Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Secondary school music'

This study explored with high school choral directors and singers, their experiences of musical expression in the choral classroom setting. A phenomenological approach to a collective case study was used to address the notions of “what”, “why”, and “how” in regard to the relationships and interactions between choral directors, singers, their personal experiences and musical texts as they pertain to musical expression. Four high school choral programs participated in this study. One choral director and a focus group of 4-7 students from each program participated in open-ended, semi-structured, interviews. Video recorded observations of choral rehearsals provided media for additional stimulated recall interviews that used both open-ended and framing techniques. These interviews served as the primary method of data collection to help examine how the participants conceptualized and practiced musical expression.

The high school choral directors and singers of this study described musical expression in broad terms but agreed that it can be understood as both a means of conveying and understanding meanings and emotions. The participants addressed considerations and conditions such as engagement, their emotional response to the repertoire, composer intent, the classroom environment and obstacles such as the difficulty of the score or external distractions. They described specific approaches such as collaborative meaning making of musical contexts, formal elements of a score, and text. Implications are addressed for the ways choral directors approach repertoire selection, classroom configuration, rehearsal strategies, building relationships, delivering content, helping students to develop vocal skills and techniques and the use of collaborative learning and dialog to encourage ensemble interpretations. Participants also described optimal experiences of musical expression in regard to enjoyment, release of tension and perceived time and space. This study helped to uncover some of the ways high school choral directors and singers attempt to acknowledge each member’s individuality while working toward a unified ensemble expression. The data revealed that collectively, the four participating programs shared many common ideas and yet each ensemble had a unique and nuanced approach to musical expression that reflected the values, beliefs and experiences of the choir and its members.

The purpose of this research is to examine the approaches used when developing nontraditional ensembles in secondary public schools. Topics include class offerings, curricula, music enrollment, administrative and community support, preparation time, teaching strategies, and financial costs to purchase and maintain equipment and instruments.

The participating subjects are secondary music teachers from school districts in the Los Angeles area teaching nontraditional ensembles during the school day. Subjects were surveyed with Google Forms and received follow-up questions via email.

Subject responses show that most teachers initially operated outside of their “comfort zone” when developing nontraditional courses. The majority developed new programs with a teacher-driven classroom model, relied on teacher-created arrangements, and spent similar amounts of time with both their traditional and nontraditional ensembles. The startup and maintenance costs for instruments and equipment varied from program to program.

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that motivate high school students to participate in school band. The relationships between music education, academic success, and social engagement in school were explored. A survey questionnaire and interview questions were used to generate response data from 45 high school band members. Data were gathered, coded, and analyzed using qualitative survey and structured interview design techniques. A systematic approach was used to create a viable narrative that, when added to existing literature, provided a better understanding of the topic for those decision makers struggling to find justifications for how and why band is an important option for high school students. Findings from this study support earlier research and provide a strong case for the claim that many students are intellectually, emotionally, expressively, and musically nurtured by membership in school band. Stress relief was a powerful theme throughout student responses and many students indicated that band was an important place where they were able to build their strongest support relationships. The information acquired from this study provided insight into student perceptions about the value of band participation from environmental, behavioral, and cognitive viewpoints and highlighted the importance of band as a social and emotional support space where students are able to find sanctuary from the stressors of their lives.

As researchers learn more about the human mind, educators adapt their curriculum to accommodate those findings. As these changes take place, school districts are offering different types of classes to help more students find success in their classes. One of the ways that music educators can contribute to these changes is to offer music classes other than the traditional band, choir and orchestra class. By adding a guitar class to the music curriculum, music teachers are opening the doors for more students to be able to learn about music and learn to play an instrument. Particularly, a guitar class is an effective way to include students with special needs in a music program.

This thesis will investigate adaptations designed for three students with special needs in a high school guitar class. Student A has been diagnosed as Autistic, Student B has been diagnosed with Asperger's disorder and also has behavioral issues and Student C has been diagnosed with a specific learning disability as evidenced in the areas of auditory processing and expression. The case studies provide an example of how accommodations and adaptations can easily be implemented within a guitar class curriculum for students with these types of learning disabilities.

The purpose of this study is to provide a descriptive analysis of high school choral teachers’ inclusion of popular music in current teaching practices by (a) determining the frequency of inclusion, (b) developing a profile of teachers, schools, and choral programs that include popular music in the curriculum, (c) determining which demographic characteristics affected the amount of popular music included, and (d) developing a profile of popular music implementation details. The Popular Music Survey, a researcher designed online survey, was developed to collect demographic data and information concerning the participants’ inclusion of popular music in their high school choral classrooms. Participants were high school choral teachers in the Commonwealth of Virginia (n = 104). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Macintosh, Version 22.0.

Results of the study revealed that 100% of participants include popular music in the choral curriculum as performance literature and/or instructional materials. Descriptive statistics of demographic data of the teacher, school, choral program, and ensemble were used to develop a profile to describe the typical high school choral teacher who includes popular music. Descriptive statistics were also used to develop a profile to describe how high school choral teachers included popular music in the choral classroom.

The majority of participants (n = 91, 87.4%) responded that the percentage of popular music performed was 30% or less of their total performance literature. Pearson Chi-square and one-way analysis of variance were used to determine the extent to which popular music was included in the high school choral curriculum. The achievement of a master’s degree was the only teacher characteristic that significantly affected the amount of popular music included in the high school choral curriculum (p = .028). Participants with a master’s degree included more popular music than participants who did not have a master’s degree.

Implications for music education were discussed in relation to the findings of the current study. Recommendations were made for future research regarding the inclusion of popular music in choral classrooms, as well as in other areas of music education.

The Alabama Vocal Association (AVA) is the choral division of the Alabama Music Educators Association (AMEA), the state chapter of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). This mixed methods study examined non-participation in AVA All-State Choral Festival and AVA State Choral Performance Assessment (SCPA) among Alabama public high schools (N = 355). Quantitative data were event choral program participation lists for 2012 – 2013 provided by the state AVA office and demographic statistics found on the Alabama State Department of Education website including ethnicity (percentage of White students), FRL (percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch), and school size (total enrollment) for all Alabama public high schools. Qualitative data were transcripts and field notes (N = 56 pages) from interviews (N = 26), a focus session at the 2014 AVA Fall Workshop with AVA members (N = 35), and follow-up personal communications (N = 39) with choral teachers representing all AVA districts (N = 7). An Analysis of Variance revealed two significant indicators for AVA participation: (a) FRL, F(1,353) = 169.5, p < .001 (non-participating schools M = 63.74 FRL; participating schools M = 49.05 FRL) and (b) school size, F(1,353) = 48.39, p < .001 (non-participating schools M = 414.99 students; participating schools M = 983.03 students). Ethnicity, F(1, 352) = .458, p = .499, was not found to be a significant indicator of AVA participation. Qualitative findings suggested administrative support, financial limitations, teaching classes other than choral music, and lack of communication between AVA and some choral teachers accounted for non-participation in AVA events.

Jazz education within academia is still young, yet many educators have been recognized for successful leadership of high school jazz ensembles. Directors of finalist bands from the 2012 Essentially Ellington competition, a national opportunity hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center, completed a questionnaire and interview regarding their pedagogical techniques and supplemental methods. All participants responded that listening to recordings and the fostering of peer mentoring are crucial elements. Other important techniques include singing, sight reading, rhythmic exercises, and the use of blues improvisation as a warm up activity. Important supplemental factors included personality traits such as intense, detail oriented, energetic, and fun, while participants noted the positive experiences and techniques learned from events with Jazz at Lincoln Center. In conclusion, leaders of successful high school jazz ensembles share several techniques, qualities, and behaviors, yet there is no single formula for a great high school jazz ensemble director.

Since the 1950’s medial resources have accelerated at an apparent pace. The access to several TV channels, to the Internet and to cell phones has increased and is available almost every student. In the society of today young people are exposed to media technology everywhere. It is apparent that children as well as adolescents and adults are affected by television, music, the Internet in one way or the other. The aim of this essay was to investigate if students think that TV, music and the Internet affect their English language learning outside the classroom. Furthermore, the purpose was also to see in what ways their teachers use these kinds of media recourses.

Questionnaires were handed out to three ninth grade classes (56 students) and interviews were made with their English teachers. The investigations showed that the majority of the students thought that they learned a lot outside of the school, mostly from TV and films. They claimed that they learned things like words, phrases and pronunciations.

Two of the three teachers who were interviewed used TV and music frequently in their teaching because they thought it was of importance to their students’ different learning styles, while the third teacher rarely used any of the resources mentioned above. Even though their methods differed they were of the same opinion that TV, music and the Internet have a huge impact on their students.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of vibrato and pitch-varied vocal models on acoustic measures of high school and undergraduate singers’ vocal performance. Participants’ perception of vocal models was also examined to explore a possible relationship between perception and production. The following primary questions guided this research: 1) Is singers’ intonation affected by vibrato or pitch-varied vocal models? 2) Is singers’ vibrato rate affected by vibrato or pitch-varied vocal models? 3) Is singers’ vibrato extent affected by vibrato or pitch-varied vocal models? 4) Is singers’ intensity affected by vibrato or pitch-varied vocal models? Secondary questions under investigation were: 1) Do singers respond differently to vocal models of pitch patterns versus song phrases? 2) Does age and experience influence singers’ response? 3) Do singers perceive the differences in vocal models?

Participants (N = 76) were male (n = 38) and female (n = 38) singers who were undergraduates (n = 40) currently participating in a choral ensemble at the Florida State University or high school students (n = 36) currently enrolled in the choral program at a nearby high school. Participants responded to twelve vocal models of the same gender that were varied in melody, vibrato, and intonation conditions. Vocal models consisted of either a short pitch pattern ( sol-la-sol-fa-mi-re-do) or familiar song excerpt (Are You Sleeping?), both performed on the neutral syllable “tah.” Model melodies were sung in vibrato and minimal vibrato conditions, with each model having a specific 3rd and 5th scale degree that was presented in tune, sharp, or flat (mistuned pitches ± 25 cents relative to equal temperament). After responding to vocal models, participants were asked via written questionnaire if they perceived differences in vocal models and, if so, to describe them.

Audio recordings of participants’ responses were analyzed acoustically, with the specific 3rd and 5th scale degrees in each model analyzed for the dependent measures of intonation, vibrato rate, vibrato extent and intensity. Repeated measures analyses were conducted on the acoustic measures. An alpha level of .01 was used in all statistical tests. Written responses on the questionnaire were analyzed for keywords reflecting vocal technique or musical elements. Keywords were then identified and coded for frequency of response.

Significant differences in intonation were found, with responses to minimal vibrato models performed more flat than responses to vibrato models. Main effects were also found for gender, with male participants showing overall more flatness than females. Responses to pitch-varied models tended towards flat intonation, with flat models producing the greatest deviation particularly with male participants. Two interactions, both involving melody condition of models, also produced differences in intonation.

Significant differences in measures of vibrato rate and extent were also observed. Vibrato rates were faster and vibrato extents were wider in response to vibrato models. High school participants responded with similar vibrato rate and extent to both vibrato model conditions, whereas undergraduates responded with significantly faster vibrato rate and wider extent to vibrato models. Undergraduate vibrato rates were similar between genders, however high school males were significantly slower in vibrato rate than high school females.

Intensity results for both high school and undergraduate participants showed significantly higher intensity levels for 5th scale degrees than 3rds. High school males performed both scale degrees at similar intensity levels, while high school females sang 5ths with higher intensity. Significant differences in intensity were also found with undergraduates, with responses to vibrato models yielding higher intensity. Male undergraduates were found to sing with higher intensity in response to vibrato models, whereas females sang with similar intensity between vibrato-varied conditions. Interactions involving scale degree or melody condition of models also produced significant differences in intensity.

Analysis of written questionnaires showed that 71 (93%) participants perceived differences in models. The most frequently used keyword(s) was vibrato/straight tone, with 36 participants (51%) noting this as a perceived difference between models. Timbre/tone quality was the next most used word(s) by 13 participants (17%), followed by intonation/pitch used by 12 participants (15%). More males noticed changes in tone quality, intonation, and vowels than females, whereas the latter recognized vibrato changes more than males. Undergraduates perceived vibrato changes and intonation differences more than high school participants.

Many complex factors were thought to contribute to results of this study, including perception, experience, vocal development, and vocal production. While some findings support prior research, other results raise questions that warrant additional investigation. Implications and ideas for future inquiry are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to shed light on how teachers on the upper secondary Arts with Music programme use movement in their teaching of music, and how they approach movement as an educational tool, by investigating the following three issues:

1. What significance does movement have for teachers on the Arts with Music programme?

2. How do teachers on the Arts with Music programme regard movement as an educational tool in the teaching of music?

3. How do teachers on the Arts with Music programme use movement as educational tool?

The methodology used is a combination of focus group interviews and observations. The aim was to connect data collected from focus groups interview with observations in order to look into how things were said by the teachers seemed to be employed in their practice.

The values of different cultures and ages and their significance for our choice of methods as teachers, and our view of music and the consequences it has for our role in the learning process are the key areas of this study. I selected to dispose the content in informal and formal learning (Davidsson & Correia, 2002, Lilliestam, 2006), absolute and realtivistic views of musicality (Brändström, 1997), high and low (Klingfors, 2003), nature and culture (Ehn & Löfgren, 1982), male and female (Bouij, 1998, O´Neill 1997; Lenz Taguchi, 2003), mind and body (Gustavsson, 2000; Davidsson & Correia, 2002).

The informants maintain that movement could have performance purposes, physical purposes and educational purposes, as a tool in the teaching of music.

What I consider the most salient aspect of my study is that although the informants consider movement as important in both teaching and artistic contexts, they did not use it to any significant extent as a teaching aid.