Journal of Research in Music Education

Historians are revisionists in that personal and cultural conditioning is automatically reflected in their interpretations. These influences, coupled with conscious efforts to reexamine material, result in revised interpretations from era to era. The fact that phenomena are interpreted differently over time is illustrated by contrasting views of Lowell Mason during his lifetime and our own era. In his day, Mason was criticized as an opportunist who played favorites; today he is criticized for plagiarizing as well as for promoting ersatz Pestalozzianism and colorless music. In the nineteenth century, he was praised as a teacher, a creator of “correct” music, and an advocate of church music. In the twentieth century, Mason is praised for instigating curricular school music. The nature of these views, then versus now, reflects the cultural conditioning and personalities of observers then versus now When we recognize these conscious and unconscious influences upon historical writing, we become more perceptive readers and more insightful writers.

The author investigated the effects of three syllabic recitation systems on skills associated with the ability to read rhythm notation. Subjects were 160 second- and third-grade children enrolled in public schools in southern Maine. Twelve rhythm patterns containing half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes were used. Random combinations of the twelve patterns were combined into complete measures of 4/4 or 6/8. Subjects were tested on their ability to recognize, write, and clap these patterns. Evaluation of these three skills was based on experimenter-designed tests, and a pretest-posttest experimental design was used. Results showed that a syllabic system that differentiated between duple and triple subdivisions of the beat improved recognition skills to a greater degree than one that did not. Furthermore, a system in which specific words were assigned to intact rhythm patterns improved performance and notation skills to a greater degree than did the two systems that used monosyllables.

The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) consistency of terminology used by Japanese and American college students to describe musics of the two cultures; (2) subjects' preferences concerning musics of the two cultures; and (3) relationships between musical experience and preferences. The authors tested 487 nonmusic majors in the United States and Japan using taped materials. The stimuli consisted of 30-second representative excerpts of various Western and Eastern music styles. Subjects were asked to describe the character of each excerpt by selecting one of nine adjectival descriptors and to indicate their preference for the excerpt on a 7-point Likert-type scale. Subjects were in greater agreement on the choice of descriptors for Western than for Eastern music, although one group did not exhibit greater consistency than the other in describing music of its own culture. The greatest between-group differences in preference means were for Eastern examples. Responses indicated an overall preference for Western music by both groups, but Japanese subjects were more receptive to Eastern styles than were American subjects. Western examples were generally “liked” by subjects with supplemental musical experience as well as those with limited musical experience. Formal Eastern styles were generally “disliked” by both experience groups. Subjects with greater musical experience, however, generally employed a wider range of music preference responses.

Motivation of band members was tested by asking them if they had ever challenged for I chair positions and how frequently, if they felt they were correctly placed, what their expected performance level was for 3 months later, what degree of satisfaction and feeling of success they experienced with their current level of performance, and how much they enjoyed playing their instruments. Degree of satisfaction with one's instrument and the factors to which one attributes one's current level of performance were also assessed. Three comparable-size bands (total N = 234) representing urban, suburban, and rural areas completed a questionnaire anonymously. Results supported the hypothesis that if one perceives success and satisfaction with one's current level of performance, one will challenge more and probably attribute that success to internal factors such as effort, natural musical ability, and technical knowledge of the instruments. Failure and lack of satisfaction with one's current level of performance resulted in fewer challenges and external attributions.

Although he is remembered primarily for his work as president of the Music Supervisors National Conference during the mid-1920s, Edgar B. Gordon's most unique contributions were associated with his highly influential but less publicized involvement with radio instruction in music. His pervading social philosophy, nurtured in the Chicago settlement movement and in the community arts activities of Winfield, Kansas, motivated him to participate in perhaps the earliest radio instruction in the nation (1921) as well as to devise materials and teaching techniques that would effectively teach music via radio to approximately one million rural Wisconsin children over a twenty-four year period (1931–1955). The author traces Gordon's professional development, details his radio involvement, and analyzes his instructional techniques and materials.