American musical theater songs are popular with the general public, and many college and university voice students are familiar with them. Some voice teachers also use musical theater repertoire to varying degrees in voice instruction. Such familiarity and interest lend significance to this study of the songs in a teaching context. There is therefore a need for the establishment of repertoire-selection guidelines and pedagogical analysis of selected musical theater songs so that additional teachers will become well informed.Following the introduction in Chapter One, the results of a survey sent to one hundred members of the National Association of Teachers of Singing are presented. The survey posed questions concerning the current use of musical theater songs. Among other things, the results revealed strong interest in the analysis and application of this literature in the voice studio. Guidelines for repertoire selection (also used by the author in selecting songs that address specific aspects of singing) are introduced in Chapter Three, along with a description of analytical procedures. Chapters Four through Eight include summaries of the analyses and suggested applications in the voice studio:Developing the ability to sing longer phrases"You'll Never Walk Alone" (Rodgers)"Where Is Love?" (Bart)"After the Ball" (Harris)• Developing the ability to sing wide intervals in a legato fashion "Lost in the Stars" (Weill)"Warm All Over" (Loesser)"Green Finch and Linnet Bird" (Sondheim)•Developing the ability to articulate words rapidly "My Darling, My Darling" (Loesser) "Seventy-Six Trombones" (Willson) "Soliloquy" (Rodgers)•Developing the ability to move smoothly between registers "Someone to Watch Over Me" (Gershwin) "Where or When" (Rodgers) "O1' Man River" (Kern)•Managing a large range and mature quality "Maria" (Bernstein)"Memory" (Lloyd Webber) "One More Kiss" (Sondheim)Conclusions in Chapter Nine include: (1) teachers should judge musical theater songs by the same criteria as other songs; (2) musical theater literature offers useful material for students who are striving to develop certain aspects of singing; (3) analyses of selected songs demonstrate their suitability for pedagogical use; and (4) there is a need for additional critical analysis of musical theater literature. / School of Music

The purpose of this collaborative inquiry (CI) dissertation study was to examine pedagogical strategies designed to open Western classical music to improvisation. Piano teacher-participants formed a collaborative inquiry cohort as co-researchers to design and implement pedagogical strategies for use with their piano students, ages 8 to 10. Improvisation appears to occupy a limited role in practices commonly associated with Western classical music. Since the body of evidence found in Western music history and performance practice reveals traditions that encompassed improvisation, this study was designed to challenge existing pedagogical models associated with Western classical music through experimentation and improvisation. The prior attitudes and practices of the three participants were assessed through introductory interviews, as well as the collection of videos of teaching practices and preliminary survey data. Three two-hour in-person sessions of the cohort took place, interspersed with interviews and the sharing of video excerpts and co-researcher memos and blogs in an online forum on Canvas. During in-person sessions of the cohort, pedagogical strategies were designed and revisited through reflection following participants’ teaching experiences in their piano studios. Participants explored musical improvisation within a creative community by investigating the processes and experiences of treating Western classical music as an impetus to creative thought and improvisatory realization by their students. Findings illuminate patterns of interaction that illustrate the function of strategies for musical creativity and the applicability to pedagogical practices. Several overarching themes, addressing the purpose of the study, emerged through my analysis of data, pertaining to the dynamic nature of music, call and response as formative, and knowledge and novelty as means and ends. Participants demonstrated distinct operational definitions of improvisation, each of which appeared to connect to a model of awareness and responsiveness through the expression of interrelated themes. Whether spontaneously generated or chosen intentionally, limitations promoted improvisation as the exploration of novelty, advancing and emanating from a knowledge base. By revealing pedagogical practices that demonstrate heuristic models for experimentation through variability practices, this study illuminates patterns of interaction that open works of musical art to the sociocultural activity of improvisation, through which a multiplicity of meanings can take form.

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The purpose of the study was to review educational objectives for conducting classes for the undergraduate through the doctoral degree. This included one hundred and seventy-three behavioral objectives and three basic methods of evaluation.Specific conducting textbooks were reviewed as were the conclusions from related research. Articles relating to the preparation of the conductor and conducting curricula were also reviewed. The survey instrument designed for this dissertation was mailed to teachers of conducting at the eighteen selected schools where programs were commensurate with this study.FindingsConducting textbooks are used most frequently at the undergraduate level.Equipment most frequently used for evaluation are the tape recorder and videotape (VTR).Compositions of Bach are most frequently used in conducting classes followed by Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Handel. Music of Schubert, Tschaikovsky, Brahms, Holst, and Stravinsky are also used frequently.Most teachers provide practical conducting experiences daily or weekly but opportunities to conduct live ensembles are still relatively scarce for undergraduates.All teachers teach conducting techniques and score analysis and memory. Seventy-six percent of the respondents also teach rehearsal techniques.Visual observation of conducting students is the most frequently used method of evaluation.Teachers feel there should be more classes, more class meetings, and a greater variety of conducting classes required--especially at the undergraduate level.ConclusionsEducational objectives should be clearly stated for conducting courses at all levels.Evaluation of conducting students should be provided in a variety of forms that are clear and meaningful to the student and be based on stated educational objectives.Conducting courses should be developed for opera, ballet, theater, oratorios, and jazz ensembles.The number of conducting courses, class meetings, and credit should be increased.More conducting classes should be required for the music education major and conducting major, especially at the undergraduate level.Ensembles should be frequently and consistently available to conducting students.

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The modern music educator is constantly working to improve his methods of teaching in the public schools. Whatever his principal interest may be or wherever his principal ability may lie he desires to remain cognizant of the activities of those who are working alongside him in the system of public education. This same teacher is as much interested in the choral program if he is an instrumentalist as would the choral teacher be in the band or orchestra program of the school in which he is teaching. / Typescript. / "August, 1955." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Education." / Advisor: Robert L. Briggs, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 28-29).

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Typescript, etc. / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries