The purpose of this project was to create an original band composition, a five-movement suite, for upper high school and university-level ensembles that would provide students, teachers, and audiences an enjoyable experience. Along with the composition, Suite Forty-four, a series of exercises that present musical concepts from the first four movements of the work is also included. These exercises consist of warm-ups, melodic exercises, harmonic studies, articulation studies, rhythmic studies, style exercises with dynamics, intonation, and meter studies that are specific to each of the first four movements, and in some cases to the suite as a whole. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2019. / April 18, 2019. / Chandler Wilson, Concert Band, Musical Concepts, Music Education, Music Teacher, Warm-Ups / Includes bibliographical references. / Richard Clary, Professor Directing Dissertation; Leon Anderson, University Representative; D. Patrick Dunnigan, Committee Member; Clifford Madsen, Committee Member.

Cognitive load theory assumes that effective instructional design is subject to the mechanisms that underpin our cognitive architecture and that understanding is constrained by the processing capacity of a limited working memory. This thesis reports the results of six experiments that applied the principles of cognitive load theory to the investigation of instructional design in music. Across the six experiments conditions differed by modality (uni or dual) and/or the nature of presentation (integrated or adjacent; simultaneous or successive). In addition, instructional formats were comprised of either two or three sources of information (text, auditory musical excerpts, musical notation). Participants were academically able Year 7 students with some previous musical experience. Following instructional interventions, students were tested using auditory and/or written problems; in addition, subjective ratings and efficiency measures were used as indicators of mental load. Together, Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated the benefits of both dual-modal (dual-modality effect) and physically integrated formats over the same materials presented as adjacent and discrete information sources (split-attention effect), confirming the application of established cognitive load effects within the domain of music. Experiment 3 compared uni-modal formats, consisting of auditory rather than visual materials, with their dual-modal counterparts. Although some evidence for a modality effect was associated with simultaneous presentations, the uni-modal format was clearly superior when the same materials were delivered successively. Experiment 4 compared three cognitively efficient instructional formats in which either two or three information sources were studied. There was evidence that simultaneously processing all three sources overwhelmed working memory, whereas an overlapping design that delayed the introduction of the third source facilitated understanding. Experiments 5 and 6 varied the element interactivity of either two- or three- source formats and demonstrated the negative effects of splitting attention between successively presented instructional materials. Theoretical implications extend cognitive load principles to both the domain of music and across a range of novel instructional formats; future research into auditory only formats and the modality effect is suggested. Recommendations for instructional design highlight the need to facilitate necessary interactions between mutually referring musical elements and to maintain intrinsic cognitive load within working memory capacity.

As a matter of logistics, chamber music and accompanying play a vital role in the life of the college pianist and will likely form a significant portion of his future in the musical profession, in that nearly all other "solo" instrumentalists and vocalists require a pianist. The pianist, as a result, should be among the most adept of ensemble performers.The first step in this study was to determine the status of chamber/accompanying courses and performance activities as practiced in institutions of higher learning. Ten heterogeneous institutions were chosen representing private and public affiliation, various geographical areas, as well as size of student enrollment. Bulletins were examined to determine applied piano requirements and required chamber/accompanying courses. Questionnaires were directed to major piano instructors in these institutions to obtain information not reflected in bulletins.Conclusions reached from this information revealed courses represent twenty percent of a student's total piano performance course instruction. A number of problems surfaced when responses to the questionnaire were evaluated: Comprehensive records of repertoire, studio assignment, and public performance are not likely to be kept by, or made readily available to, the applied piano instructor regarding his student's ensemble activities. The major instructor also has little control over the number of chamber assignments, or the level of difficulty of the compositions to which his student might be assigned. A significant portion of the interviewed faculty believes that the quality of the student's ensemble performance falls below that of his solo performance. Ninety percent of the piano instructors were of the opinion that the student's piano ensemble activities are not correlated to enhance his overall pianistic development.The hub of the student's pianistic progress is traditionally represented in major applied piano instruction and all other piano activities tend to be by-products of this learning experience. The conclusion therefore was made, that if the private lesson serves as a center of all pianistic instruction, solutions to these problems would be forthcoming.In order to correlate chamber study with overall pianistic development, adequate record-keeping was recommended. In addition to required chamber/accompanying courses, it was suggested that a regular portion of the applied lesson time be devoted to the study of ensemble works. Chamber/accompanying compositions studied in the private lesson should reflect pianistic challenges parallel to those of solo literature studied. That this is indeed possible was revealed through analogous studies of major chamber and solo literature.Three chamber works were compared to their solo counterparts to determine likeness in pianistic techniques. Beethoven's Piano Sonata in B-flat, Opus 22, and the piano part to his Trio in B-flat, Opus 11, were found to contain, in common, eight major classical piano techniques representing roughly ninety percent of the compositions' technical content. The extent to which these techniques were employed was also similar; specific passages of almost identical material, both technically and stylistically, were illustrated. Because of these extraordinary similarities, study of the Trio was found to be a logical alternate choice for piano study, replacing the Sonata.Debussy's piano prelude Des pas sur la neige and the piano part to the song La Grotte were revealed as having been constructed around a similar, halting, ostinato figure juxtaposed with additional techniques requiring similar, often identical, techniques. The Debussy prelude La ser4nade interrompue and the piano part to the song Ballade des femmes de Paris were found to exhibit similarity in a virtuosic style of pianism built largely on rapid alternation between hands, and alternation of pitches within the hand. Both techniques were found in similar settings and the extent of their use and others was also comparable. These examples represent a sample of compositions which are likewise analogous. It was concluded that such correlation and integration of ensemble and solo instruction was the most effective direction to be taken in improving chamber/accompanying performance as well as the overall pianistic advancement of the undergraduate collegiate pianist.As a follow-up to this study, further research is recommended to determine lists of chamber works representative of various levels of piano study which correspond in scope and level of advancement to traditional solo repertoire guidelines.

In this study the role of the thumb in piano playing is thoroughly investigated. The following areas were studied: attitudes about the thumb; anatomy, movements, and injuries of the thumb the history of the use of the thumb in piano playing; the: role of the thumb in. piano fingering; views about how to use-the thumb in playing; ways piano methods promote the use of the thumb; and study materials that develop the use of the thumbs.Numerous sources provided varying amounts of information on the subject. Books on piano technique and pedagogy, books about anatomy, and periodicals were important sources of information.Pianists have many different ideas about how the thumb should be used in piano playing. All of these ideas were compared and contrasted, discussing the positive and negative aspects of each.A four-item questionnaire was sent to numerous piano teachers to gather additional ideas about how they deal with the use of the thumb. The teachers had a wide range of interesting ideas on the subject. However, most of these ideas are similar to those already found in print. Many of these teachers have developed exercises of their own to improve the use of the thumb among their students.An index of study materials that develop the use of the thumb was compiled. The selections were categorized according to the area of thumb technique they develop, such as passagework or arpeggios. The categories were divided according to whether the problem was present in both hands, the right hand, or the left hand. Within each of these categories the selections were further divided into the categories of exercises, studies, and etudes.

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The purpose of this study was to assess the characteristics of music education in Jamaican public schools and to investigate possible inequalities in access to music education programs based on school level, school locale, and school enrollment. A questionnaire, gathering information on a broad range of educational factors related to the music programs and music teachers was sent to the 977 public schools in the country. Of the 320 schools that replied, 105 offered music programs. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 25 selected music teachers from schools with music programs. Schools were classified as elementary or secondary, rural or urban, and small or large. Music programs existed in approximately a third of public schools in Jamaica, mainly in secondary, urban, and large schools. Teachers in these groups were predominantly male and music specialists, while teachers in elementary, rural, and small schools were mainly classroom teachers, female, and had been teaching for significantly longer than their counterparts. Approximately 10% of teachers providing music instruction reported not having any formal training in music. Secondary, urban, and large schools had more choral programs and entered a higher number of pieces in competitions than their counterparts. Music examinations of the Caribbean Examination Council were done in only a few secondary schools and most students were successful. Respondents generally considered resources and facilities for music programs inadequate, and viewed colleagues, administration and parents as being supportive of music programs, but considered the national government to be unsupportive. Most teachers had not encountered students with disabilities in their music classes. This study is timely within the context of current initiatives in education in the country such as the Reform of Secondary Education program and the report by the Task Force on Educational Reform in Education. It is hoped that deficiencies will be addressed to continue the long tradition of a vibrant music culture in Jamaica, and to ensure access to high quality music programs for every child. / text

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