bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Images of Imagination
Authors: Reichling Mary J.
Published: June 2006

The literature of music, religion, and philosophy, especially aesthetics, forms the basis from which a definition for imagination is offered: Imagination is a power of the whole of human consciousness that employs intuition, perception, thinking, and feeling. A definition for each of the four facets is suggested and explored. These facets are then combined in various ways leading to the tentative formulation of three types of imagination with the third type comprised of two subtypes. A developmental sequence is implied based on research in aesthetic and cognitive developmental theory. Suggestions for the cultivation of imagination through music are offered along with implications for further research.
Field Dependence/Independence in College Nonmusic Majors and Their Ability to Discern Form in Music
Authors: Ellis Mark C. , McCoy Clair W.
Published: June 2006

To examine the effects of cognitive-style field dependence/field independence on the ability to discern form in music, two tests, the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) and an author-designed Musical Form Test (MFT) were given to 119 students enrolled in a college introductory music course. An ANOVA indicated field-independent (FI) subjects scored significantly higher ( p < .001) than did field-dependent (FD) subjects on the MFT. Chi-square analyses of responses on the MFT revealed significant differences between FI and FD students for all forms except fugue. FI students were significantly more accurate than FD students in identifying theme and variations, ground bass, minuet and trio, rondo, and sonata-allegro. The authors suggested that students who are more successful at finding embedded figures in a visual context are also more successful at perceiving themes embedded in a complex musical context.

To compare the relative contributions of cognitive style, general college aptitude, and previous music experience to scores on the MFT, a multiple regression analysis was performed with the MFT scores as the criterion variable, and GEFT scores, composite scores from the American College Testing Assessment, and level of previous music experience as independent variables. Results indicated that with the effects of other variables held constant, only the GEFT measure was a significant predictor of performance on the MFT ( p <.0002).
The Effect of Group Size on Individual Achievement in Beginning Piano Classes
Authors: Jackson Anita
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this research was to determine if there are statistically significant differences in individual achievement within large and small beginning piano classes. Recent trends towards class piano have indicated the need for creditable program organization. A total of 44 preschool, elementary, high school, and college students were taught in groups of two, four, six, and eight. The evaluation consisted of 15 basic keyboard skills. Results from t tests for combined groups and for individual groups of different age levels revealed no statistically significant differences in individual achievement.
Public School Music Teachers' Perceptions of the Effect of Certain Competencies on Pupil Learning
Authors: Taebel Donald K.
Published: June 2006

A list of competencies was developed and rated by 201 public school music teachers. Fifty-one competencies were classified as musical, and 59 were identified as teaching competencies. General music, instrumental, and choral teachers rated the competencies in terms of their effect on pupil learning. Competencies were ranked on the basis of the mean rating. The highest rated musical competencies required aural skills to detect errors in performance; the lowest ratings were given for competencies in accompanying. Teaching competencies, which received the highest ratings, were connected with evaluation of the music program or of self; those competencies receiving the lowest ratings were related to evaluation of pupils. The three groups of teachers gave significantly different ratings to 45.1% of the musical competencies and to 25.4% of the teaching competencies.
Critical Days for Music in American Schools
Authors: Pemberton Carol A.
Published: June 2006

In November 1837 an impasse was broken so that music teaching could begin at Hawes I School in Boston. The School Committee had approved music in four schools, but the city council did not authorize funds. Public support was eroding, and the election of a new School Committee was approaching. On November 14, the committee accepted Lowell Mason's offer to teach without pay, which paved the way for curricular music. In a concert on August 14, 1838, the Hawes School children demonstrated what they had learned. Soon after, Hawes School Principal Joseph Harrington advocated school music in a public address. In mid-August, representatives from many states voted for school music at the Boston Academy of Music teachers' convention. These efforts led to the “Magna Carta of Music Education” which was approved on August 28, 1838.
A Comparison of Two Approaches to Learning to Detect Harmonic Alterations
Authors: de Stwolinski Gail , Faulconer James , Schwarzkopf A. B.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to evaluate instructional activities and practice techniques of musicians attempting to improve their accuracy in detecting errors in music examples heard. In this study, a commonly recommended practice procedure, keyboard sight-reading, was compared with listening to recorded examples of simple piano works characteristic of those used in college-level class piano courses. The authors randomly assigned 59 college music majors to two groups. One group (Group R) studied examples by sight-reading music excerpts at the keyboard; the other group (Group L) studied the same excerpts by listening to recordings. Both groups were tested using taped examples of the excerpts with harmonic alterations. When data were collected for harmonic alterations not detected (misses) and for errors indicated where none were performed (false alarms), Group L was significantly more accurate (p = .0001) in detecting harmonic alterations than was Group R. The difference between the two groups was the same regarding false alarms (p = .0001). A repeated measures design was employed 2 weeks later with similar results. The data also indicated a possible effect of treatment order (listening first or sight-reading first). Implications are drawn for classroom application and for further study.
Interference of the Transcription Process and Other Selected Variables on Perception and Memory During Melodic Dictation
Authors: Pembrook Randall G.
Published: June 2006

One hundred and thirty-six theory students participated in a melodic dictation experiment. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of six dictation strategy groups contrasted by simultaneous writing, concentration before notation, and singing before writing. The task within the experiment consisted of notating 12 melodies presented aurally. Strategies were combined across single and dual melodic presentations to see if any of three methods were significantly more effective regardless of the number of presentations. Results of the analysis revealed no significant differences (.05) among the strategies. When the six groups were analyzed individually, significantly higher scores were revealed for Groups 4 (writing while hearing the melody twice) and 5 (writing after hearing the melody twice). Overall, written response accuracy for the six groups was 48%. Subjects in groups that sang reproduced the melodies at a 43% level of correctness. Their written responses matched their vocal responses 61 % of the time.
Relationships Among Selected Factors and the Sight-Reading Ability of High School Mixed Choirs
Authors: Daniels Rose Dwiggins
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among sight-reading ability in the high school mixed chorus and selected variables in four categories: the school, the music curriculum, the chorus teacher, and the chorus students. Twenty high school select mixed choirs and chorus teachers participated in the study. Data were obtained through teacher and student questionnaires. A sight-reading test was administered and recorded at each of the 20 schools, and the performances were rated by five expert adjudicators. Based on the findings of this study, the factors that, in combination, best predict sight-reading ability are: the ethnic makeup of the school, a large percentage of choir students with a piano in their home, a rural school, an occasional use of rote procedures to teach music, a large percentage of choir students who participated in all-state chorus, a large proportion of choir students with experience playing a musical instrument, a large high school, and a chorus teacher who believes in the importance of sight-reading instruction in the high school chorus.
Values and Personalities of Selected High School Choral Music Educators
Authors: Slack Joyce
Published: June 2006

This study of the values and personality traits of high school choral music educators produced descriptive data for analysis and comparison by use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and Rokeach's Value Survey. Diversification on both values and personality among the respondents was extreme. Composite medians of ranked values indicated that intrapersonal values ranked high at the expense of social values. Mean scores for the group were significantly elevated (at the .001 level) on the MMPI for both “hysteria” and “paranoia.” Men were elevated beyond the second standard deviation on “masculinity-femininity,” a scale measuring aesthetic sensitivity. “Ego strength,” “responsibility,” and “maladjustment” also ranked significantly high, while “dependency,” “control,” and “social desirability” ranked low.
Effects of Melodic Perception Instruction on Pitch Discrimination and Vocal Accuracy of Kindergarten Children
Authors: Apfelstadt Hilary
Published: June 2006

This study investigated the effects of melodic perception instruction on the auditory discrimination of pitch and vocal accuracy of kindergarten children. Sixty-one subjects were assigned to three different instructional settings for 11 weeks. E1 had vocal instruction designed to promote melodic perception through visual and kinesthetic reinforcement; E2 had vocal instruction consisting primarily of imitation alone; and C had a traditional, nonconceptual approach. Subjects were pre- and posttested on the Gordon Primary Measures of Music Audiation (Tonal Test), the Boardman Test of Vocal Accuracy, and a rote-singing test. Results showed that there were (1) no differences among groups in auditory discrimination, (2) significant differences on vocal pitch-pattern accuracy between E1 and C and E2 and C, and (3) significant differences in rote-singing accuracy between E2 and C.
Sarah Glover: A Forgotten Pioneer in Music Education
Authors: Bennett Peggy D.
Published: June 2006

The English Tonic Sol-fa System originated in Norwich, England, in the 1930s. Although credit for this development is frequently given to John Curwen, the author was Sarah Glover, a Sunday school music director. Glover's system began with simplified notation for sol-fa syllables and rhythms. The system and its accompanying teaching strategies were discovered in 1841 by John Curwen who subsequently popularized and adapted them. Conflict arose between the two educators regarding the modifications Curwen made in the system, yet the impact of Glover's work on Curwen and, eventually, music education in general, cannot be disputed.
A Naive Minority of One and Deliberate Majority Mismatches of Tonal Stimuli
Authors: Radocy Rudolf E.
Published: June 2006

Individual conformity to deliberately erroneous majority judgments of pitch and loudness was investigated. A group of 136 university music students, randomly assigned to experimental or control groups, evaluated 18 pitch or loudness items by publicly indicating, after hearing responses of four confederates, which of three tones matched a standard. Results included a .30 overall conformity rate in the experimental group for pitch and a .49 rate for loudness. Comparisons between groups and intrapersonal comparisons generally are highly significant. It was concluded that music students may defy their sensory inputs and yield to erroneous peer judgments. Results of other studies suggesting greater conformity with more ambiguous stimuli are partially confirmed.
The Influence of Personality Composition in Applied Piano Groups
Authors: Suchor Valerie
Published: June 2006

A one-session study of six four-student groups investigated problem-solving and performance in piano as influenced by a judging-perceiving personality preference of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Three group types were formed from the freshman music majors of nonkeyboard concentration: predominately judging, predominately perceiving, and equally mixed. The task involved both the harmonization and performance of the melody. Groups were scored on two factors of performance: aesthetic-expressive and accurate. Group process was evaluated by dividing the sessions into time segments and encoding verbal activity into six problem-solving behaviors. As a measure of student perception, each student completed a questionnaire. No difference was found in performance results; however, each group type developed its own problem-solving process. Significant differences were found in the amount of total verbal activity, specific verbal behavior, and student perception of group process. Data suggest the importance of teacher flexibility in developing an optimal problem-solving process.
Effect of Vocalization on the Sense of Pitch of Beginning Band Class Students
Authors: Elliott Charles A.
Published: June 2006

Studies have shown that wind instrumentalists tend to score lower on tests of aural acuity than do string players and pianists. Several explanations have been advanced to explain this deficiency among wind players. Research studies show that the students participating in both an instrumental and a vocal ensemble tend to score highest on tests of aural acuity. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effect of daily vocalization practice on the sense of pitch of students in selected beginning band classes.

The experimental sample consisted of six selected beginning band classes of heterogeneous grouping. The six groups were equal in size, academic achievement, and extracurricular musical activities. A pretest of pitch discrimination and tonal memory revealed the groups were similar with respect to these abilities also. There were three control groups and three experimental groups. Instructors for the control groups were allowed to conduct their band classes as usual throughout the school year. Experimental-group instructors conducted their classes in the usual manner except to teach their students to vocalize previously designated pitches and exercises selected from the class text. A posttest given to all groups at the end of the school year revealed that: (1) Regular participation in band class resulted in improved pitch discrimination and tonal memory abilities. (2) Regular practice in vocalization during the band class had a significant effect on the sense of pitch of students in the experimental groups, who scored significantly higher on the posttest than the students in the control groups. (3) Brass and woodwind players were affected equally by the vocalization procedure. (4) Private piano study was a factor in the posttest results, especially on the test where subjects had to match musical sounds with notation. (5) Regular participation in an extracurricular vocal ensemble had little effect on posttest results.
A Self-Instructional Program for Musical Concept Development in Preschool Children
Authors: Romanek Mary L.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to devise and evaluate a self-instructional program for the development of three musical concepts—pitch, duration, and loudness—in preschool children. Programed materials that included cassette tapes and illustrated books were developed. The response modes required of the children included drawing circles and lines, playing various musical instruments, and turning a page when a castanet was heard.

Sixty-two preschool children participated in the study. The results indicated that: (1) the subjects in the experimental groups were able to learn the concepts of pitch, duration, and loudness as measured by a preschool musical concepts test; (2) preschool children easily acquired the concept of loudness, but pitch and duration seemed more difficult for them to perceive; and (3) the subjects' reactions to the program, especially their desire to return each day, indicated that self-instructional materials can be developed that will hold the attention of preschool children.
Preferences for Single Tone Stimuli
Authors: Hedden Steven K.
Published: June 2006

This research used a factorial analysis of variance to examine preferences for tonal stimuli that differed in frequency, intensity, or wave form. For the sample of music majors, wave form appeared to have the greatest effect on preferences; pure tones were most preferred. The main effect for intensity also was significant, as was the interaction of intensity and wave form. For the sample of nonmusic majors, the predominant influence on preferences seemed to be intensity. The nonmusic majors preferred the softer of the two levels. In addition, the main effect for wave form was significant, as were the interactions of wave form with intensity and frequency with intensity.
The Effect of Sequential Patterns on Rehearsal Evaluations of High School and Elementary Students
Authors: Yarbrough Cornelia , Hendel Catherine
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of sequential patterns on evaluations by high school and elementary students of teaching in rehearsal. Subjects (N − 536) evaluated a high school choral music director conducting a scripted rehearsal containing 10 sequential patterns of instruction identified in previous research. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four presentations of the taped rehearsal: (1) audio and video; (2) audio only; (3) video only; or (4) script only. Results demonstrated that students rated presentations of script only and audio-video higher; presentations of audio or video only produced lower evaluations, as well as comments indicating frustration in deciding evaluation scores. In addition, patterns beginning with musical information were graded higher than those beginning with directions, those ending in approvals were graded higher than those ending in disapprovals, and those ending in specific reinforcement were graded higher than those ending in nonspecific reinforcement.
Effects of Age, Sex, and Melodic/Harmonic Patterns on Vocal Pitch-Matching Skills of Talented 8-11-Year-Olds
Authors: Moore Randall S.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of age, sex and melodic/harmonic patterns on pitch-matching skills of children. Subjects were 128 talented singers, ages 8-11, equally divided among boys and girls, who sang 16 pitch-matching patterns; 4 patterns were melodic and 12 were harmonic. In 4 harmonic patterns, the upper tone was matched; in another 4, the lower tone was matched, and in the last set, the middle tone was matched. Two judges recorded correct/incorrect responses across 1,536 trials with 85% agreements. Results of a three-factor analysis of variance with repeated measures indicated no differences between age or sex groups and significant differences among pitch-matching tasks. More errors were made on matching the middle pitch of a chord than on any other trials. Singing the lower pitch of two tones was more difficult than matching the higher pitch of two tones or singing back a short melody. A task hierarchy for children's part-singing is suggested.
Recognition of Chord Changes by 4- and 5-Year-Old American and Argentine Children
Authors: Costa-Giomi Eugenia
Published: June 2006

The purpose of the study was to investigate young children's abilities to discriminate between two chords played as the accompaniment of a melody and played alone with no melody. After receiving brief training in harmonic discrimination, 167 children ages 4 and 5 from four preschools were tested in their ability to discriminate between the chords “I” and “V6/5” in the song “En la Torre de una Iglesia” or between the chords “i” and “VII” in “Drunken Sailor.” ANOVAs with repeated measures were performed for age, school, order of stimulus presentation (within variable), and type of stimulus on children s scores for each song. Both analyses indicated that age, type of stimulus, and the interaction of these two variables affected children's performance in the test significantly. In addition, order of presentation was found to be a significant variable of children's scores for the song “Drunken Sailor.” Five-year-olds could detect harmonic changes in simple chord progressions, but were unable to do so when a melody was superimposed over the progression. Four-year-olds could not identify the chord changes of either stimuli.
Effects of Verbal Corrections on Student Attitude and Performance
Authors: Duke Robert A. , Henninger Jacqueline C.
Published: June 2006

The present study was designed to compare the effects of negative feedback statements and specific directives in music performance instruction. Twenty-five college undergraduates and 25 fifth- and sixth-grade students were taught by rote to play on soprano recorder an accompaniment part to the theme to Sesame Street. All subjects were taught in individual lessons by the same teacher. In approximately half the lessons at each age level, the teacher communicated corrective information through negative feedback statements. In the remaining lessons, the teacher communicated corrective information through specific directives. Results indicate that subjects' attitudes and performance achievement were unaffected by the experimental conditions. All subjects expressed positive attitudes about the experience, and the time required to reach the final performance goal and the quality of student performance were not different between the group receiving negative feedback and the group receiving directives.
Performance Achievement and Analysis of Teaching during Choral Rehearsals
Authors: Davis Anita P.
Published: June 2006

Eighty-three rehearsals and four final performances of two high schools' beginning and advanced choruses were videotaped to identify rehearsal behaviors and to evaluate performance achievement in relation to performance preparation. Teacher academic and social instruction, student nonperformance response, rated (5-point scale) performance response with and without teacher verbal assistance, and teacher feedback were observed. Variables were measured in real time and converted to percentages of rehearsal time. Additionally, frequencies of teaching sequences were identified for each rehearsal. Review of improvements in the quality of performance for each school indicated a similarity in proximity to the final performance between beginning and advanced choruses. Considering this observation, variables were calculated for means between points of achievement. Findings indicate that (a) teachers pace improvement unrelated to ensemble maturity, (b) time spent in teacher verbalization may not relate to performance success, (c) teacher assistance during student practice decreases with student improvement, and (d) instructions decrease with student improvement.
Effects of Performer Attractiveness, Stage Behavior, and Dress on Violin Performance Evaluation
Authors: Wapnick Joel , Mazza Jolan Kovacs , Darrow Alice-Ann
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to determine whether certain nonmusical attributes of violinists would affect judges' ratings of their performances. Twelve violinists (6 females and 6 males) were videotaped. They and their performances were rated by 72 graduate students and university music faculty members. Members of the visual group rated violinists by viewing a videotape with the sound turned off They rated them on appropriateness of dress, stage behavior, and physical attractiveness. Members of the audiovisual and audio groups rated musical performance on six test items and did not rate nonmusical attributes. Results from the audiovisual and audio groups revealed significant interactions on half the test items for treatment by dress and treatment by stage behavior: violinists who were high on stage behavior and on dress benefitted significantly from videotape evaluation, but violinists who were low on these attributes were not evaluated differently on audiotape versus videotape. For attractiveness, however, there was no significant interaction: more attractive violinists received higher musical performance ratings than less attractive violinists did under both the audiovisual and audio conditions. In light of earlier research, this suggests that more-attractive performers may progress to a higher level in their acquisition of performance skills than less-attractive performers.
Musicians' Ratings of Good versus Bad Vocal and String Performances
Authors: Geringer John M. , Madsen Clifford K.
Published: June 2006

This study continues a line of research attempting to ascertain the focus of musicians' attention when listening to music. It is the fifth study in a series structured to determine whether musicians demonstrate consistent listening patterns across excerpts intentionally designed to be perceived as good and bad performances. Soprano, tenor, violin, and cello excerpts varied considerably in intonation and tone quality and, to a lesser extent, in other performance aspects. In this study, 48 music students were asked to rate excerpts on traditional performance evaluation rating scales (phrasing/expression, intonation, rhythm, dynamics, tone quality) and give an overall rating. Results indicated that musician listeners consistently discriminated between the good and bad performances across all rating scales. Intonation was identified as the element most in need of improvement in performances. Significant differences were found also between the four timbres and the accompaniment conditions. Results of acoustical analyses that portray a variety of differences in the performances are discussed in relation to listener ratings.
Individual Differences in Music Listening Responses of Kindergarten Children
Authors: Sims Wendy L. , Nolker D. Brett
Published: June 2006

In this project, we examined a phenomenon observed in two previous studies: When children were given the opportunity to listen to four pieces of music for as long as they chose in individual listening sessions, large differences were apparent among different children s total listening times. However, individual children tended to be remarkably consistent within their own approach to listening to the pieces, listening to each of the four for very similar lengths of time. The present study was designed to replicate and extend aspects of those studies with older children, and to examine how listening times would relate to teachers' ratings of the children's attention during large- and small-group activities. Results indicated that the kindergarten participants' listening times were consistent with the previous responses of preschool-age children. Additionally, time spent listening bore no relationship to either teacher ratings of attention or to age.
Relationships among Young Children's Aural Perception, Listening Condition, and Accurate Reading of Graphic Listening Maps
Authors: Gromko Joyce Eastlund , Russell Christine
Published: June 2006

The purpose of our study was to explore relationships among children's aural perception, music listening condition, and the accuracy of children's reading of listening maps. The aural discrimination skills of 41 elementary children were tested using the Intermediate Measures of Musical Audiation (IMMA). The children were then systematically assigned to one of three listening conditions: passive, unstructured active, or structured active. After listening to European art music according to their assigned condition, every child traced a graphic listening map while listening to the music a second time. Results of an ANCOVA with accuracy of map reading as the dependent variable, listening condition as factor, and IMMA as covariate, showed a significant effect for the IMMA [F (1, 37) = 8.86, p < .01], but no significant effect for listening condition. In a separate analysis, IMMA scores were shown to be related to piano experience. When group means for accuracy of map reading were compared by piano experience, children with piano experience had a significantly higher mean accuracy score of 48.25, SD = 18.75 (n = 16) compared to children with no piano experience, M = 32.44, SD = 17.39 (n = 25), t = 2.76, p < .01. Our results support previous research in which investigators found that music experience explained accuracy of music-reading ability in children and adults.
Common Songs of the Cultural Heritage of the United States: A Compilation of Songs That Most People “Know” and “Should Know”
Authors: McGuire Kenneth M.
Published: June 2006

Recently, there have been attempts to identify songs common to the heritage of the United States. Although researchers in previous investigations have studied songs that are common to specific geographical areas, this studys purpose was to determine which songs are familiar to U.S. citizens across several regions and also to uncover various epistemological definitions of what it means to “know” a song. By cross-referencing modern lists with the contents of two songbooks popular during the community song movements of the World Wars I and II, I sought to determine which songs were common across the eras studied. Also important to this study was finding out how many of the 42 songs listed in MENC's Get American Singing … Again! (1996) appeared in previous investigations and in either of the community song movement books. Results indicated that there is a disparity between the songs that Americans actually know and those that experts say they should be learning. Experts seem to be more in agreement with songbook editors of previous eras than with people who are currently learning and re-creating a new generation of common songs. Finally, 38% of the songs included on MENC's list were not found in any previous study or in either of the community songbooks, raising questions about their inclusion on a national list.
How Musical We Are: John Blacking on Music, Education, and Cultural Understanding
Authors: Campbell Patricia Shehan
Published: June 2006

The distinguished music scholar John Blacking (1928-1990) made the study of music in culture and the nature of musical thought and behavior his lifelong quest. Although an anthropologist by training and an ethnomusicologist in his academic output, he produced a vast quantity of publications on the nature of musicality and musical development in the Venda children of northern Transvaal, South Africa. There are multiple purposes of this research, starting with a profile of the professional career of John Blacking, from his musical beginnings in England to his South African Odyssey of fieldwork and teaching of music as a social and cultural force, and finally to his teaching and scholarly contributions as an academic powerhouse and articulate advocate for the education of children in and through music in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. An examination follows to gauge the extent of John Blacking's fieldwork and theoretical views relevant to music, education, and culture, with particular attention to Blackings approach to the study of children as a distinctive musical culture and the nature of their musicality, the central role of physical movement and dance as integrated within the musical experience, and the development of world musics in educational programs.
A Descriptive Analysis of Error Correction in Instrumental Music Rehearsals
Authors: Cavitt Mary Ellen
Published: June 2006

This study is a description of the error correction process in 40 instrumental music rehearsals taught by 10 teachers, each of whom was observed conducting 4 consecutive rehearsals. A total of 332 rehearsal frames were analyzed. Rather than summing the observation data across complete rehearsals, I analyzed the data using rehearsal frames as a unit of analysis. Perhaps the most important finding was that the error correction process, rate of teacher-student interaction, and pace varied systematically with the type of error addressed.
Lowell Mason's The Song Garden (1864–66): Its Background, Content, and Comparison to a Twentieth-Century Series
Authors: Colwell Cynthia M. , Heller George N.
Published: June 2006

Lowell Mason's The Song Garden (1864–66) is a progressively arranged set of three volumes that may be regarded as the first music series books for schoolchildren. According to the publisher, the series is a “systematic, intelligible, and thorough course of teaching vocal music” (p. ii). Following Pestalozzian principles, Mason believed that students should first learn by rote before actually reading music. Following the singing-school tradition, each book began with a strong theoretical introduction in addition to singing exercises and literature for practice. A comparison with Audrey Snyder's The Sight-Singer (1993–94) reveals both similarities and differences in their approaches to vocal instruction.
Observation and Analysis of Suzuki String Teaching
Authors: Colprit Elaine J.
Published: June 2006

This study is an examination of teacher and student behavior in 48 violin and cello lessons taught by 12 expert Suzuki string teachers. One representative excerpt of work on a repertoire piece that had been introduced in a preceding lesson was extracted from each lesson videotape and analyzed in detail. Each excerpt was divided into segments (labeled “rehearsal frames”) that encompassed the instructional activities devoted to proximal performance goals (labeled “targets”) identified by the teacher. Targets were recorded for each rehearsal frame and categorized according to the teacher's description of the target and according to the aspect of performance to which the target pertained. Instructional activities within 338 rehearsal frames were examined in terms of the rates, durations, and proportions of time devoted to aspects of teacher and student behavior. Across all rehearsal frames ( N = 338), approximately 45% of the total time was devoted to teacher verbalizations, 20% to teacher modeling, and 41% to student performance. Episodes of teacher and student activity were frequent and brief, indicating a rapid pace of instruction. Lessons were characterized by high rates of approvals and a clear focus on one aspect of performance at a time.
Children's Preference for Sequenced Accompaniments: The Influence of Style and Perceived Tempo
Authors: Brittin Ruth V.
Published: June 2006

Second graders through sixth graders ( N = 343) listened to 10 musical selections in music classes and marked their preference and perception of each selection's tempo on rating scales. Listeners responded to children's songs played with nine electronic keyboard sequenced accompaniments, including popular to more traditional folk styles. The tenth accompaniment style featured simple chords with piano timbre, included to represent a typical acoustic piano accompaniment. All selections were performed at the same tempo. Three versions of the survey, recorded with various song-style combinations, were prepared. Responses indicated lower preference for older students, but also revealed that students across grades judged styles more similarly than the songs. The most preferred styles were those labeled Hip-Hop, Heavy Rock Shuffle, Samba, and Funk2; the least preferred were Polka, March, Bluegrass, and Piano Chords. Song and style combinations affected children's musical preference. There was a significant correlation between perceived faster tempo and style preference for third through sixth graders, but not second graders. All styles except Samba revealed a significant but modest positive relationship between faster perceived tempo and greater preference. Students perceived the piano-chordal accompaniment to be much slower than the other styles.
Ethnic Majority/Minority Status: Children's Interactions and Affective Responses to Music
Authors: McCrary Jan
Published: June 2006

This study is an examination of the effect of classroom ethnic majority/minority status on third-, fifth-, and seventh-grade children's ( N = 118) interactions and affective responses while these children listened to and discussed a Latin salsa artist, an African-American rhythm and blues artist, and a European-American folk artist. Classroom ethnic-group proportions determined African-American and European-American children's classroom status. The study also examined the children's preference ratings for each artist. The researcher recorded the children's interactions on a laptop computer while they listened to and discussed the performers. The findings suggested that classroom status affected girls' interactions more than boys'. The study reports statistically significant differences among the children's music preferences.
The History and Development of Multicultural Music Education as Evidenced in the Music Educators Journal, 1967-1992
Authors: Volk Terese M.
Published: June 2006

In 1967, secretary-general of ISME Egon Kraus challenged music educators to become multicultural in their perspective, a challenge spurred on by the Tanglewood Symposium. Music educators in the United States have long been interested in the musics of other cultures. Often they have learned about these musics and how to implement them in the classroom through the pages of the Music Educators Journal (MEJ). The MEJ has covered multicultural perspectives in music through its articles, special issues, book reviews, and reports from MENC conferences and symposia. A study of the MEJ from 1967 to 1992 revealed the growth of multicultural music education. During the 1970s, a greater depth of interest in, and knowledge about, world musics developed. Throughout the 1980s, this initial interest grew steadily into a need for methods and materials for the implementation of multicultural music studies in the classroom, as did the need for teacher training in these musics. A formal declaration of commitment to multicultural music education was adopted at the MENC Multicultural Symposium in 1990, leading to a broad world perspective for music education. The three MEJ special focus issues on multicultural music education epitomized each of these growth areas.
The Effect of Instruction on Music Educators' Attitudes toward Students with Disabilities
Authors: Wilson Brian , McCrary Jan
Published: June 2006

Before and after completing a university course for teaching music to special education learners, master's-level music education students ( N = 18) were given a measure examining their attitudes toward students with disabilities. The survey instrument consisted of 20 statements describing five different groups of students; these were learners with emotional, physical, multiple, mental, or no impairments. The participants were directed to indicate strength of agreement or disagreement with the following statements: “I would feel comfortable in interacting with this individual,” “I would be willing to work with this individual,” and “I would feel capable in working professionally with this individual.” Results showed an increase in the participants' responses to the statement “I would feel more capable in working professionally” but a statistically significant decrease ( p < . 05) to the statement “I would be willing to work” with special-needs learners after the completion of training.
Parental Involvement, Selected Student Attributes, and Learning Outcomes in Instrumental Music
Authors: Zdzinski Stephen F.
Published: June 2006

This study examined relationships among selected aspects of parental involvement as they relate to the cognitive, affective, and performance outcomes of instrumental music students. Independent variables were music aptitude, parental involvement, grade level, and gender. Dependent variables were cognitive musical outcomes, performance outcomes, and affective outcomes. Subjects were instrumental music students ( N = 406) from five intact band programs located in rural New York and Pennsylvania. Wind and percussion volunteers from Grades 4 through 12 participated. Data were examined using descriptive analysis, correlational analysis, and analysis of variance. Major findings included: (1) Parental involvement was related to overall performance, affective, and cognitive musical outcomes. (2) For cognitive musical outcomes, parental involvement was only related at the elementary level. (3) For musical performance outcomes, parental involvement was only related at the elementary level. (4) For affective outcomes, the strength of the parental involvement relationship increased with student age. (5) Items concerning concert attendance, providing materials, participating in parent groups, and tape-recording student performances were related to all outcome areas.
Musicians' and Nonmusicians' Preferences for World Musics: Relation to Musical Characteristics and Familiarity
Authors: Fung C. Victor
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among musical characteristics and musicians' and nonmusicians' preferences for world musics. World musics were drawn from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Musical characteristics included tempo, pitch redundancy, tonal centeredness, consonance, brightness in timbre, percussiveness, loudness, textural complexity, and richness in embellishment. Preference was also examined in relation to familiarity. Subjects were 449 undergraduate students (180 music majors and 269 nonmusic majors). Subjects completed a preference-rating scale that included a total of 36 instrumental excerpts from nine countries. Results showed that all nine musical characteristics were significant sources of variance in world music preferences. The following musical characteristics were preferred by both musicians and nonmusicians: fast tempo, loud, tonal-centered, having many different pitches, consonant, moderately embellished, smooth-sounding, and bright timbre. Musicians preferred excerpts with complex texture, whereas nonmusicians preferred moderately complex textures. A positive relationship between familiarity and preference was found across all musical styles. In general, musicians had significantly higher preference means than did nonmusicians:
Student Interpretations of Teacher Verbal Praise in Selected Seventh- and Eighth-Grade Choral Classes
Authors: Taylor Ouida
Published: June 2006

This study was an investigation of the effect that familiarity with a teacher and rehearsal context might have on seventh- and eighth-grade choral students' interpretations of teacher verbal praise. Teachers (N = 4) labeled randomly selected videotaped examples of their praise according to the purpose it was intended to serve. Students (N = 80) viewed 16 brief (30-second) examples of the praise and labeled it as deserved (directed at the performance) or one of three instructional uses (i.e., to encourage, to gain student cooperation, or to send a message to other members of the class). Results showed students across choirs could separate deserved from instructional praise, but in 9 examples, familiarity with a context made a significant difference in labeling praise as deserved and in detecting a specific instructional purpose. Results suggest the importance of further investigations that determine how teachers intend praise to function and how their students interpret its use.
Effect of Rehearsal Hierarchy and Reinforcement on Attention, Achievement, and Attitude of Selected Choirs
Authors: Dunn Dwayne E.
Published: June 2006

A structured rehearsal hierarchy involving a multiple-baseline design, implemented across six rehearsals, was used to measure performance improvement of seven musical concepts, while an experimental design nested within was used to examine the effect of teacher reinforcement on attentiveness, achievement, and attitude in choral ensembles. Two high school choirs (N = 60) received either task presentations, directions, student performance, and reinforcement (n = 31), or identical instruction with no verbal/facial reinforcement (n = 29). Forty choral performances were evaluated by three expert judges, with individual concepts evaluated using 10-point scales and overall performances evaluated using 100-point scales. Results indicated similar performance gains were made for all excerpts, though less instructional time was needed to teach previously learned concepts in new musical contexts. Performance gains made immediately after instruction were maintained despite the addition of new musical concepts. An 11-day period without instruction resulted in a slight ratings decline, but scores recovered to previous levels quickly. Students receiving feedback had higher performance ratings, recorded a more positive attitude toward rehearsal, and were observed off-task a larger percentage of instructional time than students receiving no feedback, with both groups demonstrating lowest off task percentages during group performance activities.
Different-Age and Mentally Handicapped Listeners' Response to Western Art Music Selections
Authors: Byrnes Suzanne Rita
Published: June 2006

The purpose of the study was to provide insight into the musical responsiveness of different groups of participants. A listening activity was developed to measure likeability of pre-selected excerpts in different performance media. One-hundred-and-sixty-three subjects, students from Grades 2, 5, 8, 11/12, and trainable mentally handicapped (TMH) students, participated in the study. Students listened to excerpts from Puccini's La Bohème, Haydn's Symphony No. 104, Mozart's Vesperae Solennes, and Hoist's First Suite in E-flat, while simultaneously manipulating a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CBDI) dial. Overlays used with the CRDI dial were developed specifically for the populations tested and included a pictographic scale continuum. Results indicated that (a) second-grade participants rated all excerpts higher than did the other groups, and (b) instrumental music examples were rated higher than vocal music examples. Results concur with findings reported in music preference research literature.
Directing Student Attention during Two-Part Dictation
Authors: Beckett Christine Alyn
Published: June 2006

This study is an exploration of undergraduate music majors' strategies in two-part dictation. Sixty volunteers received three dictation sessions—two that directed attention to rhythm first or pitch first, and one that was nondirected. The dependent measure, written dictation accuracy, was analyzed by means of separate pitch and rhythm scores. For six counterbalanced groups (n = 10), analysis of variance showed no order effects. A repeated measures MANOVA (accuracy by condition) showed a significant effect for condition (p < .0001). Higher rhythm accuracy occurred in the rhythm-first condition when it was compared to the nondirected (p < .05) and pitch-first (p < .0001) conditions. Pitch accuracy was not affected by condition. Accuracy was unrelated to covariates examined (years of theory and counterpoint study, keyboard skill, and private strategy). Results suggest that in polyphonic dictation, attending to rhythm first and pitch afterwards may be an effective way of maximizing rhythmic accuracy.