Examining the Effect of Aural Preparation on Second Grade Students’ Music Literacy Rhythm Skills

Aural preparation is operationally defined as hearing, performing, decoding, and creating rhythms or pitches aurally prior to the introduction of music notation. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of aural preparation on second grade students’ music literacy rhythm skills (i.e. reading, performing, and dictation). The research questions that guided this study included: (1) What are the psychometric qualities (i.e., validity and reliability) of the three measures used in this study used to assess rhythmic potential and achievement? (2) How does aural preparation affect students\u27 ability to read and perform rhythms? (3) How does aural preparation affect students\u27 ability to decode and dictate rhythms? Six second grade elementary school classes (N = 125 students) participated in this study. Three classes (n = 64) received aural preparation interventions, and three classes (n = 61) received no aural preparation interventions. Each participant was administered a pretest and posttest that assessed rhythm dictation and rhythm performance skills. Results indicated a significant increase in performance skills but no significant increase in dictation skills when students received aural preparation interventions. Implications for use of aural preparation in the general music classroom as well as future research are discussed

Testing a Model of Jazz Rhythm: Validating a Microstructural Swing Paradigm

The purpose of this study was to create and test two hypothesized models for swing in jazz performance. In order to estimate the hypothesized fully latent variable Swing model, eighth note samples (N = 815) from five improvised solos by Chris Potter were analyzed. Three first order factors were identified and examined that were hypothesized to define swing: eighth note duration, beat placement, and note dynamics. These three factors were measured with accuracy beyond a thousandth of a millisecond. Nine second order factors were identified and grouped into soloist-controlled variables and non-soloist controlled variables: metrical beat placement, melodic character, intervals, articulation, range, underlying harmony, tempo, bass beat placement, and drummer beat placement. The methodology of the measurement system and data collection procedures prescribed in this research study was found to contain limitations that prevented the administration of a proper statistical analysis for an estimation of the proposed models. Results of the simultaneous multiple regression analysis revealed that metrical beat placement, melodic character preceding, melodic character succeeding, interval preceding, interval succeeding, articulation, range, underlying harmony, and tempo combined to account for 6.7% of the variance in eighth note duration (N = 394), with interval preceding and interval succeeding having a statistically significant effect. Metrical beat placement, melodic character preceding, melodic character succeeding, interval preceding, interval succeeding, articulation, range, underlying harmony, and tempo combined to account for 22.3% of the variance in note dynamics (N = 231) with tempo having a statistically significant effect on note dynamics. The omnibus test for beat placement (N = 99) was found to be statistically insignificant

Exploring the Effect of Rhythmic Interventions on First- and Second-Grade Music Students’ Oral Reading Fluency

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of rhythmic interventions (e.g., steady beat, rhythm production, and rhythm discrimination activities) on oral reading fluency scores of first- and second-grade music students. This study was guided by the following research questions: (1) What is the psychometric quality of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) used in the context of measuring the oral reading fluency of first- and second-grade general music students? (2) What is the effect of rhythmic interventions on firstand second-graders’ oral reading fluency scores? and (3) What is the interaction effect between rhythmic interventions and fluency achievement? Participants included two first-grade and two second-grade elementary music classes (N = 72; male, n = 37; female, n = 35). Participants were randomly assigned into control and treatment groups in each class for first-grade (N = 34; control, n = 17; treatment, n = 17) and second-grade (N = 38; control, n = 19; treatment, n = 19). All participants were administered the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) to measure oral reading fluency ability as a pretest and posttest. Treatment groups underwent rhythmic interventions throughout seven, 45-minute sessions. After controlling for differences in students’ pretest scores, results indicated an overall statistically significant treatment effect for first-grade students and a statistically significant interaction effect for the core grouping of second-grade students. The researchers discuss Implications for implementation and advocacy

There’s More to Groove than Bass in Electronic Dance Music: Why Some People Won’t Dance to Techno

<div><p>The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between audio descriptors for groove-based electronic dance music (EDM) and raters’ perceived cognitive, affective, and psychomotor responses. From 198 musical excerpts (length: 15 sec.) representing 11 subgenres of EDM, 19 low-level audio feature descriptors were extracted. A principal component analysis of the feature vectors indicated that the musical excerpts could effectively be classified using five complex measures, describing the rhythmical properties of: (a) the high-frequency band, (b) the mid-frequency band, and (c) the low-frequency band, as well as overall fluctuations in (d) dynamics, and (e) timbres. Using these five complex audio measures, four meaningful clusters of the EDM excerpts emerged with distinct musical attributes comprising music with: (a) isochronous bass and static timbres, (b) isochronous bass with fluctuating dynamics and rhythmical variations in the mid-frequency range, (c) non-isochronous bass and fluctuating timbres, and (d) non-isochronous bass with rhythmical variations in the high frequencies. Raters (<i>N</i> = 99) were each asked to respond to four musical excerpts using a four point Likert-Type scale consisting of items representing cognitive (<i>n</i> = 9), affective (<i>n</i> = 9), and psychomotor (<i>n</i> = 3) domains. Musical excerpts falling under the cluster of “non-isochronous bass with rhythmical variations in the high frequencies” demonstrated the overall highest composite scores as evaluated by the raters. Musical samples falling under the cluster of “isochronous bass with static timbres” demonstrated the overall lowest composite scores as evaluated by the raters. Moreover, music preference was shown to significantly affect the systematic patterning of raters’ responses for those with a musical preference for “contemporary” music, “sophisticated” music, and “intense” music.</p></div

The Tight-interlocked Rhythm Section:Production and Perception of Synchronisation in Jazz Trio Performance

This study investigates the production and perception of timing, synchronisation and dynamics in jazz trio performances. In a production experiment, six trio combinations of one saxophonist, two bassists, and three drummers were recorded while they performed three popular jazz songs. Onset timing and dynamics of each performer were extracted and analysed. Results showed that the tempo was significantly influenced by the timing of the drummers and all performers showed higher temporal precision on the backbeats. The drummers demonstrated individual swing-ratios, accentuations of beats and intrapersonal asynchronies between simultaneous hi-hat and ride cymbal onsets, which resulted in a hi-hat played 2–26 ms ahead of the pulse of the music. In a subsequent perception test, participants () rated 12 excerpts of the jazz recordings. They selected their preferred version from a pool of stimuli containing the original version, but also manipulations with artificially increased or reduced asynchronies. Stimuli with reduced asynchronies smaller than 19 ms were preferred by the listeners over the original or the fully quantised timing. This suggests that listeners endorse a ‘tight-interlocked’ jazz rhythm section, with asynchronies smaller than the perceptual threshold (temporal masking), but with natural timing variabilities that makes it distinguishable from a computer-generated playback

Pattern Factor Loading, Communalities, Variance, and Factor Correlations Based Upon a Principal Components Analysis (PCA) Factoring with Oblim Oblique Rotations for 16 Audio Feature Variables.

<p>Grey areas indicate the low-level audio descriptors that characterize the respective factor.</p

Calibration of the Item Facet.

<p>Items (C = cognitive, A = affective, P = psychomotor) are ordered by their endorsability. Most difficult item to rate (C9) on top, easiest (C1) on bottom. C, A, and P items are mixed in their ratings and spread across the logit scale.</p

Visual depiction of the cluster calibration in relation to item calibration on the logit scale.

<p>(A) Cluster spread ranged from 0.01 logits to 0.16 logits and demonstrated significant distinction according to one fit item: Inartistic/Artistic (C8).</p

Summary of Differential Facet Functioning Statistics (Music Preference Interactions) for Item Exhibiting | Z | > = 2.0.

<p>Showing only selected items, which were significantly overrated by listeners with specific musical preferences.</p

Calibration of the Cluster Facet.

<p>Spread of the clusters across the logit scale.</p