An Investigation into the Stability of Students' Timbre Preferences from the Sixth through the Tenth Grade (open access)

An Investigation into the Stability of Students' Timbre Preferences from the Sixth through the Tenth Grade

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.
Date: May 1995
Creator: May, Brack M. (Brack Miles)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Music Performance Program Enrollment and Course Availability for Educationally Disadvantaged versus Non-Educationally Disadvantaged High School Students in Texas (open access)

Music Performance Program Enrollment and Course Availability for Educationally Disadvantaged versus Non-Educationally Disadvantaged High School Students in Texas

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.
Date: May 1995
Creator: Nabb, David B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Survey of Singers: Is Mental Imagery Used in the Conceptualization of Pitch and Vowel? (open access)

A Survey of Singers: Is Mental Imagery Used in the Conceptualization of Pitch and Vowel?

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.
Date: December 1992
Creator: Moyer, Karen E. (Karen Elizabeth)
System: The UNT Digital Library