There is no abstract available for this thesis.

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

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.

"In this study, the term 'Instrumental' will be used to include not only the usual instruments of the orchestra and band, but also 'melody instruments' such as tonnettes, flutophones, and other similar ones. The piano will not be included in this study because there is less need for more literature for this instrument at the elementary level than for others"--Introduction. / "August, 1954." / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music." / Advisor: Robert L. Briggs, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 46).

"The purpose of this study is to provide some insight into the problems faced in the field of instrumental music instruction in the elementary schools of Tallahassee, Florida, and to suggest some possible solutions to problems facing personnel connect with the program. It is designed to acquaint the supervisory staff of the county with the needs of this area of instruction and to inform the incoming instructor as to what constitutes the situation with which he will be faced"--Introduction. / "May, 1955." / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Education." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 38-39).

One of the most immediate problems confronting the instrumental teacher of today is that presented by the string section of the orchestra. In the years between 1925 and 1935 the number of string orchestras. In the high schools of this country gradually dwindled until in most small or medium size high schools and in a great many of the larger ones it disappeared entirely. However, it is now encouraging to note that the increased emphasis being placed on the string program in teacher-training institutions is producing direct results in the development of a re-awakened interest in the public school orchestra. In many schools where no string program existed a few years ago there is now evidence which shows that a return to orchestral study is well on its way to becoming an important curricular functions. / "August, 1954." / Typescript. / Advisor: Robert L. Briggs, Professor Directing Paper. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Education." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 37-38).

No description available.

The purpose of this thesis is to integrate for the prospective teacher still in college, and the teacher in service, the theory and practice of the leading band teachers in the country through the medium of the ensemble class method.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a contingent live music intervention on full term infants’ amount of crying and parent-infant interaction in the first six weeks of life. Subjects (N = 65) were parent-infant dyads who were randomly assigned to either a no-contact control or experimental treatment group. The researcher wrote an original lullaby with each mother in the experimental group and gave instructions as to how to use the lullaby as reinforcement for infant quiet, non-crying behavior. All subjects participated in an assessment for infant crying behaviors once a week for six weeks as well as a six-week follow up video of parent-infant interaction. Infant crying behavior was measured by recording the total number of minutes each infant cried one day a week for six weeks. Parent-infant interaction was measured by observation using the LoTTS Parent-Infant Interaction Coding Scale (Beatty, Stacks, Partridge, Tzilos, Loree, & Ondersma, 2011). All participants were asked to complete a Value of Music survey, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (Cox, Holden, & Sagovsky, 1987). All subjects in the experimental group were assessed once a week for six weeks for total number of times the contingent music was used. Results indicated that training in the contingent music intervention significantly reduced infant crying duration while increasing mother-infant interaction behaviors for mothers in the experimental group. Analysis by demographic variables such as mother parity, socioeconomic status, and marital status showed no significant group differences on infant crying or interaction scores despite the body of research showing these variables usually affect the quality of caregiver/infant involvement and attachment. Mothers that used the contingent music intervention were more motivated to sing and valued the use of music with their infants more than did mothers in the control group. The outcomes of this study warrant the need for further research on additional benefits of decreased crying time on the infant/caregiver relationship including infant sleep time and caregiver stress. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2017. / June 23, 2017. / Contingent, Crying, Interaction, Mother, Music, Newborn / Includes bibliographical references. / Jayne Standley, Professor Directing Dissertation; Bruce Holzman, University Representative; Clifford Madsen, Committee Member; John Geringer, Committee Member.