaluate positive and negative relationships that music educators experience while teaching in rural educational settings and to discover if broader community involvement can help mitigate resource reductions. Influences such as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) have accelerated reductions in music programs. The purpose of the investigation is to recognize the feasibility of rural music educators leveraging increased support through community involvement to benefit their local music programs and students. The study's focus is twofold: first, to discover and examine what causes rural music educators to not participate …

One Elementary General Music Teacher’S Uses Of And Experiences With Gordon’S Music Learning Theory: A Case Study, Allison Elizabeth Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

With the intent of understanding one music teacher’s uses of and experiences with Gordon’s (2012, 2013) music learning theory, the purpose of this case study was to interview one GIML PDLC-experienced EGMT about her study, interpretation, and implementation of Gordon’s (2012, 2013) music learning theory in her teaching practice. The guiding research questions were (a) Why and how has one GIML PDLC-experienced EGMT studied, interpreted, and implemented music learning theory in her music teaching practice? (b) Why and how has on GIML PDLC-experienced EGMT questioned and/or deviated from music learning theory in her music teaching practice?

I purposefully interviewed one …

Content Analysis Of Guitar Repertoire For Young People: The Michelson And Suzuki Collections, Brian Douglas Berlin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The guitar is a popular instrument choice in music education; however, most school guitar teachers in the United States neither majored on the instrument nor took a university guitar methods class. These self-taught teachers often rely on trial and error to select repertoire. Effective music curriculum design relies on teachers' ability to select and sequence proper repertoire based on student ability. Through exploration of the existing literature, deficiencies were found in guitar teacher training, pedagogy for young guitar students, and repertoire evaluation. In this study, the author analyzed two collections of printed guitar music in standard notation. The analysis yielded …

Co-Constructive Music Improvisers: An Ethnographic Case Study, Emma Elizabeth Young

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory ethnographic case study was to examine music improvisations co-constructed by my elementary students and me, their music teacher. Guiding research questions were (a) How do my elementary students and I co-construct music improvisations? (b) How do I describe our music improvisations? (c) How do my elementary students describe our music improvisations? (d) How do my elementary students describe their own music improvisations? (e) How do my elementary students describe their peers’ music improvisations?

I facilitated co-constructive music improvisation sessions with each music class at Coosa Elementary School for seven weeks during Fall 2020. Each student …

Live Performance, Digital Music, And The Music Listener Experience, Jessica Isenhour

Selected Honors Theses

Live music performance, specifically in a contemporary and modem atmosphere, such as in pop, rock, and hip-hop musical genres in a corporate concert environment, is constantly innovating. As technology advances, so does its incorporation into live performance, marketing media, and digital music. Over the course of centuries, music listeners have enjoyed music of various genres through numerous types of media; however, what remains consistent in these avenues of musical exposure is the psychology of those listeners. This thesis aims to observe what consumers of music look for in live concert and digital music streaming environments, how performers have adapted and …

"The Rest Is Lagniappe": The Female Secondary Band Director Experience In Louisiana, Margaret M. Webb

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this case study is to examine the experience of female secondary band directors in southeastern Louisiana. Six female band directors in Louisiana were interviewed using video-conferencing. Of the six, four were middle school directors and two were high school directors. The semi-structured interviews took place in three phases: 1) musical influences and experiences from birth through college, 2) early teaching experience, and 3) current teaching experience. Data analysis included four phases of coding; open, axial, closed, and selective. Coding uncovered multiple themes in the findings. Themes were categorized as the following: (1) Becoming a Band Director, (2) …

Marching Band Show Design Tips For Smaller Bands, Larry Price

Theses

This project takes an in depth look at the marching band scoring system in the attempt to aid small school bands. The adjudicator sheets of the competitive marching band circuit were evaluated to see what criteria judges are looking for in a performance. To attain the highest scoring rating, it seems that the performance needs to be original, captivating, and executed with high accuracy based on the research. The first two expectations, original and captivating, are objective to the individual and require custom elements, referred to as non-performance variables throughout the paper. This paper sought to find what judges look …

Beginning Band: Cognitive Development Based Instruction, Kayla Price

Theses

This project focuses on how to facilitate a more efficient beginning band experience for students based on the average state of cognitive development for their age group. The primary focus is presenting an alternative to immediately starting students in a traditional band method book when they first begin band classes. The aim of the project is to study the cognitive development of the average sixth grader to best determine what instructional approach would best suit their processing abilities before introducing the band method book. Furthermore, the study exposes the fallacies of the traditional band method book system and suggests and …

A Mosaic On Music Education, Hannah Dickerson

Undergraduate Research (Journal)

No abstract provided.

Music, Our Human Superpower, Kristin Lems

Faculty Publications

Research about music pervades every discipline because music touches every area of life. Studies revealing the salutary effects of music can be found not only in music educator research, but in research in psychology, speech and hearing, child development, neuroscience, and increasingly, health and wellness, aging, rehabilitation and recovery. Since my focus is especially in the areas of language and literacy, I research the positive effects of music on reading, writing, and learning languages - and of this, there is no shortage. In this brief Academia article, I share what I’d like to call an “homage-with-references” to our great Superpower, …

Best Practices For Preschool Music Education: Supporting Music‑Making Throughout The Day, Jentry Stoneman Barrett, Rachel E. Schachter, Danni Gilbert, Mathew Fuerst

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Active engagement in music has numerous academic and social benefits for young children and music-making is included in many early childhood standards and preschool curricula. The purpose of this article is to provide quality resources for classroom teachers to use in providing music-making activities for young children, ages 3–5. Although teachers may use music in their classrooms, we provide resources and suggestions for more intentional and extended integration of music-making. Specifically, we identify best practices for preschool music education based on key standards and research as well as with common music pedagogies. We then turn to concrete examples of how …

Team/Co Teaching In The Instrumental Classroom: A Differentiated And Holistic Approach To Instruction, Robert Groves

Graduate Research Showcase

Team/Co-Teaching in the Instrumental Classroom:

A Differentiated and Holistic Approach to Instruction

Robert W. Groves

Department of Music Education, Georgia College and State University

MUED 6800: Research in Music Education

Dr. Tina Holmes-Davis

November 15, 2020

Abstract

The literature used in this review serves as a source for the identification and defining of music program quality/success, impacting factors that positively and negatively affect music programs, and the use of effective advocacy through connections made between music and other subject areas, as well as how the implementation of a Team/Co-Teaching instructional model positively affects the overall quality of instruction and student …

A Study Of Rehearsal Space And Student Numbers At Forsyth Central High School, Patrick Denney

Graduate Research Showcase

The object of this study is to determine whether the band room that I currently use is appropriate for the current number of students in my program and whether it will continue to have the proper amount of space for the foreseeable future. The study will use numbers for appropriate size from the National Association of Schools of Music and the Wenger Corporation, an accepted expert in the field of designing music rooms, suites, and buildings. I will compare different designs from other schools in the district and some designs from neighboring districts. The current number of students is an …

Social-Emotional Learning In The Elementary School Music Class

The Graduate Review

No abstract provided.

Annotated Bibliography, University Of Denver

Musicology and Ethnomusicology: Student Scholarship

An Annotated Bibliography discussing how the music education forum could further diversify.