Women's Giving Circles: Reflections from the Founders

The narrative in this publication shares the stories of the women founders of giving circles. The majority of the first giving circles were created by women for women members. Though giving circles are now popular among both genders, women have contributed more significantly to the inception and the growth of the giving circle movement

Piano Instruction: Reframing the Master-Apprentice Model Through the Integration of Dialogic Processes

Private piano instruction is a niche field within the broader spectrum of pedagogy with idiosyncrasies that separate it from the traditional classroom. The learning in a private lesson encompasses cognitive, affective, and motor skills, often all at the same time, in a relatively intimate setting. Historically, this teaching and learning environment has followed the master-apprentice model of instruction. However, with newer research in learning sciences supporting social constructivist frameworks for student learning, a blended pedagogical approach is suggested. Dialogic pedagogy and cognitive apprenticeship are used in tandem with traditional precision training methodologies to foster student learning outcomes of metacognition, agency, and self-efficacy in addition to mastery and artistry on the instrument. This study seeks to understand the historical contexts embedded in keyboard pedagogy and analyze the relationship between these contexts and the pedagogical artifacts that were produced. To this end, a textual analysis of historical primary sources will be conducted and analyzed through the lenses of a predetermined set of pedagogical frameworks. Secondarily, several studies will be conducted with students of varying ages, experience levels, and proficiencies from my own piano studio. The same set of pedagogical frameworks will be employed in the case studies to weave together historical artifacts with current pedagogical and research practices

The Presence of Groove in Online Songwriting Projects

Collaboration for groups with members who are disconnected by geography or time is convenient for many reasons, but remains a challenge due to time zone differences, network congestion, and the attenuation of nonverbal communication cues. Virtual collaborators engaging in creative work often deal with these challenges, even more so when tasked with expressing their emotions to distant partners. This study seeks to determine the social factors and tools that impact the quality of an online creative collaboration. Members of the Kompoz.com music composition community were surveyed to solicit projects that had the potential to be optimal collaborations. Judges listened to these songs and measured how much each song prompted them to move. This measure, called groove, was used as an indication of a successful collaboration. Judges assisted in selecting one case that was an exemplar of groove, and another that urged them to move much less, to stand as an exemplar of diminished groove. The comparative case method was used to compare and contrast the tools, social practices, and skills employed in each project, and offers guidelines for the design of and participation in online creative communities

Contemporary practices in Southern Baptist Church music: a collective case study of worship, ministry design and music education

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston UniversityThe widespread popular music-based modem worship movement begun in the 1960's brought the styles and sounds of popular music into worship as churches sought to increase cultural connection in their worship. The worship transformation brought significant challenges. Church musicians trained in traditional skills had to adapt and incorporate skills associated with popular musics. Music ministers had to train themselves and ministry musicians. The worship transformation altered the design of many music ministries, changing personnel, practices, repertoire, and ensembles. The purpose of this study was to explore the worship transition experience and how it impacted the musical processes and training within seven Baptist churches in Hartford County, Georgia. Using a qualitative collective case study design, I explored three primary areas: 1). the worship style implementation; 2). the structure and activities of the music ministry leadership and program; and 3). how the skills necessary for nontraditional music ministry have been developed. Within the primary focus, I also investigated the transferability of school music education training into current music ministries, examining if and how school-trained musicians can engage within nontraditional music ministries. The research highlights commonalities existing between school and church music, and parallels training challenges shared by church and school music educators. This additional inquiry stems from the call of music education experts for classroom learning to be expanded in content, encourage lifelong engagement, and connect with community life. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, pre-interview profiles, ministry documents and materials, and field observations. Results provided nuance for prior survey-based research. Data revealed that worship style interpretation is diverse in implementation. Worship changes have altered the structure of church leadership roles and job descriptions. Ministry programs have changed, but traditional ensembles maintain significance. Data revealed challenges in skill development, requiring retraining for music ministers and ministry musicians, usually achieved through independent learning. Results showed that school-based training does transfer into current ministries. Church music ministries have expanded their musical practices in a manner that parallels the challenge given to music education. Data from the music minister's experiences transfers in applicability to school music educators who are also challenged by expanding practices

Perspectives - Spring/Summer 2002

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Dance, Ageing and Collaborative Arts-Based Research

Dance, Ageing and Collaborative Arts-Based Research contributes a critical and comprehensive perspective on the role of the arts –specifically dance – in enhancing the lives of older people. The book focuses on the development of an innovative arts-based program for older adults and the collaborative process of exploring and understanding its impact in relation to ageing, social inclusion, and care. It offers a wide audience of readers a richer understanding of the role of the arts in ageing and life enrichment, critical contributions to theories of ageing and care, specific approaches to arts-based collaborative research, and an exploration of the impact of Sharing Dance from the perspective of older adults, artists, researchers, and community leaders. Given the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of this book, it will be of interest across health, social science, and humanities disciplines, including gerontology, sociology, psychology, geography, nursing, social work, and performing arts. Licence line: Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

The Meaning of Music-Making for Computer Scientists with a Serious Musing-Making Avocation: A Phenomenological Case Study

This study explores the meaning of music-making in the lives of computer scientists who play classical music as their serious avocation. In particular, it investigates their tendencies and capacities to concurrently engage in two such distinct disciplines on a regular basis, by exploring the cognitive, social, and cultural aspects of their concurrent engagement. While current research literature approaches the affinities between mathematicians/scientists and musicians through the presence of mathematical properties of music and through anecdotal evidence involving known persona and their innovations, this study provides a deeper look at the individuals who combine such worlds, in order to better understand how music-making is situated in their lives. Framing this research as a phenomenological case-study, narratives of seven study participants (and two pilot-study participants) are constructed through open-ended interviews, in which the participants relive their experiences of this phenomenon of embracing the two disciplines within a vocation/avocation framework. Using narrative analysis, and to a limited extent sociolinguistic analysis, the essence of this phenomenon is extracted from their narratives in the form of three major themes: participation in musical groups, sharing of cognitive skills across both disciplines, and tendencies to bring the two disciplines together. Given these themes, this study demonstrates the rich lives of these individuals, their high sense of self, ability to give to society, and their occasional ability to reach creative peaks. This study can motivate educators and educational institutions to encourage and support individuals with interdisciplinary interests, and calls for such individuals not to leave behind their artistic passions despite the role pragmatism plays in their career choices. This study can also help educators better understand individuals who are attracted to or engaged in multiple disciplines, and can complement or reaffirm scientific research on cognitive skills used in the disciplines of music-making and computer-science

Toward an Integrated Theory of Musical Worth and Pedagogical Value: An Analysis of Commissioned Choral Works and Personal Perspectives of Emma Lou Diemer and Alice Parker

Repertoire comprises the curriculum of school music ensembles, yet its selection by music educators is unsystematic, commonly influenced by publishers, and lacking in thoughtful critique (Budiansky, 2005; Forbes, 2001). Research reports that musical worth and pedagogical value are foremost criteria in repertoire selection (Devore, 1989; Ostling, 1978). This ethnographic research explored relationships between musical worth and pedagogical value in works and perspectives of Emma Lou Diemer and Alice Parker, two prominent female composers whose extensive catalogs include music written for educational settings. Data were collected via methods consistent with qualitative inquiry. Smith’s (2003) Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was employed to facilitate co-construction of the composers’ lived experience through personal interviews. Data analysis also incorporated previous texts written about and by the composers, and three choral works of each composer. In this study, Panofsky’s (1972) method of visual art analysis was applied to musical analysis. Findings were presented within single-case and cross-case narratives. Although the composers’ work and perspectives are distinctive, their perceptions of musical worth and pedagogical value transcend their individual qualities. Criteria for creating art for educational settings include: using text as a basis for creating musical meaning, recognizing and emulating the work of composers that they find exceptional; and engaging in an artful, synergistic treatment of musical elements. Diemer and Parker share the belief that longevity, originality, expressivity, and sustained interest are characteristics of music of worth. They offered authentic engagement, holistic learning, and matching skill with challenge as integral aspects of pedagogical value. The motivation that compels Diemer and Parker to compose is both external and internal, and is more oriented toward process than product. In creating works for educational settings, they internalize parameters applicable to specific learners and settings. A “spark” they experience in the creative process indicates the origin of musical worth. Pedagogy derived from and integral to the musical worth of a work allows musically engaged students to recreate the “spark” and thus realize pedagogical value. Within the works and perspectives of Diemer and Parker, musical worth and pedagogical value become unified as a composite whole, though the “spark” is realized in a cyclic process