Journal of Research in Music Education

Journal of Research in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to determine whether high and low contrasts of gestural intensity could be demonstrated by undergraduate beginning conductors and, furthermore, whether independent observers could recognize these contrasts. An investigator-developed stimulus videotape, illustrating beginning conductors in 1-minute demonstrations of intensity contrasts, was viewed by graduate and undergraduate music majors, undergraduate nonmusic majors, and high school music students. These subjects (N = 320) labeled each 15-second interval according to perceived contrast of intensity and indicated an overall intensity rating for each conductor. Results indicated a 77% correct response rate. Analysis yielded a significant difference in mean correct response between the graduate group and all other subjects, no significant difference in mean intensity ratings among subjects, and a high degree of reliability among the four experimental groups on overall intensity ratings.

Preservice elementary education majors completed five teaching presentations that included (a) teaching children's songs and music concepts to peers and (b) a preschool field-teaching lesson. Experimental subjects (n = 26) received four training sessions in teacher intensity, which alternated with the five teaching presentations. Control subjects (n = 26) received no instruction in intensity. All videotaped sessions were observed, and teacher behavior was recorded as high intensity or low intensity. Low intensity was further categorized as poor information and/or ineffective delivery.

Analysis of the teaching of three rote songs indicated a significant interaction between teaching task and treatment on accuracy and efficiency of instruction. During preschool field teaching, both groups significantly improved in the delivery aspect of teaching, and control subjects significantly increased the percentage of intervals of high-intensity teaching. Further analysis indicated that experimental subjects incorporated more interactive music activities into presentations than did control subjects.

The relative contributions of measures of academic ability, music experience, and musical aptitude in predicting grades in the written-work, ear-training, sight-singing, and keyboard-harmony components of each of two freshman music theory courses were determined by multiple regression techniques. The best predictor of grades in the written-work component of both semester courses and in the ear-training component of the first semester course was the math portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Measures of music experience and musical aptitude were the best predictors of grades in the sight-singing and keyboard-harmony components of both semester courses and in the ear-training component of the second-semester course. The results of canonical correlation analysis of the first-semester data suggested the presence of one general dimension.

In this study, the author examined the effects of type of practice (physical, mental, I alternating physical/mental, and a motivational control) and aural knowledge of results on improving piano performance. Forty music education and music therapy majors participated in a pretest and posttest experiment using one of eight treatment conditions. The dependent variables were performance time, number of pitch errors, and number of rhythm errors. Results revealed that (a) all three practice conditions had significantly shorter performance times than did the control condition, (b) treatments using physical practice and alternating mental/physical practice yielded significantly shorter performance times than did the mental practice treatment alone, and (c) the physical practice treatment did not differ significantly from the alternating mental/physical practicel treatment in improving performance times. No other statistically significant differences were found among the three practice conditions.

Music appreciation teachers are continuously seeking methods for increasing student involvement with music. In this study, three different music-involvement techniques were compared: visual representation, verbal description, and a control condition. In the visual condition, subjects drew an illustration of the musical activity of a short music selection. In the verbal condition, subjects wrote a paragraph describing the music. In the control condition, subjects listened to the music and mentally followed its movement. All subjects then answered a questionnaire measuring several aspects of responsiveness, such as enjoyment, attention, and understanding. Results were also analyzed on the basis of the subjects' right-hemisphere or left-hemisphere orientation. Overall, there were no differences among the three conditions. There were significant interactions, however, between activity and hemisphere orientation. Right-oriented subjects had the highest appreciation scores in the visual condition, while left-oriented subjects had the highest scores in the verbal condition. The visual condition interfered with mental imagery in left-oriented subjects. Right-hemisphere subjects drew more accurate visual representations than did lefts.

This article describes an investigation of the relationship between apparent time passage and music preference by music and nonmusic majors. Data were gathered from 80 university students. Subjects indicated an apparent time passage and a music preference response for each of eight instrumental popular music selections. Statistical analyses revealed (a) no significant correlation between apparent time passage and music preference measures, (b) no significant difference between the apparent time judgments or preference ratings by music and nonmusic majors, and (c) no significant interaction between level of training and time passage or music preference measures. Significant differences among music selections in apparent time passage and music preference measures (p < .0001) were found for both music and nonmusic majors. There was no significant interaction between music selections and level of training. The homogeneous preference ratings for popular music by music and nonmusic majors and directions for future research in time perception in music are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to assess classroom environments, as measured by the Classroom Environment Scale, Form R (CESR) and as perceived by high school instrumental and choral students and teachers (N = 1,843) in performing ensembles, to determine whether any significant differences existed between CESR subject scores according to musical achievement (contest ratings), status (teacher or student), sex, or type of performing group (instrumental or choral). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in all these areas.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of adult female, adult male, and child vocal modeling on the pitch-matching accuracy of children in Grades 1 through 6. The researcher tested 282 subjects individually on three separate occasions, each time with a different vocal model. Model pitch stimulus and testing conditions were the same on each testing occasion, the only difference being the model voice. Results indicated that vocal modeling had an effect on the subjects' pitch-matching accuracy. There were more correct responses to the child model, followed by the female and the male models, respectively. Incorrect responses were more often flat for the female and male models and more often sharp for the child model. First-grade and sixth-grade subjects sang the highest percentages of incorrect responses for all three models. The highest percentage of flat responses was sung by first-grade subjects.