Music Pedagogy Commons^™

Vocal Pedagogy And Using Healthy Technique To Sing, David Kovalsky

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Systematic singing has been in existence since around the time of the ancient Greeks. In the Western tradition, a healthy, systematic, and beautiful approach to singing called bel canto developed around the 16th century and has been taught through time until today. In this work, the history of singing and the development of classical vocal pedagogy will be explored and compared briefly to modern contemporary commercial music (CCM) techniques. Specifically the belting technique will be touched upon briefly and the fundamentals of healthy singing technique will be mentioned. The work will be closed with a discussion of how modern voice …

The Effects Of Improvisation In Beginning Musical Instruction On Music Literacy, Brandon Tyson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Teaching is a skill that has many different techniques and strategies. Each instructional strategy is valid for giving the student the opportunity to learn. In the 1993 article “Improvisation is the Manifestation of Musical Thought,” Azzara states that improvisation is a spontaneous expression of musical concepts. Many have used improvisation to bring knowledge together and synthesize the content. Improvisation is a tool that can be utilized at any point in the educational process. Opportunities for improvisational play gives students personal experiences on leading to skill development in listening and performing of the skills. After a solid foundation of performance ability …

A Study Of The Steel Pan: A Guide To Two Tenor Pan Etudes, Lilith Manes

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will be a presentation of the research, processes, and results of composing two etudes for the tenor steelpan. The difficulty and applications of the accompanying etudes vary, but they are primarily intended for high school students or intermediate pannists. The purpose of this research project is twofold: to provide a brief description of the history of the steelpan and its integration into the United States education system in order to illustrate the need for original compositions and to serve as a guide to the teaching process of each composition provided. This paper will also give a detailed explanation …

An Approach To Jazz Improvisation For Intermediate Saxophonists, Justin Evangelist

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is an organization of the author’s thoughts on teaching jazz improvisational concepts to saxophonists at a beginning to intermediate level of playing ability. Firstly, it discusses the skills students should acquire before studying jazz improvisation. It will focus primarily on building good practice habits through the development of desirable jazz tone and technique. Additionally, this project will offer explanations for understanding how jazz standards are constructed in terms of form and how they are performed. Lastly, this project will introduce several basic concepts the student can use to construct improvised melodies, such as modal scales, blues scales, seventh …

Embouchure Theory In Practice, Alden Smith

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In the instrumental band world, the horn, euphonium, and tuba are considered “switch-over” instruments. They are put in this category because students usually switch to these instruments from their starting instrument. Though they may not be offered to students as a starting instrument, their tones create a balanced and mature band sound. However, it is difficult to properly teach these instruments due to logistical complications; the music educator is responsible for simultaneously teaching the switch-over students a new instrument, while continuing the education of students who did not switch over.

Sound on the horn, euphonium, and tuba is produced by …

A Pedagogical Analysis Of Select Etudes From Jakob Dont’S 24 Etudes And Caprices, Op. 35, Daniella Greene

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The study of etudes is essential for all musicians to learn and practice the technical challenges of their instrument in a practical way. There is a large selection of etudes for the violin, created and collected by numerous composers targeted for all levels of playing. This document will focus on a select number of etudes from the first half of “24 Etudes and Caprices, Opus 35,” by Jakob Dont. The analysis of the etudes will include descriptions of the technical challenges in the left and right hands, recommended practice sequences, and variations on the etude to further challenge the student …

Clarinet Pedagogy: Common Challenges And Solutions, Robyn King

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

There is no one “perfect” clarinet or clarinetist in the world. There have been masters, yes, however, masters still have to practice and refine their artistry to improve. Professional clarinetists still squeak, and have done so on live recordings or in major concerts. So, if these professionals still have trouble, how can we expect young students to produce characteristic tone on this tube of wood, with a mouthpiece, and a vibrating piece of cane? Students are also faced with the trials of putting down the right fingers and doing so correctly. Yet the clarinet requires cross fingerings and pinky work …

On Unaccompanied Horn Music, Jason D. Klinect

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Unaccompanied music provides a host of challenges for solo musicians, and especially for wind players. The performer cannot rely on accompaniment for embouchure rest or for realization of the harmonic content, due to only being able to play one pitch at a time. An unaccompanied musician has to breathe life into the music by themselves, requiring an intimate knowledge of the music, even moreso than is already required. The pacing of the music, the dynamics, phrasing, and articulation need to be clearly conveyed to the audience by the performer alone. Likely due to the horn not having valves until the …

Teaching Tuba Students To Be Complete Musicians, Brandon E. Cummings

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of music educators is to develop complete musicians who successfully learn and perform all musical concepts. One of the limitations of the band classroom is that performers are required to play a part that is specifically written with the needs of the ensemble in mind, and not the needs of the developing musician. These limitations can be seen in the bass instruments of a band which typically play the harmony or bass-line. While the bass-line and harmony are integral portions of the music, they do not often progress as far as other instrumental parts with respect to the …

The Art And Science Of Becoming A Successful Studio Teacher, Teresa A. Bellamy

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For most professional musicians, it is important to possess the skills necessary to be a studio teacher. While it is crucial to be confident in the actual pedagogical technique required of an instrumental teacher, it is imperative that music teachers also have a thorough knowledge of proper business and marketing tools. In this project, a close examination of the methods used to acquire and use such skills has been made. The research for this project was done in the form of interviews. Four professional music teachers were interviewed on the above topics.

Understanding And Implementing Extended Saxophone Techniques, Tyler R. Bokman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Contemporary classical music often pushes the boundaries of how instruments should be played and what kinds of sounds they should produce. A great deal of contemporary music requires the player to utilize playing techniques that may seem very strange and difficult to those who are unfamiliar with them. These unusual practices, known as extended techniques, can include playing in extreme ranges, manipulating pitches in particular ways, and applying abnormal articulations. While once seen as a sort of novelty, these extended techniques are becoming increasingly essential to the contemporary musician. This is especially true of the saxophonist.

While nearly every other …

An Exploration Of The French And American Schools Of Classical Saxophone, Sarah E. Miracle

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is an exploration of the relatively short history of the classical saxophone genre. It will focus mainly on the styles created by Marcel Mule, the second professor of saxophone at the Paris Conservatory, and Larry Teal, the first full-time professor of saxophone in America. Mule and Teal’s contrasting ideas of playing and teaching created distinct French and American schools of classical saxophone playing. This project explores the similarities and differences between these two schools of thought, and places them each in historical and cultural contexts. In addition, it traces the subsequent lineage of prominent saxophone performers and pedagogues, …