bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Community-Based Music Education: Influences of Industrial Bands in the American South
Authors: LeCroy Hoyt F.
Published: June 2006

From as early as 1855 and extending to the middle of the twentieth century, American industry encouraged the formation of bands and other musical organizations for workers, ostensibly to enhance their welfare. The actual purposes of music in industry, however, were often to prevent formation of unions and maintain social regimes. As industry expanded into the agrarian South, industrial bands augmented the limited town band tradition. Their performances, role-modeling and community-based instruction of young people filled curricular voids and developed favorable cultural environments for the eventual addition of instrumental music to public school curricula. A historical case study of the activities and influences of a significant industrial band in the state of Georgia provides a basis for formulating conclusions regarding influences of industry on music education in the American South.
Painting a Big Soup: Teaching and Learning in a Second-Grade General Music Classroom
Authors: Wiggins Jackie , Bodoin Karen
Published: June 2006

Through collaboration, a music teacher and a researcher attempted to learn more about the teaching/learning processes in one second-grade general music classroom. While some components of the teaching/learning processes that occurred in this music classroom were identified through tins qualitative study, the most important findings were those that emerged during the collaborative process of analysis and interpretation of data. Through active participation in the analysis process, the teacher came to understand the impact of the emergent issues on the teaching and learning in her own classroom and, as a result, made some concerted efforts to change her teaching. Her reactions point to the importance of providing teachers with opportunities to examine their own work and to consider how issues related to teaching and learning processes manifest themselves in their work. They also suggest that unless teachers have these opportunities, discussions of issues related to their teaching may be meaningless to them.
A Comparison of Listeners' Musical Cognition Using a Continuous Response Assessment
Authors: DeNardo Gregory F. , Kantorski Vincent J.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which listeners can discern if melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic parameters and pairings of these parameters are abstracted from the ongoing flow of a musical event. Students in Grades 3, 6, 9, and 12(N = 114) listened three times to 12 prerecorded, four-phrase songs and moved the pointer of a Continuous Response Digital Interface dial to indicate whether they considered the second, third, and fourth phrase of each song to be the same as, similar to, or different from the songs initial phrase. In the significant grade-by-phrase-type interaction, students in Grades 3, 6, and 9 identified phrases predetermined as being the same as a song's initial phrase a greater percentage of time than they did similar or different phrases; students in Grade 12 identified different phrases more often than they identified phrases that were the same as or similar to the initial phrase.
Children's Singing Accuracy as a Function of Grade Level, Gender, and Individual versus Unison Singing
Authors: Cooper Nancy A.
Published: June 2006

First through fifth graders' vocal pitch accuracy was examined as a Junction of grade level, gender, and the presence or absence of a unison accompanying voice. Subjects (N = 169) were tested individually, and taped responses were analyzed with Visi-Pitch technology. The vocal model was a tape-recorded child's voice singing a four-beat melodic pattern on the neutral syllable “loo.” For individual singing subjects echoed the model; for unison singing, subjects echoed the pattern simultaneously with the model. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between individual and unison accuracy. Fourth graders were significantly more accurate than third graders in both individual and unison conditions. Gender differences were not significant.
Effects of Age, Gender, and Training on Musical Preferences of British Secondary School Students
Authors: Hargreaves David J. , Comber Chris , Colley Ann
Published: June 2006

The effects of age, gender, and musical training on preference ratings for 12 musical style categories were investigated in a sample of 278 British secondary school pupils drawn from the 11–12- and 15–16-year-old age-groups. There were no significant age x gender interactions, but a number of significant main effects were found. There was a general decline in liking with age, and this was particularly apparent for “serious” styles, although those “popular” styles for which the same effect was present showed considerably higher levels of liking at both age levels. Broadly speaking, girls expressed liking for a wider range of styles than did boys, especially “serious” ones, although this might be better expressed as a lower level of disliking. This could be attributable to girls' higher level of training a variable that was positively associated with liking for “serious” styles across the sample as a whole. The implications of these findings are discussed, and directions for further research are suggested.
The NBC Music Appreciation Hour: Radio Broadcasts of Walter Damrosch, 1928–1942
Authors: Howe Sondra Wieland
Published: June 2006

Walter Damrosch, a pioneer in the early days of radio, introduced American and Canadian children to classical music through the radio broadcasts of the NBC Music Appreciation Hour, 1928–1942. This article contains a description of the format of the programs and instructional manuals. It includes a discussion of the programs sponsorship, Damroschs collaboration with MENC, and the national impact of the broadcasts. The Music Appreciation Hour broadcast four series of programs for four different age-groups, and various authors prepared instructors manuals and student notebooks. The successful programs were promoted as a supplement for school programs, and students were encouraged to expand the experience with other musical activities. The broadcasts were discontinued in 1942 for financial and personal reasons. The Music Appreciation Hour and other music programs of the past can be used as models for contemporary projects as educators explore the creative use of technology in music teaching. Although technology changes, many issues of the past (audience development, repertoire selection, finances, sponsorship) are still relevant today.
College Choir Members' Motivation to Persist in Music: Application of the Tinto Model
Authors: Sichivitsa Veronica O.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to assess the influences of parental musicianship and support in music, students' previous musical experience, self concept of musical ability, value of music, academic integration, and social integration in college choir students intentions to continue music participation in the future, both in and after college. Tinto's model of institutional departure (1975, 1982, 1987, 1993) was used in the present study. The Choir Participation Survey II, developed by the present author, was administered to 154 choir students in a large public university in the southern United States. The path analytical model fit data well and explained 50% ( p < .05) of variance in musical intention. The best predictors of musical intentions were social integration in the choir (beta = .34; p < .05) and the value of music (beta = .57, p < .05). The author concludes with implications of the findings and suggestions for future research.
Sight-Singing Instruction in the Choral Ensemble: Factors Related to Individual Performance
Authors: Demorest Steven M. , May William V.
Published: June 2006

In this study, we examined individual sight-singing skills of choir members in relation to their private musical training, their choral experience, the difficulty of the melodic material, and the system used for group sight-singing instruction. The subjects (N= 414) were drawn from both the first and second choirs of four Texas high schools. Two schools used the fixed-do system of sight-singing; the other two, the movable-do system. Subjects were randomly assigned to two melody conditions of varying difficulty. A multiple-regression analysis of musical background variables indicated that the number of years of school choir experience was the strongest predictor of individual success, followed by years of piano, instrumental, and vocal lessons, respectively. Scores for the more challenging Melody Condition B were significantly lower than those for Melody A. An analysis of covariance revealed that students in the movable-do groups scored significantly higher than did those in the fixed-do groups. However, this finding was tempered by the existence of other differences between the groups regarding private lessons, the consistency of method in the students' early solfege training, and the sight-singing assessment procedures used in each school district.
1992 Senior Researcher Award Acceptance Address
Authors: LeBlanc Albert
Published: June 2006

Albert LeBlanc is the recipient of the MENC's 1992 Senior Researcher Award. The following speech was presented on April 10, 1992 at the business meeting of the Society for Research in Music Education at the National Biennial In-Service Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Effects of Verbal and Verbal-Motor Responses on Meter Conceptualization in Third-, Fourth-, and Fifth-Grade Children
Authors: Jones Russell L.
Published: June 2006

My purpose was to determine the effects of grade level and response mode on the ability of second-semester third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students to identify and conceptualize meter in music. Thirty-six subjects at each grade level were divided into two response-mode groups. Subjects in the verbal-motor response groups were asked to respond verbally and to use specific conducting motions; verbal-response-mode subjects used only verbal responses. A two-way analysis of variance indicated that both main effects of grade level and response mode were significant, indicating that scores on the meter-concept test improved with increasing age and as a result of using the verbal-motor response mode. Analysis of simple effects indicated that fourth- and fifth-grade subjects in the verbal-motor response mode were superior to fourth- and fifth-grade subjects in the verbal response mode; mode of response, however, did not result in a significant difference in third-grade subjects.
Arts Education as Equal Educational Opportunity: The Legal Issues
Authors: Richmond John W.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to determine whether gross disparities in arts curricular offerings between districts within a state offend the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution of the United States. The design required a review of literature and the identification and analysis of relevant federal and state case law. Legal reasoning was the philosophical method. Such deduction required the development of a central thesis and a series of supporting syllogisms. The central thesis to emerge was that such disparate provision of arts education does not constitute a violation of the Equal Protection Clause, but may constitute a violation of the equal protection clauses and public education provisions of state constitutions in the United States.

Six syllogisms developed this thesis or addressed related research questions.
Support for Music Education: A Case Study of Issues Concerning Teacher Retention and Attrition
Authors: Madsen Clifford K. , Hancock Carl B.
Published: June 2006

This study is an investigation of several issues relating to teacher retention and attrition. In the spring of 1995, a questionnaire was sent to 225 certified teachers who had all finished a BME during the past 10 years and graduated from the same university. Results indicated that of the senders of 137 returned responses, 24 (17.5%) had chosen not to teach at that time. Specific questions concerned demographic data including years of teaching, area of specialization, amount of professional development, and especially the degree of perceived support received from administration, school, and parents. Retention of this same sample was investigated 6 years later, indicating that 34.4% of the individuals were no longer teaching at the K-college level, well below the average rate of attrition for teachers in other subject areas. Music teachers remaining in the field in 2001 held more positions prior to 1995 than those no longer teaching and regularly participated in professional development activities. Subjects' comments revealed that personal reasons and administrative support concerns were given as the primary rationale for discontent with the education profession. Analysis of gender patterns revealed that women and men leave the profession at different times during the first 10 years of their careers. Implications for teacher training as well as areas of further research are discussed.
The Effect of Instructor's Major/Instrument on Student Melodic Imitation Scores and Tone Quality
Authors: Hellman Daniel S.
Published: June 2006

Scores obtained from the Intermediate Ear to Hand Test (Dickey & Froseth, 1991) were used to compare melodic-imitation and tone-quality scores between students who played the major instrument of their classroom instrumental music instructor and students who played a different instrument. Data were collected from 20 instrumental music classrooms that included eighth-grade students in the third year of instrumental music instruction. Students who played the major instrument of their instructor obtained statistically significant higher scores on overall performance quality when compared with students who did not, but the effect size was quite small, and there were no effects for the melodic-imitation or tone-quality components of overall performance quality.
Teachers' Verbal Corrections and Observers' Perceptions of Teaching and Learning
Authors: Duke Robert A. , Henninger Jacqueline C.
Published: June 2006

We tested whether observers' perceptions of private lessons are affected by the type of verbalizations used by teachers to make corrections in student performance. We compared verbal corrections that were expressed as directive statements (i.e., specific directions to change some aspect of performance in a subsequent trial) and verbal corrections expressed as negative feedback statements (i.e., negative evaluations of student performance in a preceding performance trial). Participants viewed two videotaped private lessons. In one lesson, all corrections of student performance errors were expressed as directions to change some aspect of performance in the subsequent trial. In the other lesson, all corrections were expressed as negative feedback statements followed by a direction to play again. Subjects responded using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire with 10 statements about the teacher and student in each lesson. There were no meaningful differences in subjects' responses between the two lessons, both of which were rated highly positively. Asked to cite differences observed between the two lessons, few subjects identified any aspect of the teacher's feedback.
Song Acquisition among Rural Shona-Speaking Zimbabwean Children from Birth to 7 Years
Authors: Kreutzer Natalie Jones
Published: June 2006

This study is an analysis of samples of one years vocal productions of 92 children between birth and age 7 in the Nharira Communal Lands of Zimbabwe to determine at what stage and to what degree children's melodic efforts resembled adult song prototypes. Results indicate a common sequence of song acquisition that parallels the age-related phases observed in children of other cultures. Milestones were the use of characteristic tune segments and musical conventions at 3 years; ability to sing independently with larger ranges and forward motion at age 4; marked improvement of pitch precision at age 5; and tonal consistency throughout a song at 5.5 years. Few differences emerged in cognitive capacities between Nharira children and those in Western studies. Perhaps because of the importance of personal music-making in the environment, a dramatic difference appeared in singing accuracy. Nharira children produced more correct contours, intervals, and stable phrase endings than comparable children in the United States.
Discrimination of Simultaneous Melodies
Authors: Gudmundsdottir Helga R.
Published: June 2006

This study examined first-, third-, and fifth-graders' ( n = 73) ability to hear two simultaneous melodies. Two familiar melodies and one unfamiliar melody were used as the stimuli. The pairs of simultaneous melodies were presented in different register and timbre combinations. The children were asked to press specially labeled keys on a computer keyboard to indicate which song(s) they heard. Responses were recorded by a computer. The older children identified two simultaneous melodies faster and more accurately than the younger ones did. While 70% of the first graders reported hearing two melodies and identified them with 75 % accuracy, more than 95% of the fifth graders reported hearing two melodies and identified them with 97%) accuracy. Children who were able to correctly identify two simultaneous melodies identified the melody in the upper register first significantly more often than the one in the lower register. However, when the melodies were played with contrasting timbres (trumpet and piano), they tended to identify the trumpet melody before they identified the piano melody regardless of register. Children who were only able to identify one melody tended to focus on the upper melody when the timbre was the same in both registers, but when the melodies were played with contrasting timbres, they attended to the trumpet melody regardless of register.
Effects of Tone-Quality Changes on Intonation and Tone-Quality Ratings of High School and College Instrumentalists
Authors: Geringer John M. , Worthy Michael D.
Published: June 2006

We investigated the effects of variations in tone quality on listeners' perception of both tone quality and intonation. University music and nonmusic major instrumentalists and high school students participating in instrumental ensembles served as listeners ( N = 116). High-quality digital samples of clarinet, trumpet, and trombone tones were used. The original tone quality of each instrument was manipulated to produce experimental stimuli of “bright” and “dark” relative to the unaltered tone quality. Results indicated that the more inexperienced instrumentalists rated stimuli that were relatively “brighter' in tone quality as sharper in intonation, and conversely, stimuli of relatively ”darker' tone quality were judged to be flatter in intonation. For the brass instruments, listeners judged the unaltered and bright tones as better in tone quality than tones that were relatively dark. However, for the clarinet tones, the bright tone quality was judged to be worse than unaltered or dark-quality stimuli.
A Comparison of Expert and Novice Music Teachers' Preparing Identical Band Compositions: An Operational Replication
Authors: Goolsby Thomas W.
Published: June 2006

This replication is the third causal-comparative study of expert and novice instrumental music teachers seeking to determine characteristics that may define successful, outstanding band directors, using methodology refined in two previous studies (Goolsby, 1996, 1997). Here, 10 expert and 10 novice teachers prepared an identical composition for a rated performance. A total of 216 rehearsals were analyzed to establish frequency distributions for 30 teaching and performance variables and for sequential patterns of instruction. Results showed that novices used more time overall and spent more time in verbal instruction while preparing the composition. The expert teachers spent a greater percentage of the rehearsals performing than novices did. Differences for frequency distributions indicate that novice teachers stopped and restarted more frequently without providing instruction; experts addressed balance, style, tone, and intonation more than did novices.
Effects of Male Timbre, Falsetto, and Sine-Wave Models on Interval Matching by Inaccurate Singers
Authors: Price Harry E. , Yarbrough Cornelia , Jones Merilyn , Moore Randall S.
Published: June 2006

This study compared the effects of male timbre, falsetto, and sine-wave models on pitch-matching skills of inaccurate boy versus girl singers in Grades K—8. Subjects were 216 inaccurate singers in Grades K-8 ( n = 12 boys and 12 girls from each grade). They were presented descending minor thirds sung by a tenor and a bass in their regular octaves (G3—E3) and in falsetto (G4—E4), as well as two sine-wave stimuli in the same octaves. Subjects were recorded singing back the presented intervals. The recordings were digitized and analyzed for pitch and interval cent deviation. Responses to male stimuli were more accurate than were responses to sine waves. Girls responded more accurately to higher stimuli, and boys responded more accurately to lower stimuli. The octaves of the stimuli also affected the octaves of the responses, and the subjects had a tendency to sing intervals that were larger rather than smaller than the minor-third models.
Folk Musics and Increasing Diversity in American Music Education: 1900-1916
Authors: Volk Terese M.
Published: June 2006

From 1900 to 1916, the demographic makeup of the United States changed radically due to the heavy influx of people from Southern and Eastern Europe, and the schools, in particular, felt the impact of this immigration. Many music educators, like their colleagues in general education, found themselves facing an increasingly multicultural classroom for the first time. As a result of their efforts to help Americanize their immigrant students, music educators gradually came to know and accept folk songs and dances from many European countries and to make use of musics from these countries in music appreciation classes. Also during this period, some of the musics of Native Americans and African Americans were introduced into the music curriculum. Including these folk musics in the American school music curriculum resulted in an increased musical diversity that perhaps marked the beginnings of multicultural music education in the public schools.
Analysis of Listening Preferences of High School and College Musicians
Authors: Gregory Dianne
Published: June 2006

Undergraduate college music majors, high school musicians in performance groups, and sixth-grade students in eight sites across the United States listened to brief excerpts of music from early contemporary compositions, popular classics, selections in the Silver Burdett/Ginn elementary music education series, and current crossover jazz recordings. Each of the classical categories had a representative keyboard, band, choral, and orchestral excerpt. Self reports of knowledge and preference were recorded by the Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) while subjects listened to excerpts.

Instrumental biases were found among high school and college musicians' preferences for relatively unfamiliar classical music. College music majors' preferences, in general, were less “own-instrument-based” than were those of high school musicians. In addition, the results suggest training broadens receptivity within and across music genres. There seems, however, to be no predictable connection between the degree to which one “knows ” an excerpt and preference for the excerpt.
Music Vocabulary of First-Grade Children: Words Listed for Instruction and Their Actual Use
Authors: Flowers Patricia J.
Published: June 2006

This study's four purposes were to: (1) determine which music vocabulary words were listed for study in first-grade basal music series textbooks; (2) compare the oral vocabulary of first graders with the vocabulary listed for music instruction; (3) look at the relationship between word frequency in the general oral vocabulary of first graders taken from a pre-existing source and the oral music vocabulary of 42 first graders interviewed in the present study; and (4) compare the frequency of selected music terms with the frequency of those same terms used in general oral vocabulary. These research objectives were developed to provide useful information about what first-grade children already know in relation to what they are expected to learn, and to target the specific words or concepts that might need particular attention in the primary music curriculum. Little consistency was found in the music vocabulary listed in three basal music series textbooks. Forty of a total 147 music words were listed in more than one of the textbooks, and 23 of the 40 terms were already within the general oral vocabulary of first-grade children. A correlation of .82 was found between oral music vocabulary and general vocabulary, suggesting that children possess a lexicon that is used to describe their various life experiences, and that music words are not reserved specifically for discussions about music. Finally, 110 words were selected and compared on their frequency of use in music and general vocabularies.
Children's Perception, Production, and Description of Musical Expression
Authors: Rodriguez Carlos Xavier
Published: June 2006

I investigated whether children can demonstrate awareness of musical expression by discriminating between expressive and mechanical music fragments, performing familiar songs, and describing the fragments and songs. I further examined global or age-specific tendencies in scores and possible relationships among behaviors. Children (N = 60) from kindergarten, Grade 2, and Grade 4 completed three tasks in which they heard, played, and discussed expressive music. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and correlation coefficients were calculated to address the research questions. Results indicated task improvement with age, significant differences between kindergarten and fourth-grade scores in perception and description, and a significant relationship between perception and description, both overall and in kindergarten.
A Scale Assessing Music Student Teachers' Rehearsal Effectiveness
Authors: Bergee Martin J.
Published: June 2006

In this study, I sought to construct a scale assessing music student teachers' rehearsal effectiveness. A total of 251 qualified respondents indicated the extent to which each of 54 scale items represented an essential aspect of music student teachers' rehearsal effectiveness. Data were factor-analyzed, three interpretable factors were extracted and obliquely rotated, and, based on their pattern of loadings, 10 items were chosen for each factor subscale. The three factors were Conducting Technique, Teacher-Student Rapport, and Instructional Skills. To examine interjudge reliability, I asked a panel of experienced music educators to use the 30-item Student Teachers' Rehearsal Effectiveness Rating Scale to rate eight student teachers' videotaped rehearsals of secondary choral or instrumental ensembles. To determine criterion-related validity, I compared the adjudication panel's ratings with the student teachers' final performance-based teaching evaluations.
The Effect of Vibrato on the Pitch-Matching Accuracy of Certain and Uncertain Singers
Authors: Yarbrough Cornelia , Bowers Judy , Benson Wilma
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of vibrato on the pitch-matching accuracy of certain and uncertain singers. Subjects were in kindergarten through Grade 3 ( N = 200). They responded to three different models singing a descending minor third from G to E above middle C: (1) a child model with 100% pitch accuracy; (2) an adult female model singing with vibrato and 79.53% pitch accuracy; and (3) the same adult female model singing nonvibrato and with 100%) pitch accuracy. Results demonstrated significant differences between percentages of correct responses by certain (M = 78.48 %) and uncertain singers (M = 40.89%}) and among correct responses to the three models. There were more correct responses to the nonvibrato model than to either the vibrato or child model Further analyses demonstrated that certain singers seemed to produce a high percentage of correct responses regardless of sex, grade level, or model presented. In contrast, uncertain singers | responded most correctly to the nonvibrato model and least correctly to the child model. In | addition, responses to the child model presented first were less accurate than those to either I the second or third presentations. Accurate responses to the vibrato model seemed to be greater in third position than in second and greater in second position than in first. Responses to the nonvibrato model were the most consistent across the three positions as well as more accurate than responses to the other two models.
Student Song Preference in the Elementary Music Class
Authors: Siebenaler Dennis J.
Published: June 2006

In 1996, the Music Educators National Conference (now MENC—The National Association for Music Education) published a list of 42 songs that “every American should know” as part of a nationwide campaign to promote singing. The purpose of the present study was to determine student preferences for several songs on the list, as well as how familiarity with a song may be related to that preference. In addition, possible interactions of gender, grade level, language spoken at home, rehearsal, and self-evaluations of singing were also examined. Ten songs, all limited to a one-octave range, were selected from the MENC list of songs. Subjects ( N =160) were nine intact classes of third, fourth, and fifth graders (three classes at each grade level) in an urban school. During their regularly scheduled music class, subjects listened to the 10 recorded songs and rated each on a 5-point Likert-type scale for both preference and familiarity. In 10 subsequent classes, each song (one song per class) was rehearsed for 10 minutes, followed by another preference rating and a self-evaluation of performance quality. This investigation examined possible relationships between students' familiarity with a song and their subsequent preference for the song. Correlations for individual songs ranged from .40 to .64 with a mean correlation over all 10 songs at .57. A significant difference ( p < .01) between grade levels was found for both familiarity and preference. The youngest subjects responded most positively. Boys indicated a consistent decline in both song familiarity and preference from Grades 3 to 5. Grade level, gender, and language spoken at home (English or Spanish) interacted significantly ( p < .01) in their effect on song preference for these elementary students. Mean preference ratings were consistently higher after the 10-minute rehearsal with one exception (“De Colores”). The student subjects rated themselves consistently high in self-evaluations of singing.
The Effects of Live Accompaniment, Intelligent Digital Accompaniment, and No Accompaniment on Musicians' Performance Quality
Authors: Sheldon Deborah A. , Reese Sam , Grashel John
Published: June 2006

This study is an investigation of differences in performance-quality ratings among college-age instrumentalists grouped in three solo preparation conditions using (a) no accompaniment, (b) live accompaniment, or (c) intelligent digital accompaniment. After a 6-week practice period, participants performed an intermediate level solo on a secondary wind instrument in two conditions: (1) without accompaniment, and (2) within prescribed accompaniment mode. Data from the first (unaccompanied) and second (assigned accompaniment mode) performance ratings were compared. Highest ratings across all groups in both performances were achieved in Rhythm, Technique, and Articulation. Lowest ratings were shown in Intonation, Tone Quality, and Interpretation. The second performance ratings declined in the Accompaniment groups but rose for the No Accompaniment group. Groups demonstrated different performance outcomes in each of six category ratings with Rhythm being the highest rated category among all groups. Different effects of practice and performance circumstances on musical outcomes were demonstrated.
Career Choice among String Music Education Students in American Colleges and Universities
Authors: Gillespie Robert , Hamann Donald L.
Published: June 2006

The objective of this study was to identify teacher strategies for attracting school orchestra students to string teaching. Full-time string music education professors at 17 universities surveyed their music education students who were principally string players. Students were asked to describe their background, reasons for choosing teaching, and recommendations of approaches for teachers to use to interest students in string teaching. Results of the 153 completed surveys revealed that the majority of string music education students are female undergraduates who previously participated in school orchestras. Students chose string education because they liked teaching, music, children, playing their instrument, and being a role model for children. To attract others to teaching, respondents suggested that teachers be teaching role models for their students by showing their love for music and teaching, relating positively to students, giving special teaching opportunities and support to students interested in teaching, discussing the rewards of string teaching, and challenging students musically.
Continuous Loudness Judgments of Dynamics in Recorded Music Excerpts
Authors: Geringer John M.
Published: June 2006

This study was designed to investigate loudness judgments of musician and nonmu-sician listeners in response to performed dynamic changes within a musical context. Ten previously recorded music excerpts selected from diverse examples of music served as stimuli. Subjects listened individually and responded continuously during music examples using the Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) to indicate perceived loudness levels.

A three-way analysis of variance revealed that musician subjects indicated a significantly smaller magnitude of dynamic change than did nonmusician subjects. Crescendos were judged as having a significantly greater magnitude of change than decrescendos. There were also differences between the individual excerpts. The obtained relationships between the subjective magnitude of loudness change and the physical magnitude of intensity change were compared to those found in the psychoa-coustical literature. Music stimuli in context were perceived somewhat differently than were the pure tone and noise-band stimuli of previous research.
Comparing Continuous versus Static Measurements in Music Listeners' Preferences
Authors: Brittin Ruth V.
Published: June 2006

In this investigation, we compared listeners' preferential ratings of art music, derived by conventional static ratings taken through 10-point Likert-type scales, and continuous ratings taken throughout the duration of each excerpt with a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI). Music majors (n = 100) and non-music majors (n − 100) rated twelve excerpts of Western art music, including three substyles (Baroque, Romantic, and 20th-century) and three performance media (strings, keyboard, and winds). Music majors' preference ratings were significantly higher than were nonmusic majors' preference ratings. Although no significant effect was found due to using the CRDI or static rating scale, there was a significant interaction between type of measurement and major. Music majors' static and continuous ratings were similar; however, nonmusic majors' continuous ratings were noticeably higher than were static ratings. Nonmusic majors using the CRDI averaged almost one Likert-scale rating higher than those using the static measure.
Collaboration for Music Teacher Education between Higher Education Institutions and K-12 Schools
Authors: Gregory M. Kent
Published: June 2006

This study's purpose was to investigate the extent and nature of collaboration for music teacher education between K—12 schools and higher education institutions across the United States. A survey was used to gather data from a stratified random sample (n = 204) of the 813 higher education institutions offering music education degrees. The findings indicated that 96.77% of colleges/universities collaborate with K—12 schools in some form, but the degree of collaboration varies widely. Higher education music faculty respondents reported a broad range of benefits to students, faculty, the higher education institution, and the K—12 schools. Communication, shared decision-making, funding sources, faculty rewards, trends, and reasons for collaboration were examined. An analysis of variance revealed significant relationships between the degree of collaboration and (a) the number of music education majors, (b) the institution's size, and (c) graduate study in music education.
Daniel Batchellor and the American Tonic Sol-fa Movement
Authors: Southcott Jane
Published: June 2006

Daniel Batchellor, British music educator, immigrated to America in 1877. A nonconformist minister, he was a capable, enthusiastic proponent of the Tonic Sol-fa system. He knew that opportunities were available in Boston to a determined, energetic teacher of the method. In America, Batchellor worked hard to establish the method in conjunction with dedicated Tonic Sol-faists already active in the Eastern states. Despite considerable activity on the part of its proponents toward the end of the nineteenth century, the system did not become established. Batchellor's career in many ways paralleled the progress of the Tonic Sol-fa method in America. His income was derived from teaching private classes, sessional work for various institutions, and summer schools. The financial rewards of such work would have fluctuated with the status of his somewhat specialized method. By the end of his life, Batchellor, like the Tonic Sol-fa system, had sunk into obscurity. As a representative of an important method and its progress in America, Batchellor deserves our attention.
Matching Verbal Description to Music Excerpt: The Use of Language by Blind and Sighted Children
Authors: Flowers Patricia J. , Wang Chao-hui
Published: June 2006

Forty-one sighted and 17 blind children listened individually to six short music excerpts and described them orally. Each child's descriptions were recorded, transcribed, and randomly ordered. Then, a panel of 10 music teachers attempted to assign each description to its intended excerpt. Teachers were able to match description to excerpt with about the same degree of accuracy for blind and sighted children. Descriptions were more easily matched at successive grade levels. Analysis of types of language used showed that sighted children remained consistent in number of musical elements described across age-groups; however, blind students increased substantially in their descriptions of musical elements at each successive level (kindergarten, primary, upper elementary). Sighted children used significantly more metaphors and emotional descriptors than did blind children. The use of temporal language increased with age, particularly among the blind students, but there were no statistical differences due to visual ability in the present study.
The Relationship between the Availability of a Children's Television Program and Song Recognition
Authors: McGuire Kenneth M.
Published: June 2006

Since the advent of children's educational television, there has been much speculation but little research conducted on the possible effect of such programming on children's music learning. The present investigation was undertaken to determine if third-grade children could identify songs from the show Barney & Friends. Results indicated that (a) there was not a positive relationship between students' self-reported frequency of watching Barney & Friends and song recognition; (b) taken as a whole, the group of popular songs was identified significantly more often than not, whereas the group of “Barney ” songs tended not to be recognized by the group of frequent viewers; (c) when songs had their lyrical content altered on the show, students did not tend to remember those songs in the new formats; and (d) boys tended to say that they watched the show significantly less often than did girls.
Development and Validation of a String Performance Rating Scale
Authors: Zdzinski Stephen F. , Barnes Gail V.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable assessment measure for stringed instrument performance. In the initial phase of the investigation, a total of 90 suitable statements were generated for the initial item pool gathered from essays, statements, and previously constructed rating scales. These statements were put into the a priori categories determined by previous research. These items were paired with Likert-type scales and used by 50 judges to assess 100 recorded string performances at the middle school through high school level. The results of the initial item pool were factor-analyzed using a varimax rotation. Five factors were identified (interpretation/musical effect, articulation/tone, intonation, rhythm/tempo, and vibrato), and 28 items were selected for the subscales of the String Performance Rating Scale (SPRS) based on factor loadings. Reliability varied from .873 to .936 for each judging panel using Hoyt's analysis of variance procedure. Two studies were conducted to establish criterion related validity, with zero-order correlations ranging from .605 to .766 between the SPRS and two other rating scales.
Children's Satisfaction with Private Music Lessons
Authors: Rife Nora A. , Shnek Zachary M. , Lauby Jennifer L. , Lapidus Leah Blumberg
Published: June 2006

Feelings of satisfaction are vital to learning because they provide the motivation necessary for children to continue to participate in private music lessons. The aims of this study were to examine factors related to satisfaction with private music lessons from a child's perspective and to develop a reliable, valid, and practical measure of music lesson satisfaction to help improve private music instruction. Factor analysis using a sample of 568 children, ages 9 to 12, yielded the 34-item Music Lesson Satisfaction Scale (MLSS), which loaded onto one unidimensional factor. Enjoyment and practicing seemed to be important to children s music lesson satisfaction, with children indicating that they were generally satisfied with their private music lessons overall. These results support previous music research. The effects of age, gender, and musical instruments on satisfaction are discussed, as are implications for music educators.
Differences in Preference for Subtle Dynamic Nuance between Conductors, Middle School Music Students, and Elementary School Students
Authors: Burnsed Vernon
Published: June 2006

This study began as a systematic replication of two previous studies in which a significant proportion of elementary and middle school music students preferred versions of American folk songs with explicit variation in dynamics over versions of the same folk songs where the dynamics were held constant. In the present study, the preference test used in the previous studies was modified to reflect a more realistic representation of dynamic nuance. Dynamic variation was reduced by one-third, and smoother curvatures were applied to the crescendos and decrescendos of the expressive versions of the 10 folk songs. This revised test was administered to 288 Grade 1–5 students, 78 middle school music students, and 22 conductors. The results of the study indicate that age and/or musical experience may affect perception and preference for subtle dynamic nuance in music.
Comparison of the National Standards for Music Education and Elementary Music Specialists' Use of Class Time
Authors: Orman Evelyn K.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to examine use of class time in elementary general music classes in relation to the nine voluntary National Standards for Music Education. Elementary music specialists (N = 30) were videotaped teaching students in Grades 1 through 6. Use of class time was analyzed separately for teacher and student according to activity and the focus of the activity. Overall, results indicated that elementary music specialists spent class time on all nine standards; however, less time was devoted to those standards that required creative or artistic decision-making skills from the students. Congruent with previous research, teachers in this study spent the majority of class time (46.36%) engaged in talking. Additional results showed that students spent the majority of class time (57.07%) in passive roles.
Effect of Musical Performance on Perception of Tension in Gustav Hoist's First Suite in E-flat
Authors: Fredrickson William E.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of the study was to examine whether musicians who rehearse and perform a musical selection perceive tension in the music differently than do listeners who have not had the performance experience. Students ( n = 32) in a university wind ensemble rehearsed and performed Gustav Hoist's First Suite in E-flat. Within 2 weeks of the performance, participants listened to a recording of the first movement (“Chaconne”) of that performance while registering their perceptions of tension in the music using a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) dial. Another group of students ( n = 32) from a university choral ensemble performed the same research protocol. Students in a high school band ( n = 60) also rehearsed and performed the selection. Participants listened to the recording of the musical selection, and registered their perceptions of tension, before rehearsals began and following their performance. Analysis indicated that the experience of performing the music did not seem to greatly affect perception of tension as measured in this study.
Aural-Diagnostic and Prescriptive Skills of Preservice and Expert Instrumental Music Teachers
Authors: Doerksen Paul F.
Published: June 2006

This study is an investigation of the aural-diagnostic and prescriptive skills of preservice and expert instrumental music teachers. Specifically, the researcher sought to determine how the two groups compared with respect to evaluations for band performances of different music-difficulty and performance-quality levels. Subjects listened to an audiotape recording that comprised four types of performances: Difficult Music and Excellent Performance, Difficult Music and Average Performance, Moderate Music and Excellent Performance, and Moderate Music and Average Performance. For each performance type, subjects responded to four evaluative areas in the investigator-designed Aural-Diagnostic and Prescriptive Skills Test: performance-quality ratings of nine select music elements, rankings of the nine elements, diagnoses of performance problems associated with the weakest-ranked elements, and prescriptions of rehearsal solutions for the diagnosed performance problems. Results indicate that (a) regardless of performance types, preservice teachers rated Intonation lower than did expert teachers; (b) interactions exist among the four performance types for subjects' ratings of Tone Quality, Intonation, Articulation, and Dynamics; and (c) compared to preservice teachers, a higher proportion of expert teachers ranked Blend/Balance and Musical Interpretation as the weakest- performed music elements.