Music Pedagogy Commons^™

Cultural Translation In Two Directions: The Suzuki Method In Japan And Germany, Margaret Mehl

Research & Issues in Music Education

Cultural Translation in Two Directions: The Suzuki Method in Japan and Germany The Suzuki Method represents a significant contribution by a Japanese, Suzuki Shin'ichi (1898-1998), to the teaching of musical instruments worldwide. Western observers often represent the method as "Japanese," although it could be called "Western" with equal justification. Suzuki left no detailed description of his method. Consequently, it is open to multiple interpretations. Its application, whether in Japan or elsewhere, represents an act of translation with its adaptation to local conditions involving creative processes rather than mere deviations from a supposedly fixed original.

To illustrate the importance of historical …

A Principled Approach To Teaching Music Composition To Children, Michele Kaschub, Janice P. Smith

Research & Issues in Music Education

Building on an apposition of the theories of neurobiologist Antonio Damasio and music theorist Heinrich Schenker, we posit a new model for developing composition instruction based upon the organic connections between humans and music. Parallels are drawn between Damasio’s theory of consciousness in which meaning arises from the relationships between body, emotion, and feeling; and Schenker’s theory of musical structure in which opportunities for meaning making are revealed between the ursatz (background), mittelgrund (middleground), and vordergrund (foreground) layers of a musical work. The resulting principles-based approach to instruction reprioritizes the roles of elements and compositional techniques to foster greater expressivity …

Leaders Of The Pack: Responsibilities And Experiences Of Collegiate Drum Majors, Wesley D. Brewer

Research & Issues in Music Education

This study explored the responsibilities and experiences of three collegiate drum majors as student leaders of a marching band at a major university. Marching band continues to be a prevalent and highly visible aspect of music education in the United States. The preparation and utilization of student leaders in music remains common, but little research examining the actual experiences of student leaders in music has been conducted. As we continue to recruit student leaders for these positions, it may be of use to understand, from the student leader perspective, the challenges and perceived responsibilities associated with these positions. The participants …

Assessing Individual Performance In The College Band, Mark U. Reimer

Research & Issues in Music Education

Semester assessment of college wind band members is an issue that conductors would probably agree falls within their academic freedom. Institutions may award as little as no credit or even a percentage of a credit for ensemble participation, although the time and effort required of the students and their conductor is undoubtedly equivalent to, or exceeds, that of a three-credit course. If an academic administrator, seeing a large percentage of A’s in an ensemble, were to question the assessment process of the conductor and/or the rigor of the course, could that conductor produce tangible evidence, such as grades or numeric …

Directors' Attitudes Regarding Parental Involvement In The Middle School Choral Setting, Jeff Rapp

Research & Issues in Music Education

Educational research strongly suggests that parental involvement is beneficial for academic achievement and scholarly studies have pointed to parents’ seminal role in the education of young children as well as the need for continued nurture. Researchers indicate that parental involvement, however, tends to diminish over time and in many cases nearly disappears altogether during the middle-school years. This decline in parent-child connection, as Rutherford and Billig (1995) suggest, occurs at a most inopportune time in that the early teen years are crucial in making personal, relational, and educational decisions that have both immediate and lasting impact. In their study of …

Engaging Music And Media: Technology As A Universal Language, Glen Carruthers

Research & Issues in Music Education

The ambiguity in the first half of the paper’s title – “Engaging music and media” – is intentional. Music is engaging in the sense that it implicates our hearts and minds. Music can also be engaged by and with media. And, of course, engagement is core to effective learning.

The role of music education is always in flux. Aesthetic aims sometimes take primacy, while at other times music is taught as a means to some other end. As in ancient times, today music is taught largely for its ancillary benefits so that, in a curious twist, ancillary aims have become …

A Constructivist Application For Online Learning In Music, Dan A. Keast

Research & Issues in Music Education

The purpose of this article is to extend the published knowledge and practices of distance learning in music to include constructivism. Dan Keast describes his techniques for the implementation of constructivism to an online two-course series of Music History. The courses’ structure, activities, assessments, and other key functionality components are shown as an example of current practices. Keast discusses the process for developing the two courses, in conjunction with copy editors, course design specialists, and technology reviewers. The courses highlight the need for additional improvements such as new software and legal clarification for the use of sound recordings. Keast’s suggestion …

Debating Assessment In Music Education, Ryan Fisher

Research & Issues in Music Education

Music education organizations achieved a huge success in Texas several years ago when legislation declared music as a part of the core curriculum. Similarly, more recent national education legislation like No Child Left Behind has recognized music as a core curricular subject. Since that time, little has been done to assess music students to ensure a set of basic skills and knowledge is being achieved. While national and state music standards exist, these standards, in many cases, are not mandatory and merely serve as a guide or recommendations for music educators to follow. Other core subjects endure severe oversight and …

A Study Of The Comparative Perceptions Of Non-Tenured And Tenured Music Teachers And Music Supervisors Regarding The Needs And Concerns Of The Teacher In Music Performance Education, Dale E. Johanson

Research & Issues in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to elicit information through a survey from non-tenured and tenured music performance teachers and their music supervisors concerning their perceived needs and concerns at work. An instrument created for evaluation and assessment was constructed to yield twelve scale areas of needs and concerns. Comparison of responses provided results showing areas of congruence and disagreement among music performance teachers and supervisors.

Teachers placed teaching materials and resources as a high concern while supervisors expressed greatest concern in the area of music-related competence. In terms of assistance, non-tenured music teachers felt that mentor teachers, music conferences, …

Forms Of Graduate Music Education: A Response To Kenneth Phillip, David G. Hebert

Research & Issues in Music Education

It is truly an honor to see a response to my article from Professor Kenneth H. Phillips, in his “Graduate Music Education” within Research and Issues in Music Education, 6(1). Professor Phillips is an outstanding scholar and educator who has made a unique and important contribution to the fields of music education research and practice. His book on choral music is unusually insightful, and his most recent book on music education research is also a highly recommended resource that I use for my own graduate courses, some of which are online (Phillips, 2003; Phillips, 2008). I encourage readers to give …

Notes From The Editor, Bruce Gleason

Research & Issues in Music Education

Teaching people of all ages to make music together is still one of the most satisfying parts of my career, and as I share music making, teaching, and research with my University of St. Thomas graduate students as well as scholar-musicians around the world through RIME, I remember why I do this. Music is simply good for our souls.

Graduate Music Education, Kenneth H. Phillips

Research & Issues in Music Education

This essay on graduate music education is in response to an article by David Hebert on challenges and solutions in online music teacher education that appeared in the online journal, Research and Issues in Music Education, 5(1). I found the article stimulating because so little has been written on the topic of music teacher education at the graduate level.

It appears that graduate music education in institutions of higher learning is locked into traditions that online programs are ready to challenge. In this essay I consider this challenge from a traditionalist viewpoint to determine if an online approach is a …

A Comparison Of Mexican Children’S Music Compositions And Contextual Songs, Patricia E. Riley

Research & Issues in Music Education

The purpose of this research was to make observations and comparisons between original music composed by Mexican children, and traditional Mexican songs. Data were obtained through notated music compositions created by the children, and through videotaped interviews during which the children performed their compositions, talked about both their compositions and songs representative of their cultural context, and performed the songs. Subjects were 10 randomly selected fourth-grade children enrolled at the Julian Hinojosa School in Puebla, Mexico. Prior to composing, the children explored the instruments to be used, and the musical elements of pitch, duration, tempo, dynamics, and timbre. Results indicate …

Notes From The Editor, Bruce Gleason

Research & Issues in Music Education

Further reflecting on RIME’s development, as I write these notes, I am pleased, and maybe surprised that the hazy initiative that began in uncharted waters in 2000 continues to progress and is now publishing its fifth issue. As I tell my graduate students, history is difficult to assess as it is happening, and I think this may be no more evident than in the world of online publishing and instruction. When I do web searches for RIME, I am pleased to find it in many databases and am reminded that being careful about editorial content is paramount, since I have …

Five Challenges And Solutions In Online Music Teacher Education, David Hebert

Research & Issues in Music Education

“Nearly 600 graduate students?”1 As remarkable as it may sound, that is the projected student population for the online graduate programs in music education at Boston University School of Music by the end of 2007. With the rapid proliferation of online courses among mainstream universities in recent years, it is likely that more online music education programs will continue to emerge in the near future, which begs the question of what effects this new development will have on the profession. Can online education truly be of the same quality as a traditional face-to-face program? How is it possible to effectively …

What Boys And Girls Learn Through Song: A Content Analysis Of Gender Traits And Sex Bias In Two Choral Classroom Textbooks, Patrick J. Hawkins

Research & Issues in Music Education

In an effort to further the understanding of gender traits or sexual bias that high school-aged choral music students might be exposed to in their curricular materials, two choral textbooks Choral Connections Beginning Level 1 Treble Voices and Choral Connections Beginning Level 1 Tenor-Bass Voices published by Glencoe MacGraw-Hill in 1999 were analyzed using a modified Bem Sex Role Inventory Model. The results found that significantly more songs were about men than were about women. The songs selected for the treble voices were more androgynous, while the secular music presented to the boys was significantly more masculine in the traits: …

The Effects Of Technology-Based Conducting Practice On Skill Achievement In Novice Conductors, Diana Hollinger, Dr. Jill M. Sullivan

Research & Issues in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to compare technology-based practice (Radio Baton and Digital Conducting System) to self-practice (recorded music) on the skill achievement of beginning conductors. Participants (N = 33) were undergraduate music majors—education and performance—from two beginning conducting classes randomly assigned to either the technology-based group or the self-practice group. Subjects worked for three, 15-minute sessions on the following skills: staccato conducting, legato conducting, and steadiness of tempo. The experimental design was a pretest-posttest using two conducting etudes to measure six dependent variables: staccato conducting, staccato presence, staccato steadiness of tempo, legato conducting, legato presence, and legato steadiness …

The Effect Of Band Director Leadership Style And Student Leadership Ability On Band Festival Ratings, P. Dru Davison

Research & Issues in Music Education

This study examined the relationship between band director leadership styles and the strength of student leadership within the bands. This study also examined the differences between leadership styles, student leadership strength, and band festival ratings (marching and concert). Subjects (N = 42) were band directors from Texas and Arkansas who participated in marching and concert band festivals. The Leadership Measurement Instrument (LMI) was designed to ascertain the strength of student leadership within the band programs, the type of leadership practiced by the directors (autocratic/facilitative), and the marching and concert festival band scores attained by the participants of this study. The …

An Exploration Of Personality Traits In Older Adult Amateur Musicians, Don Coffman

Research & Issues in Music Education

The primary research question for the study was, “Will older adult amateur musicians’ personality profiles reflect the traits found in professional musicians?” Participants (N = 58, ages 52 to 79) recruited from a New Horizons Institute “band camp” for older adult amateur musicians completed a musical background questionnaire and the Cattell (1993) Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, Fifth Edition (16PF) on their own time during the five-day camp. Group scores for all the 16PF primary and global factor scores were within expected ranges for a normal population of adults, although Factor B (Reasoning) was noticeably higher and Factors E (Dominance), F …

Factors That Predict Participation In Choral Music For High-School Students, Dennis James Siebenaler

Research & Issues in Music Education

Why do so few students continue to participate in choral music through high school? How do home influences, peers, prior music experiences and teachers, self-perceptions of ability, and musical experiences outside of school contribute to decisions concerning participation in school music? This study attempted to identify some of the factors and influences that may predict continued participation in choral music for high school students.

The Politics Of Implementing Local Cultures In Music Education In Taiwan, Wai-Chung Ho

Research & Issues in Music Education

Recent studies of the localization and globalization of Taiwan’s music education cannot explain the complicated interplay between localization and the pursuit of local cultures in national development and policy making in the broader society, and in school education in Taiwan between the late 1980s and 2004. Features of localization in Taiwan’s music education include the highlighting of local artists and musical styles such as Taiwanese opera, puppetry shows, and local folk music in the curriculum. More importantly, music education to support the indigenous core values of peace, the beauty of the homeland, and harmony in society and in everyday life …

Notes From The Editor, Bruce Gleason

Research & Issues in Music Education

When I first began developing the idea for this on-line journal, I envisioned a platform that would not only serve as a venue for disseminating quality research within several different research methodologies, but one that would also provide an arena for thoughtful, well informed discourse—substantive articles based on experience through teaching, formal and informal education, and professional dialogue.

The Paradox Of Assessment: Assessment As Paradox, Doug Orzolek

Research & Issues in Music Education

Like many in the field of education, I follow the path of the assessment paradigm with great interest. Through the efforts of “No Child Left Behind” and the many accountability systems put into place in our states and districts, assessment of student learning is on the minds of many. One would only review a listing of presentations at professional development workshops, any educational journal or the editorial pages of your local paper for support of the notion that assessment has become a part of our country’s educational landscape.

Assessment has become inseparable from formal education--and it’s probably here to stay. …

The Occupational Aspirations And Expectations Of Music Education Majors In Mexico, Karendra Devroop, Beatriz Aguilar

Research & Issues in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate the occupational aspirations and expectations of students majoring in music education in Mexico. Participants (N = 83) included the entire population of music education majors enrolled at the National School of Music at the National Autonomous University of Mexico during the 2002 academic year. Questionnaires were administered by one of the researchers, with a return rate of 92%.

The analysis of occupational aspirations and expectations revealed some disparities in the types of occupations subjects preferred and expected. The majority of students indicated they aspired to a combination of occupations however most students …

An Investigation Of Secondary School Students' Self-Reported Reasons For Extracurricular Musical And Athletic Activities, Brian D. Ebie

Research & Issues in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to discover the self-reported reasons for involvement in after-school, extracurricular music and athletic activities of high school students. One hundred-sixty high school students participating in either extracurricular athletic or musical activities served as subjects. Extracurricular activities were defined as un-graded activities offered beyond the regular school day. An open-ended, free response questionnaire was used to determine what personal factors students felt contributed most to their reasons for choosing to participate in extracurricular activities. Questionnaires were analyzed for similarities and differences and responses were coded and categorized. Four distinct categories of subject responses emerged from …

Effects Of A Remedial Singing Method On The Vocal Pitch Accuracy Of Inaccurate Elementary Singers, Karen A. Miyamoto

Research & Issues in Music Education

A pretest-posttest experimental design was utilized to determine the efficacy of the Yuba Method on inaccurate elementary singers. Testing of pitch accuracy was analyzed using the Sona-Speech Model 3600 software program. Inaccurate singers (N=168) from a population of 320 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students, were divided into three subgroups and a random sample of subjects was selected to be in a treatment group (N=30) and a control group (N=30). The Yuba Method, which is meant to target training of the cricothyroid muscle utilizing a series of vocal exercises intended to facilitate maneuverability over the vocal register break, was administered …

Notes From The Editor, Bruce Gleason

Research & Issues in Music Education

This third issue of RIME is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Dorothy McDonald who was a professor of music education at the University of Iowa from 1970 when she was hired to teach music at the University of Iowa Laboratory School until 1994 when she was chairing Iowa's music education department. Dorothy died on September 4, 2005 after having been recently diagnosed with cancer. I have fond memories of her as my initial doctoral advisor before her stroke in 1994, and recollect that along with being a fine teacher, writer, researcher, scholar and musician, she was a wonderful human …

Middle School Band Contest Repertoire In Northern Illinois: Analysis And Recommendations, Phillip M. Hash

Research & Issues in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to provide a description and analysis of repertoire performed at middle school band contests in northern Illinois. Repertoire from 10 Illinois Grade School Music Association—Northern Division district level contests were analyzed in relation to the frequency pieces were performed, dates of publication, publishers represented, and the inclusion of titles on recommended music lists. All contests were held in 2003 and included a mix of urban, suburban, and rural schools. Among the contest programs analyzed, 81 concert bands from 72 schools performed a total of 243 compositions.

Results indicated 1) 46.1% of the selections were …

A Study Of The Musical, Academic, Leadership, And Extracurricular Achievement Massachusetts All-State Participants, R. Nicholas Tobin

Research & Issues in Music Education

Researchers have noted that the personal attributes of high school all-state participants have not been probed and have expressed surprise at this void in the music education literature (Cole, 1986; Fuller, 1989; Welker, 1997). The purpose of this study was to ascertain, through participant self-report data, the activities and accomplishments of Massachusetts all-state musicians in four areas of student endeavor: music, academics, leadership, and extracurricular activities. Massachusetts all-state participants are high achievers not only in music but also in academics, honors, student government, leadership, athletics, service, and extracurricular activities. Suggestions for further research include broadening similar studies to other states …

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.