The current report reviews the literature on school-based performing arts and its impact on students’ academic and social lives. As a result of our nation’s current economic downturn, many school districts are facing difficult decisions of which school-based programs to continue or cut. The benefits and challenges of keeping school-based performing arts programs are explored. According to the literature, students may profit socially, emotionally, and academically from participating in music, theater, and dance. Additionally, research has found that school-based performing arts have the greatest impact on students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite the many benefits of participation in the performing arts, the reality of our nation’s current situation is explored and suggestions are provided regarding how to maintain the performing arts while adhering to a limited budget. Finally, this report outlines several suggestions for future research. / text

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<p> Contemporary commercial music (CCM) singers may be at a high risk for voice damage due to their increased vocal demands and the chronic exposure to chemical irritants associated with unhealthy lifestyle choices. Continuous mechanical damage, confounded with chemical trauma, has detrimental effects on the biomechanical properties of the vocal folds. Prior research on CCM singers has been limited, with efforts focused on physiologic aspects of voice production. The objective of the study was to report on the lifestyle choices of CCM singers and evaluate their vocal abilities according to healthy vs. unhealthy profile status via acoustic analyses as well as auditory perceptual assessments. The second objective was to evaluate if there were differences in lung volume associated with healthy vs. unhealthy lifestyle profiles. </p><p> Thirteen CCM singers participated in the study where they were assigned to either a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle vocal profile. Acoustic analyses of sound pressure level (SPL), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), fundamental frequency (F0), and jitter/shimmer were collected during a prolonged singing /i/ in isolation as well as a singing /i/ in context of the &ldquo;Star Spangled Banner&rdquo; at three different vocal intensities <i>(low, comfortable, high)</i>. Lung volume was recorded via a vital capacity maneuver. Voice recordings were then rated via an auditory perceptual assessment (CAPE-V). Results were compared with a Wilcoxon rank-sum test. </p><p> Differences with regard to group trends were observed across all dependent measures. SNR median values for unhealthy singers were significantly lower in both singing tasks during <i>low</i> vocal intensity (p&lt;0.05), with differences approaching significance found during prolonged singing /i/ in isolation at <i>comfortable</i> vocal intensity (p&lt;0.10). F0 analysis noted significantly lower median values for unhealthy singers during isolated /i/ productions at <i>low</i> vocal intensity (p&lt;0.05). Jitter analysis among unhealthy singers showed significantly higher median values during isolated /i/ productions at <i>comfortable</i> vocal intensity (p&lt;0.05), with differences approaching significance found during singing /i/ in context at <i>low</i> vocal intensity (p&lt;0.10). Shimmer analysis among unhealthy singers showed significantly higher median values during isolated /i/ productions at low and comfortable vocal intensity (p&lt;0.05), with differences approaching significance found during singing /i/ in context at low vocal intensity (p&lt;0.10). Unhealthy singers showed lower vital capacity as compared to healthy singers, however results were nonsignificant (p>0.05). Auditory perceptual assessment of voice was perceived to be essentially normal for all participants regardless of healthy versus unhealthy profile status. </p><p> The findings provide a descriptive profile of contemporary commercial music singers and contribute to the existing literature on the harmful effects of exposure to cigarette smoke on voice production. Unhealthy singers displayed significant acoustic differences most often observed in <i>low</i> vocal intensity conditions, which suggest a decreased vocal ability. This may be explained by their repeated exposure to chemical irritants (i.e. cigarette smoke) and possible phonotrauma, causing changes in the biomechanical properties of the vocal folds. Given the disparity between acoustic measures and auditory perceptual assessment, it was concluded that the biomechanical changes might be in the early onset and suggest future voice difficulties.</p>

<p> Controlled acoustic environments are important in voice research. Recording environment affects the quality of voice recordings. While sound booths and anechoic chambers are examples of controlled acoustic environments widely used in research, they are both costly and not portable. The long-term goal of this project is to compare the voice usage and efficiency of trained and untrained singers onsite immediately before and after vocal performance. The specific goal of this project is the further of development a Portable Sound Booth (PSB) and standardization of onsite voice recording procedures under controlled conditions. We hypothesized that the simple and controlled acoustic environment provided by the PSB would enable consistent reliable onsite voice recordings and the immediate differences as a consequence of voice usage were measurable. Research has suggested that it would be possible to conduct onsite voice recordings. Proof of concept research titled "Construction and Characterization of a Portable Sound Booth for Onsite Measurement" was conducted before initiating the full research effort. Preliminary findings revealed that: (1) it was possible to make high-quality voice recordings onsite, (2) the use of a Portable Sound Booth (PSB) required further acoustic characterization of its inherent acoustic properties, and (3) testable differences before and after performance were evident. The specific aims were to (1) develop and refine onsite objective voice measurements in the PSB and (2) evaluate use of the PSB to measure voice quality changes before and after voice usage. </p>

<p> This work explores the occurrence of school sponsored rock music ensembles and pedagogy in secondary education within the state of New Jersey. The purpose of this research was three&ndash;fold: 1) to document the occurrence of rock music performance ensembles in New Jersey secondary schools, 2) to highlight the details of a select group representing a sample of these programs, and 3) to contribute to the body of knowledge relating to rock music in the school curriculum. A two part, mixed&ndash;methods research process involved the use of both a quantitative survey instrument and a qualitative interview process. The part one survey was distributed to 720 public secondary schools across the state of New Jersey. Questions were written to seek data regarding school population, budget, types of music programs available to students, regional classifications, and enrollment. Based on survey data, five programs, in which students learn and perform rock music using authentic rock music instrumentation, were selected for part two faculty interviews. These interviews uncovered reasons for the existence of these programs (i.e. teacher and student interest), information about student participation, instrumentation, relationships to the other music programs within the school, intended outcomes, measures of success, and the existence of authentic learning, informal learning practices, and the concept of bi&ndash;musicality.</p>

No description available.

<p>It?s Something About the Shoes: A Creative Thesis through Practice is an in depth, project-based study that follows the development and implementation of an intercultural and interdisciplinary collaboration. This paper illustrates how the Practice-led Research paradigm, when coupled with the Expressive Arts, can promote empowerment and transformation for all participants including audience members. Artistic practices and rehearsals realized through performance and analyzed through constant participant reflection constitute the research data. It?s Something About the Shoes is composed of a live performance installation that includes multimedia video sculptures, still images, and pre-recorded sound, all designed around the living exchange between a contemporary tap dancer and the indigenous Danza CAAS dancers. The inquiry lies in the dance shoes. What is it about these shoes that allows the dancers to connect and communicate? How can two very different dance genres and ontological cultures exist simultaneously within a space? What does a show about a tap dancer and traditional Sonajera dancers look like; how will the different cultures interact in this space? Will the common thread of percussive dance transcend cultural and language barriers or will the resulting rhythmic dialogue be too oblique for the dancers and audience to follow? In order to understand the foundational context in which this work is created, a Literature Review is provided that: defines Practice-led Research and the methods to be used in this study, acknowledges a brief historical review of tap dancing with particular emphasis placed on Hispanic and Native influences, and a metaphysical examination of the ecological intersection of performance, place and space. The literature is divided up into complete subsections or articles so that readers may access particular areas of interest with ease. Individual subsections of the Literature Review are composed of review, analysis, and application of literature sources complete with separate bibliographies for quick reference. All Reference Lists are also compiled into a complete Works Cited at the end of the thesis document. Methods used to address inquiries and provide structure to the Practice-led model include: Performance Research, Ethnodrama, and Socio-Narratology. Coupled with these ideologies are Organic Inquiry, Emergent Design Theory, and Collaborative Theory, which act as lenses through which the collaborative process and organizational development of the thesis may be viewed clearly and precisely. Together these methods are used to create the content of a performance. Utilizing interviews with co-participants, surveys, constant reflection, and video documentation, these inspirations are organized as a creative thesis. The findings are composed of raw audience data collected through surveys gathered before and after the performances. This, combined with personal reflections of the artist participants illustrate the type of knowing that is revealed through artistic practice and inquiry. The project convener provides the final synthesis and interpretation of data through a reflective narrative.

<p> The rate of playing-related neuromusculoskeletal disorders (PRNDs) in advanced pianists remains consistently high worldwide, often limiting or ending study and playing careers. Injured pianists&mdash;desperate for solutions&mdash;seek out allegedly scientifically-informed approaches to developing injury-preventive technique but none of these approaches have been seriously investigated. This mixed-methods study investigated one interdisciplinary, non-traditional approach (the &ldquo;Method&rdquo;) that had received considerable anecdotal support but had not been studied systematically to ascertain its efficacy in recovering from and preventing recurrence of PRNDs, as well as its effects on technique, musicality, and extra-musical factors. Participants included undergraduate and graduate students, independent piano teachers, college teachers, and professional pianists and organists who had studied the Method for at least two academic semesters between 1990 and 2015. An anonymous survey was administered to 103 pianists and organists aged 22 to 82, with 74 (<i>N</i>=74) pianists responding (71.8%), and 26 pianists and organists were interviewed in-depth. Survey and interview results established that participants perceived the Method as significantly helpful in facilitating recovery from PRNDs. Significance of relationships among codes included correlations of .70 between the code &ldquo;it works&rdquo; and &ldquo;playing without injury,&rdquo; and .66 between &ldquo;it works&rdquo; and &ldquo;playing again.&rdquo; Interviewees also perceived the Method as helpful in preventing recurrence of PRNDs, as shown by the high correlation between the codes &ldquo;will help prevent injuries&rdquo; and &ldquo;learned a lot from studying the Method&rdquo; (.67). A one-sample t-test performed on the survey data also showed a positive perception (p &lt; .001) of the Method in helping recovery from and prevention of recurrence of PRNDs. Additionally, both the survey and interview participants reported improvement of technique and musicality with many also reporting enhancement of their extra-musical lives. A one-sample t-test on the survey data showed these improvements to be significant at a 5% level or better. Research also yielded data on psychological, emotional, and professional challenges to learning the Method, as well as reactions to specific aspects of the Method. It is hoped that the data might serve as a baseline and become a useful model for the investigation of other approaches for teaching injury-preventive piano technique.</p>

<p> There are currently ten available works by Antonino Pasculli (1842-1924) for solo oboe or English horn and accompaniment inspired by themes from nineteenth-century operas by Bellini, Donizetti, Meyerbeer, and Verdi. These pieces are so virtuosic that Pasculli has been dubbed the &ldquo;Paganini of the Oboe.&rdquo; The technical demands can be so high that performers can neglect to approach artistic and scholarly interpretation of his lyrical passages. Some editions of his music list the referenced act and scene number from the original source. No existing editions include complete text from the original vocal excerpts or the context from the plots of each respective opera. This volume contains the complete text of the vocal excerpts Pasculli uses, insights from the dramatic plot context, and advice to performers on how to apply such information to an instrumental performance.</p>

<p> This thesis explores the distinct two-part polyphonic patterning in Lithuanian Sutartines to reveal how singers shape and/or experience their songs as musical weaves. The findings are based on original fieldwork as well as old ethnographic sources, which are (re)examined and interpreted through the lens of metaphor as a methodology.</p>