No description available.

The purpose of this study is to set forth certain principals or rules, Which, if adhered to, will be a beginning in the training of the young musician who would make the playing of dance music his profession. Be it understood that this is only an embryonic work and as such it should not be considered a final and irrevocable treatise on this topic. Actual work and development in this field will probably see many of the practices recommended herein relegated to a less important stage while items not mentioned, or perhaps mentioned and treated without undue stress, may come to the foreground of importance. It is hoped that this work will help in paving the way for a sincere and unprejudiced program of training for the young dance musician. However, before venturing into any discussion concerning dance music, it is necessary to have a clear understanding as to what fields of music are included in the term dance music.

The purpose of this survey was to analyze the course of study in instrumental music prescribed by the Texas State Department for the high schools of the state and to determine whether or not a coordinated and well-rounded program of education in instrumental music is being offered in the schools of Texas. It was hoped, furthermore, that, by comparing this program with others elsewhere, this analysis might show whether or not Texas is following any general trend in instrumental music education.

Due to the increased importance of music in everyday life, the expanding enrollment in most colleges brought on by the return of war veterans, and the ever increasing popularity of dance music, more and more schools are incorporating dance bands as part of their musical program in connection with their recreation and college promotion activities. Since this is more or less a new development, it is of interest to all school administrators to see just what is being done in regard to dance music in the schools. Therefore, it is the purpose of this study to determine the extent and usage of popular dance bands in colleges at the present time, and to present certain problems which are apt to confront the administrator of such an organization.

The problem which is reported in these pages represents an attempt on the part of the writer to discover whether the music curriculum of the Denton Senior High School is meeting the personality needs of the students of the school. In order to discover a starting-point from which to attack this problem, the writer administered standardized personality and music tests to the students enrolled in her music classes. The results of these tests form the primary basis of the investigation and of this thesis.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Phillip D. Payne / The purpose of this study was to determine if music educators who have had experiences with informal music are more likely to employ informal learning within their classroom. Secondary research objectives included a comparison of survey results against specific demographics of the survey participants, an examination of the types of informal learning that the participants experienced and facilitated, and a look at the perceived barriers and benefits of informal music learning from the viewpoints of the participants. Participants (N=25) were practicing music educators pursuing graduate music studies. The participants were enrolled in a summer Master of Music program at a university in the Midwest. Data was collected by employing a pen and paper survey that provided a demographic description and informal music learning questionnaire. The participants were asked to indicate the frequency of participation in informal music activities prior to becoming a music educator. They further reported what informal music learning activities they facilitate within their school music curriculum. Finally, the participants responded to two short answer questions where they identified barriers and benefits they perceive with the implementation of informal music practices within their music programs. Results from a Pearson correlation showed a moderately strong relationship (p = 0.43) between participants who had informal music experiences (E) and who employed informal music learning within their music curriculum (C). There were no significant differences observed in the results between participants of different gender or school division. Of the short answer responses cataloged, participants cited a lack of experience with informal music and difficulty of connecting informal music learning to the formal music curriculum as the barriers to employing informal music learning in the classroom. The participants discussed the increase in student motivation, expanding musicality, and real-world relevance as the benefits of informal music learning. Knowledge gained from this study may be useful to individuals facilitating informal music learning within music education programs at the primary, secondary, or collegiate levels.

No description available.

No description available.

The study of music has long been seen as élitist in South African education, a ‘talent’ subject rather than an academic one. The country’s political history has played a significant role in this perception. Under the apartheid government, education in the arts was considered appropriate only for gifted, mostly white, students and a grossly inequitable distribution of resources placed the study of music beyond the reach of most students. The ANC government has declared educational reform a priority, but faces enormous challenges in redressing inequities of the past. This study examines the relevance and academic rigour of music curricula past and present, in the light of political influences; and the challenges that face schools and education departments in sustaining growth and development of music as an academic subject, accessible to all at senior secondary school level. / Music / M. Mus.

The subject Music in junior secondary schools in Botswana exhibits areas of concern. While commendable efforts have been made in ensuring access to and equity in education, a corresponding commitment to the improvement and quality of education, by way of ensuring effective delivery in the classroom, has not been realised. The objectives of the Music syllabus are more inclined toward music literacy, at the expense of listening, movement, singing and instrumental playing. The syllabus design undermines the potential of music education to foster creativity, imaginative thinking and self-actualisation among the learners. Also, Western music receives more coverage than non-western musical genres. The following research question guided the study: <ul> <li> What are the problems regarding the teaching of Music in the junior secondary schools in Botswana, and what solutions can be recommended?</li> </ul> The following sub-questions received attention: <ul> <li> To what extent are the teaching methodologies used effective (or ineffective)?</li> <li> To what extent does the teaching of Music take into account a learner’s acquired skills, knowledge, attitudes and experiences?</li> <li> What is the amount and quality of professional support given to music teachers?</li> <li> To what extent are the assessment strategies used effective?</li> <li> To what extent are the available resources adequate (or inadequate)?</li> </ul> Thus, the aim of the study has been to determine the status quo, to make an analysis of the progress (or lack thereof) made in the development of music education, to identify the problems associated with teaching Music as a subject, and to come up with proposals for coping with and managing the situational constraints. Information was gathered from an intensive scrutiny of the Music curriculum and a literature study. To this was added information gleaned from questionnaires sent to selected Music teachers and school pupils. The study determined that: there are definite imbalances in the treatment of learning objectives and genre coverage, with an inclination towards music literacy, and unclear directions towards the development of creativity, imaginative thinking and self-actualisation; there is an over-emphasis on Western models and music; there is a prevailing feeling that the performance and listening aspects of Music are difficult to assess; the amount of professional support provided to music teachers and to schools is minimal with a lack of proper mentorship for less experienced teachers; and, there is insufficient allocation of facilities and resources. Thus the following recommendations have been suggested: more indigenous musical arts should be incorporated into the curriculum, with an increase in the Popular music content as a way of responding to the learners’ interests; capacity-building workshops should be conducted; methods of appraising teachers should be reviewed to make them more subject specific; supervisors of music education programmes in schools should be further equipped with the necessary skills to appropriately carry out supervision; the Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation should involve South African experts in their Arts and Culture curriculum in order to make assessment more relevant and accurate; the Teaching Service Management and the Teacher Training and Development departments should take appropriate steps towards an across-the-board improvement of music education through subject Music.Copyright / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Music / unrestricted