The study's purpose was to describe selected laryngeal activity of brass-wind players during the performance of selected musical exercises. Research problems included the observation and description of three internal areas of activity of ten trumpeters as they performed each exercise. Specific areas of observation were 1) movement of the epiglottis during the performance of each exercise, 2) movement of the vocal folds/arytenoid cartilage which includes changes in the size of the glottis during the performance of each prescribed exercise, and 3) movement of the thyroid cartilage during the performance of each prescribed exercise. Musical exercises performed by each of the subjects included a sound volume change, use of vibrato, single-tonguing, step-wise descending and ascending slurs, descending and ascending lip slurs, register change, and a descending chromatic scale. In addition, each subject performed an excerpt from the second movement of the Haydn Trumpet Concerto. Data were collected through direct observation of subject performances and then described using three different means. Data analyses revealed a prominent amount of highly individual, non-patterned laryngeal activity which played an integral role in the performance of each subject. Individuals including Law (1960), Cramer (1955), Jacobs (Stewart, 1987), and Noble (1964) have advocated an unrestricted airway during …

The research problems of this dissertation were: 1) A description of the perceived value of music in light of political undercurrents in Boston prior to and during the years under investigation, and 2) the profile of the constituency of the Boston School Committee and Committee on Music in 1837 and 1845. Questions addressed the effect of religious and moral concerns of the day on the decision by the School Committee in 1837 to try music in the curriculum, and the possible effect of religious politics on Lowell Mason's dismissal from the schools in 1845. In the minds of mid-nineteenth century Bostonians, religious and moral values were intrinsic to the very nature of music. Key members on the School Committee portrayed music as being spiritual yet nonsectarian in its influence. Therefore, the findings suggest that music was believed to provide common ground between opposing and diverse religious sects. Reasons given for Mason's dismissal by John Sargent, a member of the Committee on Music, showed parallels to H. W. Day's accusations in the press a year earlier that Mason had managed his position in a sectarian manner. Sargent's background supports the theory that religious politics were at work in Mason's dismissal. Although …

Holland's theory of vocational personalities and work environments incorporates four theoretical constructs (congruence, consistency, differentiation and identity) which attempt to explain sources in variability of achievement and satisfaction among employed adults and college students. This study sought to: (1) investigate the relationship of Holland's constructs to academic achievement and educational satisfaction of undergraduate music majors; (2) investigate differences in all variables according to gender and degree major. Data were collected from undergraduate music majors (N = 100) enrolled at the University of North Texas using the Vocational Preference Inventory. Mv Vocational Situation. and the Music Major Satisfaction Questionnaire. Reliability for the Music Major Satisfaction Questionnaire was estimated at .92 using Cronbach's coefficient alpha. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients indicated that: (1) congruence was significantly related to academic achievement and educational satisfaction; (2) identity was significantly related to academic achievement and educational satisfaction; (3) consistency was significantly related to academic achievement, but not to educational satisfaction; (4) differentiation was significantly related to academic achievement, but not to educational satisfaction. Multiple regression using a stepwise entry method indicated that: (1) the identity construct was the best predictor of educational satisfaction scores; (2) identity was the best predictor of academic achievement scores. The results …

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 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 …

Justifications for music education have been studied only by examining historical trends in statements of aesthetic versus utilitarian values, and not from the perspective of evaluating the justifications' usefulness. A number of prominent writers in the music education field, while supporting aesthetic values as important for music education, have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of aesthetic justifications when used for convincing outsiders of the importance of music in the public school curriculum. These doubts, along with a preponderance of aesthetic justifications in the recent music education literature, led to the present study, which conducted a theoretical examination of the usefulness of aesthetic justifications for music education. The study addressed three research problems, namely: (1) the attitudes of the clientele groups of the public schools in terms of their values toward music as a subject in the schools; (2) the attitudes of the groups within the music education profession in terms of their values for music in the public schools and for the profession itself; and 3) the likelihood that justifications based upon "aesthetics" as a system of values would be accepted by the groups both inside arid outside the music education profession. A philosophical-sociological perspective was chosen for the theoretical …

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 this study was to investigate the bands of the armies of the Confederate States of America. This study features appendices of libraries and archives collections visited in ten states and Washington D.C., and covers all known Confederate bands. Some scholars have erroneously concluded that this indicated a lack of available primary source materials that few Confederate bands served the duration of the war. The study features appendices of libraries and archives collections visited in ten states and Washington, D.C., and covers all known Confederate bands. There were approximately 155 bands and 2,400 bandsmen in the service of the Confederate armies. Forty bands surrendered at Appomattox and many others not listed on final muster rolls were found to have served through the war. While most Confederate musicians and bandsmen were white, many black musicians were regularly enlisted soldiers who provided the same services. A chapter is devoted to the contributions of black Confederate musicians.

The purpose of the study was to determine judgments of trained musicians regarding the intonation of complex tones in the context of synthesized woodwind ensemble performances. Problems included in the study were (1) estimation of the point in pitch deviation which would result in out-of-tune judgments, (2) investigation of timbral effects on judged intonation, and (3) investigation of effects of mistuning within differential voices.

The present study explored whether musicians could (1) differentiate among the timbres of bass tubas of a single design, but constructed of different materials, (2) determine differences within certain ranges and articulations, and (3) possess different perceptual abilities depending on previous experience in low brass performance. Findings indicated that (1) tubas made to the same specifications and constructed of the same material differed as much as those of made to the same specifications, constructed of different materials; 2) significant differences in perceptibility which occurred among tubas were inconsistent across ranges and articulations, and differed due to phrase type and the specific tuba on which the phrase was played; 3) low brass players did not differ from other auditors in their perception of timbral differences.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between personality traits and job satisfaction among music teachers. The research problems were 1. to investigate the areas of job satisfaction of music teachers; 2. to investigate the patterns of personality traits that were common among music teachers; 3. to determine whether relationships existed between the areas in which the music teachers showed job satisfaction/dissatisfaction and their personality profiles.

The purpose of the study was to investigate conflicts in the perceptions of band directors, band parents, band students, and selected school personnel regarding the role and scope of their respective band programs. The problems were to examine the relationships among these four groups in terms of selective perception, perceptual constancy, and polarization. Questionnaires were developed in order to survey the senior public high schools in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In addition to demographic data, the questionnaires included perceptions about public performances, marching, concert, and jazz bands; contests and festivals; and other band related activities which might be desirable in a band program. The questionnaires concluded with opportunities for open-ended comments and suggestions about the survey instrument and the band program. Statistical computations included one-way analysis of variance, chi-square test, frequency counts, and cross-tabulations. Qualitative analyses and reports of interviews helped to clarify and interpret all statistical findings.

This study attempted to explore the strength and nature of relationships between specific intellectual information processing skills included in a multi-dimensional model conceived by Guilford, and measured by Meeker's Structure of Intellect - Learning Abilities Test, and specific musical aural discrimination skills as measured by Gordon's Musical Aptitude Profile. Three research questions were posed, which involved determining the strength and the nature of the relationship between MAP melodic, rhythmic, and aesthetic discrimination abilities and the intellectual information processing skills comprising the SOI - LA. Both instruments were administered to 387 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from schools in the Dallas area. After a pilot study established the feasibility of the study and reliability estimates of the test instruments, multiple regression analysis determined that 10% to 15% of the variance between intellectual information-processing skills and the individual musical aural discrimination abilities was in common (r = +.32 to r = +.39). It was further determined that only six specific SOI intellectual dimensions, all involving the skills of "Cognition" and "Evaluation", were significantly related to the musical aural discrimination abilities. Through the use of the Coefficient of Partial Correlation, the strength of each individual information-processing skill's unique contribution to that covariance was …

The purpose of this study was to investigate aspects of pitch perception of auditors when presented with musical tones whose frequencies were modulated. Research problems were: estimation of the effect of musical training upon pitch perception; estimation of the effect of stimuli of differing tonal qualities and frequency ranges upon perception; and estimation of the effect of solo and ensemble performances upon pitch perception. Subjects for the study were thirty musicians and thirty nonmusicians. Subjects were students at North Texas State University and Paris Junior College who had volunteered for the study. A test containing thirty-six items was developed which required subjects to match a tone created by a sawtooth wave generator to a simultaneously presented musical tone performed with vibrato. Each subject was tested individually, and allowed three attempts to match each test item. After the third playing of each item, a reading was taken of the frequency selected by the subject, Using the split half method, reliability for the test was found to be .86 for nonmusicians and .88 for musicians. ANOVA evaluation of responses of subjects indicated that there was a significant difference.in the location of pitch among musicians and nonmusicians, with musicians locating the pitch somewhat …

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 purpose of this study was to provide, through systematic investigation, empirical data to support or reject the assumption that auditory stimulation by discrete pitches evokes consistent muscle responses in the extrinsic laryngeal muscles. The study was an electromyographic investigation of specific upper and lower extrinsic laryngeal muscles as stimulated by two specific pitch stimuli. The responses were evoked by auditory stimulation, without vocalization. From these findings, it was concluded that a direct relationship exists between specific pitch stimuli and specific extrinsic laryngeal muscle responses. It was concluded that these responses likely exist in the general population.

The purpose was to investigate the career realities and occupational concerns of successful full-time performing instrumentalists. Four research problems were formulated; (1) the establishment of a demographic profile of musicians who perceived themselves successful; (2) the determination of the musicians' career realities; (3) the determination of the musicians' occupational concerns; and (4) a comparison of the relationship of the demographic profile to the career realities and occupational concerns. A pilot study was used to develop a questionnaire and an interview schedule. The sample for the main study was chosen by the questionnaire and consisted of twenty musicians, five each in the musical categories of jazz, classical, commercial and pop. To resolve research problem one, the questionnaire also collected general demographic data. Research problems two and three were fulfilled by an interview schedule based upon career realities and occupational concerns cited in previous sociological studies. The realities and concerns were either confirmed or refuted by each interviewee. The career realities were role conflict, career contingencies, musical labels, life style, hierarchies, audience relationships and environment. The occupational concerns were mobility, status, entrapment, personal contacts, dependency, security, competition, economic issues, working conditions, travel requirements, appearance, management control, auditions, maintenance of skills and training …

The specific problems investigated involved identifying and describing the characteristics of fundamental frequency, overall intensity, and spectral content in unaccompanied and ensemble performance settings. Additionally, comparisons and descriptions of the relationships among these acoustical parameters were made. Fifteen trombonists were used as research subjects. Each subject recorded a selected musical excerpt in the following performance modes: high register unaccompanied, harmonic, and unison ensemble; and low register unaccompanied and unison ensemble. Tape recordings of these subjects were used in conjunction with certain electronic apparatus to obtain data on frequency, intensity, and spectral content. Based on these data, descriptions of these acoustical parameters and comparisons of unaccompanied and ensemble performance settings were made.

The study described through content analysis the general music course in the secondary school as perceived in selected curricular sources from the 1960's and 1970's. As various writers of curricular sources developed their own content and methodologies, a vast amount of data became available which seemed unmanageable because of the particular philosophical goals chosen for the course. The study organized in a systematic manner the content and methodologies of the.course by means of eighteen categories. Categories of high frequency inclusion in the general music sources were shown to be the elements of music, music vocabulary as a specific area for learning, the predominant choice of classical Western/art music, the use of listening and creative activities and the discussion of psychological learning principles.

This study investigated the relationship between selected measures of self concept as perceived by a group of choral conductors, their eye dependency on score, and the measures of expressive voice. The problems were (1) to determine the degree of perceived self concept of a selected group of choral music teachers through measures of (a) total self, (b) physical self, (c) moral-ethical self, (d) personal self, (e) family self, and (f) social self? (2) to assess eye dependency on score of the same teachers; (3) to assess the aspect of expressive voice through measures of (a) pitch levels of modulation, (b) speech flow, and (c) voice energy level; and (4) to examine the relationship between the measures of self concept, eye dependency on score and expressive voice.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an auditor's past musical training and experience on the intelligibility of selected vowel sounds at differential pitch levels. The specific problems of the study were to investigate the effects of extensive vocal music training, extensive non-vocal music training, and limited or no music training on an auditor's ability to discriminate accurately selected vowel sounds performed at various pitch levels. The effects of pitch and vowel sound on auditor recognition of vowel sounds in singing and the ability of each singer to be intelligible to auditors was also investigated.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the multi-sensory responses of children to symbolizing musical sound through speech rhythm patterns. Speech rhythm patterns consist of the number of syllables and the stress/nonstress relationships of these syllables in a word or a phrase. The research problems were (1) to determine children's responses to speech rhythm patterns according to the differential sensory modes used; (2) to determine the children's responses to speech rhythm patterns by age, and (3) to compare children's responses to speech rhythm patterns by age and sensory modes.

The problem of this study was to determine the perceptions of music educators at selected United Negro College Fund colleges and universities concerning the importance of music teaching competencies and courses for prospective public school music teachers, it was further designed to (a) determine if the music educators were in agreement with the published competency recommendations of the National Association of Schools of Music and the Music Educators National Conference for preparing prospective public school music teachers and (b) to discover if there were significant differences in UNCF music educators' perceptions across selected independent variables concerning the importance of those competencies and courses.

This study investigated how and to what extent music listening was initiated by elementary general music teachers. The specific problems of the study were (1) identification of activities and materials related to music listening and (2) the determination of how and to what extent assigned and assumed music listening was initiated in the selected classrooms. Systematic observation was chosen to investigate these problems. An observation instrument, the Elementary Music Listening Schedule (EMLS), was developed by which eighteen elementary general music teachers were observed during ten lessons.