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Issued also as Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University. / Bibliography: p. 52-53.

Thesis (MMus) -- Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Two of the most frequently reported performance problems amongst musicians are memorisation and performance anxiety. For the purposes of this study, memorisation is investigated regarding its importance in a musician's life; different faculties of memorisation are discussed; and practice methods are proposed providing the memoriser with maximum memory security and confidence. Performance anxiety, as a corollary of memory insecurity, is investigated regarding its symptoms, causes, and possible cures. It was found that memory insecurity and extreme performance anxiety result because of insufficient or inadequate practice and/or a lack of trust in the musician's own abilities. Musicians should prepare the best they can and then, during performance, they should put trust in the preparation that has been done. A healthy self-esteem, as well as good health, are requisites for success as a performer. It was also found that performers should concentrate less on the feat of technique and memory, and more on making music. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Memorisasie en verhoogvrees is twee van die grootste probleme wat deur uitvoerende musici aangemeld word. Die belangrikheid van memorisasie word ondersoek; die verskillende faktore daarby betrokke word bespreek; en oefenmetodes word voorgestelom die memoriseerder te vergewis van maksimum geheue-sekerheid. Verhoogvrees, as 'n uitvloeisel van memorisasie, word ondersoek ten opsigte van sy simptome, oorsake en moontlike oplossings. Daar is bevind dat onsekerheid betreffende die geheue sowel as ekstreme verhoogvrees die gevolg is van onvoldoende voorbereiding en/of 'n gebrek aan selfvertroue in die musikant se eie vermoëns. Musici moet bloot na die beste van hul vermoëns oefen; tydens die optrede moet daar dan vertroue geplaas word in die voorbereiding wat getref is. 'n Gesonde selfbeeld, saam met goeie gesondheid, is vereistes vir 'n uitvoerende kunstenaar om suksesvol te kan wees. Daar is ook bevind dat uitvoerders minder op die oorwinning van tegniek en geheue moet konsentreer, maar wel meer daarop moet konsentreer om musiek te maak.

Jazz musicians traditionally learned jazz improvisation by transcribing other musicians they admired in order to absorb, assimilate and retain important stylistic elements of jazz. Indeed, many famous jazz musicians have testified to the importance of transcribing as part of their jazz education. By the latel960's, jazz increasingly gained acceptance as a legitimate American genre within academia. As jazz studies programs became more formalized in colleges and universities, a plethora of methods and materials have followed suit. Lately, critics of these programs claim that many of the procedures, methods and materials used have abandoned the aural-imitative tradition. This study examines the current use of and the viability of future jazz education methods based primarily on aural-imitative procedures.Forty-one jazz faculty from universities and colleges throughout the United States participated in an interview process. An open-ended questionnaire survey was used to elicit responses. Each was asked a series of questions directly related to transcribing. The responses were recorded via cassette and were transcribed verbatim. In addition, four music teachers at schools at four schools for the blind were asked a similar series of questions. Their interviews responses were analyzed for similarities and differences.The results suggest that current methods do not contain adequate aural representations and that transcription could be a viable alternative to current methods. A practical system based on the transcription paradigm could and should be developed. Current digital technologies and Internet developments may help facilitate an all-transcription based methodology. Certain recordings and solos have become recognized as `masterpieces' that deserve to be transcribed and studied. The insights gained from school for the blind suggest that certain musical aspects may be beet gained from an aural-centric perspective. / School of Music

Piano proficiency students who are required to memorize music take different approaches in their learning process. They may not be aware of how they memorize or how these approaches are related to their learning style preferences. Seventeen test subjects (N=17) who volunteered from a private university in north central Indiana were _ tested for their learning style preferences and then were given a sample of music to memorize. A video camera recorded the memorization process for observation of the learning approaches each subject used while memorizing. In addition, each subject completed 1) a brief experience and task ease pretest, 2) an interview while observing the video of what took place during the memorization process, and 3) a posttest questionnaire on learning approaches used.The purpose of this study was to observe which learning approaches to memorization were being used by group piano students and which of these were most effective in short memorization tasks. Investigation of existing literature of piano pedagogy found that the most common ways in which pianists memorize are by using aural, visual, tactile and analytical approaches.Subjects who were observed for this research had a tendency-to memorize more from the visual and tactile approaches. Out of the 17 class piano students who were observed, 15 or 88% used visual and or tactile memory as their preferred approach. Students also assessed their own procedure of memorization by rating the approach as to how much they used it. Findings in this posttest questionnaire indicated that the aural and visual approaches to memory were rated by the students as being the preferred ways of memorizing. Thirteen subjects or 76% indicated that they preferred the aural and or visual memory approach to memory.The effectiveness of these approaches was indicated by the subjects receiving a memory performance rating. This research showed that there was more tendency for subjects using visual approach memory to receive the best memory scores (excellent, no errors). This study also indicated that students using the analytical approach to memory tended to have the highest percentage of best performance score (two of three received excellent/no errors scores). / School of Music

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 190-194). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 190-194). Also available on the Internet.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of guided musical analysis and guided attention to textual understanding on the speed of solo memorization by selected university vocal students. The guided musical analysis consisted of instruction to a subject regarding the melodic elements, rhythmic elements, phraseology, form, and key relationships of the experimental songs. The guided attention to textual understanding consisted of instruction to a subject regarding the meaning and phraseology of the experimental song texts. Subjects were required to rhythmically scan the texts in a declamatory manner. It was concluded that the three conditions of memorization were equally effective. Memorization rates were not significantly altered by historical period of song. Differences in memorization rates appeared to parallel the subjects' academic performances and their performances on the Drake Musical Aptitude Tests. Findings of this study indicated that future memorization experiments should be conducted with larger samples of subjects of a single sex who are music majors.

Unlike most other musicians, pianists need to play by memory during their recitals, juries, etc. Doing so can greatly influence the intensity and frequency of anxiety due to potential memory slips when performing. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between memory strategies, experiences with memory lapses, and performance anxiety among classical pianists. The specific aims of the study are to: (1) characterize demographics, performance practices, and memorization strategies used by college-level pianists; (2) assess experiences of performance anxiety and the influence of performance anxiety on memory lapses; (3) examine the relationships between demographics, performance practices, and memorization strategies; and (4) suggest various memorization strategies that might be useful intervention to overcome memory lapses. To examine participants' awareness and perception, a survey was conducted via invitation of participation from music schools and piano groups on social media, and the useable collected data came from 162 respondents. The results disclosed that pianists' awareness of memory strategies and performance anxiety were significantly correlated. It showed a relationship between knowledge of memory strategies and frequency of performance anxiety within their musical experiences.