Communicating and accentuating the aesthetic and expressive dimension in choral conducting

This article considers the issues that are involved in effective choral conducting from an aesthetic dimension. Drawing upon research, theories and practice, it provides some insight into the nature of communication and the significance of gesture on vocal outcome as well as qualities of leadership concomitant with such musical activity. The article also reports on a research study that investigated the professional development of students and teachers in the area of choral conducting, focusing on their attitudes, skill acquisition and the importance attached to reflection on practice. The findings reveal that consideration of what counts as effective conducting gesture and communication skill can promote better conducting and, consequently, better, more expressive singing. In addition, the positive impact of self and peer reflection on progress (both face-to-face and within a virtual learning environment) was also acknowledged. Certain suggestions for promoting effective musical leadership in the area of choral conducting are provided, in order to ground theoretical perspectives in practice

Popular music education in and for itself, and for 'other' music: current research in the classroom

This article considers some ways in which the school classroom enters into, changes and complicates musical meanings, focussing particularly on the role of popular music and how it relates to classical music. I suggest that in bringing popular music into the curriculum, educators have largely ignored the informal learning practices of popular musicians. Popular music has therefore been present as curriculum content, but its presence has only recently begun to affect our teaching strategies. I examine how the adaptation of some informal popular music learning practices for classroom use can positively affect pupils’ musical meanings and experiences. This applies not only to the sphere of popular music, but also to classical music and, by implication, other musics as well. Finally, the notions of musical autonomy, personal autonomy and musical authenticity in relation to musical meaning and informal learning practices within the classroom are discussed

Developing audiation through internalisation : using the pivots system as an example

Having well-developed aural skills is an important factor in many musical tasks, such as improvisation. The skill of audiation (the ability to hear and comprehend sound), as coined by Edwin E. Gordon, is attained by internalising certain concepts or elements, and storing these as a vocabulary. Just as verbal skills are acquired by learning and memorising words and phrases, so too is this aural skill developed by learning and internalising musical patterns and concepts. Through audiation, this vocabulary is recalled when the same or a similar pattern is heard again. The sound is identified and understood because it has been heard and learnt before; it is familiar. One such concept that can be internalised to develop an audiation vocabulary is the pivots system, an ear training concept which enhances a person’s pre-existing understanding of harmony. The research shows that an understanding of the audiation process can act as foundational knowledge for working on the pivots system, with the aim of developing an internalisation of this concept. This is but one example, and once an understanding of the audiation process and how to develop it is acquired, this information can potentially be put to use with any ear training exercise, concept or pattern

Investigating aural : a case study of its relationship to degree success and its understanding by university music students

The central aim of this research is twofold: first, to examine the relationship between university music students’ aural ability as measured in examination marks and overall success on a music degree programme; and second, to investigate current university music students’ views on aural and its importance in a music degree programme. Previous research indicates that aural skills are vital in developing musical expertise (see Karpinski, 2000a), yet the precise nature of those skills and the emphasis placed upon them in educational contexts merits attention. An extensive review of literature provides an introduction to terminology as well as a framework with which to understand research perspectives on aural, specifically to address aural in practice and aural as process. Two empirical studies are carried out as part of a case study investigation in this thesis: Study 1 compares aural test scores with overall marks obtained in a music degree so as to investigate their potential correlation; Study 2 analyses the views of current undergraduate and postgraduate music students from the same institution via focus groups about aural alongside their response to the data obtained in Study 1. Findings indicate that there are positive correlations between students’ aural test marks and overall degree results, although these are not always significant. The views of current students about aural reflected shifts in understanding from undergraduate to postgraduate level, with the former offering specific ideas about what it entails and highly subjective attitudes towards it, and the latter providing abstract and broad appreciation of aural in music practice. The students provided tentative remarks about the findings of Study 1. Related issues that emerge within the research, including the students’ views on training, singing, and the role of module choice in gaining a music degree, are debated as part of the thesis

Towards an understanding of musical intelligence as a framework for learning to read and play piano notation

The writing of this thesis was born from concern over the difficulties observed with some of the researcher’s piano students in terms of learning to read and play notation simultaneously. It aims to define and develop an accessible and understandable framework for musical intelligence that might support piano teachers in their practice, in particular with the teaching of the simultaneous reading and playing of notation on the piano. Inspired by Gardner’s concept of multiple intelligences (2004), the thesis also argues for different musical learning strengths, and suggests that musical intelligence is underpinned by aural intelligence. Following a literature search to determine whether or not a definition of musical intelligence existed beyond the work of Gardner (2004), whose chapter in Frames of Mind, The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (2004) provided no suggestion of how his concept of musical intelligence could be used for learning to play a musical instrument, in particular with the notation, the next step towards defining musical intelligence was to explore the real world of a sample of piano teachers, to try to ascertain: a) their definition of musical intelligence b) how they taught their students to read and play notation In terms of the latter, understanding the participants’ teaching practices might help me to improve my own practice and therefore the learning outcomes of my students. In addition, the latter step could serve to suggest what the teachers believed to be important to a musical education, particularly in terms of learning to read and play notation, and from this it could perhaps be inferred that their implicit definition of musical intelligence guided their teaching. The literature and the data were then used to inform and create a framework for musical intelligence, with a focus on learning to read and play notation simultaneously on the piano. The work of Gardner (2004), Gordon (1993) and Dweck (2016) have provided the foundation for the theoretical framework for this study. A summary of the study’s key findings follows: - Reading and playing notation simultaneously on the piano is complex, and is underpinned by strong proprioceptive, kinaesthetic and tactile skills, a reliable musical-spatial intelligence and above all a strong aural intelligence. - All the study teachers believed, whether implicitly or explicitly, that it was important to be able to read and play from notation, therefore this was inferred to underpin part of their definition of musical intelligence. - Musicianship was also regarded by the teacher participants as a central part of musical intelligence, and therefore the interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences put forward by Gardner (2004) also form part of musical intelligence. - Students appear to demonstrate different musical strengths, generally either an ability to read notation or an ability to play by ear and learn by rote, therefore both need to be equally developed during music education. - The teachers demonstrated a lack of understanding of how some individuals are able to learn lengthy pieces of repertoire by ear, which seems to lead to a lack of confidence in introducing aural learning in piano lessons. This was evident also from their general lack of awareness of pedagogical research. - Mental strategies for learning to read and play simultaneously were not understood or used by most of the teachers. - Some teachers demonstrated an entity theory of intelligence. - Many of the teachers had engaged in continuing professional development. - A conclusive definition of musical intelligence is elusive, however it could be argued to be underpinned by the ability to think in sound and be at one with the instrument, thus requiring solid aural, proprioceptive, kinaesthetic, tactile and musical-spatial intelligences, together with strong musicianship, as well as the interpersonal and intrapersonal elements of Gardner’s (2004) work, gathered into a deep understanding of the craft of playing an instrument, here, a piano. The words that incorporate all of these elements of musical intelligence are ‘deep engagement and understanding’, in the same way that the Puluwat sailors demonstrate in their craft (see Glossary, p.379), but the ear rests at the heart of musical intelligence. A more comprehensive definition based on a synthesis of the literature, the teachers’ beliefs and the researcher’s inferences and interpretations can be found in Appendix 22, ‘A Framework for Musical Intelligence’

The development of and relationship between vocal sight reading and instrumental sight reading of seventh, ninth, and eleventh grade orchestra students

Developing the music cognition competencies of both singers and instrumentalists is one of the goals of school music programs. Vocal and instrumental sight reading are used to indicate the level of development of cognitive skills in music. In this study, vocal and instrumental sight reading served as a basis for determining public school orchestra students' cognitive development in music. Vocal sight-reading and instrumental sight-reading performances of 143 orchestra students in 7th, 9th, and 11th grades were examined. Students' vocal sight-singing accuracy was tested using the Vocal Sight Reading Inventory (Henry, 1999). Students' instrumental sight-reading was assessed using the String Performance Rating Scale (Zdzinski & Barnes, 2002). The ANOVA procedure and the Welch test were applied to determine whether there was an improvement in students' vocal and instrumental sight reading with additional years of school orchestra experience. Results from ANOVA analyses indicated that the differences in students' instrumental sight-reading scores across the three grade levels were statistically significant [F (2,140) = 34.50], p < .01. A post hoc Bonferroni adjustment revealed that the differences between each of the groups were statistically significant (p < .05) in favor of older and more experienced students. For vocal sight reading, the Tamhane procedure revealed significant differences only between students at the 7th and 11th grade levels, also in favor of the older students (p < .05). Correlational analysis indicated that there was a strengthening of the relationship between students' vocal sight reading and instrumental sight reading as students progressed in grade level, indicating that they were continuing to develop their musicianship skills. The correlation between vocal sight-reading and instrumental sight-reading scores according to grade level were r = .36, p < .05 for 7th grade, r = .52, p < .01 for 9th grade, and r = .64, p < .01 for 11th grade. In this study I stressed the importance of both vocal sight-reading and instrumental sight-reading experiences for orchestra students and ultimately for all instrumental students. I also proposed theoretical models as to how the two skills are related and how they might be developed