The main purpose of this thesis is to provide a manual for music educators who will teach a general music course for one nine-month period which shall form the basis for one unit of high school credit. The class will meet for one forty-five minute period every day, and is designed for the students in the ninth grade.

Method books are an integral part of the percussion pedagogy. Because of the vast number of instruments a modern percussionist is expected to play, they often look for progressive, concise, and effective resources that can make learning such a variety of instruments more efficient. Instructional books currently exist for many areas of percussion performance, including snare drum, mallet percussion, timpani, World music, accessories, and marching percussion. Included in these books are information and procedures on music reading, rhythm studies, listening skills, part preparation, and technical approach. Focusing on timpani methods specifically, many of these books include tuning and pedaling exercises and etudes. However, their pedagogies for the execution of such difficult procedures are superficial and focus primarily on technical prowess. Timpani are the only Western pitched instruments a percussionist is required to tune, which proves intimidating for many players. Moreover, the aural and technical demands of the contemporary timpanist are ever-increasing with the technical demands found in modern composition. This dissertation will address the skills and techniques for tuning and pedaling timpani ignored by current method books and provide the timpanist with a process through a systematic set of etudes with audio accompaniment tracks. The goals of this method are to target the specific set of skills needed by the timpanist for accurate and effective timpani tuning in a modern ensemble setting.

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New free improvisers may come across six major problems as they learn to improvise: imbalance between technique and music, incorrect perception of limitation, imbalance between rationality and emotion, lack of enthusiasm, inability to view criticism as a source of creativity, and misunderstanding of mistakes and risks. In this thesis, I propose a set of effective pedagogical tools as possible solutions for students and groups interested in exploring the beauty of free improvisation.

Professional voice users such as singers and teachers are at high risk for vocal injury. A literature review was conducted to understand the prevalence of voice problems and the effectiveness of vocal hygiene education. The findings of the review suggested that in order to reduce the impact of voice disorders, it is imperative that the education of singers and teachers include how the voice functions and how to best take care of it. The purpose of this study was to discover what students on a collegiate level know about vocal anatomy, physiology, and vocal hygiene issues. It was hypothesized that graduate students who had taken a pedagogy course, were more knowledgeable about vocal anatomy, physiology, and vocal health than undergraduate or graduate students who had not had such a course. A survey was administered to voice students at a large university music program to ascertain the level of student knowledge. An analysis of the survey results provides educators with insight into specific areas of student deficiency and current collegiate pedagogical needs. The findings from the study survey were applied to recommendations for undergraduate and graduate vocal pedagogy curriculum, with an emphasis on anatomy, physiology, and preventative care of the voice. Course descriptions, objectives, and assessment methods were included for each vocal pedagogy course. The study recommended that all voice students receive information that allows them to make educated decisions regarding voice care and prepares them to be leaders in teaching singing based on voice science. In addition to anatomy and physiology of the voice, vocal hygiene is an important topic to be included in pedagogy curriculum. Issues and resent research in vocal hygiene were discussed including: speaking habits, hydration, reflux, medical management, etc. and how these contribute to or detract from efficient voice use.

The Caprices of Piatti and Etudes of Popper are considered by most cellists to be fundamental components of the cello literature designed to provide a solid technical basis for the student. This document will provide an alternative approach to teaching and learning these works by focusing on the qualities of expression that can be developed during the process of integrating these studies into one's repertoire. After providing contextual information for the both composers and the works, I will examine how this concept of "artistry through technique" has been adopted by other art forms, used in training students on different instruments, and can be applied to these particular studies.

The aim of this study was to investigate why musical instruments are not used more freely and frequently during activities as recess or at the after-school centres. A survey was executed among primary school staff in Piteå municipality, Sweden. The survey addressed past experience of musical activities, interest in music as well as individual extent of musical education. Participants were further asked to give a recollection of the accessibility of musical instruments in their workplace and eventually to reflect upon how satisfied they were with current accessibilities and work procedures considering the use of musical instruments. The outcome of the survey shows that there is a high accessibility of musical instruments in the primary school organization of Piteå municipality and that elementary teachers, as well as after-school centre teachers, often have formal musical education in their professional training. Despite these seemingly good conditions regarding musical practice, music is still treated differently from other topics and school activities. This could indicate that there are other elements, apart from actual musical competence, that are the source of these misconceptions and insecurities concerning musical instruments. One such element could be the individual experience of musical training and views on musical competence mediated within former teacher-student relations. Other elements include discourse and social structures within the teaching community, connected to views in larger society on culture and musicality, that could be the real cause of musical instruments not being used outside of musical classes. This study raises the question of what is to be prioritized in the school system. Should music teachers still be the only ones “allowed” to play instruments? Or should school staff put aside their own opinions and insecurities so that children may have a rich learning experience in music which further promotes development and progress? / Denna studie började med observationen att musikinstrument, även om de finns tillgängliga i skolans lokaler, inte används i någon större utsträckning utanför de lektioner som hålls av musiklärare. Syftet med den här studien är att förstå varför musikinstrument inte används mer ofta, och mer fritt, inom de verksamheter inom skolan som skulle kunna ha utrymme för det, såsom under rasterna eller fritidshemmens aktiviteter. En enkätundersökning har genomförts med lågstadielärare, musiklärare och fritidspedagoger i Piteå kommun. Deltagarna fick svara på frågor om deras tidigare erfarenheter av musikaliska aktiviteter, deras intresse för musik samt omfattningen av individuell musikalisk utbildning. De blev vidare ombedda att uppskatta tillgången till musikinstrument på deras arbetsplats och fick slutligen reflektera över hur nöjda de var med verksamhetens förutsättningar för musicerande och musikskapande aktiviteter. Utfallet av enkätundersökningen visar att det finns en hög tillgänglighet av musikinstrument i grundskolans lokaler inom Piteå kommun samt att lärare och fritidspedagoger ofta har tagit del av viss akademisk musikutbildning i sin pedagogiska utbildning. Trots dessa goda förutsättningar för musikaliska aktiviteter och musikskapande är musik fortfarande, som ämne och aktivitet sett, annorlunda betraktat jämfört med andra ämnen och aktiviteter inom skolans verksamhet. Musikinstrument, vilka skulle kunna ses som viktiga verktyg för lärande, ses istället som exklusiv utrustning som bara får användas av den som redan behärskar musik som konstform - såsom musiklärare eller kulturskolelärare. Studien väcker frågan om vad som ska prioriteras i verksamheten. Ska musiklärare fortsätta vara de enda som “får” använda och spela på musikinstrument? Eller är det dags att lärare och fritidspedagoger lägger diskursen och osäkerheten åsido så att barnen kan få tillgång till en rikedom av erfarenheter av musik som vidare främjar lärande och utveckling?

With a career spanning over four decades, Henry Fillmore earned wide recognition as an important and prolific composer of marches and trombone smears in the wind band medium. While he contributed significantly to chamber music, solo literature, vocal settings, and arrangements for band, his compositions for wind band have arguably provided his most universal acclaim. Fillmore’s published marches are unique in that scores rarely had performance markings and contained little more than notes and repeat signs. Fillmore conducted most of his marches and altered march strains, changed orchestration, and added stylistic markings that were not indicated in the original printed score. This research is focused on preparing and presenting historically accurate performances of the marches and smears of Henry Fillmore with appropriate march style. More specifically, the author wishes to provide an approach to the interpretation of Fillmore’s music that directly portrays the historical performance practices of Fillmore’s performances of his own works and interpretative methodology. Those who wish to consider this historically accurate approach may apply this document’s analysis of primary source recordings of Fillmore conducting his music in addition to new included performance editions of specified marches and smears.

For decades, many brass teachers have relied heavily upon speech as a means of conveying pedagogical concepts. Additionally, a significant number of teachers in the brass community continue to use speech sounds to teach specific kinesthetic responses (i.e. using specific vowels for tone production, particular consonants for articulation, and variations of vowels for different pitch registers). These teaching concepts have been perpetuated over time, though many intricate aspects of human anatomy were yet to be understood at the inception of these methods, including the physiological processes used during speech. As technology has evolved, researchers in the field of linguistics have made significant discoveries regarding the production and perception of speech. As a result of these innovations, researchers now understand more about individual languages than ever before. This document aims to critique popular beliefs regarding speech directives often utilized in trumpet pedagogy, such as guiding a student by saying “tah,” “too,” “tee,” etc. to produce a desired sound concept. A significant portion of this document also outlines an ultrasound experiment conducted by the author in the Phonetics Laboratory at the University of Kentucky, in which exercises were designed to determine if speech vowels are in fact used during trumpet playing. During this study, subjects wore a lightweight headset with an ultrasound probe placed under the chin. The ultrasound probe allowed the researcher a midsaggital (side) view of the subject’s oral cavity, displaying vowel placements and articulatory phenomena. While using the ultrasound imaging technology, subjects played a short selection of musical exercises on B-flat trumpet and then read aloud a pre-selected list of English words, designed to display multiple combinations of vowel and consonant pairings. Both the trumpet exercises and reading of the word list were audio recorded and simultaneously paired with the corresponding ultrasound video data. After playing the selected exercises, subjects completed a brief written questionnaire of personal language history to ascertain possible influences upon dialect. The ultrasound videos were then analyzed with the audio recordings to map each individual’s tongue placements during speech as compared to the placements utilized during trumpet playing. The author concluded that a majority of participants did not use the specific placements of speech vowels while playing the trumpet, although some participant data displayed a slightly stronger correlation than others. While many conclusions could be drawn from this research study, the corresponding data is intended for a purely observational understanding of the influence of linguistics upon trumpet performance and pedagogy. This document is presented in two parts: Part I contains introductory research material, as well as the process, analysis, and conclusions from the experiment outlined above. Part II contains recital programs and corresponding program notes in fulfillment of the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Trumpet Performance, as well as a personal vita.

Premise and Objectives In our increasingly technology driven society, the impact of technology touches nearly every aspect of our lives in some form or another. This has been acutely felt within the world of percussion, with electroacoustic works representing perhaps the most rapidly expanding area of concert percussion over the last twenty years. Electroacoustic music couples electronic technology with traditional acoustic instruments and/or performance practices. Broadly, this paper outlines a systematic approach to teaching electroacoustic performance practice, based on elements found in a cross-section of percussion literature. In using such an approach, not only does each student become more capable of dealing with this growing body of literature, but also the process of educating these students becomes more efficient for the teacher. As a result, delivery becomes more effectively standardized, and resources can be shared more efficiently among multiple students who may be studying different types of electroacoustic repertoire. Method To organize this exploration, three main genres of electroacoustic repertoire for percussion are compared: prerecorded soundscape, live processing, and electronic pieces. This comparison illuminates the tools and techniques that are relevant to each type of repertoire and reflects not only the narrower focus of electroacoustic percussion, but also the broader goals of applied percussion instruction in the context of a “total” percussion program. Each classification is explored by addressing its critical elements using prime examples from the relevant standard repertoire. For the first classification of works, tape pieces, the project includes discussion on signal flow, balancing electronic and acoustic sound sources, an introduction to digital audio workstations (DAWs), and monitoring techniques. Two primary examples of the repertoire are used to contribute to this discussion; Javier Alvarez’s Temazcal for maracas and tape, and Brian Blume’s Strands of Time. Live processing works present increased challenges with concepts, including sound reinforcement, recording production, how to edit and creatively manipulate sound both in post-production and live, and detailed concepts of signal flow, often including MIDI protocol. To explore the concepts specifically relevant to live processed works, Nigel Westlake’s classic work, Fabian Theory, for amplified marimba and three toms, is offered. Electronic works give students further opportunity to explore MIDI mapping, patch and parameter changes using both hardware and software, and sometimes sound design. In this context, there is a brief exploration of Steve Reich’s Violin Phase. Finally, an exploration of Hans Werner Henze’s, Prison Song demonstrates how all of this technology and technique can come together in combination works. The work requires live sound reinforcement, pre-recorded soundscapes, separate monitoring, live processing, and live MIDI controllers. The paper closes with a brief summary of extra pedagogical considerations, including resource management, pedagogical philosophy, and further implications. Conclusion By examining the logical steps of pedagogically developing through the different broad categories of electroacoustic music, with an emphasis on its reflection of broader liberal values and critical applied analysis, it is believed that this research could yield a model for a more thoughtful approach for applied percussion teachers.