Journal of Research in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of conductor verbalization, dynamic markings, conductor gesture, and choir dynamic level on individual singers' dynamic responses in music. Singers (N = 144) sang along with nine renditions of a tune while watching a videotape of a conductor, listening to a choir through headphones, and referring to the music. Instructions regarding the dynamic level (soft or loud) were given under four conditions: (a) verbal instructions, (b) written instructions, (c) changes in conducting gesture, and (d) volume changes in the choir. Results indicated that verbal instructions from the conductor elicited significantly stronger dynamic performance responses (alpha = .05) than did the other three instructional conditions. Singers responded significantly better on instructions pertaining to soft singing than they did on instructions relating to loud singing. Comparisons were made between conductors, college singers, and high school singers, and eye contact was also examined.

To examine the changing-voice process, 141 males were interviewed regarding their voice change. Subjects included changing-voice boys (both singers and nonsingers) and men (both singers and nonsingers during time of voice change). Audiotaped interviews were scripted and verbal content analyzed. Results included the following: Boys remembered significantly more about their voice changes than did men. Singers remembered more than nonsingers. Significantly more singers than nonsingers noticed their voice change themselves and indicated that it affected both their singing and speaking. Five of every six interviewees regarded his voice change as a positive experience, but eight times more negative than positive comments were made. Vocabulary was limited to few words and was similar across all groups. Boys used “crack” and men used “break” to describe the sensation; few used musical terminology. Results are discussed in terms of teacher preparation for those working with adolescent boys.

This study was an investigation of the effect that familiarity with a teacher and rehearsal context might have on seventh- and eighth-grade choral students' interpretations of teacher verbal praise. Teachers (N = 4) labeled randomly selected videotaped examples of their praise according to the purpose it was intended to serve. Students (N = 80) viewed 16 brief (30-second) examples of the praise and labeled it as deserved (directed at the performance) or one of three instructional uses (i.e., to encourage, to gain student cooperation, or to send a message to other members of the class). Results showed students across choirs could separate deserved from instructional praise, but in 9 examples, familiarity with a context made a significant difference in labeling praise as deserved and in detecting a specific instructional purpose. Results suggest the importance of further investigations that determine how teachers intend praise to function and how their students interpret its use.

A structured rehearsal hierarchy involving a multiple-baseline design, implemented across six rehearsals, was used to measure performance improvement of seven musical concepts, while an experimental design nested within was used to examine the effect of teacher reinforcement on attentiveness, achievement, and attitude in choral ensembles. Two high school choirs (N = 60) received either task presentations, directions, student performance, and reinforcement (n = 31), or identical instruction with no verbal/facial reinforcement (n = 29). Forty choral performances were evaluated by three expert judges, with individual concepts evaluated using 10-point scales and overall performances evaluated using 100-point scales. Results indicated similar performance gains were made for all excerpts, though less instructional time was needed to teach previously learned concepts in new musical contexts. Performance gains made immediately after instruction were maintained despite the addition of new musical concepts. An 11-day period without instruction resulted in a slight ratings decline, but scores recovered to previous levels quickly. Students receiving feedback had higher performance ratings, recorded a more positive attitude toward rehearsal, and were observed off-task a larger percentage of instructional time than students receiving no feedback, with both groups demonstrating lowest off task percentages during group performance activities.

The purpose of the study was to provide insight into the musical responsiveness of different groups of participants. A listening activity was developed to measure likeability of pre-selected excerpts in different performance media. One-hundred-and-sixty-three subjects, students from Grades 2, 5, 8, 11/12, and trainable mentally handicapped (TMH) students, participated in the study. Students listened to excerpts from Puccini's La Bohème, Haydn's Symphony No. 104, Mozart's Vesperae Solennes, and Hoist's First Suite in E-flat, while simultaneously manipulating a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CBDI) dial. Overlays used with the CRDI dial were developed specifically for the populations tested and included a pictographic scale continuum. Results indicated that (a) second-grade participants rated all excerpts higher than did the other groups, and (b) instrumental music examples were rated higher than vocal music examples. Results concur with findings reported in music preference research literature.

From 1923 until 1942, the Illinois School for the Deaf included in its offerings for its resident boys the opportunity to participate in a brass band. The band was supported by state and private funds throughout its nearly twenty-year existence. It gave students a musical outlet, provided functional music and entertainment for the other resident students as well as community members, and became a symbol of strength and ability among members of the deaf community. Historical reports recount the outstanding quality of the music performed by the boys. While the band received a fair amount of criticism along with a vast amount of praise, it has been lauded as a most successful and meaningful endeavor. Even though the band has been defunct for more than fifty years, some music classes and activities at the Illinois School for the Deaf are still offered to students.

This study is the second in a series examining relationships among faculty, peer, and self-evaluations of applied music end-of-semester performances. At three locations, college and university voice, percussion, woodwind, brass, and stringed instrument instructors rated undergraduate performances. Later, the performers rated the same set of performances (one of which was their own) on videotape. Ranging from .23 to .93, total score faculty interjudge reliability was mixed. Total score interjudge reliability among student (peer) panels was more consistent (.83-. 89). Most category score reliabilities were acceptable, although there was a wide range. Consistent with results of the first investigation, correlations between faculty and peer evaluations generally were high, ranging from .61 (p < .10) to .98 (p < .01). Also consistent with results of the first investigation, self-evaluation correlated poorly with both faculty and peer evaluation. No significant differences in self-evaluation were found among performance concentrations (voice, percussion, etc.) or between preliminary-level (first or second year) and upper-level (third year and beyond) performance status.

This study is an exploration of undergraduate music majors' strategies in two-part dictation. Sixty volunteers received three dictation sessions—two that directed attention to rhythm first or pitch first, and one that was nondirected. The dependent measure, written dictation accuracy, was analyzed by means of separate pitch and rhythm scores. For six counterbalanced groups (n = 10), analysis of variance showed no order effects. A repeated measures MANOVA (accuracy by condition) showed a significant effect for condition (p < .0001). Higher rhythm accuracy occurred in the rhythm-first condition when it was compared to the nondirected (p < .05) and pitch-first (p < .0001) conditions. Pitch accuracy was not affected by condition. Accuracy was unrelated to covariates examined (years of theory and counterpoint study, keyboard skill, and private strategy). Results suggest that in polyphonic dictation, attending to rhythm first and pitch afterwards may be an effective way of maximizing rhythmic accuracy.

School-age students from Grades 2, 5, 8, and 11/12 (N = 112) were asked to listen to a recording of the first movement of Haydn's Symphony No. 104. All subjects were asked to record their perception of “tension ” in the music using a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) dial. As in previous studies of this type (Fredrickson, 1995; Madsen & Fredrickson, 1993), no definition of the term in question was given, allowing subjects to, in essence, create their own definition. Graphic analysis showed that even though the magnitude of group responses varied widely, there are some striking similarities in the timing of major group responses. Pearson correlations between groups ranged from .98 between the fifth and eighth graders to . 71 between the second graders and a population of professional musicians from a previous study who responded to the same musical recording. In general, younger subjects tended to use a wider range of the dial, whereas older and more musically experienced subjects were much more conservative. These results were consistent with results of previous studies and indicated a perceptual consistency regarding an entity that a fairly wide variety of populations define as tension in this piece of music.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between high or low cultural mistrust and the vocal characteristics of African-American adolescent females (N = 44). The vocal characteristics were vocal self identification, singing style, and singing range. The subjects were assigned to high or low cultural mistrust groups based on scores on the Cultural Mistrust Inventory. A researcher-devised vocal self-identification survey provided information about the subjects' vocal self-concepts and acceptance of vocal models. Subjects sang “America” in a key and style of choice for the singing-style measurement. The performances were analyzed for eight style characteristics: bends, glides, breathiness, hoarseness, raspiness, dips, hard attacks, and emphasis of chest voice. Results indicated statistically significant differences between two groups on each vocal characteristic. The high-mistrust group demonstrated more characteristics associated with the African-American culture than did the low-mistrust group.

This study is an examination of string access in American public schools; the researcher sought to determine the actual number of school districts in each state that offered string instruction and at which grade levels. Specific questions posed were (a) What is the current relationship between access to string instruction and school-district location, size, and socioeconomic level? (b) How does access vary by school type—elementary, middle, high school? (c) How does access vary in different regions of the country? Data were obtained for each of the 14,183 school districts listed in the 1994-1995 Market Data Retrieval School Directories. A total of 2,268 districts (15.99%) were identified that offered string instruction. Of these, it was found that 71.42% (N = 1,620) offered string instruction at the elementary school level, 78.52% (N = 1,781) at the middle school level, and 80.15%) (N = 1,818) at the high school level. The findings also indicated that string instruction was offered most often in average-socioeconomic-level, medium-sized, urban districts in the Eastern, North Central, and Northwest Music Educators National Conference divisions, and in average-socioeconomic-level, large, metropolitan districts in the Southern, Southwestern, and Western divisions. String instruction was offered least often in low-socioeconomic-level school districts (N = 100) regardless of location or size.