Inaug.-Diss.--Berlin. / Lebenslauf. "Literaturverzeichnis": p. 112-115.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Adelaide, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-220).

The problem in this study may be stated as an analysis of the prognostic capability of scores on selected tests for the prediction of proficiency in music theory at the collegiate freshman level.

Inaug.-Diss.--Erlangen-Nürnberg. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 127.

Inaug.-Diss.--Leipzig. / Vita. "Quellennachweis für die Notenbeispiele": p. 126-129. "Literaturverzeichnis": p. 124-125.

Issued also as inaugural dissertation, Münster. / "Benutzte Quellen und Arbeiten": p. vii-x. "Verzeichnis der Kompositionen [Valentinis]": p. 15-20. "Verzeichnis der musiktheoretischen Schriften": p. 20-24. "Schriften nicht musikalischen Inhalts": p. 24.

Thesis--Northwestern University. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 342-352).

A growing number of higher education leaders and pedagogues in the United States have sought to include popular music into their curricula. One of the core tenets for any music program is the study of music theory. Although there have been investigations into the inclusion of popular music in undergraduate music courses, little attention has been given to how popular music theory has been taught in higher popular music education (HPME) institutions. According to Shulman (1987), scholars and educators agree that there is a knowledge base for teaching specific to each academic subject, which by extrapolation includes popular music theory. Shulman (1987) additionally argued that all educators utilized a process of pedagogical reasoning and action, in which educators progressed through a cyclic process of comprehension, transformation, instruction, evaluation, reflection, and arrive at new comprehensions. The purpose of this study was to explore the pedagogy of popular music theory in higher education institutions by examining the pedagogical reasoning and action of professors who taught popular music theory courses in HPME institutions. The following research questions guided this study: 1. What resources do popular music theory pedagogues explore, and what are their criteria for inclusion, when selecting curricular materials? 2. How do popular music theory pedagogues prepare (analyze, interpret, transform, and organize) curricular materials? 3. How do popular music theory pedagogues adapt and tailor instruction, as well as evaluate student understanding? 4. How do popular music theory pedagogues reflect on the instructional process, and what new comprehensions of subject matter, students, and self arise from their reflection? To address these research questions, I conducted a multiple-case study researching the methods, reasonings, and knowledge of three university professors who taught popular music theory at select higher education institutions. The participants in this study were selected using purposeful, criterion-based sampling. Data collection was primarily completed utilizing interviews, observations, and document collection. The interviews were transcribed from their recordings, and the observation data were transcribed from field notes. A coding system was adapted from Shulman’s (1987) framework, which included the knowledge base for learning and the areas of pedagogical reasoning and action, and a report for each case was generated proceeding the cross-case analysis. Triangulation of the data occurred through repetitious review of all recordings, transcriptions, observational data, journal notes, provided course materials, and member checks that occurred at multiple points throughout the development of the case and cross-case reports. Contextualization data were included to provide thick, rich descriptions of each case to bolster credibility in this study and help the reader understand the context for each professors’ pedagogical decisions. It was discovered that each professor in this study had a sizable amount of subject matter knowledge in popular music theory, but that most of their useful knowledge for teaching popular music was learned primarily autodidactically. The aural tradition of music transmission, which is influenced by personal interests, sociocultural influences, and experiences in popular music groups, was found to be a prominent part of these professors’ knowledge base. The context in which each professor taught was found to influence their pedagogical decisions and affected their choices of materials, listening examples, and internet-based resources. Students’ sociocultural background and personal goals, along with the vision and mission of the institutions in which the professors taught, were found to be the strongest influencers in the pedagogues of this study. All three professors also valued limiting class size to around 16 students, and preferred formative assessments over summative assessments when evaluating student comprehension. To aid the readers understanding of the implications of the findings of this research, existent resources for popular music pedagogy, such as peer-reviewed databases, journals, compilations, popular music organizations, and current research in the field of popular music pedagogy, are also discussed.

It is common knowledge that the practice of improvisation, variation, and ornamentation was widespread during the late Renaissance. Numerous authors testify to this, and scores of manuals exist that ''teach11 this particular skill. One of the most important theorists to write such a manual was Lodovico Zacconi, a monk of the order of Saint Augustine. Chapter LXVI of Part I of his Prattica di Musica is one of the most detailed of its kind. Because there is a genuine revival today of performance of Renaissance vocal music, and because sufficient knowledge is yet to be had of the practices of this period, it was felt that a translation of this chapter was advisable and necessary. Although writing in the loquacious, redundant, and flowery style so common to all Renaissance writers, Zacconi does go into much detail as to how ornaments and decorations should be inserted into already existing poly-phonic choruses. The advice he urges to be adopted can be summarized as a simple list of do's and dont's: pronounce your vowels and words distinctly; make only a few departures from the written line; insert as many notes as you can possibly manage but separate them, articulate them and, above all, stay in tempo; decorate the middle of a piece as well as the ending; repeat any note pattern as often as you please and feel free to transpose any example to fit the positions of the Guidonian hand; don't begin an ornament before the other voices have made their entrances; don't ornament a phrase while the other voices are silent; don't sing an ornamentation as a solo; and don't decorate every single syllable and word. The reader of Zacconi soon realizes that this practice of ornamentation, though much abused by many singers, was a highly sought after art that lured every one who aspired to be called a professional singer. One can observe that in a situation such as this, where the performer held such power over a composer, the immediate que8tion is one of taste and judgment. Consequently, the artist who practiced this skill was not only tested for his technical prowess but also for his good taste, moderation, and general aesthetic approach to music. By far the most rewarding feature of the chapter are the numerous musical examples (254 in number) which provide the reader with visual testimony as to exactly what sort of diminutions were employed during this period. While the nature of the examples is typical of what is known about Renaissance style, nevertheless these examples corroborate that knowledge. The only disappointing feature found in Zacconi is that he fails to clarify the very things the modern student wants to know most of all: what, where, how, and how many embellishments were to be made; and was the student to select the examples shown and perform them exactly as written, or were these meant to show him how to insert ornamentations in an "impromptu" manner as the need was felt? Since Zacconi, as in the case of all the other authors in this field, fails to enlighten us on these points, we can infer that the practice of improvisation must have been so universal, so taken for ~ranted that the writers did not think it necessary to spell out that which was so obvious to them. Finally, in an effort to put theory into practice, it was felt that a Renaissance polyphonic composition ought to be especially ornamented according to Zacconi's directions as a service to the reader And added as an Appendix to the thesis. Consequently, a sacred motet, Da pacem domine, by Orlando d' Lassus, a contemporary of Zacconi, was chosen. It is hoped that this first attempt by this writer will prove satisfactory in helping the practicing musician of today to understand better the probable nature of the vocal music of "the golden age of polyphony."

No description available.