Journal of Research in Music Education

Sixty instrumental music rehearsals were videotaped to measure the use of rehearsal time by three groups of teachers. Rehearsals were equally divided among those conducted by experienced teachers, novice teachers, and student teachers at the middle and high school levels. Dependent variables included preparation time, initial teacher talk, time in warm-up, time during each musical selection, breaks, final teacher talk, and dismissal. Variables were measured in real time and converted to percentages of class period. The primary variables for teaching activities were time spent in verbal instruction, nonverbal modeling, verbal discipline (disapproval-social), and performance. Findings include: student teachers talked most and allowed students to play least; experienced teachers provided the most break time, divided rehearsal time more equally between a warm-up and two musical selections, spent more than half the period on performance, used the most nonverbal modeling got the ensembles on-task the quickest, and talked the I least during rehearsals.

The purpose of this study was to explore differences in enrollment and retention of instrumental music students between the initial grade level of instruction and Grade 7. Specifically, fifth- and sixth-grade starting levels were examined. Two organizational structures of grade levels were also compared: those that housed Grades 5 and 6 in the same building (unified), and those that housed Grades 5 and 6 in separate buildings (split). Subjects were elementary, middle, and junior high school band directors (N = 45) from Indiana, Ohio, and Virginia. A questionnaire that asked for information pertaining to various stages of enrollment and retention was distributed to directors. Results indicated that initial-year retention was significantly higher in those schools that started training in Grade 5. However, percentages of enrollment and retention were not significantly affected by starting grade or grade-level organization by the time students reached Grade 7.

Public-school band directors completed a survey in which they were asked to rank-order 10 factors according to their contribution to the directors' sense of job satisfaction. Respondents also rated another set of 10 factors on the degree of stress they experienced in conjunction with these factors. Students were reported to be sources of both high satisfaction and high stress. Parental and administrative support were also considered sources of job satisfaction. Spouses were most often chosen as the primary source of support when directors coped with job-related stress. Overall, the data indicated that strong positive interpersonal relationships between directors and students, parents, administrators, and other faculty could increase the level of job satisfaction experienced by public-school band directors.

This study was designed to investigate listeners' preferences for music of other cultures, as determined by 10-point Likert-type scales and by continuous ratings taken throughout the duration of each excerpt with a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI). Music major (n = 75), nonmusic major (n = 75), and junior high school (n = 75) musicians participated. One-third of each groups subjects rated the selections with a Likert-type rating-scale, representing a summative, static response. One-third of each group used a single CRDI dial to continuously show preference throughout the music. The remaining third continuously manipulated two CRDI dials, one to indicate preference and the other complexity. Selections representing the following cultures were included: the Caribbean, Africa, India, and Oceania. Listeners using the continuous measurement responses rated selections significantly higher than did listeners using paper-and-pencil rating scales (p < .05). There was no significant difference in preference between listeners who rated preference only and listeners who rated preference and complexity. There were no significant differences attributable to level of music experience. These results have implications for (1) the way teachers present new material to students, (2) the manner in which teachers structure student feedback, and (3) the technological devices teachers use for music activities.

The relative contributions of measures of musical aptitude, music experience, and sex in predicting grades in a music theory course for nonmusic majors (N = 279) were determined by multiple regression analysis. The only statistically significant predictor was the variable indicating years of performance experience, which accounted for 10% of the variation in theory grades. Although the bivariate correlations between the measures of musical aptitude and music experience were strong, the musical aptitude measures did not contribute significantly to the prediction of theory grades.

The following were investigated in this study: the effect of individual/small-group singing activities used within the traditional large-group setting on kindergartners' use of singing voice and developmental music aptitude; the strength of relationship between tonal aptitude and use of singing voice; the length of time over which instruction is needed to provide significant results. Songs, activities, and games were the same for both the control and treatment groups; however, instruction for the treatment group involved small-group and individual participation in the singing activities. Results showed that the treatment did have an effect on the children's development of use of singing voice, that an entire year of instruction was needed for the treatment to be effective, and that a very small relationship seems to exist between use of singing voice and developmental tonal aptitude.

Voice and music education literature describe vocal stresses associated with vocal music teaching that may jeopardize vocal integrity. The purpose of this investigation was to systematically examine the predictive ability of three factors associated with professional voice use in elementary vocal music teaching to predict scores on a self-rated index of vocal integrity (Voice Conservation Index). Factors were: (a) percentage of life span spent in teaching, (b) a teaching schedule factor, and (c) specific dosimetric measures of classroom noise. Regression analysis results showed a significant relationship between maximum classroom noise level and VCI pathology scores. Recorded maximum noise levels as high as 117 dBA with an average maximum level of 106.1 dBA across all teachers suggest the need for systematic assessment of noise in teaching environments. Given the demonstrated relation of noise level to teachers' perceptions of their vocal health, results also suggest the need for in-service training regarding their vocal use habits and teaching strategies for noisy environments.