The predominant purpose of the study was to investigate whether or not there is a relationship between singing intonation and string playing intonation among college level and professional string players in Northern California. For the purpose of this study a convenient sampling method was used to recruit participants according to their availability. Thirty college-level and professional string players from the Bay Area participated in this study (n=30). For the purpose of this study, only violin, viola and cello players have been included. The investigative variables for the study are singing intonation and string playing intonation. Intonation has been assessed. through participants' singing and playing. A computer program, called Melodyne, was used to analyze the recorded performances of the participants and determine the magnitude and direction of deviation for both played and sung pitches. The study included a 15 minute individual task after which subjects' intonation has been assessed in two dimensions: string performance intonation and singing performance intonation~ The participants were assigned an eight-measure singing excerpt adapted from the National Anthem of the United States of America, as well as another eight-measure excerpt designed specifically to assess string performance intonation. The subjects were individually audio-recorded and the audio files were analyzed using Melodyne to determine whether or not there is a relationship between singing intonation and string playing intonation. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient has been calculated to determine the degree of relationship between singing intonation and string playing intonation of the participants.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this case study was to examine musical experiences which may affect student perceptions of self-efficacy in Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory. Four students from a single AP Music Theory class participated in interviews where they discussed experiences in high school music study. Interview topics included ensemble participation in high school, outside-school involvement in musical activities and study, and perceptions of success in the course and preparation for the AP Music Theory examination. Specific research questions addressed in the study were: (1) What course skills addressed in AP Music Theory do students from different musical backgrounds feel most prepared to demonstrate within the context of the AP Music Theory examination? (2) What do student participants from different musical backgrounds cite as specific challenges in AP Music Theory? (3) How do students perceive their own musical backgrounds in relationship to their perceived success in AP Music Theory? Findings suggested that prior musical experiences and a positive, low-stress classroom atmosphere contributed to participants’ confidence completing fundamental performance tasks in AP Music Theory, and that those influences affected participants’ feelings of self-efficacy in the class and on the AP Music Theory examination. Conversely, participants’ application of prior knowledge and previously developed musical skills to more difficult AP-style performance tasks solicited feelings of self-doubt and lower levels of self-efficacy. Implications of this study suggest that teachers of school music ensembles, applied lessons, and AP Music Theory should consider student self-efficacy when designing instruction and planning rehearsals or lessons. Researchers might consider measuring student feelings of self-efficacy in specific performance tasks, and the ways in which teachers can help students to develop self-efficacy in music classes. / Music Education

Syftet med denna studie är att utforska och utveckla min förmåga att sjunga utryckfullt när det ges kort instuderingstid. Ambitionen är att förbereda mig inför ett så kallat sekunda vista-prov där gestaltning av text och musik är i förgrunden. Hur ser processen ut när jag försöker utveckla min förmåga att väva samman text och musik vid ett ge- staltningsprov med kort förberedelsetid? Under sammanlagt 6 veckor övades olika färdigheter rörande sekunda vista, prima vista, gehör, textlig och kroppslig gestaltning. Övningen skedde dagligen med stöd från en egen utformad lista: Träna intervall utan ord, sjunga intervall utan ord men med olika uttryck, sjunga korta melodifraser utan ord med olika uttryck, läsa korta fraser och gestalta texten, sjunga korta fraser och gestalta texten musikaliskt samt med en mobil-app kallad Ella. I slutet av varje vecka spelades en kortare tysk romans in där 40 minuter gavs som förberedelsetid. Roman- sen skulle för mig vara sedan tidigare helt okänd. I sammanfattningen av studiens ge- nomförande kan det konstateras att jag främst lägger fokus på att sjunga rätt toner, att sjunga med god sångteknik och att jag försöker få med ett kroppsligt uttryck vilket då blir på viss bekostnad av det musikaliska uttrycket. / The purpose of this study is to explore and develop my ability to sing expressively when given a short rehearsal time. The ambition is to prepare myself for a so-called secunda vista-test where the performance of text and music is in the spotlight. What does the process look like when I try to develop my ability to weave together text and music with very short preparation time? For a total of 6 weeks, various skills were practiced concerning secunda vista, prima vista, aural training, textual and physical ex- pression. The practice took place daily with the support of a prepared list: Practice intervals without words, sing intervals without words but with different expressions, sing short melodic phrases without words with different expressions, read short phrases and shape the text, sing short phrases, and shape the text musically, and with a mobile app called Ella. At the end of each week a short German lied was recorded where 40 minutes were given as preparation time. The lied was to me completely un- known before. In the summary of the study, it can be identified that my focus is mainly on singing the right notes, singing with good singing technique, and trying to get a physical expression, which then becomes at some expense of the musical expression.

Singing is often used in music therapy sessions. It can provide physiological, psychological, and interpersonal benefits, and music therapists use it to address clinical goals including improved blood oxygenation, emotional expression, and increased interpersonal engagement between clients and their family members. Singing uniquely combines musicality, the body as the instrument, and meaningful words. Furthermore, the voice is a personal instrument, which makes musical engagement accessible to many people. Though singing can provide various benefits, many people experience singing negatively, especially when singing with an exposed voice, i.e., when others can hear their singing voice. Whidden (2015) found that one can easily develop a non-singer identity, i.e., the belief that one is not capable of singing, by hearing a negative comment about one’s singing in childhood. Studies also have found that people can feel vulnerable and embarrassed when singing. It is important to understand how people experience singing, especially with an exposed voice, and how past experiences with singing shape one’s singer identity so that clients can benefit from singing without experiencing unnecessary discomfort. The research questions that guided this study were: What are the experiences of non-musician adults when singing with an exposed voice? How do past experiences with singing shape one’s identity as a singer? A phenomenological design was used with interviews of nine participants who were non-musicians in non-clinical live music experience sessions. The participants joined the researcher in singing a song of their choice and a predetermined well-known song. Five themes emerged including 1) the onset of insecurity; 2) singing together; 3) right here, right now; 4) that’s my song! and 5) I’ve got the music in me. These were each accompanied by song lyrics that capture the meaning. The results show how one’s singer identity and experience of singing in the present moment can be impacted by past experiences and that preferred songs are often emotionally evocative. These findings provide insights for use in music therapy practice, including a simple assessment question to evaluate a client’s singer identity.

In the world of Musical Theatre and Opera, it is not acceptable to simply have a pretty voice; you must be able to portray the character you are singing and ground it in reality. Drama in music theatre was highlighted in the Early Romantic Movement by bel canto composers Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti who re-designed the opera scene format to better tell the story. Late Romantic composers, Puccini and Verdi, took it a step further by writing music to compliment the drama of the story. Twentieth- Century Opera singer Maria Callas is admired for her famous portrayals of title roles in Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini operas. Callas combined bel canto vocal technique with her dramatic, realistic acting in her opera roles and revolutionized the art form. Callas stressed the importance of understanding and interpreting text and music with precision, detail, specifics and artistry. Her techniques set the standard for future aspiring singer/actors. In the 1970’s, Callas lost her ability to sing, so she conducted Master Classes at the Julliard School of Music. Her Master Classes were the inspiration for Tony Award-Winning Playwright Terrence McNally’s biographical play, Master Class. The play, Master Class, shows Callas as an overbearing, intimidating diva instructing opera students. The play also contains several vulnerable flashback monologues that break down the layers of Callas’ harshness. McNally’s script shows Callas as a guarded, domineering, and callous woman; however, when she is singing or talking to her lover, she becomes a vulnerable, exposed, and available woman. iv With research and examination of Callas’ life, operatic career, operatic composers, bel canto technique, and music analysis, I wrote an original script to portray the multi-dimensional Callas in a one-woman show featuring famous arias Callas is known for singing

It is generally recognized and accepted that music is a vital part of a child's education. The Music Educators National Conference stated in "The Child's Bill of Rights in Music": Every child has the right to full and free opportunity to explore and develop his capacities in the field of music in such ways as may bring him happiness and a sense of well-being. It is impossible to deal with all aspects of elementary music education in a single presentation; consequently, this thesis is directed toward a specific need in a particular school district, namely the Vallecito Union School District. In the Vallecito Union School District there is no district-wide plan for classroom music instruction. Music is taught by classroom teachers with little expertise in the field of music. This plan, offering a balanced program with variety, will enable a teacher to present musical concepts to children in five areas of instruction: singing, listening, moving, playing and notation.

Music-based interventions (MBI) may facilitate communication outcomes for people with aphasia (PWA; Cheever et al., 2018; Magee et al., 2017). There are few theory-based, protocolized MBIs for PWA. This study developed a transdisciplinary, theory-based, highly structured improvised singing protocol, the Music enhanced Verb Network Strengthening Treatment (MeVNeST), that is designed to enhance the Verb Network Strengthening Treatment (VNeST) (Edmond, 2016). The feasibility and the preliminary outcomes of MeVNeST were evaluated. The study involved three stages: 1) protocol development; 2) protocol testing; 3) microanalysis. In Stage 1 Standard VNeST procedures were adapted to incorporate music components based on the theoretical premises for music and language in the brain, theories of musical expectation (Lerdahl & Krumhansl, 2007), and two frameworks for music-based intervention protocol development (Robb et al., 2011; Hanson-Abromeit, 2015). The outcome was a preliminary MeVNeST protocol. In Stage 2, two phases were implemented to evaluate the effects of MeVNeST compared with VNeST, and the effect of MeVNeST alone on word retrieval and sentence production. Effect sizes were calculated for probe scores. One participant who received seven weeks of MeVNeST showed improvements in the sentence production score for the VNeST probes of the trained verbs (d=3.22). No changes were observed on the Boston Naming Test, the Verb Naming Test, and the Western Aphasia Battery and the adjective control task. Other participants did not achieve significant changes in word retrieval and sentence production. This indicates the increased duration of MeVNeST in Phase 2 was necessary to produce the desired outcomes. In stage 3, the microanalysis results revealed that patterns of music interaction, called Patterns of Musical Influence (PMI), underpinned how the key musical components in the therapists’ improvised music influenced participants’ improvised singing. Musical strategies named Structuring Strategies and Cueing Strategies clarified the therapists’ musical strategies to facilitate participants’ performance of language tasks that were difficult. The MeVNeST protocol was revised based on the findings. This study suggests that MeVNeST is a feasible treatment approach that warrants further research. Future research is needed to test the MeVNeST protocol with a larger sample, and to optimize the capacity of improvised music to support the structured language task and escalate the generative process in the training of the semantic network. / Music Therapy

No description available.