Good tone is one of an alto saxophone player's greatest assets and consequently deserves high priority in training and pedagogy. The current pedagogical literature gives little attention to tone production on the saxophone. The mouthpiece is the link between the player and the saxophone. This study examined the effect of the normal mouthpiece pitch and the pitch range produced on the saxophone mouthpiece on alto saxophone tone quality . In this experimental study, recordings were made of forty-three student alto saxophone players who performed tasks consisting of three saxophone mouthpiece exercises and four short musical phrases on the saxophone. The tape recordings were used to provide a spectral analysis of the tone samples by Fast Fourier Transform Analysis, and to allow qualitative analysis by five expert judges. The judges used a saxophone listening profile to provide qualitative evaluation of the recordings. Cluster analysis produced three groups of subjects according to combinations of the mouthpiece pitch and range produced. The mean sustained mouthpiece pitch and mouthpiece range of the groups were: Cluster 1 - 790 Hz and 550 cents; Cluster 2 1023 Hz and 150 cents: and Cluster 3 - 820 Hz and 1203 cents. Analysis of variance was used to test for statistically significant differences between the clusters. Discriminant analysis was used to identify other variables which contributed to the formation of the three clusters. The quantitative analysis of both mouthpiece and saxophone tones provided no insight into the spectra of the student subjects. The qualitative analysis using bipolar descriptors provided valid criteria which could be applied consistently for the analysis of student saxophone tone. A Tonal Index was computed from the judges' ratings in order to test for differences in tone between the clusters. Analysis of variance tests showed significant differences in the tone produced by the clusters on both the mouthpiece and the saxophone. The tone produced by Cluster 3 was significantly different to that produced by Clusters 1 and 2 at the p < .05 level. Discriminant analysis identified the use of saxophone tone models (through comparative critical listening) and small group performance as significant predictor variables (at the p < .05 level) in the formation of the clusters. The results of this study suggest that tone production on the alto saxophone is improved through the development of control on the mouthpiece. It was concluded that routine practice with the mouthpiece can serve in the development of a flexible and responsive embouchure and oral cavity and that students need to develop a mental concept of saxophone tone as part of the development of tone production. Also, experience in small group performance needs to be sought and provided for saxophone students. Finally, this study focussed on an area of mouthpiece behaviour which can easily be included into any instructional design and monitored by teachers.

The aim of this study is to gain insight into how experienced children’s choir conductors work with the development of voices in the elementary school age. The work primarily focuses on aspects of vocal production such as finding and matching pitch, intonation, tone quality, resonance and falsetto singing. Because of the inherent complex nature of singing, the work also to some extent covers other aspects of choir singing such as breath, posture and organisation. Three experienced Swedish choir directors were interviewed with a qualitative method. The results show that the directors’ methods were similar, emphasizing good voice quality of the director, high registry singing, and enhancing listening skills over detailed work with resonance and tone quality. The results also show that the choir directors were coherent with and to some extent relied on the same method literature that forms the backbone of this work. This study brings to light what methods are used by todays children’s choir directors and further underscores the relevance of existing literature. / Uppsatsens syfte är att ge inblick i hur erfarna körledare arbetar med röstutveckling hos barn i lågstadieåldern. De huvudsakliga områden som undersöks är körledarnas arbete med tonträffning, intonation, tonkvalitet, resonans och huvudklang. På grund av körsångens komplexa natur avhandlar arbetet även i viss mån övriga aspekter såsom andning, hållning och organisering av kören. Uppsatsen bygger på material från tre kvalitativa intervjuer med erfarna körledare. Resultatet visar att de tre körledarna använder sig av likartade metoder. Samtliga betonar vikten av att körledaren själv har en god röstkvalitet, att körsången sker i ett högt register anpassat till barnens röster och att körundervisningen bör fokusera på gehörsutveckling snarare än detaljarbete med resonans och tonkvalitet. Resultatet visar även att körledarnas metoder till stor del överensstämde med och i viss mån även utgick ifrån de källor som tas upp i uppsatsens litteraturkapitel. Uppsatsen visar på vilka metoder som används av erfarna barnkörledare och understryker även relevansen av den befintliga litteraturen i ämnet.

The early stage of piano students' training is one of the most important, because it is then that they establish their habits for life. Those who teach beginners need clear principles for developing a solid technical foundation and for preventing bad technical habits. One of the most difficult principles to inculcate in young students is that of tone production and quality. The primary purpose of this study is to provide a pedagogical guide to help piano teachers teach tone production to elementary-level students. To accomplish this purpose, the strategies of the twentieth-century pedagogues Josef Lhévinne, Josef Hofmann, and Heinrich Neuhaus are examined, and applied to the elementary-level piano literature. This study offers practical training suggestions to teachers of elementary piano students as well as musical examples from high-quality piano literature to accompany these suggestions.