The present thesis was developed in the post-graduate program in education at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria in the line of research in Education and Arts. It deals with a case study of the school youth choir Mãe de Deus , from the city of Tupanciretã in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where 6 members of the choir with varying amounts of time with the group were investigated. The research approach was qualitative and the data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews and Field notes of the choirmaster. The general objective was to investigate the role of the choir in the development of conceptions and musical actions of the members of the choir. Authors such as Teixeira (2005), Wöhl (2006), Schmeling (2003), Oliveira (2003), Hentschke (1995), Bellochio (1995), Coll (1994), Phillips (1992), Penna (1990) and Figueiredo (1990) were studied in the review of literature. The results obtained demonstrate the importance of the choir activity for the members of the choir. Given the fact that the school Mãe de Deus does not offer music classes and that the choir was the only formal musical activity available, it was considered by participants to be an agent in their musical construction development. The choir acts as a bond, where the union of voices remits the widest social and musical experiences of its participants. The musical actions practiced by the singers outside of the choir further maintain their link to the knowledge gained in the choir. Daily musical experiences are continuously related to the knowledge gained in the group. Thus, it is possible to see the role of the choirmaster who should be a mediator between the singers and the music itself. Themes such as vocal technique, voice change, the repertory and discussions on group singing should be given special attention in the youth choir. In conclusion, it is clear that the choir is an activity that enhances musical and social development in its participants and a offers a space for solidarity among the participants, which encourages the desire to collectively do the best. / A presente dissertação foi desenvolvida no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria na linha de Pesquisa em Educação e Artes. Trata-se de um estudo de caso sobre o coro juvenil Mãe de Deus, da cidade de Tupanciretã/RS, onde foram investigados seis coristas com tempos distintos de participação no grupo. A abordagem de pesquisa é qualitativa e o coleta de dados constitui-se de entrevista semi-estruturada e anotações de campo do pesquisador/regente. O objetivo geral centrou-se em investigar o papel do coro Mãe de Deus no desenvolvimento das concepções e ações musicais dos coristas. Fizeram parte do referencial teórico autores tais como: Teixeira (2005), Wöhl (2006), Schmeling (2003), Oliveira (2003), Hentschke (1995), Bellochio (1995), Coll (1994), Phillips (1992), Penna (1990) e Figueiredo (1990). Os resultados obtidos com a pesquisa apontam para a importância da atividade de canto coral para os cantores. Apoiando-se na realidade do Instituto Mãe de Deus de não possuir aulas de música no currículo e levando em conta que o coro Mãe de Deus representa a única atividade musical formalizada na escola, o mesmo foi destacado pelos participantes da pesquisa como um agente de construção e desenvolvimento musical. O coro atua como aglutinador, onde a união das vozes remete a vivências musicais e sociais mais amplas de seus participantes. As ações musicais praticadas pelos cantores fora da atividade coral mantém ligações com aprendizados dentro do coro. Vivências musicais diárias são constantemente relacionadas com os aprendizados vivenciados no grupo. Neste sentido, percebe-se o papel do regente, que deve promover uma mediação entre cantores e a música em si. Temas como a técnica vocal, a mudança de voz, o repertório e discussões sobre o cantar em conjunto, constituem-se em tópicos que devem ter uma atenção especial no coro juvenil. Finalizando, entende-se a atividade coral como potencializadora do desenvolvimento musical e social dos cantores, espaço que vivencia-se a solidariedade, a ajuda entre os participantes promovendo a vontade de coletivamente fazer o melhor.

The most important 1920’s men’s choral composer, Erwin Lendvai, is used in this lecture as an example to demonstrate some compositional steps that were taken to save the genre. Contemporaries praised him as a bold innovator of men’s choir. His writing is highly professional and his experience as a conductor shows in every detail. Stylistically, his music is a mixture of chromatically altered extended tonality and polyphonic principles found in the kind of boyish and unmannerly Renaissance songs Lendvai was familiar with, due to his transcriptions in the style of the “Jugenmusikbewegung”. He connects two ultra-modern tendencies of the time, namely linear counterpoint (no longer exactly in the sense of Ernst Kurth) and a morbid post-wagnerianism, both en vogue and equally fascinating.

Syftet med detta självständiga arbete är att bidra med kunskap om hur musiklärare konstruerar mening om sång i grundskolan utifrån begreppet gemensam sång. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med fem musiklärare i grundskolan har material samlats in. Materialet analyserades utifrån ett diskursperspektiv med fokus på mikroorienterade diskurser som framställdes ur olika subjektspositioner som de medverkande musiklärarna antog. Skillnader i diskurserna beror på intresse, musiklärarnas tidigare erfarenheter och vad de anser vara relevant i musikundervisningen. Sång kan vara ett känsligt moment i undervisningen och kräver tid, elevanpassning och en trygg inramning. Vidare diskuteras hur gemensam sång i musikundervisning präglas av elev- och lärarförutsättningar, styrdokument och hur musiklärarna ser på sångens värde i undervisningen.

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of character strengths that high school students reported to develop while participating in choir. I created the Character Strengths in Choir Scale (CSCS) to explore the degree to which students believed they exercised 18 character strengths. Local choir students in the pilot study (n = 44) and the main study (n = 114) completed the CSCS and revealed that gratitude, teamwork, and honesty were among the most prevalent strengths while bravery, creativity, and spirituality were among the least prevalent strengths. Student responses were also investigated by subgroups according to gender and years of experience. Results indicated that there were statistically significant differences for the ranking of various character strengths in each subgroup. Aggregately, high school choir students viewed themselves as above average on all assessed strengths.

Syftet med detta självständiga arbete är att bidra med mer kunskap om hur grundskoleelever i musikklass med körprofil i Sverige uppfattar fenomenet notläsning. I bakgrundskapitlet presenteras en kort historik över notskriftens historia, en redogörelse för musikklassen som fenomen samt definitioner av termer som används i detta arbete. Den tidigare forskningen fokuserar på fenomenet notläsning utifrån de särskilda utmaningar som sångare möter jämfört med instrumentalister. Det teoretiska perspektivet fenomenografi ligger till grund för arbetet. Genom halvstrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med sjutton elever i årskurs åtta från en musikklass med körprofiol har empiriskt material samlats in vilket sedan analyserats med en fenomenografisk dataanalys. Enligt studiens resultat uppfattar eleverna fenomenet notläsning på sex kvalitativt skilda sätt: som ett verktyg för att tillägna sig musik genom att avkoda ett intervall mellan två toner, som ett verktyg för att distribuera och bevara musik över historiska avstånd, som ett verktyg för självständighet och variation i tolkning och framförande utifrån en noterad förlaga, som ett verktyg som möjliggör högre arbetstakt i musikundervisningen, som ett verktyg för överblick i en i övrigt gehörsbaserad personlig inlärningsstrategi, samt som en hämmande faktor för samspel, sångteknik och självförtroende i framförandet av körmusik. Resultatet jämförs med tidigare forskning och möjliga pedagogiska implikationer presenteras. / The purpose of this study is to contribute with more knowledge about how students in a high school music class with choir profile perceive the phenomenon of reading music. In the background chapter, a short account of the history of musical notation is presented, an account of the phenomenon of a music class with choir orientation as the term is used in this study, as well as definitions of terms that are used in this study. The prior research focuses on the phenomenon of reading music from the perspective of the special difficulties that singers experience in comparison to instrumentalists. The theoretical perspective of phenomenography is the basis for the study. Through semi-structured qualitative interviews with seventeen students in eighth grade from a music class with choir profile, empirical data has been collected which has then been analyzed with a phenomenographical analysis. According to the study the students perceive the phenomenon of reading music in six qualitatively different ways: As a tool for learning music by decoding an interval between two notes, as a tool for distributing and preserving music across historical distances, as a tool for independence and variation in interpretation and performance based on a notated source material, as a tool that makes possible a higher work rate in music lessons, as a tool for overview in an otherwise ear-based personal learning strategy, as well as an impeding factor for interplay, singing technique and confidence in the performance of choir music. The results are compared to prior research, and possible pedagogical implications are presented.

Thesis (MMus (Music))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The Libertas Choir occupies an exceptional place in the history of choral music in South Africa, especially in the Western Cape. The research on this choir is presented here in the form of a historical study, tracing the details chronologically from a politically inspired mass choir in 1986 to the founding of the Libertas Choir in 1989, and then following its history until the end of 2006. The first three chapters contain highlights of the first 17 years (1989-2006) while the subsequent chapters contain compositions specifically composed or arranged for the choir, a profile of the conductor, issues that the choir faced as well as an insight into the choir as “ambassador” for South Africa. Documenting the history of this multiracial choir in South Africa, the thesis includes an account of the contribution the choir has made to the development of music in a multicultural society as well as how it has fostered the belief that music sets no social or cultural boundaries. This study also documents the choir’s contribution to the development of multicultural choir performances. The research covers indigenous South African music that has been performed by the choir, as well as new compositions and choral arrangements that were instigated and disseminated by the choir. A selection of programmes sung by the choir during this time is included.

This study investigated the effect familiarity with a teacher had on student interpretations of teacher verbal praise in seventh and eighth grade choral ensembles. A stimulus tape was constructed of 16, 30-second videotaped clips containing verbal praise of four teachers. Teachers identified their intent in the use of praise in each example. Students (n = 80) from the four choirs responded to the tape by labeling the praise in each clip as deserved or as one of three types of instructional praise (i.e., praise to encourage, to send a message to other students, or to seek student cooperation). Comparisons were made between choirs in labeling the praise. Comparisons were made also between each teacher's stated purpose in praising and the interpretations of choirs familiar and unfamiliar with the teacher. Choirs who were unfamiliar with the teacher differed from the teachers' own students in interpreting the praise: Students who knew a teacher labeled the praise as deserved in five clips, but unfamiliar choirs thought the praise served an instructional purpose. In four clips, choirs differed in their interpretations of the type of instructional praise. Students familiar with a teacher recognized their teacher's intent in praising in 12 of 16 clips. In some situations, familiarity with a teacher and context made a difference in detecting the teacher's purpose for praising. In five clips where teachers identified the praise as deserved, students unfamiliar with the teacher and context thought the praise was intended to encourage students. Students across choirs were particularly sensitive to a teacher's use of praise to send a message to other students. Students are keen observers of teacher praise. Findings suggest students discriminate between praise directed at the performance and praise used for instructional purposes, suggesting that observation instruments that rely on a single label for praise might miss important information. Findings support the importance of determining how teachers intend praise to serve and how students interpret the behavior.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between selected personal investment behaviors and the meaning non-select choir members attach to their choral experience.

The submitted diploma work deals with the history of children's choirs in Central Bohemia since 1989 until the present days. In some cases it takes us even further into history. In the theoretical part, it focuses on the history of children's choirs, their member composition, age distribution and the work of choirmasters. The exploratory part covers the whole area of the Central Bohemia region according to its districts. It gives information about children's choirs, their numbers at different schools, their grouping set on the basis of the types of schools where they function. There is a questionnaire attached to the diploma work in which the choirmasters give information concerning history and current situation in their choirs. The submitted questions are then analysed. The research data are subsequently presented both in the written and graphic forms and their interpretation is included into the theoretical part of the diploma work. KEYWORDS children's choir, choirmaster, history, repertoir, music

Résumé This Master thesis called "Composer and pedagogue Petr Šandera" disserts about a musical personality from Jihlava's region, where comes also the author of this Master thesis Pavel Salák, Šandera's student, from. Petr Šandera (*1941), who is the object of this work, graduated Academy of music in Brno in 1965, then four years later he graduated Janáček's Academy of music arts in Brno, both school in specialisation Playing organ. After he finished studies, he worked as a musical teacher in Piešťany, in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm and in Jihlava. Beside it he was employed as an organist in Jihlava's crematorium. In years 1991-2002 he worked as a director of Jihlava's art school. Beside his work he addicted himself to composition during his life. He is an author of 129 opuses so far. The aim of this Master thesis is to introduce Petr Šandera, his life, his pedagogical working and mainly to point out to his abundant musical pieces, from which the essential part hasn't been interpreted yet. By the help of the analysis of two choir pieces this Master thesis should characterize Šandera's style of composition. Oral dialogues with Šandera were the main methods of work, Šandera's comments are often quoted. The result of these dialogues are chapters about Šandera's life, his pedagogical working and an extensive chapter...