Dr. Eph Ehly is one of the most sought after choral conductors in the United States today. Ehly has conducted over seventy All-State choirs. However, no previous source outlines the fundamental principles of his philosophy and rehearsal techniques.This study was designed to capsulize Ehly's contributions. The writer produced a videotape entitled, "Eph Ehly: A Source of True Inspiration." This video captures Dr. Ehly's philosophy regarding the All-State choir experience and demonstrates his rehearsal techniques. The author attended three All-State festivals where Ehly was the guest conductor (Indiana, New York, and Oklahoma). The video contains rehearsals and performances and videotaped interviews with Dr. Ehly.The cornerstone of Ehly's approach is this: using music to express. There are three components to Ehly's philosophy: 1) the physical component, 2) the emotional component, and 3) the spiritual component. The writer identified four forms of the physical component: 1) handshake, 2) hug, 3) clapping, and 4) other spontaneous physical gestures. The writer identified eight aspects of the emotional component: 1) expressivity, 2) sensitivity to the world, themselves, and their own emotions, 3) sympathy, 4) reality of emotions, 5) creating mood, 6) building ensemble, 7) music as a reflection of life, and 8) awareness of a "sixth sense." In describing the spiritual component, two divisions were identified: 1) the development of character, and 2) reaching a level of spirit-awareness.The study also summarizes Ehly's rehearsal techniques by outlining his idiosyncratic approach to the treatment of traditional musical elements. The video presentation highlights nine technical concerns and demonstrates Ehly's approach to these common problems. The areas addressed are: 1) tone quality, 2) diction, 3) rhythm, 4) dynamics, 5) phrasing, 6) articulation, 7) breathing, 8) vowel modification, and 9) vibrato. The videotape is supported by a written document containing background information, a script of the video, a summary by the author, a representative list of programs from AllState choirs conducted by Dr. Ehly, and transcripts of the interviews with Dr. Ehly. Church musicians, professional conductors, educators, and students of conducting can all benefit from the opportunity to view and evaluate Ehly's approach. / School of Music

The purpose of this study was to examine the continuum of choral singing from secondary choral organizations to choral organizations at selected higher education institutions in Indiana. Examined were two large state institutions and two private, liberal arts colleges. Two groups of college students who had high school choral experience were surveyed: 1. non-participants, and 2. participants. Participants in choral ensembles made up 1.33% of the total enrollments of the institutions studied. Thirty four percent of the selected students had high school choral experience. Choral ensemble participants' responses to a questionnaire were compared with non-participants' responses. The state institutions' student responses were compared to the liberal arts institutions' student responses.There do not appear to be universal reasons for students to continue or not continue singing in choral ensembles. The reasons appear to vary with the individual student and institution. However, there were trends observed. Students perceived themselves as being well enough prepared to participate in higher education choral ensembles. There is a discrepancy between the expectations of the college conductors and the students' evaluation of their preparedness. Literature appears to be a highly significant factor in the interest of all respondents. Students preferred to sing all types of music. Neither participants nor non-participants reported that classical literature was the focus of their high school choral programs. Participants perceive that the university is interested in them, while non-participants reported negative responses. Private respondents felt that the university was interested in their participation in choral ensembles more than public respondents. Many students decide before arriving on the higher education campus whether or not they will participate in college choral ensembles. The amount of credit given for singing in ensembles or academic loads seem to be a minor factor. It appears that parents do influence choral participation.Private institutions have a larger percentage of their populations participating in choral ensembles than do public institutions. The higher involvement of liberal arts college students in choral ensembles may be explained by the department's need for adequate manpower and the personalized recruiting policies. The personality of the conductor was important to the students surveyed. / School of Music

This research project was a study of the non-auditioned, mixed collegiate choral ensemble. The investigation focused on successful ensembles of this type at five universities in the midwestern United States. The purpose of the study was to investigate the ensemble's need for existence and its function within the university's choral program, to research teaching strategies that work with such a unique ensemble, and to discover tactics which help this type of group reach its full potential. Information for the study was garnered through observations of the five choirs, through surveys of the group participants, and through interviews with the conductors.A total of 372 participants completed surveys. The surveys contained a variety of questions regarding group demographics, reasons for participating, rehearsal techniques, repertoire, and benefits of participating. Responses were compiled and then analyzed for similarities and differences. Three types of statistical tests were utilized to discover if significant differences existed. For those responses which were of a nominal nature, a chisquare test was used to determine if there was any significant interaction between the responses and the various ensembles. For those responses which were of a numerical nature, an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was performed to determine if there were any significant differences among the choirs. If significant differences were detected (p<.05), a Tukey HSD post hoc test was utilized to determine where the differences occurred. For those questions which were of a qualitative nature, responses were simply compiled and compared for similarities and differences.The five conductors were interviewed and questioned regarding the purpose of their ensemble, the type of teaching strategies they incorporate, the structure of their rehearsals, any methods of motivation and reinforcement they use, and what techniques they use to help the ensemble reach its full potential.Some similarities were discovered among the five choirs, with the most striking one being the high level of satisfaction among the participants. Significant differences were also discovered between the choirs in a variety of areas, including reasons for participating, group perception, evaluation of the conductor's rehearsal techniques, and productivity of the rehearsal. / School of Music

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of voice teachers regarding the degree to which they believe they teach and monitor healthy vocal behaviors among their students as they sing and speak. Participants for the study were college/university voice professors who were members of the College Music Society and listed in its Directory of Music Faculties in Colleges and Universities, U.S. and Canada, 2012-2013 Edition. Online, survey research procedures and a researcher-generated questionnaire were utilized for data collection purposes. Results indicated that an overwhelming majority of participants believed there to be a relationship between the health of one’s singing voice and the health of one’s speaking voice. Participants’ perception scores were the most positive for variable MBSi, or the degree to which they believe they monitor the vocal behaviors of students when singing. Participants’ perception scores for variable TVB, the degree to which they believe they teach healthy vocal behaviors to students, and variable MBSp, the degree to which they believe they monitor the vocal behaviors of students when speaking, ranked second and third respectively. Perception scores for variable TVB were primarily associated with participants’ familiarity with vocal rehabilitation techniques, gender, and participants’ familiarity with the McClosky Technique. Perception scores for variable MBSi were primarily associated with participants’ familiarity with vocal rehabilitation techniques, gender, type of student taught, and whether participants had instructed a student with a vocal disorder. Perception scores for variable MBSp were correlated with the greatest number of characteristics, including participants’ familiarity with vocal rehabilitation techniques, participants’ familiarity with the McClosky Technique, type of student taught, years of teaching experience, and whether participants had instructed a student with a vocal disorder. The researcher concluded that, while many voice teachers understand the relationship between the health of the speaking voice and the health of the singing voice and use various methods within their private studios to work with injured voices, voice teachers and students may not understand, nor be adequately prepared to prevent and intervene when it comes to issues of the speaking voice. In fact, the researcher concluded that there seems to be a disconnect among teachers and students alike when it comes to teaching and understanding healthy vocal behaviors and applying them to the speaking voice. Multiple resources exist, however, in the form of various certifications, symposiums, and workshops, through which voice teachers may avail themselves of the knowledge necessary to care for the overall health of their students’ speaking and singing voices. Indeed, the voice teacher is obligated to teach well-rounded, healthy vocal behaviors, applying them to both the singing voice and the speaking voice. As medical professionals more frequently reach out to voice teachers, voice teachers will have increased opportunity to assume a more active role on a voice care team. Because so many teachers already implement methods found within the McClosky Technique, if used with understanding and commitment, the Technique could be a means for habilitation, prevention, and intervention on behalf of students suffering from speaking voice disorders within the voice studio. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only. / School of Music

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att undersöka hur fortbildning på ”Complete Vocal Institute”, CVI, påverkar och bidrar till sångpedagogers undervisningssätt. Bakgrundskapitlet ger en kort beskrivning av den fortbildning på ”Complete Vocal Institute” som informanterna i studien har gått. Vidare följer en presentation av komplett sångtekniks (CVT:s) grundare Cathrine Sadolin, hur CVT växte fram samt av metodens innebörd och funktion. Därefter presenteras tidigare forskning inom ämnesområdet och närliggande områden samt studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt.   Studien utgörs av kvalitativa intervjuer med fyra sångpedagoger som fortbildat sig genom CVI:s treåriga utbildning som berättigar till undervisning i CVT. I resultatet presenteras analysen av pedagogernas berättelser kring hur fortbildningen har påverkat och bidragit till deras undervisningssätt. Det framkommer att pedagogerna har tillgodogjort sig flera pedagogiska verktyg och förhållningssätt genom fortbildningen. Bland dessa kan nämnas CVT:s sångtekniska terminologi, olika undervisningssätt samt förhållningssättet att alltid låta undervisningen utgå från elevens smak och motivation. I det avslutande diskussionskapitlet lyfts valda aspekter ur resultatet fram och diskuteras i relation till det sociokulturella perspektivet på lärande samt till tidigare forskning. Aspekter som diskuteras är bland annat pedagogernas berättelser kring verktyget att undervisa utifrån olika undervisningssätt samt det pedagogiska förhållningssättet att ge ansvaret till eleven. / The aim of the present study is to explore how training at Complete Vocal Institute, CVI, affects and contributes to singing teachers way of teaching. The background chapter gives a brief description of the training course at CVI, followed by a presentation of the founder of Complete Song Technique (CVT), Cathrine Sadolin, how the technique evolved and its described meaning and function. Previous research in related fields is presented and the chapter concludes with the socio-cultural perspective, which form the basic understanding of this study. The study consists of four interviews with four singing teachers who have participated in a three-year training course at CVI, to become certified CVT-teachers. The result presents the analysis of the teachers' stories about how this training has influenced and contributed to their teaching methods. It appears that they have gained several educational tools and approaches through CVI including the CVT's vocals technical terminology, different teaching methods and a pedagogical approach to always let the student's taste and motivation constitute the base for learning. The concluding discussion highlights selected aspects of the results, which is discussed in relation to the socio-cultural perspective on learning and previous research. Aspects discussed include the teachers' emphasis on the importance of using five described different techniques as pedagogical tools as well as the approach of giving students responsibility for their learning process.

Throughout childhood, children experience the social semiotic of music in a variety of ways. As they sing, dance, move, and play, they enjoy making and listening to music. Childhood is also a time of immense change. During their early years, children grow and develop at a faster rate than at any other time in their lives, displaying an intense proliferation of ways of knowing about the world. As part of the industrious activity that accompanies this explosion of knowledge, children sing many songs. It is through sensitive investigation of these songs that we can begin to understand what children know about music, and the place that it is afforded in the social milieux within which they participate. Children???s songs have been the focus of investigation for a number of years, with a range of studies reporting on the manner in which they reflect musical development. Several researchers have reported on children???s songs from a developmental perspective, while others have focussed on the social and functional contexts of the songs. These various approaches have established some basic principles concerning the development of children???s musical skills and knowledge. It is accepted that as children mature, they are likely to exhibit changes in their musical understanding and abilities. However, the diverse range of inquiries that have been undertaken, although rigorous, have resulted in fragmented and irresolute information about the manner in which these changes take place. Research into all areas of children???s development has recently undergone a paradigm shift, with current views focussing on the agency of children and their development within a social context. Such perspectives view the acquisition of knowledge as a dynamic process that occurs as children interact with others, and therefore place great importance on a range of environments in which this knowledge gain takes place. This thesis reports on a 3-year longitudinal study of eight preschool-aged children who were attending a long day care centre in Sydney. Regular video-recordings were made of the children???s spontaneous singing during free play, with each child recorded approximately once per month. Camera tapes were examined and all examples of the participants??? singing were transferred to VHS tapes for transcription and analysis. The resulting 443 songs were transcribed using Western notation, and each play episode and associated song then coded for musical aspects such as song type, melodic range and level of temporal organisation, as well as social aspects such as song function and social roles taken on by the children. The notion of social role was informed by Vygotsky???s Zone of Proximal Development. In addition to base data such as the child???s name and the date of the observation, the resultant dataset was transferred to a qualitative software package (NUD???IST) for subsequent analysis and interpretation. Results of the study indicate that the children used songs for specific purposes, and that patterns of musical development were distinctly different for each child. While interacting with their playmates, the children used both explicit and implicit tools to acquire and transmit musical signs. During this process, the status of knowledgeable other was often conferred on a playmate by a less knowledgeable member of the group, and was not solely dependent on chronological age. The results exhibit some congruence with prior studies, especially those for which the social context of music-making was an important consideration. The findings expand previous developmentally-based investigations by showing that conceptions based on a unidirectional model of musical development, closely linked to chronological age, need to be refined to consider the diversity of social contexts and generative processes within which children???s musical cultures can be defined. The current study supports a modular conception of musical development allied with recent social reconstructions of childhood. Some substantiation of previously reported Western musical universals was found in the children???s production of a specific form of chant, and their ability to operate within meaningful musical units such as phrases. The thesis includes a discussion of practical and theoretical implications that arise from the findings. Several implications for the classroom are offered. Among the most important are that children???s musical constructions should be utilised as important components of planned teaching and learning experiences, because they are capable of producing sophisticated music if afforded the opportunity to do so. Careful observation of existing musical knowledge and its incorporation in teachers??? programming will facilitate an efficient and appropriate mode of teaching and learning, based on the needs and interests of the children. As the children were able to scaffold each other in the process of transmitting and acquiring musical knowledge, it appears advantageous to group them in mixed ages for at least some part of the week. However, without some intervention on the part of the teacher, it seems that they would likely rely on a fairly restricted collection of scaffolding behaviours. Additional research is recommended to determine the value of a number of strategies that can be used to meet the musical needs of preschool-aged children beyond the current research site. Indeed, the outcomes of the study question the importance of striving for a unidirectional model of musical development, immersed in the veil of teleology, and suggest that further research be undertaken in the area of children???s songs, which acknowledges the social agency of children, and their roles in their own musical cultures.

The technique of �open throat� is a pedagogical concept transmitted through the oral tradition of singing. This thesis explored the pedagogical perceptions and practices of �open throat� using empirical methodologies to assess technical skill and associated vocal quality. In the first study (Mitchell, Kenny, Ryan, & Davis, 2003), we assessed the degree of consensus amongst singing pedagogues regarding the definition of, and use in the singing studio of the technique called �open throat.� Results indicated that all fifteen pedagogues described �open throat� technique as fundamental to singing training and were positive about the sound quality it achieved, especially in classical singing. It was described as a way of maximising pharyngeal space or abducting the false vocal folds. Hypotheses generated from pedagogical beliefs expressed in this first study were then tested acoustically (Mitchell & Kenny, 2004a, 2004b). Six advanced singing students sang in two conditions: �optimal� (O), using maximal open throat, �sub-optimal� (SO), using reduced open throat and loud sub-optimal (LSO) to control for the effect of loudness. From these recordings, acoustic characteristics of vibrato (Mitchell & Kenny, 2004b) and energy distribution (Mitchell & Kenny, 2004a) were examined. Subsequent investigations of the vibrato parameters of rate, extent and onset, revealed that extent was significantly reduced and onset increased when singers did not use the technique. As inconsistent vibrato is considered indicative of poor singing, it was hypothesized that testing the energy distribution in these singers� voices in each condition would identify the timbral changes associated with open throat. Visual inspection of long term average spectra (LTAS) confirmed differences between O and SO, but conventional measures applied to long term average spectra (LTAS), comparing energy peak height [singing power ratio (SPR)] and peak area [energy ratio (ER)] were not sensitive to the changes identified through visual inspection of the LTAS. These results were not consistent with the vibrato findings and suggest that conventional measures of SPR and ER are not sufficiently sensitive to evaluate LTAS. In the fourth study, fifteen expert listeners consistently and reliably identified the presence of open throat technique with 87% accuracy (Mitchell & Kenny, in press). In the fifth study, LTAS measurements were examined with respect to the perceptual ratings of singers. There was no relationship between perceptual rankings of vocal beauty and acoustic rankings of vocal quality (Kenny & Mitchell, 2004, in press). There is a vast literature of spectral energy definitions of good voice but the studies in this thesis have indicated that current acoustic methods are limited in defining vocal quality. They also suggest that current work in singing has not sufficiently incorporated perceptual ratings and descriptions of sound quality or the relationship between acoustic and perceptual factors with pedagogical practices.

Master of Music / Throughout the 20th Century, female operatic singers in most of the major European opera houses were given “grace days” (where they were not required to sing) in recognition of the effect of hormonal changes on the singing voice. Financial constraints in professional companies have resulted in a reduction of such considerations, but to date, there has been no systematic study of the effects of hormonal fluctuations on the quality of the female singing voice, or of its potential adverse effects on the vocal apparatus for singers who are affected by pre-menstrual syndrome. This study investigated the effects of hormonal fluctuations on young professional female classical singers. Female and male professional singers in training (students) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney, were asked to participate as volunteers in the study by keeping daily diaries. The female singers kept a diary for two separate months beginning on the first day of menstruation, in which they recorded their daily basal temperature, mood, voice state and physical well being. The male control subjects kept daily diaries for one month. Acoustic analysis of two vocal samples taken during the second month, on days 1 and 14 of the cycle, were completed on the six most severely affected female subjects, who were identified through their diary ratings of changes in vocal quality during menstruation. The selected students assessed their own vocal samples, presented in random order, to determine whether they could reliably identify which of their samples were affected by menstruation. Vocal staff at the Conservatorium (pedagogues), who were blind to the purpose of the study, also assessed recordings presented randomly. Results indicated that self-perceived vocal quality varied over the course of the menstrual cycle, particularly during the first seven days of the cycle, that negative changes in mood affected the voice, and that fatigue, effort, hoarseness, weakness & peak performance were the most frequently affected vocal states. A surprising finding was that male self-perceived voice quality also varied over the course of one month of diary keeping. There was no consistent change in direction of scores during menstrual and non-menstrual phases. Five of the six most affected singers correctly identified their performance during menstruation but pedagogues were not consistently able to do so.. These results indicate that perceived quality of the voice through changes in the menstrual cycle may not be as obvious to a highly trained observer even though they were reliably perceived by the singer. This study demonstrates that menstruation has a discernible impact on the self-perception of female singers’ vocal quality and implies that the premenstrual or menstrual female may not feel able to present her peak performance at these times of hormonal fluctuation. Further detailed research in this area may be warranted on a larger scale to elaborate a more precise clinical management of the problem.

Master of Applied Science / The aim of this investigation was to investigate the effects of computer-based visual feedback in the teaching of singing. Pitch accuracy, a readily-measured parameter of the singing voice, was used in this study to gauge changes in singing for groups with and without visual feedback. The study investigated whether the style of feedback affects the amount of learning achieved, and whether the provision of concurrent visual feedback hampers the simultaneous performance of the singing task. The investigation used a baseline–intervention–post-test between-groups design. Participants of all skill levels were randomly assigned to a control group or one of two experimental groups – with all participants given one hour of singing training. At intervention, the two experimental groups were offered one of two different displays of real-time visual feedback on their vocal pitch accuracy, while control participants had a non-interactive display. All sessions were recorded, and the vocal exercise patterns performed at baseline, intervention and post-test phases were acoustically analysed for pitch accuracy. Questionnaires assessed both general health and the amount of singing and music training of all participants; people in the two experimental groups were also given a further questionnaire about the visual feedback. The results indicate that visual feedback improves pitch accuracy in singing. Cognitive load related to the decoding of visual information was a factor at intervention. At post-test, the two groups who had used real-time visual feedback demonstrated marked improvement on their initial pitch accuracy. There was no significant difference between the results of participants from the two experimental groups, although the participants with some background in singing training showed greater improvement using a simpler visual feedback design. The findings suggest that a hybrid approach integrating standard singing teaching practices with real-time visual feedback of aspects of the singing voice may improve learning.

Thesis (Ph.D) -- University of Western Sydney, 2007. / A thesis submitted to the University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, School of Communication Arts, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Includes bibliographical references.