Showing papers in "Journal of Research in Music Education in 1977"

Elementary student attending behavior as a function of classroom activities

Abstract: This study investigated the extent to which attending behavior (on-task participation) of students in elementary music classes is a function of the activities in which students engage. On-task behavior also was examined for possible relationships with teachers and curriculum. A total of 262 in-class observations of 10 to 20 minutes each were conducted at all grade levels (K-6) taught by 11 elementary music teachers during one academic year. An interval recording technique was used to record the number of students judged to be off-task during a series of 15-second intervals. Symbols representing 11 different activities were placed on the form. Factor analysis produced significantly different levels of off-task behavior relating to activity, teacher, and curriculum. Such activities as playing instruments and singing yielded low levels of off-task behavior; students showed higher off-task levels during periods of “getting ready” for activities and during periods in which teachers and students were interactin...

Relationship of Selected Factors in Trumpet Performance Adjudication Reliability

Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between reliability of music performance, adjudication, judge performance ability, and judge nonperformance music achievement. Thirty-three recent music education graduates rated a series of trumpet performances. Individual judge reliability was calculated and applied music, music history, and music theory academic grades were collected for each of the subjects. In addition, a composite variable labeled “nonperformance music grade” was obtained by averaging each subject's music theory and music history grades. Results of statistical analyses showed: (1) no relationship between judge performing ability and judge reliability, (2) no relationship between judge performing ability and judge nonperformance music achievement, and (3) a statistically significant inverse relationship between judge reliability and judge nonperformance music achievement.

The Effect of Teacher Approval/ Disapproval Ratios on Student Music Selection and Concert Attentiveness:

Abstract: An application of learning theory to the study of music teacher behavior was made in order to obtain evidence regarding student music selection behavior and concert attentiveness as influenced by r...

Physical effects and motor responses to music

Abstract: This article briefly surveys the literature on experiments relating to the physical effects of listening to music, as well as motor responses to music. The various response parameters discussed include heart rate, respiration, galvanic skin resistance, and muscle tension. Motor response to music is discussed as well. Other aspects considered are methodolgical issues, the comparative responsitivity of musical and nonmusical subjects, and the problem of subjective and objective correspondence of response data. Some cautions and directions for future research are discussed briefly.

Discrimination of Tonal Direction on Verbal and Nonverbal Tasks by First Grade Children

Abstract: This study investigated the ability of first grade children to discriminate tonal direction on verbal and nonverbal tasks. The verbal tasks required the children to mark a written word on an answer sheet indicating discrimination between paired tonal patterns, and to give spoken verbal descriptions of the tonal direction of patterns they had played or heard. Children were allowed to use their own vocabulary in their descriptions. The nonverbal tasks required the children to play tonal patterns on resonator bells that matched those played by the investigator. Subjects scored significantly higher on the non-verbal tasks than on the verbal tasks. They scored significatly higher on the written tests than on the spoken tests. Many of these children could perceive differences in tonal patterns and could match directional patterns without being able to verbalize the concept of tonal direction using traditional music terminology.

The Effect of Multiple Discrimination Training on Pitch-Matching Behaviors of Uncertain Singers:

Abstract: This study investigated the effect of multiple discrimination training on vocal pitch-matching and instrumental pitch-matching behaviors, and on the aural music achievement test scores of uncertain singers. Eighty fourth- and fifth-grade students served as the subjects. Multiple discrimination training is a paradigm for concept teaching, during which care is taken to insure that the responses to a concept are controlled by the essential characteristics of the concept rather than by the irrelevant characteristics. The specific multiple discrimination training given to two of the four treatment groups consisted of presenting concept instances in the form of five pitches used as criteria in the pretest while varying the irrelevant characteristics of duration, timbre, and intensity. The procedure for shaping remained constant for all four treatment groups. Each student was reinforced for successive approximations to the correct pitch. Results of this study show that multiple discrimination training, added to ...

A Facet-Factorial Approach to Rating High School Choral Music Performance

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to construct and test a rating scale for the evaluation of high school choral music performance, using a facet-factoria I approach. A scale was developed by collecting descriptions of high school choral performances, transforming them into items, and pairing them with a Likert-type scale. Fifty judges used the scale to rate one hundred high school choral performances. The ratings were factor analyzed and inter-judge reliability estimates were obtained. Two criterion-related studies, using a global performance rating and the NIMAC adjudication scale as criteria, were completed. Seven factors of choral performance were produced by the analysis: diction, precision, dynamics, tone control, tempo, balance/blend, and interpretation/musical effect. Thirty-six criteria (dimensions-items) were selected to form subscales to measure these seven factors. The final scale achieved high inter-judge reliability and high criterion-related validity.

Relationships Between Pitch Memory in Short Melodies and Selected Factors

Abstract: This study investigated relationships between memory for pitch in short melodies and melody length, tonal structure, melodic contour, and music perception ability Results indicated that all these

Effects of Dynamics, Halves of Exercise, and Trial Sequences on Tempo Accuracy

Abstract: Twenty subjects performed a short exercise, containing two dynamic levels, twice. Each subject listened to a metronomic tempo before performing the exercise, which was subsequently timed to the nearest .01 second. Timings were compared to discover the influence of the total sequence of dynamics and trials, the first and second half of the exercise, the first and second trial, and the interaction of the first three factors. Significant differences were produced between the first and second halves of the exercise and between the two trials on the exercises, indicating a tendency for subjects to increase tempo during the performance. The sequence factor and all interactions were nonsignificant, indicating that the total sequence of dynamics did not influence total performance time by subjects and that dynamic levels did not influence total performance time.

Relationships Between Melodic Error Detection, Melodic Dictation, and Melodic Sightsinging

Abstract: This study investigated the competencies of undergraduate music majors in the three aural skills of melodic error detection, melodic dictation, and melodic sightsinging. Three criterion-referenced ...

An Investigation of a Learning Sequence of Music Listening Skills

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible existence of a learning sequence for music listening skills associated with the detection of alterations in timbre, rhythm, melodic pitch p...

Principles and Problems of Music Education

Abstract: A concise statement of the purpose of the book is revealed by the author when he describes his direction as being an attempt to synthesize tile theoretical with the practical approaches to music education. He identifies his basic goals as being (1) to enable the reader to understand the broad principles and theories of learning as they apply to the general problems of music education; (2) to encourage the kind of thoughtful, diagnostic approach to teaching that will enable the reader to improve his or her teaching effectiveness beyond the supervised student-teaching experience; (3) to analyze many tangible examples of teaching strategies and problems that a neophyte teacher is likely to encounter; (4) to enable the teacher to improve his or her teaching success by adopting a problem-solving attitude; and (5) to avoid the consequences of mindless teaching that regard \"methods\" as a cookbook for instant success.

Effectiveness of Simulation Techniques in Teaching Behavior Management

Abstract: This study compared the relative effectiveness of simulated encounters with behavior management problems and the traditional lecture-discussion method in teaching behavior management skills to undergraduate music education majors. More specifically, it investigated whether differential attitude changes, responses to written hypothetical situations, and competencies in handling behavior problems in an actual classroom situation followed simulation treatment procedures, compared to the standard lectures and discussions. Results indicated that both treatments appear to be equally effective. However, when subjects from experimental and control groups were placed in an actual classroom teaching situation, the members of the experimental group functioned more effectively.

Mainstreaming: Needs Assessment Through a Videotape Visual Scale

Abstract: This study set out to develop a videotape scale measuring attitude toward atypical students and their music behavior, and to use this scale to investigate the reactions of college music education and therapy majors to these situations. To accomplish this purpose, a tape containing 26 excerpts portraying individuals involved in music activities was viewed by two groups of subjects. One group (N = 44) viewed the tape using Thurstone ratings in determining the degree to which the musical responses portrayed in each segment were common behavior of the general population. These ratings classified the segments as normal, moderately atypical, or extremely atypical. The same tape was viewed by 83 respondents who indicated their willingness to interact, willingness to work with, or felt capability in working with the individual portrayed in each segment. A six-point Likert scale was used in this procedure. Likert scale responses of the majors were then compared for each category (normal, moderately atypical, extre...

The relationship of selected observational variables to the teaching of singing

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate some observational variables that might contribute to the effective teaching of singing in the elementary general music classroom. The specific problems were (1) the development of an instrument that would satisfactorily describe activities and interaction patterns related to the teaching of singing in the elementary general music classroom, and (2) the investigation of those activities and interaction patterns that related significantly to selected criterion variables defined as a measure of specific teaching of singing. Results indicated the observational instrument included a usable number of variables which were established as consistent and stable. The variables observed on a stable basis were also established as concurrently valid. The effective teaching of singing was related to specific teaching patterns observed in some of the classrooms. These patterns were found to occur in classes in which a larger proportion of students had private musical instruction, the teacher had taught for a longer period of time, and the teacher participated in choral activities outside school.

A Systematic Approach to Aural-Visual Identification Instruction in Music for Young Children:

Abstract: This study investigated the functional nature of a model for aural-visual identification instruction (AVII) to design effective instruction for musical concept development in young children. The pu...

The Influence of Personality Composition in Applied Piano Groups

Abstract: A one-session study of six four-student groups investigated problem-solving and performance in piano as influenced by a judging-perceiving personality preference of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Three group types were formed from the freshman music majors of nonkeyboard concentration: predominately judging, predominately perceiving, and equally mixed The task involved both the harmonization and performance of the melody Groups were scored on two factors of performance: aesthetic-expressive and accurate Group process was evaluated by dividing the sessions into time segments and encoding verbal activity into six problem-solving behaviors As a measure of student perception, each student completed a questionnaire No difference was found in performance results; however, each group type developed its own problem-solving process Significant differences were found in the amount of total verbal activity, specific verbal behavior, and student perception of group process Data suggest the importance of teac

The Tuning of the World

Abstract: technical, or are simply too brief. Type size and writing style often differ, suggesting that the abstracts were written by different people and sometimes compiled rather hurriedly. Some technical errors in spelling and grammar are noticeable. Nevertheless, the monograph is a valuable contribution to students and researchers in music for early childhood. A supplement updating the bibliography for 1973-75 is available for $1.Marvin Greenberg, Professor of Education, Curriculum Research and Development Group,

Perceptions of Role Expectations and Performance of the Music Coordinator

Abstract: The purpose of the study was to examine the general conceptual relationship between role expectations and perceived performance of the music coordinator. Dimensions of these concepts focused on the functional components of: administration (routine and staffing), and program (curriculum/research and evaluation). The design of the study included development of the Role Expectation Behavior-Evidenced Questionnaire (REBE). An independent panel of five music experts each attested to the validity of the content and construct of the items on the final form of the REBE, which was administered to a stratified sample of 153 school districts in New York State having music coordinators. The subjects included the chief school officer, the school board president, the music coordinator, and two randomly selected music staff members from each of the participating school districts.The research instrument proved effective in discriminating among perceptions held for role expectations and job performance of the music coordi...

Measuring Discrimination of Complex Musical Events

Abstract: This study describes the development of a reliable instrument to measure perceptual judgment in listening to large, complex musical compositions. Paired excerpts from existing compositions in a diversity of historical styles were taped and played to a panel of “expert” listeners. Some pairs were identical, some highly similar, some slightly similar, and some extremely different. The panel's codings were sorted for high and low consensus; the revised instrument was administered to university student samples, producing acceptable reliability coefficients. The study concludes that perception, memory, and comparative judgment in listening to complex musical works can be measured with reasonable accuracy by the instrument.

Values and Personalities of Selected High School Choral Music Educators

Abstract: This study of the values and personality traits of high school choral music educators produced descriptive data for analysis and comparison by use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and Rokeach's Value Survey. Diversification on both values and personality among the respondents was extreme. Composite medians of ranked values indicated that intrapersonal values ranked high at the expense of social values. Mean scores for the group were significantly elevated (at the .001 level) on the MMPI for both “hysteria” and “paranoia.” Men were elevated beyond the second standard deviation on “masculinity-femininity,” a scale measuring aesthetic sensitivity. “Ego strength,” “responsibility,” and “maladjustment” also ranked significantly high, while “dependency,” “control,” and “social desirability” ranked low.

The Effects of Pitch Interval on Brainwave Amplitudes

Abstract: Results of analyses from the electroencephalogram (EEG), recorded at the F8-T4 position on the scalp while testing the pitch discrimination ability of fourteen musically trained university students, showed that the EEG amplitude decreased as pitch intervals became smaller. There was no change in the EEG amplitude when comparison pitches were at intervals of a whole step higher or lower from the reference pitch, but change did occur when the interval was diminished to a quarter step. Within the forty-five-second period, during which the reference pitch was to be remembered, no difference was found between the EEG taken in the early seconds of testing as compared with the later part of the test span. Deviations in alpha, theta, and beta frequency bands were more prominent than those in the gamma and delta bands.

Early Childhood Musical Development: A Bibliography of Research Abstracts, 1960–1973

Abstract: s. Each of the more than 75 abstracts summarizes the purposes and procedures of the study and, in many cases, provides the researchs summarizes the purposes and procedures of the study and, in many cases, provides the research findings. Complete bibliographical citations allow the reader to locate the original reference. A synthesis of research findings at the beginning of the monograph summarizes areas of knowledge about music and infants; music perception and response; environmental influences in learning music; vocal and rhythmic abilities of young children; the importance of the affective domain in music reponse; instructing young children in music; materials in music for young children; measurement procedures; music in special education; and implications of the research for music education. This valuable synthesis presents an excellent summary of what is known about music in early childhood. In addition to the abstracts of basic research in the field, the author includes summaries of 18 additional studies that are potentially useful for early childhood teachers or researchers. An appendix includes a list of studies from 1973 to 1975 relating to music in early childhood education. An author and subject index is included. Most of the abstracts in the monograph provide an excellent summary of the research. In some cases, the summaries omit the findings, are too

Johann Gottfried Schmauk: German-American Music Educator

Abstract: German influence was especially strong in the development of nineteenth-century American music education. Some of this influence came from the many German Lutheran parochial schools, churches, and ...

A Multivariate Analysis of Factors in Attitudinal Levels of Wyoming Adults Toward Music

Abstract: The purpose of the study was to determine the degree of relationships among five variables in the previous musical and personal experiences of adults in Wyoming with eleven hierarchical levels of their attitudes concerning music. Multivariate analyses, including canonical correlation, stepwise multiple regression, and a full Pearson correlation matrix, were used to test these relationships in the sample. The research established a strong relationship between hierarchical levels of occupation and attitudinal levels, some evidences of relationship of background learning experience in music to criteria, but minimal relationship of age, sex, and community size to these attitudes.

Review and Survey of MENC Research Training Institutes

Abstract: The Music Education Research Council (MERC), the governing body of the Society for Research in Music Education, has taken the position that providing training in research procedures for MENC is an effective means of stimulating and encouraging growth within the music education profession. In tracing the evolvement of MERC training projects, this review underlines the fact that most participants seem to evaluate the importance of research training primarily as a means to resolve their professional problems. Members of SRME support the notion of research training and are willing to pay for such instruction. The survey indicates that variables such as the members' professional status and formal training are important factors to consider in planning research training workshops. Data gathered in the survey show that members of SRME are of two well-defined populations, each of which has distinctive needs and interests.