The purpose of this research was to examine the potential relationship between students’ degree of familiarity with repertoire common to beginning band method books and aural-based music achievement after one year of study. Three research questions guided this study: (1) Which songs from the Familiar Repertoire Survey (FRS) are reported as being the most and least familiar to the sample? (2) For a familiar song, “Lightly Row,” can FRS scores predict (a) Familiar Music Achievement Singing Test (FMAST) scores, (b) Familiar Music Achievement Playing Test (FMAPT) scores, (c) Familiar Music Achievement Improvisation Singing Test (FMAIST) scores, and (d) Familiar Music Achievement Improvisation Playing Test (FMAIPT) scores? (3) For an unfamiliar song, “Finish Line,” can FRS scores predict (a) Unfamiliar Music Achievement Singing Test (UMAST) scores, (b) Unfamiliar Music Achievement Playing Test (UMAPT) scores, (c) Unfamiliar Music Achievement Improvisation Singing Test (UMAIST) scores, and (d) Unfamiliar Music Achievement Improvisation Playing Test (UMAIPT) scores? Participants (N = 17) were fifth and sixth grade students enrolled in their second year of beginning band in a New Jersey elementary school. I created two measurement instruments: FRS, designed to gauge the breadth and depth of students’ familiarity with songs common to beginning band method books, and the Music Achievement Test (MAT) designed to measure aural-based music achievement in singing, playing by ear, and improvising on a familiar and unfamiliar song. In the first session, participants completed FRS by listening to songs common to beginning band books and completing a Likert-type survey on their familiarity with each song. Later, participants watched MAT through an interactive video which prompted them to complete eight musical subtests. I recorded all performances. Judges rated each performance with two rating scales. I analyzed the frequency of responses for each song and found “Hot Cross Buns,” “Jingle Bells,” “Pierrot,” “Lightly Row,” and “London Bridge” to be the most familiar songs. Through linear regressions, I analyzed the ability of FRS to predict MAT scores. I found a significant regression equation between FRS and its ability to predict FMAST scores and UMAIST scores. The current exploratory study contained many limitations which restricts its generalizability to other beginning band populations; however, six conclusions can be made. Familiarity with common beginning band repertoire as represented by a selection of 24 songs common to beginning band method books does not predict students’ achievement (a) singing an unfamiliar song, (b) demonstrating through singing improvisation based on a familiar song, (c) playing by ear a familiar or unfamiliar song, and (d) improvising on an instrument, whether improvising within the context of a familiar or unfamiliar song. Familiarity with common beginning band repertoire does predict students’ achievement (a) singing a familiar song and (b) demonstrating through singing improvisation based on an unfamiliar song. / Music Education / Accompanied by one .mp3 file and one .xlsx file (Microsoft Excel 2007).

Researchers agree that teachers are the single most influential school-related factor in a child's level of academic achievement. Teaching style may influence students' academic achievement as well as facilitate students' development of social skills and a sense-of-community within the classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between high-school choir directors' (n = 42) teaching-style and their high-school choir students' (n =1,108) psychological sense-of-community. Student participants in grades 9-12 within a mid-Atlantic state were members of a 9th-Grade Chorus (n = 2), Men's Chorus (n = 1), Women's Chorus (n = 8), Select Ensemble (n = 7), or Concert Choir (n = 38). Results from students' scores on the Classroom Community Scale revealed that 9th-grade students reported lower levels of sense-of-community, connectedness, and learning than students in grades 10, 11, and 12. Students in Select Ensembles reported significantly higher levels of sense-of-community, connectedness, and learning than students in Concert Choirs, and students in choirs that performed five or more times per school year reported significantly higher levels of sense-of-community than students in choirs that performed four or less times per school year. Results revealed no main effect for gender, students' years-of-experience in high school choir, or choir-class length and frequency. Teachers' scores on the Music Teaching Style Inventory revealed that teachers preferred the Assertive Teaching (M = 3.80), Nonverbal Motivation (M = 3.75), Time Efficiency (M = 4.33), and Positive Learning Environment (M = 4.27) teaching-styles that focus on teacher-led activities. Music Concept Learning (M = 3.48), Artistic Music Performance (M = 3.46), Student Independence (M = 3.30), Group Dynamics (M = 2.84), teaching-styles with a focus on student-led activities were least preferred by the teachers in this study. Group Dynamics teaching style was a low or the lowest preferred teaching-style for 40 of the 42 participating teachers. Results revealed no main effect for teachers' gender or years-of-experience teaching. Teaching-style preference was not a significant predictor for students' levels of sense-of-community or connectedness. Time Efficiency and Student Independence teaching-styles positively correlated with students' perceived level of learning while the Artistic Music Performance teaching-style negatively correlated with students' perceived level learning. Within teachers' reports of observed student behaviors, teachers identified all four elements of sense-of-community: membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs, and shared emotional connection. Teachers also reported purposefully planning activities in order to facilitate their choir students' sense-of-community. Activities included teaching behaviors found within the Positive Learning Environment, Group Dynamics, Artistic Music Performance, and Student Independence teaching-styles. Teachers expressed that a sense-of-community has importance in that it effects students' musical expression; students' ability to achieve their potential for musical performance; students' retention within choir ensembles; teachers' advocacy for choir programs; and student's participation in musical ensembles beyond high school. / Music Education

The prevalence of dementia, a progressive and degenerative syndrome, increases dramatically with age (Alzheimer’s Disease International, n.d.), and it is critical to develop effective strategies and evidence-based interventions to improve the quality of life for persons with dementia (Crespo, Hornillos, & De Quirós, 2013; Vink, Birks, Bruinsma, & Scholten, 2004). Music therapy has drawn attention as a promising non-pharmacological approach for individuals with dementia (Brotons, 2000; Vink et al., 2004). A variety of music interventions have been widely applied for dementia care not only by music therapists, but also by other healthcare professionals. Among those interventions, singing and listening are utilized most frequently. The purpose of the current study was to compare the short-term effects of two music interventions, including a music therapy-singing group and a music medicine-listening group, as well as a control-TV group, on quality of life and positive and negative affect of persons with dementia at a long-term care facility. Fifty-two participants, ranging in age from 63 to 99 years, were randomly assigned to one of three groups, and thirty-seven completed the interventions. The participants in each group were engaged for a 40-minute session twice a week for four consecutive weeks. The music therapy-singing group was facilitated by a music therapist, whereas the music medicine-listening and the control-TV group were led by nursing home activity assistants. Quality of life was measured at baseline and after the last session. Only the MT-singing group demonstrated significant improvements when compared to the other groups. Positive and negative affect were measured at three points, including pre and post the first, fourth and eighth sessions. Only the MT-singing group increased positive affect scores and decreased negative affect scores significantly. Based on the findings of the current study, music therapy involving singing may be beneficial in improving quality of life and affect in persons with dementia at long-term care facilities. / Music Therapy

The purpose of this study was to examine how race and gender bias influence music educators' perceptions of musical style and evaluations of brief jazz and classical piano performances. Previous research has shown that race and gender bias and stereotype activation influence our judgment of others. These factors could result in biased evaluations of musical performances, including ensemble auditions and college level juries. I constructed an instrument designed to test these biases by experimentally manipulating race and gender variables of jazz and classical performances. Videos of a black male, white male, white female, and black female pianist were synchronized with identical audio recordings to control for performer ability. The first experiment measured how stereotypes influence participants' proper identification of jazz and classical styles in a series of 2-second video clips. The second experiment measured how race and gender bias influence participants' evaluations of jazz and classical performances in a series of 10-second video clips. The participants in this study were a national sample of applied music faculty (n=315). Participants were randomly assigned to four test conditions in a 2x2 (performer race X performer gender) between subjects blind experimental design. The dependent variables were classical jury grade predictions, jazz jury grade predictions, and accuracy of style identification. Results of a 2x2 ANOVA revealed significant differences in style identification by gender and interaction of race and gender. Participants were more likely to associate female performers with classical music and the black male performer with jazz. There were also significant differences in classical jury grade predictions by race, and jazz jury grade predictions by the interaction of race and gender. The black male performer received the lowest average jury grade predictions in both jazz and classical performances, scoring between 0.5 and 1 letter grade lower than the other performers. Results suggest that a negative association of females and jazz music still exists, as well as a stereotype of a black male jazz performer. While females did not receive significantly lower jazz jury grade predictions than the male performers, they may still feel marginalized in college jazz programs and ensembles. The results also suggest that black males may be at a significant disadvantage in college music admissions, auditions, and juries. These results have serious implications for music educators at every level. We must strive for fair and equitable audition processes and ensure that every child, regardless of race or gender, has an equal opportunity to participate in ensembles and music programs. / Music Education

This study examined how Mary Priestley musically implemented 15 Analytical Music Therapy (AMT) techniques for exploring conscious material, accessing unconscious material, and strengthening the ego. Using the Priestley archives at Temple University, the author listened to 96 recorded examples of individual AMT sessions with 31 adult clients that were made between the years 1975-1991 to examine and aurally identify the musical phenomena and patterns occurring in the musical implementation of AMT techniques. The results of the study present clinical considerations necessary for applying each AMT technique and the clinical/musical roles of the analytical music therapist. Finally, this study presents distinctions between traditional and contemporary AMT practice and implications for AMT training and supervision. / Music Therapy

The purpose of this research was to investigate factors affecting choral music preferences of adolescents. The rationale for this research comes from the importance of teaching culturally diverse music in 21st-century music classrooms and the possibility that curricular content and ethnic identity may affect preferences for this music. Six research questions guided the study: (1) How are middle school students' preferences for choral arrangements of folk music grouped? (2) Is there a significant main effect of type of curriculum content instruction on middle school choral students' choral music preference scores? (3) Is there a significant main effect of time on middle school choral students' choral music preference scores? (4) Is there a significant type of curriculum content by time interaction? (5) Descriptively, within each ethnic group, does strength of identity relate differently to growth in scores in different interventions? (6) How do middle school students describe their reasons for their preference? One hundred and thirty-two sixth, seventh, and eighth grade chorus members (11 to 15 years old) participated in the study. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups receiving different curricular content: music concept-based, sociocultural-based, or discussion-based. At the outset of the study, all subjects took a measure of ethnic identity. Two weeks later, all subjects took a preference pretest of eight music excerpts from choral arrangements of folk songs originating from the following cultures: African, American, Asian, and Latin American/Caribbean. One week after their pretest session, subjects took a posttest while simultaneously receiving one of three interventions based on one of three approaches to curricular content. Two factors emerged from principal axis factor analysis of pretest scores. The first factor (simple texture subscale) included arrangements of folk songs with simple unison or predominantly homophonic vocal textures. The second factor (complex texture subscale) included arrangements of folk songs with complex polyphonic vocal textures. A split-plot ANOVA analysis revealed no statistically significant main effects of intervention or time, and no statistically significant interaction of intervention and time for the simple texture subscale. A second split-plot ANOVA revealed no statistically significant main effects, but a statistically significant interaction of intervention and time for the complex texture subscale. A regression analysis revealed that adding ethnic identity scores to preference pretest scores did not help predict to a significantly better extent posttest scores for any of the three intervention groups. Subjects' open-ended responses were placed into one of four categories: musical, sociocultural/linguistic, affect, or perception of performance. Subjects in the sociocultural-based group wrote more sociocultural/linguistic comments than subjects in the other two groups, and subjects in the discussion-based group wrote more affect comments than subjects in the other two groups. Subjects in all three groups seemed to lack the musical vocabulary to describe why they liked or disliked the selections. Comments about perception of performance most often referred to subjects' perceptions that singing songs with complex textures or songs in a foreign language would be too difficult for their chorus. Numerous factors interact to affect music preferences. By continuing to study their students' music preferences, general music teachers and choral directors can gain further insights into how to best approach culturally unfamiliar music. Using a combination of music concept-based, sociocultural-based, and discussion-based curricular content may be an answer to ways to foster positive preferences for culturally unfamiliar choral music. Focusing on curricular content is important; however, general music teachers and choral directors may find success by initially introducing students to culturally unfamiliar choral music with simple vocal textures before songs with complex vocal textures. / Music Education

Bel canto is "the best in singing of all time." Authors on vocal literature (Miller, Celletti, Duey, Reid, Dmitriev, Stark, Whitlock among others) agree that bel canto singing requires complete mastery of vocal technique. The "best in singing" means that the singer should possess immaculate cantilena, smooth legato, a beautiful singing tone that exhibits a full palette of colors, and evenness of tone throughout the entire vocal range. Furthermore, the singer should be able to "carry the tone" expressively from one note to another, maintain long lasting breath, flexibility, and brilliant virtuosity. Without these elements, the singer's mastery is not complete. In addition, proper mastery of bel canto technique prolongs the longevity of the voice. For centuries, --emulating beautiful singing has been a model for violin performers. Since the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods, a trend toward homophonic style, melodious songs, and arias had a tremendous influence on pre-violin and violin performers, and even on luthiers. The earliest known four-stringed violins created by Andrea Amati, and Gasparo da Saló in the sixteenth century already possessed a tone that resembled the qualities of a human voice. Today, it has become more difficult to differentiate the tone of one violinist from another. The individual quality of the singing tone, which was the hallmark in violin playing of the golden age of Ysaye, Kreisler, Heifetz, Menuhin, Oistrakh etc. has deteriorated. The purpose of this monograph is to analyze the fundamental principles of bel canto and to apply these principles to violin performance. Teachers, students, and performers will find practical ideas to improve or solve various aspects of violin playing. I will focus primarily on tone production and tone formation (breathing, resonance, vibrato etc.), tonal shading (messa di voce), and range (blending positions). Through understanding the bel canto principles of singing and applying those principles to violin performance, one would have more means to give the tone its distinctive qualities. / Music Performance

In this qualitative phenomenological inquiry, I explore how an international group of early childhood music teachers describe creating music-learning environments for young children. As members of the Early Childhood Music Education Commission of the International Society for Music Education, the nine research participants share a common interest in contributing to early childhood music education. I was interested in understanding how members of that group perceived creating music-learning environments for young children. I wondered: What are early childhood music teachers' perceptions of music-learning environments for young children; What shapes their perceptions; and How do early childhood music teachers strive to create an environment conducive for young children's music learning? Using tenets of narrative inquiry, I restory this study as a conversation in a coffee shop. Imagine there's an international early childhood music conference in your town. During a conference break, I walk into your favorite coffee shop. You stand in a long line waiting to order. I walk in and take my place behind you in line, and we begin a conversation about children's music learning. Eventually, colleagues who are attending the conference (i.e., the nine research participants) join us. During our conversation, you and I discuss our experiences with understanding and creating early childhood music-learning environments. Next, we talk with the nine research participants about how they create music-learning environments for young children and I reveal the essence of their shared experience: participants view themselves as cultural music mediators, believing it is their job to mediate music interactions among adults and young children. Finally, you and I discuss implications for parents, early childhood music teachers, early childhood general education teachers, and pre-service music and general education teachers. We talk about ways they can become cultural music mediators, and create webs of music interactions for adults and young children. After reading this study, I invite you to visit my Facebook page, Music-Learning Environments for Young Children, to contribute thoughts and questions. / Music Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of verbal-only and paired verbal-gestural instruction on the performance skills of wind instrumentalists with no more than three years of performance experience. Reviewed are different conducting strategies and their effects on musical expression in ensemble performance as demonstrated by small ensembles. Two sets of participants were used in this study. Audio stimulus files were derived from performances generated by the first set of participants, student musicians, who were randomly assigned to one of the two instruction groups. The primary sample consisted of students (n=30) from one intact public junior high school band. The second set of participants consisted of university undergraduate and graduate music majors (n=40) who evaluated the audio stimulus files. The first set of participants, middle school student musicians, who were randomly assigned to one of ten performance trios; trios were randomly assigned to one of two teaching conditions: (1) verbal-only, or (2) paired verbal-gestural. Students in each trio were assigned to perform Part 1, 2, or 3 of a two-minute performance selection that had been arranged purposefully to take into account participants’ performance level. Student participants performed this selection during a rehearsal in their assigned teaching condition. The student-investigator was the conductor/teacher in each condition. Rehearsals, consisting of sight-reading the work, investigator-led rehearsal, and final performance, were audio recorded for subsequent evaluation. Evaluators, undergraduate and graduate instrumental music majors (n=40) from a large research institution in the northeast United States, listened to the recordings and evaluated each rehearsal using a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) using the following criteria: musicality (phrasing, dynamics, balance, and expression) and technical accuracy (rhythm, articulation, intonation, and tempo). A paired-samples t-test was used to compare pretest (performance before rehearsal) and posttest (performance after rehearsal) outcomes. Aggregate data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) comparing performance ratings among the three variables (rehearsal style, music mode, and grade). All Pairs Tukey-Kramer was used to show differences among groups and performances. Analyses indicated that this sample of middle school instrumentalists was significantly successful at their performance of two different variations (musicality and technical accuracy) after a rehearsal (posttest) in both verbal-only and verbal-gestural conditions than their first performance before a rehearsal (pretest). Pretest and posttest scores of the verbal-gestural group were higher than that of the verbal-only group, but rehearsal in the verbal-only condition showed more significant effectiveness in their development than under verbal-gestural conditions. Instrumentalists’ technical accuracy was rated as higher compared to musicality ratings in both pre- and posttests. Eighth grade players received higher scores on pre- and posttest in both verbal-only and verbal-gestural conditions than that of seventh grade players which might be expected since these players had more experience. Both verbal-only and verbal-gestural instruction conditions have similar effectiveness on student performance ratings, and based on the evidence derived from this study, it seems that both verbal and nonverbal instructional methods should be considered equally effective music teaching tools in an instrumental setting for students at this level of development. These findings should be taken into account when instrumental music educators are planning and delivering instruction, particularly in light of data showing that verbal instruction is more frequently used during rehearsals than nonverbal instruction. / Music Education

The ability to determine chords and progressions used in popular music is a valuable skill for musicians and part of musicianship. A music educator should be able to listen to the popular songs familiar to students and quickly and easily determine the chords and progressions being used in this music in order to convey information to the students about how the piece was composed and how it may be performed. Though some view this skill as being important, it is not assessed on teacher certification examinations, and the NASM (2010) accreditation mandate for addressing these particular skills in undergraduate and graduate ear-training (aural skills) courses is unclear at best. Musicians who have learned music informally may be more adept at this skill, likely out of the necessity to learn new music without the assistance of reading standard music notation. Mastery of this skill, however, could have more to do with the frequency that individuals perform with a polyphonic instrument as opposed to performers who play primarily monophonic instruments. When compared to musicians who have mastered a polyphonic instrument such as guitar or piano, musicians lacking experience performing on a polyphonic instrument may also lack an understanding of the concept of a three-note sonority functioning in a way specified by the key. In order to determine chords and chord progressions, experience performing harmony, hearing how it functions, and doing so with fluency is necessary. For players of monophonic instruments such as the trumpet or voice, the traditional approach for supplementing the lack of experience playing a polyphonic instrument is to give them piano lessons. However, without mastery of performance skills on this instrument, the fluency necessary to afford experiences in which the performer can be performing harmony while hearing how it functions can be difficult. One solution can be the implementation of interactive musical instruments and environments that provide a way of performing harmony with controls that are more accessible in terms of immediate use than traditional instruments. Technology-based musical instruments are easily obtainable to individuals via digital mediums and allow an immediacy by which an individual can compose and perform even without formal music training (Manzo, 2007; Pask, 2007; Wel, 2011). The present study observed the effects of activities involving polyphonic interactive music systems on participants' ability to determine chords and progressions. I observed the ways that post-test scores changed after using the software, and noted the extent to which subjects were able to determine chord progressions better or worse with the aid of this interactive software system versus a traditional polyphonic instrument. An increased ability to do so could yield important implications for individuals looking to easily perform chords for pedagogical reasons, such as practicing the determination of chords and chord progressions, but who lack mastery performing a polyphonic instrument; an interactive system could provide an alternative to traditional instruments. The open-source software developed and used for this study can be easily changed to allow musical events to be triggered using any sort of control mechanism including sensors, buttons, and more. This software, with its limited number of labeled controls, can be expanded to function as a prototype for future research. Visit www.vjmanzo.com/dissertation for more information. / Music Education