bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mainstreaming: Music Educators' Participation and Professional Needs
Authors: Gilbert Janet Perkins , Asmus Edward P.
Published: June 2006

The study examined music educators' involvement with disabled students, their knowledge of legislation regarding the handicapped, and their needs in developing and implementing music education programs for special students. Information was obtained through a nationwide survey of 789 general, instrumental, and vocal music educators at the elementary and secondary levels. Results indicated that 63% of the respondents have been professionally involved wih disabled students, with significantly greater experience at the elementary level. Respondents indicated the need for information about formulating Individualized Educational Plan goals, developing music programs for handicapped students, and assessing these students' progress. Those surveyed were particularly concerned about meeting students' individual needs, working with too large a number of handicapped students, and avoiding psychological harm to these students.
The Gamut and Solmization in Early British and American Texts
Authors: Grashel John W.
Published: June 2006

The gamut and solmization, two theoretical concepts devised by the ancient Greeks and developed as pedagogical aids by subsequent theoreticians, were used extensively in the music textbooks of 17th-century Britain and 18th-century America. This study investigated these concepts in the texts of several characteristic English and Colonial models. The influence of the British texts on the American books was demonstrated, accompanied by a discussion of significant historical and educational facets of the several works.
The Applicability of Verbal Processing Strategies to Recall of Familiar Songs
Authors: Booth Gregory D. , Cutietta Robert A.
Published: June 2006

One hundred thirty-five undergraduate nonmusic majors participated in a free-recall task in which they were asked to remember the titles of 12 songs that they heard in different sequences. The investigators were seeking evidence that cognitive categorization of the titles was based on the musical element of style. The purpose was to compare the subjects development of any apparent categorization of the musical stimuli with categorization strategies that research suggests apply to verbal information. Results indicate that many subjects seemed to categorize the musical stimuli by applying verbal stylistic labels. Furthermore, the subjects' subsequent strategies for manipulating verbal labels show many similarities to, and some differences from, how subjects would be expected to process purely verbal information. Educational implications and ideas for future research are suggested.
The Effect of Overtly Categorizing Music on Preference for Popular Music Styles
Authors: Brittin Ruth V.
Published: June 2006

This investigation was designed to examine the effect of overt listener categorization on preference for “crossover” excerpts (i.e., instrumental selections of artists nominated for Grammy awards in more than one popular style per year). Results showed no significant differences in nonmusic majors' (n = 534) preferential ratings subsequent to one of the following treatments: (a) stipulated categorization (pop, rock, jazz), (b) no overt categorization, or (c) free-operant categorization (any classification system). Subjects with musical experience responded significantly more positively than did the musically inexperienced, and females' ratings were significantly more positive than were males‘. The investigation's second component compared continuous versus static responses using a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) and Likert-type scales. Results showed that responses made across time were significantly more positive compared to static responses. Musical experience and gender significantly affected preferences for pop and jazz, but not rock.
An Analysis of String Instrumentalists' Performed Intonational Adjustments Within an Ascending and Descending Pitch Set
Authors: Sogin David W.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to observe string instrumentalists' intonational performances within the duration of selected pitches. Additional aspects of the study included the effects of directionality of performed pitch sets, intonational tendencies associated with vibrato versus no vibrato, and differences in intonational performance among specific instrument groups. Forty-eight string players were randomly selected as subjects. Each subject performed pitch sets ascending and descending with vibrato and without vibrato. Performance tones were tape-recorded and analyzed for the highest and lowest points (pitch location 1 and pitch location 2) in order of occurrence within each tone according to cents sharp or flat relative to equal temperament. Results indicated that pitch location 2 was performed significantly sharper than pitch location 1; however, a significant interaction was found among pitch location, pitch set direction, and individual tones. Descending pitch sets were performed significantly sharper than ascending pitch sets, which were also sharp. All stringed instrument groups performed sharp relative to equal temperament.
The Wisconsin School Music Association and Its Contests: The Early Years
Authors: Fonder Mark
Published: June 2006

Many factors contributed to the dramatic nationwide increase in instrumental music instruction in American public schools from approximately 1915 to 1935, a period commonly referred to as the school band movement era. Band contests, the instrument manufacturing industry, and a trend toward broadening school curricula all contributed to this development This study traces the history of the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) from its early days in 1920 through the height of school music contest activity in the early 1930s and up to the outbreak of World War II. In addition to being the first known association of and for school bands in this country, the WSMA sponsored for many years the largest school band tournaments in the United States. The WSMA also seems to have contributed a portion of its constitution to that of the National School Band Association and spearheaded the move from competitive ranking of bands to festival ratings—developments that have remained with the field to this day.
Evaluation of a Competency-Based Approach to Teaching Aural Interval Identification
Authors: Hofstetter Fred T.
Published: June 2006

Twenty-four music majors participated in an evaluation of a competency-based approach to teaching aural Interval Identification. The students were taught ascending Intervals using a traditional learning sequence from the Benward ear-training series. Twelve continued to learn descending, mixed ascending and descending, and harmonic intervals by the same methods in a sequential control group. The other twelve learned in a competency-based experimental group. Whereas there was no significant difference in the amount of learning between the two groups on the basis of ascending intervals, the competency-based experimental group learned significantly more on subsequent materials than did the sequential control group. Although students in both groups spent the same amount of learning time, the competency-based format caused students in the experimental group to spend a greater proportion of their time on the more difficult materials than did students in the control group. Students in the experimental group were unaware of the beneficial effects that the competency-based approach was having on their achievement scores.
Acquiring Relative Pitch Perception as a Function of Age
Authors: Litke Emmeline M. , Olsen Clifford C.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability to learn relative pitch-perception, and how it is affected by age, frequency, and ear. Thirty-four musically naive subjects were assigned to four age groups and taught individually, over a period of five daily sessions, to adjust the frequency of a variable stimulus to be twice the frequency of (or an octave higher than) a specified reference stimulus. Three-octave intervals were learned in this manner with either the left or right ear. Results indicated no age or ear difference in amount of accuracy attained. The octave interval 1000–2000 Hz appeared significantly more difficult to estimate accurately than the octave intervals 400–800 Hz or 1500–3000 Hz, however. The youngest age group learned the task with maximum accuracy more quickly than the older age groups. There was, furthermore, a significant ear difference in how quickly the task was learned. This difference, however, was frequency-dependent.
Grading Students in Performing Groups: A Comparison of Principals' Recommendations with Directors' Practices
Authors: McCoy Claire Wehr
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to examine how directors determine grades for students in high school band and choral classes and how the directors' grading systems compare with grading systems proposed by principals. Data were obtained from responses to questionnaires sent to band directors, choral directors, and principals at 98 randomly selected Illinois high schools.

Results showed that directors relied most heavily on nonmusic criteria to determine grades; psychomotor criteria related to performance were the next most heavily weighted, followed by affective and cognitive criteria. In contrast, the principals' proposed grading systems assigned the greatest weight to psychomotor criteria, followed by nonmusic, cognitive, and affective criteria. Analyses of variance revealed significant differences ( p > .05) between the two groups of directors and principals: Principals placed more weight on cognitive criteria and on basic performance technique and less weight on attendance at concerts and behavior than did directors. Directors with 5 or more years' experience placed more weight on psychomotor criteria than did directors with fewer than 5 years of experience.
Acquiring Criteria of Excellence for Scholarly Journals in Music
Authors: LeBlanc Albert , McCrary Jan
Published: June 2006

We selected 24 journals to represent scholarly publication in the academic fields of music in the United States. We then contacted each editor, along with two members of each journals editorial committee and 48 publishing scholars whose work has appeared in these journals, asking them to identify the characteristics of an excellent scholarly journal in their own field of music. While some responses were specific to individual branches of music scholarship, a number of generic indicators of journal quality emerged that are endorsed by all branches of academic scholarship in music.
The Child-Study Movement and Public School Music Education
Authors: Humphreys Jere T.
Published: June 2006

The child-study movement was a late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century educational I fashion whose impetus came from the influences of Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) and from the advent of empirical psychology in the 1860s and 1870s. Child-study leaders sought to reform the public schools, calling for widespread and “scientific” observation and study of children. Music educators adopted some child-study principles, incorporating them in certain vocal music series and music appreciation textbooks. These books contained, for example, materials designed to correspond to the various stages of interest and maturity in children. Several nonmusician child-study researchers began to gather data relative to musical learning, while psychological literature on music perception proliferated. Music teachers, more interested in teaching methods, left research activities to future generations of music educators.
An Investigation of the Relationships Among Music Audiation, Musical Creativity, and Cognitive Style
Authors: Schmidt Charles P. , Sinor Jean
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate achievement in convergent and divergent musical tasks as a function of the cognitive style dimension of reflectionlimpulsivity. The effect of gender and its interaction with the cognitive style variable were also examined. A random sample of 47 second graders was screened according to reflective/impulsive cognitive style resulting in a final N of 34. Variables were operationalized through the following measures: Primary Measures of Music Audiation (PMMA), Measure of Creative Thinking in Music (MCTM), and Matching Familiar Figures (MFF). Data were analyzed through Pearson Product-Moment correlations and analysis of variance procedures. Results indicated that (a) reflectionlimpulsivity was significantly related to PMMA Tonal scores (it was not found to be significantly related to PMMA Rhythm or the MCTM), (b) PMMA Rhythm was significantly negatively related to two dimensions of the MCTM, and (c) there was a significant difference for sex on three of four dimensions of the MCTM. The magnitude of the relationships may indicate practical significance.
The Effect of High Versus Low Teacher Affect and Passive Versus Active Student Activity During Music Listening on Preschool Children's Attention, Piece Preference, Time Spent Listening, and Piece Recognition
Authors: Sims Wendy L.
Published: June 2006

This study was designed to examine the effects of high versus low non-verbal teacher affect and active versus passive student activities during music listening on preschool children's attention, paired-comparison piece preference, time spent listening, and piece recognition. Three-through five-year-old subjects ( N = 94) participated in four small-group listening lessons and subsequent individual posttests. Through the use of a modified multiple baseline design, each of four treatment conditions, representing different sequences of instructional events, was replicated three times. All lessons were videotaped on a split screen showing both teacher and students. Data obtained through observation of the videotaped lessons indicated that high teacher affect was associated with higher levels of group attending behavior than was low affect, and active listening activities elicited similar or higher on-task behavior than passive activities. No significant effects concerning teacher affect during listening or piece familiarity were found in analyses of posttest piece preferences, time spent listening, or piece recognition, although some differences between older and younger children were evident.
String Instrument Intonation in Upper and Lower Registers: The Effects of Accompaniment
Authors: Kantorski Vincent J.
Published: June 2006

The effects of different accompaniment and register conditions on string instrumentalists' intonation performance of scalar passages were investigated. Forty-eight college-aged instrumentalists (12 each of violinists, violists, cellists, and double bassists) performed ascending and descending whole-tone tetrachords in the instruments' upper and lower registers. All performances were accompanied by prerecorded computer generated tones that formed four harmonic interval types with performance tones. Results indicated that upper register performances with accompaniment below were significantly sharper ( p < .05), relative to equal temperament, than lower register performances with accompaniment above, which were also sharp. Descending tetrachords were performed significantly sharper ( p < .01) than ascending tetrachords. Violinists evidenced the least overall deviation followed in order by violists, cellists, and bassists. The sharpness propensity observed in this study was consistent with previous research. It appears that further research is needed to explain more fully the effects of accompaniment and register conditions on string instrumentalists' intonation.
Use of Class Time and Student Attentiveness in Secondary Instrumental Music Rehearsals
Authors: Witt Anne C.
Published: June 2006

This study investigated secondary instrumental music rehearsals with respect to use of class time by teachers and attentiveness of students. Data were gathered from observations of 48 orchestra and band classes. Student attentiveness was observed and recorded, using intervallic observation procedures. Class time use was determined by ex post facto analysis of rehearsal tapes with a stop watch; activities were classified either as student performance, teaching, or getting ready. Both class time use and student attentiveness were related to class genre (orchestra/band). In orchestra classes, teaching episodes were fewer ( p < .001) and of longer duration ( p < .01) than in band classes. The amount of time spent getting ready was greater in orchestra classes than in band classes ( p < .05). Orchestra students were less attentive both in performance ( p < .05) and in nonperformance conditions ( p < .001). Results are discussed in context of previous research on time use and attentiveness.
Music and Not-Music in Kindergartens
Authors: Kalekin-Fishman Devorah
Published: June 2006

This paper presents an exploratory case study of the constitution of music in kindergartens. An analysis of sonal patterning showed that with the aid of minimal criteria of intentionality—intended pitch and intended rhythm—varieties of typified music making could be discerned. These criteria, however, were not found to be necessarily congruent with those employed by kindergarten teachers, whose own culturally determined criteria serve to delineate a relatively narrow field of music as a body of school-oriented knowledge.
Transfer of Preference from Taught to Untaught Pieces of Non-Western Music Genres
Authors: Shehan Patricia K.
Published: June 2006

Cognitive transfer theory, specifically Thorndike and Woodworth's theory of identical elements, was applied to music preferences. Two separate but related issues were examined in this study: (a) the effect of student familiarity through performance-oriented instruction as a means of increasing preference toward a genre of music and (b) the transfer of preference from taught to untaught pieces of an unfamiliar genre. Traditional African, Asian Indian, Japanese, and Hispanic songs with instrumental accompaniment were taught to 26 sixth-grade students over a 5-week period. A pretest-posttest listening test was administered, incorporating taught and untaught selections from the ethnic genres, as well as current popular and western classical pieces. Results indicated significant preference differences between the taught and untaught selection of the treatment genres. Although instruction increased preference for unfamiliar non-Western songs, there was no transfer of preference to untaught pieces of the same genre.
The Relationship Between Curriculum and Learner: Music Composition and Learning Style
Authors: Moore Brian R.
Published: June 2006

Effective learning experiences are believed to involve the various functions of learning, teaching, and curriculum. Furthermore, the content or substance of what is taught has inherent characteristics that can affect both student and teacher. Success in learning would thus depend in part on an individual's ability to adapt to demands and constraints made by these curricular characteristics. The focus of this study was the relationship of music composition (as one aspect of a music curriculum) with specific learning styles. A major emphasis concerned the development of a research model in which music composition was viewed as involving intuitive and rational musical abilities. Learning style was interpreted as the collective constructs of mediation ability (concrete and abstract perception paired with sequential and random processing) and perceptual modality (visual, aural, and kinesthetic sensory modes). Sixty-four high school instrumental music students in grades 11 and 12 participated in this research by completing two learning-style inventories (the Gregorc Style Delineator and the Edmonds Learning Style Identification Exercise) and a researcher-designed test of musical composition ability ( Ability to Compose Music Exercise). Statistical analysis of these tests indicated significant relationships between (a) intuitive musical ability and the abstract random learning style, (b) perceptual modality and intuitive musical ability, and (c) perceptual modality and rational musical ability.
Historical Perspectives on Instructional Language as Applied to an Assessment of Preservice Teachers
Authors: De Nicola Diane N.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate aspects of instructional language from three historical perspectives in order to operationally define elements of teacher language behavior and to develop an instructional language assessment instrument that might be useful in evaluating the language behaviors of preservice elementary and music education majors. An investigation of the educational treatises of Quintilian, Erasmus, and Herbart revealed a number of views regarding teacher language behaviors. The Instructional Language Assessment instrument (ILA) and corresponding operational definitions for verbal interaction, subject-matter vocabulary, general vocabulary, speech speed, voice pitch, and articulation were developed from these historical instructional language views. The quality of the instructional language of 143 elementary and music education majors was evaluated using the ILA and video/audiotaped time-sampled music lessons. A descriptive analysis revealed that the elementary education majors received more percentage points for positive verbal interaction, accurate subject-matter vocabulary usage, variable voice pitch, and clear articulation; the music education majors received more percentage points for correct general vocabulary usage and steady speech speed.
Productivity and Eminence in Music Research
Authors: Standley Jayne M.
Published: June 2006

This study examined the three primary journals for research in music education and therapy: The Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME), the Council for Research in Music Education Bulletin (CRME), and the Journal of Music Therapy (JMT). The purpose of the investigation was to identify the most prolific scholars in music research as determined by number of articles published; to identify the most productive institutions of this type of music research as determined by author affiliations; and to identify music scholars of research eminence as determined by citation rates in these three journals. All data were quantified twice by two independent researchers for purposes of reliability. Tabulations resulted in rank ordering of individuals and author affiliations as in categories above.
The Relationship among Aspects of Cognitive Style and Language-Bound/Language-Optional Perception to Musicians' Performance in Aural Discrimination Tasks
Authors: Schmidt Charles P.
Published: June 2006

To address the problem of individual differences in musical-aural skills, this study examined the predictor variables of field dependence/field independence, reflection/impulsivity, and language-optional/language-bound perception. A random sample of 75 college freshman music majors served as subjects in the study. Variables were operationalized through tests of Group Embedded Figures, Matching Familiar Figures, Temporal Order Discrimination, Fusion, and Aural Skills. Data were analyzed through multiple regression and analysis of variance procedures. The major findings of the study indicated that (1) measures of Temporal Order Discrimination, Group Embedded Figures, Fusion, and Matching Familiar Figures are statistically significant predictors of achievement in aural skills; (2) the relationship of reflection/impulsivity to achievement in aural skills appears to be negligible; and (3) the variance attributable to language-bound/language-optional and field dependence/field independence indicates the possible practical significance of these variables for aural skills instruction.
Effects of Some Aspects of Rhythm on Tempo Perception
Authors: Wang Cecilia Chu
Published: June 2006

This study investigated the effects of rhythm pattern, texture, beat location of tempo change, and direction of tempo change on the amount of time needed to perceive the change. Eighty-eight subjects listened to 32 versions of Dvořák's “Humoreske” and were asked to identify the onset of tempo change. Results indicated that significantly more time was needed to perceive tempo increase than tempo decrease, uneven rhythm than even rhythm, and melody alone than melody with accompaniment. Furthermore, significant interaction effects involving beat locations of tempo change suggest that differential rhythmic groupings may be a factor in tempo discrimination.
Pitch and Tempo Discrimination in Recorded Orchestral Music among Musicians and Nonmusicians
Authors: Geringer John M. , Madsen Clifford K.
Published: June 2006

Pitch and tempo discriminations within a musical context were investigated. Two hundred musicians and two hundred nonmusicians heard ten excerpts of relatively familiar orchestral music. Excerpts were presented in pairs in order to test the ability of subjects to discriminate how an altered excerpt differed in pitch and/or tempo from its unaltered presentation. Pitch levels and tempi of the excerpts independently or in combination increased, decreased, or remained constant compared to unaltered versions. Consistent with previous research, subjects identified correctly the examples of decreased pitch levels significantly more than pitch increase examples. It is surprising, however, that tempo increase examples, rather than tempo decreases, were identified more accurately. Additional study regarding listener discrimination of the elements of music and related preferences appears advisable, since these conceivably influence music instruction as well as the performance of music.
The Association of Hearing Acuity, Diplacusis, and Discrimination With Music Performance
Authors: Sherbon James W.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of the study was to determine the association, if any, between hearing efficiency and performance on selected measures of musical behavior. Hearing efficiency was divided into three categories—acuity, diplacusis, and discrimination. Possible associations among these three aspects were also investigated. Sixty undergraduate university students served as subjects: 30 music and 30 nonmusic majors. A battery of seven subtests was constructed to measure musical behavior. These subtests were excerpts from well-known standardized tests by Gordon, Gaston, and Seashore. Music test scores from the eight most efficient and eight least efficient subjects as determined categorically by acuity, diplacusis, and discrimination scores, were used for statistical analysis. The music test scores served as the dependent variable. A two-way analysis of variance was employed to test for significance of differences in music test scores between music and nonmusic majors and low and high hearing efficiency as categorized by the three hearing areas. It was determined that experiential factors did not have a significant biasing effect on the obtained music scores. The hearing acuity and diplacusis groupings did not produce a significant difference in scores for any of the seven measures of musical behavior for the main effect of hearing. Therefore, these two factors appeared to have little association with the music test scores. The discrimination grouping resulted in a significant difference between scores for the hearing effect only on the Seashore Pitch Test. Significant differences in scores were found between music and nonmusic majors in all groupings except Gordon's Harmony Test (acuity grouping) and all of the Seashore tests. No significant differences in hearing efficiency were found between the 30 music and 30 nonmusic majors. No significant relationship was found between hearing acuity and diplacusis or discrimination, but a significant relationship was found between diplacusis and discrimination.
Prediction of Music Achievement in the Elementary School
Authors: Hedden Steven K.
Published: June 2006

This study examined several predictors of music achievement for general music students in the upper elementary grades: attitude toward music, self-concept in music, music background, academic achievement, and gender. Subjects were 144 fifth- and sixth-grade students in two Midwestern towns who received regularly-scheduled instruction from a music specialist. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the best single predictor of music achievement was the academic achievement test. The addition of the music attitude or self-concept measure produced a moderate increase in predictive power; the remaining variables were not effective predictors. The results of the study suggest that a teacher may be able to heighten music achievement by stressing music attitude or self-concept during music classes.
A Validation Study of a Measure of Musical Creativity
Authors: Baltzer Sam
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of the Measures of Creativity in Sound and Music (MCSM), a test developed by Cecilia Wang, and to compare MCSM scores with the subjects' academic achievement scores, sex, and age in months with teacher ratings of the subjects' creativity. The author randomly selected two boys and two girls from each of eight second-grade classrooms ( N = 32), and two judges administered and scored the MCSM. An author-constructed Likert scale rating form was used to collect ratings of each subject's musical creativity and general creativity as determined by the music specialist and classroom teacher, respectively. The author obtained Stanford Achievement Test (StAT) composite scores for each subject from school records and recorded the subject's age in months and sex. Interjudge reliability coefficients for the MCSM subscores of fluency and imagination were .99 and .90, respectively. Interitem reliability coefficients ranged from .83 to .92. Teacher ratings of student creativity were correlated more highly with StAT scores than with MCSM scores, and the intercorrelation between the ratings of the music and classroom teachers was not significant. Differences in neither age nor sex accounted for significant differences in scores on the MCSM. Ratings of music and classroom teachers were significant predictors of musical fluency and accounted for 20% of the variance. None of the variables was a significant predictor of musical imagination.
Perception and Analysis of the Difference Tone Phenomenon as an Environmental Event
Authors: Asmus Edward P.
Published: June 2006

A two-phase investigation was performed to gather descriptive data on difference tone perception and to determine whether the difference tone exists as a physical entity in the environment. Descriptive data were obtained from 40 music major and nonmusic major subjects who were presented with two simultaneously sounding pure tones of varying intervals. Results indicated that the difference tone is perceived at approximately 70 db and an average 30 db difference between the sounding primaries can be withstood prior to perceptual loss of the difference tone. Environmental data were obtained by spectral analysis of sound produced by two individually amplified pure tones. The data indicated that the difference tone exists within the environment at a level of 40 db below the two 70 db sounding primaries. The results suggest that the intensity criteria necessary for difference tone perception frequently occur in music performance and may have distinct effects on perceived tone quality.
The Development of a Measure of Attitude Toward Instrumental Music Style
Authors: Chalmers B. A.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to develop the Music Style Attitude Profile, which is a measure of attitude toward instrumental music style. This measure differs from other attitude tests in that it utilizes short musical excerpts exclusively to procure immediate response toward particular instrumental styles. Interval data on attitudes provided by the measure permits the use of parametric procedures in analysis and hypothesis testing. The test has been found sufficiently reliable and valid to permit the collection of data for the purposes of standardization and the construction of a profile chart.
An Instructional Model for Teaching Identification and Naming of Music Phenomena to Preschool Children
Authors: Jetter June Thomsen
Published: June 2006

This investigation provided evidence that four-year-olds can develop concepts of clarinet timbre, trombone timbre, cello timbre, exact melodic repetition, and half-step intervals when Aural-Visual Identification Instruction (AVII) model materials are used. The socioeconomic background, sex, and age of a child at the beginning of instruction (48 months or more) on the task were not significantly related to achievement. Number of practice trials was a significant effect for mastery of cello and exact repetition concepts. Individual-tested posttest scores had only a low correlation with group-tested posttest scores.
Computer-Based Recognition of Perceptual Patterns in Harmonic Dictation Exercises
Authors: Hofstetter Fred T.
Published: June 2006

During the 1975–1976 academic year, student response data was saved for a group of 17 freshman music majors as they worked through 15 units of harmonic dictation exercises delivered on the University of Delaware's GUIDO system. Analysis of the student data base led to the identification of seven confusion tendencies that affect the perception of harmonies: bass line confusions, confusions of inversion, confusions of chord function, confusions of chord quality, unperceived sevenths, unperceived roots, and favorite response confusions. The level of student achievement on individual harmonies was found to be highly correlated with the percentage of times these harmonies were asked in the curriculum.
Undergraduate Nonmusic Major Vocal Ranges
Authors: Kuhn Terry Lee , Wachhaus Gustav , Moore Randall S. , Pantle James E.
Published: June 2006

A survey of 597 students from the University of Maryland at College Park, the University of Oregon, and Shepherd College determined the comfortable vocal range limits for undergraduate nonmusic majors. Both the low singable pitch and the high singable pitch of students' vocal range were identified and compared with the low and high printed notes of songs found in college music fundamentals textbooks. Comparisons with elementary music basal series and elementary school students' vocal ranges as described in the literature were also noted. Needs for lower pitched melodies in published materials, for developing skills in transposing published materials to ranges more suitable for specific groups of singers, and for systematic development of vocal range are noted.
A Content Analysis of the Journal of Research in Music Education, 1953–1983
Authors: Yarbrough Cornelia
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to review the Journal of Research in Music Education from 1953 (the first issue) through 1983, a 31-year period, with particular attention to editorial policies, content analysis, and organization of research topics. Specifically, frequencies and percentages of articles and pages were determined for (a) articles based on dissertations and theses and (b) articles using historical, philosophical, experimental, descriptive, and behavioral research methodologies. Furthermore, articles within each methodology were categorized by general subject matter topic, by the sample characteristics of age and training, and by specific research technique where applicable. All articles (N = 658) were reviewed.
Structuring Small Groups and Music Reinforcement to Facilitate Positive Interactions and Acceptance of Severely Handicapped Students in the Regular Music Classroom
Authors: Jellison Judith A. , Brooks Barbara H. , Huck Ann Marie
Published: June 2006

Positive interactions of severely handicapped students integrated into four grade levels of I elementary music classes were studied under three teaching conditions: (a) large group, (b) small cooperative group, and (c) small cooperative group with a music listening contingency for cooperation. The design consisted of multiple baselines for social interaction with pretest and posttest measures of nonhandicapped students' general acceptance and acceptance of their severely handicapped peers within music. The mean rates of positive interactions were found to increase relative to the degree to which antecedents (small group) and reinforcement (music) were structured for interactions. Mean rates were highest under small group contingency conditions and lowest under large group conditions. Grades with the highest rates of positive interactions indicated significant positive change for music as well as general acceptance. Results indicate that positive social interactions between nonhandicapped and handicapped students in the integrated music classroom with increases in nonhandicapped students' acceptance are not a result of music classroom experiences and music instruction alone but the degree to which teaching conditions specifically structure classroom antecedents and reinforcement for social interaction. Benefits of the integrated music classroom are discussed.
The Relative Effects of Guided Model, Model Only, Guide Only, and Practice Only Treatments on the Accuracy of Advanced Instrumentalists' Musical Performance
Authors: Rosenthal Roseanne Kelly
Published: June 2006

This study examined the relative effectiveness of four modeling conditions on instrumentalists' musical performance. Independent variables were (a) guided model, a combined verbal and aural example of a complex musical selection; (b) model only, an aural model only; (c) guide only, a verbal explanation only; and (d) practice only. Forty-four college music education students were randomly assigned to one of the conditions. Dependent variables were instrumentalists' correct notes, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, and phrasing/articulation. Subjects in the model only group attained significantly superior scores from all other groups. Subjects in the guided model group scored significantly higher than subjects in the guide only and practice only groups.
Pitch-Pattern Accuracy, Tonality, and Vocal Range in Preschool Children's Singing
Authors: Flowers Patricia J. , Dunne-Sousa Deborah
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to assess young children's abilities to echo short pitch patterns in relation to maintenance of a tonal center in self-chosen and taught songs. Additional considerations were (1) age differences in ability to maintain a tonality and echo pitch patterns; (2) accuracy of vocal reproduction in echoing pitch patterns; (3) age differences in use of vocal range; and (4) size of vocal range used for different singing tasks. Ninety-three preschool children, aged 3-5, were individually tested in singing a self-chosen song, singing a taught song, and echoing 20 short pitch patterns. Children more accurately echoed melodic contours than correct pitches or intervals. A low positive correlation was found between ability to echo pitches or contours and maintenance of a tonal center in singing. Children consistently used larger vocal ranges in echoing pitch patterns than in singing songs.
Effect of Model Characteristics on Musical Preference of Junior High Students
Authors: Killian Janice N.
Published: June 2006

In an effort to compare the effect of modeling on the development of musical preference, the author of this study compared subject race and sex with preferred-performer race and sex, examined subject-preferred solos given solo models of differing race and sex, and determined the relationship between performer preference and solo choices. Junior high males ( n = 67) and females ( n = 112), composed of blacks ( n = 110), whites ( n = 45), and Hispanics ( n = 24), indicated their preferences for the 21 performers of the popular song “USA for Africa: We Are the World.” The students then viewed the videotape We Are the World and verbally indicated which solo they would prefer to sing. Statistical comparisons were made between performer preference and solo choices comparing model race and sex with subject race and sex. Results indicated that, generally, subjects tended to prefer same-race and same-sex models. Consistent with previous research, the tendency was stronger for males than females.
Thaddeus Bolton and the First Dissertation in Music Education
Authors: Humphreys Jere T.
Published: June 2006

Thaddeus L. Bolton, a graduate student in psychology at Massachusetts's Clark University who received a Ph.D. in 1895, appears to have written the first doctoral thesis on a topic closely related to music education. The thesis, titled “Rhythm,” predated by a few weeks a music education dissertation written by John]. Dawson, a graduate student of education at New York University. Bolton's dissertation describes an experimental study of the reactions of thirty subjects to sounds occurring at different speeds and intensities and with different durations and patterns of accentuation. Bolton's work on rhythm, which appears to have been among the earliest on music by an experimental psychologist, influenced Iowa music supervisor Philip C. Hayden, who applied some of Bolton's findings to his teaching. Hayden's desire to share his applications with others led, in large part, to the first meeting (1907) of what became the Music Supervisors National Conference.
A Music Attitude Scale for Use with Upper Elementary School Children
Authors: Shaw Carl N. , Tomcala Maryjane
Published: June 2006

Very few published instruments are available for the measurement of attitude of elementary school children toward music. An attitude instrument was developed and administered to fifth grade low socioeconomic inner-city minority children and to fifth grade upper middle-class suburban white children. A Likert-type scaling procedure was used, and the responses were interpreted using factor analysis. The rotated factor matrix for the final revision indicated 14 factors, several of which were independent, leading to the conclusion that the instrument measures several aspects of music attitude. Attitudes of children in two groups were compared. A significant difference (.01 level) was found between these groups.
A Historical Comparison of Public Singing by American Men and Women
Authors: Gates J. Terry
Published: June 2006

Period writings about singing activity from early eighteenth-century Boston and current data on singing in the United States provide material for a comparison of sex-related differences in public singing involvement. This material shows that, in America, there has been a marked shift from male to female predominance in public singing interest. Males arrogated singing leadership to themselves in early Boston and urged women to sing. Today, adolescent and adult American males are much less publicly involved with singing than are females. A cursory analysis of this phenomenon suggests that an inversion of leadership interest in public singing by sex has taken place in America. This interpretation, however, does not explain the facts, and music educators have some cause for concern that choral singing involvement of both sexes will continue to wane.
Comparison of the Unit Study and Traditional Approaches for Teaching Music Through School Band Performance
Authors: Garofalo Robert J. , Whaley Garwood
Published: June 2006

This study compared two approaches for teaching music concepts and skills through school band performance: (1) the Unit Study Composition and (2) the traditional rehearsal procedure. The comparison used two secondary school bands in a parallel-group design. Both bands rehearsed one work from a projected performance repertory. Students in each band were given an author-generated pre-, post, and post-posttest. After a five-week experimental period, the assessment data were collected from each group and subjected to standard statistical procedures. The support of each research hypothesis at a significant level indicated that students taught with the Unit Study Composition approach acquired conceptual knowledge, aural skills, and performance proficiency to a significantly greater degree than students taught with the traditional approach.
Programmed Instruction using Band Literature to Teach Pitch and Rhythm Error Detection to Music Education Students
Authors: Ramsey Darhyl S.
Published: June 2006

One of the skills necessary for the conductor of an ensemble is the ability to detect errors of pitch and rhythm in a rehearsal while examining a correct score. This study developed (1) a program to train the ability to detect errors, and (2) a test to measure improvement of this ability. Both the program and the test used full-score band literature of medium-level difficulty. Three forms of the program, each differing in the number of practice frames, were developed in order to determine the optimum length of program needed to effectively train error detection skill. Results showed that programmed instruction was effective in training error detection skill and that the longer forms of the program resulted in greater gains.
A Systematic Investigation of Listening Activities in the Elementary General Music Classroom
Authors: R. Baldridge William
Published: June 2006

This study systematically investigated how and to what extent music listening was initiated by elementary school general music teachers. The specific problems of the study were (a) identification of activities and materials related to music listening and (b) the determination of how and to what extent assigned and assumed music listening was initiated in the selected classrooms. An observation instrument, the Elementary Music Listening Schedule (EMLS), was developed by which 18 elementary general music teachers were observed during 10 lessons. A questionnaire was designed to determine the content validity of the EMLS. Both the EMLS and the questionnaire were found to be internally consistent and accounted for each other in regard to materials, activities, and types of listening that occured in the observed lessons. The researcher concluded the following. 1. Participating teachers tended to think of music listening as a separate activity and not as one that permeated all music instruction. 2. Assigned listening appeared to be utilized mostly in singing or the playing of instruments as well as in traditional music appreciation lessons where students were asked to listen to a recording.
Vocal Music and the Classroom Teacher, 1885 to 1905
Authors: Coffman Don D.
Published: June 2006

One hundred years ago, public school vocal music was taught primarily by regular classroom teachers and not by music specialists. What was the quality of the preparation of these teachers and the extent of their music teaching? What can today's music educators learn from a time when music could have been called a “basic” in the classroom? This study reviewed educational philosophies of the period from 1885 to 1905, teacher preparation at normal institutes, certification examinations in vocal music, techniques of classroom teacher supervision by music specialists, and methods of teaching vocal music. Four contemporary national surveys regarding the status of public school music were also examined. The study found that teachers trained at normal schools received between ten and fifty hours of music instruction, primarily in music theory. Supervision of grade teachers (instuctors of the period who were primarily responsible for grades one through eight) by music supervisors produced some striking successes and some failures. The study's findings suggest that music educators pursue joint efforts between music specialists and classroom teachers.