This study was undertaken to determine whether or not young childrens’ preferences for contemporary art music, through participation in a classroom music program emphasizing creativity, can be altered. The students participating in this experiment were the grade three class at Vancouver College, a private boys school in Vancouver, B.C., where the researcher was employed as music instructor for the 1969-70 school term. A music preference inventory was given to the students prior to initiating the classroom program. The inventory consisted of the following eight selections chosen by the researcher as representative of various twentieth century compositional styles: "Ionisation" - Edgar Varèse; "Akrata" - Iannis Xenakis; "Gesang der Jünglinge" - Karlheinz Stockhausen; "Visage" - Luciano Berio; "Le Marteau sans Maȋtre" - Pierre Boulez; "Piece for Four Pianos" - Morton Feldman; "Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op.16" - Arnold Schoenberg; and, "Cantata No. 1, Op.29" - Anton Webern. Students marked their preference on a graphic rating scale of five divisions. The researcher later superimposed a twelve-point scale over the test-scale, in interpreting the scores. Following this pre-test, the students participated in a twelve-week classroom music program which stressed rhythmic improvisation, composition in twelve-tone technique, percussion pieces, exploration of sound sources, etc. The program was designed by the researcher based on work by Carl Orff, Zoltan Kodaly, R. Murray Schafer, Peter Maxwell Davies, Richard Addison and George Self. At the end of the program the same preference inventory was again administered to the students as a post-test. Final scores were interpreted by means of a two-tail test. Only one selection showed a change in preference (in this case, an increase) at a statistically significant level of five per cent. Stockhausen's "Gesang der Jünglinge" attained a critical ratio of 5.34. Certain limitations were recognized: 1) the small sampling of students (twenty-two); 2) the relatively short duration of the experimental part of the study (twelve weeks), and 3) the lack of any control group. The researcher therefore concluded that, within the severe limitations of this study, his hypothesis was invalid: that participation in a classroom music program stressing creativity will alter a grade three student's preference for contemporary art music. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Graduate

Changes occurring in the educational system of Ghana since independence in 1957 have been many and varied. The recent inclusion of the Cultural Studies program as part of the compulsory core curriculum is an example of such a change. The Cultural Studies program was designed to nurture cultural awareness and appreciation in the Ghanaian school child through music, drama, religion and social systems. The focus of this study was Music in the Cultural Studies program. The approach of the music teacher to music teaching and learning determines the successful realization of the curriculum. Music teaching strategies employed in Ghanaian elementary schools are many and varied. The content of the curriculum the teacher has to work with also enhances the realization of the program objectives. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe music teaching strategies and their degree of use in Ghanaian elementary schools and also offer suggestions for improving music instruction drawing on Ghanaian indigenous methods of music education, the Orff-Schulwerk, and Kodály pedagogy. In a survey involving fifty-six music teachers from five of the ten regions of Ghana, the researcher drew the following conclusions: a) the most frequently used teaching strategies included singing games, vocables, solfege, speech and poetry, movement and dance. b) there was evidence to suggest that the music teaching strategies of teachers are not related to their regional location, district, gender, teaching experience, or academic qualifications. c) It is feasible to combine the approaches of the Kodály pedagogy, the Orff-Schulwerk, and Ghanaian indigenous forms of music education in the development of a curriculum framework aimed at improving music instructional methodology in Ghanaian elementary schools. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the processes in which eight and nine year old children engaged as they composed generative expressions with music and language. This study was a classroom-based ethnography conducted by a teacher/researcher in the context of her own general music classroom and the home room of the participant students. Twenty-one boys and girls in a suburban grade three class were involved in this four and one-half month study; three children were chosen as target (focus) composers. This study was designed so that the primary voice and point of view was that of the student-composers rather than that of the adult teacher/researcher. To that end, methodologies for data collection and interpretation were flexible and emergent, to allow for inclusion of unexpected events, interactions, foci/directions, etc. and to ensure that student-composers' self-described decisions about their work were at the forefront of the discussion and interpretation of the data. A framework was devised to inform and clarify the teacher/researcher's understanding of what the children were doing as they composed. This framework provided a flexible structure for organization and illustration of data used for interpretive purposes. Data collected included: 1) journals, written self evaluations and in-process verbal critiques by all students 2) video-tapes of focus composers in: a) working sessions b) reflective discussion with the teacher/researcher 3) video-tapes of all students in: a) in-process sharing/critiquing sessions b) final performances of compositions 4) field notes of the teacher/researcher, including observations, informal conversations with student-composers, and observations and comments of the home room teacher. Findings from this study included these insights: 1) For these child-composers, process and product were intertwined throughout the making of their compositions; 2) These child-composers began with a holistic idea of what they wanted to do and proceeded to explore, revise and polish their compositions in the particular medium until they reached their self-determined goal; 3) Socio-cultural factors of informal (enculturated or acquired) learning, and general maturity, were primary influences in decision-making in compositions with both music and language; 4) Training made a difference in the baseline starting point in composing ability, attitude, speed of the compositional process, and expectations for the final product; 5) These eight and nine year old children, untrained in music, demonstrated that they could compose rather than just improvise; 6) These child-composers went through the same four processes of exploration, making choices, editing/drafting, and completing a coherent product, when composing in two different modalities; they engaged in these processes recursively as well as sequentially in both media. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to describe the current state of sight-singing pedagogy in choral ensembles at degree-granting institutions in the United States accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. A survey of collegiate choral conductors was designed and distributed nationwide. In total, 33.3% (N = 363) of those invited to participate responded. Substantial data were collected from conductors who indicated they occasionally integrated a sight-singing system into their choral rehearsals for specific purposes (n = 137) and those who indicated they frequently used a sight-singing system as a key rehearsal tool (n = 114). In addition, interviews with three survey participants were conducted for a more in-depth examination of their unique philosophies and practices. Survey data revealed that there was no significant difference between the number of choral conductors who did not use or very rarely used a system for music-reading, those who occasionally integrated a sight-singing system into their rehearsals for specific purposes, and those for whom a sight-singing system was a key rehearsal tool that they used frequently. However, among respondents in the latter two categories who did not hold a degree in music education, there was a significant (p = .018) preference for occasional rather than frequent use of a sight-singing system. Among those who occasionally or frequently used a system there was a significant preference for movable-Do solfège for major-key tonal solmization (p < .001), movable-Do solfège (tonic is "La") for minor-key tonal solmization (p = .001), and instrumental counting ("1-e-&-a 2") for rhythmic solmization (p < .001). Among those who frequently used a system, the data showed a significant decline in both the number of days per week they provided sight-singing instruction at the beginning of term, at the middle of term, and at the end of term (p < .01) as well as between the number of minutes per rehearsal they provided sight-singing instruction during those three periods of the semester (p < .01). Among those who frequently used a system, choral literature being prepared for performance was the significant first-choice, selected by 88%, of materials used to teach sight-singing. Among the same participants, 14% individually assessed their students' sight-singing, 44% sometimes did, and 43% did not. For conductors who frequently used a system, the most important perceived benefit of doing so was enabling their choirs to learn music faster. The attitude statements about which conductors agreed most strongly were that sight-singing ability is an important skill for all collegiate choral singers and that sight-singing ability should be a prerequisite for auditioned collegiate choral ensembles. Conductors who occasionally used a system agreed significantly more strongly with the latter statement than those who frequently did (p < .04), while conductors who frequently used a system agreed significantly more strongly with the statement that students generally enjoy instructional time devoted to sight-singing than those who occasionally did (p < .001). Music educators felt significantly stronger that empowering their students for lifelong music-making and improving performances were benefits of systematic sight-singing instruction than non-music educators did. Conductors contacted for interviews emphasized the importance of fostering choral rehearsal cultures in which complete musicianship and musical literacy are valued and provided philosophical and practical reasons for doing so. They outlined possible challenges to instituting choral sight-singing at the collegiate level as well as potential solutions to those difficulties. They also discussed the effects of sight-singing instruction on relationships with music theory and music education faculty. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2015. / July 17, 2015. / literacy, music, reading, sight-singing, solfege / Includes bibliographical references. / Judy Bowers, Professor Directing Dissertation; David Okerlund, University Representative; Alice-Ann Darrow, Committee Member; André J. Thomas, Committee Member.

This study explored the educative impact of a music study abroad program, specifically, what role music plays in encounters between students from diverse cultural backgrounds, and how such programs can help shape the identity of a global citizen and lead to a more socially just global community. If programmatic efforts can be impactful, preparing young people for life in a more interdependent, complex, and fragile world, then how can such values be informed, fostered, and even stimulated by engaging in international music travel? How is “difference” experienced and rendered meaningful? This qualitative case study followed U.S. music and music education students on a trip to Malaysia where they collaborated with Malaysian peers in bamboo instrument-making as well as music-making in traditional Malay styles. Perspectives, commentary, and reflections of and by all participants were recorded and investigated. Pre-trip interviews were conducted two months prior to embarking on the international trip. During the program abroad over the course of three weeks, I interviewed four U.S. music students, five Malaysian music education students, and both a U.S. and Malay music professor. Additionally, a focus group was conducted with the Malay student-participants. This study posited two primary benefits to studying music abroad and then analyzed data that would illuminate to what degree these benefits were achieved. The first of these benefits is the well-known enhancement in broader experience and new knowledge that will inform students’ practice and musical life going forward. The second class of benefits has to do with building agency as global citizens, along with an appreciation of the entailed challenges. The interaction between visitors and residents, between students and a diverse cohort of educators, all begin to construct a sense of interconnectedness that goes far beyond the accumulation of musical knowledge. The findings substantiated the initial hypotheses and created new avenues of inquiry as well. One finding that went beyond the original scope of the study was that in reflecting on their experiences, participants began to build on a sense of global citizenship and a broadened civic consciousness. This in turn leads to investigations into the broader definition of education itself.

The purpose of this study was to learn more about specific features of the home environment of high school band members in former band members in two neighboring communities in southwestern Oregon: Coquille, and Myrtle Point. It was hoped that the effort might provide a specific contribution to more efficient selection of students in those communities, aid in improvement of parent-teacher relationships, and be of general interest to others in similar situations.

Information received, during interview with eight prominent music educators and from questionnaire responses of ninety-two music educators, indicates almost unanimously that there are four general problems of the senior high school boys’ glee club which need serious consideration: organization, maintenance, vocal problem and selection of music. It has been the purpose of this study to investigate the foregoing four general problems, report findings and to recommend procedures to aid senior high school boys’ glee club directors in solving their problems.

The object of this thesis is to discuss musical rudiments and their importance, to demonstrate to what extent these rudiments are being taught in the selected Stockton schools and to inquire into the musical background and musical attitudes of the teachers of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades of these particular schools.

The object of this book is to provide the beginner with a background of musical experience to strengthen his own musicianship so that he may possess confidence in his own ability and venture to be a creative person. The work in this book is strictly preparatory and is intended as a starting point.

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate perceptions of choir members (N = 86) who participated in a one-day choral festival designed to bring together salient racial/ethnic groups. Specifically, this study sought to document: (a) singers' perceptions of intergroup contact conditions--equal status, common goals, cooperation, institutional support, and friendship potential; (b) singers' perceptions of group social cohesion in relation to musical selections performed; (c) singers' stated reasons for participating in the event; and (d) themes emerging from responses to open-ended questions. Data were collected from choir members through a survey instrument adapted from the literature. Category mean score rankings indicated the perceived presence of intergroup contact conditions, from greatest to least, as common goals, cooperation, equal status, institutional support, and friendship potential. In terms of group social cohesion in relation to repertoire, music categorized as African American was perceived as most socially cohesive, followed by music shared by multiple traditions and music categorized as European American. Black/African American, female, and older participants perceived music, no matter the category, more socially cohesive than White/Caucasian, male, and younger participants. Singers indicated being motivated to participate in the event because of musical and social factors, with responses classified as enjoyment of singing and community building most common. Free-response qualitative data was analyzed and coded into six subthemes: formation of a community comprised of diverse peoples, exposure to something new, personal enjoyment, expressed desire for event to continue, criticism of event philosophy and schedule, and disappointment over attendance. Suggestions for future research were provided. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2015. / April 17, 2015. / African American Music, Choral Music, Gospel Music, Group Social Cohesion, Intergroup Contact Theory, Western Hymnody / Includes bibliographical references. / Kevin Fenton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Christopher Moore, University Representative; Judy Bowers, Committee Member; André J. Thomas, Committee Member.