Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Music Education; Music; Psychology'

The personality of musicians, artists, and other creative persons is of considerable interest to researchers and educators who seek to identify traits associated with musical behaviors. Personality traits can influence music behaviors such as instrument choice, ensemble choice, practice habits, and musical experience, which may contribute to continued music participation. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships between personality type, music ensemble section, instrument choice (vocal or instrumental), and musical experience in college students and individuals who choose to continue participation after college. Few studies have concentrated on personality characteristics of ensemble members at the collegiate level and after formal education ceases. This is particularly relevant as personality characteristics may not be stable with age. This study examined the following questions: 1) To what extent do personality traits (Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience) relate to ensemble choice (instrumental, vocal no musical ensemble participation) and gender?; and 2) To what extent do personality traits (Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience) relate to ensemble section (e.g., brass, alto voice)? Participants were given a survey containing demographic questions and the Big Five Personality Inventory IPIP (Goldberg, 1992). Results showed that vocalists scored higher in Extroversion and Agreeableness compared to instrumentalists, and Instrumentalists scored higher in Neuroticism than vocalists. These results are consistent with previous research findings. This study has many implications for ensemble directors, such as rehearsal structure and repertoire choice. Music educators could also benefit from this knowledge when developing lesson plans and group assignments. Understanding different personality traits would also help ensemble members with communication within the ensemble.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of critical thinking instruction on the music listening skills of fifth grade students as measured by written responses to music listening examples. It was hypothesized that music listening instruction including opportunities for critical thinking (Critical Thinking Instruction, CTI) would be more effective than parallel instruction without critical thinking instruction (Activity-Based Instruction, ABI). CTI consisted of four components: musical terms and concepts, repeated music listening examples, responding activities, and opportunities for critical thinking. In contrast, ABI consisted of three components: musical terms and concepts, repeated music listening examples, and responding activities; ABI did not include opportunities for critical thinking. Both CTI and ABI treatments were taught concurrently by the same music teacher at the same school in a series of sixteen (16) forty-five (45) minute lessons. Two intact classes of subjects were randomly assigned to the CTI and the ABI treatment groups (n = 41 and 40, respectively). "Thinking and Listening," a researcher-designed dependent measure, was administered as a pretest and a posttest. Subjects' written responses were classified into three categories (i.e. musical, affective, or associative) and scored by three independent judges. Additionally, the Musical Aptitude Profile (Gordon, 1967/1995) was administered as a covariate. Significant disordinal interaction effects in subjects' responses by test by treatment were found such that CTI subjects demonstrated greater gains in musical term, associative, and total response scores from pretest to posttest than did ABI subjects. Additionally, significant main effect differences between treatment groups were found such that CTI subjects demonstrated higher musical term, affective, associative, and total response scores than did ABI subjects. Significant main effect within group differences were also found such that CTI subjects demonstrated significantly higher musical term, affective, associative, and total response scores on the posttest as compared to the pretest, while no significant main effect differences were found in ABI subjects' response scores. The positive effects of the CTI treatment, however, should be interpreted with caution based on larger than expected standard deviations and departures from normal distributions. Implications include designing music listening instruction to incorporate critical thinking skills.

The present study is a comparison of music and non-music students with respect to their response patterns on the Brief Symptom Inventory as well as several demographic questions. The sample consisted of 148 non-music students and 141 music students at three levels: (1) freshmen/sophomore; (2) juniors/seniors; and (3) graduate students. Music students consisted of volunteers from several different music classes and non-music students were volunteers from non-music classes. There were no significant differences found among or between groups for the BSI subscales. However, music students were significantly less likely to have gone to counseling in the past and to seek professional counseling for future problems. Recommendations for psycho-educational interventions with musicians are discussed as well as suggestions for future research.

The purpose of this study was to examine Japanese high school students' motivation in band as it relates to the gender of the band director and the student. A total of 790 band students from 20 Japanese high schools (10 male and 10 female band directors) completed a modified version of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS). The scale is based on Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory and was modified from the original so it could be used with Japanese music students. It consists of 28 items describing why students play in a band. The students indicated a level of agreement for each reason according to 7-points on a Likert-type scale. Reasons were categorized into three types intrinsic motivation, three types of extrinsic motivation, and amotivation. The score of JAMSM was used as parametric data and analyzed using a two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to find any significant (p < .05) main effects or interactions among variables when compared by gender of the director and gender of the student. The results of the study showed that there were no significant differences (p < .05) by gender of band directors for all of the motivational types. This result indicates the female band directors are as effective as male band directors in terms of motivating students to play in a band. Additional findings include (1) male students seem to be more extrinsically motivated than are female students, (2) friend related reasons and fondness for music and/or instruments are important reasons for students to play in a band, (3) public school students seem to be more intrinsically motivated than private school students whereas private school students seem to be more extrinsically motivated than public school students. Implications for music education and further research are discussed.

The purpose of the study was to investigate freshman music students' identification with expected tasks in music theory class including aural, written, and performance requirements. The second research problem compared students' descriptions with actions in class to determine the presence of role taking (the conscious adherence to a set of behaviors) or role playing (the unconscious assumption of a set of behaviors).

AbstractThis research sought to translate three standardized assessment measures of phonological processing known to be related to text reading, into experimental tasks that measure music processing. The primary aim of this thesis was to ascertain the relationship between these musically-adapted tasks and sight-reading performance in music. A broader goal was to explore and compare task performance across text and music, thereby informing a larger issue in cognitive and educational psychology: the relationship between music and language. In this manuscript-based thesis, there are six chapters, including three manuscripts (one previously published) that contribute to these goals. The first manuscript, published in the journal Music Perception, is a 26-year review of the field of music perception and cognition. The categorical and bibliometric analysis sought to document the longitudinal course of empirical studies in the journal Music Perception, by examining 384 empirical articles, as well as the full set of 578 articles, published between 1983 and 2010. The review suggested that only 9% of music perception studies use any assessment measures (mostly standardized tests, but also measures of musical ability). An increase over time in the use of assessment measures (ß = .40, p < .05) as data collection instruments was observed. It was thus inferred that the development of tasks which measure musical ability would be important to the continued advancement of psychometrics in the field of music perception and cognition. The second and third manuscripts were devoted to designing measures of music processing based on standardized tests of text reading. The objective was to search for relationships between the language and music tasks themselves, as well as testing their capacity to predict errors in musical sight-reading (SR) performance. In other words, an investigation of whether musically-adapted tasks, initially developed specifically for the assessment of text reading, would be significant predictors of SR performance. The second manuscript explored the effectiveness of the Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) task in predicting SR by testing 41 participants: pianists aged 18 to 36. For all RAN tasks, response times (interonset intervals of vocal responses) were used to predict errors in sight reading performance of piano music. Correlational analyses revealed several significant associations between performance on standard RAN and music RAN tasks. Regression analyses revealed that the RAN letter task was the most consistent predictor of SR, with music RAN tasks adding additional explanatory power to the model. These findings suggested that processing specific to musical symbols may underlie aspects of SR performance, but that an already existing standardized task typically used for text reading could be more useful in predicting SR ability. The third manuscript reports an experiment in which musical tasks were designed to mirror two phonological awareness tasks from the "Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing" (CTOPP), Elision and Blending Words. Participants were 25 pianists, aged 18 to 53. Regression analyses revealed the importance of music training and working memory in SR, and showed that performance on a musical blending task was important to the prediction of SR performance in certain cases.
RésuméCette recherche a tenté de traduire trois mesures d'évaluation normalisées d'habiletés de traitement phonologique liés à la lecture du texte, en tâches expérimentales mesurant le traitement de musique. L'objectif principal de cette thèse était de déterminer la relation entre ces tâches adaptées musicalement et la lecture à vue musicale. Un objectif plus large était d'explorer et de comparer la performance des tâches dans le texte et la musique, élucidant ainsi une question plus vaste de la psychologie cognitive et éducative: la relation entre la musique et la langue. Cette thèse comprend six chapitres, et trois manuscits (un publié) qui contribuent à ces objectifs. Le premier manuscrit, publié dans la revue Music Perception, est une analyse de 26 ans de littérature dans domaine de la perception et de la cognition musicale. L'analyse bibliométrique et catégorique a cherché à documenter l'évolution longitudinale des études empiriques dans la publication Music Perception, en examinant 384 articles empiriques, ainsi que l'ensemble complet des 578 articles publiés entre 1983 et 2010. L'analyse suggère que seulement 9% des études sur la perception de la musique utilisent des mesures d'évaluation (essentiellement des essais normalisés, mais aussi des mesures de la capacité musicale). J'ai observé une augmentation au fil du temps dans l'utilisation des mesures d'évaluation (ß = .40, p < .05) comme des instruments de collecte de données. Par conséquent, j'ai déduit que le développement de tâches qui mesurent la capacité musicale était considéré important pour l'avancement continu de la psychométrie dans le domaine de la perception et la cognition de la musique. Les deuxième et troisième manuscrits ont été consacrés à l'élaboration de mesures de traitement de la musique basés sur des tests standardisés de lecture de texte. L'objectif était de chercher les relations entre les tâches langagières et musicales elles-mêmes, ainsi que de tester leur capacité à prédire des erreurs dans la lecture à vue musicale. Autrement dit, j'ai examiné si les tâches musicales, initialement développées spécifiquement pour l'évaluation de la lecture du texte, seraient des prédicteurs significatifs de la lecture à vue. Le second manuscrit a exploré l'efficacité de la tâche Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) dans la prédiction de la lecture à vue en testant 41 participants: des pianistes âgés de 18 à 36 ans. Pour toutes les tâches RAN, le temps de réponse (intervalles "interonset" de réponses vocales) a été utilisé pour prédire des erreurs dans la lecture à vue des performances de musique pour piano. Les analyses de corrélation ont révélé plusieurs associations significatives entre les performances sur les RAN standards et les RAN musicaux. Les analyses de regression ont révélé un modèle dans lequel la tâche RAN lettre était le prédicteur le plus constant de la lecture à vue, avec une des tâches RAN musique ajoutant un pouvoir explicatif au modèle. Ces résultats suggèrent que le traitement spécifique des symboles musicaux peuvent sous-tendre les aspects de la performance de la lecture à vue, mais aussi qu'une tâche déjà existante normalisée généralement utilisée pour la lecture du texte pourrait être plus utile pour prédire la capacité de la lecture à vue. Le troisième manuscrit présente une expérience où des tâches musicales ont été conçues pour refléter deux tâches de conscience phonologique comprises dans le "Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing", Elision et Blending Words. Les participants étaient 25 pianistes, âgés de 18 à 53 ans. Les analyses de régression ont révélé l'importance de la formation musicale et de la mémoire de travail dans la lecture à vue et ont montré que la performance sur une tâche musicale était importante pour la prédiction de performance musicale dans certains cas.

Critical topics of teaching music continue to undergo philosophical evolution as unique concepts and perspectives are introduced by a variety of experts both in and out of the field. One concern among many is the role of the secondary music educator in the ideal classroom for student learning, part of which is impacted by teacher-student rapport. Teacher-student rapport is defined in this paper by the author as an adaptation of the general definition of rapport by Carey et al. (1986a): the quality of relationship between teacher and student that is characterized by communication and mutual, emotional understanding. The following questions were explored through content analysis of an education practitioner journal as well as literary analysis: how are teacher-student rapport-building strategies informed by the behaviorist, cognitivist, constructivist, and humanist schools of psychology; how can the information garnered from a literary analysis guide the transformation of teacher disposition policy; what are best practice techniques for teachers to build rapport in the secondary instrumental ensemble as implied by the data? It is with the data and discussion of this study that the author hopes to support teachers’ positive rapport-building efforts with students in the secondary instrumental classroom through the avenues of immediate classroom application, and policy transformation.

Data reveals that articles in the Journal of Educational Psychology examining positive rapport-building elements most comprehensively cite principles of the constructivist school, and the top three cited psychologists are Albert Bandura, Abraham Maslow, and Jean Piaget. Recommendations for teacher disposition policy transformation are suggested to help preservice teachers cultivate positive rapport-building practice, and they include standards for promoting socio-cultural investment, positive expression, student discourse recognition, reflective practice, empathy, and effective communication. Examples of potential applications in the secondary instrumental music classroom include, but are not limited to, engaging in students’ referential (Reimer, 2010) connections to rehearsed repertoire and permitting exploration of expressive interpretation of said connections; consistently raising standards of musicianship and community in response to achievement through promotion of reflective processes and demonstrations of exemplary performance; recognizing and utilizing students’ abilities to think critically and abstractly about the expression and artistic merit of class repertoire. Other implications of best practice are refined from Bandura’s (1986) self-efficacy, Maslow’s (1943 & 1971) hierarchy of needs, and Piaget’s (1952) schema and genetic epistemology theories. Finally, potential operations in chamber music are presented in relation to constructivist principles.

Music performance anxiety (MPA) is reported in musicians of all experience, levels, and genre. However, solo classical musicians report MPA more often and at higher levels than performers in other genres because of its formal culture and traditional structure. Within solo classical musicians, collegiate training greatly differs between conservatories that award a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) and liberal arts institutions that award a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.). In 2 studies, the proposed research examines the differences in general anxiety, MPA, and private lesson content between these two groups. Participants will be from the two groups of types of collegiate music students. In Study 1, participants will take the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI), and a Personal and Musical Background Questionnaire (PMBQ) at 3 times intervals before a public, solo performance in order to assess general connections between anxiety and MPA. In Study 2, participants will partake in weekly session of 1 of 3 interventions (meditation, journal entry, and biofeedback training) in order to determine an effective method for preventing and coping with MPA. Proposed results suggest higher levels of general anxiety and MPA in conservatory music students and lower levels of MPA in participants who undergo biofeedback training. Individuals who report learning about MPA strategies in their lessons will have lower levels of MPA, suggesting the need to consistently address MPA in classical music pedagogy.

This qualitative study explored a university teacher's approach to incorporating music in a Cognition psychology course. Data sources included participant interviews, professor interviews, and field notes. The study was guided by three main research questions: How is music integrated into a higher education Cognition psychology course? How do students perceive the role music plays in the course? What does the professor do in the classroom and how does he explain what he does? Constant comparison analysis of the participant interviews revealed three major themes, each comprising patterns that ran through the data. Under the theme “Connecting With Students,” the patterns were: establishing a personable atmosphere; showing empathy to students; facilitating student involvement; and tapping into student culture with music. The patterns under the “Optimizing Learning” theme were: enticing students with passion; reducing exam tension; and clarifying concepts dynamically. The “Creating Salient Moments” theme contained two patterns: holding attention (with music and humour) and triggering memory (with music and humour). Data analysis also involved the writing of musical memos, a musical way to represent data that served to highlight the essence of a pattern, create holistic representations that drew from the different data sources, and represent the data in an embodied way. To contextualize the participant themes, the analysis of the field notes produced vignettes, which were detailed aggregated descriptions of typical classroom events. Using the analogy of “Teaching as Improvisational Performance,” this study explores the notion that a constructivist teacher is essentially an improvisational performer. Although the research site was a large university classroom with almost 600 students, the analysis of the data revealed that the professor was able to implement constructivist principles in his teaching. The study concluded that teachers need preparation and support to develop improvisation skills to deliver a constructivist teaching approach, particularly in large classrooms. Future research should explore the links between constructivist teaching, performing, and improvising as well as the implications for pedagogy and teacher preparation.
Cette étude qualitative explore l'approche d'un professeur d'université qui a incorporé la musique dans un cours de psychologie cognitive. Les sources incluent des entrevues avec des participants, des professeurs et des notes d'observations sur le terrain. L'étude a été alimentée par trois questions de recherche principales: comment la musique s'intègre-t-elle dans un cours de psychologie cognitive? Comment les étudiants perçoivent-ils le rôle que la musique joue dans le cours? Qu'est que le professeur fait dans la classe et comment l'explique-t-il?Une analyse constante et comparative des entrevues des participants a révélé trois thèmes majeurs qui comprennent chacun des éléments saillants qui ont été identifiés à travers les données compilées. Sous le thème « entrer en relation avec les étudiants », les éléments saillants étaient: établir une atmosphère personnalisée; démontrer de l'empathie pour les étudiants; faciliter l'implication des étudiants et entrer dans leur culture à l'aide de la musique. Les éléments saillants sous le thème « Apprentissage optimisé » étaient: captiver les étudiants avec passion; réduire la tension des examens et clarifier les concepts de façon dynamique. Le thème « créer des moments marquants » comprend deux éléments saillants: soutenir l'attention (avec la musique et l'humour) et déclencher la mémoire (avec la musique et l'humour). L'analyse des données a également impliqué l'écriture de « mémos musicaux » dans le but de représenter les données qui ont servi à exposer la composition d'un élément saillant de manière concrète et à créer des représentations holistiques issues de différentes sources. Afin de contextualiser les thèmes des participants, l'analyse des notes d'observation a produit des fiches qui sont en fait des descriptions détaillées d'évènements typiques qui peuvent se produire en classe. En utilisant l'analogie « enseigner à la manière d'une performance improvisée », cette étude explore la notion qu'un enseignant constructiviste est essentiellement un improvisateur. Même si le site où s'est conduite la recherche était une grande salle d'université de 600 élèves, l'analyse des données a révélé que le professeur demeure en mesure d'implanter des principes constructivistes dans son enseignement. L'étude conclut que les enseignants nécessitent de la formation et du soutien pour développer des notions d'improvisation afin d'utiliser une approche constructiviste, et ce, particulièrement dans une grande classe. De futures recherches devraient explorer les liens entre l'enseignement constructiviste, l'enseignement-spectacle, l'improvisation ainsi que leurs implications dans la pédagogie et dans la formation des maîtres.

Music performance anxiety is an issue that affects musicians at all levels but can begin in early adolescence. The researcher investigated three variables and their ability to predict music performance anxiety: catastrophization, self-regulation, and goal-setting style. Catastrophization is a negative thought that amplifies perceived criticism. Self-regulation is a metacognitive skill that allows students to plan strategies and evaluate learning. Goal-setting style refers to a student's framework when establishing learning objectives – whether they are focused on mastering the subject matter, or only trying to avoid being the worst in the class. A sample of adolescent wind musicians (n = 68) were administered four self-reporting measures for the predictor variables and music performance anxiety. Catastrophization, self-regulation, and goal-setting style were all statistically significant in predictor music performance anxiety, with catastrophization alone explaining 69% of the variance in the predictor variable. Overall, the whole model was able to explain 46% of the variance in music performance anxiety.

This quasi-experimental research study examined the cognitive effects of background music used with middle school students during mathematics classes and mathematics testing. Eight schools, nine teachers, 23 classes, and 302 students participated in the project. A series of five compact discs of Mozart selections, a specifically selected composite of 12 CD albums, was used over a period of 10 class days and one testing day. The tests were teacher-designed for use during the regular regimen of testing for their specific classes. The conditions of music and no-music were reversed so students were their own controls. Results showed a nonstatistical gain overall; however, sixth grade females had a net music gain that superseded all other male and female groupings. In addition, an incremental gain was found with those who had played instruments. Other gains/losses were noted for these conditions: if students liked or did not like background music during classes and testing, if they liked or did not like listening to music while doing homework, if they liked singing or not, and whether they felt that the music was a help or hindrance to their attention, concentration, and/or distraction. The students' perspectives concerning the quasi-experiment were reported as supplemental qualitative data which included impressions about the experiment, opinions about the experience they had, and suggestions for future experiments.

What is musical improvisation and what can we say of its effect upon musicians, listeners, and the world? This paper explores the relations between Jungian psychology, chaos theory, and pure musical improvisation, positing that the unconscious dynamics of the psyche, as well as the process and content of musical improvisation, are both examples of chaotic dynamical systems. The paper goes on to present the potential implications of such. By drawing upon psychological insights into symbology, the implications of the advancement of chaos theory, and the experiences and thoughts of various musical improvisors, this paper seeks to elucidate and further the study and practice of musical improvisation in the world.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the sources of variation in music preferences as defined by Leblanc (1980, 1982), provide a comprehensive review of literature as it relates to the variables under investigation, and make recommendations for future research in the field of music preference. Participants (N=420) were undergraduate students (n=354) at a large southeastern university and high school students (n=66) in the southeastern United States. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic information and data for this study. Using a Semantic differential, participants to indicated the influence of twenty-one variables on their musical preferences and an open-ended question at the end allowed them to mark any important influences that may have been left off of the questionnaire. Using demographic information participants were placed in unmatched groups for comparison.

Results showed stark differences between the groups' responses of certain variables. The most salient of comparisons was made between the groups of Music Major and Non-Music Major, and Musician and Non-Musician. The Music Major and Musician groups rated the variables of Teachers, Quality, Musical Ability, and Musical Training significantly higher. This may be due to the groups' development as musicians, creating a paradigm of influence that is based on musician-oriented variables. Alternately, Non-Music Majors and Non Musicians rated the variables of Mood, Personality, and Incidental Conditioning higher. Unlike the musician-centric paradigm, these groups seemed to base influences on self, social interaction, and emotion. Future research should investigate the relationship of the hierarchy of influential variables between the population of Musician and Non Musician.

This thesis examines the impact of music on people from a depth-psychological perspective and explores how music can deeply touch and change clients’ lives and allow for healing. In so doing, this thesis will contribute to increased understanding of the need for music therapeutically. Utilizing qualitative methodology and a hermeneutic approach, this thesis considers the significant impact of music on the body, brain, mind, spirituality, and emotions, and examines how music can be used as a healing power. The research question guiding this thesis is: How can music be used in a client’s therapeutic process to allow for the needed healing? The results explain what music therapy is and how it is used therapeutically, and how it promotes healing while bringing a greater understanding and appreciation for music therapy.

Alternative education students face many interacting challenges that put them at significant risk of dropping out of school (Carver & Lewis, 2010), as well as deleterious health and psychological outcomes, and intergenerational cycles of sociopolitical disadvantage (Laird, Kienzel, Debell & Chapman, 2007). Despite the persistent national epidemic of school dropout, few studies have investigated treatments for alternative education students, often characterized as “difficult to reach” given the chronic substance abuse, low motivation, and poor attendance typical of this population (Rumberger & Lim, 2008).

This study investigated the effectiveness of a novel music therapy intervention, Recorded Music Expressive Arts (RMEA), with alternative education students. The purpose of RMEA in this context was to engage students in a potentially motivating, culturally relevant treatment that satisfies identified provisions to ameliorate dropout (Kim & Taylor, 2008). RMEA employs narrative therapy concepts as a framework for treatment, and integrates songwriting, music production, and recording into psychotherapy. Through the song-creation process, participants were encouraged to “tell their story” to re-author problem-saturated personal narratives and discover more self-affirming ways of being (White & Epston, 1990).

Participants were 10 adolescent boys, age 14–18, attending an alternative education school in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ten 60-minute individual RMEA sessions were delivered twice weekly over 7–19 weeks. Pre/post data was analyzed using Vargha-Delaney’s A. Large effect sizes were found for a) coping (problem focused engagement, cognitive restructuring, problem solving, and emotional expression); b) substance misuse (decreased marijuana use) and co-occurring psychological disturbances (decreased school and behavior problems); c) increased contemplation and action readiness to respond to intervention; d) behavior (decreased internalizing, behavior, learning problems, and suspension rates); and e) attendance (increased attendance for RMEA sessions and days on which RMEA was delivered). Overall, the results indicate that RMEA is a viable and effective treatment for alternative education high school students. Analysis of participant interviews and song content further support results, as well as RMEAs proposed therapeutic mechanisms of action, including narrative therapy concepts. Findings highlight the need for replication studies with larger sample sizes, inclusion of adolescent girls, and other alternative education school settings.

The purpose of this heuristic study was to explore and describe conservatory-trained violin performance major students' perceptions of their lived experience in violin learning from childhood to the music schools in New York City. The seven participants were undergraduate, graduate-level violin major students selected from the three major music schools in New York City. The primary data was collected via face-to-face audiotaped interviews, which became the narrative data.

The first question addressed students' perceptions of one-to-one violin instruction regarding expectations and values. The findings suggested that (1) autonomous thinking, boosted confidence, and transcultural learning were invaluable gains from instruction; (2) a reciprocal relationship existed between the amount of new ideas gained and one's performance outcome in lessons, which connoted students' recognition of self-responsibility in determining the quality of lessons; and (3) an ideal teacher encourages independent thinking, provides honest feedback, and respects students' individuality.

The second question asked students' perceptions toward power relationship and degree of autonomy in decision-making. The findings suggested that (1) interpretive demands seemed to cause a stronger impact to student-autonomy when compared to repertoire and technique-related demands; and (2) students adopted different reactive patterns and conflict management strategies to deal with conflicts and power struggle in the violin studio.

The third question explored students' perceptions toward the helpfulness of other courses to violin performance. The findings suggested that while all students were adept at independent learning, some students reported music theory/history courses were helpful in empowering interpretive/performance autonomy.

The last question investigated students' perceptions toward the interrelationships among self, music, violin performance, and culture. The findings suggested that (1) students' self-concept of ability in violin playing might be correlated with degree of autonomy and self-perceived technical competency; (2) the meaning of violin performance was to attain self-fulfillment in two domains: personal and social; and (3) performance autonomy might be circumscribed by socio-cultural expectation and economic condition.

This study implies that students' continued participation in violin learning might be influenced by economic concern, competitive environment, and self-concept of ability in violin playing. Violin teachers may need to help students maintain a sound professional development.

As rapid demographic change transforms American classrooms, incongruities between the ways culturally diverse students are accustomed to learning and those emphasized in educational institutions can present barriers to learning. This study investigated culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), a teaching approach that seeks to ameliorate such incongruities by basing instruction upon students' cultural knowledge, frames of reference, and preferred learning, communication, and performance styles (Gay, 2002). To complement studies that examine teachers' perceptions of CRP, this study sought to illuminate student perspectives. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to explore adolescent choral students' perceptions of culturally responsive teaching in an urban community children's choir. Research questions focused on how students perceived their choir experiences to be informed by cultural diversity, the barriers to CRP they identified, and how CRP influenced relationships between students' musical and cultural identities.

A multiple embedded case study design was used to investigate students' perceptions of CRP as practiced in three demographically contrasting choirs within an urban children's choir organization. Within each choir site, one teacher and three student participants framed the analysis. Data generation methods included semi-structured interviews, ethnographic field notes, autobiographical notes, and collection of material culture.

Students perceived their choral instruction to be culturally responsive in that their classroom experiences promoted understanding and appreciation of their own cultures while broadening their cultural, musical, and intellectual horizons. They identified three barriers to CRP: educators' lack of comfort teaching diverse music, the complexity of students' cultural identities, and the challenges involved in practicing CRP equitably given constraints on instructional time. In one site, experiences with diverse music were peripheral to a Eurocentric core curriculum and did not promote connections between students' musical and cultural identities. There, the discourses associated with Western classical singing defined students' identities and alienated some students from the belief that they were musicians. Two sites incorporated a greater range of discourse norms associated with singing diverse musics and featured greater responsiveness toward the cultural backgrounds of particular students. In those sites, CRP fostered intersections between students' musical and cultural identities by meaningfully bridging their musical experiences inside and outside of the classroom.

A study was designed to assess the effect of headphone music on running performance and enjoyment with its implications for increasing exercise compliance. A counterbalanced split-plot design was used with 18 University of the Pacific undergraduates receiving both treatment conditions: running with music and running without music. Measures included: (a) perceived enjoyment questionnaire scores; (b) running time; and (c) heart rate. It was expected that music would increase participants' rated running enjoyment, amount of time spent running, and also running intensity or heart rate, in comparison to running without music. Music significantly increased participants' rated enjoyment scores but not running time or heart rate. A tendency for participants to run longer when they rated the run as more enjoyable was also observed although the obtained Pearson r was not significant at the p = .05 level.

Stress in music performance shows an intrinsic relationship with changes in cardiovascular functioning and emotions, yet to date, studies analysing these stress indicators are few and far between. The overarching aim of this thesis is therefore to investigate performance stress through the lens of both self-reported anxiety and physical stress signatures in heart rate variability. For rigour, this is achieved through a close examination of the relationship between stress and structural complexity of heart rate variability in response to different conditions musicians underwent: (1) a low- and high-stress performance and (2) a simulated performance environment. In my thesis I approached the problem in a comprehensive way and investigated five Studies. Studies 1 and 2 (Chapters 3 and 4) employ new heart rate variability methods to analyse physical stress. Study 3 (Chapter 5) compares heart rate variability responses before and during a performance in a simulated and a real-life performance environment; Study 4 (Chapter 6) qualitatively addresses further enhancements related to simulated performance environments. Study 5 (Chapter 7) examines heart rate variability responses to simulated performance feedback of different emotional valence. Results provide conclusive evidence that musicians performing in high-stress conditions display lower levels of structural complexity in the heart rate variability (signature of high stress), in particular prior to the performance, and a statistically significant elevation of subjective anxiety. The findings show that both simulated and real performance scenarios create similar physical and emotional responses. Interviews with musicians reveal the benefits of simulations in combination with complementary training methods. More immediate follow-up research may focus on heart rate variability responses to other training strategies, such as Alexander Technique and physical exercise; use a greater selection of standardised self-assessments; and evaluate musicians experiencing severe performance stress, for which this thesis has paved the way.

Throughout human history, music has served as a coping mechanism when people have endured extreme hardships in life. Music and songs in prisons have been written and sung to express the pain of the incarceration. Research has suggested that songwriting is a powerful educational and therapeutic catalyst, and that songwriting may facilitate the processing of difficult emotions.

The purpose of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the emotions expressed in the songs of incarcerated men, and how songwriting as an outlet for emotional expression influenced the writers. Data collected for this study included 47 songs written by 17 incarcerated men, written observations and reflections by participants and three facilitators, transcriptions of four workshop sessions, and sound recordings/transcriptions of 16 spoken introductions and 13 songwriter-performed pieces. An additional 32 songs were collected from a case-study participant for examination. All data were collected using ethnographic methods. Modified grounded theory techniques, including initial coding, focused coding, and memo writing were used to analyze the data.

Findings revealed that although the lyric themes categorized expressed more happy than sad emotions, the most frequently expressed emotion was desperation, and desperation was usually expressed in songs with a context of incarceration. In addition, songs that expressed humor were often a way to cope with incarceration, and songwriting was also a way express the pain of addiction. Examining the songs of the case-study participant revealed that his writing changed over time. His most frequently expressed emotion in 2008 was fear, and song concepts usually involved sinister, otherworldly figures. In 2011, his most frequently expressed emotion was closeness, and song concepts focused on determination to build a better life.

Throughout the workshop sessions, the men experienced feelings of psychological comfort in routines established over time. Data analyses indicated that group interactions and opportunities to perform were primary motivators in participants' decisions to participate in the Songwriters' Workshop. For most men, group response processes generated new ideas for songs, and greater song quality. Some of the men further stated that participating in the Songwriters' Workshop helped them to foster better relationships, and re-envision their futures. Difficulties that occasionally arose were both pedagogical and social in nature.

Based upon these findings, I suggest that aspects of Cohen's Theory of Interactional Choral Singing Pedagogy pertains to songwriting contexts. I propose a theory of the expressive community, in which the community influences individuals, and individuals influence the community. I further suggest collective-actualization, in which individuals in a group realize their collective potentials, capabilities, and talents, and seek the achievement of these potentialities.

Music Therapy
Ph.D.
This qualitative study examines the personal and musical lives of adolescents with foster care experience. Based on the researcher's experience, it seemed that foster care adolescents had a different life experience with music than adolescents who were never in foster care. A structured interview, developed by the researcher, was used with a sample of 10 participants (6 males, 4 females) enrolled in out-patient therapy. Participants were chosen based on three criteria: 1) between the ages of 13-18 years, 2) present or past experience in foster care placements, and 3) willing and able to discuss their lives and musical backgrounds. Biographical inquiry was the specific method used to gather data on the musical lives of adolescents in foster care and to discern how the musical and personal biographies may have been related to one another. In this context, a musical biography was defined as the sum total of music experiences a person has had and the various meanings given to them, both in the past and present. It was assumed that one's musical life is part of one's personal biography, which also includes non musical events, experiences, and meanings. The study was organized according to two basic questions: 1) What music experiences had these adolescents in foster care had throughout their life span, and what meanings had they attached to those experiences, and 2) What relationships could be found between the musical and personal biographies? Results of the study showed that these adolescents with foster care experience used music consciously and actively in their everyday lives, similar to ways that adolescents with no foster care experience do. For example, adolescents with and without foster care experience share the same listening habits, music preferences, and how they use music. The results also showed that the music experiences of these adolescents did affect their life in foster care, and that their life in foster care did affect their overall relationship to music. In regards to foster care's influence on an adolescent's relationship to music, the results showed that when an adolescent had a relationship to music that was shared with a biological family member before foster care, this music relationship ceased when the participant entered foster care. Also, adolescents generally had a positive relationship with their foster family when involvement with music was encouraged. Conversely, music influenced the foster care experience of these adolescents. First, listening to music by oneself tended to increase in frequency and importance when the adolescent did not have a positive relationship or healthy attachment with the foster parent. Second, formal and active involvement in music (e.g., participating in school or group music, or taking lessons) seemed to be associated with a positive or healthy relationship with the foster family. Third, adolescents tended to listen to music for personal, psychological reasons, often to cope with the trauma, grief, and loss they continued to encounter throughout their lives. Implications for music therapy research, theory, and practice were drawn based on the conclusions.
Temple University--Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore and identify flow characteristics in experienced middle school and high school band directors in the context of their teaching. The research was conducted using a qualitative multi-case study through the use of non-participant observations, field notes, and interviews with observational video with stimulated recall to identify the characteristics of flow in a total of five experienced middle school or high school band directors. It was apparent from the findings that every experienced middle school and high school band director experienced flow characteristics at different times while instructing their bands; conditions that facilitated and inhibited characteristics of flow as well as qualities that sustained characteristics of flow also were observed. This research may contribute to improved professional development and preparation of band directors; it may help them to recognize and achieve flow and develop good teaching practices, thereby enabling their students to reach their learning potential.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 159 p.: ill. Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: R.J. David Frego, School of Music. Includes bibliographical references (p. 110-125).

Taiwan has many high-level music colleges that prepare students for performance and teaching careers. These music colleges are competitive environments in which students are potentially learning to cope with musical performance anxiety (MPA). MPA has been widely researched in recent years. Studies have found that college musicians use their own unique coping strategies or rely on past experiences of coping with MPA to manage it. Nevertheless, literature that focuses on MPA self-management is still limited. The aim of this thesis is to fill this gap by investigating the ways in which MPA is self-managed by Taiwanese college musicians (TCMs). The research questions are: 1) How do TCMs define and perceive MPA? 2) How do TCMs self-manage MPA? 3) What strategies for managing MPA do the TCMs believe they will use with their students when they carry out teaching as part of their future portfolio careers? Fifty-three undergraduates were recruited from a music college in Taiwan. Each participant was interviewed before all of their performances taking place in one semester: formal concert, exam, and graduate recital. The data was analysed through a qualitative approach by using thematic analysis in order to examine the strategies used and the process of managing MPA. The findings are presented as four themes: 1) Strategies used in preparation for different types of performance, during different time periods of preparation and performance. 2) Strategies in context: people and places. 3) Understanding the strategies: metacognition in musical learning and managing MPA. 4) MPA self-management and the teaching-learning cycle. Results revealed that it is possible for TCMs to self-manage their MPA through developing metacognitive processes with support networks in the conservatoire environment and with various external resources. However, information on MPA-coping strategies are like pieces of a puzzle that are scattered rather than being coherently fitted together. Therefore, recommendations for further research and applications to practice are made.

While creative thinking is often conceptually associated with performing and visual arts, research has suggested that music education often focuses more so on convergent skills, such as singing or music literacy, than on divergent skills, such as composing and improvising. The primary purpose of this study was to examine elementary general music teachers' (EGMTs) perceptions of creative thinking and its value as part of the elementary general music curriculum. The secondary purpose was to determine how, and to what extent, EGMTs designed and facilitated creative thinking activities for their students. EGMTs (N=283) completed an on-line questionnaire with closed- and open-ended questions. The duration of participants' teaching experience ranged from a few months to 43 years. The participants reported a wide array of additional training including Orff, Kodaly, Dalcroze, Music Learning Theory, and Technology in Music Education (TI:ME). Quantitative data analyses consisted of descriptive statistics, including frequency counts, percentages, and descriptions of central tendency. A series of Friedman's tests measured differences between dependent variables; Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to find significant relationships between teacher demographics and creative thinking perceptions and practices. Qualitative data analyses included open-coding of categories generated from participant responses. Results indicated that 94.8% of participants perceived creative thinking as an essential outcome of elementary general music. However, participants rated composition and improvisation as less essential than most other national content skills. A majority of participants, 72.0%, reported that they considered themselves well-trained to facilitate creative thinking activities. However, 71.7% of participants reported difficulties in designing and implementing on-going creative thinking activities for their students, citing lack of time, resources, and physical teaching space as significant challenges. Narratives from open-ended questions indicated that most participants desired more ideas for implementing creative thinking tasks, in the form of training, collaboration with peers, and published materials. This investigation indicated a need for continued discussion among practitioners, researchers and learners as to the role of creative thinking in elementary general music, in order to achieve a shared professional vision that enables creative thinking as a common practice in elementary general music classrooms.

For career musicians who underwent a lockout by their managements, such a traumatic disruption was an opportunity for learning to occur about their profession, music performance, and themselves. Using Jarvis’s (2004, p. 106) model of adult learning processes, a phenomenological study sought to answer the research question: How did the lived experience of career musicians during a labor lockout change their self-concept as musicians? To arrive at an essence of that experience, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered by using a demographic questionnaire and interviews. The population was identified from published rosters of two acclaimed orchestras that locked out their musicians in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 performance seasons. The qualitative data analysis followed Creswell’s (2007, p. 159) method to arrive at a description of the “essence” of lived experience by career musicians during a labor lockout. Results confirmed the lockouts provided “disjunctures” as catalysts for “lifelong education” (Jarvis, 2004), even though musicians’ self-concept were affirmed. As a group, musicians fit Haiven’s (2006) matrix of negotiation when performing with a top-down, hierarchical organization, but not when performing in a collaborative organization, bringing musicians into Haiven’s (2006) “union zone.” However, results departed from Haiven’s (2006) matrix by indicating career musicians’ high need for social networks and less dependency on work deployment within collaborative organizations. The essence of musicians’ experiences during a labor lockout could inform the fields of labor relations, andragogy, music education, music psychology, and organizational change.

Music is used and can be found in everyday life and throughout society. With many studies pointing towards music being a motivating stimulus for exercise, it is plausible that music would positively affect the physical activity rates of junior high school students in physical education classes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of popular music on physical activity rates, via pedometry, and enjoyment levels of junior high physical education students. There were 305 junior high physical education students that participated in the study with 151 being male and 154 being female. This was a quasi-experimental study using a two conditions, with and without music, by two activities, basketball and volleyball, cross-over design. It is found that across all grades and gender, more steps were taken with music in both activities versus without music. No statistically significant differences are noted in time in activity between activities with music than without. When comparing the level of enjoyment of the activities with music versus without across genders and all grades, the level of enjoyment is higher with music than without, though the difference is not statistically significant. While statistically significant differences can be found and attributed to the very nature of the differences between volleyball and basketball, there are also several statistical significances found that can be described and attributed to the intervention of the use of music during that activity. Therefore, if teachers are looking for a way for their students to increase step counts and increase the level of enjoyment their students feel throughout an activity, adding music to the background of the activity will help teachers to achieve those goals.

This study expands prior research demonstrating a relationship between electronic piano keyboard instruction and increased spatial ability in preschoolers (Rauscher, F. et al., 1993, 1994, 1997). Spatial ability was assessed after active music instruction using Orff xylophones, active singing instruction, or a passive listener-oriented approach. Kindergartners (N = 68) from 3 intact classrooms, stratified for gender, were randomly assigned to 3 groups: (1) xylophone (n = 28), (2) singing (n = 26), and (3) passive music (n = 14). The lessons for active groups 1 and 2 were identical except for the variable of xylophone instruction. Children learned the same songs, movements, unpitched instrument accompaniments, and read the same simple iconic musical notation. However, during part of the lesson group 1 used xylophones as accompaniments and to sight-read iconic notation, while group 2 (singing) continued to use unpitched instruments as accompaniments and Kodaly hand-signals to sight-read the same iconic notation. Passive group 3 did no singing, playing, moving, or music reading but listened to and talked about music. The instructor taught bi-weekly 30-minute music classes for 4 months; IQ's were measured using 5 subtests (Performance Scale) of the Weschler Primary and Preschool Intelligence Scale - Revised (WPPSI - R) (1989) by a school psychometrist. To control for WPPSI - R practice effects, half of group 1 (n = 14) and group 2 (n = 14) were pre-tested while half of group 1 ( n = 14) and group 2 (n = 12), and all of group 3 (n = 14) were not pre-tested. All were post-tested six months later. There were no practice effects. To compare groups raw scores were used as there were no significant age differences among groups. No significant differences were found. However, consistent with other studies a trend (p < .06) towards enhanced performance on the xylophone group's Object Assembly (OA) subtest was found when compared with the passive music group. A similar trend (p < .06) was found on Block Design, the subtest that most highly correlates with OA. A ceiling effect may have constrained growth due to music instruction as 21% of the xylophone group's OA scores were perfect or near perfect.

“Aural training” forms a vital component of conventional music education and practice and has done so for a considerable amount of time, yet it remains a difficult area with regards to student engagement in its practice and application both at school and university level. Apart from extensive scholarly debates on approaches to and methodology of aural education, a crucial issue in need of addressing deals with the student experience on a cultural, environmental and psychological plane. Despite a long-standing history of approaches, methods and concepts having been proffered in advancing aural education, their success rests on the student being reachable, engageable, willing, autonomously motivated and possessing an effective set of problem-solving strategies. This study investigated student perception, motivation and problem-solving strategies in the aural courses at the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town. A mixed methods approach was adopted including semistructured interviews, a questionnaire-based survey and a brief comparative statistical analysis of student aural and theory marks over a five-year period. The theoretical framework adopted for this study consist of merging Embodied Cognition Theory, Dynamic Systems Theory and Self-determination Theory. Participants included current students enrolled in the Aural Intro, Aural I and Aural II courses as well as current tutors, former tutors and other professionals in this field. Findings with possible relevance outside of this demarcated study range from the variance in music education background of incoming students to a lack of problem-solving strategies, exercising various degrees of influence over student perception and motivation and thus directly impacting the effectiveness of an aural education system.

As is tradition in the UK, monograph theses are as a rule unpublished, but all material published as based on the doctoral research must be included in the thesis. The current thesis contains two published empirical articles in peer-reviewed journals and one conference paper.
Thesis submitted for the doctoral degree

We have many developmental theories contributing to our understanding of children as they meander steadfastly toward maturation. Yet, none have reported on how young children interpret the qualitative meaning and importance of their own music-making experiences. Music created by average, not prodigious, young children is perceived by adults as “play” music rather than “real” music. But do young children take the same view as adults? When Piaget speaks of the young child’s qualitatively unique view and experience of the world (Ginsberg & Opper, 1988), can we assume that his statement encompasses young children’s predispositions related to music-making? Music is understood to occur when people act intentionally to produce and organize sound into rhythm and form. The guiding questions for this study are, What evidence is there to show that, when following an adult music leader, young children can engage in authentic music-making behavior and produce identifiable musical structures that move beyond random sounds or ‘noise’? What evidence is there to show that children's music-making behavior develops according to developmental stages? trek This qualitative field study observed and videotaped over 100 children between 2 and 7 years old who chose to engage in music-making behavior in a socially-rich school environment during structured activities guided by an adult “music leader.” The data gathered from this study suggest that young children’s motivation to make music derive from predispositions unrelated to notions of cultural and artistic expression thereby differing from adult musical needs and are instead based on more primary responses to their own developmental needs and their social environment. Functioning as “music leader,” the PI appeared to serve as an indispensable interface for assuring authenticity in the children’s music-making at all stages of development. The older children did not introduce any novel behavior specifically related to making music. However, due to the progression of cognitive and social maturity across the range of ages, new extra-musical behavior (EMB) slowly emerged at each developmental stage always seeming to enrich the experience relative to a particular group.

Research indicates the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder include challenges with receptive and expressive language, which can negatively impact social-emotional development and physical regulation. The needs of children with autism are expected to greatly impact the current medical and educational resources, thus effective intervention for language development is considered crucial. A recently implemented intervention is music therapy. Effective intervention strategies for families and special education staff are constantly being sought after. This qualitative study sought to determine, (a) how does music therapy affect the receptive and expressive language skills in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder aged 3–8 years? (b) what components of music therapy do parents and music therapists profess to make the most impact on language acquisition development in their child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, aged 3–8? Participants included ten family units in southern California and six music therapists in the states of California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington. The participants were asked to provide information pertaining to the language ability of their child/client before and after participating in music therapy. Results showed an increase in word utterance, progress toward special education goals, emotional wellbeing, expressive communication in the home and community, and an increase in social skills. The language ability of the children before and after participating in music therapy sessions ranged from a nonverbal state to singing songs, from using gestures to speaking three to four word phrases, from using language without pragmatics to making friends, and from uttering one to two word phrases to regulating their emotions.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur internetbaserade musiklärare konstruerar sin syn på videoundervisning. För att undersöka detta har fokusgrupper bestående av internetbaserade musiklärare använts som datainsamlingsmetod. Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsansats och en socialkonstruktionistisk ontologisk och epistemologisk utgångspunkt, och diskurspsykologi används som teoretiskt och analytiskt perspektiv. I resultatet synliggörs tolkningsrepertoarer där olika synsätt på videoundervisning uttrycks. Dessa tolkningsrepertoarer framställs ibland som motstridiga, så som framställningarna av videoundervisning som begränsande respektive som fördelaktigt. Detsamma gäller framställningarna av videoundervisning som något för många respektive som något för få. Däremot rådde samstämmighet i tolkningsrepertoaren som framställer videoundervisning som marknadsstyrt. Resultatet diskuteras i relation till tidigare forskning om instruktionsvideor, YouTube och musiklärares syn på undervisning.
The purpose of this study is to examine how internet-based music teachers construct their views towards video lessons. To examine this, focus groups consisting of internet-based music teachers were used as a method for data collection. The study has a qualitative research approach and a social constructionist ontological and epistemological view, and discourse psychology is used as a theoretical and analytical framework. The results shed light on interpretative repertoires where different views towards video lessons are expressed. Sometimes these interpretative repertoires are described as conflicting, such as the descriptions of video lessons as limiting or as beneficial. This is also true for the descriptions of video lessons as something for a large audience or video lessons as something for a small audience. Other interpretative repertoires are unanimous, such as the description of video lessons as market driven. The results are discussed in relation to previous research on instructional videos, YouTube and music teachers' views on teaching.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which Melodies to Assist Social Interaction (MASI) would affect the social skills performance of the educable mentally retarded. The study employed a pretest-posttest control group design with an N of 27 mentally-retarded subjects. It also employed a one-group pretest-posttest design with an N of 8 non-mentally retarded subjects. All of the subjects received a pre- and post-score for their social skills performance level. Nineteen of the mentally-retarded subjects and all eight non-mentally retarded subjects received the MASI social skills teaching program as part of their regular curriculum. The pre- and post-treatment performance was analyzed by a correlated means t-test. An analysis of covariance was used in which the posttest means were compared using the pretest means as a covariate. It was concluded that MASI did not have an impact, positive or negative, on the social skills performance level of the subjects.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Faculty of Science, Dept. of Computing, 2009.
Bibliography: p. [265]-280.
Introduction -- Literature review -- Method -- Experiments -- Conclusion.
Video games are becoming increasingly popular and their level of sophistication comes close to that of professional movie productions. Educational institutions and corporations are beginning to use video games for teaching purposes, however, not much is known about the use and effectiveness of video games for such purposes. One even less explored factor in video games is the music that is played throughout the course of the games. Little is known about the role that this music plays in cognitive processes and what effect background music has on players' memory. It is this question that the present thesis explores by asking which effect background music has on participants' memory for facts that are learned from a virtual environment. -- To answer the research question, a computer-animated history lesson, called VirSchool, was created which used the history of the Macquarie Lighthouse in Sydney as a basis for two experiments. Different musical stimuli accompanied the audio-visual presentation of the history topic. These stimuli were tested for their effectiveness to support participants' memory. The VirSchool history lesson was first presented in a Reality Center (a highly immersive, semi-cylindrical 3 projector display system) and one soundtrack was identified which showed a statistically significant improvement in the number of facts that participants remembered correctly from the VirSchool history lesson. Furthermore, Experiment 1 investigated how variations of tempo and pitch of the musical stimuli affected memory performance. It was found that slow tempo and low pitch were beneficial for remembrance of facts from the VirSchool history lesson. -- The beneficial soundtrack that was identified in Experiment 1 was reduced in tempo and lowered in pitch and was subsequently used as the sole musical stimulus in Experiment 2. Furthermore, because of equipment failure, Experiment 2 offered the opportunity to compare memory performance of participants in the Reality Center and a 3-monitor display system, which was used as a replacement for the defect Reality Center. Results showed that, against expectation, the memory for facts from the VirSchool history lesson was significantly better in the less immersive 3-monitor display system. Moreover, manipulated background music played in the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson in the Reality Center resulted in a statistically significant improvement of participants' remembrance of facts from the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson. The opposite effect was observed in the 3-monitor display system where participants remembered less information from the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson if music was played in the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson. -- The results from the present study reveal that in some circumstances music has a significant influence on memory in a virtual environment and in others it does not. These findings contribute towards and encourage further investigation of our understanding of the role that music plays in virtual learning environments so that they may be utilised to advance learning of future generations of students.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
280 p. ill. (some col.)

Scale development in psychological studies is an area of intense growth (Clark & Watson, 1995). This report builds upon academic interest in the value of producing viable measurement tools. The purpose of this research project was to evaluate a self-efficacy measurement scale intended to determine individual music students' perceptions of capability. The areas of interest were four self-regulatory skill domains: strategy use, planning, monitoring, and evaluating in two music environments: independent practicing and performance. This report describes the development and analysis of the Self-efficacy for Musical Studies (SEMS) scale. The report includes statistical analysis of the response data from formative evaluation, field testing, and content evidence of validity. The discussion section examines the strengths and weaknesses of the scale and its development decisions. Finally, recommendations for the future development of self-efficacy scales for self-regulatory skills and instruction in the area of music education are suggested. In providing both a preliminary instrument and a measurement evaluation of this instrument, we hope to further academic interest in the usefulness of scale production to enhance music instruction and the value of the relatively untouched connection between the social cognitive concept of self-efficacy, self-regulatory skills, and the study of music.

Throughout human history, music has served as a coping mechanism when people have endured extreme hardships in life. Music and songs in prisons have been written and sung to express the pain of the incarceration. Research has suggested that songwriting is a powerful educational and therapeutic catalyst, and that songwriting may facilitate the processing of difficult emotions. The purpose of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the emotions expressed in the songs of incarcerated men, and how songwriting as an outlet for emotional expression influenced the writers. Data collected for this study included 47 songs written by 17 incarcerated men, written observations and reflections by participants and three facilitators, transcriptions of four workshop sessions, and sound recordings/transcriptions of 16 spoken introductions and 13 songwriter-performed pieces. An additional 32 songs were collected from a case-study participant for examination. All data were collected using ethnographic methods. Modified grounded theory techniques, including initial coding, focused coding, and memo writing were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that although the lyric themes categorized expressed more happy than sad emotions, the most frequently expressed emotion was desperation, and desperation was usually expressed in songs with a context of incarceration. In addition, songs that expressed humor were often a way to cope with incarceration, and songwriting was also a way express the pain of addiction. Examining the songs of the case-study participant revealed that his writing changed over time. His most frequently expressed emotion in 2008 was fear, and song concepts usually involved sinister, otherworldly figures. In 2011, his most frequently expressed emotion was closeness, and song concepts focused on determination to build a better life. Throughout the workshop sessions, the men experienced feelings of psychological comfort in routines established over time. Data analyses indicated that group interactions and opportunities to perform were primary motivators in participants' decisions to participate in the Songwriters' Workshop. For most men, group response processes generated new ideas for songs, and greater song quality. Some of the men further stated that participating in the Songwriters' Workshop helped them to foster better relationships, and re-envision their futures. Difficulties that occasionally arose were both pedagogical and social in nature. Based upon these findings, I suggest that aspects of Cohen's Theory of Interactional Choral Singing Pedagogy pertains to songwriting contexts. I propose a theory of the expressive community, in which the community influences individuals, and individuals influence the community. I further suggest collective-actualization, in which individuals in a group realize their collective potentials, capabilities, and talents, and seek the achievement of these potentialities.

Since the introduction of the iPod in 2001, portable music listening devices that play or stream compressed music files have steadily become the standard devices used to listen to music. Despite this, few music education researchers have investigated the role that such devices have in shaping students' music listening experiences. This dissertation is meant to fill that gap in the literature and contribute to the existing sociological and psychological literature on music listening in everyday life. Phenomenology served as the theoretical framework for the design of the study. 10 college students from three institutions underwent iterative interviews and were asked questions developed from McCarthy and Wright's (2004) Deweyan method for investigating user experiences with technology. The questions fell into five categories: sensual, emotional, compositional, spatio-temporal, and the sense-maker. The participants' responses were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using grounded theory methods. The following four axial codes emerged from the data and were used to divide the dissertation into chapters: "Embodying the Experience," "Organizing the Experience," "Navigating Real and Virtual Spaces," and "Developing the Self." The main finding articulated in the chapter entitled "Embodying the Experience" is that the participants located the music in their heads while listening to music on their devices using headphones or earbuds. In contrast, participants consistently reported that, when listening to music through open-air speakers, they experienced the music as being located everywhere or in their whole bodies. The main finding in the chapter entitled, "Organizing the Experience," is that participants exercised agency in their music listening experience by creating playlists. Typically, playlists were created by the participants to be used in conjunction with other activities such as exercising, studying, commuting, and so forth. I used these findings to develop the concept of "Integration in Consciousness" which models the participants' simultaneous engagement with the music and other activities. In the chapter entitled "Navigating Real and Virtual Spaces," I explore how the participants simultaneously navigated the spatial aspects of the music listened to on their players and the spatial aspects of the physical spaces within which their activities naturally occurred. In doing so, I provide an example of how the participants experienced music and activities as "Integrated in Consciousness." In chapter seven, "Developing the Self," I explore how the participants' uses of their devices reflect their development as adolescents. In addition, I propose that participants' uses of their devices may be constitutive of their adolescent development. Finally, in chapter eight, I explore the ways in which music teachers can utilize the findings of this study in the development of their own classroom pedagogies. Among other things, I propose that music teachers can use the "Integration in Consciousness" model to help their students communicate about their music listening experiences in the classroom. In the use of this model, music teachers can tailor their pedagogies specifically for the technology rich, "post-performance" world within which they teach.

Music Education
Ph.D.
The purpose of this study was to determine how pitch and rhythm aspects of melodic memory are affected by aural distractions when melodic stimuli are presented both visually and aurally, as compared to aurally only. The rationale for this research is centered on the need for improved melodic memory skills of students taking melodic dictation, and the possibility that temporary visual imagery storage of target melodies might enhance those skills. The participants in this study were undergraduate and graduate music majors (n=41) at a large northeastern university. All participants had successfully completed the first two semesters of college-level music theory, and none had perfect pitch. Participants progressed through two self-contained experimental tests at the computer. Identical target melodies were presented: 1) aurally only on one test; and 2) aurally, with visual presentation of the matching notation, on the other test. After the target melody, a distraction melody sounded, during which time participants were to maintain the original target melody in memory. Participants then chose which of two aural options matched the original target, with a third choice of "neither." The incorrect answer choice in each item contained either a pitch or rhythm discrepancy. The 2x2 factorial design of this experiment was based on independent variables of test presentation format and answer discrepancy type. The dependent variable was experimental test scores. Each participant took both parts of both tests, yielding 164 total observations. Additional data were collected for exploratory analysis: the order in which each participant took the tests, the major instrument of each participant, and the educational status of each participant (undergraduate or graduate). Results of a 2x2 ANOVA revealed no significant differences in test scores, based on either test format or answer discrepancy type, and no interaction between the factors. The exploratory analyses revealed no significant differences in test scores, based on test order, major instrument, or student status. Results suggest that visual reinforcement of melodies does not affect aural memory for those melodies, in terms of either pitch or rhythm. Suggestions for further research include an aural-visual melodic memory test paired with a learning modalities survey, a longitudinal study of visual imagery applied to aural skills study, and a detailed survey of strategies used by successful and unsuccessful dictation students.
Temple University--Theses

Music Education
Ph.D.
The purpose of this study was to determine how pitch and rhythm aspects of melodic memory are affected by aural distractions when melodic stimuli are presented both visually and aurally, as compared to aurally only. The rationale for this research is centered on the need for improved melodic memory skills of students taking melodic dictation, and the possibility that temporary visual imagery storage of target melodies might enhance those skills. The participants in this study were undergraduate and graduate music majors (n=41) at a large northeastern university. All participants had successfully completed the first two semesters of college-level music theory, and none had perfect pitch. Participants progressed through two self-contained experimental tests at the computer. Identical target melodies were presented: 1) aurally only on one test; and 2) aurally, with visual presentation of the matching notation, on the other test. After the target melody, a distraction melody sounded, during which time participants were to maintain the original target melody in memory. Participants then chose which of two aural options matched the original target, with a third choice of "neither." The incorrect answer choice in each item contained either a pitch or rhythm discrepancy. The 2x2 factorial design of this experiment was based on independent variables of test presentation format and answer discrepancy type. The dependent variable was experimental test scores. Each participant took both parts of both tests, yielding 164 total observations. Additional data were collected for exploratory analysis: the order in which each participant took the tests, the major instrument of each participant, and the educational status of each participant (undergraduate or graduate). Results of a 2x2 ANOVA revealed no significant differences in test scores, based on either test format or answer discrepancy type, and no interaction between the factors. The exploratory analyses revealed no significant differences in test scores, based on test order, major instrument, or student status. Results suggest that visual reinforcement of melodies does not affect aural memory for those melodies, in terms of either pitch or rhythm. Suggestions for further research include an aural-visual melodic memory test paired with a learning modalities survey, a longitudinal study of visual imagery applied to aural skills study, and a detailed survey of strategies used by successful and unsuccessful dictation students.
Temple University--Theses

Music Education
Ph.D.
The purpose of this study was to determine how pitch and rhythm aspects of melodic memory are affected by aural distractions when melodic stimuli are presented both visually and aurally, as compared to aurally only. The rationale for this research is centered on the need for improved melodic memory skills of students taking melodic dictation, and the possibility that temporary visual imagery storage of target melodies might enhance those skills. The participants in this study were undergraduate and graduate music majors (n=41) at a large northeastern university. All participants had successfully completed the first two semesters of college-level music theory, and none had perfect pitch. Participants progressed through two self-contained experimental tests at the computer. Identical target melodies were presented: 1) aurally only on one test; and 2) aurally, with visual presentation of the matching notation, on the other test. After the target melody, a distraction melody sounded, during which time participants were to maintain the original target melody in memory. Participants then chose which of two aural options matched the original target, with a third choice of "neither." The incorrect answer choice in each item contained either a pitch or rhythm discrepancy. The 2x2 factorial design of this experiment was based on independent variables of test presentation format and answer discrepancy type. The dependent variable was experimental test scores. Each participant took both parts of both tests, yielding 164 total observations. Additional data were collected for exploratory analysis: the order in which each participant took the tests, the major instrument of each participant, and the educational status of each participant (undergraduate or graduate). Results of a 2x2 ANOVA revealed no significant differences in test scores, based on either test format or answer discrepancy type, and no interaction between the factors. The exploratory analyses revealed no significant differences in test scores, based on test order, major instrument, or student status. Results suggest that visual reinforcement of melodies does not affect aural memory for those melodies, in terms of either pitch or rhythm. Suggestions for further research include an aural-visual melodic memory test paired with a learning modalities survey, a longitudinal study of visual imagery applied to aural skills study, and a detailed survey of strategies used by successful and unsuccessful dictation students.
Temple University--Theses

Correlations between music training and psychosocial skills, sensory abilities, and aspects of intelligence, are sorted into primary or secondary effects. Correlations between these areas of human development and music training lack support pertaining to the underlying cognitive networks that these processes rely on. Thus, this study was based on the work of Baddeley and Hitch's model of working memory, and implemented a test of parallel processing (Articulatory Suppression Task, AST), which measures proficiency of working memory systems. Individual differences therein, were compared with music aptitude. Participants were gathered throughout urban and rural regions of the state of Oregon. Half the participants received specific training on how to excel on AST, the other half received no training. The training was based on research showing musicians to be more proficient in rhythm, the phonological loop, and mental imagery. Group AST pretest/posttest scores and the Drake Musical Aptitude test scores were analyzed using 2-tailed t test and regression models for within-group and between-group variation. No significant difference between musical aptitude and participant ability to increase proficiency with parallel processing was found, however, the results indicated that music training influences proficiency with parallel processing in general, and there were indicators that a ceiling effect may have confounded the pretest-posttest range in scores. This supports findings of previous research that musical training has beneficial influences on mathematics, socio-emotional awareness, motor skills, language, and general intelligence, highlighting that positive social change may result if music were a core class in K-12 education.