Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Music, Dec. 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Includes bibliographical references (p. 107-134).

High school band members (N=13) and their teacher were observed during six rehearsals of two contrasting band compositions over a six-week period. The contrasting compositions were selected by means of a detailed process between me (the researcher) and the teacher (the conductor). One 60-second excerpt of each composition was selected, during the performance of which, the students were observed. Three video tapings of each composition was done in order to capture occasions when the students would look up from their music. Using a technique adapted from Ekman (1997), the band members and teacher were then interviewed in order to reveal the reasons they recalled for looking up from their music. The results showed that the band members looked up in places where the teacher expected eye contact, that the frequency of eye contact changed little from one rehearsal to the next, and that the frequency of eye contact changed little between the two contrasting compositions. In all cases, the band members were able to recall the reasons for looking up from their music, a fact which led to a detailed analysis about the students' own thoughts while they were engaged in playing as an ensemble. The results are discussed in terms of strategies for teaching practice and implications for future research.

The purpose of this thesis is the (1) study of the band class methods in use, (2) a discussion of their effectiveness, (3) an original attempt to show how many of the problems of band methods can be solved. It should be noted that a class of instrumental students may be a group of several or all different kinds of band instruments together. This study, however, will be concerned mainly with group instruction which combines all of the band instruments together. The term "method" as used herein designates a book of music material for class instruction in all band instruments. The term "instructor" is used to denote an instruction book written for only one instrument, for example, "trombone instructor".

High school bands are producing some of our finest musicians. These musical organizations have become an integral part of virtually every high school in the nation, and have greatly added to the cultural aspects of their curriculum. The respect from student body and faculty, development of poise, and enrichment of the students' general education have justified the band program in the school system. / Typescript. / "August, 1964." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Education." / Advisor: Elmer P. Magnell, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 8).

The purpose of this thesis is to integrate for the prospective teacher still in college, and the teacher in service, the theory and practice of the leading band teachers in the country through the medium of the ensemble class method.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of three practice conditions on beginning band instrumentalists’ performance of a short musical selection. Fifty- nine sixth grade beginning band students were randomly assigned to either a physical practice, mental practice, or no practice (control) treatment. A pre-test score was obtained by having each subject sightread selection #2 from Form A of the Watkins/Farnum Performance Scale. Subjects were then given instructions according to the practice condition to which they had been assigned. After a three minute practice session, subjects were asked to perform selection #2 from Form B of the Watkins/Farnum Performance Scale to obtain a post-test score. All of the performances were tape recorded and scored on the basis of correct pitches and rhythm patterns by three music teachers. Mean scores were analyzed using a one-way ANCOVA and a Scheffe’ Test. The results of the study indicated that students in the physical practice condition scored significantly higher than those in the control group. Mental practice was not significantly different from either the physical practice or no practice (control) groups. / Master of Science

"The majority of the material for this paper comes from my own observation of our program and its growth in Jackson County. Jackson County is a rural county in Northwest Florida. There are a total of eight high schools located in the county, five of them having instrumental programs. This survey is an over-view of the instrumental program in Jackson County as it is now in the year 1958"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1958." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: H. W. Dean, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 24).

The study was concerned with physical, mental and musical characteristics of selected band members. Certain purposes of the study were defined. They were 1. To determine if physical, mental and musical differences existed between sections of the high school band. 2. To determine if these differences were existent at three grade-level groupings of high school and college band members.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain certain factors which lead adults to participate in community band activity. This study attempted to answer the following questions: 1. What are the factors of rewards for community band participants based on the responses of a selected sample to validated attitude statements? 2. What are the relationships that might exist between certain demographic characteristics of the sample such as age, gender, education, occupation, musical training, geographic region (independent variables) and factors of participation (dependent variables) determined by principal components analysis? 3. What are the relationships that might exist between the findings of this study using member generated attitude statements and the findings of other attitude studies using researcher generated attitude statements? A 179-item survey was developed from an initital pool of 839 attitude statements after two pilot studies and an expert review. A randomly selected, stratified cluster sample of 74 organizational members of the Association of Concert Bands participated in the study. The average number of band members present during the survey process was 35. The average number of surveys returned per band was 23.66 for a return rate of 65.9% One thousand seven hundred twenty five individuals participated in the study. Frequency distributions of responses revealed the 36-50 age group to be the most represented (33%) followed closely by the 51-65 age group (27.8%). Males outnumbered females (57.5% to 42.3%). Over 80% of respondents were married. Almost 75% of respondents were college graduates. Over 60% had performed in college ensembles. Over half (55.4%) of respondents were either employed in the professional trades or white collar occupations. Almost 10% considered themselves professional musicians. Principal components analysis of the 179 items yielded six main factors of participation which were labeled Intrinsic Motivators, Organizational Motivators, Membership Standards, Repertoire/Conductor, Rehearsals/Performances, and Quality. Further analysis of Intrinsic Motivators yielded five second level components which were labeled Self-Growth, Musical Growth, Community Pride, Social Rewards, and Conductor. Second level components extracted from Organizational Motivators were labeled Attendance/Practice, Community Support, and Music Selection. Using t-tests and ANOVA, many significant relationships were found between groups on the six main factors and eight sub-factors (independent variables) with the demographic variables (dependent variables), especially age, gender, occupation, level of ensemble experience, past geographic region, present geographic region, and community size.