Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction / Jana R. Fallin / Various challenges face rural areas when providing programs similar to those offered by their suburban counterparts. It is difficult for rural areas to provide experiences that larger urban and metropolitan areas can offer. Cooperation is vital to developing arts programming in rural areas. Development and Perceptions of Rural Arts Experiences: A Case Study of the Marshall County Arts Cooperative (MCAC) represents a unique setting where students, teachers and community members were given opportunities to collaborate for the common good of all participants. On September 2nd, 2005 a two-year plan was approved to make a Community Arts Program a reality and operational in all parts of Marshall County, Kansas. Under the guidance of Kansas State University Music Education Department, the researcher developed and studied the Marshall County Arts Cooperative (MCAC). Perceptions of Marshall County students, parents, educators and community members were analyzed. MCAC programs worked in continued cooperation with area public and private schools and eleven arts organizations within Marshall County. The plan provides for the documentation of the project with a completed doctoral dissertation entitled: Development and Perceptions of Rural Arts Experiences: A Case Study of MCAC. The research design is framed into four main categories: (1) MCAC Development, (2) Rural Locale Codes, (3) Arts Experiences and (4) Perceptions of MCAC. A diverse collection of samples include, direct and indirect observation, interviews, documents, artist rosters and audio/video artifacts. Following a thorough analysis, emerging themes provide insight into the development and implementation of the MCAC. Results indicate that cooperation from a variety of people including staff, artists, students, educators and community members played a significant role in the success of MCAC and experiences created diversity in remote and isolated areas.

Master of Music / Department of School of Music, Theatre, and Dance / Frank Tracz / The following report is a comprehensive analysis of two works for wind band and one work for small chamber ensemble, prepared by Patrick Sullivan. The report was completed in addition to a Graduate Conducting Recital, taking place on Sunday, March 10, 2013 at 3:00pm. The concert featured the Kansas State University Wind Ensemble and took place on the Kansas State University Campus in McCain Auditorium, the conductors were Andrew Feyes and Patrick Sullivan. Audio and video recordings of the conducted performance can be found within the K-State Research Exchange database. The following report includes three comprehensive Unit Studies or Teacher Research Guides found in the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band book series. The report also includes three Tracz Analysis Grids, newly published in The Art of Interpretation of Band Music. The examined pieces are as follows. Full band works, Flight by Claude T. Smith and Baron Cimetiére’s Mambo by Donald Grantham. A chamber work for double woodwind quintet, Suite Persane by André Caplet.

Master of Music / Department of Music, Theatre and Dance / Kurt R. Gartner / The current study is an in depth look of the impact of steel pan ensemble within the college curriculum of the Midwest. The goal of the study is to further understand what perceived impacts steel pan ensemble might have on student learning through the perceptions of both instructors and students. The ensemble's impact on the students’ senses of rhythm, ability to listen and balance in an ensemble, their understanding of voicing and harmony, and appreciation of world music were all investigated through both the perceptions of the students as well as the instructors. Other areas investigated were the role of the instructor to determine how their teaching methods and topics covered impacted the students' opinion of the ensemble. This includes, but is not limited to, time spent teaching improvisation, rote teaching versus Western notation, and adding historical context by teaching the students the history of the ensemble. The Midwest region was chosen both for its high density of collegiate steel pan ensembles as well as its encompassing of some of the oldest pan ensembles in the U.S. The study used an explanatory mixed methodology employing two surveys, a student version and an instructor version, distributed to the collegiate steel pan ensembles of the Midwest via the internet. The researcher intends for the current data to serve the music community in several ways: first, by determining exactly what the students and instructors value about the ensemble, we will better understand how an instrument created less than a century ago was able to infiltrate music programs all over the world. Second, giving instructors insight on the students' perspectives will also enable them to create a more effective and enjoyable curriculum. And lastly, with this information, instructors and program supervisors will be better suited to determine just how large of a role the ensemble should play in their students' education.

This thesis explores the professional knowledge of three choral music educators from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. My primary research purpose was to explain what constitutes the professional knowledge of each of the research participants as revealed through their life stories; to illustrate how such professional knowledge has been shaped by experiences throughout each of the participants’ lives; and to understand how the participants’ experiences of developing as educators within the specific social, cultural, and political contexts of Newfoundland and Labrador have shaped their professional knowledge. Through this inquiry, three choral music educators engaged in a process of teacher development, as they discovered for themselves, through a narrative process of self-exploration, the meaning that could be made of the relationships between their life experiences and their knowledge of music teaching and learning. Data-gathering included a series of four in-depth interviews, which consisted of open-ended questions that engaged the participants in reconstructing their life experiences and articulating their professional knowledge within the context of developing as choral music educators. Choral rehearsal observations provided another source of data. These observations enhanced my understanding of the participants’ teaching practice, and assisted in my understanding of the relationships between the personal and the professional that they expressed in initial interviews. Analysis of the data is represented through narratives of the participants’ life stories and a thematic discussion of their professional knowledge as revealed through those stories. Each participant’s narrative and professional knowledge are presented in individual chapters, followed by a chapter that explores the resonances (Conle, 1996) amongst the participants’ narratives and my own personal-professional narrative. I propose that we begin to reconceptualize professional development in order to acknowledge the complexity and personal nature of professional knowledge, and I assert that the exploration of life stories is a meaningful form of professional development for music educators.

Practicing is an ineluctable component in the pursuit of achieving musical goals. This is particularly true in the Western model of music education that is, for the most part, characterized by private lessons or ensemble rehearsals that typically occur only once each week. How dependent is the motivation to learn music on effective practicing? Novices often abandon music education simply because “it’s too hard.” Is the frustration the result of a lack of success due to ineffective practicing? Effective practicing evolves naturally with increased musical knowledge and expertise. Overall, a musician’s development towards effective practicing may be described as the acquisition of a metacognitive awareness of one’s own learning and hence a more active participation in that learning that is characterized by self-regulatory behaviours. This research asks if guided practice at an early age might prove a catalyst in the development of effective practicing which naturally occurs with musical expertise. Over the course of an academic school year, 13 novice musicians engaged in guided practice sessions with the researcher. The participants were private piano students and young band members. Data gathered through interviews, questionnaires and video recordings of lessons and practice sessions at the musicians’ homes were analyzed within the theoretical framework of self-regulation. Data were also analyzed according to a self-system theoretical framework of expectancy-value theory, self-determination theory, attribution theory, and goal orientation. Evidence from the data suggests an increase in cognitive and metacognitive processes that characterize self-regulated learning. Musicians also indicate an increase in motivation to engage in practicing as well as greater self-efficacy in addressing musical challenges. Effective pedagogical approaches for guided practice are discussed as are implications for music education. Suggestions are made for further research.

The use of keyboard percussion instruments in choro, one of the earliest forms of Brazilian popular music, is a relatively recent phenomenon and its expansion into university music programs and relocation from small clubs and private homes to concert halls has changed the way that choro is learned and performed. For many Brazilians, this kind of innovation in a “traditional” genre represents a challenge to their notion of a Brazilian cultural identity. This study examines the dynamic relationship that Brazilians have with representations of their culture, especially in the area of popular music, through an in depth discussion of the use of keyboard percussion instruments within the genre of choro. I discuss the implications of using keyboard percussion in choro with a detailed description of its contemporary practice and a critical examination of the sociological and academic issues that surround choro historically and as practiced today. This includes an historical overview of choro and organology of keyboard percussion instruments in Brazil. I discuss multiple perspectives on the genre including a consideration of choro as part of the “world music” movement and choro’s ambiguous relationship to jazz. Through an examination of the typical instrumentation and performance conventions used in choro, I address the meanings and implications of the adaptation of those practices and of the various instrumental roles found in choro to keyboard percussion instruments. Solutions to problems relating to instrumental adaptation are offered, with particular attention to issues of notation, improvisation, rhythmic approach and the role of the cavaquinho. I also discuss the significance of rhythmic feel and suingue (swing) in relation to the concept of brasilidade (brazilianness) as informed by and expressed through Brazilian popular music.

The use of keyboard percussion instruments in choro, one of the earliest forms of Brazilian popular music, is a relatively recent phenomenon and its expansion into university music programs and relocation from small clubs and private homes to concert halls has changed the way that choro is learned and performed. For many Brazilians, this kind of innovation in a “traditional” genre represents a challenge to their notion of a Brazilian cultural identity. This study examines the dynamic relationship that Brazilians have with representations of their culture, especially in the area of popular music, through an in depth discussion of the use of keyboard percussion instruments within the genre of choro. I discuss the implications of using keyboard percussion in choro with a detailed description of its contemporary practice and a critical examination of the sociological and academic issues that surround choro historically and as practiced today. This includes an historical overview of choro and organology of keyboard percussion instruments in Brazil. I discuss multiple perspectives on the genre including a consideration of choro as part of the “world music” movement and choro’s ambiguous relationship to jazz. Through an examination of the typical instrumentation and performance conventions used in choro, I address the meanings and implications of the adaptation of those practices and of the various instrumental roles found in choro to keyboard percussion instruments. Solutions to problems relating to instrumental adaptation are offered, with particular attention to issues of notation, improvisation, rhythmic approach and the role of the cavaquinho. I also discuss the significance of rhythmic feel and suingue (swing) in relation to the concept of brasilidade (brazilianness) as informed by and expressed through Brazilian popular music.

This project examines the work of four elementary music educators who strive to challenge the dominant paradigm of music education. I employed the methodology of a multiple case study (Merriam, 1998; Yin, 2009) to consider the discourses, practices, and philosophies of these four educators. I observed in each school for an eight-week period for two full days each week, conducting semi-structured interviews at the beginning, middle, and end of each observation process. At each school, I followed an observation protocol, in addition to completing three interviews, and keeping a journal. In this work, I mobilize a tri-faceted lens that combines the theoretical frameworks of anti-colonialism, anti-racism, and anti-racist feminism toward counterhegemonic goals. The teachers' diverse practices include critically engaging with issues of social justice, studying a broad range of musics, introducing multiple musical epistemologies, creating space for students to own the means of cultural production, contextualizing musics, considering differential privilege, and subverting hegemonic practices. In many ways, these four individuals interrupt the traditional Eurocentric focus on Western classical music to explore different possibilities with their students. However, within this work to subvert, there were moments in each classroom where the dominant paradigm was reinscribed. These subversions and reinscriptions are instructive to music education and carry broader implications for the discipline. Ultimately, this thesis argues that a truly radical music education involves shifting from a liberal to a critical paradigm. Many values and strategies traditionally found in liberal education can be reread radically, and doing so puts forward tenets of a radical music education. Within these four classrooms, there were myriad examples of this shift from a liberal to a critical orientation. However, this work also raises questions of positionality and asks explicitly which bodies are able to do radical anti-oppressive work in music education, acknowledging that it is possible to unintentionally reinscribe dominant power relations while working to subvert them.

This project examines the work of four elementary music educators who strive to challenge the dominant paradigm of music education. I employed the methodology of a multiple case study (Merriam, 1998; Yin, 2009) to consider the discourses, practices, and philosophies of these four educators. I observed in each school for an eight-week period for two full days each week, conducting semi-structured interviews at the beginning, middle, and end of each observation process. At each school, I followed an observation protocol, in addition to completing three interviews, and keeping a journal. In this work, I mobilize a tri-faceted lens that combines the theoretical frameworks of anti-colonialism, anti-racism, and anti-racist feminism toward counterhegemonic goals. The teachers' diverse practices include critically engaging with issues of social justice, studying a broad range of musics, introducing multiple musical epistemologies, creating space for students to own the means of cultural production, contextualizing musics, considering differential privilege, and subverting hegemonic practices. In many ways, these four individuals interrupt the traditional Eurocentric focus on Western classical music to explore different possibilities with their students. However, within this work to subvert, there were moments in each classroom where the dominant paradigm was reinscribed. These subversions and reinscriptions are instructive to music education and carry broader implications for the discipline. Ultimately, this thesis argues that a truly radical music education involves shifting from a liberal to a critical paradigm. Many values and strategies traditionally found in liberal education can be reread radically, and doing so puts forward tenets of a radical music education. Within these four classrooms, there were myriad examples of this shift from a liberal to a critical orientation. However, this work also raises questions of positionality and asks explicitly which bodies are able to do radical anti-oppressive work in music education, acknowledging that it is possible to unintentionally reinscribe dominant power relations while working to subvert them.

Gamification refers to the process whereby game design and game mechanics are applied in non-game contexts to influence behaviour. This research study explores the effects of gamification on piano students' practice of technical elements such as scales, chords, and arpeggios, within the private lesson environment. A control and a treatment group of 10 piano students each were formed across two different private piano studios. A game called Technique Tower was designed for the treatment group, in which the players experienced game elements such as rewards (points, badges, and levels), avatars, and the sharing of their progress in an online social context. Gamification was found to have a positive effect on the number of technical elements students mastered, and on their attitude toward practicing technical elements, while self-efficacy levels were not affected. The educational implications for this finding are discussed.