The purpose of the study was to determine whether students' timbre preferences in the sixth grade remain stable through the tenth grade. The investigation also examined whether gender, band instruction, or musical home environment makes any difference in influencing the stability of students' timbre preferences from grade six through ten. Students' timbre preferences at the beginning of the study were compared to their preferences four years later. The students' timbre preferences were obtained by employing Gordon's Instrument Timbre Preference Test (ITPT). A questionnaire was also utilized at the conclusion of the study to determine which students had musical home environments and which did not. All sixth grade students enrolled in a single school district took the ITPT. Each student's scores were tallied and ranked in order to determine their timbre preferences; four years later they were retested and their scores were ranked again.

The purpose of this study was to measure music performance program enrollments and course availability for educationally disadvantaged and non-educationally disadvantaged groups (grades 9-12) in Texas, and to further examine relationships which could help music educators understand the role which music performance programs play in the lives of educationally disadvantaged students. Data analyzed were collected by Texas' Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS). Educationally disadvantaged groups under consideration included economically disadvantaged, at risk (as defined by Texas Education Agency guidelines), limited English proficient, as well as Black and Hispanic students. Separate analyses were conducted for band, choir, and orchestra. Subjects included 907,327 students from 1,048 school districts.

This study's purpose was to investigate the differences in scores and written comments given by two appraisal groups in their evaluation of a music teacher using the Texas Teacher Appraisal System (TTAS). One appraiser group had musical training while the other group specialized in other subjects. Analyses of both group's appraisal scores showed no significant differences. An examination of the written comments revealed that both appraisal groups focused on the same aspects of the lesson and used similar vocabulary. The TTAS instrument was a consistent measure of generic teacher behaviors in the music lesson, but it did not measure specific music teaching behaviors or encourage suggestions for improving musical instruction.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the needs for music-related content in the Bible college pastoral curriculum as perceived by a selected group of pastors. The research problems were (1) to assess the extent of musical preparation of recent pastoral graduates from selected accredited Bible colleges in the United States, (2) to assess the music-related duties of those graduates in paid pastoral positions, (3) to assess the pastors' perceived needs for instructional preparation for the fulfillment of their musical duties, and (4) to determine the effect of selected factors on the perceived needs of those pastors.

The purpose of the study was to design and evaluate materials for integrating musical concepts and stylistic concepts into the high school choral rehearsal. Need for the study was established by examining related literature and by means of a survey of Texas high school choral directors. A systems approach model of curriculum development, consisting of a ten-step procedural outline, was adopted for formulation of the study. The following criteria for the curriculum, called Integrated Musical Information for Choirs (IMIC), were set: (1) Materials should be in the hands of each student; (2) Materials would relate directly to music being performed by the choir; (3) Use of the materials should assist the teacher in organizing his/her work; (4) Teachers should be able to put materials into use without adaptation; (5) Teachers' out-of-class preparation should be minimal.

The purpose of this study was to investigate selected landmark events in the historical development of the Texas Music Educators Association, 1938-1980, and the decisions which influenced their outcomes. A polling of twenty former presidents of TMEA selected the following landmark events that helped to shape the history of TMEA: (1) the change from a band organization to a music educators organization in 1938, (2) the University Interscholastic League takeover of contests in 1947, and (3) TMEA's separation from the Music Educators National Conference in 1976. In addition to developing a historical chronology from documentary sources, in-depth interviews were conducted with actual participants in these landmark events. The interviews utilized comparable questions, in order to identify decision-making patterns, while also capturing the atmosphere and visceral context of TMEA history. Literature from the social science disciplines on organizational decision—making was explored for help in understanding what happened, how, and why. In all three events the final decision was strongly influenced by factors external to the TMEA. The strong power position held by school administrators was evident in both the first and second events, while reinforcement from actively lobbying choral directors was also a factor in the first event only. The strong …

The purpose of this study was to compare the speaking fundamental frequency, physiological vocal range, singing voice quality, and self-perceptions of the singing and speaking voice between two groups of girls ages 11 through 15 years, who were pre-menarcheal by 6 months and post-menarcheal by 10 months or more. Subjects were volunteers who attended a North Texas public school system. Each subject was examined by an otolaryngologist. Age, height, weight, a hearing screening, and information on music classes and/or private music lessons were obtained. The speaking fundamental frequency measure was obtained by having each subject speak for 30 seconds on a subject of choice and read a passage of approximately 100 syllables. The vocal range measure was obtained by having each subject begin at an arbitrary pitch and sing mah and moo up the scale as high as possible and mah and moo down the scale as low as possible. These four measures were repeated with the researcher giving visual gestures. For singing-voice quality, each subject sang "America" in the key of her choice and again in the key of F major. Each subjects singing voice was rated according to breathiness. Data regarding self-perceptions of the singing and speaking voice …

The purpose of the study was to investigate independent piano teachers' view of themselves in the light of selected attributes found in sociological writings on the professions. The research problems were: (a) to determine the attitudes which independent piano teachers held toward selected professional attributes; (b) to determine the relationship between the attitudes toward the professional attributes and selected background variables; and (c) to determine the degree of association between these attributes. The problems were addressed by a questionnaire directed to independent piano teachers active in the area of Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas. Thirty teachers were also interviewed to determine consistency of response and to explore issues which the questionnaire had raised. Reliability and validity were established at acceptable levels. Techniques of statistical analysis included Pearson's product-moment correlation, multiple regression, chi-square in conjunction with Cramer's V_, and factor analysis. The strongest attitudes expressed by the teachers in the study concerned professional self-image, altruism, client orientation, commitment to work, and independence. The most important background variables were age, years of experience, number of students, certification by a professional association, and college degree in music. A multiple regression analysis tested each variable against the dependent variable professional self-image; recognition by others, commitment to …

The present study sought to confirm melodic expectancy patterns discovered in a previous investigation and to determine whether data would be affected by altering the rhythmic condition of the stimuli. The three problems of this investigation were to study expectancies generated by two-note stimulus intervals of equal duration; the expectancies generated by stimulus intervals presented with a long-short rhythm; and the expectancies generated by stimulus intervals presented with a short-long rhythm. Fifty subjects were asked to sing what they believed would be the natural continuation of the melody begun by a two-note stimulus interval. The stimulus intervals were grouped in rhythmic sets, one set of neutral-rhythm stimuli, one set of long-short stimuli, and one set of short-long stimuli. The interval from the second note of the stimulus interval to the first sung note was transcribed as the generated expectancy response interval. The data were examined in two basic ways, using response data as a whole and examining data for each stimulus interval separately. A third method of data evaluation concerned harmonic triads occurring in the response data. Both when considering response frequency as a whole, and when considering response data separately for each melodic beginning, no significant difference associated with …

The reasons given by thirty-three junior high school band directors for success and failure at the University Interscholastic League Concert/Sightreading Contest were studied using the methodology of Attribution Theory. All of the subjects attended the same contest and were members of a region which included urban and suburban schools. The subjects responded to a questionnaire which evaluated their attitudes towards the contest, allowed them to make judgments about other directors in hypothetical contest situations, and finally asked them to list the five most important reasons for their success or failure at the contest in an open-response format.

Mental imagery is a common theme in research that clarifies how musical thought relates to musical performance. Unfortunately, minimal information exists regarding mental imagery and singers. The purpose of this study was to probe the role, if any, mental imagery plays in the conceptualization of pitch and vowel. By interviewing singers at differing levels of expertise, basic information was obtained about the mental processes used by singers. Through evaluations of the singers' mental processes, it was concluded that 95% of the singers in the study employed mental imagery. All singers described using kinesthetic imagery, while the majority implemented sensory and auditory imagery. Viso-spatial imagery was implemented among the more experienced singers. The majority of singers also reported: imaging pitch and vowel interactively; imaging from an internal perspective; and utilizing mental rehearsal. Less than half of the singers described using methods other than mental imagery to conceptualize pitch and vowel.

Graduates who responded to the survey indicated that the undergraduate music education curriculum between 1967 and 1972 was generally adequate in preparing students to teach music in the public schools. Areas such as administration, supervision, student teaching, and professional education were deemed weaker than other areas by both the vocal and instrumental graduates. In comparing vocal and instrumental graduates' responses in certain areas of the questionnaire it was found that in most cases opinions of both groups agreed regarding importance of listed competencies. The curriculum was equally effective in training vocal and instrumental teachers, with the exception of secondary instrumental methods, which appeared to be an outstanding weakness. A low positive correlation (r=.107) existed between selected graduates' academic success and their success as teachers in public schools. This correlation was, however, not statistically significant and it was accepted that there was only a slight relationship between students' success in undergraduate training at North Texas and their success as public school music teachers. Graduates who responded to the survey indicated that the undergraduate music education curriculum between 1967 and 1972 was generally adequate in preparing students to teach music in the public schools. Areas such as administration, supervision, student teaching, and …

The purposes of this descriptive survey research study were (a) to describe novice band directors' perceptions of the importance of skills/knowledge used n effective music teaching, (b) to describe novice band directors' perception of the difficulty of acquiring each skill or knowledge component, (c) to compare novice band directors' perceptions of the importance and difficulty of the skills/knowledge used in their classrooms, (d) to describe ways that novice band directors perceived university coursework as helpful in acquiring teaching skills/knowledge, and (e) to describe improvements to university coursework that novice band directors perceived could help future band directors. The personal skills/knowledge category (M = 4.64) was rated highest for importance, followed by the teaching (M = 4.60) and musical (M = 4.29) categories. Additionally, participants rated the personal skills/knowledge category (M = 3.57) as the easiest to acquire, followed by musical (M = 3.14), and teaching (M = 3.09) categories. There was a statistically significant difference between teaching importance ratings and teaching acquisition ratings, with the teaching importance category rated higher by participants. Participants perceived secondary instrument instruction, teaching experiences, core music curriculum, and practical skills/knowledge as positive aspects of university coursework. Finally, secondary instrument instruction, field experiences, non-instructional aspects of …