MEMT Dissertation & Thesis Abstracts Catalog

2016

Berroth, Jennifer L. Noise and Vocal Doses Acquired By an Elementary School Music Teacher Across Nine Days: A Descriptive Study. ME-MME, JD 2016. (May 2016)

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to assess the status of vocal (KayPentax APM) and noise (Etymotic ER200D dosimeter) dosages acquired by an elementary school music teacher (N=1) during waking hours across (a) a full teaching week (5 days) and (b) 2 weekends (4 days), one prior to and one and after the teaching week. Various studies to date have examined vocal dosages acquired by music teachers. Other studies have analyzed noise dosages acquired by music teachers. No study, however, has yet examined vocal and noise dosages acquired simultaneously by the same music teacher. Primary findings indicated: (a) mean vocal distance doses and noise doses acquired during teaching hours exceeded doses acquired during non-teaching hours; (b) the most elevated Dd and noise dosage levels occurred during choir rehearsals and sixth grade general music classes; (c) the participant exceeded recommended NIOSH noise doses on 4 of the 5 teaching days. (d) comparison of noise dose percentage and vocal dose percentage during teaching hours indicated, overall, that voice dose percentage appeared to align directionally with noise dose percentage; (e) however, there were some class periods where vocal dose percentage exceeded noise dose percentage. These results were discussed in terms of proactive voice and hearing care for elementary school music teachers, possible relationships between acquired vocal and noise doses, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research.

Brown, Debra R.Listening Lesson Practices in the Elementary General Music Classroom: A Mixed Method Approach. ME-PHD, DH 2016. (May 2016)

The purpose of the study was to examine elementary general music teachers’ listening lesson practices in kindergarten through sixth grade using a mixed-method research design. The listening lesson practices were investigated by musical genres used and by curricular application of the music. The belief system for the role of listening lessons in the curriculum was examined as well as materials and technology used to teach the lessons. Finally, the frequency and duration of the lessons were investigated. Two phases of research were implemented using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design (Creswell, 2014). The first phase consisted of an online survey distributed to all NAfME members in the Midwest identifying as elementary general music teachers (n = 4,432). The second phase followed, that consisted of personal interviews with Midwestern elementary general music teachers (n = 6). Data from the survey questions were analyzed through percentages and frequency counts. From the survey data, the open-ended questions for the interviews were constructed. The interview participants were distributed evenly in three locales, two rural, two suburban, and two urban. They lived in three different Midwestern states and worked in six different districts. Each phase-two participant was interviewed twice for about 30 minutes. The researcher transcribed all interviews and coded them using Gilligan’s listening guide (Gilligan, Spencer, Weinberg, & Bertsch, 2006). Results indicated the participants integrated listening lessons into their instruction regularly. Though they used listening lessons to teach biographical, historical, and/or cultural aspects of music, they showed a preference for listening lessons integrated with musical element concepts such as timbre, form, rhythm, meter, melody, harmony, texture, tempo, and/or dynamics. Participants used a variety of materials to teach the lessons, which included published as well as participant-generated resources. Technologies used to present the music included digital recordings, images, and various video materials viewed on a monitor or projected. Participants felt that listening ivlessons supported curricular goals for singing and playing skills, music literacy, and creating music. The lessons were also connected to teaching about performers, composers, historical topics, and cultural music. Participants indicated that most used 11-30% of their class sessions teaching listening lessons. Younger children had lessons of shorter duration. The duration did not generally affect the frequency of lessons; however, the topic, for example form, sometimes affected the duration. Participants incorporated listening lessons for four reasons; (a) as exposure to music genres, (b) to reinforce or introduce musical concepts, (c) to aid in classroom management, (d) as an expectation of the profession. Recommendations and implications were discussed in connection to these results.

Caine, Kara N. A Conceptual Framework for a Music-Based Bonding Intervention for Fathers with Premature Infants in the NICU. MT-MME, DH 2016 (May 2016).

Premature birth has long-term effects on an infant’s development. Admittance to the NICU is stressful for both the infant and the parents. In this environment, parents may have barriers to bonding with their infant, making it more difficult to form a secure infant-caregiver attachment. The quality of attachment between an infant-caregiver can be predictive of future psychopathology or can act as a protective factor. Research is emerging regarding the father’s distinct role and experience of becoming a parent in the NICU, and no published music therapy literature has focused specifically on fathers and their bonding and attachment with their premature infants in the NICU. The purpose of this study is to understand the unique experience of fathers with a premature infant admitted to the NICU in order to generate a conceptual framework, grounded in theory, for how music therapy intervention can increase secure father-infant attachment relationships. An iterative review of literature, and ecological systems theory and causal modeling were used to identify the key constructs relevant to the father’s unique experience in this setting. A theory-based conceptual framework for a music-based bonding intervention for fathers with premature infants in the NICU is illustrated. Implications for further research and clinical practice were also explored.

Chin, Yu-Ling. Exploring the Feasibility of Group Musical Dual-Task Training in Community-Dwelling Older Adults Who Have Concerns About Falls.MT-PHD, CC 2016. (May 2016)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and limited efficacy of Group Musical Dual-Task Training (G-MDTT) for community-dwelling older adults who had concerns about falls. G-MDTT asked the participants to practice performing two music-related tasks at the same time and was designed to reduce fall risk factors including impairment of executive function, dual-task cost, and balance, and concerns about falls. Six participants with a mean age of 79 volunteered for the study. They were requested to attend a 40-minute group session, two times a week, across one month, for a total of eight sessions. Overall results support the feasibility of GMDTT to community-dwelling older adults who have concerns about falls and revealed the potential of G-MDTT to reduce the dual-task cost on walking speed in task-specific trained tasks such as “Subtraction 3” task and “Auditory Stroop” task, with some modifications. Recommendations for modifications were discussed and included in the G-MDTT Intervention Manual for clinical application.

Fitch, Katie N. Music Therapy Internship Directors’ Perspectives on the Importance of Emotional Intelligence. MT-MME, CC 2016. (December 2015).

Emotional Intelligence is one’s ability to perceive and use emotional information in oneself and in others, and to make decisions based on this information. It is made up of emotional competencies, which encompass perceptions and expressions of the self, relational interactions, decision-making, as well as coping and regulation skills. To date, little information is available concerning the observation and assessment of the emotional competencies in music therapy students as they navigate the internship application process. This study investigated the extent to which a student’s Emotional Intelligence impacts National Roster Internship Directors’ decision-making processes for determining a student’s suitability to their internships. Specifically, it examined the importance of Emotional Intelligence in determining student suitability, the methods used during the internship application process to assess the emotional competencies, and the importance of Emotional Intelligence as compared with other skills typically assessed. Fifty-four National Roster Internship Directors completed an online survey. Responses were collapsed and examined using descriptive statistics. Internship Directors indicated that Emotional Intelligence is an important factor in selecting their interns. All respondents indicated that the emotional competency, Empathy, was either ‘important’ or ‘very important’ (on a Likert-type scale ranging from ‘very unimportant’ to ‘very important’) in determining a student’s suitability. The development of consistent language regarding Emotional Intelligence may provide cohesion between Internship Directors and Academic Program Directors and better prepare students to thrive in the music therapy profession.  

Joplin, Kendall. Survey Results For the Current State of Censorship in Adult Psychiatric Music Therapy Sessions. MT-MME, AD 2016. (May 2016)

The purpose of this study was to investigate current censorship practices and beliefs of music therapists working in adult mental health settings. The research questions are: (a) what music, or elements of music, do music therapists censor during music therapy sessions? (b) If music therapists censor, what are their reasons for censoring? The participants for this study were 42 board-certified music therapists who completed an online survey investigating their current censorship practices within sessions. Censorship was broadly defined as music therapists refraining from using, or redirecting clients away from using, certain lyrics, themes, songs, or genres of music during therapist planning and facilitation of sessions. The majority of respondents (78.57%) censor at least one musical element, including themes (69.05%), lyrics (66.67%), and genres (16.67%). Reasons for censorship revolved around issues with treatment, including other group members’ responses, client comfortableness, emotional distress, self-esteem issues, and negative impact on the therapeutic relationship. However, about 25% reported personal beliefs affected censorship, such as their comfort with the content, religious beliefs, and believing the client cannot benefit in any way from hearing the music. Further research needs to be conducted on how lyrics, themes, and genres impact clients, and if these elements facilitated by a music therapist could be used to address and work through some of the issues and concerns presented by the music.

Martin, Tenessa G. Teacher Time Use in an Elementary General Music Classroom. ME-MME, DH 2016. (December 2015).

The workload of a teacher is often demanding, and according to a variety of studies, often causes teachers high levels of stress and early burnout. To better understand the composition of that workload, a descriptive case study was undertaken to investigate specific time use. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to learn how an elementary music teacher spent her time during the workday in teaching and non-teaching activities. The participant, purposefully selected on her schedule variety and willingness to participate, taught music in an elementary school in a Midwest suburban school district. Her teaching load included kindergarten through sixth grade (roughly ages 5-12) and seven blocks of class times per day with each grade being represented for forty-five minutes each, demonstrating a typical teaching assignment. The study was conducted using a three-pronged approach and focused on one music teacher in one elementary school. The data were collected from a self-reported time diary, direct observations, and an interview. Data were analyzed for the participant’s time diary and the observer’s diary for: (a) instructional time and non-instructional time and (b) particular activities related to each category; and for the interview, for narrative explanations of time usage. Results indicated that the participant was required to be present at work for seven hours and fifteen minutes each day. Of that time, the participant was required to teach class for five hours and fifteen minutes. Over the four-day investigation period, which included a self-reported time diary and direct observations from the researcher, the participant exceeded her requirement by a total of seven hours and thirty minutes, essentially working the equivalent of an additional day. Over the four-day investigation period, the results indicate the participant spent 1,270 minutes or 57.99% on instructional activities which centered on singing and playing instruments; and 905 minutes or 41.32% on non-instructional activities, particularly on set-up/cleanup time and personal business. The iv results also showed the participant was consistent in her time usage. From the interview, data demonstrated that time was a challenge and inadequate to complete necessary tasks. The findings in this study suggest that adequate preparation time is important to actual classroom teaching. 

Rollings, Amelia A. Head Over Heels: The Effects of Three Heel Heights on Postural and Acoustical Measures of University Female Voice Majors, and Measured Relationships Between Heel Height, Pitch, Vowel, Behavior, Head Position, Jaw Opening, and dB SPL. ME-PHD, JD 2016. (August 2015).

The purpose of this study was (a) to determine the effects, if any, of 3 simulated heel height conditions (0.0 in., 1.5 in., 3.0 in.) on postural (head position, jaw opening) and acoustical (LTAS, dB SPL) measures of university female voice majors (N = 35) in 2 conditions (silence, singing sustained [α] and [i] vowels on each pitch of a 2-octave A-major scale [A3-A5]), and then to (b) assess selected relationships between heel height behavior conditions, postural data, and acoustical data.

Primary finding included significant main effects for heel height, pitch, vowel, behavior, and formant location conditions on participants’ postural and acoustical data. As heel height increased, participants significantly (a) decreased head position angle 1 and angle 2, (b) decreased jaw opening, (c) decreased LTAS mean signal energy, and (d) increased amplitude (dB SPL). When singing the open vowel of [α] compared to the closed vowel of [i], participants significantly (a) increased head position angle 1 and angle 2, (b) increased jaw opening, and (c) increased amplitude (dB SPL). From silent to singing behaviors, participants significantly (a) increased head position angle 1 and angle 2, and (b) increased jaw opening. Participants significantly increased head position angle 1, head position angle 2, and jaw opening when singing pitches above the point where the fundamental frequency (F0) would equal or exceed the first format frequency (F1) of the low pitch of A3.

Data analyses yielded multiple significant interactions between independent variables and indicated significant, moderate to strong, positive relationships between (a) pitch and dB SPL, (b) pitch and jaw opening, (c) jaw opening and behavior, (d) jaw opening and head position angle 1, and (e) jaw opening and dB SPL, and significant, moderate, negative correlations between (a) jaw opening and vowel, and (b) heel height and head position angle 1.

Results were discussed in terms of general outcomes, considerations for vocal music education and voice research, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future investigations.

Keywords: heel height, pitch, vowel, head position, jaw opening, formant tuning

Skarbakka, Lisa. The Influence of Music-Assisted Coping Strategies on Dyspnea, Anxiety, and Self-Efficacy for Patients in Home Care Occupational Therapy: A Feasibility Study. MME-MT, CC 2016. (August 2015).

Review of Literature: Current dyspnea research shows a need for more investigation of nonpharmacologic interventions that promote self-efficacy, address multiple dimensions of dyspnea, and help disrupt dyspnea-anxiety cycles. Clinical studies and emerging information on the neurophysiological effects of music show evidence and potential mechanisms for music to enhance dyspnea self-management strategies.

Methods: The researchers recruited participants receiving home care occupational therapy for dyspnea management. Participants received an audio compact disc with verbal cues for guided relaxation and breathing techniques, with or without supportive music based on random assignment. Participants were asked to complete Modified Borg Dyspnea Scales for dyspnea intensity and unpleasantness (MBDS-I and MBDS-U) and a Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS) before and after each practice period, as well as a Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease 6-Item Scale (SECD6) at the beginning and end of the treatment period.

Results: Three participants initiated the study, and data was collected for one participant with COPD (n=1). The pre-treatment SECD6 reflected moderate self-efficacy, and a posttreatment SECD6 was not collected. The MBDS-I, MBDS-U, and SUDS showed consistent decreases between pre- and post-intervention (mean decrease of 1.4 points in dyspnea intensity, 1.9 points in dyspnea unpleasantness, and 3 points in subjective distress).

Discussion: Though the data showed decreases in dyspnea and anxiety, the sample size was too small to interpret the results. The study revealed potential improvements for future research.

Keywords: dyspnea, occupational therapy, coping strategies, self-management, music intervention, breathing, relaxation

Smiley, Alison. A Systematic Review of Attachment-Based Interventions for Caregivers and Young Children Living in Poverty. MME-MT, DHA 2016. (May 2016).

Almost half of the 11 million children under the age of three in the United States live in low-income families. Early childhood may be the developmental period most sensitive to the conditions affected by income and living in poverty places children at greater risk for low quality attachment. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize common themes, differences and shortcomings of interventions that aim to improve child-caregiver attachment and caregiver behaviors with children under the age of three who have been identified as living in poverty or a low socioeconomic background. Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Data extraction identified specific intervention characteristics and the quality of intervention reporting using the TIDieR checklist. Characteristics of the caregivers, children, and interventionists involved in the studies, intervention delivery method, group or individual intervention, location of intervention implementation, the duration, and dose of the intervention were coded from each article. Studies were also analyzed to identify cultural aspects of the participants involved in the interventions, and how those characteristics may have modified or changed the interventions. TIDieR intervention guidelines clearly revealed that more detail was needed in all aspects of intervention reporting. Identification and description of the procedures and materials were most often missing, making it difficult to compare and contrast intervention procedures, and replication of interventions. However, common characteristics of interventions were noted. Mothers were the primary caregivers involved in the intervention, most of were delivered face-to-face (n=18) and in the home (n=17). The majority of interventions (n=14) were provided in individual family/dyad settings as opposed to group settings. Eight studies addressed cultural characteristics regarding the participants involved or how attachment definitions may change regarding participants’ culture; most addressed language (n=6). Based on the results of this systematic review, it is recommended that interventions to enhance child-caregiver attachment and caregiver behaviors for those living in poverty should incorporate a multidimensional and culturally relevant approach, and be reported in a detailed way to allow for deep understanding and replication of the interventions.

Tast, Rebecca L. Jacquelyn Dillon: An Innovative Force in String Music Education in the United States. ME-PHD, CJ 2016. (August 2015).

The purpose of this study was to provide a history of Jacquelyn Dillon’s life, career, and influence on string music education. Although this study covered Dillon’s childhood and education, the primary research questions centered around the regional and national aspects of her career and the impact of these events on string music education in the United States.

The most important contribution of Jacquelyn Dillon’s career involves her usage and promotion of the heterogeneous string classroom teaching method, especially with beginning-level strings classes. Throughout her early teaching career, Jacquelyn Dillon explored and refined her skills teaching large heterogeneous classes. Dillon’s early teaching experiences, coupled with her work in the music industry, allowed her to turn the organization and development of a public school string and orchestra program, using the heterogeneous method of teaching, into a process that anyone could replicate.

Dillon was the first to provide a highly detailed, step-by-step approach to developing and teaching string and orchestra programs at all levels in her book, How toDesign and Teach a Successful School String and Orchestra Program. This text was the only one available at the time to provide a comprehensive approach to every aspect of the public school orchestra program. She then carried the process one step further in offering the Strictly Strings method book series, which contained a sequential approach to teaching beginning-level strings in a heterogeneous classroom setting.

At Wichita State University, Jacquelyn Dillon built a string music education program that gained national recognition as being on the forefront of change for teacher training procedures. It was through her work, that Wichita State University became known as one of a few select institutions that were producing quality string music educators in the United States during this time.

Jacquelyn Dillon is one of many individuals who have shaped the field of string music education to its current form. Her lasting contributions and resulting influence on the profession have made Jacquelyn Dillon deserving of a place in the written history of string music education in the United States.

Terrell, Daniel B. Examination of the Patterns of Band Ratings at the Iowa High School Music Association State Large Group Festival. ME-MME, CJ 2016. (August 2015).

The purpose of this study was to examine the patterns of ratings received by concert bands at the Iowa High School Music Association (IHSMA) State Large Group Festival from 2006 through 2014. Specifically, trends related to classification (school size), geography (district assignment), and literature selections were examined. Data used to examine patterns in classification and district were collected from the Iowa High School Music Association. The district assignments designated by the Iowa Bandmasters Association were adopted. It was found that school classification was an indicator of differences in ratings received at the festival. Post hoc comparisons indicated that ratings for Class 1A are significantly lower than Class 2A which are significantly lower than Class 3A and Class 4A. District assignment was also an indicator of differences in ratings. Post hoc comparisons indicated that only the Southwest district had significantly different (lower) ratings than the other five districts. Data used to observe patterns regarding literature selections were collected from band directors at schools where the festival was hosted over the nine-year span of the study. Despite incomplete records of performance literature, certain discernible trends were noted. Compositions with a difficulty level of “Grade 4”, newer pieces, and works by Frank Ticheli tended to receive higher ratings at the festival.

Wheeler, Beth A. The Effect of Using a Recording Paired With Specific Feedback On the Self-Evaluation Calibration Accuracy of Novice Performers.ME-PHD, CJ 2016. (May 2016).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of using a recording of students’ performance paired with specific feedback on the ability of middle school performers to accurately assess their own performance. Two conditions were employed: the introduction of specific verbal feedback while listening to a recording of the group’s performance (treatment) and listening to a recording of the group’s performance with no verbal feedback (control). The independent variable was the use of verbal feedback, and the dependent variable was the difference in calibration scores. Other factors examined for possible effects on the dependent variable include event, loci of focus (group versus self) and performance level (low-level versus high-level). Three research questions guided this study: (1) To what extent does specific feedback, combined with self-evaluation using a recording, promote self-calibration accuracy among middle school performers in instrumental music environments? (2) To what extent does the specific feedback impact the bands’ performance improvement, thus reflecting a group increased awareness over repeated events? (3) To what extent are middle school students able to differentiate their individual performance from the performance of the group in instrumental music environments? The band in the treatment condition started off worse, but improved more than the control group band. Students in the treatment group became better at differentiating their performance from the performance of the group than did the students in the control band. Differences noted for increases in awareness in the group environment did not transfer to calibration improvements in the solo performances. Entry level performance skills did not impact calibration awareness results. Verbal feedback worked for all students across the group.

2017

Bybee, Molly R. Music Therapists and Work: Experiences of Occupational Oppression in the Profession of Music Therapy. MT-MME, DH 2017. (May 2017).

Occupational oppression is a system of invisible barriers created by those in power that reduces the professional’s ability to perform work at the highest level. Barriers result from a combination of beliefs related to the value or worth of set occupations and their members. Occupational oppression is based on the assumption that certain professions are inherently superior or inferior. Barriers result from a combination of beliefs related to the value or worth of set occupations and their members. Oppressive experiences have been described within music therapy literature on burnout. However, the phenomenon of occupational oppression has not been explored within the profession of music therapy. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to establish and describe the phenomenon of occupational oppression within the profession of music therapy. Experiences of oppression were described using Young’s five categories of oppression – marginalization, cultural imperialism, exploitation, violence, and powerlessness (1990). Participants, 634 currently practicing board-certified music therapists, completed an online survey that was comprised of multiple choice, Likert-scale, and short-answer questions. Results support the existence of occupational oppression within the profession of music therapy. A majority of participants identified as having experienced oppression within their workplaces (56%) and identified the profession as being oppressed (76.6%). All of Young’s five categories of oppression (1990) were reported within participants’ responses. Forms of cultural imperialism were described most frequently, followed by marginalization, exploitation, powerlessness, and violence. Descriptions of experienced oppression occurred both in respondents who did and did not identify as having experienced oppression, suggesting that music therapists may have difficulty labeling oppressive experiences. Acknowledging occupational oppression within the iv profession of music therapy may be a critical first step towards developing solutions to improve workplace experiences for music therapists.

Davis, Megan. The Effect of Music Therapy on Joint Attention Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. MT-MME, CC 2017. (August 2016).

The purpose of this study was to explore further whether children with Autism Spectrum Disorder displayed more joint attention behaviors—interacting and requesting joint attention—during music therapy, cooperative play, or independent play conditions. Joint attention is defined as the shifting of attention between an object or event and an individual. The effects of different types of music therapy interventions on these joint attention behaviors were also examined. Participants (n = 4) engaged in 3 session types: 1) cooperative music therapy, 2) cooperative play, and 3) independent play. Using a 15- second observe, 5-second record time sampling method, intervals were coded for the presence or absence of interacting and requesting behaviors. Data were graphed and a visual analysis of the data revealed that a higher percentage of interacting behaviors occurred during music conditions than both cooperative and independent play conditions across participants. Data for requesting behaviors was inconsistent across participants, and therefore the results were inconclusive. Graphic analysis of the effects of music therapy intervention types on joint attention behaviors revealed that when the participant and researcher played the same instrument more interactions occurred, whereas when the researcher and participant played different instruments more requesting behaviors occurred.

Edwards, Evan R. All Tied Up: The Effect of Wearing a Necktie on Acoustic and Perceptual Measures of Male Choral and Solo Singing. ME-MME, JD 2017 (May 2017).

The purpose of this study was to assess acoustically (long-term average spectra and multi-dimensional voice profile) and perceptually (participant perceived phonatory ease and expert listening panel) the effect of wearing a necktie on male singing in choral (Experiment 1) and solo (Experiment 2) settings. No study to date has assessed the potential effects of wearing neckties in both choral and solo vocal settings. Among primary results: (a) statistically significant differences in spectral energy between performances with and without a necktie in both the choral (2-4 kHz) and solo (0-10 kHz) settings, (b) increases in mean jitter and shimmer percentage measurements of solo singers with necktie, (c) significant reduction in perceived phonatory ease when singing while wearing a necktie in choral and solo settings, and (d) listener preferences for singing without a necktie in solo and homophonic choral settings. Results were discussed in terms of limitations of the study, suggestions for future research, and implications for voice pedagogy.

Keywords: necktie, choral singing, solo singing, long-term average spectra, multi-dimensional voice profile, perceived phonatory ease, expert listening panel

Hutchison, Steven J. The Effect of Providing Band Students with a Simplified Score on Their Performance Quality and Perceptions of Their Experience. ME-MME, CJ 2017. (August 2016).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of providing band students with a simplified score on their performance quality and perceptions of their experience. Subjects were students (N = 38) enrolled in two intact high school band ensembles at two different K-12 parochial schools in the Midwest. Subjects learned and performed two pieces of band literature; one with traditional single-line parts and one with an experimental simplified score. Pretest and posttest recordings were made of band performances with each score type and then rated by professional music educators (N = 33). In addition, students filled out a reflective survey about their experience learning and performing the piece with each score type. Rehearsals were also video recorded to observe student and instructor behaviors in relation to the score type used. Results of video analysis and coding did reveal a few significant differences; however, these could possibly be attributed to instructor individuality. Survey results indicated there was no effect of score type on the positivity of a student’s perception of the learning experience. However, results did show students liked the new simplified score. The results of the simplified score’s effect on performance quality varied between schools and no significant effect of score type was found. However, further analysis suggested there may be more learning potential with the simplified score.

Joseph, Megan. Clinical Decisions of Music Therapists in the Treatment of Individuals with Eating Disorders. MT-MME, CC 2017. (May 2017).

The purpose of this study was to determine common treatment goals and subsequent musicbased interventions used by music therapists who work/worked with patients with eating disorders and to begin gathering information on the intentional adaptation of the elements of music commonly used to increase success of these treatment outcomes. Further, the intent of this survey was to provide a synthesis and overview of current clinical practice and wisdom useful to students and clinical music therapists interested in working with this population or those interested in conducting intervention-based research to determine the impact of music-based interventions on the needs of individuals with eating disorders. Emails were obtained from the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) for music therapists working in private practice, general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, mental health facilities, and eating disorder recovery centers. Results of the survey found that majority of participants did not work full time with people with eating disorders and indicated that 1-5% of their caseload was dedicated to people with eating disorders. The top two goal areas and associated interventions were emotional expression using improvisational instrument play and songwriting interventions and decreasing anxiety using relaxation/imagery interventions. The top chosen musical elements to adapt were lyrics and rhythm adapted in the context of improving verbal and non-verbal expression. Further findings and implications are discussed.

Kim, Borin. An Examination of Differences between Music Therapy and Talk Therapy on Intimacy in a Family-Patient Relationship at the End-of-Life. MT-MME, AD 2017. (December 2016).

The purpose of the study was to examine differences between music therapy and talk therapy on intimacy in a family-patient relationship at the end-of-life. The present study examined if music therapy is different from talk therapy in developing intimacy in a relationship between family caregivers and patients approaching death. To determine differences between music therapy and talk therapy, the researcher measured frequency of intimacy for ten family caregivers of dying patients, as indicated by (a) verbal intimacy, (b) affective intimacy, and (c) physical intimacy. Results showed no significant differences in verbal intimacy actions of family caregivers towards a dying loved one when comparing music therapy with talk therapy. Significant differences were found in affective intimacy and physical intimacy between the treatments. Music therapy resulted in significantly higher affective intimacy, and physical intimacy measures, when compared to talk therapy. Music therapy may be an effective therapeutic modality for family caregivers of dying patients to increase emotional and physical intimacy in a family-patient relationship at the end-of-life.

Lesiak, Marie. Mindfulness-Based Music Therapy Group Protocol for Individuals With Serious Mental Illness and Chronic Illnesses: A Feasibility Study. MT-MME, AD 2017 (May 2017).

Mindfulness is the practice of being fully aware of the internal and external happenings in the present moment (Kabat-Zinn, 2012). The purpose of this research study was to determine the feasibility of a mindfulness-based music therapy protocol for people with a combined serious mental illness and chronic illness. The research questions included: To what extent can the mindfulness-based music therapy protocol be delivered as intended to participants? Does this six-week mindfulness-based music therapy protocol affect (a) emotional, psychological, and social well-being and/or (b) increase mindfulness? Nine adults diagnosed with a serious mental illness and chronic illness participated in the six-week mindfulness-based music therapy protocol. Participants completed the Mental Health Continuum- Short Form (MHC-SF) (Keyes, 2009) and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) (Brown and Ryan, 2003) as pre- and post-test measures. The researcher implemented the mindfulness-based music therapy protocol as intended with minor modifications. Suggestions for future implementation are indicated. Due to fluctuating attendance and limited numbers for follow-up, the researcher used descriptive statistics to analyze change from pre-test to post-test. Results indicated an overall positive change in mindfulness scores, but a decrease in well-being scores. Follow-up questionnaire responses were positive and indicated psychosocial benefits as a result of participating in the group. Clinical implications for music therapists interested in implementing a similar mindfulness-based music therapy protocol are included.

Nelson, Heather R. The Effects of Actual Recital Hall and Four Digitally-Produced Variable Practice Room Environments on Phonatory, Acoustical, and Perceptual Measures of Vocal Performances by Experienced Female Singers. ME-PHD, JD 2017 (December 2016).

Virtual acoustics practice rooms have been marketed as a means to simulate acoustics of larger performance venues, thus potentially allowing users to practice as if they were in a given performance venue. No study to date has examined singer phonation behaviors in such virtual acoustics environments, compared these behaviors to phonation behaviors exhibited by the same singers in an actual recital hall, and solicited singer perceptions of virtual acoustics environments.

The purpose of this study was to assess selected phonation behaviors and perceptions of female vocal soloists (N = 20) as they performed in two rooms: (a) a university Recital Hall, and (b) an individual practice room with 4 digitally-adjustable simulations of reverberation and reflections (Practice Room, Large Auditorium, Large Recital Hall, and Arena). Participants performed the same sung material at the same tempo in each environment, with the order of the 5 environments randomized among participants to control for potential order effect.

Primary results of this study indicated that participants on the whole (a) exhibited significantly greater mean distance dose and timbral spectral energy in the Real Recital Hall than in the virtual acoustic conditions and (b) perceived significantly greater hearing efficiency and singing efficiency in the Real Recital Hall compared to the four simulated conditions. Although (c) there appeared to be no significant relationships between participants' exhibited amplitude and their perceptions of hearing and singing efficiency, (d) participant comments favored singing in the Real Recital Hall over singing with the virtual acoustic conditions.

Rawlings, Nicholas W. The Impact of Music-vs. Athletics-Based Social Skills Training on Adult-and Self- Ratings of Social Competence and Antisocial Behavior of At-Risk Youth.MT-MME, CC 2017 (August 2016).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a music therapy-based social skills training program compared to an athletics-based social skills training program for children with social skills deficits and interfering behavior problems. Eight fifth and sixth grade boys age 10-11 who had displayed social skills deficits or interfering behaviors in the school setting participated in five 1-hour social skills training (SST) sessions once a week for five weeks. The participants rated themselves on measures of Social Competence and Antisocial Behavior at pretest and posttest using the Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale (MASCS). The participants’ homeroom teacher and para-educator rated each participant on measures of Social Competence and Antisocial Behavior using the School Social Behavior Scales, Second Edition (SSBS-2). Results were mixed and varied according to the rater. Teacher ratings of multiple dimensions of Antisocial Behavior indicated the Music Group improved significantly more than the Basketball Group and indicated Defiant/Disruptive increased for the Basketball Group. Conversely, para-educators ratings of Social Competence and Antisocial Behavior indicated the Basketball Group improved while a decrease in functioning was observed for the music group although no significant results were obtained. Self-ratings of Social Competence decreased in both groups from pretest to posttest with the Music Group ratings decreasing more than the Basketball Group. Self-ratings of antisocial Behavior did not reveal any significant differences between or within groups. Future researchers should continue to work with small groups (three to six participants per group) but should repeat each condition with multiple groups in order to increase the sample size overall. Future studies should also consider increasing the number of sessions per week and extending the overall length of participation in an SST program.

Sims, Julia D. A Phenomenological Examination of Imposter Phenomenon in Music Therapy Students. MT-MME, DH 2017 (May 2017).

The current study investigated the prevalence, or lack thereof, of imposter phenomenon in music therapy students. Imposter phenomenon (IP) is an internal experience that describes feelings of fraudulence an individual may encounter, regardless of their achievements. A sample of music therapy students (n = 7) at a large, Midwestern AMTA-approved university were recruited to participate in one-time focus groups. An interpretive phenomenological analysis was performed on the transcripts, resulting in the development of three recurrent themes of discussion regarding IP: (a) uncertainty in transitions, (b) challenges of the music therapy profession, and (c) awareness and impact of IP constructs and patterns. These findings provide insight into the prevalence of IP in this population, and inform professors, supervisors, and other key stakeholders about the needs may of developing music therapy students. In addition, these findings aid in further solidifying and modifying the guiding theoretical framework of this study.

Stefan, Emily J. Effects of Conductor Preparatory Gesture Direction on Diaphragmatic Breathing of Individual Singers. ME-MME, MG 2017 (May 2017).

This study examined teenage participants’ (N=30) lateral abdominal expansion while breathing before singing America and viewing a videotaped conductor demonstrating an upward or downward preparatory gesture. PhiMatrix grid overlay software placed over participant videos allowed for measurement of abdominal expansion in millimeters. Results indicated: (a) a difference in abdominal expansion measurement, although not significant, between breaths taken while observing upward and downward conductor preparatory gestures; (b) no significant overall difference on measurement of lateral abdominal expansion when comparing all participants; (c) participants with knowledge of diaphragmatic breathing had consistently larger abdominal measurements than participants with little to no knowledge; (d) male participants consistently displayed larger abdominal measurements when compared to female participants in three out of the four categories; (e) female participants demonstrated a larger abdominal measurement while viewing the downward preparatory gesture than while viewing the upward preparatory gesture; and (f) participants with more choir experience results were not significantly different than participants with less choir experience.

Stewart, Lindsey M. Traditional Learning, Cooperative Learning, and Recorder. ME-MME, DH 2017 (December 2016).

The purpose of this study was to determine whether cooperative learning strategies or traditional direct instruction would more positively affect the performance achievement of fourth- and fifth-grade recorder students. It was hypothesized that students participating in cooperative learning activities might perform differently in the areas of pitch accuracy, rhythm accuracy, and tone production than students who participated in traditional instruction. Many studies have indicated that cooperative learning positively affects achievement in the general education classroom because it addresses factors that impact student learning such as motivation, participation, practice, and self-efficacy. Because achievement in music, like achievement in the general classroom, was affected by these factors, it was possible that cooperative learning combined with direct instruction might suggest different results in the area of recorder performance than direct instruction alone. This study was initiated in a public school in Kansas and included 61 students (N=61). There were two fourth-grade classes and two fifth-grade classes, with one class in each grade randomly assigned to the control (n=30 ) or experimental group (n= 31). Students met for six class periods of 45 minutes each over a three-week period of time. The control group participated in direct instruction followed by Kagan Cooperative Learning activities, and the experimental group participated in direct instruction followed by teacher-led, whole group practice. Identical written and performance pre- and post-tests were administered to individuals before and after the study was conducted. An analysis of co-variance determined statistical differences between control and experimental groups in the areas of overall score, pitch accuracy, and tone production, but not in the area of rhythmic accuracy.

Wade, Leanne M. A Pilot Study of Pursed Lip Breathing, Singing, and Kazoo Playing on Lung Function and Perceived Exertion of Participants Who Smoke. MT-PHD, CC 2017 (May 2017).

Smoking is the leading cause of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Symptoms of COPD include persistent cough and dyspnea. Currently, music therapy protocols relating to COPD are therapist dependent and exceed 5-minutes. This pilot study examined if a 5- minute intervention of pursed lip breathing, singing or playing kazoo affected lung functioning or perceived physical exertion. Participants reported which interventions they found to be most helpful for breathing and whether they would choose to participate in those interventions either alone or with a music therapist. Participants completed a pre-intervention spirometry reading, all three 5-minute interventions (pursed lip breathing, singing, and kazoo playing) randomized to reduce order effect, and a post intervention spirometry. Participants completed the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion after each intervention and a post-intervention questionnaire. Participants ranked the interventions in order of which was perceived to be the most helpful for breathing. Mean results indicated pursed-lip breathing decreased the lung functioning while both singing and kazoo playing increased the lung functioning. The Ratings of Perceived Exertion results had minimal differences among interventions. Participants stated they would be willing to complete an intervention alone on a daily basis with three times a day being the most common answer. Participants ranked all three interventions similarly as being the most helpful to their breathing. Each music based 5-minute intervention (singing and playing kazoo) demonstrated a trend toward a positive change in lung functioning. The participants rated their perceived exertion as low with minimal change for all three interventions.

Keywords: COPD, lung function, singing, kazoo, smoking

2018

Gilespie, Melissa. Music Therapy In Public School Settings: Current Trends As Related To Service Provision Models. MT-MME, CC. 2018 (May 2018).

The purpose of this study was to investigate existing school music therapy service provision, including the role of the therapist and models of service delivery to provide an up-to-date overview of the field as of 2017. Participants included board-certified music therapists working in public school settings (n = 217) who completed an online survey of demographic, job, and caseload characteristics; model(s) of service delivery; and decision-making variables that may impact chosen service delivery model(s). This study expands upon previous surveys by providing an updated and more detailed profile of practicing school music therapists and their caseloads, as well as considering variations from “traditional” service delivery models to provide a more complete picture of the public school music therapist in the 21st century. In comparison to the most recent school music therapy survey data from nearly two decades prior (Smith & Hairston, 1999), participating music therapists in the present study had more master’s degrees, were required to have dual certification less often, held more part-time positions, and had worked for less time in schools. Most music therapists provided direct services to whole, self-contained special education classrooms (68.4%). Comparisons of survey results indicate that relationships may exist between the model(s) of service delivery chosen by school music therapists and their (a) number of years employed as a public school music therapist, (b) region of employment, (c) additional certification held, (d) number of music therapists in the district, (e) SPED team model, and (f) how music therapy is listed on the IEP. Further findings and implications for clinicians, administrators, and music therapy educators are discussed.  Future studies are warranted to understand the numerous variables related to school music therapy practice, support evidence-based practice, and promote the benefits of music therapy as a related service for students in public school settings.

Glaser, Emily. An Exploration of Enrollment and Retention Trends of Beginning Band and Orchestra Students in the First Year of Instruction. ME-MME, CJ. 2018 (December 2017)

The purpose of this study was to explore student attitudes towards enrollment and retention in first-year beginning band and orchestra classrooms. A secondary purpose of this study was to investigate if different instrumental ensembles or various school settings demonstrated unique student attitudes regarding enrollment and retention rates in beginning band or orchestra classes.

Enrollment and retention rates of participating ensembles were reported to supplement qualitative results. Seven categories of themes influencing enrollment and retention in beginning band and orchestra classes emerged through a constant comparative, grounded theory approach

of analysis: (a) family, (b) fun, (c) music, (d) musical history, (e) opportunities, (f) social, and (g) teacher. Results indicated that students enrolled in their first year of beginning band or orchestra because of the encouragement or influence of a parent or trusted adult. All students that elected to continue their enrollment in band or orchestra after the first year of instruction did under perceived support from their parents and/or instrumental music teacher. Ensemble- and location specific results were found, but were interpreted as circumstantial. Further research is necessary to explore the unique enrollment trends of these groupings. Results were discussed in terms of their value to band and orchestra teachers, their relationship to existing literature, limitations, and suggestions for further research.

Hernandez-Ruiz, Eugenia.Parents can do it, too: Developing a model to coach parents in the use of music interventions for children with ASD (systematic review, conceptual framework and limited-efficacy study). ME-PHD MT.CJ. (May 2018).

Early intervention has been considered best practice for children at risk or diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders for at least a decade. However, professional services can be limited due to availability or cost constraints. Parent-mediated interventions, where parents are trained in effective strategies to support their child’s development, have been investigated as a viable alternative. In music therapy, such services are scarce. The present work attempted to develop a model for parent coaching of music interventions anchored in the Parent-Early Start Denver Model (P-ESDM, Rogers et al., 2012). Three independent, yet connected, studies were undertaken: a systematic review of parent-mediated music interventions, development of a conceptual framework of parent coaching of such interventions, and a limited-efficacy study with an alternating treatment design. Results showed that parent education in music therapy is an emerging research interest, particularly in the last five years (2012-2017). An extensive narrative review of the literature in music, autism, and parent-mediated interventions showed that music could enhance the relationship-based treatment model by supporting the psychophysiological synchronicity of parent and children. Finally, a single-case study showed that parents can indeed learn the strategies and achieve initial fidelity, and that music might enhance the child’s communicative responses, compared to the original P-ESDM. Future research should study different approaches to music training that complement the P-ESDM coaching, as well as other feasibility measures.

Jang, Sekyung. Music-Based Emotion Regulation (MBER) Intervention Manual for Prevention of Depression in Older Persons. ME-PHD MT, CC 2018 (December 2017).

Despite unprecedented growth of the aging population and the need for evidence-based programs that target prevention of age-related depression, there is paucity of such programs in and outside music therapy. Lack of music-guided prevention programs makes it challenging for music therapists to make informed decisions about how to use music to increase emotion regulation skills of older adults in depression prevention framework. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop an intervention manual based on the Music-based Emotion Regulation (MBER) model, a theoretical model that suggests four emotion regulation strategies targeting depression prevention in older persons (Jang, 2016b). The manual was created within two integrated models of intervention and manual development (i.e. Preventive Intervention Research Cycle, Stage Model of Manual Development) and provided program overview, theoretical mechanisms of change, literature support, Therapeutic Function of Music Plan, program delivery schedule, session-by-session content, and fidelity criteria. The intervention was designed and described in a way that supports transparent and detailed reporting which may contribute to increased clinical utility, facilitation of replication studies, and further refinement and tailoring of the intervention. The manual development process was strategically placed within the author’s own research and will direct future MBER research line. Implication for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

Listhartke, April. An Introduction and Evaluation of a Preventive Music Therapy Intervention in the Context of Poverty: A Conceptual Framework. MT-MME EQ, DH-A 2018 (January 2018).

Poverty is a serious health problem accompanied by many consequential risk factors, that exist within Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. These environmental and parental risk factors lead to complex trauma and toxic stress. When traumatic events occur early in life, there is a detrimental impact on the development of attachment, self-regulation, language development, and social skills. Preventive interventions can help support these impacted developmental areas. One preventive intervention, Therapist and Music Attuned Co-regulation (TMAC), was developed at an inner-city child development center (ICCDC). This research establishes the theoretical foundation of this intervention within the context of the needs of children and families living in poverty. In addition, a conceptual framework will be discussed and compared to these theoretical foundations. This research includes an evaluation of this intervention and whether it addresses the identified needs of the population, followed by future recommendations to further address the effectiveness of the intervention.

Martin, Alan. Time Use and Reported Perceptions of University Voice Students During Self-Guided Practice Sessions: A Quantitative Content Analysis. ME-PHD, JFD 2018 (June 2017).

Little research has appraised the behaviors of musicians in practice rooms during self-guided practice sessions, and no study to date has investigated singers’ behaviors across multiple self-guided practice sessions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to document by audio-recordings and questionnaires the audible behaviors and expressed attitudes of university vocalists (N = 40) across 5 self-guided practice sessions with attention to (a) duration of practice sessions compared to previously expressed estimations, (b) participants’ attitudes and strategies with respect to vocal practicing, and (c) audible behaviors occurring during the first 15 minutes of practice. Among primary results: (a) Singers overall evidenced during the course of this study a mean practice session duration of 28 minutes; (b) There were significant differences in practice durations between male and female participants, and among some participants grouped according to reported years of voice lessons (<1-3 years and 6-9 years); (c) Mean estimations of participants’ practice durations based on prior questionnaire data exceeded by 9 minutes actual mean practice time; (d) A majority (65%) of singers said they followed an established practice routine, including a significantly greater percentage of female than male participants and a significantly greater percentage of students reporting more than three years of prior voice lessons than those reporting fewer years; (e) Undergraduate students indicated to a significantly greater extent than graduate students they had received advice on how to practice from a studio voice teacher; (f) Participants, on average, said they practiced 5 days per week; (g) Analyses of the first 15 minutes of recorded lessons indicated that these voice students on average spent the largest percentage of time (43%) on singing of repertoire, and the second largest percentage of practice time (36%) on warm-ups and vocal technical exercises, with non-performance majors spending significantly more time on repertoire and less time on technique than voice performance majors; (h) To a significant degree, practice time devoted to technique generally increased and time devoted to repertoire generally decreased as years of reported voice lessons (<1 – 9 years) increased; (i) Among participants overall, results indicated no significant difference between previously described modal first vocal practice behaviors (addressing warming up and technique) and actual first behaviors; (j) Of the 200 individual practice sessions examined, 141 (70.5%) began with singing behaviors not focused on repertoire. Results were discussed in terms of directions for future research, singing voice pedagogy, and limitations of the study.

Rigby, Lauren E. The Effects of Practice and Memorization Techniques on Goal Specificity among Novice Students. ME-MME, JMD 2018. (August 2017).

The purpose of this problem-driven content analysis was to examine differences between self-reported goals of novice high school orchestra students (N = 31) when given directions to either practice or memorize music during a 10-minute rehearsal. Participants were then interviewed about their definition of practice or memorization, what they did during rehearsal, and what they had planned to do during rehearsal. Findings from a Mann-Whitney U indicated no significant difference between median goal specificity among practicers and memorizers; however, results of interview coding revealed that participants who memorized demonstrated distinctly different rehearsal behaviors and goals than those who practiced, indicating unique strengths associated with each instruction. Profiles of what educators can expect to see from memorizers and practicers are included, and other implications for educators regarding deliberate practice are discussed.

Weingarten, Kevin. Bringing Hands Together Through Music: Dick and Georgia Bassett and the Association for Music in International Schools. ME-MME, CJ 2018. (December 2017).

The Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) is an international music education organization that currently serves 93 international schools in 53 countries on five continents. AMIS supports the students, teachers, and music programs of its member schools through honor ensemble festivals, conferences, and workshops held at various locales across the world each year, with 21 events taking place throughout the 2017-2018 school year. Though the scope of the organization is global today, its roots can be traced back to the creation of a standalone Honor Band and Choir Festival at the American School of London (ASL) in 1975 that provided an honor ensemble experience for the top music students at international schools across the United Kingdom. This honor band and choir owed its existence to the two founders of the organization, Dick and Georgia Bassett. The main goal of this research was to highlight the efforts of two remarkable, yet largely unknown, music educators who were integral to the advancement of western art music in international schools around the world. The research questions guiding this ethnographical account of the Bassetts’ and AMIS were: (1) How did the Bassetts come about creating and growing the AMIS organization and, (2) how has that organization impacted music education world-wide for the last 42 years? The narrative was constructed through analysis of Mrs. Bassett’s personal memoirs; extensive interviews with the Bassetts and current AMIS Executive Director, Keith Montgomery; informal interviews with AMIS teachers and festival conductors; AMIS Executive Council documents, including founding documents, board meeting minutes, and festival repertoire lists; and the discussions of AMIS teachers on the AMIS Music Educators’ Facebook Page. Mr. Bassett, an accomplished clarinetist, and Mrs. Bassett, a vocalist and violinist, met at Oberlin Conservatory, where they were studying to become music educators. The Bassetts’ Iv participation in honor ensembles in their formative years and in the “Oberlin in Salzburg” program - a year-long study abroad experience for Oberlin music majors at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg – provided the inspiration to look for opportunities for teaching overseas. “We were just sure we wanted to be different; to do something different” (Bassett G., Interview with author). Throughout their career, the Bassetts held teaching positions at the American Community School of Athens, Greece, the Community School in Tehran, Iraq, and ultimately in ASL in London, England, where the honor festivals began. Over the next twenty years, the festival grew in size and geographic scope, and other festivals were added to the calendar, as well. Officially founded in 1996, AMIS has continued to expand ever since to the global organization it is today. In 2014, the Bassetts officially retired from AMIS, but they still maintain active ties to the organization as consultants. AMIS creates musical experiences in international schools that would otherwise be unavailable to them: a professional network for teachers, unique learning opportunities for music students, and the promotion of music and music education in international schools around the globe. Because of the Bassetts, AMIS “brings hands together through music” (ibid.).

Wells, Kori E. The Perception of Music Therapy by Direct Care Staff of Older Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Phenomenological Approach. MT-MME, AD 2018. (July 2017).

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of direct care staff of older adults with intellectual disabilities who participate in music therapy services. Participants (N =5) were direct care staff (DCS) over age 18, either currently working or formerly worked as DCS at Cottonwood Retirement, and observed a minimum of one music therapy session with their client(s). Participants shared their experiences in individual 60-minute semi-structured interviews. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Six themes emerged: (a) DCS find music therapy effective in changing social, physical, emotional, and cognitive functioning, (b) DCS find personal enjoyment through connecting with consumers in music therapy experiences, (c) DCS are experienced and knowledgeable about consumers and encourage student music therapists (SMTs) to ask for help, (d) DCS apply and reinforce experiences practiced in music therapy to consumer activities outside of sessions, (e) DCS encourage SMTs to focus on physical, emotional, and social functioning, instead of cognitive functioning, of older adults with ID, and (f) DCS encourage SMTs to consider consumers’ individual characteristics and preferences in order to increase therapist flexibility and intuition.

Wilson, Jacob B. The Reasons Cited by Latino Students for Their Discontinuation in Band after the First Year. ME-MME, JMD 2018. (June 2017).

The purpose of this study was to determine the reasons cited by Latino students for their discontinuation in band after the first year of instruction. Participants were students (N = 10) enrolled one middle school in the Olathe Public School district in Olathe Kansas. Data was collected through two focus group session lead by the researcher. Focus groups were audio recorded in order to create transcripts for data coding. The study revealed four primary themes which students attribute to their decision to discontinue their participation in band after the first year; Personal Cost, Social Cost, Monetary Cost, and Denial of Choice. The first three themes, Personal, Social, and Monetary Cost are examined through the lens of Eccles’s Expectancy Value Theory Framework (1983). The fourth theme, Denial of Choice, is discussed as it relates to the idea of Autonomy versus Control in education.

2018

Coffman, Ashley K. THE EFFECTS OF CIRCULAR SINGER GESTURES ON ACOUSTIC AND PERCEPTUAL MEASURES OF MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL SINGING. ME-MME, MG 2018 (May 2018)

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of three singer conditions (low circular arm gesture, high circular arm gesture, no arm movement) performed by nine middle and high school choirs while singing. Recordings were analyzed on acoustic (long-term average spectra [LTAS]) and perceptual (singer and expert listener preferences) measures. Among primary findings: (a) results of a repeated measures ANOVA of LTAS data indicated a significant interaction effect; (b) entire spectrum grand mean and range differences between gestures comparisons indicate twelve pairings of more than 1 dB difference (Just Noticeable Difference); (c) more than half of the singer participants noticed differences in overall choral sound while using the high circular arm gesture; (d) participants in high school choirs noticed differences in individual vocal sound (80%) and overall choral sound (78%) when singing with the low circular arm gesture; (e) singer preference responses indicate 5 choirs preferred the high circular arm gesture, 3 choirs preferred singing without arm movement, and 1 choir reported a preference for the low circular arm gesture; (f) 63% of singer participants reported liking the addition of gestures while singing, (g) expert listeners ranked tone quality while performing with no arm movement highest for 5 choirs and while performing the low circular gesture highest for 3 choirs; and (h) 4 choirs received the same ranking from the expert listeners: (1) no arm movement, (2) high circular gesture, and (3) low circular gesture. Results were discussed in terms of comparisons of acoustic and perceptual measures, limitations of the study, and suggestions for further research.

Han, Ruozao A MENTAL MODEL OF MUSIC FAMILIARITY AND MUSIC PREFERENCE FOR MUSIC THERAPY PRACTICE. MT-MME, DHA 2018 (August 2018)

The purpose of this study was to review the researcher’s initial mental model of music familiarity and preference in music therapy and propose a revised mental model for the use of preferred and familiar music based on psychological and neurological constructs of music preference and familiarity. In order to collect exiting theories of related topics, the researcher identified several key words and then conducted searches in database and reference lists. Based on the psychological and neurological constructs of familiarity and preference, the researcher operationally defined familiar music and preferred music in music therapy, explained the relationship between familiar and preferred music, and presented a revised mental model. Suggestions for music therapy education and research were made based on these findings

Polasik, Shelbi L. A Theoretical Framework to Foster Parent-Infant Attachment during NICU Hospitalization through Music Therapy. MT-MME, DHA 2018 (May 2018)

A premature birth and subsequent admission into the NICU is a uniquely stressful event in a family’s life.  This hospitalization has effects on the infant’s developmental trajectory, the parents’ ability to provide cares for their infant, and the formation of secure attachment between the parents and the infant.  Due to attachment’s impact on future development of the infant, it is necessary to consider the impact of hospitalization on the ability of the family unit to develop a secure attachment.  Research discussing attachment and developmental needs of infants and their families is emerging and, currently, no music therapy literature exists that focuses on music intervention involving developmentally sensitive care and promoting secure attachment between parents and infants in the NICU.  The purpose of this study was to create an evidence-based theoretical framework for a music intervention that can promote attachment between parents and an infant in the NICU.  A review of literature and combination of the formal theories including transtheoretical model of behavior change, synactive theory of development, hierarchy of needs, and pediatric psychosocial preventative health model inform a moderated causal model that identifies important components of the attachment process between parents and infants in the NICU.  A theoretical framework to foster parent-infant attachment during NICU hospitalization through music therapy is illustrated.  Implications for clinical practice and future research are also discussed.

Teters, Caitlin E. An Investigation into Environmental Sound Levels and Vocal Behaviors of Female Secondary School Choir Teachers: A Collective Case Study. ME-MME, MG 2018 (May 2018)

The purpose of this study was to investigate voice use and vocal behaviors of female middle and high school choral music teachers (N = 3) across three standard school days by measurement of duration of specific vocal activities, average classroom sound levels during specified activities, and self-perceived voice use and classroom sound level for the full day containing middle school choirs, beginning/intermediate high school choirs, and advanced high school choirs. Among primary findings: (a) female secondary choral teachers spent the majority of voice use in the classroom speaking alone, speaking while students are speaking, and singing while students sing with piano accompaniment; (b) female secondary choral teachers spoke more while students were speaking during advanced high school choir rehearsals than middle school or beginning/intermediate high school choirs; (c) female secondary choral teachers sang while students were singing and the piano was playing more often when teaching middle school choir than high school choirs; (d) the highest classroom sound level occurred when teachers were singing along with students singing with piano accompaniment; (e) the use of the piano in the secondary choral classroom was largely responsible for high sound levels; (f) female secondary choral teachers underestimated amount of time spent speaking alone; and (g) female secondary choral teachers overestimated total voice use during instructional time. Results are discussed in the context of previous research, implications for present and future music educators, and recommendations for future research.

Yoo, Jeehyun THERAPEUTIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PERFORMANCE TO IMPROVE UPPER EXTREMITY FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH PARESIS AND APRAXIA AFTER STROKE. MT-PHD, CC 2018 (May 2018)

Therapeutic Instrumental Music Performance (TIMP) has been shown to improve upper extremity (UE) functions in stroke survivors.  While numerous studies have examined stroke induced paresis, research on stroke-related comorbid disorders remains limited, with relatively little consideration being given to the consequences of stroke.  Ideomotor apraxia (IMA) is one such common post-stroke consequence that may hinder the purposeful UE action and movements necessary for the performance of daily living tasks.  This study investigated the therapeutic potential of TIMP intervention to improve UE functions in post-stroke patients suffering concurrently from paresis and IMA.  Seven left-hemisphere stroke patients with IMA participated in 9 individual 1-hour TIMP interventions over a period of 3 weeks.  During each intervention, participants engaged in gross and fine motor exercises that primarily utilized drum and keyboard playing.  All outcome measures were assessed at baseline, pretest, posttest and a follow-up test 3 weeks post-intervention.  Clinical measures included the UE section of the Fugl Meyer Assessment (FMA), Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT), Box and Block Test (BBT), strength, ADL/IADL, and hand domains of the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS).  The Apraxia Screen of TULIA (AST) was used to assess apraxic impairments.  While therapeutic benefits varied, all UE functional levels of the participants demonstrated post-intervention improvements in gross and fine motor skills (FMA, WMFT, BBT) as well as perceived ADL skills (SIS).  Moreover, such positive gains persisted for 3 weeks after the intervention.  Participants continued to experience persistent IMA across the study timeline.  The results of this study indicated that patients with post-stroke IMA were able to reap benefits from the TIMP intervention, as evidenced by improvement in their UE functions and perceived ADL skills despite the persistence of IMA.  The findings of the study support the perception of TIMP intervention’s iv emerging efficacy in individuals suffering from post-stroke paresis and IMA, providing new information, implications and applications for both for researchers and clinicians.  Rigorous future research is recommended to spur the development of efficacious and innovative rehabilitation interventions aimed at optimizing patient quality of care.

Hoard, Ronette. DECISION FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MUSIC THERAPY STUDENTS SELECTING AN INTERNSHIP IN THE HOSPICE SETTING. MT-MME EQ, CC 2018 (DECEMBER 2018)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the general factors that contribute to the decision making process when choosing a music therapy internship and ascertain targeted factors that might impact an individual when considering a music therapy internship in a hospice setting. Participants who completed the survey (n=472) included student music therapists pre internship, student music therapists currently at internship or internship arranged, and professional music therapists and music therapy educators. Results indicated the general factors that participants considered when selecting an internship were: geographic location, setting, and population. Targeted factors that caused participants to make a selection for an internship in the hospice setting included: providing services to both the patient and their family, emotional context of working in a hospice setting, and working within a transdisciplinary team model. Through analysis of additional comments participants provided, some viewed hospice as a rewarding experience, while others commented on how they had experience working within the hospice setting and felt called to this setting. Targeted factors that caused participants to not want to consider an internship in the hospice included: working around individuals who are dying, emotional context of working in a hospice setting, and driving to multiple sites to provide therapy services. These participants were also provided an opportunity to make additional comments about their decision-making process and stated that they did not choose hospice because of the emotional strain, or perhaps had a desire to work in a specific setting other than hospice.

Tu, Wei-Hsuan. AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANAYLSIS OF MUSIC THERAPY CLINICAL SUPERVISION PROCESS. MT-MME, CC 2018. (DECEMBER 2018).

The aim of this Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study was to explore the process of clinical supervision for music therapy practicum from the perspective of the supervisor. Supervised clinical training in music therapy is required of student music therapists as part of their academic and clinical training prior to being qualified to take the board-certification exam. While music therapy supervision has been studied from different vantage points, the literature appears limited regarding the perspective of the supervisor in that process. With IPA as the methodology of the current study, the author conducted semi-structured interviews to investigate six supervisors’ lived experiences and sense-making process of the process of clinical supervision. Twelve superordinate themes emerged as a result of data analysis, suggesting that supervisors’ past experiences were impactful for their own growth in making effective decisions regarding supervisory models/approaches, techniques and formats. Supervisees’ behavior, personality characteristics and clinical potential were factors that impacted the supervisor’s perception of the supervisory process and supervisory relationship established on personal perspectives.

2019

Dame, Nathan. A MIXED METHODS INVENSTIGATION INTO SINGLE-SEX CHORAL ENSEMBLES AT THE MIDDLE-LEVEL. PHD-ME, DH 2019. (February 2019)

The purpose of this study was to comprehensively examine the frequency of single-sex choirs in middle school music programs, motivations for offering these ensembles, and both strategies for the implementation of and obstacles preventing single-sex choirs at the middle-level. The study merged simultaneously collected data from quantitative and qualitative sources to provide a greater depth of understanding of the research problem, thus aligning with Creswell and Plano Clark’s (2017) convergent mixed methods design. Quantitative data were collected through the Survey on Single-Sex choral Offerings (SSCO), a nationally-distributed survey disseminated to members of NAfMe, TMEA, and state ACDA chapters who also self-identified as middle school/junior high choral music educators. SSCO data were analyzed using descriptive statistical measures. Qualitative data were acquired through interviews of four middle-level choral directors who had recently separated their choirs into single-sex ensembles. Participants were demographically diverse, representing various geographical regions, school settings, type of school, campus socioeconomic status, and teaching experience. Data were transcribed, and coded into mutually exclusive categories, allowing themes to emerge.

The findings demonstrated that organizational designs varied among programs, with mixed-voice choirs the most common voicing used by responding choral directors. Director motivations for including either single-sex or mixed-voice choirs. Directors reported varying ease when facilitating change to include single-sex classes, used a variety of strategies and key players to do so, and experienced similar difficulties when presenting change initiatives.

While many of the programs with mixed-voice choirs preferred such designs, responses indicated either an interest of previous attempt by some directors to separate classes into single-sex ensembles. Recommendations for future research, implications for music education, and a conceptual framework for separating choirs into single-sex choirs were discussed, based on the results and responses of participants.

Smith, Amy. THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR A MUSIC INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE AUDITORY DEVELOPMENT IN VERY PRETERM INFANTS. PHD-MT, DHA 2019. (May 2019)

Very preterm infants are at a high risk for language delays that can persist throughout their lifetime. The auditory system is rapidly developing and highly sensitive to acoustic stimulation during the third trimester of pregnancy. The acoustic nature of the womb provides the essential foundation for auditory perceptual skills necessary for language acquisition. In contrast, the NICU environment presents a wider spectrum of sounds that can alter the early development of the auditory system and cause delays in language acquisition. Research supports the importance of early exposure to speech sounds for optimal development of auditory perceptual ability and the critical role of the intrauterine characteristics of language. Pitches below 300 Hz, as well as rhythmic patterns and prosodic contours are highly salient intrauterine features of language that make up the infant’s initial auditory experience. The purpose of this study is to form a theoretical framework as a structure for understanding how intrauterine speech characteristics of pitch, rhythm, and prosody can be implemented as active ingredients in a music intervention to improve auditory development and long-term language outcomes in very premature infants. The framework is presented and described in detail. Implications for a future research agenda and applications for clinical practice are explored.

Stafford, Karen. MUSIC TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESSES OF INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCAION PROGRAMS. PHD-ME, DH 2019. (May 2019)

The purpose of the study was to report on music educators’ perceptions of their involvement in the implementation processes of Individualized Education Programs. This included information about and participation in the IEP meetings and subsequent reception of communication of IEP documentation for the purpose of making appropriate adaptations for students with special needs in the music classroom. The study was conducted using a survey containing 7 Likert-type queries, two demographic questions, and an open-ended response option. Data from the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics, with the open-ended responses examined through coding and categorization to divide responses into themes with accompanying patterns. Overall, results indicated participants received information about upcoming IEP meetings and attended them at varying degrees or used alternative means to provide information to be used to determine adaptations. However, most did not request to attend meetings, even though those who did reported a belief that they would be welcomed. Participants also received IEP documentation, although reports of updates and details in the paperwork varied. Even though most participants utilized IEP paperwork to make decisions on adaptations, some reported difficulties making the necessary changes. Results implied professional participants and special education personnel did communicate with each other about adaptations to varying degrees, generally with good working relationships. By highlighting the experiences of music teachers had with their students’ IEP processes, this study may possibly contribute to music educator practices regarding the full implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates and more focused research on how successful implementation might take place. Keywords: Individualized Education Plan, IEP, IEP process, music education, special education, IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IEP meeting, paraprofessionals, IEP documentation

2011

Gadberry, Anita L. Communicative Acts in Music Therapy Interventions With and Without Aided Augmentative and Alternative Communication Systems. ME-PHD. DR. 2011 (August 2010)

Competent communication is essential in daily life, yet many people cannot communicate via the standard means of speech, and thus require the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Music therapists treat clients that utilize AAC; however, there is a lack of research literature examining communication in music therapy sessions with AAC. The present study used a within-subjects, alternating treatments design to assess (a) frequency of a client’s intentional communicative acts, (b) nature of a client’s communicative functions, and (c) frequency of therapist’s prompts for communication within a music therapy intervention with aided AAC and one without aided AAC. Clients (N= 9) demonstrated significantly more intentional communicative acts and a greater variety of communicative functions with aided AAC. Therapists (N = 6) did not significantly differ in the amount of prompts given in the two conditions. Results suggest that using aided AAC in music therapy sessions may increase the frequency of a client’s intentional communicative acts and functions.

Gadberry, David L. The Effect of Music on Transitions and Spoken Redirections in a Preschool Classroom. ME-PHD. CJ. 2011 (April 2011)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of music on transition duration for preschool-age children. Particularly, the focus was on transitioning between a preferred activity to a non-preferred activity, which was free play to cleaning up the toys from free play. Classroom teachers, without formal music education training, were given instruction in using musical transitions with both live and recorded music. Teachers were recorded singing without accompaniment for use during the recorded music treatment, and the teachers provided unaccompanied singing during the live music treatment. An ABAC reversal design was used to examine the baseline measurements (A) and the music treatments (B, C). Three classes were observed and treated using a single case design. Data collection consisted of the overall length of the transition in sections and behavioral differences for the teachers, which were the number of spoken redirections. The data concerning the first research question, whether there were differences in the transition lengths between the baseline and music conditions were shortest during the live music treatment in two of the three classrooms. The data addressing the second research question, which was whether there were differences in the number of spoken redirections, also showed the fewest redirections during the music treatments in two of the three classes. Of these two, one exhibited the fewest redirections during the recorded music treatment, and the other exhibited the fewest redirections during the live music treatment.

Giffin, Elizabeth J. The Effects of Vibroacoustic Therapy on Range of Motion and Spasticity Levels of Post-Stroke Patients in a Long Term Care Setting. MME-MT. AC. 2011 (June 2010).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of vibroacoustic therapy on range of motion and spasticity levels of post-stroke patients in a long term care setting. Six subjects participated in passive range of motion (PROM) engagement across six sessions. Each subject received all three conditions two times across the sessions, therefore receiving each condition twice. Condition A consisted of vibroacoustic therapy (VA) prior to PROM engagement and silence during PROM engagement, condition B consisted of silence prior to PROM engagement and VA therapy during PROM engagement, and condition C consisted of silence prior to and during PROM engagement. The Ashworth Scale was used in both pre and posttest to measure resting posture levels and a goniometer was used in both pre and posttests to measure range of motion. Analyses of data revealed that VA therapy during PROM engagement was significantly more effective than silence prior to and during PROM engagement for elbow range of motion scores. Results also indicated that both conditions of VA therapy were more effective than silence for shoulder abduction scores. The physical benefits indicated by the data suggest potential outcomes from further studies with a larger sample size.

McGuire, Lorissa. The Effects of Text Presentation (Sung/Chanted/Spoken) on Reading Comprehension of Children with Developmental Disabilities. MME-MT. CC. 2001 (August 2010).

National educational assessments monitor the achievement of students in the areas of reading, mathematics, and science. One academic area under particular examination is literacy. Literacy includes the ability to read, comprehend, and write. Children with developmental disabilities often have particular difficulties with comprehending text. These students may require more specific and individualized methods of instruction to successfully comprehend literature. Prior research indicates that music may have a positive effect on a child’s education, including literacy.

The purpose of this project was to investigate the effects of different text presentation (sung/chanted/spoken) on reading comprehension of students with disabilities. Children’s literature was used as the medium to compare comprehension abilities when the book text was presented as a melodic song, rhythmic chant, and spoken text. Participants (N=14) were students with developmental disabilities who demonstrated a significant delay in the area of reading comprehension and recall of story events as reflected on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). All participants took part in three experimental conditions: melodic song, rhythmic chant, and spoken text. During each trial, participants answered both text-based comprehension questions (during the story) and recall questions (after the conclusion of the story). Results indicated a significant difference between singing and reading for text-based comprehension questions, but not recall questions. This study supports the need for further investigation regarding the benefits of melodic and rhythmic text to facilitate literature comprehension.

Morton, Hilary L. Audience Members’ Recall of Lyrics in a Live Choral Performance Context. MME-ME. JD. 2011 (July 2010).

This study examined audience members’ (N=402) ability to recall lyrics in a choral composition immediately after the piece was performed live in a concert setting. Participants wrote down as many words contained in the lyrics as they could recall, and then briefly described in their own words the overall meaning of the lyrics. Among primary results: (a) 22.63% of participants recalled individual words from the performance; (b) recall among participants overall ranged from 0 to 27 words (M = 1.04 words); (c) regression analysis indicated a modest statistically-significant relationship between frequency of individual words recalled and years of choral ensemble experience; and (d) responses to overall meaning fell most frequently into categories of “Don’t Know” and “Love.” Results were discussed in terms of music-text relationships in choral music, limitations of the study, and suggestions for further research.

Oliver, Kathryn K. A Content Analysis of Educational Music for Teaching Automaticity of Multiplication Facts. MME-MT. CJ. 2011 (May 2010).

The purpose of this research project was to develop a resource for parents and educators looking for educational music that teaches multiplication facts. A content analysis was done of excerpts of 30 albums available online through Amazon.com. The results are given for characteristics from three categories: musical characteristics, educational characteristics and identification characteristics (title of album, artist, label and year released). Frequency statistics were given for each characteristic and it was then analyzed to determine which multiplication albums best utilize research-based practices for students with or without learning disabilities. The results indicated that one album was the best available product for students with learning disabilities and two more albums were the best for students without learning disabilities.

Price, Kathy K. Acoustic and Perceptual Assessments of Experienced Adult Female Singers According to Menopausal Status, Hormone Replacement Therapies, Singing Experience, and Preferred Singing Mode. PHD-ME. JD. 2011 (July 2010).

While previous research has examined characteristics of adult female speakers, comparatively fewer studies have investigated adult female singers. This study assessed by selected acoustic and perceptual measurements the vocal status and characteristics of experienced, adult female singers (N = 307), according to (a) menopausal stages (pre-, peri-, and post-menopause); (b) use or non-use of hormone replacement therapies (HRT); (c) singing experience (moderate or advanced), and (d) primary singing mode (solo or choral). Acoustic measures included perturbation (primarily absolute jitter and jitter percent, fundamental frequency variation), vibrato rate and extent, and range (distance and limits). Perceptual measures included a Vocal Context Survey, a Singing Voice Handicap Index, a Voice Change History, pitch range, and listening panel evaluations.

Among primary results were significant main effects for range distance according to hormone replacement, perturbation according to singing experience, vibrato extent and range limits according to menopausal status and singing mode, and listener evaluations by HRT, singing experience, and primary singing mode. There were some significant differences in distribution of Voice Change History comments according to menopausal status, singing experience, and singing mode. Post-menopausal singers had significantly more perceived problem comments than non-problem comments; pre-menopausal singers had significantly more non-problem than problem voice source comments.

Findings were discussed in terms of voice pedagogy for experienced, adult female singers in each hormonal stage, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research.

2012

Arezina, Clare H. The Effect of Interactive Music Therapy on Joint Attention Skills in Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. MME-MT. CMC. 2012 (December 2011).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of interactive music sessions on joint attention behaviors in preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Joint attention, the ability to share attention to a stimulus with another person, is a key deficit in children with ASD. Lack of joint attention behaviors contributes to the limited social and verbal skills that characterize ASD; joint attention behaviors are the primary component of the early screening for ASD advocated by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Participants (N=6; 5 male, 1 female) were between 36 and 64 months old at the time of the study, and were recruited from the child development program at a large Midwestern university. All children were enrolled in classrooms with curricula designed specifically for children with ASD. A multiple treatment (within-subject) design was used, with three treatment conditions: interactive music therapy, non-music interactive play, and independent play. Participants experienced each condition six times for a total of 18 ten-minute sessions over a five-week period. Session order was randomized to control for order effect. Behavioral observation of videotaped sessions was used to determine both interaction (responding to a bid for joint attention) and requesting behavior (initiating joint attention). Visual analysis of data graphs and statistical analysis were used to determine treatment effect. Interaction behaviors were most frequent in the interactive music therapy sessions, with less interaction in non-music interactive play sessions, and much less interaction during independent play. Although the difference between was less significant for the two children with the best interaction skills prior to the study, overall, the between-subject ANOVA revealed a significant difference in interaction among all three conditions (F [2, 105] = 62.028, p < 0.001; Bonferroni p < 0.01 between all conditions). Requesting behavior was highly variable across sessions, regardless of treatment condition, although requesting was generally iv higher in the interactive conditions than in the independent play sessions. Implications, limitations, and opportunities for further research are discussed.

Bender, Lisa. The Effect of Music Therapy on the Maladaptive Emotionally Regulative Behaviors of Adults with Developmental Disabilities. MT-MME. CC. 2012 (August 2011).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of individualized music therapy protocols in decreasing the duration of instances of elevated levels of maladaptive emotionally regulative behaviors in adults with developmental disabilities. The participants were four adults with developmental disabilities, recommended for the study based on the presence of severe and/or frequent instances of maladaptive emotionally regulative behaviors. ABAB reversal design was used to examine the effectiveness of the usual staff techniques (A) and the individualized music therapy protocols (B) in decreasing the duration of instances of maladaptive emotionally regulative behaviors. The independent variables were the following two conditions: interacting with each participant while he or she was exhibiting the targeted maladaptive emotionally regulative behaviors at a rate per minute that exceeded the participant’s usual rate per minute, using (A) non-music interventions recommended by staff, or (B) individualized music therapy protocols. The dependent variable was the time that elapsed from the onset to the conclusion of each instance of elevated levels of maladaptive emotionally regulative behaviors. Results from the four case studies indicated that music therapy protocols can be used to decrease the duration of instances of elevated levels of maladaptive emotionally regulative behaviors in adults with developmental disabilities, and that music therapy protocols can decrease these behaviors more quickly than the usual staff techniques in most cases. Three out of four participants responded better to the music therapy protocols than the usual staff techniques. The final participant responded to music therapy protocols and staff techniques exactly the same in terms of average duration of instances of elevated levels of maladaptive emotionally regulative  behaviors.

Ghetti, Claire M. Effect of Music Therapy with Emotional-Approach Coping on Pre-Procedural Anxiety in Cardia Catheterization. PHD-ME. AC. 2012 (June 2011).

Individuals undergoing cardiac catheterization, and related procedures such as electrophysiological studies involving cardiac catheter placement, are likely to experience elevated anxiety periprocedurally, with highest anxiety levels occurring in the waiting period immediately prior to the procedure. Elevated anxiety has the potential to negatively impact these individuals psychologically and physiologically in ways that may interfere with the procedure itself. Pre-medication via various common anxiolytics does not always adequately lower patients’ level of perceived anxiety, and at high dosages such medication may interfere with patient compliance during the procedure itself. This study evaluated the use of music therapy, with a specific emphasis on emotional-approach coping, immediately prior to cardiac catheterization in order to impact periprocedural outcomes. The randomized, pre-test/post-test control group design consisted of two experimental groups—the Music Therapy with Emotional- Approach Coping group (n = 13), and a talk-based Emotional-Approach Coping group (n = 14), compared with a standard care Control group (n = 10). Results support the use of music therapy with an emphasis on emotional-approach coping to improve positive affective states in adults awaiting elective cardiac catheterization and electrophysiological study. Statistically significant improvements in positive affect were seen after a single session of music therapy lasting 30- minutes in length. Conversely, participants who received a talk-based emphasis on emotional approach coping or standard care did not demonstrate improvements in positive affect. There was a significant overall decrease in negative affect for all participants in the study, regardless of group membership. Heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation levels did not differ significantly between groups. The MT/EAC group demonstrated a statistically significant increase in systolic blood pressure from pre-test to end of study intervention while the EAC ! iv! group demonstrated a significant increase in diastolic blood pressure from pre-test to post-test. The observed mean increase in systolic blood pressure was less than 10% over baseline, and thus likely reflects a benign increase in sympathetic nervous system arousal due to engagement in active music making. Though group means display a trend toward the MT/EAC group having shortest procedure length and least amount of anxiolytic required during the procedure, while the EAC group had least amount of analgesic required during the procedure, none of these differences was statistically significant.

Love, Justin W. The Relationship Between Rehearsal Structure and Contest Ratings for High School Bands  MME-ME CJ 2012 (April 2012).

The purpose of this study was to determine if the rating received by the band at a state music contest can be predicted by examining the amount of rehearsal time high school band directors allocate to various rehearsal components. Secondly, the study sought to determine if the inclusion of specific warm-up activities can predict a band’s contest rating. Lastly, the level of importance band directors place upon certain warm-up activities was compared to the frequency with which they include those warm-ups in regular rehearsals. For this study 47 high school band directors in Kansas completed the Rehearsal Structure Questionnaire (RSQ) via an internet based survey program. Survey responses were compared to the respondents’ 2011 Kansas State High School Activities Association State Large Group Music Festival ratings. Stepwise multiple regression analysis identified three models that contributed to the variance in contest ratings. Years of experience and the inclusion of breathing exercises predicted higher contest ratings, while the number of courses taught and amount of time spent on non-musical tasks predicted lower contest ratings. Demographic attributes of the participant sample do not match the general population of band directors in Kansas. This combined with the relatively low sample size makes results difficult to generalize to all high school band settings. The findings, however, do show that rehearsal structure and choice of rehearsal activities do play a small role in ratings at music festivals. Further investigation into the effectiveness of rehearsal structure and various warm-up activities is warranted.

2013

Anderson, Lauren The Use of Singing And Playing Wind Instruments To Enhance Pulmonary Function And Quality Of Life In Children And Adolescents With Cystic Fibrosis, MME-MT, CC 2013 (December 2012).

Although Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is one of the most fatal and devastating lung diseases in the world, treatments to enhance lung capacity and Quality of Life (QOL) are still in their infancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of music therapy, specifically singing or playing a wind instrument, on pulmonary function and QOL in children and adolescents with CF. Three participants with CF participated in this two week study, which consisted of two, thirty minute sessions a day, for a total of twenty sessions per person. The sessions for one week of the study included singing, playing the recorder or kazoo, and the other week included just talking, playing board games or playing video games. The Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) results and the Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire (CFQ) results were used in this descriptive study as outcome variables. These data were collected three times throughout the study: pre-study, mid-study and post-study. For two participants, PFT results showed a higher increase during the music week than during the non-music week. For the third participant, he did not complete the study and only participated in the full non-music week and two days of the music week. His PFT results increased more during the non-music week. No significant trends were found when comparing the CFQ results. Suggestions for future research are discussed.

Brunkan, Melissa C. The Effects of Three Singer Gestures on Acoustic and Perceptual Measures of Singing in Solo and Choral Contexts. PHD-ME, JFD 2013 (August 2012).

The purpose of this two-part investigation was to assess the potential effects of three  singer gestures (low, circular arm gesture; arched hand gesture; and pointing gesture) on performances of choral singers (N = 31; Experiment 1) and solo singers (N = 35; Experiment 2). Participants sang the melody of three familiar songs from memory on the neutral syllable “m/i/.” Songs were chosen for similarities of range, tessitura, and ascending intervallic leaps. Each song was sung seven times: Baseline (without singer gesture), five iterations of each song paired with a singer gesture, and a posttest (without singer gesture).

Experiment 1 measured acoustic (long-term average spectra) and perceptual (pitch analysis, expert panel ratings, and participant perceptual questionnaire) differences in choral sound across conditions.  Results indicated a significant increase in mean signal amplitude in sung gestural iterations with the low, circular gesture and pointing gesture. Intonation differences were significant between baseline and the low, circular gesture, baseline and posttest for the pointing gesture, and between the arched hand gesture and posttest.  Expert panel ratings were highest during gestural conditions across song selections, and the majority of participants gave positive comments regarding use of gesture during choral singing.

Experiment 2 measured acoustic (Fo, amplitude, formant frequency) and perceptual (expert panel ratings and participant perceptual questionnaire) differences of solo singers. Major findings indicated acoustic changes in intonation, timbre, and relative amplitude. Solo singers were more in tune when singing with gestures.  Both the low, circular and arched hand gestures changed singer timbre indicated by lowered formant frequencies for the majority of participants.  When performing with the low, circular and the pointing gestures, singers sang with increased amplitude, whereas, the arched hand gesture led to decreased amplitude. Expert   ratings were highest for the posttest of low circular gestures and arched hand gestures, and the gestural iterations of pointing.  The majority of participant comments related to intonation and timbre when using gestures. Video recording analyses from both performance contexts indicated participants mastered the gestures within the first three iterations.  Results were discussed in terms of singing pedagogy, limitations of the study, and suggestions for further research.

Jurgensmeier, Barbara The Effects of Lyric Analysis and Songwriting Music Therapy Techniques on Self-Esteem and Coping Skills Among Homeless Adolescents. MT-MME, CC 2013 (December 2012)

Homelessness is a troubling epidemic affecting a wide range of individuals, including youth and adolescents. The reasons for homelessness as well as manifestations of the condition are perpetuated by a cycle of abuse, delinquency, mental illness, and risky survival behaviors. This study aimed to break this cycle among homeless adolescents in a transitional living facility by promoting self-esteem, coping skills, and empowerment through songwriting and lyric analysis music therapy techniques. A total of six subjects, ages 19-21, participated in an eight-week treatment program. Subjects served as their own control and sessions alternated between music therapy interventions and talk-based interventions each week. Outcome measures included the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), attendance rates, a qualitative survey, and notes and observations kept by the researcher. Quantitative results indicated a significant increase in RSES scores before and after both the musical and non-musical treatment sessions (p < 0.20). Differences between each treatment, however, were not marginal enough to be statistically significant, suggesting that the efficacy of each treatment was comparable. The music therapy sessions consistently yielded higher attendance rates, implying that more participants were interested in the music-based interventions than the talk-based activities. Qualitative responses were overwhelmingly positive, with participants noting an appreciation to be able to express themselves and relieve stress. Subjects also expressed themes of struggle, perseverance, and empowerment in their group song. Although this study was limited by the transience of the homeless population, small sample size, and lack of multiple quantitative measures, attendance rates, RSES scores, and qualitative responses and observations warrant future music therapy research with this population.

Manternach, Jeremy N. Effects of Conductor Preparatory Arm, Head, and Hand Movements on Singer Extrinsic Laryngeal Muscle Engagement and Voicing Behaviors. PHD-ME, JFD  2013 (May 2012).

This study examined whether varied nonverbal conductor behaviors during an initial preparatory gesture affected singers’ (N = 23, n = 15 experienced, n = 8 naïve) extrinsic laryngeal muscle engagement and voicing behaviors. Participants sang the first phrase melody of Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus eight times in five different orderings while following a videotaped conductor who displayed the following fully-crossed preparatory gesture conditions: (a) upward moving or downward moving arm, (b) upward moving head with intentional posterior neck tension or neutral head positioning, and (c) clenched fist with intentional arm tension or open palm.

Surface EMG electrodes measured mean singer microvolt muscle activity in the posterior neck, upper trapezius, suprahyoid, and sternocleidomastoid muscle regions during inhalation. Audio recordings from the third round of singing provided data for acoustic (Fo, amplitude, and formant frequencies) and perceptual (heard inhalation, onset, and overall sound) evaluations.

Among primary results: (a) suprahyoid mean muscle region activity displayed small, but statistically significant increases during upward moving gestures compared to downward moving gestures; (b) sternocleidomastoid mean muscle region activity displayed small, but statistically significant increases during fisted compared to palm open conducting gestures; (c) posterior neck and upper trapezius mean muscle region activity did not change during the varied conducting gestures in the investigation; (d) fisted conductor conditions evoked higher sung amplitudes across the sample than palm open conditions; (e) fisted conductor conditions corresponded with more occurrences of raised median formant frequencies (F1-F4) than palm open conditions; (f) a listening panel perceived singer inhalation during upward moving gestures to be less efficient than during downward moving gestures; (g) a viewing panel perceived that upward moving, upward head, and fisted gestures would evoke increased levels of inappropriate singer tension; and (h) some of these results differed based on the demographic variables of singer sex and experience.

The results were discussed in terms of possible reasons for the outcomes, conductor gestural choices, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research.

McAllister, James R. A Study of the Process of Commissioning New Music for the Concert Band. PHD-ME, MJB 2013 (August 2012).

This study examined the process of commissioning a new composition for the concert band. Composer Brian Balmages was commissioned to write a piece for concert band that had standard band instrumentation and was of Grade IV difficulty. The Temple of the Murals was given its world premiere performance on October 30, 2010 on the campus of Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas by an honor band (N=41) comprised of high school and college musicians from the Southwest Kansas region. The Ensemble Members Attitude Survey (EMAS) was given to the participants as a pre-survey at the beginning of the clinic sessions and again as a post-survey before the premiere performance. At the same time, a qualitative study was employed to examine the rationales that wind band conductors and composers may have for commissioning new music for the concert band. Participants in the qualitative study (N=4) were interviewed three separate times using similar interview questions. The researcher then transcribed the interviews and formulated themes from the data. An external reviewer was employed to review the transcripts of the interviews. Results largely indicated no significant differences between pre and post administrations of the survey. Post-administration outcomes demonstrated participants’ positive orientation towards the commissioned work and the composer, specific musical concepts, and new music in general. Themes to emerge from the qualitative study included the notions of connectivity with students, a desire to improve and expand the repertoire of the wind band, and providing students with a unique musical experience. Connections were found between the survey and qualitative aspects of the study.

Wilson, Bradley. Effect of Two Practice Scenarios on Song Memorization Accuracy. MME-ME, JD 2013 (December 2012).

This study examined song memorization sequences using memorization accuracy scores. Vocal performers (N=42) were split into two groups. The participants in Group A were first asked to memorize only the text of a song in both non-rhythmic and rhythmic forms, then were asked to memorize only the melody of a song. The participants in Group B were first asked to memorize only the melody of a song, then to memorize only the text of a song in both non-rhythmic and rhythmic forms. Both groups were allowed to hear the whole song performed with words and melody before their memorization tasks and were allowed a short period of time to practice the whole song after their other memorization tasks. Participant scores on a final test of memorization reflected accuracy in text, intervals, and rhythms. Results indicated no significant difference in overall test scores according to memorization sequence. However, graduate students scored significantly higher than undergraduate students, and students with four or more years of piano study scored significantly higher than students with fewer than four years of piano study.

Results were discussed in terms of memorization strategies for texted music, performance scoring methodologies, and suggestions for future research.

2014

Antonetti, Jennifer J. Current Status of Incorporating Composition into Music Education Classrooms in Kansas. ME-MME, CMJ 2014 (December 2013)

Incorporating the National Standards for Music Education includes a component of composing, specifically Standard 4. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency and/or infrequency of incorporating the composing standard into music classrooms, specifically in those classrooms that include large ensembles such as band, orchestra, and choir, as well as general music and to determine the reasons for which a music educator would or would not include composing into his or her own classroom. Subjects included music educators (N=173) from various public school districts in Kansas representing various sub-disciplines of music education including band and orchestra. Results indicated that 80.2% of music teacher sin Kansas include composition in their music classrooms at least one time per year, however, 19.8% of music educators report that they never use music composition in their music classrooms. Leading reasons for not including composition in the music classrooms included lack of time and lack of resources.

Cook-Cunningham, Sheri. The Acclimatization Effects of Earplugs on Acoustic and Perceptual Measures of University Singers’ Vocal Performances in Choral and Solo Settings. ME-PHD, JD 2014 (August 2013)

The purpose of this study was to assess with female university singers (N = 34) the potential acclimatization effects of wearing one brand of earplugs marketed to musicians on selected acoustic and perceptual measures of choral and vocal sound. Data were acquired during four data collection sessions across four weeks. Participants were members of two established women’s choirs, Group A (n = 24) and Group B (n = 10). Each choir sang the same musical excerpt three times during weekly data collection periods: without-earplugs at rehearsal start, with-earplugs at rehearsal start, and with-earplugs at rehearsal end. For comparison purposes, Group A wore the earplugs at each of three rehearsals per week, while Group B wore the earplugs only during data collection rehearsals. Additionally, one-half of the singers, randomly selected, participated in weekly solo recording sessions that followed a similar protocol. Digital audio recordings of the choral and solo singing performances were used for analyses of long term average spectra (LTAS), intonation, and amplitude. Among primary results: (a) choral and solo LTAS data indicated significant differences in mean signal amplitudes between the no-earplugs and with-earplugs conditions, (b) solo amplitude means indicated a < 1 dB difference between conditions in 90% of the recordings, (c) choral pitch analyses indicated earplugs did not cause choristers to sing less in-tune, (d) fundamental frequency analyses indicated that earplugs did not cause soloists to sing significantly more or less in-tune, and (e) the majority of choral (87.50%) and solo singers (75%) reported being able to hear themselves best when not wearing earplugs during the weekly recording sessions. The results were discussed in terms of possible acclimatization effects, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research.

Coury, Sarah N. Activity Leader Facilitation of a Rhythm Activity to Engage Persons with Late Stage Alzheimer’s-Type Dementia: A Feasibility Study. MT-MME, CC 2014 (December 2013).

The purpose of this study was to determine if an activity leader with little to no formal music background could engage individuals with late stage Alzheimer’s-type dementia in rhythm activities following training by a board-certified music therapist. Persons with late stage Alzheimer’s-type dementia were eligible to participate if they had a diagnosis staging at a level five or six according to the Global Deterioration Scale for Assessment of Primary Degenerative Dementia (GDS), which was found in the individual’s medical file. The activity leader was eligible to participate based on their limited musical background as determined by responses on a questionnaire. Training sessions conducted by a board-certified music therapist were designed for the activity leader to develop skills to deliver a structured 12-minute rhythm activity for persons with dementia. Following training the activity leader conducted three rhythm activities with a group of four facility residents. A trained observer was present at all experimental sessions to record engagement responses. Outcome measures included reliability testing. The measure of reliability testing between the trained observer and the investigator revealed a high level of agreement for varying types of engagement for each resident (n = 4) provide percentages that show greater engagement to a rhythm activity than a Bingo activity. Engagement levels of residential participants during a rhythm activity ranged from 0% to 88%, while the Bingo activity engagement levels ranged from 0% to 77%.

Grady, Melissa L. The Effects of Nonverbal Behaviors Exhibited By Multiple Conductors On The Timbre, Intonation, And Perceptions Of Three University Choirs, And Assessed Relationships Between Time Spent In Selected Conductor Behaviors And Analyses Of The Choirs’ Performances. ME-PHD ME, JD 2014 (August 2014)

This investigation examined the effects of aggregate nonverbal behaviors exhibited by 10 videotapes conductors on the choral sound and perceptions of 3 university choirs (N = 61 choristers) as they sang from memory the same a cappella motet. It then assessed relationships between time spent in selected nonverbal conducting behaviors and the choirs’ sung performances and perceptions.

Examined nonverbal conductor behaviors were: (a) height of vertical gestural plane; (b) width of lateral gestural plane; (c) hand shape; and (d) emotional face expression. Dependent measures included Long Term Average Spectra (LTAS) data, pitch analyses, and singer questionnaires.

Among primary findings: (a) aggregate singer ratings yielded significant differences among the 10 conductors with respect to perceived gestural clarity and singing efficiency; (b) each of the 3 choirs responded similarly in timbre an pitch to the 10, counter-balanced conductor videos presented; (c) significantly strong, positive correlations between LTAS and pitch results suggested that those conductors whose nonverbal behaviors evoked more spectral energy in the choirs’ sound tended also to elicit more in tune singing; (d) the 10 conductors exhibited significantly different amounts of aggregate time spent in the gestural planes and hand shapes analyzed; € above shoulder vertical gestures related significantly to less timbral energy, while gestures below shoulder level related significantly to increased timbral energy; (f) significantly strong, positive correlations between singer questionnaire responses and both pitch and LTAS data suggested that the choirs; timbre and pitch tended to vary according to whether or not the singers perceived a conductor’s nonverbal communication as clear and whether or not they perceived they sang efficiently while following a particular conductor; (f) moderately strong, though not significant, associations between lateral gestures within the torso area and both pitch ( more in tune) and timbre ( more spectral energy), and between lateral gestures beyond the torso area and both pitch ( less in tune) and timbre (less spectral energy); and (h) weak, non- significant correlations between aggregate time spent in various hand postures and the choirs’ timbre and intonation, and between identified emotional face expressions and analyses of the choirs’ sound.

Hom, Kathryn S. The Effect of Two Different Rooms on Acoustical and Perceptual Measures of SATB Choir Sound. ME-MME, JD 2014 (August 2013).

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of two different rooms (choir rehearsal room, performance hall) on acoustical (LTAS, one-third octave bands) and perceptual (singer [N = 11] survey, listener [N = 33] survey, Pitch Analyzer 2.1) measures of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass (SATB) choir sound. Primary findings of this investigation indicated: (a) significant differences in spectral energy comparisons of choir sound between rooms, (b) choristers’ perceptions of hearing and monitoring their own voices differed significantly depending on room, (c) most choristers (82%) perceived that the choir performed best within the Performance Hall, (d) perceived pitch of selected sung vowels within recordings differed significantly based on room conditions, (e) 97% of listeners perceived a difference in choir sound between room recordings, and (f) most listeners (91%) indicated preference for the Rehearsal Room recording.

Nakamura, Noriko. The Effects of Guitar-Accompanied Singing Intervention on Sundowning in Elderly Persons with Dementia. MT-MME, CC 2014 (December 2013)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a guitar-accompanied singing intervention on agitated behaviors associated with the transition from day to night, referred to as sundowning, in individuals with dementia. Eleven guardians signed the informed consent; however, two eligible participants declined to take part in the study. The data on one participant were used to train the research assistant regarding the data collection method; therefore, her information and data were excluded from this thesis. Out of the remaining 8 participants (N=8), four (n=4) of them received music therapy, and other four (n=4) listened to newspaper reading.

The investigator provided both conditions. A single 10-min individual session was offered to each participant approximately between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. The investigator provided a guitar-accompanied singing intervention to the music therapy treatment group. She read the inner sections of the Kansas City Star newspaper to the control group. All sessions were video recorded, and a 15-s time sampling method was used to collect data using rubrics derived from the Pittsburg Agitation Scale (PAS) for both groups. The results are discussed as a series of case studies due to the small sample size. All 4 participants in the music therapy condition completed the entire 10-min session whereas 2 out of 4 participants in the newspaper reading condition completed only part of the session due to increased agitation and a participant’s decision. Motor agitation was most common, and aberrant vocalization was the next. No aggressiveness was observed during the sessions. This study was preliminary, and the results cannot be generalized; however, noteworthy observations were made. Recommendations for future research implementations are discussed.

Keywords:music therapy, music, singing, agitation, dementia, sundowning

Parker, Laurie E. Content Analysis of Reasons for Song Choices Among Individuals Receiving Hospice Care. MT-MME, CC 2014 (May 2014)

The purpose of this study was to describe the reasons for song choices of patients and their loved ones in a hospice setting. In all, 21 patients and caregivers participated in semi-structured interviews that were embedded in music therapy sessions at a Midwest hospice. A content analysis applied to participants’ interviews revealed four categories and 14 subcategories related to participants’ reasons for their song choices. Categories included (a) concrete connections, (b) intangible connections, (c) music, and (d) relationships. Subcategories related to the four main categories were organized as follows: under concrete connections (a) connections with the past,

(b) connections with the present, and (c) connections with the future; under intangible connections (a) beliefs, (b) feelings and desires, and (c) images and stories; under music (a) affective responses and beliefs about music/songs, (b) general references to music/songs, (c) instruments, (d) lyrics, (e) structural elements, and (f) style; and under relationships (a) loved ones and (b) self. These categories and subcategories provide a framework that may be useful in expediting assessment processes and clarifying areas where there is a need for musical or verbal validation by the therapist.

2015

Allen, Ashley D. Sources of Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Among Public School Music Educators. ME-PHD ME, DH 2015 (December 2014)

The purpose of the present study was to identify the elements of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction as a means of better understanding causes of eustress and distress in public school music educators. More specifically, job satisfaction and dissatisfaction were investigated through the lens of eustress and distress to find what factors existed for general music, band, choir, and orchestra directors in various school settings and for different experience levels. Participants (N = 4, men = 2, women = 2) were selected from two Midwestern states and included one elementary general music teacher, one middle-school choral director, one middle and high-school band director, and one elementary and middle-school orchestra conductor. Two of the participants taught in rural districts and two taught in urban districts. Their years of teaching experiences also varied, with two in their first three years of teaching and two with more than three years of teaching experience. Each participant was interviewed twice for approximately one hour per instance, and a time span of one month existed between the two interviews. They were asked questions about how the personnel in the school setting, the school environment, their teacher preparation and other factors influenced their experiences of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The researcher transcribed the interviews and coded the data, and through this process themes emerged that were later related to eustress and distress. Results indicated that the participants were generally satisfied in their current teaching positions, indicating student achievement, rapport, and respect from colleagues and administrators as their main sources of job satisfaction. Participants also identified factors of job dissatisfaction, noting feelings of being undervalued and treated unequally by colleagues and administrators, and lack of control over time and resources as their primary contributors to their dissatisfaction. The results of this study identified other issues, such as sense of control, professional development, and job effectiveness, which further aided the understanding of teachers’ experiences of job satisfactions. Participants identified various ways they strove to increase their job satisfaction and create a balance in their professional lives. Recommendations and implications for teachers were discussed with respect to these results.

Barck, Leanne. A Comparison of Three Music Therapy Introduction Dialogues on Acceptance of Music Therapy Services by Cancer Patients. MT-MME, CC 2014 (December 2014)

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of 3 different music therapy introduction dialogues with cancer patients. Relationships between patient-reported anxiety levels, sex, and age and the acceptance rate of music therapy services were also examined. Patients (n = 59) were offered music therapy using 1 of 3 introduction dialogues, asked to complete an anxiety Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and provided with music therapy services if accepted. Results showed that introduction dialogue #2 (benefits of music therapy explained, including research) had the greatest effectiveness. Moderate anxiety levels, males, and individuals 61+ years of age also shoed greater acceptance rates. A breakdown of different variables influencing patient response, limitations of the study, and future recommendations are also discussed.

Chan, Tsz Hei Fatima. The Impact of Violin Playing Techniques Specifically Designed to Simulate the Human Voice on Anxiety Reduction of College Students. MT-MME, CC 2015 (May 2015)

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the violin played with techniques specifically designed to simulate the human voice on anxiety reduction of college students prior to stressful events. This study attempted to answer the following questions: (a) Does listening to violin music that simulates the human singing voice decrease anxiety levels in healthy individuals? (b) Does violin music that simulates a singer’s breath have a different effect on individuals; self-reported anxiety levels than violin music that does not simulate a singer’s breath? Forty healthy undergraduate and graduate students participated in the study. Participants were assigned to the experimental or control group; assignments were predetermined based on the research schedules yet remained unknown to the participants. A one-way repeated-measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was computed to analyze the between-participants factor (i.e., experimental and control conditions) and the within-participants factor (i.e., time of measurement). Results indicated a statistically significant main effect for Time, while the main effect for ‘Group’ and the interaction effect were not statistically significant. Although this research study was limited by small sample size, personal coping skills, and past experience associates with the violin timbre, the ability of violin music to effectively reduce anxiety is undeniable regardless of whether or not it simulated the hunan singing voice. The better we understand the therapeutic potential and benefits of this fascinating instrument, the more convincing it will be for music therapists to use the violin clinically. Therefore, future studies in this topic area are encouraged.

Detmer, Michael. Effect of Orff-Based Music Interventions on State Anxiety of Music Therapy Students. MT-MME, CC 2015 (December 2014).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Orff-based music therapy as a potential music intervention used to decrease state anxiety of music therapy students. For these students, high levels of state anxiety can be detrimental to the quality of clinical treatment, and ultimately their career goals. Thirty-two music therapy college students volunteered for the study and were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions. Participants individually took part in either a three-minute breathing intervention or improvisation music intervention and completed the state portion of the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) as a pretest and posttest measure. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted to compare groups and potential differences from pretest to posttest. Results of the ANOVA revealed a statistically significant decrease in anxiety for both conditions with neither emerging as more effective than the other. Implications for professional fields and recommendations for future study are discussed.

Fiore, Jennifer M. The Effectiveness of a Music-Based Relaxation Intervention and a Mindfulness-Based Intervention Delivered Online to Decrease Hospice Workers Stress and Improve Professional Quality of Life. ME-PHD (MT), CC 2015 (May 2015).

Background: Work stress can develop over time due to strained interactions, increased number of job tasks, and heightened stressors from within the work environment. Hospice workers experience additional stressors such as exposure to frequent death and dying, and managing patient and/or family dynamics. Prolonged periods of stress can lead to burnout as a result of the interaction of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. For workers, burnout can result in increased absenteeism and health problems, while employers are faced with increased healthcare costs and turnover. Development of coping skills is necessary to provide workers with outlets to manage stress and decrease the potential for job burnout.

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to compare the effectiveness of an online music-based intervention and an online mindfulness-based intervention to decrease hospice workers’ stress and increase professional quality of life. Method: A total of 153 eligible hospice workers were randomly assigned to either the music-based intervention or the mindfulness-based intervention, with equal distribution of discipline representation between groups and were then solicited for participation in the current study. Participants (N=14) were hospice workers providing direct patient care with the music-based intervention group (n=10) and the mindfulness-based intervention group (n=4). The study was offered online so participants could engage in the intervention when needed or as schedules allowed.

Results: Due to the overall limited participation and unbalanced treatment groups, it was inappropriate for the researcher to conduct statistical analysis beyond looking at the means and standard deviations of the measures for the purpose of understanding potential clinical significance. Participants in the music-based intervention groups had minimal decreases in mean Stress Overload Scale (SOS) continuous scores, SOS personal vulnerability, and Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) for secondary traumatic stress, while having a minimal increase in ProQOL compassion satisfaction scores. Participants in mindfulness-based intervention group had only a minimal decrease in SOS personal vulnerability scores, which may suggest that the music-based intervention could be more effective in helping manage hospice workers’ stress and improve professional quality of life, though results are limited due to sample size.

Conclusions: Due to the limited engagement in the current study, it is not possible to conclude if either an online music-based intervention or an online mindfulness-based intervention were effective for hospice workers’ stress and burnout. Limited engagement could be related to overall high stress levels, excessive workloads, and little personal experience using online interventions for stress management. The results of this study suggest that repeated practice with a stress management intervention is necessary to see positive outcomes. As evidenced by the limited results of this study, dosage is an important consideration for future studies.

Keywords: Worker stress, burnout, Therapeutic Function of Music, online music-based intervention, online mindfulness-based intervention

Graber Juhnke, Alyssa. The Effect of a Transition Song on the Length of Transitions Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. MT-MME. DR. 2015. (May 2015)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a transition song on the length of transitions of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), specifically for transitions of a longer distance from one part of a building to another. Transitions are commonly identified as a problem for children with ASD. Participants in this study (N = 3) were recruited from an educational center for children with special needs in a large Midwestern city, and ranged in age from 4 to 8 years old at the time of the study. A single subject reversal (ABAB) design was used, with the researcher meeting each child individually during a daily transition. During the baseline phases, the researcher measured the length of the transition without the transition song. During the intervention phases, the researcher timed the transition while singing the transition song. Graphic analysis was used to analyze the data. For all three participants, the transition song resulted in a shorter average transition time than when the transition song was not used. Limitations and implications for further research are discussed.

Li, Bing. Defining Music Therapy: Integrating the Chinese Perspective and the United States-Influenced Model of Music Therapy. MT-MME, DR. 2015. (May 2015).

This present study stems from my interest in the definition of music therapy in China, resulting from both my seven years of training in the United States and my personal Chinese background. While initially investigating the development of music therapy in China, a clear dissonance emerged between the Chinese perspective and the actual model of practice, which is influenced by practice in the United States. The core of this conflict is the philosophical argument of how exactly music therapy is defined. This fundamental disagreement may negatively impact further development of our profession. Thus, in an effort to make suggestions about solving this problem and resolving the discord between these perspectives, the purpose of this paper is to 1) analyze the existing definitions of music therapy in China to determine common principles, and 2) to subsequently suggest a model integrating the Five-element theory in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the preexisting definitions of music therapy in China. Through investigation and discussion, five essential elements in music therapy are identified, including the therapist, the client, the music, the intervention outcome, and Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). Specific suggestions are made based on these elements in an attempt to combine strengths from both the TCM philosophy and the U.S.-influenced Chinese model, which will potentially promote the continued development of music therapy in China.

Matney, William B. The Use of Percussion in Therapy: A Realist Synthesis. ME-PHD (MT), CC 2015. (May 2015).

Background: Percussion use is common in both music therapy clinical practice and in publications. However, no comprehensive review regarding the use of percussion instruments in music interventions appears to exist. The investigator examined the various literature review types available in order to address the complex and contextual nature of percussion related interventions. The purpose of this study was to conduct a realist synthesis-type systematic review of the literature regarding the use of percussion in therapy in order to answer the following research questions.

Research Questions:

1. When using published tools designed to evaluate quality of research, what was the outcome of this appraisal process when reviewing identified studies?

2. What are the context-mechanism-outcome configurations within percussion related interventions as found through the systematic review process?

Methods: Literature review types were examined in order to locate a systematic review type that best fit the research questions. The investigator used a prior database from Matney (in press), and employed inclusion/exclusion criteria to locate studies with reduced bias and increased study rigor. Eligible studies were examined using methodological evaluation tools, which were corroborated through inter-rater reliability. The investigator created evidence tables that included context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMOC’s). These configurations were examined for larger patterns that may inform theory development. The investigator linked chains of evidence in accordance with the realist synthesis methodology, and offered CMOC propositions.

Results: Results revealed that 30.91% of studies prior to eligibility screening did not report internal review board or consent procedures. Regarding experimental studies evaluated after screening, 34.79% did not report the type of randomization procedure used, and 43.48% were unclear regarding concealment of allocation. Reporting within qualitative and mixed-methods studies also lacked transparent reporting. The investigator presented CMOC’s for each individual study, and proposed evidence linkage that may promote theory development regarding percussion interventions.

Conclusions: The percussion-related intervention literature that was evaluated demonstrates a lack of study rigor (internal review board and/or consent procedures, intention to treat principle), a lack of transparent and detailed reporting (randomization details, allocation concealment, treatment consistency amongst groups), as well as a lack of replication and transferability. While context-mechanism-outcome configurations can only provide tentative theory development due to the paucity of connections available, the literature suggests that particular mechanisms may promote effective outcomes in particular situations. The investigator provides implications for future research, clinical practice, and pedagogy.

Rettedal, Scott. The Effect of RAS on Individuals with Total Hip Replacement and Hip Revision Surgery. MT-MME, DHA 2015. (December 2014).

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether individuals receiving Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) during gait training showed statistically significant differences in cadence, stride length and velocity compared to those who only received conventional gait training. Six eligible subjects from these facilities in the Midwest and Southwest agreed to participate, with three assigned to the experimental group that received RAS and three assigned to the control group that did not receive RAS. The experimental group did have higher means for cadence, stride length and velocity, but variability in the data made statistical analysis of the data undesirable. An outlier in the experimental group with extremely high cadence, stride length and velocity skewed the data considerably so no statistically significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups. The number of days subjects spent in rehabilitation appeared to be correlated very closely with their gait parameters. Subjects with more days of rehabilitation and higher cadence, stride length and velocity regardless of whether they were in the experimental or control groups. Implications for future research are discussed.

Schloneger, Matthew J. Assessments of Voice Use, Voice Quality, and Perceived Singing Voice Function Among College/University Singing Students Ages 18-24 Through Simultaneous Ambulatory Monitoring with Accelerometer and Acoustic Transducers. ME-PHD, JFD 2015 (December 2014).

Previous vocal dose studies have analyzed the duration, intensity and frequency (in Hz) of voice use among college/university singing students through ambulatory monitoring. However, no ambulatory studies of this population have acquired these vocal dose data simultaneously with acoustic measures of voice quality in order to facilitate direct comparisons of voice use with voice quality during the same voicing period.

The purpose of this study was to assess the voice use, voice quality, and perceived singing voice function of college/university singing students (N = 19), ages 18-24 years, enrolled in both voice lessons and choir, through (a) measurements of vocal dose and voice quality collected over 3 full days of ambulatory monitoring with an unfiltered neck accelerometer signal acquired with the Sonovox AB VoxLogTM portable voice analyzer collar; (b) measurements of voice quality during singing and speaking vocal tasks acquired at 3 different times of day by the VoxLogTM collar’s acoustic and accelerometer transducers; and (c) multiple applications of the Evaluation of the Ability to Sing Easily (EASE) questionnaire about perceived singing voice function. Vocal dose metrics included phonation percentage, dose time, cycle dose, and distance dose. Voice quality measures included fundamental frequency (F0), perceived pitch (P0), dB SPL, LTAS slope, alpha ratio, dB SPL 1-3 kHz, pitch strength, shimmer, jitter, and harmonic-to-noise ratio.

Major findings indicated that among these students (a) higher vocal doses correlated significantly with greater voice amplitude, more vocal clarity, and less perturbation; (b) there were significant differences in vocal dose and voice quality among non-singing, solo singing, and choral singing time periods; (c) analysis of repeated vocal tasks with the acoustic transducer iv Previous vocal dose studies have analyzed the duration, intensity and frequency (in Hz) of voice use among college/university singing students through ambulatory monitoring. However, no ambulatory studies of this population have acquired these vocal dose data simultaneously with acoustic measures of voice quality in order to facilitate direct comparisons of voice use with voice quality during the same voicing period.

The purpose of this study was to assess the voice use, voice quality, and perceived singing voice function of college/university singing students (N = 19), ages 18-24 years, enrolled in both voice lessons and choir, through (a) measurements of vocal dose and voice quality collected over 3 full days of ambulatory monitoring with an unfiltered neck accelerometer signal acquired with the Sonovox AB VoxLogTM portable voice analyzer collar; (b) measurements of voice quality during singing and speaking vocal tasks acquired at 3 different times of day by the VoxLogTM collar’s acoustic and accelerometer transducers; and (c) multiple applications of the Evaluation of the Ability to Sing Easily (EASE) questionnaire about perceived singing voice function. Vocal dose metrics included phonation percentage, dose time, cycle dose, and distance dose. Voice quality measures included fundamental frequency (F0), perceived pitch (P0), dB SPL, LTAS slope, alpha ratio, dB SPL 1-3 kHz, pitch strength, shimmer, jitter, and harmonic-to-noise ratio.

Major findings indicated that among these students (a) higher vocal doses correlated significantly with greater voice amplitude, more vocal clarity, and less perturbation; (b) there were significant differences in vocal dose and voice quality among non-singing, solo singing, and choral singing time periods; (c) analysis of repeated vocal tasks with the acoustic transducer showed that F0, P0, SPL, and resonance measures displayed increases from morning to afternoon to evening; (d) less perceived ability to sing easily correlated positively with higher frequency and lower amplitude when analyzing repeated vocal tasks with the acoustic transducer; and (e) the two transducers exhibited significant and irregular differences in data simultaneously obtained for 8 of the 10 measures of voice quality.

Keywords: voice use, vocal dose, ambulatory voice monitoring, voice dosimeter, voice science, vocal pedagogy, voice quality

2006

Haneishi, Eri. The Effects of a Music Therapy Voice Protocol on Selected Perceptual and Acoustic Parameters of the Speaking Voice and the Psychological States of Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease. PHD-MT, AAC, 2006 (May 2006).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a music therapy protocol for patients with Parkinson’s disease on (a) speech intelligibility; (b) voice quality; (c) vocal intensity range; (d) intonation; (e) positive affect; (f) negative affect; and (g) depressive state. Seventeen patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease and three patients with Parkinson syndromes volunteered to participate in this study. Patients were randomly assigned to either the music therapy group (N= 10) or the control group (N = 10). The patients in the music therapy group received eight individual Music Therapy Voice Protocol (MTVP) sessions, focusing on vocal and singing exercises. Participants received assessments prior to the first session (test 1), after the fourth session (test 2), and following the eighth session (test 3) on each dependent variable. The remaining 10 participants received the same three tests as the music therapy group, but received no music therapy voice protocol sessions. The statistical calculation revealed that speech intelligibility, resonant voice quality, vocal intensity range, intonation, and positive affect significantly increased in the music therapy over time, but not in the control group. In contrast, no significant difference was identified in clear and smooth voice quality, negative affect, or depressive state in either group, which might indicate that more than eight sessions are required to achieve treatment effect. The study provided important information about potentials of music therapy speech rehabilitation on vocal parameters related to disease and psychological effect.

Kim, Ji Hyun. The Effect of a Music Enhanced Stretch Program on Fatigue of Individuals With Cancer: Four Case Studies. MME-MT, AAC, 2006 (August 2005).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a music enhanced stretch program on fatigue of individuals with cancer. Four participants served as their own controls. Two participants were instructed to engage in a 20-minute prescribed home-based stretch program five times per week across six weeks in an ABAC format: (A) No Treatment (1 week), (B) Stretch Program with Music (2 weeks), (A) No Treatment (1 week), and (C) Stretch Program with Music (2 weeks). The remaining two participants followed the same schedule as that of those in a ABAC format except for a change in order of the stretch program with and without music. Data for fatigue and adherence levels were collected daily by using the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) and a self-report stretch log.  Results from graphic analysis indicated that fatigue levels tended to be slightly lower overall during a music enhanced stretch program than during no treatments. Still, it should be noted that the difference in fatigue levels for one of the four participants did not appear to change. Meanwhile, the stretch program without music did not achieve noticeably greater treatment effect over no treatment. In the comparisons of the stretch program with and without music, fatigue levels were lower during the stretch program with music for only one participant. For the other two participants, only very slightly lower fatigue was observed during the stretch program with music. The graphic analyses of adherence levels for participation in a stretch program did not indicate increased levels of participation for music enhancement. Even though the findings of this study did not lead to a definitive conclusion regarding the program’s effectiveness in treating fatigue in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, results associated with fatigue levels revealed the possible benefits of a music enhanced stretch program, and its clinical implications for fatigue treatment of cancer patients. The study also served to develop a non pharmacological, self administered protocol and to demonstrate its feasibility. Additional research in a larger subject sample is recommended.  

Liston, Robin E. The Short-Term Effects of Milk Consumption on Selected Perceptual and Objective Measures of Vocal Fold Function and Appearance. PHD-ME, CMJ, 2006 (December 2005).

Singers and other individuals who use their voices professionally are familiar with the common admonition to avoid dairy products because of their mucus-causing properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate empirically the short-term effects of milk consumption on perceptual and objective voice measures. Volunteer participants (N = 30) drank four common beverages, milk, cola, orange juice, and water. For pretest data, participants filled out a physical sensations response form rating the physical condition or “feel” of their mouths and throats. They then provided sustained /a/ vowel voice samples from which the acoustic measures of jitter, shimmer, and noise-to-harmonies ratio were extracted. Finally, a speech-language pathologist performed a video strobe to record the amount of mucus present on the vocal folds. After drinking the first of the test drinks, participants repeated the pretest steps to provide posttest data and repeated the entire process for each subsequent beverage. Results indicated significant differences between pre- and posttest measure for the dependent variables of mucus rating and self-reported mouth/throat feel. Participants reported significantly more mucus after drinking milk, cola, and orange juice, milk by the largest margin. Participants reported significantly more mucus present on the vocal folds after each of the test drinks. No significant differences were indicated by the objective acoustic measures jitter, shimmer, and NHR. Participant belief in the “milk-mucus connection” appeared to be unrelated to the perceptual measures of participant mouth feel and amount of mucus on the folds.

McCready, Matthew T. Effect of Long Notes, Tied Notes, Dotted Notes, and Rests on High School Student Rhythm Performance. MME-ME, CMJ, 2006 (December 2005).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of long notes, tied notes, dotted notes, and rests on high school student rhythm performance. Thirty-six high school band students from three varying socio-economically areas served as subjects for this study. Each subject sight read six monotonic rhythm examples of four measures each. These examples were crafted using the Claude T. Smith Symphonic Warm Ups for Band rhythm studies as a model. The six examples contained certain similar rhythm patterns and figures to check for correlation. In order to determine error causation, rhythm variables were separated into their own measures. Consequently, each six-measure example contained one measure of each variable (long note, tied notes, dotted notes, rests). Utilizing the Autoscore pitch to MIDI software program, all rhythm performances were recorded and then notated. Via the printed rhythm results, trends of rhythm errors were evaluated. Results showed overwhelming rhythm performance errors. Of 864 possible measures, only 8 were performed correctly. Due to such a majority of errors made, no conclusion was able to be reached, other than long notes, tied notes, dotted notes, and rests might all have likely caused an inordinately large amount of errors during the study.

Slattery, Valerie A. A Survey of Current Piano Use in the Elementary General Music Classroom. MME-ME, DGH, 2006 (May 2006).

The purpose of this study was to identify teacher opinion about piano use in the elementary general music classroom, and the amount of use and purposes for pianos in elementary general music classrooms according to teacher self-reporting. Out of the sample selected, 189 general music teachers completed the piano use questionnaire. The data indicated that teachers thought piano (a) was an important part of elementary music, (b) should be used for accompaniment more than any other purpose, and (c) was most commonly used on a weekly basis. Several moderate correlations were found indicating: piano use tends to increase the more years of teaching experience a teacher has accumulated, the more years of piano lessons a teacher has taken, the more a teacher uses other instruments in the classroom, and the younger a teacher was when beginning piano lessons; and piano use decreases the more a teacher uses a cappella singing in the classroom. Qualitative statements made about piano use were overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic. However, specific comments made concerning using the piano for pitch learning and over-use of the piano were generally negative. This study serves as a baseline study of piano use in elementary general music and provides direction for future research in the investigation of relationships between piano use and specific teaching factors.

Tobita, Shiho. Comparison of Musical Tension Between Contemporary Background Piano Music and Common Practice Piano Music.  MME-MT, CMC, 2006 (August 2005).

The purposes of this study were: 1) to compare the degree of musical tension among the different genres of music (background music and common practice music) from the aspects of both perception and theoretical prediction, and 2) to test the validity of the theoretical prediction of musical tension. The methodological procedures were two-fold, 1) analytical procedures and 2) experimental procedures. For the analytical procedures, ten music pieces were chosen from background and common practice music respectively, to compare the difference in calculated musical tension, applying the Tonal Pitch Space (TPS) theory. The results showed a significant difference in harmonic tension between background and common practice music, but not in harmonic attraction (p = .06). For the experimental procedures, undergraduate and graduate students (N = 40) from the University of Kansas participated as volunteers. They were randomly divided into four groups and listened to four music excerpts (two excerpts from background music and two from common practice music (chosen from the twenty pieces in the analytical procedures. During the experiment, participants measured the ongoing musical tension using the Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI), a continuum measurement device, while they listened to the four music excerpts. The obtained data were computed and compared to examine the difference in perceived musical tension between background music and common practice music. The results showed a significant difference in perceived musical tension between background and common practice music. However, the results also showed a significant difference between the two common practice music excerpts. In addition to the analytical and experimental procedures, the correlation between calculated and perceived musical tension was computed. The results were inconsistent with the results from previous studies. In general, the current study found the difference of the degree of musical tension between background music and common practice music in both theoretical prediction and subjects’ perception. The applicability of the TPS theory to music genres other than common practice music was also indicated.

2007

Fox, Cassandra. Perceived Effectiveness of Music Therapy Clinical Techniques to Increase Vocal Response and Improve Verbal Intelligibility in Persons with Aphasia. MME-MT, AAC, 2007 (December 2006).

This study examined music therapists’ perceptions of the effectiveness of singing rhythmic speaking/ chanting and accompaniment techniques as interventions to increase vocal response and improve verbal intelligibility in persons with aphasia. Data were gathered through a survey sent to music therapy practitioners who were listed in the American Music Therapy Association national directory as professionals who have worked with speech impaired, stroke and elderly populations. Information from the survey was analyzed for outcomes that specifically described current music therapy practice for increased vocal response and improved verbal intelligibility in persons with aphasia. Outcomes confirmed certain clinical techniques that were found in the literature as effective, and indicated additional techniques that music therapy practitioners use or have used with this population. Limitations and implications of the study were discussed and recommendations for further study were indicated.

Gilglio, Leigh Lauren. The Effect of a Music Therapy Intergenerational Program on Cued and Spontaneous Behaviors of Older Adults with Dementia. MME-MT, CMC, 2007 (August 2006).

The purpose of this study was to determine whether older adults with dementia would exhibit a change in cued behaviors (on-task, verbal prompting, visual prompting, physical guidance) and spontaneous behaviors (i.e. smiling, extending hands, hugging, laughing, etc.) when children were present during a music therapy program. Twenty-two older adults diagnosed with dementia and 17 preschool children from a nursing home/daycare center in Missouri served as participants in this study. Older adults were ranked in order of their Mini Mental State Exam test scores and by gender. To ensure that groups were equal in cognition levels and gender, older adult participants were then matched based on this rank and then randomly placed in one of three groups, Intergenerational music Therapy Group (Group I), Music Therapy Only Group (Group M), and the Control Group (Group C). Children in the preschool class were only assigned to Group I. Each group met one time per week, for 30-minute sessions across an 8-week period. All sessions were videotaped for later analysis and coding of cued and spontaneous behaviors. A brief post-study questionnaire was given on the last day of the study to the memory care unit staff members and child daycare staff that assisted in the study to document any changes seen in the older adults, as well as provide an opportunity to give feedback on the study. Graphic analysis of weekly percentage means and percentage means across the 8-week period revealed that older adults in intergenerational music therapy programs did not have a lower mean percentage of observed cued behaviors when interacting with children in an intergenerational program. Older adults would generally maintain their “normal engagement of being either passive or active participants in each group session. Also, older adults did have a higher mean percentage in certain spontaneous behaviors (touching, holding hands, hugging) when interacting with children in an intergenerational program. Older adults were more alert and oriented to their environment when children were present, in turn creating more opportunities to interact and/or respond spontaneously with his/her environment. Post-study questionnaires indicated that staff members observed positive behavioral changes in older adults that lasted for several hours after the completion of all sessions. Study limitations and recommendations for further research in intergenerational music therapy programming are discussed. Trends can only be interpreted for this specific sample due to having such a small sample size.

Hanson-Abromeit, Deanna. Developmentally Based Criteria to Support Recored Music Selections by Neonatal Nurses for Use with Premature Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. PHD-MT, CMC, 2007 (August 2006).

This study was a sample survey design that examined recommendations for recorded music selections by neonatal nurses for use with premature infants in the NICU. The research questions were:

1. When provided with non-musical developmentally based criteria to guide music selections for use in the NICU, do neonatal nurses make the same selections of commercially available recorded music as neonatal music therapist?
2. Do neonatal nurses with and without these criteria make the same selections?

The non-musical developmentally based criteria formed form the developmental science literature included: Simple, Few changes or pauses, Organized, Predictable, Repetitive, Smooth, Soothing, Stable, Slow, Flowing, and Comfortable.

Members of a neonatal nurses association responded to a web-based survey and were randomized to a form with the criteria (experimental), or to a form without the criteria (control). The Listening task included six excerpts of recorded music. Respondents were asked to determine (yes or no) whether the selection was appropriate listening for premature infants. The experimental group was also asked to select the adjectives from the criteria that best described the recording. A panel of seven neonatal music therapists completed the experimental survey for comparison purposes. Data analysis used descriptive statistics and included 17 in the experimental group and 13 in the control group. Data collection occurred over a three week time period.

Neonatal nurses, with and without these criteria, made the same recommendations for recorded music. The experimental and control groups agreed on five of the six selections. There were no differences between the control and experimental groups when compared to the music therapists; both groups had agreement with the music therapists on the same three selections. The music therapist were more discrimination in their approval of recorded selections. They approved two of the six selections, whereas the experimental group approved five of the six selections. The selections with a higher number of criteria also had a higher rate of approval as an appropriate selection. This trend was visible for both the music therapists and the experimental group suggesting that non-musical developmentally based criteria can support selections of recorded music for use in the NICU.

Mansholt, Monica M.. Survey of Undergraduate String Majors’ Attitudes Toward Teaching Careers, Performing Careers and Their Preparation for Such Careers Through BME and BM Programs. MME-ME, CMJ, 2007 (August 2006).

The purpose of this study was to investigate string major attitudes toward teaching and performing careers and preparation for such careers through BME and BM curricula. Undergraduate string majors (N=95) at Big 12 universities responded to statements within 12 categories, including the rigor of BME and BM curricula, preparation with these degrees, performance and teaching standards in these degrees, teachers’ and performers’ abilities, and teaching and performing as a career. A 5-point Likert scale followed each statement. A t-test was performed on the mean score for each category. BME respondents were significantly more positive than BM respondents in the following categories: rigor of BME curriculum, preparation for teaching with BME, BME performance standards, teachers’ abilities as musicians/performers, teachers’ abilities to teach, and teaching as a career. BME students had more positive attitudes toward teaching as a career, the abilities of teachers, and their preparation for teaching.

Naito-Billen, Yuka. Comparative Analyses of Auditory Stroop Effect and Counter Stroop Effect Between American and Japanese Absolute Pitch Possessors. MME-ME. JD. 2007 (May 2007).

The purpose of this study was to test for a possible presence of auditory Stroop effect and counter Stroop effect among Japanese (n=11) and American (n=8) absolute pitch (AP) possessors. Participants listened individually to 60 sung intervals in each of the study’s two phases. Phase 1 tested for the presence of an auditory Stroop effect. Participants were asked to provide AP names, while ignoring the syllables used in 5 sets of heard stimuli presented in random order: (a) the sung vowel /u/ only (control); (b) the sung relative solmization syllables congruent with the intervals; (c) the sung relative solmization syllables incongruent with the intervals; (d) sung fixed solmization syllables congruent with the intervals; and (e) sung fixed solmization syllables incongruent with the intervals. Participants heard the same note of the stimuli intervals played on piano behind the voices, in order to provide a reference for the absolute notes. Phase 2 tested for the presence of an auditory counter Stroop effect. In this phase, participants were asked to ignore the absolute pitches they heard, and to repeat the syllable names in the presence of 5 sets of heard stimuli used in the phase 1; however, for the control stimuli, spoken syllables were used instead of sung vowel /u/. Again, the piano notes were given for a reference to the absolute notes except during the control stimuli.

Ogata, Miyuki. The Effect of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation on Walking Distance in the Frail and Elderly. MME-MT, CMC, 2007 (August 2006).

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of rhythmic auditory stimulation on walking distance in the frail elderly. While RAS has produced many positive results on gait performance in a variety of populations, there has been only a limited amount of study focused on restoration for the frail elderly. Thirty physically frail patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: (a) the experimental group, in which participants received RAS treatment while they were walking, and (b) the control group, in which participants did not receive any RAS treatment while they were walking. The results revealed that the RAS group showed improvement in walking distance, velocity, and stride length. The results of this study supported the effectiveness of RAS for the frail elderly.

Stewart, Erin E. The Effect of Awareness and Practice of Phonemic Elements on Individual Sight-Singing at the Junior High Level. MME-ME. CMJ. 2007 (May 2007).

The Purpose of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of awareness and practice of the phonemic elements within written language on pitch and text accuracy, performed simultaneously, during initial sight-singing of melodic phrases between conditions and across demographics. Over three weeks, junior high students (N=80) enrolled in one of nine choirs, at three junior high schools served as subjects. The dependent variable was pretest – posttest assessing pitch and text accuracy, using a parallel rating system. The independent variable for subjects in both conditions was a sequence of daily melodic phrases with text. In addition to using solfège syllables to sight-sing the examples, the experimental group became more aware of and practiced the text after three weeks. Results indicated that while the text accuracy score for participants in the control group slightly decreased, the experimental group achieved a significantly higher mean score on the posttest than on the pretest (.050). Pitch accuracy mean scores insignificantly decreased for both conditions from the pretest to the posttest. However, when demographic data was considered, the pitch accuracy mean for seventh grade participants significantly increased (.026) compared to participants in eighth and ninth grade. In addition, when pretest and posttest scores were analyzed in comparison to Kansas State Reading Assessment scores, data showed that students who scored high on the state reading test also accurately sang a higher number of pitches on the pretest. Additional research in the area of sight singing with test needs to be conducted if the goal of music educators is to create independent choral musicians who can teach music to themselves.

2008

Chang, Hong-Yu. A Survey of Board-Certified Music Therapists’ Opinions Towards Research. MME-MT. DR. 2008 (May 2008).

The purpose of this study was to investigate board-certified music therapists’ opinions towards research in clinical practice, and to compare these opinions based on years of field experience and population served. The survey was distributed to 3,818 board-certified music therapists. One thousand and nine board-certified music therapists responded to the survey, but 900 board-certified music therapists (23.57%) completed the survey. Due to poor demographic information and survey question design, the researcher was unable to obtain valid data to investigate board-certified music therapists’ opinions toward research. According to the comment section in the

survey, some music therapists indicated their reasons for expressing negative opinions towards reading research was a lack of statistical knowledge and difficulty transferring research to their clinical practice. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

Choi, Yoon Kyung. The Effect of Music and Progressive Muscle Relaxation on Anxiety, Fatigue, and Quality of Life in Family Caregivers of Hospice Patients. MME- MT. DR. 2008 (August 2007).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of music, progressive muscle relaxation, and music combined with progressive muscle relaxation on the reduction of anxiety, fatigue, and improvement of quality of life in family hospice caregivers. Thirty- two subjects were divided randomly into four groups: control, music only, progressive muscle relaxation only, and music combined with progressive muscle relaxation. The participants were tested individually at their homes or a quiet place in a facility where the hospice patients were residing, twice a week for a duration of two weeks. A pre- and post-test measuring anxiety and fatigue was administered each session. Quality of life was measured only on the first and last session. Results of one-way analysis of variance with repeated measures indicated no significant differences among groups. However, results revealed a significant difference between pre-test and post-test of anxiety for the subject sample as a whole on anxieety , F (1, 28) = 51.82, p < .05 and fatigue, F (1, 28) = 32.86, p < .05. Follow-up paired sample t-test was conducted to compare pre- and post-test difference scores for each group separately. Results indicated that the control, PMR only, and music combined with PMR group exhibited a significant difference in pre and post-test anxiety scores on Day 1, 2, 3, and 4. The music group exhibited a significant difference in pre-and post-test anxiety scores on Day 2, 3, and 4. Followup paired sample t-test on fatigue scores indicated that the control group exhibited a significant difference in pre- and post-test scores on Day 2, 3, and 4. The PMR group did not exhibit any significant differences in pre-and post-test fatigue scores on any i v day. The music group and music combined with PMR group exhibited a significant difference in pre-and post-test fatigue scores in all sessions. Results also indicated that neither anxiety scores (F (3,84) = .443, p = .723) nor fatigue scores (F (3,84)= .540, p = .656) varied from one session to the next. Statistical results indicated a significant difference in quality of life when comparing the subject sample as a whole across the four days of treatment period, F (1, 28) = 14.21, p < .01. Follow-up paired sample t-test indicated that the control and PMR group exhibited a significant difference in pre- and post-test quality of life scores. There was a significant correlation between anxiety and quality of life (r (32) = -.75, p < .01), anxiety and fatigue(r (32) = .55, p < .01), and fatigue and quality of life (r (32) = -.53, p < .01).

Clark, Sheri Lynn. Current Practices in Music Therapy for Grieving Children, Adolescents, and their Families. MME-MT. DR. 2008(December 2007).

The purpose of this study was to determine the current music therapy services and practices that address the needs for grieving children, adolescents, and their families. One hundred fifty music therapists who identified themselves with the American Music Therapy Association as working with Hospice/Bereavement Services were invited to participate by completing an online survey. Sixty-one music therapists responded to the survey, but 46 music therapists (31%) completed the survey. Specific areas of investigation included: (a) a profile of music therapists who work with grieving children, adolescents, and families; (b) settings and locations where these music therapy services occur; (c) types of services provided by music therapists; and (d) music therapists’ rating of effectiveness of music therapy interventions with this population. Music therapists reported on services provided, rated music therapy as effective, and identified the most effective interventions with these clients. Recommendations for necessary future research are discussed.

Cohen, Mary L. Christopher Smalls Concept of Musicking: Toward a Theory of Choral Singing Pedagogy in Prison Contexts. PHD-ME. JD. 2008(August 2007).

The purpose of this investigation was to raise and examine questions relevant to building a theory of choral singing pedagogy for prison-based choirs with reference to Christopher Small’s (1927- ) concept of “musicking.” Historical-biographical method was employed to construct an account of Small’s life and work using published sources and personal interviews with Small. Philosophical inquiry was used to examine his published writing, the roots and logic of major propositions contributing to his mature concept of musicking, and published criticisms to date of Small’s philosophy. Thereafter, Small’s philosophy of musicking was investigated in terms of its explanatory power in building a theory of choral singing pedagogy in prison contexts. In that regard, Small’s concept of musicking was compared to major propositions articulated by traditional aesthetic philosophies of music, and contrasted with three contemporary North American philosophies of music education (Reimer, Jorgensen Elliott) with respect to the logical capacity of each philosophical framework to respond to two primary assumptions: (a) choral singing typically entails the articulation and communication of words (“the word factor”) and (b) choral singing evidences a union between musical agent and musical instrument (“the somatic factor”). Major arguments advanced were that (a) Small’s concept of musicking more ably accommodates the word factor and the somatic factor than either traditional aesthetic iv philosophies or the three philosophies of music education examined; and (b) the contextual and relational components of Small’s concept of musicking render it able to address many of the variables unique to choral pedagogy in prison contexts. Finally, a theory of interactional choral pedagogy in prison contexts, based on Small’s concept of musicking, was advanced. The proposed theory was addressed in terms of defining its operational variables, specifying relationships among those variables, and stating the theory such that it could be falsified or confirmed through subsequent research and assessment. It was suggested that Small’s concept of musicking may signal a paradigm shift in ways of thinking about choral singing pedagogy in prisons and other contexts.

Coughlin, Chad R.  Variations in Motivational Factors and Magnitude Between High School Band Students in Selective and Non-selective groups. MME-ME. CMJ. 2008 (May 2008).

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in the attributional patterns connected to motivation, success and failure of high school band students in differing class structures or groupings. This investigation focused on three types of class groupings: select or audition-based groups in large schools with multiple band classes, non-select or secondary groups in large schools with multiple band classes, and non-select groups in smaller schools with all band students in one class. Subjects (n=312) completed the Motivating Factors and Magnitude of Motivation measures. Results indicated no significant differences on the five subscales of the Motivating Factors measure or the four subscales of the Magnitude of Motivation measure between the students from the small single-class schools and the large multi-class schools. There was a significant difference found between the students in the large school select groups and the large school nonselect groups on the Factors of Motivation subscales of affect for music and classroom environment, as well as the Magnitude of Motivation subscales of selfconcept of musical ability and school music. Grade level analysis both within and between group types also found a significant difference between ninth and tenth graders from all group types on the Magnitude of Motivation subscale of school music. Based on the results, instrumental music teachers should consider employing instructional strategies specific to the ensemble type to shift attributional patterns towards those that support positive gains in achievement. Further research into band class structure was recommended.

Hillmer, Miriam G. Survey of Nurses’ Attitudes and Perceptions Toward Music Therapy in the Hospital Setting. MME-MT.  DR. 2008(December 2007).

The purpose of the present study was to investigate attitudinal statements of nurses toward music therapy and examine the effect previous knowledge and exposure to music therapy has on perceptions and referral for music therapy. Practicing nurses (N

= 153) at a Midwestern research hospital responded to a survey concerning knowledge about music therapy, exposure to music therapy, and attitudes regarding music therapy in the hospital setting. Attitudes were measured using a 5 point Likert scale. Data was analyzed utilizing t-tests, One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests, and chi-squared tests. Results indicate an overall positive attitude toward music therapy, regardless of previous knowledge and exposure. However, respondents with higher self-perceived knowledge and increased exposure to music therapy were significantly more positive toward statements addressing music therapy and pain, speech deficits, memory deficits, situations where a patient is not sedated, relaxation, its overall benefits in the hospital setting, financial worth, and the likelihood for referral. In addition, a relationship was found between higher referral rates for music therapy and statements relating to music therapy with speech deficits, memory deficits, to distract children, when a patient is not sedated, its financial worth, and likelihood for referral. Individuals with a high level of knowledge about music therapy indicated referring for range of motion a significantly higher proportion of the time compared with those with low knowledge. Increased exposure to music therapy yielded a significantly higher referral rate for procedural support but a significantly lower referral rate for depression. Implications for practice are discussed.

Kim, Soo Ji. The Effects of Music Therapy Treatment In Speech Rehabilitation For Patients with Neurological Impairments: A Meta-Analysis. PHD-MT. AAC. 2008(May 2008).

In order to synthesize the outcomes quantitatively with regard to the effects of music therapy in speech rehabilitation for patients with neurological impairments, a meta-analysis was conducted with experimental and quasi-experimental studies on this topic found in music therapy literature. This study contained six primary studies, yielding 35 effect sizes, from several data bases including electronic data bases, a manual search, and individual contacts to research authors. The overall (weighted) mean effect size was 0.68, which was regarded as a medium-sized effect according to Cohen’s recommendation. Several variables were analyzed including treatment

types and speech measures. Overall, studies with treatment programs developed by researcher clinicians yielded greater effect sizes than studies using a single music element as a treatment. Due to the small number of studies included in the sample, several limitations were addressed in this research. Study results highlight the importance of conducting clinical experimental research studies with larger sample sizes, as well as the need for continuous follow-up studies after the introduction of new treatment protocols in speech rehabilitation.

King, Betsey. Attention to Changes in Chord Complexity by Nonmusicians: An Event-Related Potential Study. PHD-MT. CMC. 2008 (December 2007).

Music therapist make regular decisions about the harmony they use in composing, improvising and accompanying for their clients. Research into the brain’s responses to harmonic changes can provide information for that decision-making process. Among the ways to assess neurological activity is the measurement of Event-Response Potentials (ERPs), which are indicators of electrical activity in the cortex and are recorded as waveforms. Certain ERPs occur in the auditory cortex when a repeated aural stimulus is randomly and infrequently interrupted by a second, distinctively different aural stimulus (an “oddball”). Previous extensive research has demonstrated that when listeners are paying attention to something else when the auditory change occurs, an ERP “mismatched negativity” (MMN) negative-going peak occurs approximately 200 milliseconds after the change. When listeners focus on and anticipate the change, a positive-going ERP peak occurs approximately 300 milliseconds afterwards (a “P300”). This research was designed to examine neurological responses to two chord changes that music therapists use frequently. Twelve non-musicians heard repeated C major chords interrupted first by a C major 7th “oddball” and then by a C major chord with a 4-3 suspension. As they listened, three electrodes placed o the scalp recorded electrical activity in the right auditory cortex; subsequently, the waveforms were examined for evidence of the MMN and P300 responses. The results of this experiment showed that the participants perceived the differences in both pairs of chords as evidenced by the presence of clear MMN responses and that the change from C major to C major 7th may have been easier to detect than the change from C major to a C chord with a 4-3 suspension. The recordings of activity in the P300 range did not reveal any obvious responses; the possible reasons for this result are discussed, as are the implications of the results of the MMN recordings.

Latimer, Marvin E. Harold A Decker (1914-2003): American Choral Music Educator. PHD-ME. JD. 2008 (August 2007).

Harold A. Decker (1914 – 2003), American Choral Music Educator, was one of the notable figures in the development and expansion of choral singing in the twentieth century in the United States of America. This study chronicled Decker’s life and professional contributions in four distinct stages: (1) his childhood and schooling (1914 – 1934), which imparted initial interest and love for music; (2) his early professional life (1934 – 1944), which provided acumen, experience, and exposure to prominent choral musicians; (3) his tenure at the Municipal University of Wichita (WU) (1944 – 1957), which facilitated his transition to a position of national prominence and leadership; and (4) his tenure at the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign (UIUC) (1957 – 1981), which afforded him opportunities to bring that national leadership to bear on the rapidly evolving choral music profession in United States. The purpose of this research was to: (1) chronicle the professional life and contributions of Harold A. Decker, (2) place such events within their appropriate socio-cultural and historical contexts, (3) describe the expansion of Decker’s university choral programs, (4) document Decker’s seminal work in the American Choral Director’s Association, (5) recount the development of the D.M.A. in Choral Music at UIUC within the context of the development of the D.M.A. nationally, (6) consider the factors that precipitated the expansion of the D.M.A. in Choral Music in the decades of the 1960s and 1970s, and (7) discuss the pedagogical dimensions of such expansion. This investigation argued that the socio-cultural contexts of the United States and the choral profession at large during Decker’s lifetime, serendipitous events, economic wherewithal, and fortuitous relationships combined with Decker’s ingenuity and his skills as a collaborator to shape each stage of his career. That career uniquely positioned Decker to make significant contributions to the discipline of choral pedagogy.

O’Dell, Kimberly L. The Effect of Movement-Based Instruction on the Steady Beat Performance of First Grade Children. MME-ME. CMJ. 2008 (August 2007).

The purpose of this study was to determine whether first-grade elementary students were able to improve their performance of steady beat tasks by adding a series of movement activities to their normal steady beat lessons. Four intact classes of sixty-seven first grade students (N= 67), randomly divided into two groups, participated in a pretest to assess their ability to perform steady beat in several musical examples. Both groups then received steady beat instruction during an eight-week unit with one major difference: the treatment group (n = 33) received the same lessons without any movement activities at all. After the eight-week unit, both groups were administered a steady beat performance posttest. Results indicated a significant difference in the ability of students to perform steady beat aided by movement-based instruction.

Studebaker, Sarah E. The Effect of a Music Therapy Protocol on the Attentional Abilities of Stroke Patients. MME-MT. CMC. 2008(August 2007).

This study was a pilot that examined the effect of a music-based attention retraining protocol on the attentional abilities of stroke patients. The primary research question in this study was whether the attentional functioning of stroke patients would improve following the implementation of the protocol. More specifically, the following questions were considered: 1. Will there be a difference in protocol-specific measures of attention? 2. Will the neuropsychological evaluation scores differ from baseline measures following the implementation of the protocol? 3. Will self-report measures of cognitive functioning differ from baseline following the implementation of the protocol? Four participants who had experienced a stroke resulting in attention deficits were recruited for the current study. Each participant was screened for inclusion and subsequently administered pretest evaluations of attentional functioning. Following pretest measures, each participant received 12 treatment sessions within a 6-week period, involving implementation of the music-based attention retraining protocol. Probe evaluations were administered at the midpoint of the study, and posttest evaluations were administered following the 6-week treatment period. Results indicated positive trends in neuropsychological scores as well as selfreported measures of cognitive functioning. Additionally, these trends progressed at a similar rate, indicating the effectiveness of the protocol itself. Implications and recommendations for future application and study are discussed.

Wahl, Tonya. The Effects of Music Amplitude and Consumers’ Sex on Subjective Perceptions of Wait Time. MME-MT. CMJ. 2008(December 2007).

The purpose of this study was to examine music’s influence on subjective perception of wait time. subjective perception of wait time is defined as the perceived duration of a time interval. A convenience sample of forty-one undergraduate and graduate college students (N=41) participated in the study. The participants were divided into three groups: no amplitude, low amplitude, and high amplitude. A laboratory experiment was designed to replicate a service setting in which the participants experienced a wait time of 10 minutes. The researcher designed a 15-minute compact disc of pre-recorded music representing the vocal jazz genre (Diana Krall) to be used during the music conditions. After the delay, data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of three parts: problem-solving task (Part I), demographic questions (Part II), questions regarding perception of time and preference for the music (Part III). The impact of music amplitude and participants‟ sex on subjective perception of wait time was examined using a two-way independent analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. The experiment consisted of two independent variables: music amplitude and sex of the participants. The dependent variable was the participants‟ subjective perception of wait time. Although results were not significant, results of this experiment lend support to previous finds that participants in high volume music conditions, both male and female, estimate the longest subjective perception of wait time.       

2009

Chou, Yi-Fen.  The Effect of Music  Therapy and Peer-Mediated Interventions on Social-Communicative Responses of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. MME-MT. CMC. 2009(December 2008).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of music therapy on social-communicative behaviors (eye contact, vocalization/verbalization, and gesture imitation) of children with autism spectrum disorders. The target participants were two children with a tentative diagnosis or a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders along with three typically developing children. ABAB reversal design was used to investigate the difference in the social-communicative behaviors between baseline (A) and music therapy intervention (B). The frequency of social-communicative behaviors of eye contact, vocalization/verbalization, and gestural imitation were reported through graphic analysis. In each condition, one or two typically developing children modeled the social-communicative behaviors for their peers with autism spectrum disorders. Results from the two participants indicated that the use of either intervention (non music or music) could increase one of the social-communicative behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders, gestural imitation. As for vocalization/verbalization, the two target participants demonstrated this behavior more during the non-music condition than during the music condition. Eye contact results indicated that there was no different between the non-music and the music conditions.

Earney, Megan Elaine.  The Effects of Aural Rhythmic Dictation on the Sight-Reading Abilities of Seventh- and Eighth-Grade Band Students. MME-ME. DGH. 2009(December 2008).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of aural rhythmic dictation on the sight-reading abilities of seventh- and eighth-grade band students. Students I this study (N=128) were enrolled in band at a suburban Kansas middle school and were between the ages of 12 and 14, all of whom received at least 45 minutes of instructional time in band five days a week. The null hypothesis for this study stated that there would be no difference found between the group who completed aural rhythmic dictation exercises and those who read and played the same rhythms. Participants were assigned to be in either the control or experimental groups, depending on the class schedule. In their respective groups, participants either played or notated rhythms three times per week for five minutes each. The data analysis indicated that there was no significant difference found overall between students who completed aural rhythmic dictation exercises and those who played the rhythms. However, both the control and experimental groups demonstrated significant differences from pre- to post-test. This study offers information regarding rhythmic dictation, suggesting ideas for further research focused on instrumental students’ sight-reading abilities.

Edwards, Robin C. The Development of a Research Template to Assist Music Therapy Clinicians in Evidence-Based Practice. PHD-MT. CMC. 2009(May 2009).

One of the most prevalent trends in healthcare today is the movement toward evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice requires that health care providers base their treatment decisions not only on their own professional experiences and their client’s needs and values, but also on current quality research outcomes. The American Music Therapy Association has been promoting evidence-based practice among its clinicians through a research initiative created to encourage the use of scholarly research within the profession.

The purpose of this study was to develop a research template to assist music therapy clinicians in accessing clinically relevant information from an individual research study and evaluating the quality of that study to participate in evidence-based practice. Development of the research template occurred in three steps. First, the researcher consulted current literature on the topic of evidencebased practice and research to determine content and design of the template. Next, a focus group of five individuals known for their clinical and research expertise in music therapy examined the template and provided suggestions for improvement, as well as validity for the need for such a template in the profession. Finally, a sample group of music therapists completed an Initial Questionnaire (N=14), the research template on an assigned article and two participant-selected articles (n=12), and a Follow-Up Questionnaire (n=11). Thirty templates were completed iv across five different research articles. Responses on the questionnaires and completed research templates were analyzed to determine clarity of the individual items and the overall function of the template and were used to make necessary modifications to the template itself.

Results indicate that the designed research template is useful for clinicians consulting the research literature to inform their clinical practice decisions and to determine the level of quality of a study. Implications for the role of the template in educational and continuing music therapy education settings to promote evidence-based practice in the field of music therapy are discussed.

LaGasse, Ashley Blythe. Oromotor Kinematics of Speech in Children and the Effect of an External Rhythmic Auditory Stimulus. PHD-MT. AAC. 2009(May 2009).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an external auditory rhythmic stimulus on the kinematics of the oromotor musculature during speech production in children and adults. To this effect, the research questions were:

1. Do children entrain labiomandibular movements to an external auditory stimulus?
2. Does the ability to entrain labiomandibular movements to an external auditory stimulus change with age?
3. Does an external auditory stimulus change the coordination and stability of the upper lip, lower lip, and jaw when producing speech sounds?

The oromotor kinematics of two groups of children, age eight to ten (n = 6) and eleven to fourteen (n = 6), were compared to the oromotor kinematics of adults (n = 12) while producing bilabial syllables with and without an external auditory stimulus. The kinematic correlates of speech production were recorded using video based 4-dimensional motion capture technology and included measures of upper lip, lower lip and jaw displacement and their respective derivatives. The Spatiotemporal Index (a single number indication of motor stability and pattern formation) and Synchronization Error (a numerical indication of phase deviations) were calculated for each participant within each condition.

There were no statistically significant differences between age groups for the Spatiotemporal Index or for Synchronization Error. Results indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the Spatiotemporal Index for condition; with Post-hoc tests indicating that the difference was between the first condition (no rhythm) and the second condition (self-paced rhythm). Results indicated that both child groups were able to synchronize to an external auditory stimulus. Furthermore, the older child group was able to establish oromotor synchrony with near-adult abilities.

Manternach, Jeremy.  The Effect of Conductor Head and Shoulder Movement and Preparatory Gesture Direction on Upper Body Movement of Individual Singers. MME-ME. JD. 2009 (May 2009).

This study examined participants' (N=60) head and shoulder movements during 2 breath inhalation moments as they sang a familiar melody while viewing a videotaped conductor under 5 conductor preparatory gesture conditions. Results indicated apparent differences in participant head and shoulder movement with varied preparatory gestures. Specifically, participant head movement significantly increased with conductor upward head movement and participant shoulder movement significantly increased with conductor upward shoulder movement. Participant shoulder movement also increased during a downward moving gesture as compared to an upward moving gesture. In addition, less experienced participants appeared to move their heads less, but their shoulders more than experienced participants across all gesture conditions. Finally, participant head and shoulder measurements also differed between the initial breath and the internal breath taken in the melody. These results were discussed in terms of conductor gestural behaviors in choral rehearsals, limitations of the study, and suggestions for further research.

Memmott, Jenny. The Effect of Music-Assisted Progressive Muscle Relaxation on the Self-Reported Symptioms of Women with Primary Dysmenorrhoea. MME-MT. DR. 2009(May 2009).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of music-assisted progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) on the self-reported symptom scores of women suffering from primary dysmenorrhoea. Twenty-four women with a mean age of 22.7 years participated in the study and were evenly divided in three groups: a control group (n=8), a PMR only group (n=8), and a PMR with music group (n=8). After completing the modified Shortened Premenstrual Assessment Form (SPAF), which was used both as both a determinate of eligibility in the study and as a pretest, participants completed the SPAF for the first three days of their menstrual cycle. Participants in the PMR-only group completed a PMR exercise in their home for the first three days of their period prior to completing the modified SPAF. Participants in the PMR with music group completed a music-assisted PMR exercise in their home for the first three days of their period prior to completing the modified SPAF. Results of the study indicated no significant reduction of symptoms among the PMR with music group in comparison with the other conditions. Further research is warranted, with a suggested larger and more diverse sample, as well as a more structured environment for the completion of the PMR exercises.

Musson, Dean. The Effectiveness of a Timbral Education Program on the Assessment of Solo Trumpet Excerpts. PHD-ME. CMJ. 2008 (May 2008)

The Purpose of this study is to determine if students can distinguish timbral differences and if instruction focused on the specific elements of timbre would have a significant effect on the timbral assessment of four recorded trumpet excerpts of differing brightness based on spectral analysis. Music education students at the undergraduate and graduate level (N=100) participated in the project. A Solomon four-group design was used for the experimental design.  Participants were randomly divided into four like groups (N=25). All groups assessed the dependant variable of timbral differences of trumpet excerpts with differing exposures to pre-test, post-test and the independent variable which consisted of a timbral education program. Results indicated that participants were unable to accurately rate timbre prior to exposure and timbral education program. A One-way ANOVA indicated that the timbral education program was effective in participants accurately identifying the “brightest” stimulus (F (144) = 14.03, p = .000) who were exposed to timbral understanding prior to testing accurately identified the “darkest” stimuli (t(48) = -2.61, p = .012). Although the timbral education program subjects were able to correctly identify the “brightest” trumpet stimuli, they were unable to carry that knowledge to “bright” and “dark” excerpts when performed on clarinet.

Otte, Anne. Kansas Rural High School Choral Teachers: Demographics, Program Characteristics, and Job Satisfaction. MME-ME. JD. 2009(August 2008).

The purpose of this study was to assess through survey and interview data the status of high school choral music programs in Kansas schools (N=148) identified as “remote rural” by the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics. Data were collected from a questionnaire distributed to the total population of choral music educators in these high schools (response rate, 82.4%) and subsequent interviews (N=18) with a stratified random sample of these teachers. Primary results provided a demographic profile of these teachers, a description of the scope and demands of their current teaching positions, and indications of initial attraction to these positions and plans for remaining in them. Results were discussed in terms of problems and opportunities presented by teaching high school choir in remote rural schools and suggestions for further research.

Seagren, Stephanie. An Examination of Music Therapy with Adolescent Populations. MME-MT.  CMC. 2009 (May 2009).

The purpose of this study was to examine the current use of music therapy with adolescent clients. Ninety-seven board certified music therapists working with adolescents between the ages of 11 and 19 completed the on-line survey. Survey results found that most of the participants worked with adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders, developmental disabilities, and emotional/behavioral disorders. Results indicated that music therapists are targeting a number of goals with the three most common being social, communication, and behavioral skills. The results highlighted commonly reported objectives, functional outcomes, data collection methods, the types of music used, and commonly used music interventions for these and other goals. The results of this survey may be helpful for music therapy students and young professionals who want to learn more about how music therapists are meeting the needs of their clients.

Townsend, Shannon L. The Physics of Sound: A Cross Curricular Unit in Third Grade Science and Music.  MME-ME. DGH. 2009 (May 2009). Project.

The Researcher wanted to examine whether cross-curricular teaching would have an effect on the students performance in both science and music class. A cross-curricular unit was designed between music and science, focusing on the physics of sound. Three third grade classes consisting of 52 students were the participants (N = 52). Lessons in music were structured so students would be exposed to and have hands-on exposure to sound and its elements, requiring 12 lessons to complete. A pre- and post-test design was used in assessing learning in the music unit. The results showed that class 1 improved from 51% to 77% average; class 2 showed an increase from 48% to 70% average; and class 3 showed an increase from 50% to 75%. Thus, each class showed measurable improvement over the course of the unit. Technology was also integrated in the assessments in music. A CPS system was used to administer the pre- and post-tests. Students responded well to this integration as well as the cross-curricular unit, demonstrated by the increases in the test scores.

2010

Agnew, Shawn M.  Factors Influencing the Implementation of Technology in the Music Classroom. MME-ME. CJ. 2010(August 2009).

The purpose of this study was to examine what factors influence the implementation of technology in the music classroom.  Thirty-one Kansas Music Teachers (n=31) completed a web-based survey about technology in the music classroom regarding Technology Implementation, Technology Availability, Teacher Technology Self-Efficacy, Teacher Attitudes Towards the Use of Technology, and Technology Professional Development. This study found Availability of Technology and Technology Professional Development were significant in the prediction of Technology Implementation in the music classroom. Although Technology Self-Efficacy and Attitudes Towards Technology in the Classroom were not found to be significant in the prediction of technology implementation, subject responses pertaining to these factors were unexpectedly consistent, with most subjects reporting high levels of Technology Self-Efficacy and highly positive Attitudes Towards Technology in the Classroom.

Baker, Valerie. A Study of the Relationship Between Observed and Reported Use of A Cappella Singing in the Elementary General Music Classroom. PHD-ME. DH. 2010 (April 2010).

The purpose of this study was to investigate any relationship between observed and reported use of a cappella singing in the elementary general music classroom. A secondary purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ practical perspectives influencing the use of a cappella singing in the elementary general music classroom. From a total of 50 teachers within four adjacent counties in a Midwestern state asked to participate in this study, 24 teachers (48%) participated in both the survey and observation parts of this investigation. Three participants (n = 3) representing differences in teaching experience and survey-rated importance of a cappella singing were interviewed for their views and perceptions on a cappella singing. Results indicated that  cappella singing is an important part of the elementary general music classroom. Group data suggested that participants reported a greater amount of singing of all types, a cappella and with accompaniment, than what the researcher observed. Also, individually compared reported amounts of total singing, singing with piano accompaniment, and singing with other instrumental accompaniment were different from and tended to be higher than observed amounts. However, individually compared reported and observed amounts of a cappella singing were similar. Participants’ practical perspectives on a cappella singing were that it was important, it could be utilized more, particularly if the participants had more class time, and that there should be a balance between amounts of a cappella singing and singing with accompaniment. A relationship was found between amount of teaching experience and the amount of a cappella singing reported; participants with less teaching experience reported more a cappella singing occurring in their classrooms than participants with greater amounts of teaching experience.

Balsinger, Kimberly R.  Examination of the Relationship Between Instrumental and Non-Instrumental Music Participants’ Standardized Test Scores Reading and Mathematics.  MME-ME. CJ. 2010(December 2009).

The purpose of this investigation was to examine any relationships between students participating in public school instrumental music programs and standardized test scores in a large, suburban, Midwestern school district. Test scores from the 2008-2009 school year were analyzed from fifth-, eighth- and twelfth-grade students from one school district in a state representing the Midwest area of the United States (N = 586). Test scores were examined from participants in eight elementary schools (n = 356), one middle school (n = 148), and one high school (n = 82). Half of the participants were enrolled in the band or orchestra program. The other half were randomly selected, according to grade, from the general school population. The standardized tests analyzed in this investigation were those administered to meet state assessment requirements stipulated by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. Electronic copies of the test results for each school were obtained for use from the school district’s testing coordinator. All scores were standardized for comparison purposes. Overall results indicated that instrumental music students outperformed their non-instrumental peers, regardless of socioeconomic status.

Bulgren, Christopher William.  The Effectiveness of Mouthpiece Testing as it Pertains to the Success of Beginning Band Students. MME-ME. CJ. 2010(December 2009).

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mouthpiece testing and success on beginning band instruments. Mouthpiece testing can play an important role in helping students choose the instrument that suits them best. Instrument selection is important to band instructors because choosing the right instrument for a student leads to better overall band sound, contributes to high participation numbers and leads to a quality musical experience for the student. Participants (N=37) were students in two elementary schools (n=14, n=23). Students took a mouthpiece test at the end of their fourth-grade year. The students then took a playing test three months into band instruction in their fifth-grade year. Results of the playing test were compared to the mouthpiece test in order to determine the effectiveness of the mouthpiece test. Results showed a weak positive correlation between the mouthpiece test and playing test. Students who followed the results of the mouthpiece test scored slightly lower on the playing test that the students who did not choose the instrument they performed best on during the mouthpiece test.

Cho, Jeongmin.  The Effect of Music Therapy on Mood, Perceived Exertion, and Exercise Adherence of Patients Participating in a Rehabiltative Upper Extremity Exercise Program.  MME-MT. CMC. 2010(August 2009).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of music therapy on perceived exertion, mood and exercise adherence of patients participating in a group upper extremity exercise program. Twenty two patients ranging in age from 22 to 86 participated in a occupational therapy upper extremity exercise (OT-UEE) program and a music therapy upper extremity exercise (MT-UEE) program for two consecutive days. Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and Feeling Scale (FS) were used for participants to rate their perceived exertion levels and mood change respectively. Each session was videotaped for data collection. Analysis of data revealed that the use of music during exercises significantly reduced perceived exertion (p=0.0011) and enhanced mood (p=0.0401), although patients’ exercise adherence between the two groups was not significantly different. The physiological and psychological benefits of music on rehab patients which were shown through examination of patients’ perceived exertion and mood changes suggest potential benefits for exercise performances.

Jones, Sarah. A Quantitative Content Analysis of In-Text Citations in Choral Pedagogy Published Between 1989 – 2009. MME-ME. JD. 2010 (April 2010).

This study assessed types and frequencies of in-text citations in choral pedagogy books (N = 142) published in North America between 1989-2009, with attention thereafter to (a) reference to research as indicated by research journal articles, theses, dissertations, research symposia papers, and unpublished research; and (b) a subgroup of books used in choral methods courses by professors from 22 institutions. Among primary findings: (a) 75.35% of books examined contained 50 or fewer in-text citations; (b) frequency of in-text research citations was significantly greater in textbooks used by surveyed professors than in other choral pedagogy books examined; and (c) journals most frequently cited were Choral Journal, Journal of Singing, and Music Educators Journal. In addition, Bodymind & Voice was so unlike other textbooks, data from this text were reported separately. Results were discussed in terms of researched-based choral pedagogy, status of choral pedagogy textbooks, and suggestions for future research.

Nishikawa, Yukiko. The Effect of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation on Gait Characteristics and Walking Distance in Older Adults with Demntia. MME-MT. AC. 2010(December 2009).

The purpose of this study was to determine whether rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) would be effective on gait characteristics of cadence, velocity, and stride length and walking distance on older adults with dementia. Older adults diagnosed with dementia from geriatric care facilities in a Midwestern city were randomly assigned to one of the two groups: (a) the experimental group receiving RAS (n = 5) and (b) the control group receiving no RAS (n = 5). Each participant was asked to walk on a long hallway in his/her geriatric care facility with or without recorded music in which metronomic beats were imbedded, depending on the assigned group. The music as RAS was played on a CD player. The phases of the study were summarized as: (a) one baseline session as a pre-test, (b) one session per day for three consecutive days with or without RAS, and (c) one post-test session. The pre- and post-test sessions were videotaped for a data collection purpose. The means and the mean difference scores of the three gait characteristics and walking distance were compared between the pre- and post-tests for each group. Results showed that no statistically significant differences were found. However, it seems that RAS may help extend ambulation in older adults with dementia. Further research is recommended to determine the full influence of RAS on gait characteristics and walking distance in this population.

Robins, Ann Marie. The Effect of Intonation of an Accompanying Instrument on Engagement of Children. MME-MT. CC. 2010 (March 2010).

Music educators and music therapists are trained to use high-quality musical skills, including accurate intonation, in their clinic or classroom. For various reasons, however, practicing music therapists’ and music educators’ accompanying instruments may not always be properly tuned. For music educators and music therapists working with children who desire to use tunable accompanying instruments, it is necessary to understand how the intonation of these instruments could affect the engagement of children within a session or lesson. The purpose of this study was to determine if children’s engagement (as measured by time-sampled eye contact, singing participation, and movement participation) significantly differed in response to a song presented with an in-tune accompanying instrument, as compared to a song presented with a sharp or flat accompanying instrument. Results indicated one possible significant difference, with trends demonstrating greater levels of active participation in the control condition. Implications for both professional fields and recommendations for future study are discussed.

White, Adam G. Relationships Among High School Choir Teachers’ Self DescribedPractices and Sight-Singing Scores from a District/All-State Audition Event. MME-ME. JD. 2010(August 2009).

The purpose of this study was to assess possible relationships among (a) sight-singing scores of secondary choral music students (N=396) from the Northeast region of a Midwestern state at a district/all-state audition event and (b) self-reported sight-singing instructional methods employed by their teachers (N=44), both across the school year and in period of time prior to the district/all-state audition. Teacher participants completed a survey regarding the following: (a) teacher demographic data, (b) school demographic data, and (c) teaching practice. Survey data were compared to sight-singing scores using a Pearson Correlation. Weak positive relationships were discovered between student scores and (a) teacher understanding of the audition process (r= .33) and (b) daily sight-singing instruction (r= .29). No significant relationships were found among student sight-singing scores and reported sight-singing instructional methods. Results were discussed in terms of positive and negative correlations, limitations of the study, and suggestions for further research.

Yamada, Haruna. The Effect of Patterned Sensory Enhancement on Exercise Adherence in Older Adults. MME-MT. AC. 2010(December 2009).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of patterned sensory enhancement (PSE) on exercise adherence in older adults. More specifically, this study compared PSE-oriented music with non-PSE music in terms of (a) number of repetitions, (b) direction of movement, (c) range of motion, and (d) overall exercise performance. Twenty-six healthy older adults (N = 26) were randomly divided into the experimental PSE group (n = 13) and the control non-PSE group (n = 13) and performed a 10-minute physical therapy exercise to PSE music and non-PSE music respectively. For each of the four variables, the PSE group’s mean was slightly higher than that of the non-PSE group’s. However, independent-samples t tests revealed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. This study was the first study to examine effects of PSE and had several limitations. Further research is needed to gain a better understanding of PSE.

Yoo, Ga Eul. The Effect of Musical Attention Cues on the Frequency and Accuracy of Joint Attention Behaviors of Children with Autism. MME-MT. DR. 2010 (January 2010).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of musical attention cues on the frequency and accuracy of joint attention behaviors of children with autism. Fifteen children participated in this study. Participants were diagnosed with autism (n = 4) or referred to the center where the study was conducted because of an autistic behavioral phenotype (n = 11), prior to the participation in this study. All children received a 20- minute individual music therapy session. During the session, 16 joint attention cues were delivered to each child either verbally or musically to direct the child’s attention to an introduced object (i.e., an instrument or a picture on a book). The children’s responses to those cues were measured in terms of frequency and accuracy.

The result of the study showed that children with autism made little response to joint attention cues across the trials (M = .36, SD = .64), corroborating the previous studies that demonstrated impairments of RJA in these children. A paired t test exhibited that there was a significant difference in the frequency of RJA behaviors between providing musical cue and verbal cue conditions, t(119) = 2.21, p < .05. RJA behaviors occurred more frequently when musical cues were provided (M = .43, SD = .72) than when verbal cues were used (M = .29, SD = .54). These findings indicate that a musical cue may evoke the attention of these children effectively.

There was also a significant difference in the accuracy of RJA behaviors between musical and verbal conditions, t(119) = 2.16, p < .05. The mean accuracy rate of RJA under the musical cue condition (M = .33, SD = .59) was higher than in the verbal cue condition (M = .22, SD = .45). This implies that musical cues may provide more accurate cue information or may more accurately facilitate the children’s processing of the cues.

A paired sample t test was conducted to examine differences in the frequency and accuracy of RJA behaviors depending on the types of the attention cues administered. With regard to the RJA frequency, significant differences were found in four sets: M(E) and V(E); M(E+D+P) and V(E); M(E+D+P) and M(E); and M(E+D+P) and V(E+D). M(E+D+P) elicited the highest number of RJA behaviors (M = .60, SD = .86), followed by M(E) (M = .43, SD = .73), while V(E) led to the least (M = .17, SD = .38). Comparison of all paired cues in terms of the RJA accuracy exhibited that five sets of comparisons yielded statistical significance: M(E+D+P) and V(E); M(E+D+P) and V(D); M(E+D+P) and V(E+D); M(E+D+P) and M(E+D); and M(E+D+P) and V(E+D+P). M(E+D+P) led to the highest accuracy of RJA (M = .52, SD = .80) and increased the accuracy of RJA behaviors significantly, compared to all types of verbal cues.

The significant increases in RJA with the use of musical cues observed in this study indicate that the incorporation of musical elements into an attention cue may add information enough to improve RJA behaviors of children with autism. Also, the highest frequency and accuracy rate of RJA behaviors observed when M(E+D+P) was provided suggests that the use of M(E+D+P) would be the most effective choice among different cues for teaching RJA behaviors to children with autism.

2001

Achey, Carol A.  Lyric Analysis and Songwriting With At-Risk Adolescents: Music Therapy as a Quality of Life Component in the Positive Behavior Support Model.  MME-MT, GLD, 2001 (December 2000).

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of lyric analysis and songwriting applications on the in- and out-of-school behaviors of at-risk adolescents.  Attendance, discipline referrals, and overall life satisfaction were examined.  Nine students from an inner city middle school in the Midwest participated.  All students were from a pool of students referred by their teachers based on their poor academic and social performance.  Students participated in eight sessions held twice a week for one month.  Session activities focused on discussion of the meaning in popular song lyrics and writing a group song in a popular style.

The study was divided into three phases for data collection: Phase I, the month before treatment; Phase II, the month during treatment; and Phase III, the month following treatment.  Attendance and discipline records were collected for each Phase.  All students completed a Quality of Life Indicator (QLI) at the end of each Phase.  Subjects also completed brief weekly ratings to measure their life satisfaction during Phase II.

Results indicated no significant changes in attendance, discipline or quality of life data.  Preliminary observations within sessions did indicate an improvement, though not significant, in attendance and behavior.  It was noted that quality of life ratings were consistently high for both the weekly ratings and for several QLI items.  Slight improvements in other QLI items were observed between Phases I and II.  No improvements were noted between Phases II and III.

Cohen, Mary L.  A Constructivist Approach to Elementary School Music Learning Experiences with Reference to the Ideas of John Dewey.  MME, JFD, 2001 (December 2000).

The term "constructivism" has become increasingly prominent in the field of education.  The purpose of this investigation was to examine some fundamental concepts associated with constructivism in order to determine how constructivist pedagogy might inform the theory and practice of elementary school music education, with particular focus on the ideas of John Dewey.  To that end, this investigation first explored a brief history of the concepts associated with constructivism.  Thereafter, it considered distinct branches of constructivism as well as current applications in contemporary education, including descriptions of four studies that linked music in some manner to constructivism.  This study then examined John Dewey's concept of "art as experience" as a theoretical perspective by which music educators might employ a constructivist approach in the elementary music classroom.  The author suggested how Dewey's perspective might inform specific learning experiences in elementary music education, and discussed current approaches to music education in a constructivist framework in terms of some specific benefits and challenges.  This analysis concluded that Dewey's concept of experience could both nurture and criticize contemporary constructivist thought as it may relate to music education.  Specifically, the author suggested that certain premises of music education as aesthetic education, particularly to the extent that they are centered in a philosophy of music per se and tend to negate the interconnectedness of environment and organism, may be fundamentally incompatible with a constructivist pedagogy informed by Dewey's ideas.

Gaines, Meredith Williams.  The Effect of Using a Song to Maintain Reality Orientation of Geriatric Residents in a Long-term Care Facility by Sustaining Short-term Orientation, Recall, and Attention.  MME-MT, GLD, 2001 (March 2001).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of using a specially-composed song to maintain reality orientation of geriatric residents in a long-term care setting by sustaining short-term orientation, recall, and attention.  This study analyzed the following research hypotheses: 

1.)  There will be significant difference in the short-term orientation, recall, and attention of geriatric residents in a long-term care facility after attending cognitive stimulation sessions using a specific type of song containing orientation information in its lyrics.  2.) There will be a significant difference in the short-term orientation, recall, and attention of geriatric residents in a long-term care facility after attending cognitive stimulation sessions including the use of a specific type of song containing orientation material in its lyrics compared to after attending traditional cognitive stimulation sessions focusing upon orientation material. 

Five residents of Heritage Duval Gardens in Austin, TX were participants for this study.  These participants met for 30-45 minutes daily, Monday through Friday, for 2 weeks.  They participated in either a session which used the specific song composed for this study that contained orientation information—information pertaining to the day, date, season, and year—or a traditional session that focused up on verbally discussing orientation information.  The type of session in which the participants were involved each day was randomly selected. 

The results showed that the use of the specifically-composed song does not maintain reality orientation of geriatric residents in a long-term care facility by sustaining short-term orientation, recall, and attention.  Also, according to the data gathered during this study, the use of the specifically-composed song does not maintain reality orientation of geriatric residents in a long-term care facility significantly greater than a traditional cognitive stimulation session.

Although, the results of this study failed to show significant reason for using song to maintain reality orientation and cognitive function, it helped to suggest future areas of study.  Future studies may focus up on how specific song characteristics such as the form, tempo, duration, key, dynamic range, texture, or orchestration may affect the functioning of geriatric patients.  Also, further research may compare the effectiveness of various music therapy techniques, such as song-writing, instrument playing, movement, listening, and singing, in maintaining reality orientation.

Kwak, Eun-Mi Emily.  Effect of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation on Gait Performance in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy.  MME-MT, AAC, 2001 (December 2000).

Cerebral palsy is a collection of motor disorders resulting from damage to the brain that affects the motor system, and as a result a person has poor coordination, poor balance, abnormal movement patterns, or a combination of these characteristics.  Rhythmic stimulation has been proven to improve gait performance in adults with Parkinson’s disease, stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and Huntington’s disease (Thaut, 1999).  The key element of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) is the phenomenon of auditory entrainment that involves the body’s ability to synchronize its movement rhythmically.  External auditory activity is mediated by internal perceptual shaping, and can arouse and raise the excitability of spinal motor neurons mediated by auditory-motor circuitry at the reticulo-spinal level (Paltsev & Elner, 1967; Rossingol & Melvill Jones, 1976; 1997).

In this study, cadence, velocity, stride length and gait symmetry were measured while using music’s rhythmic structure in gait training.  In addition to pretest and posttest data, observations and information from parents and staff were recorded and used to answer the questions posed in this study.

Twenty-five children ranging in age from 6 to 20 years old participated in the study.  All participants had spastic cerebral palsy and were ambulatory but needed to stabilize and gain more coordinated movement.  One group (n=9) received conventional gait training with a physical therapist and the music therapist was an observer.  A therapist-guided training (TGT) group (n=9) received conventional gait training enhanced by RAS with a physical therapist and a music therapist.  A self-guided training (SGT) group (n=10) received conventional gait training with a physical therapist, RAS self-guided training, and a music therapist as an observer.

Data analyzed indicated that the TGT group showed a statistically significant difference in stride length, velocity, and symmetry within the therapist-guided training group.  There was no statistical significance on measures in other tests used for analysis.  The results of this study strongly support three conclusions: (1) RAS does influence gait performance of people with cerebral palsy; (2) Individual characteristics such as cognitive functioning, support of parents, and physical ability play an important role in designing training Application, the effectiveness of RAS, and expected benefit from the training; (3) Velocity and stride length can be improved by enhancing balance, trajectory, and kinematic stability without increasing cadence.

Lipe, Jil.  The Status of Aggressive and Sexist Lyrics in Performed Choral Literature in a Midwestern Public School District.  MME, JFD, 2001 (December 2000).

The purpose of this descriptive content analysis was to assess the status of sexist and aggressive lyrics in publicly performed secular choral compositions (N=273) within the school years 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 in a Midwestern public school district.  Choral concert programs and demographic data were collected from district choral directors (N-11).  In order to determine to what degree, if any, sexist or aggressive lyrics were performed by middle and high school choirs in this district, lyrics of all programmed secular compositions were analyzed for thematic units and classified as (a) sexist, (b) aggressive, or (c) non sexist-aggressive.  Sexist lyrics were defined as language implying stereotypes of women and men.  Aggressive lyrics were defined as language implying behaviors including violent acts such as verbal conflicts, physical conflicts, assault, vandalism, stealing, murder, rape, committing suicide, abduction, or revenge through violent acts; misuse of drugs or alcohol; and focus on death and dying.  Non sexist-non aggressive lyrics were defined as language implying no sexism or aggression.  For reliability, a cross tabulation indicated both the author and reliability judge agreed that 90.48% of the songs analyzed were non sexist-non aggressive and 5.13% were sexist aggressive. Kappa, a measure of reliability that takes base rates into account, was .677, p<.001.  Final results indicated that 8.79% of the songs analyzed from this school district could be classified as sexist or aggressive and 91.21% of the songs analyzed could be classified as non sexist-non aggressive.  Results were discussed in terms of the philosophy of choral music education and recommendations for further research.

Mathern, Claire.  Comparison of the Effectiveness of Three Music Therapy Conditions to Modulate Behavior States in Students with Profound Disabilities: A Pilot Study.  MME-MT, AAD, 2001 (August 2000).

The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the relative effectiveness of three mutually exclusive and progressively more active musical conditions to elicit and maintain alert behavior states in children with profound disabilities.  Participants were six school-age children (ranging from 7-17 years of age) who had multiple profound disabilities.  A within-subjects design was implemented in which each subject received three sessions in each of the tree musical treatment conditions (rhythmic stimulation, song singing, and multisensory rhythm instrument playing) and three sessions in the baseline condition.  Each session was videotaped and subsequently coded for behavior states according to Guess et al.'s (1990) adaptation of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (Brazelton & Nugent, 1995, 3rd ed.).  Percentages of time spent in the combined preferred alert states of A1 and A2 (awake inactive-alert and awake active-alert) for each condition were calculated and put into one-way within-subject ANOVAs.  Results indicated no significant differences between any of the musical treatment and baseline conditions.  Most subjects exhibited very high percentages of the target behavior states during baseline sessions; therefore, statistically significant improvement during the treatment conditions was improbable.  Anecdotal evidence from the present study, though, does suggest that this population did demonstrate learning.  Further exploration of state behaviors in reaction to more intense musical intervention, taking into consideration the subtle but important changes in quality within a state, is warranted if conclusive results are to be found.

Parr, James D.  The Effect of Jazz Ensemble Experience and Listening Guidelines on the Ability of High School Band Students to Evaluate Improvised Jazz Solos.  MME, CMJ, 2001 (May 2000)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether high school band students (N = 245) were able to evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of improvised jazz solos in a manner consistent with the evaluations of thirty-three professional jazz musicians.  High school band students (n = 131) with no jazz ensemble playing experience and those with one year or more jazz ensemble playing experience (n = 114) rated the relative strengths and weaknesses of seven improvised solos excerpted from seven different commercially produced jazz recordings.  Both groups of subjects then rated the same seven improvised solos in a post-test with the treatment group (n = 130) having received a brief training session comprised of guidelines and instructions on “what to listen for in jazz improvisations.”  The control group (n = 115) received no instruction.  Data from the student ratings indicated that high school band students were capable of discerning the differences between strong and weak improvised jazz solos as determined by the thirty-three professional jazz musicians, and that experience playing in a school jazz ensemble contributed to even finer listening discrimination skills.  Results from the study also indicated that the intervention of instruction for improving jazz listening skills had no significant effect on subjects’ ability to evaluate improvised solos.

Rogge, Jennifer E.  Popular Music Preferences In Young Adults.  MME-MT, AAC, 2001 (December 2000)

The purpose of this present study was to investigate popular music preferences in young adults across music popular in their pre-elementary school age (birth – 6), elementary school years (ages 7 to 12), teenage years (ages 13-19), and 20s (ages 21 to 29).  Gender was considered as a factor due to mixed results in previous studies.  College students at a University in the Midwest served as volunteer subjects.  They rated excerpts of popular songs from 1978 - 1999.  Results of the Kruskal-Wallis H Test indicated a significant difference in preference between groups.  All categories indicated significant differences except pre-elementary school aged and elementary school aged groups.  The mean rank scores of each category, in order from the most highly rated to the least highly rated, were as follows: Elementary years, pre-elementary school years, teenage year, 20s.

Tague, Daniel B.  The Effect of Preferred Sedative Music on the Anxiety of Patients During Pacemaker Implant Surgery and Heart Catheterization.  MME-MT, AAC, 2001 (August 2000).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of patient preferred, sedative music on the state anxiety level of patients undergoing heart catheterization or pacemaker implant.  Subjects were alternately assigned to experimental and control group in order of admission to the operating room.  Male subjects (N=22) in each group (N=11) completed a pre and post anxiety inventory in questionnaire format.  Patients in the experimental group were allowed to choose from three different styles of sedative music to which to listen to during the surgical procedure.  The change in anxiety levels between pre and post tests were compared between the control group and the experimental group using a one-way ANOVA test for two groups.  Results indicated that patient preferred, sedative music significantly decreased state anxiety in patients who listened to preferred, sedative music during heart catheterization or pacemaker implant.  Implications for clinical practice and further research are given.

Tandy, Kimberly.  The Effect of Recorded Music on the Physiological Functioning and Total Hospital Stay of Premature Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  MME-MT, 2001  (December 2000).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of recorded lullabies on the heart rate, respiration rate, oxygen saturation levels, weight gain and total hospital stay of premature infants, 28-32 weeks gestation, admitted to a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  Participants (N=15) were randomly assigned to either the control group or the experimental group.  For ten days, participants in the experimental group were monitored during 15 minutes of normal nursery sounds, 30 minutes of music, and 15 minutes of normal nursery sounds in that order.  For ten days, participants in the control group were monitored during 60 minutes of normal nursery sounds.  Although tests indicated no statistical difference between groups for those measures studied, trends were implied.  Discussion of results and implications for future research are presented.

2002

Boyer, Lillis A.  An Investigation of the Attitudes and Perceptions of Third and Fourth Grade Students Regarding Gender Stereotyping of Musical Instruments and Piano Instruction.  MME, 2002 (December 2001).

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes and perceptions of third and fourth grade students toward selected band instruments with regard to gender stereotyping of instruments.  A secondary purpose was to examine the possible relationship between instrumental preference and previous piano study.  Participants were 397 third and fourth-grade students.  Students were administered a 24 closed-ended survey, which asked the student’s gender, and measured the student’s piano background.  Students proceeded to listen to short excerpts of flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and French horn individually playing ‘Yankee Doodle’ and then indicated both their preference for the instrument and whether that instrument should be played by boys, girls, or both boys and girls.  Results indicated the most popular instrument for girls was the flute, followed by the saxophone, trumpet and clarinet (tied).  The flute was rated as a feminine instrument; all other instruments were rated as neutral.  However, there were significant differences in the opinion between genders, especially for the saxophone and trumpet.  Participants with a piano background expressed a significantly higher interest in the flute and French horn than did those participants without piano background.

Campbell, Kendra M.  Curricular Differentiation and Its Effects on Attitude and Learning in the Elementary General Music Classroom.  MME, CMJ, 2002  (August 2001).

This project investigated the effects of curricular differentiation on attitude and learning in the general music classroom.  In striving for ways to reach a larger percentage of students, the researcher sought to apply gifted education philosophies to general music in the elementary school.  The body of research regarding ideas of teaching strategies is limited, particularly towards elementary general music.  This research served to begin the personalizing of these teaching ideas to the music classroom.  Subjects included fourth and fifth grade students in an upper-middle class suburban school.  Eight classes participated in a five-lesson unit on rhythm and meter.  All classes took an attitude inventory and pre-test prior to the unit’s beginning.  Curricular goals and objectives were the same for both the control and experimental groups.  The four experimental group classes received differentiated instruction and learned through a variety of activities attracting the individual interests, while attending to present knowledge and ability.  Students in the four control group classes all experienced identical learning opportunities with no differentiation.  Results showed curricular differentiation did not positively affect student attitude toward music and music class.  There was no significant difference between treatment groups regarding achievement.  The research addresses questions about curricular differentiation and its effects regarding student attitude as well as overall learning.

Choi, Carolyn Mi Hwan.  A Study of the Mother-Child Dyads:  Mothers’ and Children’s Attitudes Toward Music Instruction in Korea.  MME-MT, AAD, 2002  (August 2001).

The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare Korean mothers’ and children’s preferences and attitudes towards music instruction outside of school, specifically piano study.  Participants were thirty children (grades 4 to 6) who are taking piano lessons and their mothers.  The Music Survey for Korean Mothers was used to examine the Korean mothers’ attitudes, and a simplified and reworded version of this questionnaire (Music Survey for Korean Children) was administered to their children.  The questionnaire consisted of two parts, statements about music lessons and subjects’ demographic information.  Statements in Part I were designed to identify both mothers’ and children’s preference of musical instruments and attitudes toward piano lessons with specific reference to their attitudes toward motivation, achievement, and satisfaction.  Subjects were asked to indicate their agreement on a 5-point Likert-type scale for statements regarding their attitudes.  For their preference statement, they were instructed to indicate their choice of favorite instruments by rank order.  A rank order analysis and t test were administered to examine the differences between mothers’ and their children’s attitudes.  Results indicated significant differences between mothers’ and children’s attitudes in terms of their motivation for study (p<.05); however, no significant differences were found between the groups on their attitudes toward achievement or level of satisfaction.  The preference rankings of their musical instruments were found to be different between the groups.  Gender differences were also found in the instrument choices for children.

Collins, Barbara H.  Does Music Make a Difference?:  An Evaluation of the Effect of Musical Activities on the Listening Skills of Kindergarten Students.  MME, CMJ, 2002 (May 2002).

The purpose of this study was to determine whether kindergarten-age students were able to improve individual listening skills by engaging in academic tasks accompanied by musical instruction (i.e., learning and singing songs, learning and acting out physical gestures to songs, clapping rhythms, introduction to and playing a variety of musical instruments, moving/dancing/marching in time to music, freezing like statues when music is not being played, pitch recognition, music volume discrimination, and music tempo discrimination).  All subjects (N=26) completed a pretest and thirteen (n=13) randomly selected subjects were placed in the experimental group.  The remaining subjects served as the control group.  The experimental group participated in a variety of academic tasks, which were accompanied by musical instruction throughout the fourteen-session study.  The control group participated in several regular classroom activities, which consisted of “free-choice activities” (i.e., reading, writing, coloring, computer time, board games, block building, or many other games/activities).  The control group’s activities contained no musical instruction.  All subjects were posttested, in the same manner as the pretest, upon the completion of the fourteen-session study.  All subjects represented a contrast of cultures and economic diversity.  The pre/posttest was a test designed to evaluate four areas of listening skills: auditory discrimination, auditory perception, following directions, and listening comprehension.  Results of the posttest scores revealed a significant difference in the listening skills.  Statistical measures showed that the Experimental Group significantly improved listening skills in all areas of listening.  Suggestions for further research were made.

Glaser, Frank M.  Timing of Eighth-note Lengths in Performances of Charlie Parker.  MME, CMJ, 2002 (August 2001).

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the ratios of on the beat eighth notes to off the beat eighth notes performed by Charlie Parker were played differently at three different tempi.  Three pieces that represented a range of tempi were selected:  Now’s the Time, MM-132; Mohawk, MM=168; Kim, MM=320.  Using a digitally remastered recording released by the Verve record label, the performances were recorded to a computer and analyzed in a university electronic music studio.  Measurements to the thousandth of a second were made using Digital Performer computer software and onset times were obtained for all of the notes in the head arrangements and Charlie Parker’s improvised solos.  Consecutive eighth notes in Now’s the Time (n = 95), Mohawk (n = 46) and Kim (n = 291) were isolated and ratios of on the beat eighth notes to off the beat eighth notes were established.  The ratios of the eighth notes were different for each selection.  Now’s the Time had an eighth note ratio of 1.29:1, Mohawk’s eighth note ratio was .78:1, while the eighth note ratio in Kim was 1.02:1.  The accepted description of swing style eighth notes that appears in most music indicates the eighth notes should be played with a ratio of 2:1.  Data were then analyzed further to determine if these differences in the eighth note ratios between the pieces were significant.  Results indicated that ratio of on the beat eighth notes to off the beat eighth notes was significantly different at each tempo.

Hama, Mika. The Effect of Singing and Rhythm Instrument Playing on the Sppech Prosody of Second Language Learners of English. MME-MT, CC, 2002 (May 2002).

 The purpose of this present study was to determine the effects of singing and rhythm instrument playing paired with chant readings on the speech prosody skill development of international students.  The participants were 15 university students from non-English speaking countries.  All participants completed a pretest and posttest in which they filled out a self-evaluation of their own speech prosody proficiency and then read two chants.  One of the two chants was also used during a treatment session in order to determine the effectiveness of the treatment.  The other chant was not used in a treatment session in order to evaluate the participants’ ability to transfer learned speech prosody concepts from the treatment sessions to an unrehearsed material.  The participants attended eight 15-minute treatment sessions.  In each treatment session, the participants rehearsed a chant with singing to develop English intonation, and then played a rhythm instrument while chanting to develop English speech rhythm.  Five evaluators evaluated the pretest and posttest chant readings for the following three criteria:  stress word accuracy, rhythmic accuracy, and overall prosody.  The evaluators’ pretest and posttest rating scores and the participants’ pretest and posttest ratings were compared to determine the level of improvement in speech prosody.  The results indicated that the evaluators’ and participants’ posttest rating scores for the two chants were significantly higher than the pretest for all three criteria.  Evaluators’ and participants’ mean score differences from pretest to posttest were significantly higher in rhythmic accuracy than in word stress accuracy for the chant used in a treatment session.  For the evaluators’ ratings of the unrehearsed chant, the mean difference score form pretest to posttest was also higher for rhythmic accuracy than for word stress accuracy; however, the difference was not significant.

Musson, Dean S.  Efficiency of Sounds Transmission of High Brass Instruments in an  Outdoor Arena.  MME, CMJ, 2002 (December 2001).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency of sound transmission within a relatively free field environment by various pitched upper brass instruments.  In this experiment, trumpets pitched in D, E-flat, two models pitched in B-flat, and two bugles pitched in G were examined.  The experiment took place in an outdoor stadium and the various keyed trumpets and bugles were recorded at a distance of sixty meters.  To minimize the atmospheric effect from temperature, humidity, and wind, the recordings were made within a few minutes of each other.  A decibel meter recorded the sound pressure levels at the sound source and at the remote location sixty meters from the source.  The recordings were analyzed and a waveform spectrum of the recorded sound provided insight to the vibration recipe and the change in the vibrational recipe resulting from the sound transmission decay at the remote source.  Results indicated that the bugles pitched in G, and the trumpets pitched in D and E-flat were louder at close proximity than the B-flat trumpets.  It was found that the trumpets were more efficient than the bugles in sound transmission, and the B-flat models have the least amount of decibel decay from source to remote location, yet such results were negligible in terms of just noticeable difference in relation to human hearing.

Pasiali, Varvara.  The Use of Prescriptive Therapeutic Songs to Promote Social Skills Acquisition by Children with Autism:  Three Case Studies.  MME-MT, AAD, 2002 (May 2002).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of prescriptive therapeutic songs on promoting social skills acquisition by children who have autism.  The participants were three children with a primary diagnosis of autism.  The author created an individualized song for each participant, the purpose of which was to decrease an undesirable behavior identified by the parents.  The author developed the lyrics of each song by following the current guidelines for writing the text of social stories.  Social stories is a strategy developed by special educators for modifying problematic behaviors of children with autism.  Using a technique called piggybacking, the adapted lyrics were then set to the tune of a favorite song of the child.  The multi-modal presentation of the prescriptive songs included listening, rhythmic accompanying, and signing.  The song presentation was implemented during the treatment phases of the ABAB reversal design: (A) baseline, (B) treatment.  The dependent variable was the frequency of target behavior occurrences during each phase of the design.  Results from the three cases indicated that implementing the prescriptive song protocol was effective in reducing the target behavior of all the participants during the first baseline period.  In two of the cases, the target behavior did not reverse during the second baseline period, which does not rule out rival explanations for the behavioral change.  Even though the results are not conclusive, there is some indication that prescriptive songs are a viable intervention with children who have autism.

2003

Bae, Min-Jeong.  The Effect of Active Music Making Compared to Active Music Listening and Artwork Making on the Level of Anxiety and Pain Perception.  MME-MT, CC, 2003 (May 2003).

The purpose of this present study was to compare the effects of active music making, active music listening, and artwork making on pediatric patients’ perception of pain and level of anxiety.  The participants were 30 pediatric patients at a large Midwestern hospital who were diagnosed with medical conditions accompanied by mild to moderate levels of pain and ranging in age from 6 to 18 years.  All participants’ levels of anxiety were pretested and posttested using the Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory or State-Trait Inventory for Children.  The participants’ level of pain was pretested and posttested using the Visual Analogue Pain scale.  The participants attended a 20-minute session in one of three conditions:  1) Active music making; 2) Active music listening; and 3) Artwork making.  Active music making involved participants initiating and responding to music through song making, playing a rhythm game, singing, and playing instruments.  Active music listening involved participants listening to music while responding to the therapist’s questions.  Artwork-making included participants making an art collage using various arts and crafts materials, including a Polaroid instant camera.  The results indicated that all three treatment conditions significantly decreased the level of state anxiety from pre- to post-treatment.  The active music listening condition decreased the level of anxiety and pain more significantly than the artwork making condition, and it also significantly decreased the level of pain perception from pre-to post-treatment.  The active music sessions had a trend of decreasing the level of anxiety and pain perception more than the artwork making sessions, although not significantly.

Batzner, Kristin W.  The Effects of Therapist Vocal Improvisation on Discomfort Behaviors of    In-Patient Hospice Clients.  MME-MT, AAD, 2003 (May 2003).

This study examined the effect of vocal improvisation with guitar accompaniment on the discomfort levels of patients in a skilled nursing hospice facility.  Fifteen people with terminal diagnoses, excluding those with dementia, agreed to participate in this study, and were randomly assigned to a music or no-music condition.  The music condition consisted of the music therapist sitting at bedside while improvising vocally with guitar accompaniment.  The no-music condition consisted of the music therapist sitting at bedside and visiting with participants.  Each participant received four, individual, 20-minute sessions over a period of two consecutive days.  These sessions consisted of a five-minute baseline segment, 10-minute intervention segment, and another five-minute return to baseline segment.  Each session was videotaped for later data analysis and discomfort behaviors were observed and tallied.  Data were plotted and examined visually.  All participants in the no-music condition demonstrated increases in discomfort during all intervention segments with decreases in discomfort during the return to baseline in all sessions.  Participants in the music condition demonstrated varied levels of discomfort throughout all four sessions, but overall had a greater decrease in observed discomfort behaviors over time when compared to participants in the non-music condition.

Geller, Stephanie E.  The Effect of Musical Stimuli on the Facilitation of Vocabulary Acquisition in Children with Autism.  MME-MT, AAD, 2003 (December 2002).

The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the effect of musical stimuli on the facilitation of vocabulary acquisition in children with autism.  Eleven children (N=11), with autism were selected to participate in this study.  A set of 20 stimulus words was compiled by the classroom teachers and the music therapist for use in the present study.  One-week prior to intervention, a pretest was given to assure the words selected for the study were still unfamiliar to the participants.  From the set of 20 words, 10 were randomly selected as experimental words and integrated into a computer treatment program with accompanying musical stimuli.  The computer program introduced participants to the experimental words through visual and musical stimuli, and to the control words through visual stimuli alone.  Upon completion of the computer program, a posttest was administered to determine participants acquisition of vocabulary words.  A follow-up test was administered one week after the posttest to determine retention of the vocabulary words.  Data revealed a significantly greater number of vocabulary words were acquired from pretest to posttest in both the music and no music conditions; although, the significance was greater for the vocabulary words acquired with music.  Data revealed no significant difference from posttest to follow-up test for the music condition.  A significantly greater number of words were lost under the music condition than the no music condition.  However, the mean number of words retained overall was greater for the music condition than the no music condition.  These findings suggest an advantage to using music paired with visual stimuli to increase vocabulary acquisition in children with autism over a short period of time, and that special care should be given to word acquisition maintenance, perhaps by daily practice with music.

Kim, Shin-Hee.  The Effect of Music Therapy Intervention on the Verbal Output of Recovering Male Substance Abuse Inpatient: Four Case Studies.  MME-MT, AAC, 2003 (December 2002).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of music therapy on the self-expression of patients in the substance abuse unit of a psychiatric hospital in South Korea.  The participants were males between the ages of 30 and 50 (N=4) in treatment for substance abuse.  Each patient participated in a total of six therapy sessions, three traditional psychotherapy (forty minutes each) and three music therapy/psychotherapy combinations (twenty minutes of music therapy and twenty minutes of psychotherapy).  Patients’ preferred music was identified for use during the music therapy sessions, and all six sessions were videotaped.  In addition, the number of feeling and non-felling words participants used during the sessions was recorded.  Results on this measure indicated that participants used more feeling than non-feeling words during the music therapy/psychotherapy condition than during the psychotherapy-alone condition.  In addition, participants rated their comfort level for self-expression on a Likert scale before and after each session.  Data show that participants rated their comfort level for expression higher when they participated in a music therapy intervention.  Music therapy combined with psychotherapy may be beneficial in eliciting emotional expression in substance abuse inpatients during traditional psychotherapy.

Kim, Youngshin.  Effects of Improvisation-Assisted Desensitization, and Music-Assisted Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Imagery on Ameliorating Music Performance Anxiety of Female College Pianists.  Ph.D. – Phil., AAC, 2003 (May 2003).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two music therapy approaches, improvisation-assisted desensitization, and music-assisted progressive muscle relaxation and imagery on ameliorating the symptoms of music performance anxiety (MPA) among student pianists.  Thirty female college pianists (N=30) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (a) improvised music-assisted desensitization group (n=15), or (b) music-assisted progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and imagery group (n=15).  All participants received six weekly music therapy sessions according to their assigned group.  Two lab performances were provided one before and one after the six music therapy sessions, as the performance stimuli for MPA.  All participants completed pretest and posttest measures that included self-report (MPA, stress, tension, and comfort), the state anxiety scale of Spielberger’s State-trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Music performance Anxiety Questionnaire (MPAQ). Participants’ finger temperatures were also measured.  When results of the music-assisted PMR and imagery condition were compared from pretest to posttest, statistically significant differences occurred in six out of the seven measures – MPA, tension, comfort, STAI, MPAQ, and finger temperature, indicating that the music-assisted PMR and imagery treatment was very successful in reducing MPA.  For the improvisation-assisted desensitization condition, the statistically significant decreases in tensions and STAI, with increases in finger temperature indicated that this approach was effective in managing MPA to some extent.  When the difference scores for the two approaches were compared there was no statistically significant difference between the two approaches in any of the seven measures.  Therefore, no one treatment condition appeared more effective than the other. Although statistically significant differences were not found between the two groups, a visual analysis of mean difference scores revealed that the music-assisted PMR and imagery condition followed the procedure easily, while two of the 15 participants in the improvisation-assisted desensitization group had difficulty improvising.

Rayburn, Amanda M.  Music Therapists’ Perceptions Regarding the Application of Melodic Intonation Therapy for Individuals with Broca’s Aphasia.  MME-MT, CMJ, 2003 (August 2002).

The purpose of this study was to investigate professional music therapists’ perceptions regarding their knowledge, educational training, and experience of Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) for individuals with Broca’s aphasia.  The data collection technique utilized in the study was an online Web site survey.  Participants were professional music therapists (N=328) selected from the online Academy for Neurologic Music therapy (NMT) Registry (2002) and from the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) member sourcebook (2001 & 2002).  These participants had experience with the following populations: stroke, neurologically impaired, head-injury, medical/surgical, elderly persons, and speech impaired. 

A descriptive and quantitative analysis revealed that although the majority of music therapists lack knowledge of MIT and Broca’s aphasia, those music therapists with more years of music therapy experience (a) had a greater knowledge of MIT and Broca’s aphasia; (b) applied MIT with Broca’s aphasia clients more often; (c) reported applying MIT independently as well as with a speech therapist; (d) tended to rate higher all important client characteristics appropriate for MIT candidacy; (e) perceived the MIT components, rhythmic cueing by hand tapping and exaggerated speech prosody, as more effective; and (f) perceived MIT to be highly effective than most interventions as well as effective in improving functional speech.  How to bridge the gap between theory and practice as well as ways of introducing MIT to entry level music therapists are discussed.

Szu, Hsin-Chu.  The effect of a Counter Gender-Stereotypic Role Modeling Presentation on the Musical Instrument Preferences of Third Grades Students.  MME, GLD, 2003 (May 2003).

This research involved two interrelated studies.  The first study examined the relationship between students’ gender and their musical instrument preference and investigated third graders’ gender stereotypes of eight musical instruments: the drum(s), clarinet, flute, trombone, trumpet, saxophone, cello, and violin.  Subjects were third grade students (n=70) from two public elementary schools in Kansas.  The second study examined the effect of a presentation with a counter gender-stereotypic role model on the third graders’ preference regarding an “own sex-appropriate” or an “other sex-appropriate” instrument.  Subjects were those who had endorsed the “correct” gender stereotype for the violin, the “feminine” instrument (n=65), and the drum, the “masculine” instrument (n=57) in the first study. 

The subjects exhibited gender stereotypes for the drums, violin, flute, trombone, trumpet, saxophone, but not the clarinet and cello.  The significant differences in gender preference among these instruments were for violin and drums.  There were no significant changes in the subjects’ gender preferences for the violin and drums after the gender-stereotypic role model presentation.

Skaggs III, Donald M.  The Effectiveness of Various Sight-Reading Teaching Strategies on Instrumental Students’ Ability to Sight-Read and Perform the Rhythmic Content of a Musical Excerpt: An Exploratory Study.  MME, CMJ, 2003 (May 2003).

The purpose of this study was to determine which one of twelve teaching strategies was most effective in teaching instrumental students to sight-read.  Study participants (N=100) were undergraduate instrumental students involved in the band department (i.e. athletic bands, concert bands).  The study required participants to sight-read a selected musical excerpt.  The performance of the excerpt was tape-recorded.  Upon completion of the performance, participants completed a questionnaire regarding the teaching techniques used to help them to sight-read.  Once the data gathering was complete, tests were run to answer three questions posed in this study.  One question pertained to the effectiveness of sight-reading teaching techniques, a second question pertained to technique usage, and a third pertained to frequency and magnitude of sight-reading practice.  Frequency, Linear Regression, and Bivariate Correlation tests were used to analyze the data.  Test results are as follows.  The two techniques most widely used in teaching instrumental students to sight-read are focusing attention to key concepts and musical reading activities.  Frequency and magnitude of sight-reading practice had no significant effects on student’s ability to sight-read or the number of errors made on the sight-reading excerpt.  No single teaching technique was found to be most beneficial in helping students to sight-read.  Null hypotheses predicted that there would be no teaching technique that is most beneficial for helping students to sight-read.  Results confirmed the null hypothesis.

Uchisaka, Mihoko.  The Effect of Pitch Sensitivity as a Musical Distraction on Task Concentration.  MME-MT, AAD, 2003 (May 2003).

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether individuals with absolute of relative pitch are more distracted by background music than those who do no have such pitch sensitivity.  Participants were divided into three groups based on their musical training: individuals with absolute or relative pitch, individuals without absolute or relative pitch who majored in music or had more than three years of formal music lessons, and individuals without absolute or relative pitch who did not major in music or had fewer than three years of formal music lessons.  The d2 test of Attention (d2 test) was used as a measurement of attention and concentration.  Participants took the d2 test under two conditions: no background music as a control condition and with background music as an experimental condition.  The results indicated that all three groups achieved higher scores under background music, though it was not significant.  Thus, background music used in the present study was not distracting but rather facilitating.  However, the results revealed that the scores were significantly different among the three groups.  The group of individuals with absolute and relative pitch achieved the highest scores.  The results may indicate that individuals with absolute or relative pitch have higher concentration and attention skills, at least as measured by the d2 test.

Van Middlesworth II, Charles L.  A Comparison of Junior High School and Senior High School Band Students’ Practice Habits and Attitudinal Statements Regarding Practice.  MME, CMJ, 2003 (December 2002).

The purpose of this study was to compare junior and senior high school band students’ practice habits and attitudinal statements regarding practice.  This study was specifically concerned with answering the following important research questions:  What are the practice habits and attitudes of junior and senior high school band students in a small Midwestern school district concerning (a) practice length, (b) parental motivation, (c) pre-practice techniques, (d) personal motivation, (e) practice techniques, and (f) private lessons?  One hundred forty junior high, (n=83) and high school (n=57) band students participated in this study.  Each student was administered a twenty-eight item survey designed to assess music practice attitudes.  Survey instrument items were placed into six categories to distinguish the varying attributes associated with personal music practice attitudes.  A t-test of independent means was used to determine if significant differences existed between junior and senior high students.  Data revealed that a majority of students were not involved in taking private lessons.  The data also revealed that junior high school band students displayed more enjoyment in music practice than high school band students.  Junior high school parents also tended to show more involvement in music practice than high school parents.

2004

Baylor, Julie K. Character Education in A Choral Music Setting: A Case Study of Ah’Lee Robinson, Founder and Director of the Kansas City Boys Choir. MME 2004 (May 2004)

Since the Middle Ages, and possibly before, choirs have been organized and rehearsed with Character formation in mind.  This qualitative case study sought to gain insight into the phenomena potentially associated the character education in choral music settings by focusing on one director as he worked the Kansas City Boyd Choir, and ensemble established as a character-forming organization.

Data collected over a period of seven months. Included field notes from rehearsals and concerts, transcriptions of semi-structured interviews with staff, and a review of related artifacts.  Designand analysis were emergent and recursive.  The methodology followed a seven-step process.

Data were analyzed through standard qualitative techniques including constant comparison. Two categories emerged from the constant-comparison analysis: (a) Significance of the individual and (b) Connection to :”Something Bigger.”  Some of the phenomena served to affirm the significance of the individual singer, while other phenomena functioned to connect the singer to something bigger—something outside his self.  The director, Mr. Ah’Lee, facilitated these two categories as he sought to cultivate the “whole boy” (Kansas City Boys Choir).

The researcher concluded that his choral music setting cultivated a process that began with the individual and moved outward in ever widening circles to brotherhood, family, choral music traditions, and beyond.  Findings also suggested that aesthetic philosophies of music based on music objectified as sound or work may not be adequate for studying such phenomena in choral music settings.  Recommendations for further research included continuing investigations of various facets of choral pedagogy that may impact character, possible connections between personal significance/self-esteem and character and correlation of choral group involvement and connectedness to character, especially in relation to familial and group therapy theories.

Goodwin, Susan W. Curricular Development for Engaged Learning: A Project in Music Education.  MME 2004 (May 2004). Project.

Philosophies devoted to teaching music in schools are as old and as varied as there are philosophies about most subjects in education.  The reasons for teaching music have changed many times since the first installation of a music curriculum in the public or private school system and will continue to do so as long as there are people willing to teach the subject.  However, there are powerful philosophies that at least two music educators have offered. David Elliott and Bennett Reimer have separately proposed philosophies that have changed the way teachers teach their  students, but have changed the way their students will learn and think about music for their lifetimes.  “When teaching situates details within meaningful contexts- real music being dealt with in ways that enliven our experiences of it- and when that experience is enriched by the many discriminations it requires, musical intelligence is being well served and well cultivated” (Reimer, 2003, p230)

Although they have somewhat different stances on the matter of teaching music, both Elliott and Reimer stand strong on the point that music listening is as important as learning to read and write music. “Listening, then, is an act of co-construction of musical meaning” (Reimer 2003. p 225). Listening is often a neglected part of successful music education.  Most students of music will not go on to be professional musicians.  It is the job of the music teacher to ensure that all students will be able to listen to music responsively and intellectually:  Music listening is an absorbing form of thinking for students who learn how to listen intelligently” (Elliott, 1995, p 124).  Getting students to listen “:intelligently” is the key for many music teachers. Teachersmust guide their students to listen for specific elements of a piece.

Both Reimer and Elliot point out that engaging students in music is the best way to ensure intelligent music listeners and participants.  All students lean in different ways, therefore it is important to have the students learn a particular unit of study several different ways.  For example, the teacher may write on the board that a quarter note looks like this and receives on count.  The students will write this down in a notebook, memorize it and circle the correct answer on the test.  The teacher still has no idea if the student truly understands what a quarter note is.  Only until the student can write down a quarter note in a measure and be able to play what he or she has written can the teacher know the student has full understood the lesson. Reading, composing, arranging, improvising, and listening are what make and intelligent musician and a lifelong participator, as well as a student that is using his or her lower and higher order thinking skills.  A competent music educator will be able to teach to all the :intelligences”.  Music education is no simply “training” the student musically, but focusing on the whole rather than the parts.

The Archdiocese of Kansas city in Kansas designed a curriculum for its music department inDue to the fact this document was written eight years ago and never revised, it does not contain several of the National Standards for Music Education including, improvisation, composing, listening, and evaluating music.  Because the Archdiocesan standards do not necessarily encompass all the National Standards and the “immersion of music” for which Elliot Reimer call, a music teacher must therefore develop his or her own philosophy of music education in order to give the students a lifelong appreciation of the subject.  At Holy Spirit Catholic School in Overland Park, Kansas there came a need for a revamping of the middle school music electives to include not only the National Standards for music, but also embrace a philosophy that would foster and intellectual music experience that produces a lifelong music participator.  The electives are, on an average of, four weeks in length giving the teacher approximately twenty lesson plans in which to achieve this goal.

The purpose of this project is to create four new venues in which middle school students at Holy Spirit School are able to learn the musical elements of rhythm, melody, instrumentation, harmony and form.  Through the more engaging teaching strategies of composing, improvising, listening, reading, writing, and performing students will better understand musical terms thus creating lifelong participators of music. 

Philosophy of Music Education:

Music is important to students’ education because it teaches higher order thinking skills, exercises right- and left-brain thinking and allows self-expression that leads to self-confidence.  The students will be able to learn music through sequential patterns that allow conceptual learning of the fundamentals of music, which are melody, rhythm, form, and harmony.  Through the application of the fundamentals of music, students learn to think critically and are able to self-correct musical problems and gain the musical independence needed to become lifelong music makers and/or participators.

The ability to intelligently listen, perform, and compose music is unique to human beings.  The listening, performing, composing, moving, reading, writing, and improvising facilitate musical skills that allow students to engage in musical experiences, thus allowing them to extend their emotional responses.  Listening in the music classroom teaches skills that allow the students to become critical listeners by identifying rhythms, melodies, instruments, tempo, meter, and form.  It requires organization, discipline and concentration. Movement in the music classroom promotes physical learning and self-expression.  Singing in the music classroom emphasizes reading skills, vocal production and functioning as a community.  They also promote self-confidence and self-expression.  The reading and writing of musical notation teaches the reading and writing of another symbol system and languages other than English through creating and composing.  As being able to read and write- the foundation of our educational system- separates those educated students from those who are not, being able to compose, listen, participate, and perform to music separates those students who are emotionally and creatively educated from those who are not.  This type of music education should be offered to all students.  These components of a well-taught music education class not only offer music experiences, but also enhance intellectual and emotional responses while facilitating cognitive thinking skills.

Gordon, Steve A.  An Exploratory Investigation into the Temperaments on Fifteen Selected Band Instruments in Fourteen High School Band Programs.  MME 2004 (May 2004)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the population of each instrumental section of the band reflects a predominance of one or more temperament types.  Senior high band students from fourteen high schools were tested using the Keirsey Temperament Sorter.  The selected instrumental sections included flutes, oboes, bassoons, clarinets, harmony clarinets, alto saxophones, tenor saxophones, baritone saxophones, trumpets, French horns, trombones, baritones/euphoniums, tubas, batter percussionists, and keyboard (mallet) percussionists.  The students were tested for four basic temperaments: the Dionysian SP (Phlegmatic), the Epimethean SJ (Melancholy), the Promethean NT (Choleric), and the Apollonian NF (Sanguine). A Chi-square test was conducted on each section to determine whether or not the population of that section was significantly different at the .05 level from the total population.  Results showed that the harmony clarinets, bassoons, French horns, trombones, tubas, and better percussionists were all significantly different in personality type makeup from the general population, while flutes, clarinets, alto saxophones, tenor saxophones, oboes, trumpets, baritone/euphoniums, and mallet percussionists were not significantly different.  The N for baritone saxophones was too small to perform the calculation.  The test also showed that the population of students who played first chair in their sections of six or ore was significantly different from the general population.

Guise, Paul E. Music Business Education in Canada: A Census and Developmental Template.  PhD (Music Education), 2004 (August 2004)

Business training programs exist at many post-secondary institutions, but those directed specifically at musicians are relatively rare.  The creation of formal educational offerings in business for musicians is a recent phenomenon when compared to subjects such as performance, musicology, and pedagogy. This document focused on the situation facing musicians in Canada, with a particular emphasis on post-secondary educational offerings, because there is currently no research available regarding the number of programs or specific content in this Canadian context.  The purposes of this study are twofold:  1)to catalog the current music business course offerings available at the post-secondary level in Canada, and 2) to create a benchmark and template for use in creating or revising music business courses such that they ware tailored to specific institutional and individual needs.  Course offerings in music business were determined through analysis of total music course offerings at each of Canada’s 77 post-secondary institutions with a music department or equivalent.  Eighteen schools were determined to offer music business courses, with four others offering music business programs that combined discrete music and business course. The data provided by each school were analyzed in a qualitative, verbal manner to identify common features and gaps in current offerings.  A template was then proposed to aid institutions in creating, adapting or marketing music business courses or programs.

Harms, Melanie.  The Effect of Melody, Chant, and Rhythm Paired with Behavioral Supports on the Challenging Behavior of Children with Autism: Five Case Studies.  MME-MT, CC, 2004 (December 2003).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of three conditions of music (melody, chant, and rhythm) paired with behavioral supports on the frequency, duration, and/or the intensity of challenging behaviors of children with autism.  The participants were five children with diagnoses on the autism spectrum.  The researcher applied behavioral music therapy techniques when delivering an individualized composition to each subject.  The composition was presented in three conditions (melody, chant, and rhythm) separately, using a counter-balanced research design.  Independent variables included the treatment conditions (melody, chant, and rhythm) and the behavioral supports.  Dependent variables were determined through frequency count of the challenging behaviors.  Results from the five case studies indicated that no one treatment condition (melody, chant, or rhythm) seemed to be more effective than any other.

Hernandez-Ruiz, Euginia.  The Effect of Music Therapy on the Anxiety Levels and Sleep Patterns of Abused Women in Shelters.  Mme-MT 2004 (August 2004)

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of music therapy procedure (music listening paired with progressive muscle relaxation) on the reduction of anxiety and improvement of sleep patterns in abused women in shelters.  Twenty-eight women residing in two domestic violence shelters in a Midwestern City met with the researcher for 5 consecutive half-hour s3essions for data collection.  A pretest-posttest design with control and experimental groups for all measures was used.  The dependant variables included: stait anxiety (measured by the STAI, Spielberger et al., 1983) before and after each music stimulus, sleep quality (measured by the PSQI, Buysse et al., 1989) on the first and last sessions, and levels of fatigue (measured by the fatigue Scale, Lee, 1992) at waking time.  The independent variable was a twenty-minute recording of participant-selected music with Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) script.  Results of a Factorial Repeated Measures ANOVA and the STAI indicated that music therapy constituted an effective method for reducing anxiety levels (first day of treatment: F (1,26)=39.04, p <. 001; second day of treatment: F (1,26) = 17.68, p < .001).  Interactions by condition were also found on both days (first day of treatment: F (1,26) 6.05, p=. 021; second day of treatment: F (1,26) = 15.73, p=. 001). Results of a One-Way ANCOVA on the PSQI indicated a significant effect on sleep quality (F (1,25)=4.95,p=. 035). Follow-up Paired-sample t-Tests for each condition revealed a significant difference for the experimental group (t (13)=3.20,p=. 007), but not for the control group (t (13)=1.74,p=. 105). No significant relationships were found between anxiety levels and sleep quality, nor fatigue levels and sleep quality.  These results promising in the light of domestic violence research, which has found that a greater amount of personal resources is a crucial aspect of abused women’s recovery process.  Reduction of anxiety and improvement of sleep quality can be considered as increased personal resources and seen feasible through the use of music therapy.  Further discussion of results and implications for research and practice are included.

Herrmann, Jennifer L The Influence of Age, Sex, and Socio-Economic Status on the Correlation of Language, Math, and Rhythm Timing Test Scores in Middle School Students.  MME 2004 (May 2004)

The Purpose of this study was to examine the correlation of language, math, and rhythmic timing test scores by comparing students’ standardized test scores in reading and math on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (TBS), Iowa Test of Educational Development (ITED), and Kansas Assessment and test scores in music as determined by Rhythm Ace, a music computer program.  Fifty subjects in seventh and eighth grades from a suburban Kansas City middle school took the rhythmic timing test, results of which were compared to the same students’ math and language scores from the ITBS, ITED, and Kansas Assessment.  The subjects represented students from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds.  All subjects participated in instrumental music classes for a minimum of two years.  The design was a correlation for language, math, and music, and included the effect of age, sex, and socio-economic status.  Results showed there was no significant correlation between math or language test scores and age, sex, or socioeconomic status.

Hirokawa, Eri. Effects of Music and Relaxation Instructions on Arousal and a Working Memory Task with Older and Younger Adult Females.  PhD of Philosophy 2004 (May 2004)

The purposes of this study were to examine 1) whether there were significant differenced on the arousal level between younger and older adults, 2) whether music listening and the relaxation instructions had significant effects on a subjects’ arousal changes, 3) whether there was a significant difference on the working memory performance between younger and older adults, 4) whether music listening or the relaxation instructions had significant effects on subjects’ working memory performances, and 5) whether there were linear or curvilinear relationships between subjects’ arousal level and the working memory performance.  Thirty female college students and thirty female older adults who were nonmusicians participated in the study.  Two aspects of arousal, energy and tension were measured separately using the Activation Deactivation Adjective Check List (AD ACK, Thayer, 1978a).  The working memory performance was measured using the reading span test by Daneman and Carpenter (1980).  For the musical stimuli, each subject chose her preferred musical piece from the selections prepared by the investigator.  The modified autogenic phrases by Green (cited in Norris & Fahrion, 1993) were used as the relaxation instructions.  Results of the three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant age difference between younger and older adults in energy, but not in tension.  The follow-up comparisons with the Bonferroni method indicated that younger subjects’ mean energy score significantly increased after the music condition which older subjects’ mean score did not.  Subjects’ tension levels significantly decreased after the relaxation session in both younger and older adults.  Compared to the baseline scores, the working memory performances were significantly higher in younger adults in both the music and the relaxation conditions.  For older adults, the mean working memory scores in the music and the relaxation conditions were also higher than the baseline score, but were not statistically significant.  Although overall results were positive, comments from some subjects indicated that both music and relaxation could negatively affect subjects’ arousal and the working memory performances when these techniques do not meet the subjects’ needs.  A few subjects expressed discomfort with or dislike for the music.  Musical preferences of subjects are important to produce positive outcomes.  Implications for music therapy were discussed.

Land, Brenda J, The Effects of singing on Agitation of Behaviors During Bathing for Individuals with Dementia: Three Case Studies. MME-MT 2004 (May 2004)

The purpose of this case study was to determine the effect of singing on the frequency of agitation behaviors during bathing and the duration of the bath time fore three female residents of a care center who had mid to late stage dementia.  Each subject participated in a series of 20 music therapy treatment sessions, in which she experienced three conditions: no music, recorded singing, and live singing.  The researcher and observer collected data using a time sampling procedure. If an agitated behavior occurred at any time within a 10-second time interval during the bath it was coded and recorded.  The duration for each bath under each condition was also recorded.  All data were graphed for visual analysis.  When live music and recorded singing sessions were most effective in decreasing agitated behavior.  The results also indicated that the music had a slight effect on the duration of the bathing session for all subjects.

Landaker, Mary Jane.  The Effect of Rhythm and Melody on the Sight Word Recognition of Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities.  MME-MT, CC, 2004 (December 2003).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of rhythm and melody on the sight word recognition of adolescents with developmental disabilities.  Students (n=55) at a Midwestern rural school for persons with developmental disabilities participated in a randomized (by class) control group pretest-posttest designed study with to variations of the independent variable.  Subjects completed a four-week treatment period learning chants/songs that contained target words.  The words were compiled from a Survival Word List used at the facility.  Results indicated that only the control group showed significant increases in scores from pre- to posttest.  Results indicated no significant change in scores for treatment condition one (rhythmic chant) or for treatment condition two (melody).  There was also no significant difference between the musical treatment conditions.  Examination of individual scores reveals that some subjects did make significant gains in sight word recognition while others did not.

Lee, Suyeon.  The Effect of Music Listening, Autogenic Training, and Music-Assisted Autogenic Training on the Quality of Life, Relaxation Responses, and Daily Living of Migraine Patients.  MME-MT, AAD, 2004 (August 2003).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of music listening, autogenic training, and music-assisted autogenic training on the quality of life, physiological and psychological relaxation responses, and daily living in a population of migraine patients.  Forty migraine patients, ranging 20 to 60 years, were referred to the researcher by their physicians and participated in the study.  A convenience control-group pretest-posttest design was employed.  The participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: music listening (ML), autogenic training (AT), music-assisted autogenic training (MAT), or a control group subjects, with n=10 subjects per group.  The subjects in experimental groups received four 30-minuite sessions with an assigned treatment once a week during a 4-week experiment period.  The subjects in the control group continued their regular medical treatment as prescribed by the doctor without receiving any other relaxation treatment.  However, they were still aware of the research and their responsibilities for the study.  The Migraine Assessment (MIDAS) and Migraine-Specific Quality of Life (MSQOL) questionnaire were used to investigate a migraine patients’ quality of life collected before and after the 4-week experiment for all subjects.  The physiological and psychological relaxation responses of migraine patients were measured by relaxation levels and forehead temperature recorded before and after each treatment session for the subjects in three treatment conditions.  The effect of the relaxation treatments on daily living of migraine patients was examined through the frequency and intensity of migraine headaches, and the amount of medication taken for migraine headaches during the 4-week experiment as recorded in participants’ diary for all subjects.  The scores on the MIDAS, MSQOL, relaxation levels, and forehead temperature were calculated and put into a repeated measure ANOVA to examine the differences between pre- and posttest as well as treatment effects.  The results found significant differences from pre- to posttest on the MIDAS, MSQOL, and relaxation levels while no significant was found among the groups.  The analysis of forehead temperature showed no significant difference from pre- to posttest and among the groups.  A one-way ANOVA was performed on the frequency, intensity, and amount of medication taken for migraine headaches during the 4-week experiment period.  While results yielded no significant difference among the groups, the data indicate that the participants in the three treatment groups reported fewer migraine headaches, lower degrees of headache intensity, and less medication taken for migraine headaches, lower degrees of headache intensity, and less medication taken for migraine headaches than participants in the control group.  A conclusion drawn from this study is that music listening itself as a relaxation treatment, or as an adjunct to other relaxation techniques can be effective in the treatment of migraine headaches.

Miller, Cari K.  Comparison of the Effectiveness of Three Music Therapy Conditions on the Behavior States of Adults with Cognitive Disabilities.  MME-MT, AAD, 2004 (December 2003).

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the effectiveness of three musical conditions on the behavioral states of adults with cognitive disabilities.  The three musical conditions examined were rhythmic stimulation, song singing, and instrument playing.  Participants were six adults with profound cognitive disabilities who were living in a community-based residence and attending a community day program.  All sessions took place within the participant’s community-based residence.  The study utilized a within-subjects design.  Each subject received three sessions under each of the treatment conditions and the baseline condition.  The sessions were videotaped to observe and compute the percentage of time spent in the preferable alert states of A1 and A2 (awake inactive-alert and awake active-alert).  The investigator and a reliability observer coded the participants’ behavior states according to Guess et al.’s (1990) adaptation of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (Brazelton & Nugent, 1995, 3rd ed.).  Percentages of time spent in the combined preferred alert states of A1 and A2 (awake inactive-alert and awake active-alert) for each condition were calculated and put into a series of three one-way MANOVAs.  Results indicated no significant differences between any of the treatment and baseline conditions.  Baseline sessions produced a high percentage of the target behavior; therefore, statically significant improvement during the treatment conditions was unlikely.  Further exploration of state behaviors in reaction to more individualized music therapy interventions is suggested if conclusive results are to be found as individual subjects did achieve desired states during certain conditions.

Mori, Noriko, A Comparison of Musical Preferences of University Music Majors Versus Non-Music Majors. MME, GD, 2004 (August 2003).

This study examined the musical preferences of university students.  It compared music majors’ and non-music majors’ genre preferences in a variety of specific situations, their general musical preferences, and the strength of their musical preferences.  Specified subcategories of students included music performance majors, music nonperformance majors, and non-music majors. Self-selected volunteer participants were undergraduate and graduate students (N=255) attending state universities in the Midwest.  Sixty-three music performance majors, 83 music nonperformance majors, and 100 non-music majors answered a verbal based survey.

When looked at as two groups (music majors and non-music majors), statistical analyses showed that there were statistically significant mean differences in the strength of musical preferences for classical, jazz, rock, and top 40, as well as statistically significant proportional differences across the genres in 17 out of 20 specified situations.  Music major participants preferred classical music more than non-music major participants; non-music major participants preferred pop/rock music more than music major participants.

The three-group comparison (music performance majors, music nonperformance majors, and non-music majors) showed statistically significant preference differences in classical, jazz, rock, country, top 40, and adult contemporary music.  Music performance majors and music nonperformance majors differed significantly in preference for classical, rock, country, top 40, and adult contemporary, but not for jazz.  Both music performance majors and music nonperformance majors were significantly different from non-music majors in classical and jazz music preference.  Only music performance majors were significantly different from non-music majors for rock, country, and top 40.  Thus, the musical preferences of music nonperformance majors were not significantly different from those of non-music majors for these genres of music.  On the other hand, only music nonperformance majors were significantly different from non-music majors for adult contemporary.  That is, the musical preferences of music performance majors were not different from those of non-music majors for the genre,

Overall, the musical preferences of all participants were varied and broad, which suggests that music educators and music therapist could plan diverse curricula.  Implications for teaching and research are explored.

Transue, Patricia L.  Effects of a Visual Cue on the Intonation Accuracy of Fourth and Fifth Grade Beginning String Students.  MME, GLD, 2004 (August 2003).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a visual cue on the intonation accuracy of fourth and fifth grade beginning string students.  A position arrow is sometimes employed in music written for string students to indicate whether the finger placement for a note is a “high” position or a “low” position.  The printed arrow serves to train and remind the learner how to position the finger to attain the precise pitch.  Various researchers have studied intonation accuracy, but the use of position arrows has no empirical data to support its effectiveness for the objective.  The experiment included subjects in fourth and fifth grade string classes in an urban school district in Kansas.  Students received training in playing a high and low second finger position (adjustments made for cello and bass players) with and without the position arrow previous to the study.  During the investigation, a recording was made of each student playing a series of F sharps and F naturals and a succession of C sharps and C naturals without position arrows, then with position arrows.  Next the pupils recorded two melodies written by the researcher that include F sharps, F naturals, C sharps, and C naturals.  The experimental group was provided position arrows printed over each of these notes in the melodies, while the control group was not.  A chromatic stroboscope measured the cents deviation from accurate intonation on the affected notes.  The resulting data were subjected to an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to obtain F values and to determine their significance.  Findings revealed that intonation accuracy was statistically significantly increased on the notes played with position arrows in the exercises and only on C sharp in the melodies. 

Woolrich, Jennifer.  The Use of Music to Enhance Relaxation in Adults with Developmental Disabilities.  MME-MT, AAC, 2004 (December 2003).

The purpose of this study was to determine 1) if music-enhanced relaxation was effective in adults with developmental disabilities (DD), 2) whether adults with DD could learn the relaxation protocol in a short period of time, eight sessions, and 3) whether the adults with DD remembered the relaxation protocol one week after the eighth session.  The study consisted of eight consecutive sessions, excluding week-ends, and a follow-up session, which occurred one week after the eighth session.  The subjects (n=11) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, each lasting 10 minutes.  Group A sat and talked quietly with the experimenter, Group B learned and performed a relaxation protocol without music, and Group C performed the same relaxation protocol with music.  The relaxation protocol included the Whoosh Breath, Relaxing Breath, and Jaw Drop.  Prior to and following the 10-minute conditions, a Self-Rated Stress Survey, which was adapted for this population from measures used in previous studies, was administered as a pre-test and again as a post-test in each session.  Trained observers analyzed videotapes of Groups B and C’s sessions and recorded the level of needed prompts for the subjects to perform each step of the relaxation protocol.  T-tests calculated between the pre- and post-test scores of the Self-Rated Stress Survey showed no statistically significant changes in any group’s self-perceived stress levels.  Likewise, a statistically significant difference in stress reduction was not found when comparing the three conditions.  Additional t-tests were calculated for the prompt level data from the videotapes.  The results showed that both Groups B and C needed significantly lower levels of prompts by Session 8, indicating that they were able to perform the relaxation protocol with increased independence.  A comparison of the level of prompts needed between Group B, the relaxation only group, and Group C, the relaxation with music group, revealed statistically significant differences.  Mean scores showed Group C needed lower level prompts, and possibly relied on the music for cues.  A one-week follow-up comparison for Groups B and C retained their prompting levels after a one-week break.  This study indicated that adults with DD can learn a relaxation program and that they perform it more efficiently when musical cues are provided.

2005

Barry, Jennifer.  The Effects of a Music Therapy Protocol on the Speech Production of Individuals with Parkinson’s Dieases and Characteristics of Dysarthria: A Case Study. MME-MT, AAC, 2005 (December 2004).

Persons with Parkinson’s disease are likely to experience consistent, gradual changes in their speech and voice that will inhibit their abilities to communicate (Countryman & Schwantz, 2002). Problems with speech due to Parkinson’s disease may include 1) respiration -- poor breath support, reduced loudness, shallow breathing, difficulty coordinating breath for speaking, and short rushes of speech; 2) phonation – monotone quality or poor inflection, poor vocal intensity, breathiness or hoarseness, poor vocal control, and reduced stress; and 3) articulation – slurred or mumbled speech, and limited range of motion and coordination of tongue, lip, and jaw movements resulting in imprecise consonants (ASHA, 2001; Countryman & Schwantz, 2002; Darley, Aronson, & Brown, 1969; Duffy. 1995; NPF, n.d.). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a music therapy protocol on the speech production of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. A single-subject pretest-posttest design was implemented to determine if the independent variable of the music therapy protocol for Parkinson’s speech influenced the dependent variables of intelligibility at the word, sentence, and conversation levels; duration of sustained vowel phonation; and aerodynamic outcomes of mean airflow rate, subglottal pressure, and laryngeal resistance. Three participants completed a series of 50-minute individual music therapy treatment sessions where the Music Therapy Protocol for Parkinson’s Speech was presented. The complete treatment consisted of two 50-miinute sessions a week for a period of four weeks. Pretest, probe, and posttest evaluations were conducted. Data in regard to perceived intelligibility were questionable due to missing data and inconsistency between judges and suggested only minimal changes in perceived intelligibility at any level of communication. Participants did improve their respiratory capabilities for speech production as evidenced by an increased ability to sustain phonation for longer periods of time. Finally, substantial physiological changes were detected at the laryngeal level which suggest an improvement in efficiency of speech production.

Bloss, Amy S. The Effect of Music on the Affect of Patients Hospitalized with Depression. MME-MT, CMJ, 2005 (December 2004).

The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the effect of music on the affect of patients hospitalized with depression. Thirty adult patients hospitalized with depression participated in three conditions: no music, music listening, and music therapy. Treatment occurred in eleven sessions over the course of four months in a group setting on an in-patient psychiatric unit. The order of the three conditions was counterbalanced in each session over the course of the study. Each patient completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) questionnaire, which determined both Positive and Negative Affect, as a pre-test to any and all treatments, and following each of the three treatment conditions as post-tests. To compare pretest and posttest mean scores, one-way repeated measures ANOVAS and follow-up t-tests were conducted for both Positive and Negative Affect mean scores. Results indicated significant difference between pretest and posttest scores for both Positive and Negative Affect measures. Specifically, differences were found regarding the music therapy condition significantly changing both aspects of affect, which signified an improved mood of participants. Neither the no music condition not the music listening condition significantly changed either the Positive or Negative Affect mean scores. In conclusion, the music therapy condition was significantly more effect at changing the affect of patients hospitalized with depression than the no music condition or the music listening condition.

Chen, Hsueh-Lien.  The Use of Ryhthmic Auditory Stimulation for Rehabilitation of Children with Burn Injuries. MME-MT, CMC, 2005 (December 2004).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness and suitability of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) as a rehabilitative tool for patients with bum injuries. While RAS has been typically used to correct gait impairments caused by neurological deficits , this study involving five case studies of patients from Shriners Bums Hospital for Children, Galveston, Texas, aged 6 to 16 years old, was used to provide preliminary investigation of RAS for rehabilitation of gait deficits that were caused by bum injury complications such as muscle and bone mass loss, contractions, increased metabolic costs and pain . Results of this study show that the effects ofRAS produced greater increments in gait velocities and cadences during intervention sessions than baseline sessions for four of the five patients. RAS was also able to produce greater increments in stride lengths for three of the five patients during intervention sessions . One patient who did not show any greater improvements during intervention sessions than baseline sessions, had hearing difficulties. The short-term carry-over effects of RAS also produced greater increases in velocities and cadences for four patients, and greater increases in stride lengths for three patients during intervention sessions. The patient with hearing difficulties showed no greater improvements in any of the stride parameters during intervention sessions than during baseline sessions. Ofthe three parameters, RAS was most effective in increasing velocities, where the percentages of increments were larger than that produced for cadences and stride lengths.

Chen, Yu-Ling.  The Effects of Music Enhanced Physical Therapy Treatments on Endurance, Management, of Extertional Dyspnea, and Perceived Health Status in Persons with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). MME-MT, AAC, 2005 (August 2004).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of music enhanced physical therapy on the rehabilitation of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The effects were determined by measures of walking endurance, dyspnea management, and perceived health status. Music was used in this study as a pacing mechanism to facilitate participants’ walking, and breathing movements following walking. Four patients, from a nursing home unit of a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in a Midwestern city, participated in the study. All of them were diagnosed with oxygen-dependent advanced COPD. Two participants were involved in an 11-week pilot study for the purpose of protocol development. Three patients, including one from the pilot study, were recruited for the behavioral study. The behavioral study was a single-subject research with ABA design. Each participant served as his own control. During the behavioral study, individual participants were treated for five weeks in physical therapy five times a week for a total of 25 sessions. They received conventional physical therapy for the first week (baseline phrase), music enhanced physical therapy for the following three weeks (treatment phase), and conventional physical therapy again for the last week (return to baseline phase). Results indicated that the music enhanced physical therapy treatment protocol was effective in improving functional abilities in walking endurance and breathing efficiency. All three participants walked significantly longer distances under the music enhanced physical therapy than under the conventional physical therapy alone. Participants’ tolerance of dyspnea after walking also increased. Participants did not require additional recovery time following walking as their walking distances increased and did not require increased supplemental oxygen during walking as they walked further distances. The results of improved perceived health status after music enhanced treatment indicated psychological improvements and increased cadences walked following the music enhancement phase implied physical improvements. Observation from the study also showed that participants increased their motivation in treatment participation. It was concluded that the music enhanced physical therapy is effective in increasing functional abilities, treatment engagement, and perceived health status in persons with COPD.

Fiore, Jennifer M. The Effect of Music, Music and Relaxation, and Relaxation on Chemotherapy Related Anxiety and Nausea in Cancer Patients. MME-MT, AAC, 2005 (December 2004).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of three conditions: 1) music listening alone, 2) music listening combined with relaxation techniques and 3) relaxation techniques alone on self-reported anxiety and nausea levels in female breast and lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. The participants were women between the ages of 30 and 80 who were in their initial chemotherapy treatment. Data were collected over the first three days of treatment with patients remaining in one condition throughout the study. Results indicated that all participants experiences a significant decrease in anxiety between Day 1 pretest to Day 1 posttest, Day 2 pretest to Day 2 posttest, and Day 3 pretest to Day 3 posttest. Results showed no statistically significant differences among the conditions for pretest posttest scores for the first two treatment days. Results indicated a significant decrease from pre- to posttest on Day 3 for the music condition and the relaxation condition but not for the combined music/relaxation condition. Results for repeated measures of nausea (night before, morning of, during, and following chemotherapy treatment) indicated no statistically significant differences for the sample either as a whole or by condition.

Griffin, Eric. The Effect of Pre-Chunked Presentation of Notation on Rhythm Errors During Sight-Reading MME-ME, CMJ, 2005 (May 2005).

The purpose of this study was to determine whether high school musicians sight-read with fewer rhythm errors when presented in pre-chunked fashion rather than as a whole piece. High school band students (N=50) volunteering from a pool of one hundred fifteen students performed an excerpt from the Watkins-Farnum Performance Scale, forms A and B. One form was presented conventionally on a computer screen, and the other form faded into view two measures at a time on a computer screen. The performances of both trials were recorded and evaluated for the presence of absence of rhythm errors in each measure. Data on rhythm errors were summarized and statistically analyzed for any difference. Results showed no significant differences in the number of rhythm errors between groups.

Malsom, James W. Lesson Plan Organization Utilizing a Database. MME-ME. JD. 2005 (May 2005). Project.

The purpose of this project was to develop and field test a computer database program, the Music Education Lesson Planning Database (MELPD), to assist music teachers in formulating, preserving and formatting lesson plans by use of a set of rubrics incorporated into tables: (a) Song, (b) Rehearsal, (c) Key, (d) Style, (e) Repertoire Level, (f) Unit, (g) General Music Lesson, and (h) National and State Standards. Fields within each table were designed. And modifications made after field-testing of the database. The report also includes a detailed description of the MELPD, as well as explicit step-by-step directions on how music teachers who may wish to use the database may navigate its features.

Pudenz, Beth.  The Use of Social Stories Set to Preferred Music to Modify Behaviors in Students with Autism: Four Case Studies  MME-MT, AAC, 2005 (August 2004).

The purpose of this present study was to investigate the effect of social stories set to preferred music to modify behaviors in students with autism. Participants in the study were four students with a primary diagnosis of autism attending an elementary school in eastern Iowa. A social story was created for each student that focused on a specific target behavior. A social story is an approach used by educators to modify an undesirable behavior in children with autism. The words of the social story were set to a preferred song of the student. The independent variable for this study was one of three conditions: baseline (A); reading the story (B); and singing the story (C). The reading and singing versions of the stories were presented to the students using the counterbalanced treatment order ABAC/ACAB. The dependent variable was he frequency of the target behavior occurring in each phase of the design. Results from the four cases indicate hat the reading condition (B) and the singing condition (C) were effective in reducing the target behavior. The singing condition (C) was significantly (p<.05) more effective in reducing the target behavior than the control condition (A) in three of the cases. The results indicated that social stores sung to preferred songs were effective in reducing target behaviors in students with autism.

Saville, Julia K. Teaching Elementary Students to Match Pitch: Developing a Remedial Music Program. MME-ME. DGH. 2005( May 2005). Project.

No Abstract Provided. Not a Thesis.

Schroeder, Linda.  Effect of Musical Instruction on Teaching Money Skills Via Computer to Children with Autism.  MME-MT, CMC, 2005 (August 2004).

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of music paired with instruction to facilitate learning and comprehension of academic skills. Through the use of a computer program, the aim of this study was to expand research on possible treatment interventions that would effectively enhance growth in children with autism. Using current technology along with a preferred stimulus, music, the academic skill of identifying monetary coins and the ability to apply that knowledge was addressed. Four children with a primary diagnosis of autism participated in the study. Each participant completed the computer program once each school day for four weeks. Using a multiple-baseline design, the subjects received spoken instructions via the computer during baseline and sung instructions during the treatment phase. The independent variable in this study was musical instruction. The dependent variables were the scores earned by each subject while completing the application portion of the computer program during baseline and treatment phases of the study. Results showed a moderate increase in the knowledge of coin identification and the ability to apply that information in a purchasing scenario for three out of four subjects. However, it cannot be fully determined from this study whether a functional relationship exists between musical instruction and the rate of learning these academic skills.

Smikahl, J. W.  Effect of Unison Rhythmic Versus Contrasting Rhythmic Classroom Instruction on the Performance Abilities of Elementary Beginning Snare Drummers. MME-ME, CMJ, 2005 (December 2004).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of unison rhythmic classroom instruction on the performance abilities of elementary band beginning snare drummers, when compared to contrasting rhythmic classroom instruction. The study sought to determine if the traditional method of contrasting rhythmic classroom instruction negatively impacts beginning snare drum students by simultaneously overloading them with booth crucial rhythmic information and critical technical skills. Subjects were divided into a treatment and control group. The control group received classroom instruction using the published version of The Standard of Excellence band method book. The treatment group received classroom instruction using a version of The Standard of Excellence method book that had been altered to a format that was unison rhythmic with the rest of the band. Participants were administered a post-test designed by the researcher for the purpose of this study. Results were analyzed using an Analysis of Variance. No significant difference was found among the seven directors and their subgroups. While no significant difference was achieved it is important to note that the mean, minimum, and maximum scores of the experimental group were all higher than the control group. One director’s participants did score significantly lower than the participants of three other directors. This difference may be attributed to the differences in socioeconomic levels of those four directors’ schools. These findings suggest refinements to the study and post-test could render significant results in future research.

Steinbraker, Corby M. Instrumental Music and Hope: Comparing Hope Levels of  Instrumental and Non-Music Students in Middle School. MME-ME, CMJ, 2005 (May 2005).

The purpose of this study was to compare the hope levels of instrumental and non-music students in middle school level. The participants in this study were sixth-seventh-and eighth-grade students that attended the same Midwestern middle school (N=103). The separation of these students for data analysis was group based dependent on instrumental music performance experience. Using the hope theory and measure (Snyder et al., 1991), the hope levels of students who participated in instrumental music (n=80) were compared with those of the students with non-music experience (n=23). Additionally, the hope levels of only in-school instrumental experienced students (n=52) were compared with non-music students (n=23). Furthermore, there was a positive correlation comparison of overall hope scores and instrumental music performance. Resulting data found that students with instrumental experience have significantly higher mean hope scores that their non-musical counterparts, supporting six of seven research questions examined, including a significant positive correlation between hope totals and years of instrumental performance experience. Included, is a discussion of similarities between hope theory, the development of hopeful thought, and the process of formal music instruction that prompted this study and theoretical explanations for the data results.

1996

Choi, Byung-Chuel.  Professional and Patient Attitudes About the Relevance of Music Therapy as a Treatment Modality in NAMT Approved Psychiatric Hospitals.  Ph.D.-MT, GLD, 1996 

The purpose of this study was to investigate mental health professionals' and patients' attitudes regarding the perceived relevance of the music therapy treatment modality.  The study focused on attitudinal differences among interdisciplinary team members and also on those between staff and patients regarding their views of music therapy's role, strengths, and weaknesses.  In addition, the study investigated whether music therapists' attitudes and expectations matched those of other professionals, whether the psychiatric hospital was a practical setting in which to address music therapy treatment goals and issues, and how they felt about the position.  This category was named "music therapists' job satisfaction," and included areas such as job respect, job recognition, salary, competency and educational components, and professional credential.

Survey forms were mailed to eighteen music therapy clinical training directors who were willing to distribute surveys to psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation therapists, nursing staff, and patients in NAMT approved psychiatric facilities, or to subjects directly, when the training director provided individual staff names from his or her hospital.  Music therapist survey forms were sent to music therapists whose names were listed in  inpatient psychiatric units in the 1995 NAMT membership sourcebook.

Most health care professionals reported a positive image about the music therapy profession and music therapists, although significant differences existed among the various subject classes' perceptions.  Psychiatrists viewed music therapy as less than essential therapeutic intervention.  Psychologists and social workers responded less positively to treatment goals that they consider to be "their" treatment area but they valued music therapy primarily for therapeutic recreation.  Staff members who have observed music therapy sessions valued music therapy services more highly than staff who had not made such observations.  Patients valued music therapy treatment less than other professionals.  Music therapists rated music therapy service as having a higher treatment value than other disciplines, including rehabilitation therapists with different areas of specialty.

Hiebl, Susan L.  Multicultural Music in the Elementary Classroom: A Curriculum for Kindergarten through Second Grades.  MME, 1996.

The purpose of this study is to determine the need for a multicultural music curriculum for kindergarten through second grades.  A needs assessment survey was developed and mailed to area elementary music educators.  The results indicated a need for a multicultural music curriculum.  Information from the needs assessment determined the teacher objectives, student objectives, and curriculum content.  Multicultural and musical learning rubrics measured student achievement of objectives.  The musical concepts of singing, moving, listening and creating aided in the discussion of multicultural music concepts.

Eight elementary music teachers in 8 elementary schools of various ethnic and social settings implemented the curriculum during a seven-week period.  Approximately 530 students participated in the multicultural music lessons during their regular music class.  Lesson evaluations, student achievement data, teacher exit surveys and interviews, and anecdotal journals were used to gather data on the usefulness and effectiveness of the curriculum and multicultural materials.

The curriculum was easy to read and understand, matched objectives, and was grade-level appropriate.  Student achievement scores were rated using a 4-point rubric.  Scores were centered in the middle of the scale.  The cooperating teachers and students enjoyed the curriculum.  Teachers stated the curriculum was useful in teaching multicultural and musical concepts.

Hsu, Ting-Fang.  The development of the Music Therapy Program at the University of Kansas, 1971-1993.  MME-MT, 1996.

This study describes the development of the music therapy program at the University of Kansas from 1971 to 1993.  It also investigates the dissolution of the Department of Art, Music Education and Music Therapy and its transfer from the School of Education to the School of Fine Arts.

The research sources included: (1)  materials from the University of Kansas Archives such as the university annual catalogues, class schedules, newspapers, and assembly meeting records; (2)  theses and dissertations containing related information; (3)  books and journals pertaining to the subject matter; (4)  materials from the Department of Art, Music Education and Music Therapy; and (5) oral evidence from persons with knowledge concerning the research subject.

The significance of this study lies in the lack of historical research in the progress and accomplishment of a music therapy academic program, and the program at the University of Kansas in particular as it has existed for almost half a century and produced many outstanding music therapists.  This study traces the development of both undergraduate and graduate music therapy curriculums from 1971 to 1993.  It also introduces all the faculty members who contributed to the program.

This study indicates that the University of Kansas music therapy program has maintained a prominent reputation since its inception in 1946.  The strengths of the program include a distinguished faculty, a strong research component, a well-planned curriculum and efficient clinical practice.  The results from the dissolution and transfer of the department in 1993 were too early to predict.  It may take many years to see the advantages or disadvantages of the move.

The investigation concludes that the University of Kansas music therapy program needs more funding for improving the program facility, equipment and supporting research projects as well as well-qualified teaching assistants.  The music therapy faculty needs to carry on the research tradition and ensure the integrity of accreditation so that the program can maintain its strengths and grow stronger in the future.

McDonald, William Rudd.  A Comparison of the Use of Direct Instruction and Class Time Between Successful and Less Successful Junior and Senior High School Band Directors.  MME, CMJ, 1996 (Aug. 95).

The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in the use of direct instruction and use of class time in rehearsal between successful bands and less successful bands.  Specifically, this study examined and compared the use of direct instruction, use of rehearsal time, and performance outcome of ensembles paired by age and type.  The secondary purpose of this study was to determine if differences existed in the use of direct instruction and use of rehearsal time between different types of ensembles.  Participants for this study were two junior high school, two senior high school, and two jazz band directors.  The design paired a successful band with a less successful band in each of the different ensemble types.  Data were collected by videotaping directors during rehearsals and analyzing the videotapes for content.  Results of this study demonstrated that successful ensemble directors used more complete correct sequences, used more positive reinforcement, and spent less time in getting ready than did less successful band directors.  There were also significant differences in the use of direct instruction and use of time between different types of ensembles.  Junior high school band directors used considerably more complete sequences, complete correct sequences, complete incorrect sequences, total reinforcing comments, positive reinforcing comments, disapproving comments, teaching episodes, and modeling than did high school and jazz band directors.

O'Konski, Marjorie K.  The Effects of Rhythmic Music on Adherence to an Exercise Model by Persons Who Are Frail and Elderly.  MME-MT, AAC, 1996.

This study examined the effect of rhythmic music on adherence to an exercise model by persons

who are frail and elderly.  Subjects (N=9, ages 60 to 80 years) participated in prescribed physical therapy with fellow residents of a large midwest VA medical center.  A total of 23 subjects and nonsubjects were videotaped during sessions for six weeks:  two times per week with no music (control condition), and two times per week with music (experimental condition).  The researcher composed rhythmic selections for the 30 exercises, and played them on an electronic keyboard during the experimental condition.  At the conclusion of the six weeks, nine individuals met the research criterion to qualify as subjects, having participated in a minimum of two consecutive sessions each in the experimental and control conditions.

An observer was trained to record data, and a test retest procedure established .95 reliability.  Interval data were taken for 10 seconds every 30 seconds.  The criterion behavior was subjects' adherence to the physical therapist's modeled gestures.  A plus (+) indicated adherence, defined as synchronization of subjects' gross motor movements with that of the physical therapist during the entire 10 seconds.  Any deviation from the modeled gesture resulted in a minus (-).

Subjects' interval data were converted to frequency data for analyses.  Their adherence plus (+) marks for the control condition were counted and summed, as were their plus marks for the experimental condition.  Two-tailed paired t-tests (DF=17, p < .05) were calculated for the (a) warm-up exercises, (b) are exercises, (c) leg exercises, and (d) total exercise scores.

Results indicated significant differences between the control and experimental conditions for all comparisons.  To determine which condition produced greater adherence, the mean scores were compared.  The experimental condition yielded the higher mean score for every comparison.  Subjects adhered to the exercise model significantly better during the experimental condition than during the control condition.

Future research might include a larger number of subjects, female subjects, and differing age groups.  Implications are given for improvements in training the physical therapists, adding sung cues, adjusting volume level, and incorporating EMG readings.

Quain, Kathryn E.  A Pilot Study on the Effect of a Music Therapy Treatment Using Systematic Desensitization, Cognitive Evaluation, and Relaxation Training on Anxiety, Tension, and Quality of Musicians' Performance.  MME-MT, GLD, 1996.

This pilot study evaluates a music therapy treatment designed to decrease anxiety and tension levels and to increase performance quality in anxious musicians.  Subjects, college-age musicians, were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups.

Experimental group members received five group music therapy sessions and one individual session.  Music was used in conjunction with relaxation training, systematic desensitization, and cognitive evaluation.  Background music was to support the relaxation training process.  Recordings of musicians' prior performances encouraged imagery during the systematic desensitization process.  Music improvisation and videotape viewing was used to stimulate group processing. 

Data was collected on all subjects during regularly scheduled video-taped performances.  Before and after performances, each performer completed a Pre-Performance Questionnaire and a Post-Performance Questionnaire, respectively.  Performance Evaluation Forms were completed by two expert judges while viewing video-taped performances.  The judges were blind to the subjects' group membership and to the order of the performance. 

The Analysis of covariance results revealed that the subjects who received music therapy had significantly lower (p<.05) self-rated Pre-performance anxiety than control group members.  The experimental group's pre-performance anxiety scores decreased from Performance I to Performance III while the control group's anxiety increased.

Evaluation of the groups' mean scores reveal various trends:  a decrease of the experimental group's pre-performance anxiety, a decrease of the judges' rating of experimental subjects' anxiety, and an increase in the experimental group's pre-performance rating of performance quality from Performance I to Performance III.  The therapy seemed to not only influence the performers' anxiety levels but also their pre-performance perceptions of performance quality and their stage presence.

This study could serve as a pilot study to a more extensive research study.  A future study investigating the long term effects of music therapy for musicians and documenting the therapy's effects on anxiety, tension and performance quality for a longer duration would be valuable to future musicians, music therapists and others.

1997

Allison, Sheryl L.  Authentic Assessment in the Middle School Choral Classroom:  A Suggested Framework for Assessing Progress Toward the National Standards.  MME, GLD, 1997 (April 1997).

The purpose of this research was to develop an Assessment Framework utilizing authentic assessment strategies for assessing progress toward the National Standards as published by the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) for a middle level choral music program.  Data concerning which of the National Standards are being pursued, what types of assessment strategies are being use to assess progress towards those Standards, and respondents’ familiarity with authentic assessment strategies were collected from responses to questionnaires that were mailed to a random sampling of 300 middle level choral educators form the six divisions of MENC.  The data was compiled and assessment strategies were aligned with the National Standards to create the Assessment Framework.  Sample assessment tasks obtained during the research process were evaluated for their effectiveness and were included following the Framework to serve as assessment models.

The results showed that middle level choral music educators are primarily pursuing outcomes that relate to large ensemble performance.  Outcomes involving performing on instruments, improvising, and composing were not considered as important to pursue.  More traditional methods of assessment such as effort, observation, written assessments and performance assessments, were listed as assessment strategies utilized most often as well as the assessment strategies with which they were the most familiar.  Authentic assessment strategies such as portfolios and journaling were utilized the least frequently and were listed as being the least familiar to respondents.

The low response rate of 31% indicated bias among the results.  The small number of responses and the open-ended responses indicated apathy towards assessment in middle level choral music.  Suggestions for further research included implementation of assessment strategies from the Assessment Framework in order to evaluate the effectiveness of each of the strategies, and the development of reliable and valid scoring systems to accompany the assessment strategies.

Behrens, Gene Ann.  A Psychometric Evaluation of the MPEC--A Measure to Assess Accuracy in Identifying Emotions Reprsented by Music Improvisations.  Ph.D.-MT, AAC, 1997 (Dec 1996).

This study developed and evaluated the Music Profile of Emotional Communication (MPEC), a multi-item measure designed to assess ability to identify emotional content in music and provide inferences about emotional sensitivity-communication skills in speech.  The task requires respondents to select feeling words from a list to identify the emotional content of short, solo instrumental improvisations.

Improvisations and feeling words were selected for the pilot-test form of the MPEC using rational, theoretical, and empirical approaches.  Thirty adults participated in testing this form.  Item analyses were conducted to make final revisions to the improvisations and feeling words of the pilot-test form of the measure.  The final form of the MPEC included 27 feeling words and 36 improvisations representing nine emotional categories.

To evaluate reliability and validity, the MPEC and six other assessments were  administered to 150 adults, 19 to 55 years old, with at least a high school education.  Measures hypothesized as related to the MPEC included: a shortened form of the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale, seven coping scales, and the researcher-developed Verbal Expression Test  (VET).  Measures hypothesized as unrelated to the MPEC included: a shortened pitch, loudness, and timbre test from the Seashore Measures of Musical Talents; the Profile of Mood States short form; and the Shipley Institute of Living Scale-Vocabulary Subtest.  Music major status and five self-rated music experience scales also were hypothesized as unrelated to the MPEC.  Forty-three of the participants were re-tested within 23 to 36 days to estimate the reliability of the MPEC.

Eight scales were defined and used in evaluating the MPEC.  Estimates of reliability were moderate in value.  Measures hypothesized as related to the MPEC generally produced higher correlations than those hypothesized as unrelated to the MPEC.  The highest correlations as expected were with the VET.  Correlations with the music experience scales were somewhat higher than hypothesized.

Overall, the study supported the validity of the MPEC in measuring group responses and evaluating individual performances in clinical situation where additional assessments support interpretation of the scores.  The MPEC also can be used to develop emotional sensitivity-communication skills.

Benkert, Stuart M.  Effect of Evaluative Training on Assigned Scores in Live Performance Situations.  MME, CMJ, 1997 (Aug. 1996).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of training on the reliability of scores in a live performance evaluation.  Judge trainees from the Winter Guard International Academy of Judging were instructed to assign scores to the fifteen World Class guards in preliminary competition.  Their scores were then compared to those assigned by the facilitators (trainers) of each caption (specific area of evaluation that is combined with other areas to comprise a weighted system that measures all aspects of a performance).  Analysis of the data revealed that as years of experience in Academy increased, the scores assigned by trainees were closer to those assigned by the facilitators.  These results indicated that training can increase the reliability of assigned scores across a panel of judges.

Erickson, Cora L.  The Use of Adapted Song Lyrics to Enhance the Reading Skills of Children with Learning Disabilities.  MME-MT, AAD, 1997 (April 1997).

The purpose of the present study was to examine the use of adapted song lyrics as an instructional aid to facilitate reading skills of word recognition, reading comprehension, and oral reading for children with learning disabilities in reading.  Twenty-six 3rd and 4th-grade students served as subjects in the present study.  Subjects were divided into 2 groups, experimental and control.  Both groups were pretested to determine word recognition, comprehension, and oral reading skills using material from three stories.  During intervention, the stories were sung by the experimental group and read by the control group.  Following intervention, both groups were posttested using identical material to the pretest.  Subjects also completed a brief attitudinal questionnaire following each testing period.  Results indicated no significant differences between experimental and control groups’ pretest scores or posttest scores for word recognition, reading comprehension, or oral reading skill, with one exception.  Posttest scores for the oral reading skill subtest of Song 3 were significantly higher for the experimental group than for the control group.  For both groups, pre to posttest scores showed a gain for all songs and reading subtests.  The attitudinal questionnaire indicated that the experimental group responded more positively to the testing procedure than did the control group.  Results suggest that under the conditions of this study, music alone did not have a significant effect on the three reading skills evaluated; however, using music did not interfere with the improvement of these skills and resulted in a more positive attitude in the learners.  Recommendations for future study include the following:  (a) further testing of music intervention along with traditional instructional strategies to develop reading skills and  (b) further testing of the motivational impact of music on reading instruction by observation through videotaped sessions.

Hirokawa, Eri.  The Effects of Subject Preferred Music and Relaxation Instruction on Stress in Persons who are Elderly Residents of Care Homes.  MME-MT, AAC, 1997 (Aug. 1996).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of subject preferred music and autogenic relaxation instructions on physiological measures of finger temperature, pulse rate, and respiration rate, as well as measures of perceived stress for elderly persons in residential care homes. Subjects were assigned to one of the following conditions: (a) music only, (b) relaxation instruction only, (c) music and relaxation instruction, and (d) control. The subjects in the experimental conditions participated in a 15-minute relaxation intervention twice each week for two weeks. Results showed there were no significant changes in any of the measure except for pulse rate. Subjects commented that they enjoyed the music. Longer and more frequent sessions may be necessary to produce a significant difference on measures of subjects’ stress levels. The use of music for relaxation is encouraged.

Iwai, Asako.  The Effects of Music Therapy on Mood and Congruent Memory of Elderly Adults With Depressive Symptoms.  MME-MT, AAC, 1997 (Dec. 1996).

This study examined music therapy’s effects on mood changes and accessibility of positive and negative memories among depressed elderly individuals in a residential care home. Five females and three males, categorized as depressed via the Geriatric Depression Rating Scale, completed the study. The subjects received the pretest, nine 45-minute music therapy sessions over three weeks, and the posttest. The pretest and the posttest employed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the memory retrieval test. Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed-Ranks Tests revealed significant decreases in subjects’ Negative Affect scores and in the percentages of unpleasant memories recalled after music therapy. In addition, correlation coefficients, computed to examine mood-congruency effect, revealed that: (1) changes in positive mood and pleasant memories were significantly, positively correlated, and (2) changes in negative mood and pleasant memories and changes in positive mood and unpleasant memories were significantly, negatively correlated.

Lessly, Chris Ann.  The Effect of Specific Curricular Interventions on the Level of Anxiety of Elmentary Education Majors Enrolled in a Music Methods Course.  Ph.D.-ME, AAD, 1997 (July 1997).

The purpose of the present study was to: (a) describe the anxiety experienced by elementary education majors (EEMs) enrolled in a music methods course; (b) examine the relationship between EEMs’ trait anxiety levels and state anxiety levels when enrolled in a music methods course; and (c) explore the use of sedative music/relaxation exercises and sedative music/responsive writing to reduce students’ state anxiety levels.  Subjects were drawn from three intact sections of the “Music for Elementary Teachers” course from two universities in north central Indiana.  A pre and posttest design utilized the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI) Forms Y1 (state anxiety) and Y2 (trait anxiety) by Charles D. Spielberger (1983) as the tool of measurement.  The dependent variable was state anxiety level.  The independent variable was intervention with levels of : (a) sedative music and relaxation exercises; (b) sedative music and responsive writing; and (c) no intervention.  Though STAI scores indicated subjects’ were only somewhat anxious, informal open-ended questionnaires administered prior to and following the treatment conditions indicated that subjects were very anxious about the prospects of teaching music due to lack of musical training and their perceived inability to sing.  STAI mean scores and standard deviation correlations were computed, and data were tested utilizing the analysis of covariance.  The correlation coefficient indicated that there was a strong positive relationship between pretest and posttest trait anxiety, however, no strong relationship, either positive or negative, between EEMs’ state and trait anxiety levels when enrolled in a music methods course.  Based on the data analyses, no significant differences were found for subjects’ posttest state anxiety scores, indicating that the interventions had no effect on the anxiety levels of EEMs enrolled in a music methods course significantly.  Informal surveys administered following treatment conditions indicated that subjects responded positively to the interventions and stated that the relaxation strategies should be included as part of the course curriculum.  Because the combination of sedative music/responsive writing bought about a decrease in state anxiety levels, it was concluded that more research specific to this treatment should be explored.

Lian, Cindy Hui Toan.  Parental Perceptions of Music Purposefully Designed to Enhance Communication and Support Among Families with a Disability.  MME-MT, AAD, 1997 (Dec. 1996)

The purpose of the study was to document parental perceptions of music purposefully designed to enhance communication and support among families raising a child with a disability. Thirty parents of children with a disability were recruited over the Internet to participate in the study. Participants listened to two songs, “The Kitchen Table” and “The Power of One.” These songs were produced for the purpose of improving communication and support among parents of children with a disability. On a written questionnaire, participants answered four open-ended questions related to each song. Participants’ responses to these questions were analyzed using categorical coding procedures to identify themes related to their perceptions of the songs. Participants expressed elements of like and dislike for each song, persons with whom they would share the songs, and reasons not to share the songs. Results indicate that these songs serve several functions: (a) to facilitate discussion of family issues, (b) to provide support and encouragement to parents, (c) to validate mixed feelings experienced by parents, and (d) to further peoples’ understanding of disability related issues. Implications regarding the use of music to facilitate communication among families and increase awareness of disability-related issues are discussed. Implications regarding the use of the Internet in conducting research are also discussed.

Miller, Jennifer J.  The Contributions of Wayne Ruppenthal to the Field of Music Therapy. MME-MT, AAC, 1997 (Dec. 1996).

This historical study is based on Wayne Ruppenthal, one of the early pioneers in music therapy. He began his practice in the late 1940s, when music therapy was first being defined as a formal profession.  His career spanned nearly two decades, during which time he was employed at Topeka State Hospital at the height of Freudian psychoanalysis and “milieu” therapy prescribed by The Menninger Foundation.  Ruppenthal received his education at the University of Kansas and was the first graduate of the Master’s of Music Education in Functional Music program in 1948.  Over the course of his career, Ruppenthal’s major contributions to music therapy included: Establishing formal clinical practice and training standards, assisting in the development of the National Association for Music Therapy, and promoting music therapy’s credibility through published research.  He retired from Topeka State Hospital in 1968 after almost 20 years of service. By the time he left the field of music therapy, Wayne Ruppenthal had acquired more clinical experience than any other practitioner to date.

Molloy, Della M.  Direct Care Staff Responses to Patient-Centered Music Therapy Interventions on a Burn Unit.  MME-MT, AAC, 1997 (April 1997).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of music therapy services on burn unit staff members’ perceived levels of job stress, patient distress, and staff-induced patient discomfort.  Eight direct care staff members participated in the study by responding to a five-item questionnaire developed by the researcher.  The questionnaire was employed on three experimental days in which music therapy services were provided to patients on the burn unit, and three control days in which music therapy services were not provided on the unit.  Mean scores of perceived job stress, patient distress, and staff-induced patient discomfort on experimental days were compared with scores from control days, using a t-Test of independent samples.  In addition, the researcher took into consideration staff members’ job titles and length of employment on the burn unit by using the one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).

While the results of this study were statistically nonsignificant, results did indicate that staff members experienced lower levels of perceived job stress and staff-induced discomfort on the experimental days when music therapy was provided.  As for the level of perceived patient distress, however, staff rankings were slightly higher in the music setting than in the nonmusic setting, which was unexpected.

Shiraishi, Fumiko.  Calvin Brainerd Cady (1851-1928) Unification of Intellect and Emotion in Music Education.  Ph.D.-ME, GNH, 1997 (April 1997).

This study investigated American music educator, Calvin Brainerd Cady’s (1851-1928) ideas about music education, particularly from the viewpoint of unifying intellect and emotion in the study of music.  Using the historical research method, it comprehensively examined his theories and practices, and elucidated the significance of his ideas in the history of American music education as well as the relevance of his ideas to current and future music education. The study began with general information about Cady and his times.  It investigated his life and works as well as the trends of music culture, general education, and music education of the time in the United States.  The study next examined Cady’s theory of music education and elucidated the values, goals, objectives, content, and methodology of music education; mutual relationships among these factors; the educational principles; and the unification of intellect and emotion in his theory.  To evaluate the effectiveness of his ideas, the study then investigated music education at John Dewey’s Chicago Laboratory School and Cady’s own Music-Education School, where he put this theory into practice.  Chapter Five examined his motivation and the influence of educational and musical trends to understand the context in which Cady developed his theory.  Investigating the significance of Cady’s ideas by exploring their characteristics and influence was the subject of the last chapter.  Regarding the unification of intellect and emotion as well as the mutual relationships among goals, objectives, content, and methodology of music education, the final chapter examined the application of his ideas to current and future music education.

Cady was a significant reformer and anticipator who advocated new activities and principles that later became trends and who developed effective theories that influenced prominent music educators.  Focusing on the development of music-conception (the ability to hear music in the mind), he made children study intellectual and emotional aspects of music simultaneously by relating them to each other.  The unification of thought and feeling and his principles about the mutual relationships among goals, objectives, content, and methodology offer suggestions applicable to current and future music education.

Stenger, Suellyn.  The Effect of Mnemonic Devices on a Mathematical Method of Rhythm Reading Instruction.  MME, CMJ, 1997 (May 1997).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of mnemonics in the teaching of rhythm reading skills to fifth- and sixth-grade beginning band students.  Subjects (N = 118) were assigned to experimental or control groups according to class periods.  Subjects (n = 59) in the experimental group received a mathematical method of rhythm reading instruction supplemented with mnemonic devices.  Subjects (n = 59) in the control group were instructed using a mathematical method of rhythm reading instruction without the utilization of mnemonic devices.  Instruction occurred during regular band rehearsal time over a 12-week period.  Subjects were pretested on level two of Basic Rhythmaticity (Matheny, Matheny, and Matheny, 1994).  At the end of the 12-week period, all subjects were post tested.  Statistical analyses comparing the experimental and control groups indicated the posttest score were not significantly different.  Results indicated, however, that subjects in both groups improved significantly from pretest to posttest.  Further analyses indicated that subjects who had participated in private applied music instruction were significantly more successful than those who did not.

Trimble, Corbin F.  The History of the Topeka Orchestra and Its Influence on Music Education.  MME, GLD, 1997 (April 1997).

This thesis is a study of the history of the Topeka Civic Orchestra, later known as the Topeka Symphony Orchestra, and its influence on music education.  The author addressed the following questions:  (1) What early conditions in Topeka encouraged the development of the Topeka Civic Symphony?  (2) Which institutions and individuals were instrumental in stabilizing the Topeka Civic Symphony?  (3) What influences did the conductors exert upon orchestra performance and music education?  (4) How did orchestra members promote music education?  (5) What contribution has the Symphony Society made to the orchestra and the scholarship program at Washburn University?  (6)  What are future plans for the Topeka orchestra?

Sources researched include files of the Kansas State Historical Society, the Lawrence Public Library, the Kansas Collection at the University of Kansas Spencer Library, the Gorton Music Library at the University of Kansas, and the Music Department and Mabee Library archives at Washburn University.  Personal interviews with current and former orchestra members, Symphony Society board officers and members, Symphony League officers, and orchestra conductors for both the symphony orchestra and the youth orchestra were additional sources of data.

Wilkerson, Jan Hedrick.  The Effect of Choreographed Movement on the Vocal Performance of Choral Ensembles.  MME, AAD, 1997 (Dec. 1996).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of choreographed movement on the vocal performance of choral ensembles. Four choral groups recorded a selected song under two conditions: (1) utilizing choreography, and (2) standing in concert formation. A panel of three experienced vocal adjudicators listened to the eight performances in random order and rated each performance in the following areas: tone quality, rhythm, pitch, diction, harmonic blend, musical phrasing, breath control, and dynamics. Their ratings constituted the data for the present study. Analysis of the data revealed no significant differences in the judges’ scores between the two performance conditions for combined groups and for three of the four individual groups. Implications for music educators are given.

Wong, Alice.  The Effect of Tempo on Entrained Rhythm Participation and Preference in Chronic Geropsychiatric Patients.  MME-MT, AAC, 1997 (Dec. 1996).

The purpose of this study was to investigate drumming participation and tempo preferences of chronic geropsychiatric patients who were diagnosed with schizophrenia or mood disorder.  The study examined whether or not there was (a) a certain tempo at which each subject showed optimal participation with accurate beat matching responses for drumming, (b) a tempo preference for drumming, and (c) a relationship between the pulse rate of a subject and the tempo at which participation occurred.  The test procedure was developed during a pilot study.  Thereafter, 20 female subjects, who were the residents of a sub-acute geropsychiatric rehabilitation center in California and who were between the ages of 62 to 83 years, completed the entire procedure.  Of these 20 subjects, 10 had a diagnosis of schizophrenia and 10 had a diagnosis of mood disorder.  Each subject participated in one individual drumming session which was divided into two segments.  In each segment, the subject was asked to play her drum to match the drumming of the investigator and a tempo preference was defined on a 4-point likert scale by the subject after each drumming interval.  The procedure was repeated at seven different tempi.  Pulse rate was measured.  A short interview with the subject helped determine musical experience.  Finally the subject repeated the entire drumming task for the seven tempi presented in a different order.  All drumming responses were recorded on audio-tape for subsequent data analysis.  Two trained listeners evaluated the tapes using a 10-second interval recording method to identify frequency of correct beat matching responses.  Results showed significant differences in the numbers of correct drum imitations across the seven tempi.  There were no significant differences among the seven tempi at which subjects showed optimal participation with accurate beat matching responses.  Results showed no tempo preference for drumming and no relationship between pulse rate and accurate beat matching responses.  Findings demonstrated that subjects distinguished different tempi and altered their drumming to match the changes in tempo.  This suggests that synchronized drumming is an intrinsic behavior which requires basic natural rhythmic ability.  Patients  with various cognitive functional levels participated in the procedure successfully. Subjects showed a tendency to perform with higher accuracy as the tempo increase, though differences were not statistically significant.  Subjects also showed a preference for moderately fast to fast tempi (120-200 beats per minute).  In conclusion, drumming in moderately fast to fast tempi increases patient success levels and is recommended for use in music therapy sessions with geropsychiatric patients in order to enhance participation levels.

1998

Casale, Catherine.  Current Views of Autism in the Field of Music Therapy.  MME-MT, GLD, 1998 (May 1998).

The study's purpose was to examine a population of music therapists to determine whether their views of autism were consistent with current views in the field.  An autism survey developed by Dr. Wendy L. Stone was employed.  The survey was specifically designed for use with professionals responsible for diagnosis and professionals responsible for treatment.  Since music therapists generally are responsible for the treatment of individuals with autism, this study asked them to complete the survey portion which focused on treatment.  One hundred student and professional music therapists were randomly selected from the National Association for Music Therapy Member Sourcebook (1995).  Respondents were asked to indicate their music therapy experience and autism experience as well as the degree level completed in college.  The study compared professional music therapists' and student music therapists' responses.  In addition, the responses of individuals with undergraduate degrees were compared to individuals with master's degrees.  The relationship between autism experience and responses to survey items also was examined.  In general, music therapists' responses to survey items indicate agreement with current views for descriptive items.  Many music therapists, however, had views inconsistent with current views for socio-emotional and cognitive items.  The results of the Pearson product-moment correlation indicated that music therapists with more autism experience gave more currently accepted responses to survey items addressing emotional and cognitive features of autism.  In general, music therapists tended to view individuals with autism as having special talents and as being more intelligent than standardized tests indicate.  Implications for music therapy treatment are discussed.

Dagit, Mary Elizabeth.  The Effect of Computer-Assisted Instruction Versus Classroom Instruction on Sixth Graders’ Pitch-Matching Skills.  MME, AAD, 1998 (July 1997).

This study compared the effects of individual computer-assisted instruction and group classroom instruction on the sight-singing skills of sixth-grade students (n = 60).  Three intact sixth-grade classes were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions or a control group:  (a) Group 1--computer-instructed experimental condition, (b) Group 2--classroom-instructed experimental condition, and (c) Group 3--control group.  Each participant in Group 1 (n = 20) received eight individual 15-minute sight-sighting sessions using Claire: The Personal Music coach (Version 1.2) produced by Opcode Systems, Inc. Participants in Group 2 (n = 20) received sixteen 7.5-minutes group sessions of sight-singing instruction using Patterns of Sound (Bacak & Crocker, 1988).  Participants in Group 3 (n = 20) received general music instruction with no sight singing training.  All participants sang three selected exercises as a pretest-posttest, using the Claire computer program as a pitch measurement device.  Results showed that both experimental groups achieved a higher mean than the control group, and the computer group achieved a higher mean than the classroom instruction group.  An analysis of covariance applied to posttest means with the pretest as a covariate indicated significant differences (p < .05) between groups based on condition assignment.  The Scheffé Pairwise Comparison procedure revealed a significant difference in mean scores (p < .05) between the computer instruction group and the control group; however, no differences were found at the .05 level of significance between the two experimental groups or the classroom instruction group and the control group.  Analysis of the data revealed no significant differences based on participants’ gender or previous musical experience.

Geerlings, Cara J.  Effect of Mental and Physical Practice on Improving Keyboard Performance.  MME, CMJ, 1998 (May 1998).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of practice type -- physical (PP), mental (MP), and alternating physical/mental (PP/MP), and a no practice control (NP) -- on improving keyboard performance.  Twenty organists and twenty pianists from the University of Kansas Divisions of Organ/Church Music and Piano participated in the study.  A pretest-posttest control group design was used with two compositions of contrasting musical style.  Practice effects were determined by comparing the pretest and posttest scores with regard to performance time duration, rhythmic error, and pitch error.  Results indicated that mental practice was an effective practice technique, specifically when used in alternation with physical practice.  Statistically significant differences were found with regard to all three dependent variables of performance time duration, rhythmic error, and pitch error.  Results indicated a significant difference between the performance time durations of the PP and MP groups and the NP control group.  In addition, the mean performance time duration of the organists was significantly lower than that of the pianists.  Results also indicated a significant difference between genders with regard to number of rhythmic errors.  A significant interaction was also found between instrument and gender, with regard to rhythmic errors.  With regard to pitch errors, there was a significant difference found between the alternating PP/MP and the MP and control groups.  The alternating PP/MP group made the most improvement in pitch errors.  Finally, results indicated a significant correlation between number of years of keyboard study and performance time duration, rhythmic errors, and pitch errors.  The findings in this study support several of the major trends found in mental practice research, suggesting that mental practice can be an effective form of practice.

Gillenwater, Sharon Ann.  A Content Analysis of the Mass Media’s Portrayal of Music’s Therapeutic Uses.  MME-MT, RER, 1998 (December 1997).

The investigator examined 52 newspapers and 50 magazines and completed a content analysis to determine the type of information contemporary media (1990-1996) present regarding music’s therapeutic effects.  She found that articles containing a definition of music therapy occurred infrequently in both newspapers and magazines.  Nevertheless, articles defining music therapy were more likely to contain target information about historical development, populations served by music therapists, and the location where services occur.  Target information was considered to impact the reader’s understanding and perception of the therapeutic use of music.  The target categories were definition of music therapy, historical information, type of story, amount of story, visual, tone of presentation, and research information.

New stories (articles related to current events) and feature stories (articles about people and events that appeal to public interest) occurred in relatively similar proportions in newspapers and contained similar information.  This made it difficult to discriminate between the two categories.  Still, feature articles displayed a tendency to include slightly more target information than news articles.  News articles occurred less frequently in magazines than in newspapers and tended to provide less target information than did feature articles.

The amount of space dedicated to music’s therapeutic use in both newspapers and magazines appeared to affect the type and amount of target information included.  Ancillary articles, articles that dedicated less than half of their space to discussing music’s therapeutic use, did not provide a definition or historical information, and rarely provided information about target populations and locations.  Focus stories devoted over half of the article to discussing music’s therapeutic use.

In conclusion, this study revealed that while the majority of articles in both magazines and newspapers presented information in a positive manner and contained at least some important information about music’s effects, an individual wanting to gain an understanding of the field of music therapy needs to look beyond the information contained in contemporary media.

Hoffert, Kendra L.  The Effects of Music Listening and Jaw Relaxation on the Stress Levels of Professional Caregivers at a Skilled Nursing Facility.  MME-MT, AAC, 1998 (August 1997).

This study examined the effects of music listening and jaw relaxation on the stress levels of professional caregivers at a skilled nursing facility.  Subjects (N= 30) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions.  The first experimental group (I) was given instructions for jaw relaxation.  The second experimental group (II) was given instructions for jaw relaxation and listened to preferred music (chosen from selections pre-selected by author).  The third experimental froup (III) listened to preferred music alone.  The fourth group (IV), contol, was instructed to relax in silence.  The state potion of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inverntory (STAI), a seven-point Likert scale, Stressdots™, heart rate, and respiration rate measurments were administered before and after these described interventions.  The subjects were asked to participate in four consecutive sessions which occurred at two to 10 day intervals.  significant decreases from pre-test to post-test were found in all four groups for STAI and the Likert scale ratings for relaxzation.  Significant differences were also found for the three intervention groups (jaw relaxation, jaw/music, and music) but not the contol group, when analyzing the Stressdot™,  measures.  When all four groups were analyzed collectively, using an ANOVA test, significant differences were also found for decreases in respiration rates for all four groups.  There were no significant differences for heart rate measurements across conditions for any of the groups.

James, Lorinda Joy.  Effect of Tempo and Pitch Variation on Pitch Perception of Elementary, Middle, and High School Students.  MME, CMJ, 1998 (May 1998)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of tempo and pitch variation on the pitch perception of elementary, middle, and high school music students.  A total of 182 subjects participated in this study including 2nd-grade (n = 57), 5th-grade (n = 45), 8th-grade (n = 41), and 11th-grade (n = 39) public school music students.  Subjects were tested as a group during regularly scheduled music classes.  They heard a set of prerecorded instructions followed by 10 consecutive paired presentations of a 30 second excerpt of Vivaldi's Concerto No. 1 in E Major.  In 8 of the presentations, the second version of the pair was altered in either pitch, tempo, or both pitch and tempo.  No alteration was made in the remaining two pairs.  Between each presentation pair, subjects heard 20 seconds of unrelated music followed by 3 seconds of silence.  Subjects indicated whether the pitch of the second of the paired items was higher, lower, or the same as the first.  Data were analyzed to determine whether or not significant differences existed between varying pitch and tempo combinations as well as the possible effect of age, gender, and cultural/ethnic groups.  Results indicated significantly correct overall responses when pitch and tempo conditions were the same and when pitch increased and tempo decreased. Overall responses were significantly incorrect when pitch decreased and tempo increased.  Significant differences between grade levels were also found.  Findings indicated no important gender differences and no significant differences between ethnicities.

Kahler, II, Edward P.  A Comparison of Selected Factors with Music Therapy Students Performance on Clinical Skills.  Ph.D.-MT, AAC, 1998 (May 1998).

The purpose of this study was to examine selected factors that contribute to students' success in a music therapy practica.  These factors included: students' self-reported confidence level and self-evaluation on selected music therapy clinical skills, number of years of practicum experience, undergraduate or graduate status, and previous experience with the current population.  Success in a practicum experience was measured by superviors' evaluations of students' ability to perform selected music therapy clinical skills.  Participants consisted of 80 music therapy students enrolled in music therapy practica during the Fall semester of 1997 and their respective practica surpervisors (N=13).  Students were asked to complete two forms which represented their self-confidence in performing selected music therapy skills and a self-evaluation of their abilities to perform these same skills.  At the same time, each student's respective supervisor evaluated the student on the same music therapy clinical skills.  The results of a multiple regresssion analysis (R = .23) revealed that four factors, self-confidence, practicum level, academic status, and previous experience had a predictive influence on students' success as measured by supervisors' evaluations.  Specifically, practicum level and self-confidence were the two highest predictive factors.  Results of a t-test revealed no significant difference between students' self-evaluations and supervisors' evaluation on identical music therapy clinical skills.  There was also no significant difference found between students' self-reported confidence level and students' self-evaluation of selected music therapy skills.  Analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in self-confidence levels among practicum levels (F (2, 74) = 3.77).  A post hoc  analysis showed that students in their fourth or more practicum were more confident than those in their first practicum experience.  No significant difference was found in students' self-reported confidence on selected music therapy clinical skills between students who had previous experience with the current population and those who did not.  These data indicate that confidence is vital to clinical success: its specific role in performing music therapy clinical skills, however, is not clearly understood.  Future recommendations for explorations related to confidence and other factors in predicting student success are offered.

Kennedy, Roy.  The Effects of Musical Performance, Rational Emotive Therapy and Vicarious Experience on the Self-Efficacy and Self-Esteem of Juvenile Delinquents and Disadvantaged Children.  Ph.D.-MT, GLD, 1998 (May 1998).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of musical performance and time on the musical self-efficacy and self-esteem of juvenile delinquents and disadvantaged youth.  The dependent variables were musical self-efficacy and self-esteem.

Forty-five male juvenile subjects, ranging in age from twelve to nineteen years of age, participated in a pretest, posttest and follow-up test (i.e., levels of time) with five levels of musical performance: performance only, cognitive strategies and performance, cognitive strategies only, vicarious experience, and a control group.  Subjects in the performance only condition learned musical performance techniques and participated in frequent performances, while subjects in the cognitive strategies and performance condition received cognitive lectures, learned musical performance techniques, and participated in frequent performances.  Subjects in the cognitive strategies only condition received cognitive lectures only but did not participate in musical performance, while subjects in the vicarious experience condition observed live performances and videotape of others involved in musical performance.  The control condition received no treatment of any kind.

Correlational analysis and overall multivariate anaylses of variance statistics were executed, followed by univariate and simple effects analysis of variance tests, and post-hoc analyses.  Significant differences for the main effects of time and time x condition were indicated for the self-esteem and self-efficacy variables.  Significant simple effects for time x condition and condition x time effects existed for the performance only and cognitive strategies and performance conditions.

Tukey post-hoc analyses indicated that musical performance and musical performance combined with cognitive strategies conditions scored significantly higher than the vicarious experience and cognitive strategies only conditions on the musical self-efficacy variable at the follow-up time of data collection.  Further evidence indicated that the vicarious experience and cognitive strategies only condition scored lower than the control condition, suggesting that the cognitive strategies and vicarious experience conditions were better off without treatment.  This evidence supports the conclusion that musical performance and musical performance coupled with cognitive strategies are superior musical therapy interventions for increasing the musical self-efficacy of juvenile delinquents and disadvantaged youth.

Kim, Soo-Ji.  A Comparison of Two Midwestern Universities Students' Knowledge and Opinions Regarding Music Therapy.  MME-MT, AAD, 1998 (May 1998).

The purpose of this study was to identify university students' knowledge and opinions of music therapy.  Two midwestern universities, the University of Kansas, Lawrence, and the University of Missouri, Columbia, were chosen for the study due to the similar demographic characteristics, and because of the difference in programs offered to students.  Also, the study attempted to compare the responses of students from both universities.  A total of 510 students (245 from KU and 265 from MU) were selected through each university's email directories in their homepages.  Participants completed questionnaires which were provided through the Internet.  The questionnaire consisted of two parts: (1) demographic information, and (2) knowledge and opinions of music therapy based on findings from the pilot study.  The returned questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistical methods to provide demographic information of each school's students, determine how students perceive music therapy, and compare the difference in their knowledge and opinions regarding the existence of music therapy programs.  Results indicated that (1) more KU students were exposed to music therapy than were MU students; (2) for KU students, the main avenues of exposure to music therapy concept were from the university settings, while MU students heard of the concept through university or mass media; (3) the concept of music therapy had been misunderstood by students from both universities as a type of clinical psycholgy or a non-professional discipline; and (4) a large number of students with music involvement had a positive attitude toward the therapeutic use of music.  These findings may help music therapists understand non-music major students' perception of music therapy; furthermore, implications regarding increasing awareness of music therapy were discussed.

Koh, Iljoo.  The Effect of Singing on the Facial Expressions of Elderly Individuals in Hospice/Palliative Care: Three Case Studies.  MME-MT, AAC, 1998 (May 1998).

This study examined the effect of singing on the facial expressions of three hospice patients, ranging in age from 66 to 83 years.  Each participant received six, 25-minute music therapy sessions either two times per week for three weeks, or threee times per week for two weeks.  Each session included two, five-minute baseline periods, one at the beginning and one at the end. Singing did not occur during baseline periods.  Immediately following the first baseline period, the investigator continuously sang the participant's preferred songs for 15 minutes.  For each case study, all sessions were videotaped.  An independent data collector watched the videotapes and recorded interval data on four prominent facial behaviors for each participant.  The researcher graphed the data on the four prominent facial behaviors and made visual comparisons and descriptions.  Results showed that two individuals had two facial behaviors, and one individual had three facial behaviors that showed visible changes during the singing period.  It was concluded that singing affected persons who are terminally ill, as indicated by their facial responses.

Mulkey, Elizabeth Fleeger.  The Effect of Music and Visual Aids on Toddlers' Ability to Identify Pictures Representing Selected Vocabulary Words.  MME, AAD, 1998 (May 1998).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of music and visual aids on toddlers' ability to identify pictures representing selected vocabulary words.  Participants were 25 children between the ages of 18 months and 30 months who attended 1 of 3 toddler centers in a Midwestern community.  All children completed a pretest and posttest in which they were asked to identify 13 vocabulary words by touching the corresponding picture from a set of 4 pictures.  Nine of the 13 words were the target vocabulary.  Of the 9, 3 target words were assigned to each of 1 of 3 conditions: (a) Condition 1 (experimental) - each word was included in 1 of the 3 songs and accompanied by visual aids; (b) Condition 2 (experimental) - each word was included in 1 of the 3 songs, but not accompanied by visual aids; or (c) Condiotion 3 (control) - each word was neither sung nor seen during any of the songs.  After completing the pretest, the children attended three, 15-minute group music sessions.  During those sessions, the children participated in approximately 8 songs, 3 of which included the experimental vocabulary words and visuals.  The investigator displayed the pictures of the vocabulary words during the appropriate song and pointed to the object when its name was sung.  After participating in group music sessions, each child completed the posttest.  All children particpated in each condition.  The 3 experimental songs and accompanying conditions were randomly ordered throughout each session.  A paried t-test revealed Condition 1, music and visual aids, to be the only condition that yielded significant gains from pre to posttest at the .05 level of significance.  The music alone condition yielded greater gain scores from pre to posttest than did the control condition, although not significantly.  Data were further analyzed to examine differences between the responses of males and females, as well as responses according to age.  An independent t-test revealed no significant differences between male and female gain scores at the .05 level of significance.  Graphic analyses also indicated no discernible response patterns based on participants' ages.  Results of this study suggest the benefits of integrating music and visual aids into early childhood classrooms in order to promote language development.  The condition yielding the highest mean gain score was that in which music was paired with visual aids, suggesting an advantage to using the two stimuli in combination for the purpose of language development in children as young as 18-30 months.

Ohse, David.  Handchime Playing and Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes About School Music.  MME, RER, 1998 (June 1997).

Three classes of fifth grade students participated in a study to determine the effect playing handchimes in a group setting would have on their musical knowledge and attitudes about music.  Students were tested to determine their knowledge of music reading.  Students were surveyed to determine their attitudes concerning school music and music in general.  Subjects played the handchimes in their general music class with their general music teacher.  No attempt was made to teach the musical considerations on the test, except as needed to play in the ensemble.  Students learned as they played.  The same test and survey were administered after eighteen class sessions spread over nine weeks of handchime playing experience.  Comparison of the pre and post treatment data shows that students improved some musical reading skills, and some students changed their attitudes about participating in music.

Phalen, William J.  Music Listeners’ Ability to Determine Pitch Differences in Drumsticks.  MME, CMJ, 1998 (December 1997).

The purpose of this study was to examine music majors’ and non-music majors’ ability to identify pitch differences in drumsticks of the same model and brand.  Participants listened to a tape recording of twelve pairs of excerpts, randomized to help control for order effect, then were asked to determine whether the second of each pair was higher, lower, or the same pitch as the first.  Each excerpt was recorded on a different drum using a different brand of sticks.  A chi square analysis of the data showed significant difference between those that could and could not tell any difference, and those that correctly or incorrectly identified the direction of change.  Analysis of variance showed that music majors were not significantly more proficient that non-music majors in identifying pitch differences in the drumsticks.

Schunk, Heather A.  The Effect of Singing Paired with Signing on Receptive Vocabulary Skills of Elementary ESL Students.  MME-MT, AAD, 1998 (May 1997).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of singing paired with signing on receptivevocabulary skills of elementary English as a Second Language (ESL) students.  Participants were 80 elementary school children, grades kindergarten through second, who were nonspeakers of English or were limited English proficient.  All students completed a pretest and posttest in which they were asked to identify 20 vocabulary words from sets of picture cards.  After completing the pretest, the children attended three, 15-minute language sessions to rehearse the 20 targeted words.The words were embedded in the lyrics of two children’s songs and a song from a Broadway musical.  The rehearsal sessions varied according to instructional condition, with 20 students participating in each of the following conditions:  spoken text only, spoken text paired with signs, sung text, and sung text paired with signs.  Children in these two conditions made significantly greater gains in vocabulary recognition than those in the condition of spoken text only.  They did not, however, score significantly higher than students in the sung text condition.  These findings suggest the benefits of integrating signs into second language rehearsal in order to provide students with visual cues and to engage them in meaningful physical participation.  The conditionyielding the highest mean gain score was that in which signing was paired with singing, which suggests there are advantages to using a combination of the two for language acquisition.

Steinacker, Janice R.  Emotionally Disordered Children’s Performance on the Musical Perception Assessment of Cognitive Development.  MME, AAD, 1998 (August 1997).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Rider’s (1985) Piaget-based Musical Perception Assessment of Cognitive Development (M-PACD) as a diagnostic tool for children with emotional disorders.  Twenty-four children with emotional disorders were randomly selected from a summer school program.  Subjects were divided into age groups according to pre-operations, concrete operations, and formal operations stages as delineated by Piaget..  The test, employing auditory equivalents to Piaget’s visual conservation tasks, developmentally ranked the Piagetian concepts from least to most complex.  The developmental order of the present study was compared to several other studies applying the M-PACD to populations with and without disabilities.  Data analyses revealed (a) a significant correlation between the rank order of tasks mastered on the M-PACD by students with and without emotional disorders, (b) no correlation between subjects’ IQ scores and the number of tasks passed on the M-PACD, and (c) a significant correlation between subjects’ age and the number of tasks passed on the M-PACD.

Zeller, Susan L.  Music Therapy and Hospice Care:  Four Case Studies.  MME-MT, AAD, 1998 (September 1997).

The purpose of this study was to document specific music therapy procedures with 4 hospice clients of various ages and differing diagnoses.  Male and female clients with diagnoses of lung cancer, brain cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ranged in age from 5 to 85.  Two objectives were developed for each participant on the basis of personal goals and assessment results.  When participants exhibited signs and symptoms indicating advanced progression of the disease process, treatment procedures were modified to comply with participants’ level of functioning.  Treatment data were collected during weekly music therapy sessions.  All sessions were conducted in participants’ homes.  Clients demonstrated increased environmental control, remained actively engaged in music interventions until death, and increased verbal and nonverbal communication with loved ones across treatment.  Future research is needed to examine the effect of hospice music therapy on bereavement, communication, pain reduction, and patterns of physical involvement throughout the dying process.

1999

Benkert, Stuart M.  The Effect of Training Judges on their Ability to Quantify Performances.  Ph.D.-ME, CMJ, 1999 (December 1998).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of judge training on the circumvention of preferences in assigning scores.  A panel of experts selected four videotaped performances of winter guards that represented two types of show concepts (adrenaline and aesthetic).  Participants (N = 82) were divided into four groups according to level of experience with the winter guard activity.  Group 1 (n = 23) was comprised of subjects who had never seen winter guard.  Subjects who had experience with winter guard as performers, designers, or untrained judges were placed in Group 2 (n = 19).  Group 3 (n = 19) consisted of first and second year participants in the Winder Guard International (WGI) Judges Academy while Group 4 (n = 21) was comprised of advanced participants in the WGI Academy and fully trained judges.  Subjects viewed the taped performances while indicating preferences via a Continuous Response Digital Interface then assigned criteria based scores according to a judge's sheet.  Comparisons and correlations between preference (CRDI) and assigned criterion based scores were used to analyze variability of responses by level of experience and performance type.  Results indicated a strong negative correlation between preference and assigned score as level of adjudication experience increased.  Preference responses yielded a strong correlation between all four levels, thus indicating that subjects were responding to the same basic performance stimuli.  Furthermore, performance type had no significant effect on level preference or score.  Ultimately, results indicated that subjects possessing formal judge training were more able to assign scores different from their reported preferences.

Buchheit, Gina M.  Music Therapy in Homeless Shelters: A Survey of Shelter Directors' Perceptions and Identified Needs.  MME-MT, RER, 1999 (December 1998).

This study surveyed directors in 500 homeless shelters across the country to determine the current state of music therapy in homeless shelters and directors' perceptions and identified needs for music therapy in their shelters.  A total of 150 useable surveys were returned and analyzed.  Responses focused on (1) demographic information, (2) information from shelters that currently had music therapy programs about age and gender groups served, issues addressed, and directors' satisfaction or dissatisfaction with music therapy, and (3) information from shelters without a music therapy program that revealed reasons for not having music therapy, age and gender groups with which the directors would like a music therapist to work, and issues the director would like to see a music therapist address.  In addition to the objective items, shelter directors' comments were studied, via a content analysis procedure.  Responses came from shelters of varying location, size, and population, but the relatively small number of respondents limits generalization of results.  Shelter directors agreed on several reasons for currently having no music therapist at their shelters: insufficient funds, unfamiliarity with music therapy, and lack of interested music therapists.  Some solutions to these obstacles include finding grant funding, providing information to shelter-related publications, and encouraging interested music therapists to approach shelters.  Future research that targets shelters in smaller geographical areas or involves designing and implementing pilot projects could provide further information about the benefits homeless people in shelters could receive from a music therapy program.

Cushenbery, Dirk.  A Content Analysis of MUSTHP-L's First Year.  MME-MT, AAD, 1999 (May 1999).

A content analysis of the first year of the music therapy listserv was conducted to study how members of the MUSTHP-L electronic discussion group utilized computer-mediated communication through an email forum on the internet.  Two coders examined seven hundred, forty three email messages from the list's log files and categorized them into 13 categories.  These messages as well as the statistics file and various database search outputs were studied to determine response rates; number of message lines per month; topics most discussed; number of messages per category; author's domain, gender and location; and how many messages contained certain keywords.  Results show that student advising type questions had a similar response rate as other requests for assistance.  Topics most discussed included: unification of associations and the use of the term "music therapist."  These findings imply that list members were equally responsive to all questions without regard to one's age or professional status.  Results also imply that music therapists use the internet to discuss issues relating to their professional identities.

Eickhoff, Michelle R.  A Unit Study of Cajun Music: The Effects on Attitude and Achievement of Fifth Grade General Music Students.  MME, RER, 1999 (May 1999)

The purpose of this study was to examine Cajun music's effects on the musical attitude and achievement of fifth grade general music students in a small mid-western city.  This study included a pilot (N = 19) and main study (N = 17).  Both the pilot and main studies employed a pretest-posttest design.  The pretest and posttest consisted of a written test of musical fundamentals and a listening test of attitudes toward Cajun music.  The presentation included lessons on Cajun history, music/songs, instrumentation, a video of Louisiana/Cajuns, simple folk dancing and ended in a fais do-do.

The main study results showed nonsignificant mean differences between pre- and posttest attitude, as well as pre- and posttest achievement.  The main study results yielded significant correlations (p > .01) between pretest attitude and achievement scores and posttest attitude and achievement.

Gallegos, Robbin L.  Music Therapy Assisted Relaxation Training with Corporate Executive: Two Case Studies. MME-MT, AAC, 1999 (December 1998).

This case study was designed to test the effectiveness and feasibility of a Music Therapy Assisted Stress Management program with an executive population.  Two subjects participated in a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up sessions, along with a total of six music therapy training sessions.  Results from the Occupational Stress Inventory (OSI) and the Speilberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y (STAI-Y) revealed no statistically significant changes from pre-test to post-test, or from pre-test to a three-week follow-up.  There were, however, some indications for improved coping skills following music therapy.  While the results were generally inconclusive, this study provided a clinical protocol for future research with larger population samples.

Hopp, Diane P.  The Value of Musical Play as a Service in Hospital Pediatric Units.  MME-MT, AAD, 1999 (May 1999).

The purpose of this study was to determine the value of musical play as a service in a hospital pediatric unit.  A one-group posttest-only design was employed.  Participants in the study were 30 hospitalized children and their parents.  The children ranged in age from 2 to 12 years, with a mean age of 6.15 years and were admitted to one of two Midwestern hospitals for non-life threatening illnesses.  Parents of the children were asked to sign the informed consent and complete a short demographic questionnaire.  The hospitalized children and their parents participated in a 20- 30-minute musical play session, involving a variety of age-appropriate activities such as sing, instrument playing, movement, word-substitution songs, composition, or finger plays.  An audio tape of the session was made and given to the family to listen to at any time during or after the child's hospitalization.  Approximately one week after dismissal from the hospital, parents and children received two attitudinal inventories in the mail.  These inventories consisted of 10 statements designed to assess either the child's or the parent's perceived value of the musical play session.  The parent's inventory employed a Likert scale with five response categories ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree."  Items on both inventories were parallel; however, the child's inventory had only three response categories, "yes," "not sure," and "no," and employed simpler language and sentence structure.  Respondents were to choose the category which best described their feeling about each statement.  Subjects were asked to complete the inventories and mail them to the author, using the self-addressed, stamped envelope provided.  At the conclusion of the research at each location, the nursing staff also completed inventories to assess their attitudes toward the musical play sessions.  Responses to the inventories were scored and analyzed using a Chi Square statistical test to assess the participants' perceived value of the musical play session.  Of the 44 subjects who participated in the study, 30 completed and returned all required forms for a return rate of 68%.  Results yielded significant positive attitudes from both parents and children concerning the reduction of anxiety and the perceived value of musical play as a service that hospitals could provide for pediatric patients and their families.  Eighteen nursing staff members completed inventories with no score below a 2.0, which would indicate a negative response.  The average score on the nursing inventories was 3.8 with 83.3% of the scores at 3.5 and above.  Chi Square tests were not performed on the nursing staff inventories because of the small number of respondents.  Conclusions drawn from this study are that musical play is a viable intervention for reducing anxiety in hospitalized children and their parents and a service that hospitals could provide for their pediatric patients and their families.

Hosokawa, Asako.  The Effects of Singing Japanese Lyrics Accompanied by Familiar and Unfamiliar Melodies on Kindergartners' Aural Recognition of Japanese Vocabulary Words.  MME-MT, AAD, 1999 (August 1998).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of singing Japanese lyrics accompanied by familiar and unfamiliar melodies on kindergartners' aural recognition of Japanese vocabulary words.  Participants were 72 kindergartners from 2 public schools in Kansas.  All students completed a pretest and posttest in which they were asked to identify 10 Japanese vocabulary words by selecting the corresponding picture from a set of picture cards.  The vocabulary words were embedded in the lyrics of 4 children's songs, the melodies of which were well known both in the United States and in Japan.  After completing the pretest, the children were assigned to one of the 3 conditions: speaking the lyrics, singing the lyrics with familiar melodies, and singing the lyrics with unfamiliar melodies.  Each group attended three, 20-minute sessions to rehearse the 10 target words.  Pretest and posttest data of 61 children who participated in all 3 sessions were analyzed to determine gains in Japanese word recognition and differences among subjects in the 3 condition groups.  Results from this study indicate that all 3 groups made significant pretest and posttest gains.  The mean gain score of subjects in the group that sang the vocabulary words with familiar melodies was greater than subjects' gain scores in the speaking and the singing with unfamiliar melodies groups, although differences were not significant.  These findings indicate that singing does not interfere with language rehearsals, and may enhance children's participation.

Ikehara, Atsuko.  The Effect of an Introduction to Okinawan Music on Students' Attitudinal Statements Regarding Multicultural Music Education and People from Other Culures.  MME, CMJ, 1999 (August 1998).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of authentic traditional Okinawan music instruction on elementary students' attitudes toward multiculturalism and multicultural music classes.  A secondary purpose was to document the influence of students' attitude toward multiculturalism when interethnic contact between an Okinawan music teacher and students occurred.  Sixty five elementary school 6th graders from a mainly European American middle-class area participated in this study.  They were divided into three groups based on intact general music classes: (a) control group; (b) Group E1, taught by the school's regular music teacher; and (c) Group E2, taught by an Okinawan music teacher.  All groups completed both a pretest and a posttest.  The independent variable was the presence or absence of Okinawan music instruction, and of an Okinawan music teacher during four 30-minute segments occurring during regular music classes.  The dependent variable was a questionnaire consisting of 30 attitudinal statements related to multiculturalism.  Questions were subdivided into three subscales based on students' attitude toward (a) a classmate who had a different background, (b) a multicultural environment, and (c) music classes.  Results indicated that overall, Group E2, taught by an Okinawan music teacher, showed significantly more positive attitudinal change in their statements than the control group.  There were no significant attitudinal changes between Groups E1 and E2.  The analysis of each subscale revealed that the two experimental groups showed significantly positive attitudinal change toward multicultural music classes compared with the control group.  Results of the study reveal the benefits of multicultural music instructions in the music classroom. Results of the subscale analysis indicate that students may experience difficulty in transferring their attitudes toward music to attitudes toward classmates or the multicultural environment.

Ishitani, Migiwa.  The Relationship Between Students' Musical Ability and their Ability to Imitate Cantonese Tonal Patterns.  MME-MT, AAD, 1999 (December 1998).

The purpose of the present study was to determine if a relationship exists between a person's musical ability (pitch discrimination and tonal memory) and his or her ability to imitate sound patterns of foreign language.  Cantonese was chosen as the foreign language, because it is a tonal language which involves over six distinct tonal patterns, and the experimenter hypothesized that pitch discrimination and tonal memory skills are important in hearing and reproducing the tonal changes in a language such as Cantonese.  Forty-six music majors with no background in Asian languages participated in the study.  Subtests of the Seashore Measures of Musical Talents measured participant's pitch discrimination and tonal memory abilities.  The same subjects also imitated 10 sentences in Cantonese spoken by a native speaker.  The accuracy of their pronunciation was rated on a scale of 1 (poor pronunciation) to 5 (excellent pronunciation) by five native Cantonese speakers.  The inter-rater reliability was computed for the five judges, and the two judges with the greatest reliability were used to evaluate the final data tapes.  Correlation coefficients were computed between scores on the Seashore Pitch Discrimination Test and Cantonese imitation accuracy ratings, and scores on the Seashore Tonal Memory Test and Cantonese imitation accuracy ratings.  Multiple regression analysis was also conducted, with the two Seashore test scores as the predictor variables and Cantonese pronunciation scores as the criterion variable.  Analysis indicated: (1) a statistically significant positive correlation between the Seashore Pitch Test scores and the Cantonese pronunciation scores, (2) no statistically significant correlation between Seashore Tonal Memory Test and the Cantonese pronunciation scores, and (3) combined Seashore Pitch and Tonal Memory Test scores do not enhance predictoin of subjects' accuracy in Cantonese pronunciation.

McDonald, William Rudd.  A Comparison of Perceived Musicianship and Appropriate Use of Vibrato in Professional Cello Performances by String Performers, Music Majors, and Nonmusic Majors.  Ph.D.-ME, CMJ, 1999 (August 1998).

The purpose of this study was to investigate professional performers' use of vibrato as related to listeners' perceived musicianship and appropriate use of vibrato.  Out of 17 professional recordings, a panel of experts selected the 2 most and the 2 least musical performances of Johann Sebastian Bach's unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major Bourrées I and II.  All notes a quarter note in length or longer were analyzed for vibrato tendencies.  Elements of vibrato analyzed were the occurrence of vibrato (present, absent), vibrato rate, and vibrato width.  Participants (N = 96) were string performers (n = 32), music majors (n = 32), and nonmusic majors (n = 32).  Using the Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI), participants listened to 4 performances of the bourrées and evaluated them for overall musicianship (n = 48) or the appropriate use of vibrato (n = 48).  Results of this study indicated that (a) the most musical performers used vibrato on significantly more notes (46.1%) than the least musical performers (9.9%), a ratio of 4.7:1; (b) the most musical performers' vibrato rates (M = 7.5 cps) were slightly faster than the least musical performers' (M = 6.9 cps); (c) the most musical performers' vibrato widths were significantly wider (63.8 cents) than the least musical performers' (48.0 cents); (d) string performers, music majors, and nonmusic majors agreed with the expert panel and evaluated the most musical performances higher in musicianship than the least musical performances; (e) all 3 groups evaluated the most musical performances appropriate use of vibrato higher than the least musical performances; (f) nonmusicians discriminated the least musical performances less effectively than did musicians and string performers; and (g) a strong correlation existed between perceived musicianship and vibrato.

Renner, Shannon Leanne Bowles.  The Effect of Playing Choir Chimes on Improving Elbow Range of Motion and Grip Strength in Residents in Nursing Homes.  MME-MT, AAC, 1999 (May 1999).

This study examined the effect of choir chime playing on elbow range of motion and grip strength in subjects who were elderly.  Subjects (N=21), who ranged in age from 55 to 98 years from three nursing care centers located in two Midwestern towns participated in this study.  Each person played in a chime choir twice a week for six weeks.  Of the 21 subjects who met the selection criteria, 19 were females, two were males 19 were right-hand dominant individuals, and two were left-hand dominant.

Every session was videotaped and consisted of the following format: 1) Physical assessment, 2) warm up and stretching, 3) 20 minutes of chime playing, 4) cool down, and 5) physical assessment.  The researcher measured each subject's left and right elbow range of motion and three settings of grip strength for each hand before and after every session.  The data from this study were entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program and a repeated measures ANOVA was run on the data.  At the conclusion of the study, two of the three groups exercised their option to play a concert for their peers and family members.

Results indicated there were no significant improvements for elbow extension and flexion when compared across the three facilities and over time.  The comparison for grip strength resulted in no statistically significant changes except for grip setting 3.  A comparison of mean scores for setting 3 indicated that overall grip strength decreased for facilities 2 and 3, while it increased for facility 2 from the first to last session.  The findings indicate older persons respond positively to choir chime playing but the full effect will be determined by additional research.

Richardson, William L.  A History of the Florida Association of Band Directors in Negro Schools: 1941-1966. Ph.D.-ME, GNH, 1999 (December 1998).

The Florida Association of Band Directors (FABD) was an association of African-American music educators that existed during the last decades of racial segregation in the United States' public school systems, 1941-1966.  This FABD history chronicles the Association's birth and major events.   It is also a story of early collaborations between African-American and European-American music educators during the period when segregation was legal and politically correct.

This investigation required data collection from primary and secondary sources.  Primary sources included national, state, and local government documents; FABD records in archive at the Florida Southern University at Lakeland; and FABD members.  Secondary sources included narrators from the FABD's European-American counterpart, the Florida Bandmasters Association.  Criticism of data required two examination levels, lower criticism or authenticity, and higher criticism or credibility.  Pertinent data and information passing the credibility and authenticity examinations were suitable for the construction of a chronology of events.

Chapter One is the story of the Association's early years; Leander A. Kirksey's education and career at Florida A & M College; the birth of Florida's African-American public school band movement, and aspects of William P. Foster's early professional career and his arrival at Florida A & M College.  Chapters Two, Three, and Four entail stories of the Association's development amidst the sociological changes that resulted from the Civil Rights Movement and the end of de jure  segregation.  The last chapter is an account of the meetings and negotiations that ended the era of segregated music education in Florida and the FABD's formal existence.  The Association had three presidents: Leander A. Kirksey, George H. Hill, and James W. Wilson; held seventy-one festivals; and provided a system for instrumental music education in Florida's African -American public schools.

Robb, Sheri L.  The Effect of Therapeutic Music Interventions on the Behavior of Hospitalized Children in Isolation: Developing a Contextual Support Model of Music Therapy.  Ph.D.-MT, AAC, 1999 (May 1999).

The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary data that support or negate a contextual support model of music therapy.  The contextual support model of music therapy, based on Skinner and Wellborn's (1994) motivational theory of coping, argues that therapeutic music environments possess elements of structure, autonomy support, and involvement that lead children to become more actively engaged with their environment.  This study examined three basic suppositions of the theory: (a) that music interventions create supportive environments, (b) that music interventions increase children's active engagement, and (c) that relationships exist between supportive environments and engaging behavior.  Ten pediatric oncology patients restricted to an isolated environment participated in the study (N = 10).  Participants, serving as their own controls, experienced four different environmental conditions.  Each condition was videotaped to facilitate collection of environmental and behavioral data.  Statistical analyses of these data revealed: (a) that the music environment possessed a significantly higher frequency of environmental support elements than other activities typically experienced by hospitalized children, (b) that therapeutic music interventions elicited significantly more engaging behaviors from hospitalized children than other hospital activities, (c) that positive behavioral effects of music interventions were not maintained in hospital experiences that followed the music session, and (d) that environmental support elements were related to some positive behaviors; but these behaviors were not consistent across environments.

Smith, Jack Wayne.  Correlation of Discrete and Continuous Contest Ratings with Marching Band Director Rehearsal Behaviors.  Ph.D.-ME, CMJ, 1999 (May 1999).

Since the late 1960s, marching band contests have become more numerous and more demanding in musicianship and marching/maneuvering skills.  Band directors strive to prepare their bands in the most efficient manner possible.  Directors utilize many conducting behaviors and techniques to prepare the music and marching performance of their bands.  Aside from the marching drill, are there verbal and nonverbal differences in the way that band directors rehearse their bands musically and are those differences reflected in the final adjudicated rating?

Four band directors participated in the study.  These directors were videotaped while conducting their bands in pre-school band rehearsal.  The tapes were then observed by the primary researcher and reliability observer for behavior frequencies under the following five criteria: (1) Verbal/Music Content (i.e., Expression, General, Notation, Pedagogical, Rhythm, Style); (2) Verbal/Approval-Disapproval (i.e., Musical Specific Approval, Musical General Approval, Musical Specific Disapproval, Musical General Disapproval, Social Specific Approval, Social General Approval, Social Specific Disapproval, Social General Disapproval); (3) Verbal/Initiating Behaviors (i.e., Technical Direction, Demonstration/Modeling, Verbal Imagery, Questioning); (4) Verbal-Nonverbal/Global Ranging (i.e., Non-Musical, Nonverbal Instruction, Verbal Instruction, Nonverbal Feedback, Verbal Feedback); and (5) Pacing Tendencies (i.e., Student Performance Frequency, Student Frequency Average Time, Teacher Input Frequency, Teacher Input Average Time).

Four other band directors served as independent adjudicators, observing these bands at marching contest.  While observing, these adjudicators manipulated a Continuous Response Digital Interface device calibrated to positive and negative input.  The averaged results served as the data, each band receiving an overall mean score for the sample.  Each adjudicator then assigned a discrete rating for the performance.  Pearson Product Moment Correlations were also applied to tallied behaviors across bands, seeking significant correlations across behaviors.

Summarizing the results: high frequencies of Expression, Notation, Rhythm and Style Music Content verbalizations; Musical Specific Approval and Disapproval verbalizations; Demonstration/Modeling Initiating Behavior verbalizations; Verbal Instruction followed by Nonverbal Feedback Global Ranging behaviors, and Student Performance Frequency and Teacher Input Frequency Pacing Tendency behaviors significantly correlated with higher ratings (p<.05).

Thurmond, Jonathan L.  A Study of Band Members' Responses to the Loss of Visual and/or Aural Stimuli.  MME, CMJ, 1999 (August 1998).

The purpose of this study was to determine what effect the loss of visual and/or aural stimuli would have on a band musician.  Subjects (N = 40) performed along with a videotape of a conductor as well as an audio recording of a band.  The control group received both stimuli for the duration of the piece.  One group lost the video of the conductor after 20 measures, and another lost the audio of the band after 20 measures.  The final group lost both video and audio after 20 measures.  A research assistant using a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) determined how well the subjects stayed "in ensemble" with the recording.  Subjects were also videotaped to determine the length and duration of their eye contact with the conductor.  A series of one-way ANOVAs and Newman-Keuls multiple comparison procedures were used to determine that the Aural-Only and the Visual-Aural groups performed significantly better than the Visual-Only and Nothing groups, and that the Visual-Only group looked up more often but for shorter periods than the Visual-Aural group after they lost the aural stimulus.

Williams, Lindsey R.  A Survey and Comparative Analysis of Sight-Reading Methods by Music Educators in Kansas and Missouri.  MME, CMJ, 1999 (December 1998).

The purpose of this study was to compare the amount of time spent sight-reading between bands in a state with compulsory sight-reading at state large ensemble festival (Missouri) and a state without compulsory sight-reading at state large ensemble festival (Kansas).  Subjects (N = 25) included 9 band directors from Missouri and 16 band directors from Kansas.  Each subject completed a questionnaire and provided a taped recording of a prepared piece from the previous school year (N = 21).  Excerpts from those tapes were rated by 11 judges.  Analysis revealed no significant difference between the performance ratings of bands from Kansas (M = 77.46, SD = 11.69) and those from Missouri (M = 70.85, SD = 10.38).  Data revealed no significant differences in the amount of time spent sight-reading between bands in Missouri and Kansas.  Data also revealed no significant correlations between any of the research questions.  Responses indicated that the skills most affecting sight-reading performance were rhythmic accuracy followed by the correct identification and usage of the key signature and then pitch accuracy.  The materials most used when teaching sight-reading were new band compositions, while some subjects used method books or examples written on the chalkboard.  Most subjects had their students count aloud while some had students tap feet and sing simultaneously prior to the sight-reading performance.

Woodall, Deborah D.  Orthodontic Braces and Wind Instrumentalists.  MME, RER, 1999 (May 1999).

The purpose of this study was to determine the number of junior high school wind instrumentalists in a small mid-western city who wear braces, to what extent the braces affected their musical achievement, and if students felt they received support from their orthodontist, parent, and teacher.  The investigation distributed 198 surveys to freshmen in the Lawrence, Kansas Public Schools; 196 were returned.  Research indicates that 69% of wind instrumentalists wear braces.  Only 4% of students dropped out of band because of their braces.  The data suggested that brass students feel the highest pain/discomfort level while performing on their instrument.  Eighty percent of students felt that they received support/help from their orthodontist; while 40% felt they received support/help from their teacher, and 34% felt they received support from their parents.  The most common aid for pain relief was acetaminophen; with a close second being the application of wax to the braces' outside surfaces.  Teachers, orthodontists, and parents can support their students by offering some of the available products to relieve the inner-lip irritation caused by performing a wind instrument with braces.  If a substantial number of students wear braces, teachers can feel comfortable in taking a few minutes of instructional time to address some of those students' specific needs, such as scheduling orthodontic adjustments around concerts and playing tests and possibly adjusting mouthpiece size or changing instruments.  Teachers also can remind students how their progress relies on daily practice, as is true for all students.  Finally, music educators and orthodontists need to communicate so that parents and students can be informed of advances in research.

Yonekura, Yuko.  The Effect of Singing and Physical Touch on Changes in Voice Quality of Individuals with a Cancer Diagnosis in Late Stage: Three Case Studies.  MME-MT, AAC, 1999 (December 1998).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of singing and physical touch on change in voice quality of individuals with a cancer diagnosis in late stage.  Each participant met the investigator for eight individual 20-minute sessions for eight consecutive days.  The participant read the Rainbow passage (Fairbanks, 1960) before and after the experimental condition that was audio-taped for later data analysis for three kinds of voice qualities: Spoken fundamental frequency, range for spoken fundamental frequency, and spoken duration.  Between the readings, one of four ten-minute experiments were given conditions: Singing, singing with touch, touch, and silence.  Though responses varied among participants, results indicated that live singing and touch affect changes in cancer patients' voice quality.  It was concluded that voice quality in cancer patients provides important information that may contribute to decisions about music therapy programming.  Also, the combination of singing and touch is accessible to patients' and their caregivers who can use songs to maintain human contact until the last hours of life.

2000

Alfie, Sebastian.  The Use of Music Therapy in Educational Programming to Increase Engagement of a Student with Autism.  MME-MT, AAC, 2000 (May 2000).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a specifically designed music therapy Protocol as a teaching intervention for a highly disruptive child diagnosed with autism.  The goal of music therapy was to increase engagement in educational activities in a public school setting. A single subject alternating treatment design with two conditions (ABAB) was used.  Condition A was five minutes of music listening.  The music therapist sang songs with guitar accompaniment and demands were minimized to allow the participant to calm.  Condition B was a two-minute music therapy activity requiring client participation.  All sessions were videotaped to document changes in engagement behavior, and aberrant behaviors including self-injurious behavior, eloping and aggressive behavior.  Sessions were alternately run in the mornings and afternoons to assess whether time of day affected engagement.  Data during music therapy were compared to the participant's overall daily behavior data taken regularly by the staff.  Results indicated improved engagement for most music therapy sessions compared to activities throughout the day.  When compared to the participant's overall daily behavior data, the rate of occurrence of aberrant behaviors was lower during music therapy.  The participant exhibited a higher rate of engagement during morning music therapy than during afternoon music therapy.

Brownell, Mike D.  The Use of Musically Adapted Social Stories to Modify Behaviors in Students with Autism: Four Case Studies.  MME-MT, AAD, 2000 (May 2000).

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of a musical presentation of social Story information on the behaviors of students with autism.  Social stories are a means of incorporating an individual with autism's propensity toward visual learning with educationally necessary behavior modifications.  Participants in the study were four first- and second-grade students with a primary diagnosis of autism attending an elementary school in eastern Iowa.  An unique social story was created for each student that addressed a current behavioral goal.  Subsequently, original music was composed using the text of the social story as lyrics.  The independent variable for this study was one of three treatment conditions:  baseline (A); reading the story (B); and singing the story (C).  The reading and singing versions of the social stories were alternately presented to the students using the counterbalance treatment order AMAC/ACAB.  The dependent variable was the frequency with which the target behavior occurred under each condition of the independent variable.  Data were collected for a period of one hour following presentation of the social story.  Results from all four case studies indicated that both the reading condition (B) and the singing condition (C) were significantly (p<.05) more effective in reducing the target behavior than the no-contact control condition (A).  The singing condition was significantly more effective than the reading condition only in Case Study III.  For the remaining case studies, the mean frequency of the target behavior was less during the singing condition but not significantly so.  These results suggested that the use of musically adapted versions of social stories are an effective and viable treatment option for modifying behaviors with this population.

Burns, Debra Sue.  The Effect of the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music on the Quality of Life and Cortisol Levels of Cancer Patients.  Ph.D.-MT, RER, 2000 (August 1999).

The study's purpose was to explore the effectiveness of the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) in decreasing cortisol levels, increasing quality of life, and improving mood.  This study utilized a small sample pretest-posttest with follow-up design.  Subjects included eight outpatient volunteers diagnosed with cancer who were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a wait list control group.  Experimental subjects individually participated in ten-weekly GIM sessions.  All subjects completed the Profile of Mood States and Quality of Life--Cancer questionnaires and provided blood samples pretest, posttest, and at a six-week follow-up.  The experimental group completed mood and quality of life measures after each session, along with the Affective Response to Imaginary Stimuli.  Results indicated no significant differences in cortisol levels between the two groups at posttest or follow-up; however, there were significant differences in other dependent variables..  Quality of life measures, while not significant at posttest, were significantly different between groups at follow-up with the experimental group scoring higher than the control group.  At posttest, the experimental group scored significantly lower on the Total Mood Disturbance of the Profile of Mood States, with significant differences on the subscores of Tension/Anxiety, Fatigue/Inertia, and Confusion/Bewilderment.  Significant differences in mood remained at follow-up, with additional differences in Depression/Dejection and Anger/Hostility.  Correlation between mood change and affective responses to imagery indicate strong, significant correlations between positive mood scores and the degree of emotional response.  Overall, results indicate that GIM was effective in improving mood and quality of life in cancer patients; however, it was not effective in lowering cortisol levels.  Additionally, the type and degree of emotional response to the imagery experience was highly related to positive mood scores.  Additional research is needed to clarify who will most likely benefit from GIM sessions, and determine the type of imagery experiences that are most helpful.

Cheng, Pei Jung.  Effect of Music Application for Stroke Individuals on Speech Intelligibility and Breath Control: Three Case Studies.  MME-MT, RER, 2000 (August 1999).

The purpose of these three case studies was to examine how music application may affect breath control and speech intelligibility of three stroke patients, ranging in age from 71 to 75.  Two treatment subjects received a private music application three sessions a week, thirty to thirty-five minutes per session, for three weeks.  No music application was delivered to the control subject during the first three week period after the pre-test; he later received the same application as treatment subjects.  Each subject took a pre-test on the orientation day.  Each treatment subject was tested after the fourth and eighth session.  The control subject had a mid-test on the ninth day after the pre-test, and a post-test on the tenth day after the mid-test.  Tests were given during the treatment period following the control period, after the fourth and eighth session.  Each test included a breathing control test and a speech intelligibility test.  The 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, and 10th trial breathing control data were analyzed.  Row data were calculated by using difference of means and range between pre-test, mid-test, and post-test for two variables.  Using speech intelligibility tapes, five judges, unfamiliar with the subjects' voices, also measured the speech intelligibility by counting the number of un-comprehensible words in a poem.  Test reliability was estimated via interjudge agreements as a percentage of agreements plus disagreements.  The first treatment participant improved breath support from pre-test to mid-test, but regressed on the post-test.  The second treatment subject improved breath support dramatically.  The control subject did not improve breathing control during the control period, but his breath support improved consistently during the treatment period.  Speech intelligibility changed only slightly for all subjects.

Chong, Hyun Ju.  Relationships Between Vocal Characteristics and Self-Esteem: Quantitative and Qualitative Studies.  Ph.D.-MT, RER, 2000 (May 2000).

This study examined the relationship between vocal parameters and self-esteem during verbalizing and singing via quantitative and qualitative approaches.  The purpose of this study was to 1) determine whether the frequency parameters predict self-esteem during speaking and singing, 2) determine whether amplitude parameters predict one's self-esteem during speaking and singing, 3) determine whether the singing accuracy including pitch and breathing predict one's self-esteem, 4) determine whether the self-esteem scores can be predicted from the frequency parameters over amplitude parameters and vice versa, and finally, 5) examine the predictive relationship between self-esteem and subjects' evaluation of their singing voice and speaking voice.  An additional purpose was to analyze subjects' self-report statements to examine the relationship between self-evaluation and self-esteem, and further, to examine qualitatively the responses to questions involving the singing experience.

Eighty-five subjects without any professional vocal training participated, including 26 males and 59 females.  The study employed four data-gathering procedures: 1) Multidimensional Self-Esteem Inventory (MSEI), 2) spoken measurement in which the subjects were engaged in verbalization, 3) sung measurement in which the subjects were engaged in singing, and 4) self-reported statements on singing.  Pearson Product-moment correlations and linear multiple regression analysis were used to examine any significant predictive associations.

Results indicated that among the acoustic parameters, amplitude level accounted for a significant proportion of variance in the prediction for self-esteem scores in MSEI scales.  With the predictors obtained from performance ratings during singing, multiple regression analysis indicated that two predictor variables, pitch and breathing accuracy ratings, accounted for significant amounts of variance in self-esteem scores.  Subjects' self-evaluation of their voice and singing ability were strong predictors for self-esteem.  The content analysis of subjects' responses to the question of why they enjoy singing revealed many important therapeutic concepts supporting the effective use of vocal intervention in music therapy settings.

Decker, Karel M.  The Effect of Background Music and Social Interaction on the Self-Injurious and Aggressive Behaviors of Adults with Severe and Profound Mental Retardation: Six Case Studies.  MME-MT, AAD, 2000 (May 2000).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of background music and social interaction on the self-injurious and aggressive behaviors of adults with severe and profound mental retardation.  Participants in the case studies were 6 adults who lived in group homes and displayed self-injurious and/or aggressive behaviors.  Participants were each exposed to four conditions: baseline, background music, social interaction, and background music combined with social interaction.  Each session was ten minutes.  The four conditions were carried out over four sessions for a total of 16 sessions.  Social interaction was provided by the teachers.  Observers recorded the presence or absence of self-injurious or aggressive behaviors within each ten-second interval.  A repeated measures one-way ANOVA revealed no significant differences between conditions for each subject.  Graphic analyses indicated several trends reported under each case study.  These trends suggest that music and social interaction provide appropriate behaviors and opportunities for positive interactions between teachers and participants.

de l'Etoile, Shannon K.  An Inservice Training Program in Music for Child Care Personnel Working with Infants and Toddlers.  Ph.D.-MT, AAD, 2000 (August 1999).

The purpose of this study was to develop, implement and evaluate an inservice training program in music for child care personnel working with infants and toddlers.  The effectiveness of the program was measured by determining changes in caregivers' attitudes toward and knowledge about music activities for children.  Additional outcome measures included ratings of caregivers' skills and children's engagement behaviors during music activities.  Initially, a needs assessment was distributed to child care centers serving infants and toddlers.  The majority of respondents indicated they included music activities as part of child care and that they would be interested in receiving training in music.  A panel of experts helped to define and select learning objectives for the training program.  Training materials and data collection tools were then developed, piloted and revised.  Adult participants included 22 caregivers working in a university-based child care and early intervention program.  Child participants included the infants (N = 9) and toddlers (N = 15) receiving day care in the same setting.  Caregivers attended three, 30-minute inservice training sessions regarding the use and purpose of music activities with young children in child care.  Before and after the entire training program, caregivers completed a self-report measure to assess their attitude toward implementing music activities with young children.  Subjects also took pre- and post-tests that corresponded with each training session.  Videotaped observations were made of caregivers' behaviors as they implemented music activities, while live observers simultaneously coded children's engagement behaviors.  Results indicated that caregivers made significant improvements in their attitudes toward and knowledge about meaningful and developmentally appropriate music activities for young children.  Additionally, caregivers increased their use of 9 out of 11 behaviors considered necessary for successful music activity implementation.  Infants and toddlers increased the amount of time they were visually, vocally and physically engaged during music activities.  In conclusion, this training program appeared to improve caregivers' attitudes toward and knowledge about conducting music activities with young children.  This program also seemed to help child care workers increase their use of skills needed to implement music activities.  As a result of caregiver training, children's engagement behaviors increased during music activities.

Goldberg, Elana B.  A Content Analysis of Existing String Method Books and an Assessment of Their Use in Kansas and Missouri.  MME, RER, 2000 (December 1999).

This study surveyed 167 string teachers from the states of Kansas and Missouri.  A total of 59 usable responses were received and analyzed.  Responses focused on:

• demographic information;
• choice of main and supplemental textbooks;
• reasons for using the textbooks;
• degree of satisfaction with the textbooks;
• aspects that would make the ideal string method textbook.

Kansas educators who responded primarily used the Strictly Strings  series, while those from Missouri predominantly used the Essential Elements for Strings  series.  Most string educators seemed very satisfied with both their main textbooks and the supplemental ones.

There are twice as many women as men teaching strings in Kansas, while the numbers in Missouri are about equal.

The questionnaire listed 13 aspects for the ideal string method textbook--from rote-to-note approach, through such mechanical details as note name inside note head and colored headings, through availability of tapes and CDs for correlated practice and for accompaniment, availability of correlated theory books, of more advanced books, and of correlated lesson plans, illustrations of correct playing postures, inclusion of tunes with additional accompanying lines, theory games, exercises to strengthen the bow hand, to conformity with the National Standards in Music. 

All 13 aspects suggested for the ideal textbook were endorsed by the respondents in approximately equal measure (82% to 94% of those responding to the question) and there were almost no additional suggestions by the respondents.

In addition, this study includes an extensive content analysis of the textbooks, both main and supplemental, listed in the survey, as well as a cumulative content summary for these books.  The summary provides a comparison among 14 main textbooks, and among 12 supplemental ones, in 17 categories that include 152 detailed aspects.  Example of the categories are: basic music theory (staff, clef, bar line, measure, double bar, repeat sign), left-hand and right-hand technique, and whether the National Standards in Music are addressed (singing alone and with others, performing, improvising, composing, and others).

Also included is a synopsis of the National Standards of Music Education as they pertain to string education in the United States.

Haneishi, Eri.  The Effects of Music Therapy Voice Treatment on Speech and Voice Problems and Mood of Individuals with Parkinson's Disease.  MME-MT, AAD, 2000 (August 1999).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the Music Therapy Voice Treatment  for Parkinson's Disease (MTVP) on intensity level of speech, speech intelligibility, maximum duration of sustained vowel phonation, maximum vocal range, vocal fundamental frequency, vocal fundamental frequency variability, and mood of individuals with Parkinson's disease.  Four female patients with Parkinson's disease, who demonstrated voice and speech problems, participated.  Each subject served as her own control in a case study design that included a pretest, a series of 12 to 14 MTVP sessions, and a posttest.  All the MTVP sessions were 60 minutes in duration, and they involved vocal and singing exercises to increase  intensity level and speech intelligibility.

As indicated by the results of paired samples  t-tests, statistically significant increases were found in intensity level (dB IL) and speech intelligibility rated by caregivers or spouses between pretest and posttest evaluation.  Speech intelligibility rated by subjects themselves and measures of fundamental frequency also approached statistical significance.  In addition, results from a series of two-way ANOVA with repeated measure indicated that subjects' mood, measured by a self-rating feeling scale, significantly improved from before to after each treatment.  Changes in mood across entire treatment and interaction between each treatment and entire treatment were not significant.  No significant differences were found in intensity level, fundamental frequency, and fundamental frequency variability either from before to after each treatment, across entire treatment, or in interaction between each treatment and entire treatment.

Though limited by the small sample size, this study implies an important role of music therapy in speech rehabilitation for Parkinson's disease.  Singing and vocalization appear to improve physiological functions related to speech and to promote adherence to treatment because the activities are enjoyable and thus motivating.

Johnson, Gary E.  The Effect of Instrumental and Vocal Music on a Physical Rehabilitation Exercise Program with Persons who are Elderly.  MME-MT, AAC, 2000 (May 2000).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of instrumental and vocal music on elderly persons' participation in a physical rehabilitation exercise program.  More specifically, the study compared live trombone instrumental music, live vocal music and no music on the frequency of repetitions for 14 prescribed physical therapy exercises.  Subjects (N=19) participated in two instrumental, two vocal and two no music condition treatment sessions.  Subjects ranged in age from 65 to 90 years, were residents of either a community residential or retirement center, and were referred to physical therapy or were already involved in an exercise program.  Familiar and recognizable songs were paired with each exercise.  A metronome established a comfortable tempo for each song based on the rate and difficulty of the exercise.  The songs were sung and played on the trombone unaccompanied.  Three treatment conditions (instrumental music, vocal music, no music) were randomly ordered, allowing one condition per session.  The exercises in the no music condition equaled the duration of the exercises in the two music conditions.  Each session was videotaped for later review and data collection.  Using the number of repetitions subjects displayed, an Analysis of Variance was calculated to test for significant treatment effects and mean differences among the three conditions per exercise.  A randomized complete block design (3x19x2 or three conditions by 19 subjects or blocks by two replications) resulted in 114 cases in the data set.  Results indicated no significant treatment effects and treatment differences among conditions for eight of fourteen exercises.  The six remaining exercises showed significant treatment effects and mean differences.  Comments from subjects support previous research that indicate that subjects prefer music over no music while exercising.  Further study is required to quantify the effect of music on endurance and overall engagement of participants during exercise.

Mason, Heidi A.  A Comparison of Traditional Subdivision and Word Association Subdivision Methods for Rhythm Reading Instruction When Used with Well Older Adults.  MME-MT, AAD, 2000 (August 1999).

The purpose of this study was to determine an effective method of rhythm reading instruction for teaching rhythms to well older adults.  A comparison was made of a traditional subdivision method versus a word association subdivision method.  Subjects (N=36), randomly assigned to two instruction groups, participated individually in pre and posttest measure consisting of a 10-item rhythm performance test.  For the experiment, the participated in one instructional session in groups of two to three.  Pre and posttest measure were videotaped for later scoring.  Analysis of mean gain scores indicated no significant difference between the two methods for improvement of rhythm reading skill, though both groups significantly improved from pretest to posttest.  Subjects' responses to exit questions regarding preference, perceived success, and perceived difficulty were analyzed for differences between the methods.  Results indicated significant differences in favor of the word association subdivision instruction method for enjoyment and perceived ease of learning, though no significant differences were found for overall enjoyment of perceived success.

Nelson, Tami S.  The Effect of Mode of Response and Method of Presentation on Musical Articulation Discrimination of Preschool Children.  MME, CMJ, 2000 (August 1999).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of mode of response and method of presentation on the musical concept discrimination abilities of preschool children and to further examine the relationship of age and gender to mode of response and method of presentation.  Fifty-one children between the ages of 36 to 68 months responded to musical excerpts presented in three different modalities using one of three modes of response.  The children indicated whether musical excerpts were legato (smooth) or staccato (choppy) by responding symbolically (saying smooth or choppy), iconically (pointing to a picture of a cow swaying for smooth music or pointing to a picture of a rabbit hopping for choppy music), or enactively (swaying for smooth music or hopping for choppy music).  The three methods of presentation were prerecorded piano music excerpts of children's songs, prerecorded orchestral music excerpts, and live hand-held percussion exercises played by the researcher on a guiro.  After undergoing a short introduction session to acclimate each subject to the tasks of the testing process, each subject responded to twelve musical excerpts.  The researcher scored each response as correct or incorrect and analyzed the scores via analysis of variance procedures and a t-test to determine the effects of age, gender, mode of response, and method of presentation.  No significant differences occurred due to any of the independent variables; however, the mean and standard deviation tendencies warrant further study.  These findings suggest that with very little training preschool children may use any of these three modes of response to demonstrate articulation discriminations when listening to piano, orchestral , and live percussion music.

Pickreign, Kelley L.  Professional Perceptions of Music Therapy in New England’s Children’s Hospitals.  MME-MT, RER, 2000 (December 1999).

This study described hospital professional’s perceptions of music therapy regarding its use and value in children’s hospitals/units throughout New England, and identified possible reasons for the limited presence of music therapy in these facilities.

Participating hospital professionals included administrators, anesthesiologists, child life specialists, medical doctors, radiologists, nurses, and social workers.  A survey was developed which sought information regarding perceptions of the music therapy profession, experiences with music therapy, perceptions of music therapy treatment goals, and basic demographics.  Data were separated into five contrasting groupings: 1) professional discipline, 2) medical and nonmedical disciplines, 3) those who have observed an MT-BC and those who have not, 4) those who have observed music therapy and those who have not, and 5) those who believe music therapy is currently being used in their facilities and those who do not.  Items were analyzed for differences among each grouping via one-way ANOVA.

Data suggest that, in general, children’s hospital professionals have a neutral to positive attitude toward the role and value of music therapy, the state of the discipline, and the role of the therapist.  Responses to music therapy treatment goals also were neutral to positive, with socialization and normalization goals perceived most positively, followed by goals that address stress and anxiety, and finally, goals that address medical and physiological issues.

Response trends among disciplines found nonmedical staff more positive in their perceptions than medical staff.  Also, those who have observed music therapy were more positive than those who have not, with those observing an MT-BC being significantly more positive.

Professionals identified the primary reason why music therapy is currently unavailable in their hospital as the lack of a perceived need, followed by the unestablished state of the discipline, inadequate funding, and the unavailability of an MT-BC.  Seventy-three percent of professionals whose hospitals did not utilize music therapy believed the children would benefit from the addition of a music therapist to their staff.

Professionals’ attitudes toward music therapy suggest they may be receptive to education, most effectively through observation, thereby improving perceptions of the discipline and its potential in meeting the needs of hospitalized children.

Zelazny, Coleen M.  Therapeutic Instrumental Music Playing in Hand Rehabilitation for Older Adults with Osteoarthritis: Four Case Studies.  MME-MT, AAC, 2000 (August 1999).

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of keyboard playing on the management of hand osteoarthritis in older adults.  Four participants from an independent retirement facility met the investigator on four days weekly, for approximately 30 minutes, over four weeks.  Participants played folk and big band melodies on an electronic keyboard via a number and rote method for 20 minutes during each session.  Data included pre and poststudy occupational therapy measures of finger pinch meter and range of motion, visual arthritic discomfort scale scores, computer collected finger velocity measurements, and participant perceptions of efficacy of treatment reported through Likert scale ratings.  Results indicated that finger pinch meter and range of motion were positively increased by keyboard playing.  Two participants recorded significant decreases in arthritic discomfort after playing, while three participants showed significant improvement in finger velocity and hence, finger strength/dexterity due to treatment.  Participants enjoyed the treatment with enjoyment ratings of 3 or higher on a five-point Likert scale.  Additional benefits included improved structure of leisure time and increased socialization for older adults with osteoarthritis who tend to isolate themselves due to disease deterioration.  It was concluded that keyboard playing is an effective alternative to improve finger muscle strength/dexterity and manage hand osteoarthritis in older adults.

1991

Chazdon, Lane C.  Redundancy:  A Factor in Rhythm Shadowing Accuracy of Chronic Male Paranoid Schizophrenic Inpatients.  MME, AAC, 1991.

This study investigates note value redundancy as a factor in the rhythm shadowing (rhythmic synchronization) accuracy of chronic paranoid schizophrenic inpatients.  Note value redundancy was selected as operational definition of complexity.  It was quantified through the application of the entropy formula (Attneave, 1959; Garner, 1962).  Twelve paranoid schizophrenic inpatients and 12 post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) inpatients were tested in rhythm shadowing, rhythm perception, and finger-tapping speed.  In addition, all Ss were assessed in the process-reactive dimension of their illnesses and the extent of their musical backgrounds.  Rhythm shadowing was tested with the author-constructed Rhythm Shadowing Test (RST).  Ss were asked to synchronize their drum playing with six different rhythm sequences.  Three of the rhythm sequences were composed to have low redundancy (5.26%), three to have total redundancy (100%).  Ss' drum responses were tape-recorded and converted to strip charts.  These were score by trained raters.  Rhythm perception was tested with Gordon's (1979) Primary Measures of Musical Audiation (PMMA).  Finger-tapping speed was tested with the Finger Oscillation Test (FOT) of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery (Reitan & Wolfson, 1985).  The process-reactive dimension was measured with the Ullman-Giovannoni Self-Report Measure of the Process-Reactive Continuum  (Ullman & Giovannoni, 1964).  Musical background was measured with items drawn from a questionnaire developed by Gibbons, 1979.  Mann-Whitney U tests discovered no significant differences between groups in rhythm perception, finger-tapping speed, or extent of musical background.  The paranoid schizophrenic Ss proved to have significantly more process illnesses than the PTSD subjects.  Five separate MANOVAs were conducted to compare the groups' RST performances on different criteria.  The Primary Redundancy analysis yielded a significant group x redundancy x trial interaction.  The Secondary Redundancy analyses yielded a significant group x serial position interaction.  The remaining analyses, Learning, Fatigue, and Note Value, yielded no significant group main effects or interactions.  It was concluded that the chronic paranoid schizophrenic Ss exhibited significantly different performance patterns than those of the PTSD Ss.  Explanations of the different patterns were offered based on theories of impaired schizophrenic information-processing.  Research and practice recommendations for music therapy are offered based on the findings.

Cohen, Nicki Sandra.  The effect of singing instruction upon the speech production of neurologically impaired persons.  Ph.D.-MT, AC, 1991.

This study examined the effect of singing instruction upon the speech production of neurologically impaired persons.  The subjects were eight neurologically impaired adults with expressive speech disorders.  A nonrandomized, control-group, repeated measures design was implemented to determine if the application of singing instruction would change the speaking fundamental frequency or improve the speaking fundamental frequency variability, vocal intensity, rate of speech, and verbal intelligibility of the subjects.  An eight-second speech sample was obtained from the six treatment subjects and two control subjects three times during the study; before the initial treatment session, after the fifth treatment session, and following the ninth treatment session.  The treatment subjects received group singing instruction three times a week, thirty minutes a session, for three consecutive weeks.  The data were analyzed using repeated-measures and independent-group t-tests, and the percentage of subjects in each group who had improved was calculated from the raw data.  When comparing the pretest and posttest measurements within each group, no significant differences were found.  When the pretest and posttest results were compared between groups, the treatment group showed significant improvements in speaking fundamental frequency variability (p=.0004).  The control group completed the study with significantly larger vocal intensity measurements (p=.048).  Even though they were not statistically significant, the treatment group's mean rate of speech and percentage of pause time improved, while the control group's declined.  This study should be repeated using a larger sample size, with an equal number of subjects in each group.

Conner, Cynthia Goodwin.  Investigation of Music as an Aid to Memory with Preschool Children.  MME, AAD, 1991.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate music as an aid to learning and memory in preschool aged children.  Specifically, this study examined the effectiveness of a musical media product marketed for teaching basic skills information to preschool children through music.  The secondary purpose was to determine if there were differences in recall of the information between the 3-, 4- and 5-year old subjects.

Seventy-three subjects from six day care centers in a middle-class, suburban area participated in one of four groups differing in information presentation style:  musical audio cassette format; rhythmic-verbal format; conversational-verbal format; and control group (no presentation of information).  Results comparing recall scores of the different groups indicated that the rhythmic-verbal presentation group recalled significantly more information than the musical presentation group, and that all three presentation groups recalled more information than the control group.  The results also suggested that there were no significant differences for recall between 3-, 4- and 5-year-old subjects in each of the groups.  The findings indicated that, while the musical presentation of information was effective in aiding recall, the rhythmic-verbal presentation was more effective for preschool aged children in this study.

DeGroot, Susan Elaine.  Language and Music:  An Integrative Approach.  MME, GNH, 1991.

This investigation examined certain effects of integrating music and language arts on second-grade students’ language skills.  It employed a quasi-experimental design to answer the research question:  Can music taught by a music specialist help students learn other subjects such as language arts?  The independent variable was the presence or absence of music integration delivered by a music specialist, the dependent variable was language skills, measured by a researcher-made test.  Subjects were 46 second graders from a population of approximately 960 second graders enrolled in a middle-class suburban school district in Johnson County, Kansas.  Two intact classes (23 students each) of second-grade students were chosen randomly (control:  10 girls, 13 boys; experimental:  11 girls, 12 boys), ages 8-10.  Despite research literature favoring the experimental group, the control group in this study made significantly greater gains than the experimental group.  The results suggest that integrating music to facilitate language skills may affect a significant number of subjects negatively.  Since these results raise questions about music integration and its effect on the acquisition of language skills, the researcher recommends further research continue regarding integration of music with other subjects.

Fisher, Juliana R. The Effect of Three Selected Sensory Presentation Conditions on the Pitch Matching Accuracy of Normal Hearing and Hearing Impaired Children.  MME, AAD, 1991.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of three selected sensory presentation conditions on the vocal accuracy of normal hearing and hearing impaired children.  The sensory conditions included:  1) an auditory presentation; 2) an auditory/visual presentation; and 3) auditory/visual/kinesthetic presentation.  Studies in the language and speech development of hearing impaired children have indicated that providing additional sensory stimuli can improve speech comprehension and production.  Likewise, music researchers have also suggested the use of additional sensory stimuli to enhance music learning.  Twenty-six normal hearing and twenty-five hearing impaired public school children were asked to listen to and vocally reproduce short melodic patterns during each of the three sensory conditions.  Responses were recorded and later analyzed according to the absolute deviation from the stimulus tones and accuracy of pitch contour reproduction.  Results indicated the normal hearing group performed with significantly greater vocal accuracy than the hearing impaired group.  In addition, there were no significant differences among conditions for both groups.

Based on the data of this study, initially vocal accuracy is not more significant when children are provided additional sensory information than during auditory alone conditions.  However, based on the observation of individual subject performances, the experimenter suggests that some hearing impaired and normal hearing students may benefit from the use of additional sensory information which reinforces pitch contour if these students are given sufficient practice and instruction in how to use such information efficiently.

Gutierrez, Thomas R.  Mariachi music and its effect on the attitude and achievement of sixth grade general music students.  MME, RR, 1991.

This study examined the effect mariachi music had on the attitude and achievement of sixth grade general music students in a Midwestern city.  It also examined test development using ethnic music (mariachi or Mexican folk music), as a topic.  A teacher-made five point, 30 item attitude and 37 item, four option multiple choice, achievement tests were used to gather data.  The pilot study (N=29) included the test blueprint, behavioral objectives, and the technical development of attitude and achievement test items.  Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and reliability coefficients (split-halves and KR20) were reported.  Reliability values ranged from .85 to .96.  Item difficulty and discrimination values were reported on all items.  Data gathered during the pilot study were used to refine the administration of the main study (N=23).  This included the administration of the pretest, a live mariachi music presentation, and posttest.  The main study results showed nonsignificant mean differences between pre- and posttest attitude, pre- and posttest achievement, pretest attitude and achievement, and posttest attitude and achievement.  The main study results yielded significant correlations (p<.001) between pre- and posttest attitude scores and pre- and posttest achievement scores.

Haack, Janna Scott.  Music Therapy-assisted Childbirth and its effects on duration of labor, medication dosage, and fetal heart rate.  MMT, AD, 1991.

The purpose of the study was to determine if the use of music, supplemental to childbirth education training, would affect length of labor, medication dosage, and fetal heart rate.  Twenty-five expectant mothers enrolled in childbirth preparation classes were randomly assigned into the following experimental and control groups:  (a) Experimental group #1--music therapy training (environmental music) and childbirth preparation training;  (b) Experimental group #2--Music therapy training (environmental music) with auditory fetal stimulation and childbirth preparation training;  (c) Childbirth preparation training only (control group).  Experimental groups participated in two individual music therapy sessions approximately three-four weeks prior to their expected delivery date.  Throughout labor, experimental subjects listened to subject-selected music.  Continuous, decibel-controlled music was transmitted directly to fetuses in Experimental Group #2.  Following delivery, experimental subjects participated in labor and delivery according to standard hospital procedures. 

Data analysis was based on duration of labor, medication dosage during labor, and fetal heart rate accelerations and decelerations.  Analysis of variance indicated that music had no significant effect on length of labor or fetal heart rate accelerations and decelerations.  Results from a Chi-Square analysis showed no significant differences between groups on the amount of medication received during labor.  Post-partum questionnaire responses indicated that all experimental subjects viewed music therapy-assisted childbirth as a positive experience and would use music for future childbirths.  It was concluded that further investigation is needed, with a larger sample, to explore and isolate both the physiological and psychological components involved in incorporating music therapy with childbirth.

Metzger, L. Kay.  Music Therapy in business and industry.  MMT,  RR, 1991.

This study explores the possibilities for the music therapist to become involved in company wellness programs or be part of the human resources programs by using music to alleviate boredom and monotony, increase group co-operation, affect the degree of activity, reduce stressful symptoms, and influence moods during the work day.  Many modern businesses are concerned about reducing employee absenteeism and increasing job satisfaction because of the changing job market and work environment and increased foreign competition.  The results of a questionnaire distributed to selected companies may help music therapists interested in working in business environments.  The researcher mailed 80 surveys to companies that wellness authors identified as having employee-centered management styles.  The surveys, along with an introductory letter, a small gift, and a return envelope, were sent to a targeted person, such as the wellness coordinator or the human resources manager.  Upon return, the surveys were analyzed to help answer the following questions: (1)  Is music used in the company?  (2)  If so, for what purpose--diversional, minor fringe benefit, or as an integral part of the health of the worker?  (3)  Are human resources managers or wellness directors aware of the services of music therapists?  The respondents revealed that although 100% of the companies offered benefits packages and over 50% of them rated their companies as above average in providing benefits, including wellness programs, none provided any music therapy services.  In addition, 48% of the wellness specialists or human resources specialists were not familiar with the field of music therapy.  It is clear from the survey that these companies do not use music therapy because they do not understand the benefits of music therapy and have not been educated as to its applicability to their company's needs.

The details of the survey analysis and demographics are revealed.  Further investigation is suggested.  The study also presents guidelines for beginning a marketing plan for using music therapy in industry.

Parker, Laura J.  The Relationship Between Personality Factors and Job Satisfaction in Public School Band Directors.  Ph.D. RER, 1991.

This study investigated relationships among selected personality factors and job satisfaction in 150 Maryland public school band directors (50 high school, 50 middle school, 50 elementary school).  Other objectives included determining which personality factor was the best predictor for job satisfaction, whether significant differences existed among personality factors for band directors at different levels of instruction, whether there was a significant difference among job satisfaction and the other personality variables at the different levels of instruction, and which BDJSM item best predicts the self-reported job satisfaction score (Item 21).

Anxiety was the only individual personality factor to significantly affect the job satisfaction total score and that only was at the middle school level.  The relationship was negative; therefore, increased levels of Anxiety resulted in decreased job satisfaction total scores.  As a set, the personality factors significantly affected the job satisfaction for the combined sample of band directors.

Significant differences in job satisfaction occurred between high, middle, and elementary school band directors.  The order of job satisfaction from most to least was elementary school, middle school, and high school.

As a set, the BDJSM Items had a significant effect on the self-reported job satisfaction at the high school and middle school levels of instruction, but not at the elementary school.  Agreement of role expectations with administration and curriculum, overwork, and emotional expression were significant predictors of high school job satisfaction.  For middle school band directors, optimism about the development of the music program was the only significant predictor, and agreement of role expectations with administration was the only significant predictor at the elementary school level.

1992

Hamersky, Dianne.  Motivational Factors Contributing to Continued Participation in High School Band Programs.  MME, GLD, 1992.

This study examined the motivational reasons students stay in band.  A number of studies address why students drop out of band.  Many have found a “lack of interest” among dropouts.  Few, however, gathered data on student’s motivational factors and their reasons for staying in band. The research questions for this study were:  (1) What extrinsic and intrinsic forces help keep the student in band, (2) What areas of band are the most interesting, from the student’s perspective, (3) What are the continuing student’s general perceptions and feelings toward music, learning, the teacher, and the class, (4) How was the instrument chosen and how does this affect why the student continues to enroll in band, (5) What are the student’s perceived sense of worth, individual progress, and capabilities in the music class, (6) How well does the student honestly and objectively expect to do in music, and (7) To what does the student attribute his success.

A pilot study of the questionnaire insured that the survey questions and instructions were easily comprehensible.  The pilot study involved several high school flute students of this writer.  These students completed the questionnaire and offered suggestions and improvements.

Main study subjects were high school Midwestern Music Camp participants.  Before camp began students and parents read and completed consent forms asking for their signatures to participate in this study.  At the dormitory during a floor meeting, the students completed the questionnaire.  Subjects did not include their names on the questionnaires; code marks identified individuals for subsequent interviews.  Students provided information about themselves and their family on the questionnaire and in the subsequent interview.  All information gathered from the subjects was reported with anonymity.  The subsequent interview gave an in-depth follow-up based on lack of responses on the questionnaire.

Through descriptive analysis involving measures of relationships, the results showed significant relationships between chair in band, importance of learning about music, relationship to the director, and staying in bank through high school and into college.  Grade level was found to be significantly related to enjoying the music played in band, needing credits for graduation, and band as an easy class.  There was a significant relationship between taking private lessons and the student’s love of music, between chair in band and the importance of travel for staying in band, and the amount of practice and learning about music.

There were significant differences on ratings of band being an easy class and how the students chose their instruments, but not on the student’s continued enrollment in band.  The student’s self worth increased with age, but not with practicing, a musical family, grade point average, or chair in band.  The students mainly attribute their success to their family, band director, and private teacher.  The higher the student is in their section and the more they practice the more likely the students plans to enroll in band in college.

Long, Lorraine Peery.  A Survey of Midwestern Preschool Directors’ Opinions Regarding the Use of Music Activities.  MME-MT, AAC, 1992.

The purpose of this study was to identify the opinions of preschool directors in a midwestern, metropolitan area concerning the value of music activities in their programs, to identify variables which influence the implementation of music activities in those preschools, to discover how many of the preschool programs have music curricula, and to describe the types of music activities these programs offer.  One hundred and fourteen surveys were mailed to randomly selected directors of preschools which were licensed, daytime care facilities that provided activity or learning programs for children between the ages of six weeks to five years old.  One hundred and seven surveys were returned for a 94 percent response rate.

Results showed that 82.1 percent of the preschools followed a learning theories approach.  Of these 61.3 percent used a combination of theories with theories of Montessori and Piaget indicated most frequently.  The preschools were flexible in the activities planned and implemented in their curricula.  The majority, 98.1 percent, included music activities in their programs and music activities were included daily.  These activities were presented by the entire preschool staff and only 3.7 percent reported a music specialist “on staff.”  The types of music activities included singing, action songs, finger plays and other motor movement experiences.  Music instruction was almost never offered.  The media for music activities most often included record players or audio cassette players.  These activities were directed by learning objectives in 74.8 percent of the cases and these objectives were designed to encourage fun and leisure along with social skill development and learning educational concepts.

Miller, Dawn McDougal.  The Effect of Music Therapy on the Immune and Adrenocortical Systems of Cancer Patients.  MME-MT, AAC, 1992.

Although the etiology of cancer is still unknown, it is generally accepted that most malignancies are caused by a combination of factors:  genetic, environment, psychological, and psychosocial.  Many authors have recommended the use of music as a therapeutic intervention to help cancer patients work through the emotional issues related to cancer diagnoses (Bailey, 1983, 1984; Cook, 1986; Siegel, 1986, 1989).  Although these authors have described the use of music therapy techniques for cancer patients, most lack supportive, empirical data.

The purpose of this study was to provide empirical data to examine the effectiveness of music therapy as a therapeutic intervention for cancer patients.  Twelve adult cancer inpatients participated in this study of the effects of music therapy on selected measurements of the immune and adreno-cortical systems.  Three dependent variables:  salivary IgA and cortisol levels, and a self-reported mood rating scale, were measured before and after 30-minute music therapy and videotape conditions.

Results indicated that the 30-minute music therapy session had no statistically significant effect on salivary IgA and cortisol levels.  A statistically significant increase in positive “happy” mood occurred as a result of the music therapy session.  A significant decrease was found in cortisol levels measured after the videotape, indicating that the videotape was not a true control condition.

Post hoc analyses demonstrated some interesting trends, which warrant further investigation.  Although the music therapy session was designed to encourage positive affect, several subjects cried during the music therapy session and expressed feelings of sadness related to their cancer diagnosis.  A comparison of means, although not statistically significant due to small sample size, showed that crying subjects had a large increase in the means of the IgA levels, while non-crying subjects had a large decrease in their cortisol levels.  Another factor which may have influenced results was singing versus listening.  The subjects who sang showed a large decrease in the means of their cortisol levels, while those who did not sing showed a large increase in IgA levels.  Recommendations for further research based on these trends are included.

Mosley, Sondra J.  The Effect of Specific Instruction in Audiation Upon The Musical Performance Skills of Beginning Wind Instrumentalists.  MME, GLD, 1992.

The study compared the performance skills of beginning band students who had used Edwin Gordon’s learning sequence activities as warm-up with the skills of students who used traditional band warm-ups such as long tones and scales.  The two treatment groups were balanced for socioeconomic and musical enrichment factors.  The subjects were fifth-grade beginning wind instrumentalists from four elementary schools.

Judges measured the effects of the two treatments on the performance achievement ratings of the four technical elements of tone, rhythm, articulation and correct notes.  Overall musical effect was also evaluated.  A mixed factorial analysis revealed that the Gordon exercises produced significant results in the technical score and musical effect.  The additional extra-curricular enrichment band rehearsal affected correct note and musical effect scores positively.  A multivariate analysis was used to test socioeconomic differences on technical scores.  This analysis (p = .03) suggested that the scores were somehow influenced by socioeconomic level; however, follow-up tests found no significant differences for any skills measured.

Further investigation is warranted based upon the following findings:  (1) Students using the Gordon warm-ups achieved significant results in less time.  (2) Gordon’s learning sequence activities were effective with students of widely differing performance abilities.  (3) The Gordon activities were effective regardless of the socioeconomic backgrounds of the students and is adaptable enough for use with at-risk students.

Moss, M. Thomas.  The Midwestern Music Camp, 1936-1962.  MME, GNH, 1992.

This study is a history of the Midwestern Music Camp from 1936 to 1962.  Its purpose is to describe accurately the events of the camp including:  (1) How was the first camp started?  (2) What was the camp structure and daily schedule?  (3) Who were the camp directors and guest conductors?  (4) What music selections were performed at concerts?  Information gathered for this study included pertinent material relating to the subject from The University of Kansas Archives; newspaper and journal articles; books, theses and dissertations; and personal interviews.  Russell L. Wiley began the Midwestern Music Camp at The University of Kansas in the summer of 1936.  Students in the six-week camp participated in band and/or orchestra, private lessons, music theory, and social-recreational activities.  Choir joined the camp in 1949.  Other subjects were added in the fifties and early sixties.  Wiley felt that hiring the best available guest conductors and staff was essential for the camp’s success.  Prominent conductors from all over the country worked as guest conductors at the camp.  The camp band, orchestra, and choir performed hundreds of concerts thus exposing students to the finest in musical literature.

Neth, Amy S. Crouse.  A Comparative Analysis of Method Books Used in the Private Piano Lesson.  MME, GLD, 1992

The purpose of this study was to examine and evaluate method books currently available for studio use by the private piano teacher.  The review and evaluation criteria and presentation format were derived through an analysis of existing literature and advice from a sample of certified piano teachers in the Kansas City area.  The teachers listed studio method books they were currently using or had used.  Their responses were merged with a list of methods currently stocked by leading comprehensive music stores.  Because current lists age rapidly, the consolidated list also included new methods which had just appeared on the market.  The combined list was then submitted to the teachers.  They were asked to indicate the methods on which they would like to have evaluation information, to suggest the method characteristics on which an evaluation would be helpful, and to specify what method characteristics would be most helpful in choosing an appropriate series for each student.  Existing literature was reviewed in context of these suggestions, an evaluation review format designed, and the method reviews were prepared. 

The study contains detailed reviews of the selected piano series using the checklist that was designed by the teachers themselves and their interests.  Lesson books, theory books, supplementary books and reviews of each are included.

Pennington, Carol Ann.  The Development and Adaptation of a Band Literature List for Utilization in the 1A High Schools in Kansas:  A Lecture-Recital.  MME, GLD, 1992.

This document describes a lecture-recital project.  The purpose of the lecture-recital was to develop, and perform examples of, a selected list of literature for small, unbalanced bands.  The list is a compilation of required music lists from ten states and the National Band Association.  The selected list for the lecture-recital includes titles appearing on six or more of these lists.  Directors of 1A size schools in Kansas responded to a survey about their band size, instrumentation and titles of music they performed.  A model band reflected the average size and instrumentation of a 1A band using the data from this survey.  During the recital the model band performed three pieces from the selected list.  The band performed each piece twice.  The first time through the band performed the piece using cross cues and minor rearranging of parts as needed to cover missing instruments.  The second time through the band performed the piece without any adaptation or alteration.  Twenty nine band directors in the audience evaluated the performance on (1) their familiarity with the music; (2) the aesthetic and educational quality of the music; and (3) their opinions on whether or not the selections were playable by small, unbalanced bands.  This lecture-recital project suggests that it is possible to create a list of worthwhile literature playable by a small, unbalanced band and that such a list would be useful to directors.

Robinson, Janet I.  Allan Eugene Aitken, His Life and Works.  MME, GNH, 1992.

Allan Eugene Aitken has made valuable contributions to the field of vocal jazz.  Aitken is currently Director of Jazz Studies and participates in a variety of music education activities at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), in Greeley.  His many experiences in both the United States and Germany helped to create and nurture a successful jazz program at UNC.  Aitken’s family, friends, and teachers were all tremendous influences on him.  Aitken chose a career in music education, and his existentialist philosophy helped him to create a style of teaching which draws people to him.  This philosophy and teaching style, which Aitken shares with his students, provides eagerness for his students to want to learn and makes his program an exciting, progressive part of many music education majors’ lives.  Aitken’s major accomplishments include inspiring his students to form two professional groups, The Axidentals and Sus 4.  The encouragement he gives to students regarding skill and preparation for their futures has been a building block for his students’ professional careers.  This investigation into Aitken’s career describes unique personality traits, philosophies, techniques, and talents that helped build the foundation of many promising vocal jazz programs in the United States.

Teixeira, Lisa A.  The Effects of Stimulative and Sedative Music on Length of Visual Attendance.  MME-MT, AAC, 1992.

This study examined the effects of stimulative and sedative music, defined according to Gaston’s (1951) definition, and no music conditions on length of visual attendance.  Relationships between preference for and familiarity of the music stimulus and length of visual attendance were also examined.  Visual attendance was determined by measuring the length of time subjects spent viewing ten slides of art works while listening to either stimulative or sedative music.  A control group viewed the ten slides without music.  Thirty music majors and thirty non-music majors from a midwestern university individually participated in the study.  Subjects were given the remote slide selector and instructed to “view the slides at their own pace.”  Results indicated that the sedative music condition yielded significantly longer viewing times than the no music condition.  The stimulative condition was not found to yield significantly different times although it did produce greater mean scores than the no music condition.  Preference and familiarity for the music stimulus did not appear to significantly affect subjects’ length of visual attendance.  It was concluded that length of visual attendance to pictorial stimuli may be significantly increased in the presence of sedative type music.

Warner, Phillip I.  A Comparison of the Influence of Daily Music Therapy Procedures on Selected Variables of Four Head Injured Clients:  Case Studies.  MME-MT, AAD, 1992.

The purpose of this study was to:  1) investigate the efficacy of music therapy as part of a transdisciplinary treatment team in traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation, 2) suggest music therapy procedures which positively affect or support recovery of TBI clients, and 3) determine types of music therapy procedures appropriate for different levels of TBI severity.  Four case studies were conducted.  Subjects were chosen to represent different types and severity of TBI, different levels of functioning, and varying lengths of time between injury and onset of treatment.  Eight to ten treatment objectives were targeted for each subject based on areas of strength and weakness as determined from music therapy assessments.  Objectives for lower functioning subjects addressed sensory awareness and gross motor skills.  Objectives for higher functioning subjects addressed cognitive and fine motor skills.  As subjects progressed, objectives and treatment procedures were modified to remain appropriate to their level of functioning. Pre-test data were collected for each of the objectives prior to treatment.  Treatment data were collected during daily, thirty-minute music therapy sessions and post-test data were collected after an objective was met or discontinued.  All of the subjects showed progress on the targeted objectives.  Music therapy’s role in the subjects’ progress was discussed in relation to spontaneous recovery and other therapeutic disciplines.  Each treatment procedure was evaluated to determine its specific applications to TBI rehabilitation.

Weyhrauch, W. David.  An Investigation of Outcomes-Based Evaluation Applied to a Seventh-Grade General Music Program.  MME, RER, 1992.

This study creates a manageable set of outcomes for seventh-grade general music students based upon guidelines established by the North Central Association’s Commission on Schools.  For each outcome various indicators have been developed and standards suggested.  Not all outcomes are equally amenable to measurement; some anonymous and group assessments were needed to help students focus on various aspects of cognitive and affective growth.  Subjects for this study were 114 students enrolled in a public junior high school (grades 7-9) of moderate size north of Topeka, Kansas.

Summative achievement for the 12-week course was evaluated on a music mastery exam.  It was hypothesized that success on this test instrument would not correlate reliably with prior achievement, family background, or gender. Estimated reliability on the 20-item test was determined by a split-halves procedure (rtt = .751).  Results were disaggregated to ensure equitable achievement for the three predetermined subgroupings.  A Music Enrichment Rating (MER) was created to analyze family background, based on student questionnaire data.  These ratings did not appear to correlate significantly (r = .402) with music test scores; neither did the sex of the test taker (r = .077).  Past math and verbal achievement as determined by SRA raw scores, however, did indicate a strong correlation (r = .821) with the music test and caused the hypothesis to be rejected.  Student achievement on the music test did not meet expected standards of 80% accuracy.  Delayed testing and a stressful test environment were thought to have contributed to the lower scores (X = 64%).

It was concluded that a summative evaluation for general music is incomplete when only paper-and-pencil questions are allowed.  This type of testing can efficiently examine the retrieval of facts and some problem-solving skills.  However, it cannot address many outcomes pertinent to this general music curriculum.

1993

Adams, Steven E.  The Effect of Jurren’s Methodology for Intonation Improvement on High School Clarinetists.  MME, AAD, 1993.

This study examined the effect of an often recommended methodology on the intonation improvement of high school clarinetists.  Twenty-nine high school and eight middle school students participated as subjects in this study.  Subjects were divided into three groups:  tutor, tutee, and control.  Tutors and tutees were paired for the study.  The tutee performed the chromatic scale over the full practical range of the clarinet while the tutor recorded intonation tendencies of the tutee’s performance.  A Korg AT-12 electronic intonation visualizer was used to evaluate the intonation performance of the tutee.  The tutee was then given feedback concerning their intonation by the tutor.  Methodological information was provided to tutor and tutee on how to improve the intonation of individual notes on the clarinet.  The control group was not involved in intonation improvement exercises.  A comparison of the three group’s intonation performance of three specific notes in nine melodic settings indicated no significant differences on any of the selected pitches.  It was concluded that this study did not support the use of the examined methodology.  The major implication of the study was that methodologies used in music education should be validated through both formal and informal study.

Albers, Jennifer L.  The Development and Field Testing of an Adaptive Pre-Piano Lesson Plan Series for Elementary Age Children with Mild Mental Retardation.  MME-MT, AAD, 1993.

The purpose of this study was to develop and field test an adaptive pre-piano lesson plan series for elementary aged children with mild mental retardation.  This series of lesson plans is intended for use before piano students begin any primer piano book.  The related areas explored in developing this piano program included the general learning characteristics of children with mild mental retardation, the musical characteristics of children with mild mental retardation, individual piano lessons compared to group lessons and existing piano methods to provide ideas in developing the lesson plan series.  A formal needs assessment was constructed and administered to determine a rationale for the piano program.  The majority of surveyed piano teachers indicated a need for adaptive piano materials for children with mild mental retardation.  Finally, actual piano materials were tested and revised.  Three students participated in the field testing of the program.  The students, ranging in age from seven to ten, are labeled with mild mental retardation. Students participated in weekly 45 minute small group piano instruction.  The students took part in various activities to promote learning about sitting at the piano, black and white key discrimination, pitch discrimination (high and low), tempo discrimination (steady beat, fast and slow), volume (loud and soft), piano technique (hand position, right and left hand discrimination and finger numbers), creative rhythmic movement, keyboard exploration and song acquisition.  Each lesson experience was presented with supplementary visual, aural or tactile association.  Informal evaluation of lesson plans occurred through instructor evaluations of each students’ progress on weekly lesson objectives and periodic evaluation through specific lesson plan experiences.  Formal evaluation occurred through an objective-referenced Piano Progress Inventory (PPI) which six qualified judges scored.  Results from informal evaluations indicated students were able to complete most lesson objectives independently or with minimal verbal prompts.  A Friedman chi-square demonstrated a significant reliability among scorers who rated students’ performances on the PPI.  Conclusions reached were that children with mild mental retardation were able to learn pre-piano skills in a small group setting.

Brinckmeyer, Lynn M.  The Effect of Varying Stimulus Timbres on Vocal Pitch Matching Accuracy of Selected Instrumentalists.   Ph.D., GLD, 1993.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not significant differences in pitch matching scores of nonsinger high school and college trumpet players, clarinet players, and pianists occurred in response to pitches played by their major performance instrument and two other timbres.  Another purpose was to determine if repeated performance on an instrument would influence pitch matching scores.  One hundred fifty high school and collegiate instrumentalists were categorized into three groups:  trumpet players (n = 53), clarinet players (n = 46), and pianists (n = 51).  The experimental task required participants to sing back nine individual pitches played by each of the instruments:  trumpet, clarinet, and piano.  Singing in tune, as measured by a Kay Elemetrics DSP Sona-Graph model 5500, was the dependent variable.  The independent variable was timbre, with levels of the trumpet timbre, clarinet timbre, and piano timbre.  Accuracy scores comparing each stimulus pitch with its consecutive response were calculated.  Means were figured for each subject for each timbre classification.  Data were analyzed by a two-way ANOVA (p < .01).  Findings revealed no significant differences.  A Pearson correlation revealed no significant correlation between years of experience on an instrument and pitch matching accuracy.  Heuristic findings showed that female subjects matched pitches more accurately than male subjects and subjects who played more than one of the instruments used for sound sources did not sing more accurate pitches than subjects who only played one instrument.

Kelly, Steven Nelson.  An Investigation of the Effects of Conducting Instruction on the Musical Performance of Beginning Band Students.  Ph.D. in M.E., RER, 1993.

This study investigated the effects of conducting instruction on beginning band students’ individual and group rhythmic performance, and group performance of legato and staccato musical styles, and phrasing and dynamics.  A second concern was to demonstrate that this instruction can be effective with different instructors in minimal rehearsal time.

One hundred fifty-one fifth grade beginning band students from eight schools were randomly assigned to experimental or control groups.  The writer and replicator (used to control for biases) were randomly assigned equal numbers of experimental and control bands.  Two groups of bands were used (1) bands which rehearsed three or less times per week, and (2) bands that rehearsed four or more times per week.  All individuals and bands were pre- and posttested.

During the instructional period, students in the experimental bands received basic conducting instruction two to three rehearsals per week, for ten-weeks, for ten minutes per class.  The instruction involved preparatory and cut-off gestures, beat patterns of four and three, and gestures of dynamics, legato, and staccato musical styles.  Students in the experimental bands conducted and performed warm-up material provided by the writer; the control bands received no conducting instruction, but were met and warmed-up by either the writer or the replicator.

Analyses of covariance demonstrated that individuals in the experimental bands improved significantly greater (p < .001) in their rhythm reading abilities than individuals in the control bands.  Bands in the experimental group improved their rhythm reading and phrasing abilities significantly greater (p < .01) than bands in the control group.  The conducting instruction was not effective in improving the experimental ensembles’ performances of dynamics, legato and staccato musical styles, and overall general performance.  The instructor and rehearsal amount variables were not significant for either testing groups.

The results suggests that beginning band students’ individual and group rhythmic abilities, and group phrasing abilities, may improve at a greater pace when exposed to conducting instruction.  This improvement can be accomplished in ten minutes or less and with different instructors.  The results further suggest that conducting instruction should be considered a viable teaching technique in an ensemble teaching strategy.

Kuribayashi, Fumio.  The Effects of Organized and Unorganized Pitch Structure on a Computer-Assisted Music Reading Task of Young Children.  Ph.D., AAC, 1993.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of pitch sequencing on the response durations among young children of different ages on the computer-based music reading task, FlashTest.  One hundred and twenty elementary school students were assigned to one of three groups according to their age levels and were asked to play the FlashTest after they learned to read the notes in one octave of the C major scale.  The study investigated the speed at which a child could recognize a music note, find the note name on a screen and click the corresponding button on the screen to identify the note.  This response duration was measured when music notes were presented randomly and when they were presented in a scaled sequence.  All subjects’ errors for random and scaled patterns were also recorded and analyzed.

The results indicated that age had a significant influence on subjects’ performances.  The subjects from the third, and oldest, group (x = 11 years, N = 40) identified music notes the most quickly and accurately with the fewest errors.  Their response durations were significantly shorter with the scaled patterns than with the random patterns.  Subjects from the second group (x = 9 years, N = 40) took significantly more time to perform in both the random and the scaled patterns than the older subjects and significantly less time than group one, the youngest subjects in this study (x = 7 years, N = 40).  Both the youngest subjects from group one and the midaged subjects from group two showed no statistically significant difference in response durations for the random and scaled patterns.  An error analysis indicated group two subjects had difficulties reading the higher notes, especially “a” and “c5,” in the C major scale.  The youngest subjects in group one performed poorly compared to subjects in the other two age groups.  These group one subjects had particular difficulties identifying the middle to higher notes in the C major scale.

Manthei, Mike.  A Comparison of the Relationships Among Preference for Melodic Devices, and Selected Demographic Variables of Elementary School Children and College Students.  Ph.D. in M.E., RER, 1993.

This study sought to (1) measure preference for melodic devices, (2) determine the effects of demographic and musical background variables on preference choices, and (3) evaluate the differences among elementary, high school, and college students.  Preferences of 950 Kansas, New Mexico, and Minnesota subjects were measured with a melodic preference test, developed specifically for this study, containing 48 items built from combinations of three modes of presentation (contrived, rhythmic, and musical) for four melodic devices (direction, finality, modality, and contour).

Multiple regression analyses revealed:  (1) No demographic or musical background variables accounted for preferences for any melodic device.  (2) Overall, the subjects preferred melodies with a descending over an ascending direction, skipwise over stepwise contour, and the presence of a leading tone.  (3) No clear preference for major or minor modality existed.  (4) There was a negative relationship between preference scores in general and age, which begins to curve in a positive direction in the high school sample.  (5) There was a positive relationship between preference scores in general and a classical music listening factor, which begins to curve in a negative direction at the higher levels of the factor.  (6) Preferences for particular devices become more pronounced as the groups become more homogeneous, either through sampling (as in the elementary subgroup) or education (as in the college subgroup).

Miller, Anne Meeker.  The Effect of Middle School Student/Choral Teacher Interaction and Other Factors on Enrollment Choice of Prospective Singers.  Ph.D., AAD, 1993.

This study examined the relationship between selected variables including middle school music teacher interaction and the enrollment choices of prospective singers.  The influence of prior acquaintance and experience with prospective secondary choral teachers upon student enrollment in middle school choral music was the primary factor under investigation.  Additional factors examined included student and teacher gender, school setting, middle school vocal teacher, school district, and whether students must choose between band and choir.  Subjects were drawn from intact classrooms of middle schools and junior highs in seven counties in Northeast Kansas which met specified criteria.  An original student questionnaire was designed to assess student reasons for vocal music enrollment and was administered to sixth or seventh graders currently enrolled in vocal music.  Cooperating vocal teachers of respondents were interviewed to gain information regarding their interaction (i.e. elementary visits, festivals, concert tours, correspondence with potential middle school participants) with prospective singers prior to enrollment.  On the basis of this information, canonical and multiple regression analysis were performed to determine the degree of relationship among criterion variables and questionnaire subscale scores characterizing different reasons for choosing to participate in vocal music.  The researcher obtained significant correlations among independent and dependent variables; four significant roots were identified, making it possible to characterize subjects groups on the bases of descriptive traits and subscale performance.  Factors including school setting, district, middle school vocal music teacher, student gender, and whether students had to choose between instrumental and vocal music were significant predictors of subscale measures.  Teacher interaction level was the only independent variable that was a significant predictor for all six subscales.  High teacher interaction scores were related to more favorable perception of middle school vocal music teachers and programs.

Terasaki, Yoko.  The Effect of Music and Exercise on Elbow Extension and Flexion in Elderly Care Home Residents.  MME-MT, AAC, 1993.

This study’s purpose was to investigate the effects of music and exercise on elbow extension and flexion in elderly care home residents.  Twenty-five subjects were assigned randomly to one of four groups: 1) control without exercise, 2) exercise with auditory stimulus from a metronome, 3) exercise with background music, and 4) exercise with rhythm instruments and background music.  The study lasted 8 weeks, and the subjects in experimental groups participate in a 30-minute music exercise program, three times weekly, 20 to 24 sessions.  The subjects in each group were pre- and posttested for elbow extension and flexion for both left and right arms.  A physical therapist measured the range of joint motion with a goniometer.

In experimental group 1, a metronome accompanied the exercise to set tempo and activity rate.  In experimental group 2, country music, matched to the metronome setting for experimental group 1, accompanied the exercise.  In experimental group 3, exercise using rhythm sticks, maracas and suspended drums was accompanied by country music, the same as that used in experimental group 2.

Multivariate (Pillalis) and univariate F-tests were calculated to determine the group effect, interaction of the group effect with the number of physical therapy sessions prior to the experiment, and interaction of the group effect with pretest for extension and flexion.  Although group effects did not differ significantly, the total mean scores indicated that extension and flexion for both left and right elbow improved in the experimental groups with treatment.  Consequently, music might serve to enhance adherence to exercise programs and might facilitate longer participation durations for elderly persons who do adhere to exercise programs.

Tsang, Rebecca Wan Nga.  Using Tone Chimes in Music Therapy for Children With Attention Deficit Disorder: An Exploratory Study.  MME-MT, GLD, 1993.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the effects of tone chime playing in a group setting by attention deficit disorder (ADD) boys on the following behaviors:  1) in-seated behavior, 2) decreasing fidgeting, 3) decreasing inappropriate talking, 4) increasing attention span, and 5) following through on specific verbal instruction.  This study also examined whether tone chime playing would have effects on ADD boys’ inappropriate behaviors across a ten-week period and whether there would be any difference between the data collected at the beginning of a session and at the end of the session.

A ten-week tone chime choir study was conducted in a midwestern state, suburban setting.  Subjects consisted of seven boys aged eight to ten and diagnosed with ADD.  They met twice a week for 40-minute sessions.  Subjects learned to play songs with their assigned tone chime(s) in a group setting.  Conducting the group was done by pointing, cueing, nodding, and giving facial expressions and eye contact.  Data were collected by using a video camera recorder to record all sessions.  Three trained observers then used an evaluation form to tally inappropriate behaviors exhibited by the subjects while observing recorded sessions.

Paired-t tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were employed to answer the research questions.  No significant differences were found between inappropriate behaviors exhibited during tone chime playing and no tone chime playing; overall data collected in the beginning of a session or at the end of a session under the tone chime playing condition; and the three segments of overall data that were collected across the ten-week study.  The only significant finding occurred between the last two segments of data collected during tone chime playing and no tone chime playing conditions.

Data collected from this investigation indicated that there was a wide range of variance among each session’s data.  Children with ADD behaved inconsistently from session to session which made each session unpredictable.  Standard deviations of the inappropriate behaviors exhibited by subjects from each sessions were also high helping contribute to the lack of significant results for the research questions.

Vittetoe, Mark E.  The Status of 3A and 4A High School Bands in Kansas.  MME, GNH, 1993.

This is a descriptive study of 3A and 4A band programs in the state of Kansas.  Band directors in sixty-one 3A schools and sixty-three 4A schools received a questionnaire concerning their band program.  The directors answered questions about instrumentation, band literature, performing ensembles, and rehearsal times.

The directors expressed a need for more instruments especially French horn, tuba, euphonium, trombone, oboe, and bassoon.  Band size ranged from a low of 10 members to a high of 109.  College band directors and music departments in Kansas also participated in a survey of instrumentation.  The high schools had instrumentation that closely resembled the colleges.  The directors identified many pieces of literature suitable for use with high school bands.  They listed some pieces that worked well with high school groups and some that they considered to be standard band literature.  Almost all schools offered concert and pep band experiences as part of their curriculum.  Ninety percent of the schools had marching bands, while nearly sixty percent had jazz ensembles.

All schools had class five days per week, and about eighty-nine percent had class periods that were forty-six to fifty-five minutes long.  About one-fourth of the schools had marching band rehearsals outside the school day.  Most 3A schools did not have summer rehearsals, while more than half of the 4A schools did.  Over ninety percent of the schools use class time for pep band rehearsal, but the frequency varied from daily to three times per year.  Adequate jazz ensemble rehearsal time was a problem for many directors.

1994

Goeke, R. Ed.  Responses Among Music Teachers and Principals in the State of Kansas Regarding Outcome-based Public Schools, Classroom Assessment and Related Curricular Topics.  MME, RER, 1995.

The purpose of this research was to examine and compare existing understanding of music education practices, as described by music educators and their principals, regarding curriculum guides or structure, evaluation methods, and topical issues such as:  The Kansas Board of Education’s Quality Performance Accreditation Plan (QPA) and Disciplined-based Arts Education.  The study also examined and compared attitudes of music educators and their principal son the above subject areas.  The data were collected via a mail sent-and-returned set of questionnaires to a randomly selected sample of 407 Kansas school district building principals and their chosen music teachers.

The results were probably biased because of a low return proportion of 40 percent.  A total of 164 teachers and 166 principals filled out the forms, returned them and the data were tallied and analyzed.  Awareness and understanding of the Kansas Board of Education’s QPA was present among most principals and, to a lesser degree, music teachers among those sampled.  Disciplined-based Arts Education (DBAE) is virtually unknown by music teachers and not much better known by principals.  Principals who were knowledgeable of DBAE appeared supportive of its comprehensive structure and ideals more often than teachers.  Teachers and principals alike generally supported and utilized their district-wide written music curricula.  Recommendations for further research included study and development of tools for evaluators measuring music instructional effectiveness in the classroom and a case study of the QPA plan’s effect on music education in a specific school district.

MacNay, Sterling Kenneth.  The Effect of Preferred-Music on the Perceived Exertion, Mood, and Time Estimation Scores of Patients Participating in a Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Program.  MME-MT, AAD, 1994.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of preferred-music on perceived exertion, mood, and time estimation of subjects exercising in a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program.  Detailed descriptive data, under the conditions of music and no-music, were collected over 15 sessions of an established exercise program for patients who had been diagnosed with some form of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD).  Sessions consisted of three 10-minute exercise segments separated by 15 second breaks.  Subjects alternated between exercising in a control (no-music) condition and an experimental (preferred-music) condition throughout the course of the 15 sessions.  Data, in the form of perceived exertion, mood, and time estimation scores were collected immediately prior to, and after, each exercise segment.  Results suggest that preferred-music listening may decrease perceived exertion, increase positive mood, and decrease estimations of time duration for some subjects.  Factors that may have influenced the results of this study were:  the environment of the exercise sessions, subject age, subject personality, and subject behavior.  Further investigation is needed to better determine the effect of music-listening as an external focus in an exercise program and whether music increases the probability of exercise program adherence.

Patterson, Stephen J.  A History of Music Education in the United States Military From 1775 to 1991.  MME, GNH, 1994.

This study is a history of music education in the United States Military from 1775 to 1991.  The author researched the following questions:  (1) What factors influenced the U.S. Congress to establish the Army Bandleaders school and enlisted music school during World War One?  (2) How was the initial bandleader program evaluated, expanded, and improved?  (3) How was band training different and similar among the military branches?  (4) How does military band training compare and contrast to collegiate level music education courses?  (5) What effects did military bands have on the civilian public during the eras of military conflicts and peacetime, and how did bandsman training enhance those effects?

The author conducted research through an examination of files at the Naval School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia, the Naval School of Music Historical Detachment at Fort Story, Virginia, the reference library of the Naval School of Music, holdings of the Kansas State Historical Society, Libraries of the University of Kansas, Washburn University, and the United States Marine Corps Band.  Additionally, the author conducted personal interviews with men and women currently and previously assigned to military bands and music schools.  This study explored music in the infancy of this country’s military and the influence of the armies and bands of the European immigrants.  In addition, the study focused on the impact of military music on soldiers, sailors, and the civilian populace.

1995

Davis, Shirley Anne.  The Effect of Selected Auditory Presentation Conditions of a Picture Song-Book on Preschool Children’s Word Recall.  MME-MT, AAD, 1995.

This study investigated the effectiveness of rhythmic, melodic, and story style lyric cues with and without visual prompts on preschool children’s ability to recall preselected vocabulary words contained in the text of the song and to investigate the effectiveness of a commercial product that contains visual and melodic cues as mnemonic strategies.  Seventy-two preschool children from six different day care centers in the Topeka, Kansas suburban area participated in the study.  The subjects ranged in age from three to six years.  The mean age was five years and included thirty-two females and forty males.  Subjects were presented at random one of three test presentation conditions.  Each subject listened to an audio-cassette recording containing either musical, rhythmic, or story-like text accompanied with or without visuals.  Subjects were asked to listen to the recording accompanied with or without visuals two times in succession. Immediately following the presentation of the text, two tests were administered to each individual.  The first test determined which of the preselected words the subject could recall freely.  The second test involved recalling the preselected word that came at the end of each sentence of the text or what is termed “clozure technique.”  A 2 (prompt presence or absence) x 3 (lyric conditions) factorial analysis of variance was used to compare the preschool children’s recall scores of the forty-eight preselected words during melodic, rhythmic, and story style lyric conditions with and without visual prompts.  In addition, treatment presentation conditions were compared with and without visual prompts.  Score 1 consisted of words remembered during free recall.  Score 2 consisted of words recalled using a clozure technique.

Results indicated a significant main effect occurred at the .05 level when visuals were used for score 2 (clozure technique), but not for score 1 (free recall).  Results from the cell means indicated that story-like text accompanied with visuals may enhance recall of words more effectively than text accompanied without visuals.  The melodic and rhythmic presentation conditions enhanced recall better without visuals than with visuals.  No statistical significance was found when visuals were not used during any of the three treatment conditions for either the free recall test or the clozure technique test.  Results suggest that commercially made picture songbooks may be an effective tool in the preschool classroom, but may not be the most effective means in enhancing recall of specific words.  How a song is organized, in addition to the quality of the visuals and subject matter, may influence how information is processed by a young child.  Parents, teachers, and others interested in determining what methods are appropriate for preschool-aged children to learn and retain information will benefit by continued research in this area.

Ebberts, Allison G.  The Effectiveness of Three Types of Music Therapy Interventions With Persons Diagnosed with Probable Dementia of the Alzheimer’s Type Who Display Agitated Behaviors.  MME-MT, AAC, 1995.

The purpose of this study was to compare the durations of active participation during drumming, movement, and singing interventions in a sample of severely regressed persons with probable dementia of the Alzheimer’s type.  All 24 subjects were diagnosed with severe dementia of the Alzheimer’s type and they met the criteria outlined in Reisberg’s stage 6 of the Functional Assessment Staging Instrument (FAST) for dementia.  In addition, all subjects exhibited numerous agitated behaviors that were assessed using the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory.

The subjects attended music therapy sessions bi-weekly for a total of nine weeks.  During the 30-minute sessions, three different music interventions were randomly presented in 10-minute segments. The interventions were:  1) rhythm instrument playing; 2) group singing; and 3) movement/physical exercise activities.  A video-based observational methodology was used to assess the duration of active participation throughout all sessions.  Frequency data were recorded every 30 seconds to determine whether the subjects were actively participating correctly, actively participating incorrectly, or engaged in off-task behaviors.

Results indicate that this population’s duration of correct active participation was far greater during both drumming and movement interventions.  The duration of correct active participation during singing interventions was the lowest.  Therefore, this researcher suggests that persons with probable dementia of the Alzheimer’s type respond to structured music interventions.  It appears that these types of applications allow severely regressed persons to engage in purposeful activities and experience success.

Marlow, Jeffrey R.  Arkansas High School Bank Directors’ Attitudes Toward Band Contests Within the Educational System.  MME, CMJ, 1995.

Attitudes of Arkansas high school band directors toward band contests were researched using the Attitudes Toward Band Contests Survey (ATBCS), an adaptation of the Band Interest Survey used by Burnsed, Sochinski and Hinkle (1983).  These attitudes were compared using variables of school size, size of band, years of teaching experience, and past performance ratings at band contests as reported by the subjects.

Results indicated that of the variables considered in this study, school classification had no effect on the outcomes; differences in attitude were found on four of the nineteen statements with regard to size of band and years of teaching experience.  Directors’ previous ratings yielded most of the study’s significant differences, concerning attitudes toward five of the nineteen statements.

Conclusions state that although there were small differences between directors’ opinions concerning nine of the nineteen statements included in the ATBCS, differences were limited.  The researcher concluded that although previous ratings seem to have the strongest influence in forming attitudes attitudes or opinions about contests are individual.

Otto, David William.  The Effect of Silence, Background Music, and Noise on On-Task Behavior with Behavioral Disordered Children.  MME-MT, AAC, 1995.

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of background music, household fan noise, and silence on the on-task behavior with children with behavior disorders.  Subjects were two female and six male volunteer preadolescents, who ranged in age from 7 to 11 years.  The subjects were classified as Behaviorally Disordered by a Public School District in the Midwest.  An ABAC-ABAC within-subjects design was used to evaluate the effect of background music, fan noise, and silence on the dependent variable, on-task behavior during a hand-writing assignment.  Data were analyzed using graphic analysis and analysis of variance within-subjects design.  Results supported a facilitative effect for background music on on-task behavior.  Silence and household fan noise had no significant effect on on-task behavior.  Implications of the results are discussed.

Peterson, Eric Alan.  The Future and Value of Brass Bands in America.  MME, CMJ, 1995.

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the opinions of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) members and the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) members regarding the educational and musical value of the British brass band ensemble in American music education.  Questionnaires were sent to two-hundred fifty subjects. Two hundred twenty-eight subjects were randomly selected from the membership directory of the (CBDNA).  Twenty-two available subjects from the (NABBA) were surveyed.  A questionnaire was designed to acquire information regarding knowledge of existing brass bands and current practices of American brass bands.  The questionnaire was also designed to gather opinions regarding the educational and musical values of brass band performance.  Several subjects suggested that the brass band is an educational and musically challenging ensemble for any level of brass performer, but does not meet all the standards and objectives of the ideal performance medium for American music education.  A majority of subjects suggested that a brass band could be an ideal community-based performance opportunity for amateur musicians.  Many subjects indicated a knowledge of the music making opportunities the brass band presented British amateur performers, but felt that the competitive aspect of the British brass band movement detracted from its musical effectiveness.  Results also indicated that many subjects were not aware of current sources of information pertaining to the American brass band movement.

Rives, James Allen.  Hosea E. Holt, 1836-1898:  Public School Music Supervisor, Teaching Method Innovator, and Normal School Professor.  PhD, GLD, 1995.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and report the life and accomplishments of Hosea E. Holt (1836-1898) who supervised music in the Boston Public Schools for three decades.  Its goal was to understand the past, explain the present and possibly anticipate the future of the profession of music education.  It used the historical research method to answer five questions regarding the work of Hosea E. Holt (1836-1898) as a Supervisor of Music, a Professor of Normal Methods, and as the originator of a method of teaching the sight reading of music.  Holt was also involved in producing public school music textbooks.

The first research question concerned Holt's childhood, youth and young manhood, and considered his musical training and experiences.  The second research question considered Holt's 30 year career as a supervisor of music in the Public Schools of Boston, Massachusetts.  The third research question dealt with Holt's role in the publication and adoption in the Boston Schools of his Normal Music Course textbooks which were first published in 1883.

The fourth research question considered Holt's method of teaching music.  The fifth research question inquired into Holt's teacher training work as a professor of Normal Methods.  The answers to these research questions presented the essential events of the life and works of Hosea Edson Holt (1836-1898) as a music teacher, innovator of teaching methods, and trainer of teachers.

Hosea E. Holt was employed as a music supervisor in the Boston Public Schools from 1868 until his death in 1898.  From 1879 until 1898 he was involved in developing, publishing, and obtaining adoptions for his Normal Music Course books which were actually written by John Wheeler Tufts.  Holt was also an important figure in music teacher training and one of the early "Professors of Normal Methods for Music Teachers."  Holt's era could be termed the second generation of public school music education.  This period saw the development of methods of teaching music and an emphasis on sight reading skills.

Selzer, John Jay.  The Comparative Effect of Aural Modeling, Oral Instruction, and Silent Study on Students' Performance of Appropriate Jazz Style.  MME, CMJ, 1995.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of oral instruction and aural modeling as teaching techniques on high school jazz band students' performance in appropriate jazz style.  Previous research reports aural modeling as an effective teaching technique.  However, studies that analyze directors' use of rehearsal time indicate that school music teachers tend to favor oral instruction.  Subjects (N=51) were enrolled in a jazz band in three large midwest high schools.  Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups:  silent study (control), oral instruction, or aural modeling.  Individual subjects were tape-recorded performing short musical phrases prior to and following treatment.  A panel of experts assigned ratings for appropriate jazz style to each performance.  Pretest and posttest scores were compared within each treatment group.  Results showed that although subjects improved from pretest to posttest in all three treatment groups, the aural modeling group had the only statistically significant increase in scores.  Results of this study appear to indicate that aural modeling is a more effective technique than silent study or oral instruction for teaching appropriate jazz style to high school students.

Smith, Emily A.  Introducing Flutes of the World to Elementary Students Through Young Audiences:  A Multicultural Approach.  MME, GLD, 1995.

The purpose of this study was to create and evaluate a program of multicultural flute music and to audition it for the Kansas City Chapter of Young Audiences, Inc.  The focus of the program was to introduce fourth- and fifth-grade students to flutes and music from around the world and to enhance their skills in world geography.

The program featured a variety of flutes:  ocarinas, tin whistles, a bamboo flute, and a fife, as well as the modern C flute, piccolo, and alto flute.  The performers used a world map to aid the students in locating the countries of origin of the music and instruments.  The students' world geography and listening skills were developed and tested with a quiz game in which they were asked to identify the names of countries and instruments in order to solve clues to the whereabouts of a missing crystal flute.

The students were also introduced to folk music and western music inspired by folksongs and folk legends.  This activity served to enhance the students' awareness of the importance of music to cultures the world over and its influence on modern composers.

The teacher and students filled out evaluation forms at the conclusion of the program.  The evaluations were very positive.  The students were enthusiastic in their responses to each segment of the program.  The teacher in attendance wrote that the program was successful in relating the material to geography lessons the students had studied and to music they had covered in class.

The activities that the students most liked were those in which they participated.  Many students commented that they did not like the end of the program; this was a segment in which the performers played modern music inspired by folk music.  As a result of these comments and review of the videotape of the performance, a few changes were deemed necessary before auditioning the program for Young Audiences.  These include changes in program order, length of segments, and better review of the concepts presented.  This project was valuable in providing a trial performance of the program.

Snead, Ann Pendelton.  The Effect of Computer-Assisted Instruction on Students’ Ability to Read Rhythms.  MME, CMJ, 1995.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of computer-assisted instruction on music students’ rhythmic reading ability.  The influx of technology into the classroom has affected every area of education and will undoubtedly continue to be a major influence in our society.  Subjects (N = 66) in this study were introduced to the computer program Basic Rhythmaticity (Matheny, J., Matheny, R., and Matheny, A., 1994) through a teacher demonstration.  They were then pretested on the computer program, matched according to their computer generated scores, and assigned to either the experimental or control group.  Subjects in the experimental group worked on their rhythmic reading proficiency by using the program in timed sessions.  Each subject began on the same level, but progressed through the instruction at their own pace.  Subjects in the control group continued rehearsing normally, without any special intervention.  After all subjects in the experimental group had completed ninety-six (96) minutes of practice (divided into twelve sessions), all subjects were posttested.  Results of the posttest scores revealed a significant difference in the performance of the experimental and control subjects.  Subjects’ rhythmic reading scores in the experimental group improved significantly from pretest to posttest.  Implications of the study reflect the value of carefully considered computer-assisted instruction in the music classroom.  Suggestions for successful implementation of computer-assisted instruction into the large ensemble rehearsal model are made.

Sneath, William Alan.  The Effect of Performer Identity on Inner City Children's Preferences for Classical Vocal Selections.  MME, AAD, 1995.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of performers' identity on inner city children's music preference ratings for classical vocal excerpts.  Experimental and control group differences were examined on the basis of performer identity, gender identity, and racial identity.  One hundred and fifty-five students enrolled in general music classes at an inner city art magnet school served as subjects.  Subjects were from third, fourth, and fifth grade classes randomly assigned to control and experimental groups.  Subjects included both African American and Caucasian students.  Control subjects rated their preferences for vocalists after listening to the 22 classical musical excerpts.  Treatment subjects rated their preferences after both listening and viewing an 8" by 10" black and white photograph of each artist.  Results of the study revealed that for 21 of the 22 excerpts, subjects in the treatment group assigned a higher preference rating.  Of these 21 excerpts, 12 were rated significantly higher.  These data indicate that performer identity had a significant effect on treatment group preference ratings for over 50% of the vocal excerpts.  Gender and race identity data indicate that the performer's gender and race had no effect on treatment group preference ratings.  Implications for music educators are given.

1986

Angevine, Brian G. " Dear Pop," A biography of Edgar B. Gordan.  Ph.D. GNH, 1986

Edgar B. Gordon was a prominent music educator from 1915 until his death in 1961.  He contributed leadership to the Music Supervisors National Conference and brought innovation to the style, method, and content of music education.  The promotion of amateurism and altruism occurred in everything he did, and, through his engaging personality, he influenced the lives of large numbers of students.

This biography described Edgar Gordon's life, the influences on his development, and his influence on others.  A general overview of Gordon's life, research question, and a review of the literature occurs in Chapter One.  His heritage and early career are explored in Chapter Two.  Information is included about Edgar's father, Louis M. Gordon, Edgar's schooling in Winfield, Kansas and Chicago, his early social work career, and return to music education in Winfield.  Chapter Three details Gordon's move to the University of Wisconsin and his work in radio music education.  His contributions to the MSNC including the Education Council, the first National High School Orchestra, the biennial plan of meetings, promoting ethnic music groups, the first instrumental clinic sessions, and accreditation for high school music courses.  The personal qualities that made Edgar Gordon unique are disclosed in Chapter Five.

Most of the research for this biography was done in the archives of the University of Wisconsin.  Gordon's papers and papers relating to radio station WHA are housed at the Wisconsin State Historical Society.  One of the most helpful documents was Gordon's autobiography.  Former colleagues and students, and Roderick D. Gordon (son) added personal details through interviews and correspondence.

Howard, Nancy.  Effects of sedative music and applied relaxation training on anxiety levels of female college students. Ph.D. MT. AAC, 1986.

The purposes of this study were: (a) to investigate the main and interactive effects of applied relaxation training (ART) versus no training and sedative music versus no music on state and trait anxiety; and (b) to study the relationships between several variables (expectancy for improvement, satisfaction with treatment, and amount of practice) and post-treatment anxiety.

Fifty-four female college students were assigned in a modified random manner to four groups: (a) ART plus sedative music (n+14), (b) wait-list control (N=14), (c) ART only (N=12) and (d) sedative music only (N=14).  The ART treatment consisted of a self-control rationale, relaxation training with instructions for in vivo application, and homework practice assignments.  The sedative music treatment involved a passive rationale, sedative music listening, and homework practice assignments.  Sedative music was chosen through an independent consensus rating process.  The ART plus sedative music treatment was identical to the ART treatment except that the rationale was expanded to include the role of music and the relaxation exercises were accompanied by background sedative music.

The dependent variables were the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory--Form Y and the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List.  When completing the state form of each measure, subjects were asked to rate how they felt while taking a 24-item performance test under conditions conducive to increased threat of negative evaluation.

Three separate two-way multivariate analyses of covariance were performed.  No significant main or interaction effects were found overall or separately for state or trait anxiety.  One-way analyses of variance among the three treatment conditions indicated no significant differences among the groups in expectancy for improvement, satisfaction with treatment, or amount of practice.  Significant negative correlations between post-test trait anxiety and satisfaction with treatment were found.  A significant negative correlation between amount of practice and one post-test state anxiety variable was also found.

Stephens, Julia.  Melodic discrimination skills of older adults:  familiar versus unfamiliar melodies.  MMT, ACG, 1986.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of familiarity on the melodic discrimination abilities of older adults.  Subjects (n=57) were volunteers from a large midwestern retirement community over the age of 65.  Eighteen pairs of melodies were presented to the subjects.  One-half of the melodies were familiar and one-half were unfamiliar.  In addition, the second melody of each pair was either identical to or different from the first melody.  Subjects were asked to indicate if the second melody was exactly the same as or different from the first melody in the pair.  They were also asked to rate how familiar they were with each melody using a four-point Likert scale.

A repeated-measures MANOVA indicated a significant (p<.001) main effect for familiarity.  The subjects performed better when the music was unfamiliar.  There was also a significant (p<.001) interaction effect, which did not allow direct interpretation.  The test did not prove reliable for this group.

Weideman, Debra Ann.  Effect of Reminiscence and Music on Movement Participation Level of Elderly Care-Home Residents.  MMT, AAD, 1986.

The purpose of the present study was to explore the addition of reminiscence activity as a possible motivator for elderly care-home residents' participation in music-movement programs.  Thirty-three subjects of two comparable nursing homes were randomly assigned to a music/movement, music/movement/reminiscence, or movement only group for twelve sessions.  The treatment program consisted of movement sequences designed to increase flexibility and range of motion. The length and content of the movement sequences for all groups and the selected music employed in the treatment groups' sessions remained the same throughout the study.  The music/movement/reminiscence group experienced brief reminiscence discussions prior to each movement session.  Data indicating the movement participation level for each subject were recorded.  A one-way analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in the movement participation levels among groups.  Results and observations derived from the present investigation are consistent with the following premises discussed in the literature: (1)  Motivation is highly individual.  There is seldom any one factor or technique which proves to be motivating for an entire group.  (2)  Reminiscence is an enjoyable activity for many elderly persons.  (3) Music helps supply rhythm and structure for physical movement.  (4) Both music and reminiscence may aid in creating a state of alertness in elderly care-home residents.

1987

Barrett, Gene L.  The historical development of drum and bugle corps with a focus on Kansas.  MME,. JWG, 1986

The purpose of this study is to trace the historical development of drum and bugle corps and to discover their origins, their purposes, and their evolution.  Since the drum and bugle corps style of marching has been implemented by many current high school band programs, this study provides a background of knowledge through which instrumental music directors can better understand the development and role of drum and bugle corps in the total band program.

This study involved investigating the origins and history of drum and bugle corps, studying the history and evolution of drums and bugle corps in the state of Kansas, and taking an in-depth look at the history and activities of the Horton, Kansas, Drum and Bugle Corps.

Information was gathered by consulting available published materials concerning the subject and by personal contacts with many people who had been or are presently involved with drum and bugle corps activity in Kansas and throughout the United States.

The study concludes that drum and bugle corps have a military heritage that can be traced to ancient civilization.  More specifically, they evolved from European field music brought to America by British soldiers during the American Revolution.  From 1767 until World War I, drum and bugle corps existed in the United States as part of the military and also existed outside the military.  They were organized on a wider scale after World War I by groups such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).  These veterans organized and participated in the early drum and bugle corps as a continuation of their military training, as a continuation of the comradeship formed during military service, as a manifestation of their pride in their military service, and as an expression of patriotism.  Drum and bugle corps activity gradually strayed from their military ties and came to exist for competition's sake.  The activities and methods of marching and maneuvering became more complicated and innovative, and brought with it controversy over the rules and regulations and the judging of competitions.  This eventually brought about the formation of Drum Corps International (DCI) which since 1972 has become the principal service organization for drum corps activity.  The study of drum and bugle corps in Kansas, including the study of the Horton Drum and Bugle Corps, parallels the history and activities of drum and bugle corps throughout the nation.

Evans, Frederick L.  Development and Evaluation of a Clarinet Method for Young Beginning Students.  MME, JWG  1987.

This study describes the development and evaluation of a beginning clarinet method for fourth, fifth, or sixth grade students, incorporating visual, aural, and physical stimulation of the senses to gain understanding of the concepts presented;  good explanatory text; large printing; sequential learning concepts; rhythm techniques; and games.  The subjects, nine fifth grade student and one seventh grader received a half hour private lesson for a five week experimental period over the first two units of the developed method.  A written pretest and posttest was administered along with a comparison of the mean scores.  Significance was found using a t test (p value < .001).  Specific behavioral objectives observed demonstrated the concepts presented.  A performance test was administered and judged by a college clarinet professor and two band directors whose major instrument is clarinet.  The performance test demonstrated the subjects to have a 57.93 percent mean  accuracy.  The method proved to be acceptable for the time period allotted it.

Lessly, Chris A.  The effect of time-based and quantity-based practice methods on the musical performance of beginning band students.  MME, JWG, 1987.

The purpose of this study was to compare two approaches to structuring effective home practice time of fifth grade beginning band students.  The two methods investigated were the time-based practice method, directing students to practice their instrument for a specified amount of time; and the quantity-based practice method, instructing students to practice a given assignment a specified number of times.

Forty-five fifth grade students (average age of ten) enrolled in the beginning band program served as subjects.  Band students from three elementary schools were assigned to three groups, 15 in each group.  A control group was designated to receive no specific directives with regard to practice time.  Two treatment groups were each instructed to utilize a time-based or quantity based practice method.

A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) on playing performance posttest means revealed no significant difference among the two treatment groups at the .05 level.  The analysis of variance did indicate a significant difference among the posttest means of the control group and the time-based group at the .05 level.  The control group posttest means were significantly higher than those of the time-based group.  The data indicated no significant differences between the control group and the quantity-based group.

A student questionnaire pertaining to music background was completed by all subjects.  The questionnaire's purpose was to determine if any factors other than classroom instruction and home practice influenced the playing performance of the subjects.  Results indicated that a higher percentage of control group subjects (33%) received private lessons on their instrument than did the quantity-based (14%) or the time-based method (0%).  The quantity-based group had a higher percentage (50%) of the students taking piano lessons than did the control (46%) or time-based method (15%).

It was concluded that greater gains are not achieved by implementing a time-based or quantity-based home practice method.  Private lessons are a positive influence on the performance abilities of a beginning band students.

Levi, Alison J.  The effects of job burnout on music therapist.  MMT, ACG, 1987.

The purpose of this study was to describe job burnout in a sample of 204 music therapists.  The degree of burnout was determined for individuals, as well as the degree to which they, and their place of employment, have utilized the burnout prevention and intervention techniques listed in the literature.

A three-part questionnaire was sent to 500 music therapist, randomly selected from the 1984 membership directory of the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT).  Part 1 elicited descriptive information, such as: age, number of years in the field, number of clients served weekly and amount of time spent weekly in direct client contact.  Part 2 was comprised of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1981), which determined the degree to which each individual music therapist was burned out.  Part 3, developed by the author, determined the degree to which individuals, and their places of employment, utilized burnout prevention/intervention techniques.

This sample of music therapists were found to have extremely low degrees of job burnout.  In addition, individuals and their places of employment, were utilizing many of the burnout prevention/intervention techniques.

A number of variables were found to correlate highly with burnout as defined by Maslach and Jackson (1981).  These include: working under high-stress conditions, which correlates positively with emotional exhaustion;  having reenergizing vacations which correlated negatively with emotional exhaustion and individual burnout scores; and satisfaction with client progress, which correlates negatively with depersonalization and individual burnout scores.

Several reasons may account for the low burnout scores found in this sample.  First, burned out music therapists who received this questionnaire, may have been too apathetic to complete and return it.  Second, music therapists may be less prone to burnout than other helping professionals described in the literature.  Third, prevention and intervention techniques are effective in combating burnout.

Miller, Kathy L.  A comparison of single and multiple-concept instruction on the ability of third graders to identify music concepts.  MME, AAD, 1987.

The purposes of this study were to: 1) determine the effect of single versus multiple-concept instruction on the ability of third grade students to recognize musical concepts in unfamiliar music and 2) to determine whether the concept of tone color, melody, dynamics, rhythm, meter, or form was most easily discriminated by third grade students.  Eighty-six third-grade students served as subjects.  Five intact classrooms were randomly assigned to a control group and two treatment groups receiving single-concept and multiple-concept instruction.  Each group was pre- and posttested on the concepts of tone color, melody, dynamics, rhythm, meter and form using the 1985 silver Burdett Music "What Do You Hear?" recorded evaluations and test sheets.  One composition per week was used during a six-week treatment period.  Single and multiple-concept instruction on the six compositions followed the "Guidelines to Listening" outlined in the RCA Adventures in Music, Grade Three record collection.

An analysis of covariance (ANOCOVA) on posttest means revealed a significant difference among the three groups.  A T-test for individual groups comparing pre/posttest total scores revealed that only treatment group two receiving multiple-concept instruction scored significantly higher on the posttest then on the pretest.

On both the pretest and the posttest the concept of dynamics was most easily discriminated and the concepts of meter and form were the most difficult to discriminate.  It was concluded that a multiple-concept approach increases students' capacity to transfer discrimination abilities on the concepts of meter and form that recontact with previously learned concepts in different listening settings and strengthens students discrimination abilities.

Oyer, Marsha L.  Development and trial of music handbook for the non-musically trained kindergarten teacher. MME, GLD, 1987.

The purpose of this study is the development and trial of a music handbook for the "non-musically" trained kindergarten teacher.  The handbook deals with rhythm and rhythmic movement, listening and singing activities, and creativity in all aspects of music for each month of the school year.

Four kindergarten teachers in four elementary schools of various ethnic and social settings participated in the project.  The field testing took place over a three month period to gather evaluative, formative, and summative data on results for the use of a musical handbook by "non-musically" trained kindergarten teachers.

Scott, Lori Denise.  R. Ritchie Robertson:  His influence on music education and community music.  MME, GNH, 1987.

R. Ritchie Robertson's (1869-1939) contributions to the advancement of music education encompassed five decades and spanned two continents.  His experience in Scotland served as a foundation for establishing music programs in Paola, Kansas and Springfield, Missouri.  His major achievements for the advancement of music education were:  the building of a successful music curriculum, the organizing and leadership of the largest Boy Scout Band in the world, and the organization of a Scottish Drum Corps for women, the Scotch Lassies.  Roberson was also a composer of band and choral pieces.  Three of his compositions are reviewed "Hearts Who Tried May Still Be True", "The Laddies From Missouri", and "The Blue Bonnett March".

In addition to his other contributions, Robertson was active in the Music Educators National Conference.  He served as executive vice-president of the Southwestern Conference for the 1935-36 year.  In 1935, Robertson was instrumental in organizing the Southwest Conference meeting held in Springfield.

Robertson's contributions are still evident in Springfield.  His establishment of an active school music program eventually led to his son, James, organizing the Springfield Symphony.  The Scotch Lassies drum corps for women has grown to five different corps.  The are:  The Hillcrest Highlanders, Parkview Lassies, Kickapoo Bonnie Buchanans, Central Kilties, and Glengarry Scotts.  Robertson's work has not gone unnoticed.  In 1986, the Missouri division of the MENC nominated Robertson to the Missouri Music

Educators' Hall of Fame.  His contributions to the musical growth of the community and public schools stand as an inspiration to all music educators.

Smith, Pamela Kay.  The effect of vocal, tone bar, and vocal/tone bar methods on grade school children's aural and visual identification of selected melodic intervals. MME, AAD, 1987.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of syllable singing instruction tone bar instruction, and a combination of the two methods on school children's aural and visual identification of five selected intervals.  The intervals tested were the major second, the minor third, the perfect fourth, the perfect fifth, and the octave.

One hundred twenty-five third and fourth grade students served as subjects.  Intact classes were randomly assigned to the three treatment groups.  During 30-minute class periods, each treatment group was given instruction on each of the five intervals for three sessions, making a total of fifteen sessions.

An analysis of variance (ANOVA) on aural and visual pretest means revealed no significant differences among grade levels in each of the three groups, and no significant interaction between grades and groups.  The Newman-Keuls Multiple Range Test revealed a significant difference between the tone bar treatment group and the syllable singing and combination treatment method groups.  A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) on visual posttest means revealed no significant differences among the three treatment groups.  There was a significant difference among grade levels which resulted in a significant interaction effect.

Combined group pretest and posttest scores for aural and visual recognition revealed significantly higher means for visual recognition.  It was concluded that the aural identification of intervals is more difficult than the visual identification of intervals.

Results also revealed that the interval most easily identified aurally was the  minor third.  The interval most easily identified visually was the octave.  Greater gains were noted with the intervals of the third and fourth in the tone bar treatment group on the aural posttest.  IT was concluded that instrumental training using tone bars is an effective intervention in developing aural and visual interval recognition.

Watson, Teresa Jean Hundley.  Effects of guided model, model only, and guide only on the individual vocal performances of secondary students.  MME, GLD, 1987.

This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of three instructional modeling conditions on the vocal performance of secondary students.  A control group, receiving no receiving no treatment was included to further define the effects of the three modeling techniques.  Independent variables were 1) guided model, a combination of aural and verbal illustration;  2) model only, an aural illustration only;  3) guide only, a verbal illustration only; and 4) the no treatment group, receiving no specific instruction.  Dependent variables were vocalists' tempo, dynamic interpretation, accurate rhythm, correct pitches and precise diction.

Forty-eight secondary students, grade seven through eleven, were randomly assigned one of the treatment areas.  Each subject was given five minutes to listen to their respective illustration tape and study Sieber vocalize #4, Op. 93.  Student performances of the vocalize were taped immediately following instruction.  Three judges evaluated the students' performance and average (mean) scores were computed.  Analysis of the data concluded that significant difference occurred in the model only group when rhythm was the dependent variable being evaluated.  However, a very strong pattern was established which repeatedly evidenced the model only group as the most successful in performance, followed by guide model, guide only, and no treatment.  It was conjectured that modeling provided a basis for higher scores in actual performance situations.

1988

Beck, Meg Elizabeth.  A survey of Midwestern general hospital administrator's opinions regarding music therapy.  MMT, AC, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to determine the opinions of midwestern general hospital administrators regarding music therapy and to determine what percentage of these hospitals include music therapy in their treatment programs.  Also, the study attempted to identify the factors which excluded music therapy programs.  A questionnaire was developed and disseminated to stratified random sample of 150 general hospital administrators from small, medium, and large hospitals. Results were determined from the information provided by the 78 (52%) questionnaires that were returned.  Analysis of the data identified nine (12.5%) hospital administrators who had music therapy in their hospitals.  Overall, responses regarding hospital administrators' opinions were conservative, yet leaned toward a positive response regarding music therapy goals, uses, purposes and identification of appropriate patients.  Significant differences among small, medium, and large general hospital administrators' opinions were seldom beyond the .05 level of confidence.  While the majority of administrators (n=41, 60%) indicated having heard of music therapy previously, there is a need to further educate general hospital administrators regarding music therapy.  Likewise, there is a need to promote the profession of music therapy with this administrative population.  Results of this study may be used in aiding those music therapists in the general hospital job market.

Bergee, Martin J.  An application of the facet-factorial approach to scale construction in the development of a rating scale for euphonium and tuba music performance.  Ph.D., JWG, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to construct and validate a rating scale for the evaluation of euphonium and tuba performance.  A facet-factorial approach to scale construction was employed in developing the rating scale.

In the preliminary phase, statements descriptive of euphonium-tuba performance were gathered from essays, adjudication sheets, and previous research.  A content analysis of these materials yielded 112 statements, which were translated into items and paired with a five-option, Likert-type scale.  The resulting item pool was used by 50 judges to evaluate 100 euphonium and tuba performances.  The obtained data were factor analyzed, initial orthogonal factors were extracted, and the structure was rotated to a terminal solution.  Five factors were identified, and 30 items were chosen to define the subscales of the Euphonium-Tuba Performance Rating Scale (ETPRS).

To examine the stability of the ETPRS structure, and to obtain data for interjudge reliability and criterion-related validity, three panels of judges rated three sets of 10 different euphonium and tuba performances using the ETPRS.  The data obtained were factor analyzed and the ETPRS was revised to a four-factor structure.  The four factors identified for the revised ETPRS were (a) Interpretation/Musical Effect, (b) Tone Quality/Intonation, (c) Technique, and (d) Rhythm/Tempo.  Interjudge reliability estimates for the revised ETPRS total scores were .944, .985, and .975 for the three groups of judges respectively.  Reliability estimates for subscales ranged from .894 to .992.

Two studies examined criterion-related validity of the revised ETPRS.  In the first, revised ETPRS evaluations were compared with global ratings obtained via a magnitude estimation procedure.  Zero-order correlation coefficients between revised ETPRS total scores, subscale scores, and global criterion scores ranged from .502 to .992; most were above .850.  To examine the contributions of the subscale scores in predicting the global criterion, a multiple regression analysis was performed.  In the second criterion-related validity study, the MENC adjudicating ballot for wind instrument solo used in the first study were applied;  correlation coefficients ranged from .823 to .992.

Bowman, Brent A.  A cross-sectional descriptive study of intermediate elementary students' attitudes toward school music activities.  Ph.D., GLD, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to investigate intermediate elementary students' attitudes toward school music activities.  Three components of the study were:  (1) to construct and validate a classroom music attitude inventory, (2) to develop systematic procedures for administering the instrument, and (3) to apply the instrument to answer research questions concerning students' attitudes toward music activities

A review of research literature revealed that there are few instruments available to measure elementary students' attitudes toward school music which (1) focus exclusively on in-school activities, (2) have systematic procedures for administration, and (3) provide evidence for construct validity.

An original music class attitude inventory was constructed to measure students' attitudes toward 'generic' music activities that occur in elementary school music classes.  The final version of the inventory consisted of 45 attitude statements based on music activities commonly used in music instruction.

A cluster random sampling technique was used to obtain attitudinal responses from 2,863 elementary students (grades 4-6).  Results of the study indicate that students' attitudes vary significantly according to pupil grade level, sex, school socioeconomic level, and school environmental setting.  Students' attitudes toward school music activities and achievement in music were not found to be significantly related (r = 0.10, p<.41) at one randomly selected elementary school (n = 75).  Overall, the results of this study reveal that students expressed the most positive attitudes toward singing activities (item mean = 2.38) and activities which include musical instruments (item mean = 2.01).  Students expressed less favorable attitudes toward historical and cultural music activities (item mean = 1.89) and activities which teach musical concepts (item mean = 1.83).  Student expressed the most negative attitudes toward music activities which exposed them individually in front of their peers (item mean = 1.68).

Using Cronbach's 'alpha' coefficient of reliability, the internal consistency of the Music Class Inventory was .96.  The test-retest method of reliability estimated the stability of students scores to be .89 after a period of two weeks (at one school).  Evidence for content, predictive, concurrent, and construct validity were provided for the Music Class Inventory and judged to be adequate.

Coffman, Don D.  The effects of mental practice, physical practice, and aural knowledge of results on improving piano performance.  Ph.D., GLD, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of type of practice--physical (PP), mental (MP), alternating physical/mental (PP+MP), and a motivational control (MC)--and aural knowledge of results (KR) on improving piano performance.  The dependent variables were:  (a) performance time duration, (b) number of pitch errors, and (c) number of rhythm errors.  The subject variables were: age, years of piano experience, and imaging ability as measured by the Betts QMI Vividness of Imagery Scale.

Forty male and forty female University of Kansas music education and music therapy majors for whom the piano was neither their major or minor instrument participated in a pre- and posttest experiment with eight treatment conditions:  PP/KR, PP/no KR, MP/KR, MP/no KR, PP=+MP/KR, PP+MP/no KR, MC/KR, and MC/no KR.  Subjects in the practice conditions rehearsed a four-measure chordal piano composition on a synthesizer six times, while control subjects read an article on sight-reading techniques.  Subjects in the "KR" conditions either received aural KR via the synthesizer or else listened to an audio tape-recording of the composition.  Subjects in the "no KR' conditions either physically practiced on the synthesizer with the electrical power turned off or mentally practiced without the audio model.  Three judges evaluated videotaped pre- and posttest performances independently.

An ANCOVA and subsequent Tukey test of performance time durations revealed a significant practice effect, F(1,3) = 3.34, p<.05.  Results showed that (a) all three practice conditions had faster performance times than the control and (b) the PP and PP+MP groups were faster than the MP group but did not significantly differ from each other.  The effect of practice in reducing the number of pitch and rhythm errors was not significant.  The presence or absence of aural KR did not significantly improve piano performance as measured by the three dependent variables.  Piano experience and imaging ability were significantly related to performance duration times (r = .31, p<.05), but subject age was not related.

The results suggest that mental practice can effectively improve the novice pianists' performance speed, especially when alternated with physical practice.

Cross, Nigel J.  The use of familiar and unfamiliar music as a musical mnemonic with music and nonmusic majors.  MMT, GLD, 1988.

The purpose of the study was to examine the use of music as a mnemonic device, the effect of familiar and unfamiliar music on a serial word recall task, and performance differences between musicians and nonmusicians using musical mnemonic devices on a serial recall task.  One hundred and eighty college students from a large midwestern university served as subjects.  Subjects were assigned, according to their availability, to three groups of music majors and three groups of nonmusic majors.  Independent variables consisted of treatment modes (no music, familiar music, and unfamiliar music), and subject type (music major and nonmusic major).  The dependent variable was the recall of monosyllabic words.  Statistical analysis of the data was conducted using a two-way analysis of variance.  A significant difference was found in recall of the lists of words between music majors and nonmusic majors (p<.01).  Similarly, a significant difference was found between no music/unfamiliar music and no music/familiar music (p<.01) presentation modes.  No significant difference was found between familiar music/unfamiliar music (p<.05) presentation modes.  Music majors, performed better on the sequential word recall task than did the nonmusic majors.  The results also reveal that the use of music, either familiar or unfamiliar, as a mnemonic device did not facilitate word recall.

Gish, Glenn R.  Gerald McKinley Carney Midwestern Music Educator.  MME, GNH, 1988.

"Gerald McKinley Carney:  Midwestern Music Educator" traces Carney's musical career from his birth in 1904 until 1980.  Historical data were collected from primary sources where available.  Data were checked for mutual support and convergence.  Information obtained from oral interviews was used to test and complete the written record.

Carney distinguished himself as a music educator in the public schools of Marshalltown, Iowa; Pittsburg, Kansas; and at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.  Carney's musical career was built on a broad background beginning with band, orchestra, and vocal music in the Fort Scott, Kansas, municipal and public school music organizations.  Afterwards, Carney studied education and music education at the Kansas State Teachers College, Pittsburg; the University of Missouri, Columbia; and Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.

Carney's enthusiasm for music was apparent from his early years.  Carney performed in the city band, municipal orchestra, and various other groups when he was in Fort Scott, Kansas.  He also helped to perpetuate the school bands while he was still in high school.  Carney later developed an all-boys band when he taught history at Fort Scott Junior High School.

Carney began his career just as music teaching became more widespread in the Midwest.  His wide and varied background in music and his continual study of music and music education propelled him to a successful public school and university teaching career.  It was this background as well as his French horn teaching that qualified him to teach undergraduate music education courses and French horn at the University of Kansas in 1945.

Carney gained distinction at Kansas University by helping to organize the Light Opera Guild, directing the Men's Glee Club, and serving as Associate Director of Midwestern Music and Art Camp.  Carney was president of the Kansas Music Educators Association from 1969-1971.  Well-respected as a musician, Carney's personality also had a definite impact on his career.

Carney constantly won the respect and admiration of students and colleagues with his kind, sincere, and gentle manner.  Over the years, Carney touched the lives of thousands of young people with his charm as well as his musical expertise.

Goll, Harald.  Special educational music therapy with persons who have severe/ profound retardation.  Music Therapy MME, AGC, 1988. 

Special Educational Music Therapy (SEMT) is an educational concept for music therapy with persons who have severe/profound retardation.  SEMT is based on two major paradigms  (1) humanistic philosophy and (2) the principle of normalization.  These two paradigms are combined with the methodological inventory of behavioral technology.  The major educational goals are self-actualization and social integration.  In SEMT, these goals were accomplished through (1) individual-centered strategies focusing on the clients and their behaviors, and (2) society-centered strategies focusing on cultural values, attitudes, and stereotypes.

The SEMT program is conceptualized as a three phase model: phase I is the acceptance of the client and establishment of a mutual relationship between music therapist and client, phase II includes assessment, procedures, and formative evaluation, and phase III is characterized by the appropriate termination of the therapist-client relationship.  Participation, communication, and continuity are three principles which are considered essential during all phases.

The educational medium of SEMT is "music in its broadest sense."  This concept of music is SEMT specific.  Music includes the following stimuli and responses (1) musical and non-musical sound, (2) movement, and (3) elements of music.  Sound is broadly defined and includes all types of auditory phenomena as well as internally perceived stimuli and responses such as heart beats, vasoconstriction, and enzymatic processes.  Elements of music, such as vibration, rhythm, repetition, or variation may be used isolated from the musical context and paired with other stimuli.

Gray-Thompson, Helen.  The use of picture -song books to aid thedevelopment of sight vocabulary in hearing-impaired children.  Music Therapy, MMT, AAD, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to empirically examine the validity of using picture-song books as a tool to teach sight vocabulary to hearing-impaired children. Subjects aged 6-11 years were divided into three groups according to language level.  Thirty words, five from each song, were selected for each group by classroom teachers and the investigator.  Color pictures depicted the 'keywords'.  Each group attended three 20 minute sessions per week over a period of six weeks.  For the purpose of assessment, sight vocabulary was divided into word recognition and concept recognition.  The t-test scores for word recognition and concept recognition indicated significant differences between pre- and post-test scores.  Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient indicated no significant correlation in pre-test scores for word and concept recognition for one group and significant correlation in post-test scores for two groups.  Analysis of covariance indicated no significant pre/post-test differences among groups.  It was concluded that picture-song books are an effective tool for teaching all components of sight vocabulary.  In addition, picture-song books are effective over a range of ages.

Grosso, Gioia S.  The effects of silence, most preferred and least preferred music on music majors' and nonmusic majors' performance on a memory task.  MMT, ACG, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of various background conditions on college students' ability to memorize.  The conditions used were silence, most preferred and least preferred music.  Preference was determined individually by each subject.  Music used in the study was from the genres of classical, easy listening, jazz, and popular.  Subjects were 30 university music majors and 30 nonmusic majors who were assigned randomly to one of the three experimental conditions: 1) silence, 2) most preferred music and 3) least preferred music.  During the memory testing procedure, subjects were required to memorize a list of word pairs.  A two way analysis of variance revealed no significant differences between any of the groups.  Mean scores for music majors were highest under the silence condition and lowest under the condition of least preferred music.  Nonmusic majors had the highest mean score under the least preferred music condition.  The lowest overall mean score was for nonmusic majors in the silence condition. Comparisons between music genres revealed that with preferred music, a statistically lower mean score was obtained by subjects who listened to popular music than by those who listened to the other three genres combined.  No statistically significant differences were found between the least preferred classical and least preferred easy listening genres.  It was concluded that attention be given to background music in the study environment since it may affect the ability to memorize, depending on the individual.

Layell, Cynthia C.  Three case studies: the use of music therapy to ameliorate social skill deficits in three schizophrenic adult females.  MMT, AGC, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of music therapy treatment on the amelioration of social skill deficits in schizophrenics.  More specifically, the purpose was to determine whether music therapy sessions using reinforcement, modeling/imitation and other behavioral principles would increase significantly appropriate eye contact, facial expressions of affect, verbal interaction and interactional distance in three, female chronic undifferentiated schizophrenic patients.

The subjects were recent admissions to a private psychiatric hospital.  Each subject attended 20 individual, 30-minute music therapy sessions conducted on consecutive days by the researcher.  The music therapy sessions were designed to provide opportunities for positive reinforcement, imitation, modeling and rehearsal to improve eye contact, interactional distance, facial expressions of affect and verbal interaction.  These targeted social skills were observed and recorded graphically.  Results were examined through visual inspection of the data.

Visual inspection confirmed a trend in increased eye contact, verbal interaction and displays of affect through facial expression as a result of music therapy treatment.  Interactional distance was appropriate in all sessions for all subjects.

Merriman, Sarah E.  A survey of beginning band programs in Kansas.  MME, JG, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to investigate opinions regarding when children are developmentally ready to begin the study of instrumental music.  Because of a limited amount of research directly tied to the teaching of beginning band, a survey of Kansas public schools was implemented.

The survey was designed to assess the band teachers' feelings and ideas towards beginning band and especially to answer these three questions:  (1) when beginners start band, (2) why teachers start beginners at that time, and (3) whether teachers believe beginners should start at that time.

Surveys were sent to a total population of 572 subjects.  After the initial mailing and follow-up, a 76% response was received.  Results were calculated and conclusions drawn, based on the data from this study.

Parker, Laura J.  Rhythmic aptitude and its influence on the effectiveness of syllable and number methods of teaching rhythm-reading skills in fifth-grade beginning band students.  MME, JG, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to discover what effect, if any, number and syllable methodologies of teaching rhythm-reading skills had on the sight-reading scores of beginning band students with low and high aptitude.  Prior to the actual experiment, a five-week pilot study for the purpose of clarification of teaching techniques and test administration. Revisions in these procedures aided in the implementation of the actual study.

The sample for the study consisted of thirty fifth-grade beginning band students from Jefferson West Elementary school, located in Meriden, Kansas.  The students participating in the two intact beginning band classes were randomly assigned to the number or syllable methodologies of learning rhythm-reading skills.  Both experimental groups used Best in Classas their method book.  All subjects completed the rhythmic portion of the Musical Aptitude Profile.  The experimental groups were further split statistically into high and low aptitude by the mean of the M.A.P. scores.  Each subject completed 20 days of rhythm-reading instruction.  At the conclusion of the five week experimental period, the subjects were tested for achievement of rhythm-reading skills by the Watkins-Farnum Performance Scale, a test of sight-reading ability.

A one-way analysis of variance in the form of an ANOVA indicated no significant differences in the means of any two of the subgroups.  Therefore, this study supports the findings of previous studies that no method is superior to another.  In addition, whether the number or syllable method was employed in the rehearsal of rhythmic patterns, they are both forms of speech cueing and therefore supports findings that speech cueing is an effective form of rhythm-reading instruction.  A larger number of subjects would increase power resulting in a greater change of achieving results true for the population.

Wylie, Mary Ellen.  A comparison of the effects of old familiar songs, antique objects, historical summaries, and general questions of the reminiscence of nursing home residents.  Ph.D., ACG, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of old songs, antique objects, historical summaries, and general questions on the reminiscence of nursing home residents.  Sixty nursing home residents volunteered as subjects, with 15 assigned to one of each of four stimuli conditions.  Individually, subjects listened to or examined the materials.  Comments and reminiscence were tape recorded and later transcribed for analysis.

Reminiscence was analyzed to produce scores for 10 dependent variables:  the total number of reminiscence statements, and the number of references to relatives, non-relatives, places visited and/or lived, places not visited, personal events experienced, non-personal historical-cultural events, childhood activities, adulthood activities and objects.  A Kruskal-Wallis one way analysis of variance was computed for each dependent variable.  Results indicated there were statistically significant differences between treatment conditions for the total number of statements produced, and for the number of references to non-relatives, places visited, personal events, non-personal historical-cultural events, and adulthood activities.  Subjects in the general questions group reminisced for a greater length of time, and thereby produced more references, then subjects in the historical summaries, old songs, or antique objects groups.  Subjects responding to the historical summaries also produced a number of references in each category, whereas fewer references in each category produced by subjects responding to the old songs and antique objects.  In general, reminiscence included more references to adulthood activities, places visited or lived, and personally experienced events.

1989

Dix, Paula A.  Musical aptitude and its relationships with vocal accuracy and cognitive abilities of fourth, fifth and sixth grade general music students.  MME, GLD, 1989.

The purpose of this study was to compare the vocal accuracy and cognitive abilities scores of fourth, fifth and sixth grade elementary students who exhibited high or low musical aptitude scores.  the Musical Aptitude Profile (MAP), the "Vocal Accuracy Test" ("VAT"), and the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) were the measurement tools used.

The review of literature examined research in the areas of aptitude, vocal accuracy, intelligence, and relationships between aptitude and intelligence.

A total of 166 fourth, fifth and sixth grade students served as subjects in the study.  The MAP test was administered to each student.  Further testing was confined to students who scored 80th percentile and above and 20th percentile and below on the composite MAP score and the "Tonal Imagery" subtest.  The "VAT" was administered to these students and their composite CAT scores were secured from their individual school folders.

The majority of high scoring composite MAP students also had high "VAT" scores and high CAT scores.  Low scoring MAP students were such a small group that their tests results were inconclusive but tended to show lower "VAT": and CAT scores.  The "Tonal Imagery" subtest was a less accurate indicator of vocal accuracy measures than the composite MAP.  The Pearson product-moment correlation showed no significant correlations between the "VAT"/CAT, MAP/CAT, or the MAP/"VAT".

Elliot, Suzanne H.  The history of the music program in the public schools of the Rosedale district of Kansas City, Kansas, 1872-1973.  MME, GNH, 1989.

This study is a history of public school music in the Rosedale District of Kansas City, Kansas from 1872-1973.  The following questions were researched: (1) What was the status and organization of the music program from its inception to 1973?  (2) What effects did the establishment of Bell Memorial Hospital, later the University of Kansas Medical Center, have on the community and schools in Rosedale?  (3) What effects did consolidation into the larger city of Kansas City, Kansas have on the small community of Rosedale?  (4) How did the music program at Rosedale compare with other Kansas City, Kansas schools?

Research was conducted by means of an examination of various local newspapers, the holdings of the Wyandotte County Historical Society, the Kansas State Historical Society, the Kansas City Kansas Public Library, and the records of the Kansas City Kansas Board of Education.  In addition, personal interviews were held with people who had knowledge of or played important roles in the development of the community and the music program.

This study traced the growth of the music program from the founding of the townsite in 1872 to the closing of Rosedale High school in 1973.  It noted the valuable leadership of several outstanding educators and their contributions to school and curriculum growth.  The early expansion of the community of Rosedale paralleled the University of Kansas Medical Center development.  The late 1960's saw further growth of the Medical Center which along with the transition to an urban community gave way to the loss of small town identity and aided in the decision to change the high school to a middle school.

Fisher, Robert E.  Development of a rationale and methodology for a standardized approach to English diction in choral performance.  Ph.D., GLD, 1989.

This study was concerned with the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of a standardized method for teaching English diction for choral music performance.  A review and analysis of various approaches to choral diction, along with a review and analysis of research in the language, speech, hearing, and acoustical sciences culminated in the assembly of a twenty-two step rationale which provided the foundations for product design and development.  The method was based principally on the development of kinesthetic awareness and control of the speech articulators through syllabic, word, word-pair, and word-phrase exercises.

Following twelve weeks of preliminary and prototype testing and refining, the Articulatory Diction Development Method was implemented for six weeks in three high school choirs.  Pre-training and post-training recordings of the choirs were produced for evaluation of the method as it affected choral tone and textual intelligibility.  The evaluation of the method was based on choral tone preference responses and text intelligibility scores from a group of forty-seven "judges."  The method was determined to have been significantly effective in the improvement of both choral tone and textual intelligibility in all three choral ensembles.

Foerschler, Rebecca A.  A history of choral music activity at  the University of Kansas, 1866-1950.  MME, GNH, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to document the history of choral music activity at theUniversity of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, from 1866 through 1950, and also to determine the place choral music ensembles had academically throughout this time.

From the early days of the University vocal music was present.  With the founding of the Music Department in 1884, a chorus class, free of charge to all students was mandated by the Kansas ensembles performed on occasion, and the Handel and HaydnSociety was in existence.  However, these ensembles died out after a few years.

Of five vocal ensembles founded in 1890 with the advent of the School of Fine Arts, three would continue, in some form, through 1950.  The Men's Glee Club would become successful and take with only a few interruptions during war times.  The Ladies' Choral Club eventually became the Women's Glee Club, and would mirror the activities of the men's club, giving annual concerts and tours.  The Chapel Choir was the forerunner of the Vesper Chorus which performed at monthly Sunday afternoon vesper services in the early 1900's and later at the All-Musical Vespers during 1923-1950.

Other choral ensembles of note during this time were the University A Cappella Choir, from the mid 1920's-1950; the Handel and Haydn Society (1870's-1890's), the Oratorio Society (1890-1903), and the Lawrence Choral Union (1910's-1948).  The festival choruses performed during annual music festivals established in 1904 and again in 1923.

Conclusions drawn from this study included the following:  (1) Choral music played an important role in the development of music at the University.  (2) Choral music reached beyond the School of Fine Arts.  (3) Choral music was recognized as an important part of an overall education.  (4) Choral music was important enough academically that it was a requirement for graduation for certain students.  (5) The community of Lawrence, Kansas played an important role in choral music at the University.

Francis, Kathleen Brady.  Using music therapy in teaching parenting skills to abused and neglected adolescents.  MMT, AC, 1989.

The purpose of this paper was to demonstrate the use of music therapy in teaching parenting skills to designate abused and/or neglected students and to determine if a music learning package could influence self-esteem in an adolescent population.

The literature indicates clearly the need for teaching parenting skills to persons of all ages, whether or not they currently have children.

The subjects who participated in this study were 30 adolescents with a history of abuse and/or neglect.  The subjects were randomly selected and assigned to groups of 10:  (1) pre-test/post-test assessment only group, (2) pre-test/post-test music therapy parenting skills package, music group, and (3) pre-test/post-test parenting skills package, no music group.  Each group participated in twelve sessions with the appropriate parenting package.  The two groups which received parenting skills training were very similar in the amount of change in the self-esteem scores.  The music group showed statistically significantly higher mean scores than the no music group.  Parenting skills package groups were significantly higher than the assessment group.

Observation, anecdotal reports from staff members, and test scores indicate success for music therapy in the development of parenting skills and improvement in self-esteem.  From this study certain conclusions can be drawn: (1) music therapy can function as an integral part of a program to improve self-esteem and (2) music therapy can facilitate commitment to programs designed to teach appropriate parenting skills.

Hunter, Bryan C. A comparison of the Seashore Rhythm Test and the primary measures of music audiation for auditory discrimination assessment in traumatic brain-injured patients.  Ph.D., MT, ACC, 1989.

The study compared the Primary Measures of Music Audiation (PMMA) and the Seashore Rhythm Test (SRT) for their ability to discriminate between brain-injured and non-injured persons regarding auditory discrimination skills.  The relationship between gender, age, education, music training, time since onset of injury, attention/concentration, and auditory discrimination scores was examined.  An attempt also was made to learn what types of melodic and rhythmic auditory discriminations were most difficult for brain-injured persons.

The PMMA, SRT, and the Digit Span Test (DST) were given to 80 Caucasian persons, 40 with traumatic brain-injuries and 40 non-injured controls.  The injured subjects were victims of motor vehicle accidents or falls.  Two neuropsychology experts rated 30 of the subjects as having either primary right, primary left, or bilateral brain damage.

Discriminant analysis revealed that the brain-injured group scored significantly lower than the control group on the PMMA and the SRT.  Furthermore, the analysis showed that the PMMA and the SRT both correctly classified 72.5% of the subjects as either brain-injured or non-injured.  Multiple regression analysis indicated that the DST was significantly correlated with the SRT and PMMA, and was the strongest predictor of the auditory discrimination scores.  The SRT and the PMMA both appeared to measure attention/concentration, as well as auditory discrimination.  Item analysis showed the PMMA to be a more reliable measurement device than the SRT (.85 vs. .73), in the brain-injured sample.  The analysis also indicated that brain-injured subjects had difficulty discriminating reversed short rhythmic figures embodied in otherwise identical patterns.  In addition, the brain-injured subjects had trouble discriminating patterns whose initial pitches differed by a major second.  The brain-injured and control groups both had difficulty detecting a small change in duration in one PMMA-Rhythm item, and neither group detected the difference in tempo beats on two other items.

The PMMA and the SRT discriminated equally well between the brain-injured and non-injured persons in this sample.  Neither test discriminated among the three categories of brain-injury.  The two tests each have advantages and disadvantages which were further delineated.

Kuribayashi, Fumio.  The effect of a gross motor activity on the tempo discrimination of young children.  MME, ACC, 1989.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of gross motor activity on the rhythmic discrimination skill of young children ages three to six.  Forty children, five boys and five girls each from three-, four-, five-, and six-year-old groups, were selected randomly as subjects at the day-care and kindergarten center,.

At the first session, each subject was asked to jump on a small trampoline and his/her most comfortable jumping speed was measured.  Then, the subject was asked to listen to six pairs of musical renditions of "Twinkle twinkle little star" played on the piano.  The tempo of the first musical example of each music pair was matched to the same tempo as each child's previously measured jumping tempo.  The second example of each pair was then made five percent faster or five percent slower than the first musical example.  The subject was asked to tell verbally whether the second example was faster or slower than the first example (Tempo Discrimination Task).  At the second session, the subject was asked to jump on the trampoline with the musical example and to verbally indicate whether the second example of each music pair was faster or slower than the first musical example.  Subjects' responses in the second session were videotaped for later analysis.

No results in this study were statistically significant but they provided some implications for young children's rhythmic discrimination skills.  The results implied jumping movements tend to distract attention and therefore inhibit tempi discrimination in four-, five-, and six-year old males.  Jumping movement did not inhibit females' tempi discriminations.  Jumping movement did not inhibit tempi discriminations in the three-year-old group.

Robichaud, Jon C.  The influence of schedule conflicts, teacher student relationships and academic achievement on enrollment in band at Lawrence (KS) High School: A case study. MME, JRG, 1989.

Purpose.  The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence students to drop or continue band through their senior year at Lawrence High School.  A special consideration was given to the possible effect of a seven period day on enrollment in band.

Procedure.  Two hundred seventy-six students were identified as having been enrolled in band during their ninth grade year in the Lawrence Public Schools.  Of these subjects, 148 were enrolled in band at Lawrence high school during the fall of 1988 and 128 students had dropped band.  A questionnaire was constructed to gather data considering student attitudes toward two major hypothesized factors.  These were student perception of schedule conflicts including the implementation of a seven period day and student perceptions of their band director.  Additional latitude was allowed on the questionnaire for respondents to indicate other important factors influencing their continuance in band.  Student responses to the questionnaire were tabulated and a mean score for each survey item was computed.  An analysis of variance was computed comparing the mean scores of drop outs and of students still enrolled for each hypothesized factor.

Findings.  No significant difference was found between the enrolled students and the drop-outs in regard to their perception of schedule conflicts or the band director.  The enrolled students had much less resistance to the implementation of a seven period day than did the drop outs.  Loss of interest in band was a major factor influencing the decision to drop band by the highest number of drop-outs.  Schedule conflicts and relationship with the director were each indicated as important factors in continuance in band by a large percentage of drop-outs.

Seals, Karen.  A cross-sectional investigation of the melodic composition abilities of elementary and junior high school students.  Ph.D., RER., 1989.

Purposes of the study were to:  (1) collect, notate, and analyze melodic compositions created by third, fifth, and seventh grade boys and girls, (2) evaluate melodic composition ability (MCA), (3) determine correlations between MCA and selected variables including grade level, gender, musical training and experience (MTE), and attitude and self-concept regarding musical composition (ASCX_MC), (4) determine main and interaction effects of (a) grade level and gender on MCA (Experiment A) and (b) MTE and ASC-MC on MCA (Experiment B), and (5) determine whether or not selected variables and their interactions were significant predictors of MCA.

Subjects were forty-eight students selected randomly from third, fifth , and seventh grade total populations in a northeastern Kansas public school district.  Grade level subsamples contained equal numbers of boys and girls.  Individual testing sessions were conducted in a controlled classroom setting and administered by the same task administrator.  Students were instructed to complete a compositional task which consisted of creating a single-line composition for piano utilizing a designated two-octave pitch range.  All compositions were recorded on cassette tape.  ASC-MC was assessed by conducting structured interviews with the students; MTE was assessed by administering a questionnaire to the parents.

Musical analyses were conducted via the author's MCAN format consisting of ten content areas  Results indicated that strong similarities exist in third, fifth, and seventh grade students' compositions in the areas of tonality, meter, tempo variation, dynamics, modes of attack, pitch, movement, rhythmic units, and total duration.  Differences were noted in the areas of tempo, pitch range (i.e., except for fairly frequent use of the perfect fifteenth range), and pitch set.  Melodic composition ability (MCA) was assessed by three product judges who scored each composition according to eight predetermined evaluative criteria, implying a fixed-point rating scale.  Results indicated MCA increased with grade level for both boys and girls.  Pearson product-moment correlation analyses revealed significant positive relationships between MCA and (a) grade level and (b) MTE.  Analyses of variance indicated significant main effects of grade level and MTE and MCA.  Also, step-wise multiple regression analysis indicated that grade level and MTE were significant predictors of MCA.

Wittkopf, Janet Sue.  A method of testing as a diagnostic aid in teaching beginning band students.  MME, JG, 1989.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a musical aptitude test, music achievement test, and an embouchure test were accurate diagnostic aids for students' possible success in a particular band program.  Tests chosen for the study included Edwin Gordon's Musical Aptitude Profile and Richard Colwell's Silver Burdett Achievement Tests.  An embouchure test consisted of individual students being shown how to produce an sound on a mouthpiece and then attempting to produce that sound.  The sound achieved was rated on a Likert-type scale.

After four months of training on an instrument, a test designed by the investigator was administered to assess the performance and achievement skills of each student.  The investigator's tests were then correlated with the previously scored Musical Aptitude Profile and Silver Burdett Achievement Tests.  The correlation indicated a positive relationship between musical aptitude and performance and achievement skills.

It was concluded that all tests in this research are excellent indicators in areas of student strengths and weaknesses.  The tests were, therefore, a diagnostic aid for the instructor in helping students achieve success on a musical instrument.

1990

Chua, Evelyn A. Y.  Effects of rhythmic bodily movements on the rhythmic achievements of eight- to nine-year-old children.  MME, GLD, 1990.

This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of rhythmic bodily movement on the rhythmic achievement of primary school children.  The bodily movement group received training incorporating bodily movement and songs while the nonmovement group received teaching involving only percussion instrument and songs.

Thirty eight- to nine-year-old children were randomly assigned to one of the two groups.  Each group was given a weekly half-hour instructional lesson.  Thackray's Tests of Rhythmic Ability were used to evaluate the rhythmic achievement of the subjects.  The t test of significance and two-way analysis of variance were used to analyze the data obtained.

Analysis of data concluded that systematic rhythmic training could improve the rhythmic abilities of eight- to nine-year-old children.  Although gross bodily movement did enhance rhythmic understanding, it was not a statistically more superior method of teaching than the counting skills with the rhythmic movement group obtaining a higher posttest score, the results for all the other tests revealed no statistical differences between the two methods in rhythmic training.

Dudley, Cathy Hein.  The history of vocal music in the Blue Valley Public Schools.  MME, GNH, 1990.

The purpose of this study is to trace the development of vocal music education in the Blue Valley School District area from 1825 through 1989.  Community newspapers, county school records, the Blue Valley Historical Society, the Johnson County Historical Society, School newspapers, yearbooks, and calendars, P. T. A. scrapbooks and Board of Education reports and publications were the primary sources.  General histories of the state of Kansas, Johnson County, Stanley, Stilwell, Morse, Leawood, and Overland Park provided helpful contextual material.  Personal interviews with school administrators, past and present educators and former students confirmed written sources and provided additional source material.

Music was part of the lives of the Black Bob Indians as well as the first white settlers to the Blue Valley area.  The Santa Fe and Oregon-California trails and the building of the railroads influenced the musical aspects of the Indian and white settler's lives.

Before 1910 fourteen grade schools were operating in the area, each with one school teacher, who included singing in the curriculum.  The music department was started at Stanley High School in 1928, and two years later the first music supervisor for the area was hired.  Both Stilwell and Stanley High Schools had choral teachers beginning in the 1930's but music specialists in the grade schools did not appear until twenty years later.

Unification and the rapid expansion and development of the area in the 1960's and 1970's brought many changes to the Blue Valley area.  One change was the addition of a music supervisor.  He provided much needed direction but the position was abolished three years later even though enrollment and new building construction continued to increase.

The quality of equipment, facilities and music educators is exceptionally high but the status of music in the district does not hold as prominent a position.  Even though the elementary schools see tremendous increases in numbers of students each year, the middle and high school teachers are not able to recruit equally large numbers into the choral program. Insuring an important place for music in the curriculum while the district copes with such quick growth needs further investigation.

Hibler, Derrick L. The effect of positive incentives on instrumental students' social behaviors.  MME, JG, 1990.

This study analyzed the effects of positive incentives given by the director to band students.  Seventy-six instrumental band students were participants (20 experimental group subjects and 56 control group subjects).  Treatment consisted of positive incentives given by the director to subjects.  Twenty section leaders (the experimental group) met once a week to develop these positive incentives, with the expectation that they would develop these positive concepts in their sections.

The subjects were tested on the following common behaviors: attention, listening during rehearsals, having a pencil, chewing gum, talking during roll call, taking instruments home, and tardy to class.  Mini-goals and long-term goals were also developed to determine if positive incentives affected the subjects behaviors, and to see if goals could be accomplished.

During treatment 1, positive incentives were given by the director of all subjects.  It was obvious that when positive incentives were implemented, the subjects' behaviors improved.  After treatment 1, all positive incentives were removed for 15 days.  During this period, negative incentives were given.  A demerit system was used during this period.  During treatment 2, more positive incentives were given to the subjects by the director and section leaders.  When positive incentives were introduced, the subjects' behavior improved. 

Finally, this study showed and demonstrated how much approval/disapproval were given in a  day's lesson by the director to band students.  As the director increased verbal approvals, the subject developed more positive attitudes.

The primary conclusion made from examining the data was that there was a significant effect on the subjects social behaviors with the use of positive incentives.

McIntyre, Rodney A.  Legal Issues in the Administration of Public School Music Programs. Ph.D., JG, 1990

This study was conducted in response to an apparent lack of knowledge about education law issues among many music educators as indicated by both the volume and the nature of the court cases found in the search process. The purpose of the study was to heighten awareness of legal issues involved in the administration of public school music programs, and to provide, through analysis and discussion of actual court cases, information pertinent to the development of relevant policy. While this study was primarily intended to provide information for those in supervisory positions, it also revealed issues of which all public school music educators should be aware.

The “Lexis” data base was used to locate court cases involving public school music education. This data base reflects those cases found in printed form in law libraries, thus including virtually all state and federal cases at the appellate levels, and approximately ten percent of all federal district court cases (representing the cases at this level that have been assessed as having precedential value). No state cases below the appellate levels are included, as the court decisions in these cases are considered to have no precedential value. The content of the study was dictated by the cases found that met the criterion of including one or more issue that were reasonable specific to public school music education.

It was concluded that (1) proper documentation of “significant” events and strict adherence to established policies and procedures greatly decreases the likelihood of legal controversy, (2) while students’ individual rights must be weighed against the school’s interests in operating efficiently, maintaining order, and providing a well-rounded curriculum, failure to recognize students’ rights is both ethically and legally unsound, (3) teachers commonly formulate policies that affect their students, and it is often this unmonitored policy-making that serves as the basis for litigation, (4) school administrators are not necessarily reliable sources of information about the legal ramifications of actions taken by school personnel, and (5) many law suits can be traced back to decisions that were made with unnecessary haste.

Musoleno, Ronald R.  A model for a music curriculum suited to exemplary practices of middle school education.  Ph.D., G.L.D., 1990.

This study attempted to develop a curriculum model for music in the middle grades.  The purposes of the study were to (1) analyze and contrast the views of three sets of middle school experts regarding the placement, operation, and content of a music program within the context of the total school curriculum; (2) identify a set of exemplary middle school music programs cited by ;these experts and then to examine these programs in the context of the total curriculum; and (3) identify a set of schools cited as exemplary by these experts and then to examine the music programs in these schools in the context of the total school curriculum.

Experts in the three fields of middle school curriculum, adolescent child development, and middle school music education were identified.  The experts were queried about curriculum, students of middle-school age, and schools considered to be exemplary.  Experts responded to questions about required and elective music courses, the role of music in the core curriculum, scheduling, time allocations, grading, the design of the curriculum, and specific content objectives of a required and elective music program.  Additional data were collected from a limited sample of schools responding to a survey designed to access the extent to which these schools practice what experts believe should be common practice in middle schools.

The experts identified only a few schools as exemplary and only a small portion of those schools elected to participate in the study.  Given the small return form those schools recommended as exemplary, conclusions were based primarily on the data collected form the experts themselves.  Comparisons of actual middle school practices to expert opinion were limited to the sample of schools returning surveys.

Among the outcomes of this research was a list of twelve essential elements of a model music program for the middle school.  When compared to this model, those schools surveyed showed agreement with experts on the placement and operation of required and elective music courses and teaching music as a separate subject.  The method used for grading, time allocations, and content objectives were areas of disagreement between experts and schools.

Parker, Harlan D.  Ensemble members' perception of student conductor effectiveness.  Ph.D., JG, 1990.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if performance time, positive statements, negative statements, descriptive language, and idiosyncratic language had an effect on the ensemble members' perception of the rehearsal conductor's effectiveness in instrumental and choral clinic situations.  Other objectives of the research project included:  to determine if participant/conductors perceived effectiveness differently than participants; to determine if rehearsal conductors perceived their effectiveness the same as the ensemble members; to determine if performance time, positive statements, negative statements, descriptive language, and idiosyncratic language had an effect on the enjoyment of the rehearsals as rated by the ensemble members; and to determine what section of the Ensemble Members' Perception Measure (EMPM) served as the best predictor of overall rehearsal enjoyment.  Achievement and quality of the ensemble were not considered as variables for the rating of conductor effectiveness.

Through the use of video tape and stop watches observable variables were recorded for 147 conductor observations.  Observer reliability was .81.  After each conductor, the EMPM was completed by the ensemble members and the CPM was completed by the rehearsal conductor.  Reliability for the EMPM and CPM were computed at .95 and .92 respectively.

Through a multiple linear regression, it was revealed that the only observable variable which had a significant effect on the overall conductor rating was the "Descriptive Language Score" and that none of the variables contributed significantly to the Overall Impression of the Rehearsal.  A significant difference did occur between the conductor's self-evaluation and the ensemble members' evaluation of the conductor, with the conductors rating themselves lower than the ensemble members.  The "Overall Impression of the Rehearsal" scores also displayed significant difference between the rehearsal conductors and the ensemble members.  The students who were participant/conductors also rated the conductors significantly lower than the student who were participants.  As a set, the categories of the EMPM contributed a significant 65% to criterion variable.  "Rapport" accounted for the highest proportion of the variability of the "Overall Impression of the Rehearsal" dependent variable.

Robbins, Brenda J.  Florida music educators attitudes toward mainstreaming.  MMT, AAD, 1990.

The purpose of this study was to 1) examine Florida music educators' attitudes toward mainstreaming, 2) examine the status of mainstreaming in Florida public schools, and 3) examine factors which contribute to the successful mainstreaming of exceptional children in the music classroom.  The questionnaire was developed by 1) adapting questions from the Gfeller, Darrow, Hedden (1987) survey used in the states of Kansas and Iowa, 2) examining the suitability of items from other questionnaires in mainstreaming in music education, 3) reviewing methodological and experimental articles concerned with the music capabilities of handicapped students, 4) noting curricular objectives listed in the MENC document, The School Music Program: Description and Standards, and 5) professional experiences of the author and colleagues in public schools and other exceptional child settings.  Data was statistically analyzed using the Crosstab Subprogram of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, Version 9.0.  Results indicated: 1) positive correlations between the amount of educational preparation and music educators' perception of the success of mainstreaming; 2) no correlation between years teaching and perceived attitudes toward mainstreaming; 3) no significant differences between music educators' perception of mainstreaming and the amount of experience working with exceptional children;  4) general agreement among respondents concerning students difficult to mainstream into the music classroom;  5) significant differences among general, vocal, and instrumental music educators concerning students difficult to mainstream into the music classroom;  6) significant differences among elementary, middle and high school music educators concerning musical goals and objectives for exceptional children; 7) a lack of educational preparation in the area of special education; and 8) a lack of administrative support.

Velásquez, Vivian.  A study of children's pitch accuracy:  Singing English and Spanish song texts and related cultural factors.  MME, GLD, 1990.

The Problem.  The investigation compared fourth and fifth grade students' singing on pitch.  Mexican-American students were compared with Anglo-American students.  Other variables considered were gender, home musical environment, cultural identification, language proficiency, and age.

The Investigation.  Students were asked to sing a song in English and then again in Spanish.  Pitch accuracy was measured with a Temporal Acuity Products Pitch Master.  The independent variables were home musical environment, cultural identification, language proficiency, age and gender.  Pitch accuracy scores and the scores from the measures of the independent variables were compared.

Results.  There were no significant differences between Mexican-American and Anglo-American students' ability to sing the song accurately in pitch.  Girls in both groups generally sang more accurately than boys, and students from stronger home musical environments generally sang better than students from weak home musical environments.  There were no significant differences for effects of cultural identification, language proficiency, or age.

Suggestions for Further Study.  The musical aptitude and its relationships with home musical environment and performance of pitch accuracy would give music teachers more insight into students needs.  Further investigation of the combined effects of gender, cultural identification and home musical environment is also warranted.  Additionally, a study of the effects of language on pitch accuracy could incorporate a variety of languages that are most often used in singing.

Wiebe, James Alan.  The effect of frequency adjustment on the tonal perception of hearing impaired older adults.  MMT, AC, 1990.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a musical stimulus that is modified to aurally accommodate individuals' audiological response curves on the tonal perception of a population of hearing impaired males.  Subjects (n=20) were independent-living male American war veterans, over the age of 60, whose hearing had been evaluated as mildly or moderately impaired.  The Tonal subtest of the Primary Measures of Music Audiation was administered to subjects, who were asked to identify whether each pair of examples in a series of 40 items was the same or different.  Subjects were tested individually in two 40-minute sessions on different days, either at a large Veterans Affairs Medical Center or in their own homes.  Subjects served as their own controls and were divided randomly into groups.  On the first day of testing, subjects from group one received the test under unadjusted stimulus conditions, while subjects from group two received the test under modified stimulus conditions.  On the second day of testing, conditions were reversed.  Under the modified stimulus condition, the sound signal was adjusted to subjects' audiological response curves by means of a 10-band graphic equalizer.

A 2 (impairment conditions) X 2 (adjustment conditions) factorial design with repeated measures on one factor compared scores under the different conditions.  Under the conditions applied in this study, frequency adjustment apparently had no effect on the tonal perception of mildly and moderately impaired older adults.  Due to limitations in this study, further research into pitch perception and aging is recommended.  It is also suggested that music therapists might benefit from consideration of amplification, environmental design and instructional procedures in the development and delivery of programming to hearing impaired older persons.

1981

Chan, Sui-Lin Lisa.  THE EFFECT OF MUSICAL STIMULI ON OIL PASTEL SCRIBBLING.  MME, 1981, RER.

The purpose of this study was to investigate music’s effect on oil pastel scribbling, a visual record of kinesthetic movement.  Twenty-six college students were selected as subjects.  Three experimental conditions with nine treatments were designed:  no music, stimulative/sedative music, no music, stimulative/sedative music, no music, stimulative/sedative music, no music, stimulative/sedative music, no music.  The two pieces were classical electronic music.  Subjects came individually to the experimental sessions and were asked to scribble under the three conditions.  Significant differences were found between no music and stimulative music conditions in the quality and quantity of rapid movement of lines, and the degrees of complexity in scribbling activities.  Between the stimulative music and sedative music conditions, significant differences were found in the quality and quantity of rapid movement of lines, quality and quantity of slow movement lines, and the degree of complexity in scribbling activities.  Scribblings created under stimulative music conditions were more complex in scribbling activities and had greater degree and larger amounts of rapid line movement than those created under no music and sedative music conditions.  Greater degree and larger amounts of slow line movement were shown in scribblings created under sedative music condition when compared with those created under stimulative music condition.  No significant differences were found in the number of warm and cool colors used and the amount of warm and cool colors used when scribblings created under each experimental conditions were compared.

Clark, Michael E.  AN EVALUATION OF MUSIC THERAPY - ASSISTED LABOR AND DELIVERY.  MME, 1981, JWG.

This study attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of music and music therapy in helping to bring about more “successful” childbirth experiences from the point of view of the parturients.  An experimental group of 13 patients participated in six individual pre-delivery music therapy training sessions during the third trimester of pregnancy.  The experimental patients listened to pre-selected musical works throughout labor and delivery according to regular hospital routines.  Inclusion of patients in the study was limited by criteria designed to minimize the effects of spurious variables.  Data consisted of patients’ responses to questionnaire items reflecting subjective perceptions and recollections of the labor/delivery experience and reports of frequency and duration of home practice.  At a significant level of .85 experimental subjects achieved significantly higher “success” scores than did control subjects on five out of seven indices.  Moderate correlation between music home practice and successful childbirth outcome was demonstrated.  Frequency/length of music home practice was found to be a significant predictor of “success” in the childbirth experience.  Limitations of the study, non-data-based aspects of the project, and recommendations for future investigation were discussed.

Clarke, Gloria L.  THE INFLUENCE OF FREQUENCIES EQUATED FOR SUBJECTIVE LOUDNESS ON HEART RATE.  MME, 1981, JWG.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of varying frequencies equated for subjective loudness on heart rate (HR).  Eighteen music education and therapy students from the University of Kansas served as subjects.  HR was recorded by an electrocardiogram for the middle five seconds of alternating fifteen second periods of sound stimuli and silence.  The sound stimuli consisted of five different frequencies - 50, 200, 800, 3200, and 12800 hertz - each repeated four times.  Each frequency was adjusted to maintain an equal-loudness contour at seventy phons.  In analysis of the data, the four HR recordings for each frequency were averaged together to obtain one measurement.  An analysis of covariance with repeated measures was used to treat the data collected.  No significant differences were found at the .05 level for the repeated measures of HR.  The analysis of covariance revealed a highly significant relationship (p    .001) between the individual’s baseline HR and her/his responses to the frequencies.  It was concluded that frequencies equate for subjective loudness do not significantly affect HR, high frequencies do not have a greater effect than low, and extreme frequencies do not evoke a greater response than moderate.

Ives, Kathy O.  A PREFERENCE STUDY OF MUSICAL ACTIVITIES OF SENIOR CITIZENS.  MME, 1981, ACG.

The purpose of this study was to determine if senior citizens had a significant preference for one of four musical activity categories:  (1) singing, (2) Orff-Schulwerk, (3) kitchen band, and (4) dancing.  Twenty-two senior citizens were presented with the four musical activity categories of singing, Orff-Schulwerk, kitchen band, and dancing during each session.  At the end of each session, the subjects ranked the activity categories from the most preferred to least preferred.  The rank order of activity categories from most preferred to least preferred was singing, Orff-Schulwerk, kitchen band, and dancing.  From these results, it can be concluded that singing perhaps has great potential to provide for successful experiences and to increase commitment within a senior citizen program.  As the least preferred musical activity in this study, however, dancing perhaps has the least potential to provide for successful experiences. These conclusions may provide a focus for program planners within other senior citizen settings to design musical activities which increase commitment and most enhance successful experiences.

Kelley, Zoe Ann.  PITCH CHANGE RECOGNITION AS A FUNCTION OF DURATION IN SUCCESSIVE DICHOTIC STIMULI.  Ph.D., 1981, RER.

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the possibility that the interaction of frequency and temporal effects may influence which hemisphere is more actively processing dichotic stimuli.  Seven hundred and twenty sets of complex three-tone stimuli of varying frequencies and durational configurations were tape recorded and presented dichotically by earphones to two groups of right-handed subjects:  20 musically sophisticated persons (10 male, 10 female), and 20 musically naive persons (10 male, 10 female).  Hemispheric dominance was assessed by correctness in recognition of a pitch change that occurred within each set of durational configurations.  Subjects selected tone one, tone two, or tone three in each stimulus set to indicate where they perceived a pitch change.

Significant main effects were found for musical experience, durational configurations, ear of correct response, and serial position (whether the pitch change occurred in the first, second, or third signal of the stimulus set).  No sex differences were found.  Musicians were more accurate than nonmusicians at recognition of pitch change.  Both musicians and nonmusicians had significantly better pitch change recognition in the left ear than in the right ear.  The difference in performance between ears was greatest for musicians.  As durational configurations increased in difficulty, both groups demonstrated reduced performance accuracy.  Pitch change recognition in serial position two was generally better and more consistent across durational conditions.  The results are clarified by those interactions found to be significant.  Although musicians and nonmusicians demonstrated reduced performance accuracy as durational configurations became increasingly complex, musicians scored higher across all duration conditions.  Performance in serial position two appeared to be the only factor differentiating ear and training.  The stimulus sets were designed so that the duration cues in positions one and three were identical, while in position two, duration and simultaneity in onset and offset time varied.  The nonmusical group did not differ significantly between ears for position two. However, the performance for position two in the musically experienced group showed greater recognition performance in the left ear compared to the right ear.

This investigation indicated that pitch change recognition was a right hemisphere task for both musicians and nonmusicians.  The musicians appeared to utilize temporal cues for better pitch change recognition in the right hemisphere than in the left while the complexity of temporal cues may have contributed to the smaller ear effect for nonmusicals.

Malcom, Grace L.  EFFECT OF RHYTHM ON HEART RATE OF MUSICIANS.  MME, 1981, AAG.

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effects of sedative and stimulative rhythm on heart rate of 50 graduate and undergraduate music students.  Subjects were assigned to one of two treatment groups:  (1) baseline, sedative rhythm, baseline, stimulative rhythm, baseline; or (2) baseline, stimulative rhythm, baseline, sedative rhythm, baseline.  Baseline 1 continued for five minutes, each rhythm was three minutes in length, and baselines 2 and 3 were at two-minute durations.  During each baseline and rhythm stimulus period, heart rate was recorded with an electrocardiograph.  Subjects completed questionnaires which assessed age, musical training, sex and preference and mood response to each rhythmic stimulus.  Results indicated no significant differences in heart rate response of either group to either rhythmic stimulus.  Order of stimulus presentation resulted in no significant order effects for either subject group to either stimulus.  Selected variables showed significant results as follows:  (1) increased musical training influenced increased heart rate only during minute 2 of the sedative rhythm, and (2) decreased preference affected increased heart rate response only during minute 2 of the sedative rhythm.  Tendencies were shown as follows:  (1) mood response appeared to predict heart rate only during minute 2 of the sedative rhythm, and (2) males showed greater increase than females in heart rate during stimulative rhythm, and females responded with greater decrease than males in heart rate during sedative rhythm.  Examination of mean heart rate scores revealed a possible trend for heart rate change to occur during initial periods of rhythmic stimulation, but to habituate to the stimulus following the initial stimulation.  The variables studied appear to have only temporary influence on heart rate during rhythmic stimulation.

McCarty, Diane O.  THE HISTORY OF PUBLIC SCHOOL MUSIC IN BALDWIN CITY, KANSAS.  MME, 1981, GNH.

This study was an investigation of the development of the school music program in the northeastern Kansas community of Baldwin City, Kansas.  The growth of the program was studied, as well as the church and community activities which were influential in starting and maintaining the program.  Fluctuations in the relationships among school music program, church, and community were also studied.  It was concluded that musical activities were an important part of community life in the Baldwin City area since the 1850’s.  Baker University and other early educational institutions supported many musical activities; the college sparked musical interest in church and community.  Early regional and national events, such as the Civil War, greatly influenced life in early Baldwin City.  Early musical activities in the Baldwin public schools led to the establishment of the music program in 1909.  Ties between Baker University and the school music program were strong from 1909 to the years of World War II; the Methodist Church was also a strong influence during the school music program’s early years.  Relationships among Baker University, the Methodist church, and the school music program have weakened in recent years, but the community provides continuing support for the music program.  The school music program in Baldwin City continues to be highly performance-oriented, with school music groups performing for many community activities.

Moller, Lynn E.  THE RELATIONSHIP OF ROLE PERCEPTIONS OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOL MUSIC EDUCATOR AND THE RESULTANT EFFECT ON JOB SATISFACTION.  Ph.D., 1981, RER.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant difference exists in the role perception of public secondary school music educators as perceived by school administrators, non-music staff members, and the music educator.  A further purpose was to determine if consensus or disagreement in role perception affects job satisfaction.  Demographic data also were gathered for analysis of the effect of predictor variable son role perception or job satisfaction differences.  An adaptation of Barnes’ Instrumental Music Educator Describer was used as a measurement instrument of music educator role.  The Music Educator Describer (MED) was used in two forms; one for administrators and non-music staff and another for the music educators.  The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (short form) was used to measure music educator general, intrinsic, and extrinsic job satisfaction.  Analysis of the total sample MED scores revealed a significant effect of marital status, educator group, age, and subject area.  Analysis of music educator MEDscores indicated a significant effect of before/after school non-instructional duties, marital status, coaching duties, and number of music courses in the school handbook.  Analysis of music educator MSQ-G scores showed a significant effect of sufficient performance or field trips for classes/groups, adequate personal leave policy, coaching duties, satisfactory extra duty pay, reimbursement for professional leave activities, adequate professional leave policy, district funding for performance or field trips for groups/classes, and the state where the school is located.  Analysis of the music MSQ-I scores showed a significant effect for adequate personal leave policy, district funding of trips for groups/classes, the state where the school is located, and sufficient performance or field trips for classes/groups. Sufficient performance or field trips for classes/groups, satisfactory extra duty pay, number of work or preparation hours per week, reimbursement for professional leave activities, adequate personal leave policy, urban or rural school location, adequate professional leave policy, teaching experience, district funding of performance or field trips for classes/groups, and coaching duties significantly affected MSQ-E scores.

Mushlin, Gary F.  THE EFFECT OF ROTE LEARNING ON THE BEGINNING BAND STUDENT FOR RHYTHMIC ACHIEVEMENT.  MME, 1981, RER.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a rote teaching method with a more conventional counting system method for teaching and developing rhythm in beginning band students.  Fifty-three students--23 fifth grade boys, 12 fifth grade girls, 4 sixth grade boys, and 14 sixth grade girls--participated in the experiment.  Gordon’s Music Aptitude Profile was administered to the students prior to the experiment to control for rhythmic ability differences.  Plyhar’s Band Today method was used with the experimental and the control group.  The control group was taught to read immediately; almost all class activities involved reading from the book.  Rhythm counting and foot tapping were emphasized strongly.  The experimental group was taught primarily with rote techniques to help develop rhythm patterns.  The teacher usually served as the model, with student models being used occasionally.  Counting was introduced either foot tapping or body movement was encouraged but not with as much emphasis as with the control group.  After twenty weeks of study, the Watkins-Farnum Performance Scale was administered to al students.  Fourteen students were selected from each group by stratified randomization for identical instrumentation.  Analysis of covariance was applied to the Watkins-Farnum scores, with the Gordon scores serving as the covariate; there was no significant difference between the methods.  All students present on a given day completed a questionnaire to help assess differences in student attitude toward the methods.  No important difference was apparent.

O’Neal, Peggy.  THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC ON AUDIOSENSITIZED RODENTS.  MME, 1981, RER.

It is impossible to begin research with human subjects, so the development of an animal model is a necessity.  This study was devised to begin the development of such a model.  The predictability and susceptibility to desensitization of audiogenic seizures (AGS) provides an animal model to investigate possible antiepileptic effects of music.  The predictability of the audiogenic seizure pattern was used as a basis for beginning tests.  Hamsters (31 days old) were audiosensitized by 30 seconds of sound (95105 dbA):  treatment groups were desensitized by 30 seconds of re-exposure (5, 8, 10, and 12 days later), and tested for AGS at 45 days of age.  Sound from one of two doorbells or one of three musical selections (First and Second Movements of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto, No. 2, or “Spring Rounds” for Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring) was studied.  Although either doorbell induced audiosensitivity, music did not.  All five sounds produced AGS in susceptible animals.  Only the bell used for sensitization or the first Bach movement were effective as desensitization stimuli.  Further investigation could provide insight to long term excitatory control mechanisms in the brain and ultimately provide novel therapy not only for acousticomotor, but possibly psychomotor epilepsy as well.

Santos, Christine C.  EFFECTS OF FAST AND SLOW MUSIC ON TIME ESTIMATION. MME, 1981, RER.

The purpose of this study was to examine music’s effect on temporal estimation.  Both musicians and nonmusicians (n=60) estimated three time durations (15, 50, and 120 seconds) under three different sound conditions (fast, slow, and no music) in a repeated measures design.  Three univariate analyses of variance yielded statistically significant differences (p  .05) among the means of the time duration estimated under the different sound conditions.  Although all durations were overestimated, the degree of overestimation varied with sound condition:  under fast music conditions, the degree of overestimation was the smallest; under slow music conditions, the degree of overestimation was the largest; and under no music conditions, the degree of overestimation lay between the previous two.  Post hoc Newman-Keuls Multiple Range Comparison tests confirmed that significant differences between various pairs of music conditions (no/fast, no/slow, and fast/slow) existed within each of the time durations (15, 50, and 120 seconds).  Results demonstrated that the subjective perception of music affected the way in which the subjects perceived and estimated time.

Stone, Helen W.  THE HISTORY OF MUSIC EDUCATION IN THE KANSAS COMMUNITY JUNIOR COLLEGES, 1917-1965.  MME, 1981, GNH.

The purpose of this study is to trace the history of music education in the public junior colleges of Kansas in their developmental years, 1917-1965.  The study was projected on the assumptions that general or liberal education is one of the basic goals of junior colleges, that historically, music has made a contribution toward liberal education, and that junior colleges in Kansas, as well as in the United States are making an impact on the education world.  If knowledge about music education is important, so too must historical research in music education be important.  The historical approach toward investigation was implemented for the study.  Numerous documents and records were searched and interviews made to achieve the objectives of the study which were to answer the following questions:

1.      When did the junior colleges begin to include music as a part of their curriculum, and what emphasis was placed on it?

2.      What was the educational background of the early junior college music teachers, and what courses did they teach, and what leadership role in the musical life of the community did they assume?

3.      Was there an emphasis on community services beginning with the inclusion of music courses in the curriculum?  If the emphasis existed, how has it expanded and why?

4.      What were the curriculum offering in music in the surviving community junior colleges in Kansas in 1965?

The following areas were studied in order to more fully understand the central issue of the development of music education in terms of curriculum, community and teachers.

1.      Musical heritage of the early Kansas settlers.

2.      A brief history of music in education.

3.      A brief history of the national junior college movement.

4.      The development of the junior college movement in Kansas.

The study concluded that:  (1) music has been a part of the Kansas public junior college since its establishment; (2) it has made -- and continues to make -- a contribution toward junior college education and the community at large; (3) the junior college music teacher in Kansas has been educationally qualified to teach music courses at the college level and has assumed a leadership role in elevating the status of music in the community; and (4) the music programs in the Kansas junior colleges do reflect the musical heritage and traditions of the community.  In 1965, the music curriculum offerings at the fourteen of the fifteen junior colleges in Kansas closely paralleled the course offerings for the first two years of a music education major at the degree granting institution in the State.  Not all courses offered were taught because of low enrollment.

Umberger, Gayle J.  A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF GOALS AND PROGRAMS FOR COLLEGE LEVEL GROUP PIANO INSTRUCTION IN KANSAS.  MME, 1981, GLD.

This study was a comparative analysis of group piano programs and goals between the secondary two-year and the four-year schools of Kansas.  A four-part survey was mailed to all group piano instructors of college piano classes; the results were returned by mail; and answers were analyzed by computer.  Results indicated no significant differences occur between goals and programs of group piano classes in the two-year schools and the goals and programs of the four-year schools.

1981-1982

Bushouse, Pamela M. M.  THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG VOCAL RANGE, ANXIETY, SELF-CONCEPT, AND ATTITUDE IN CHORAL AUDITIONS FOR ADOLESCENT BOYS.  MME, PAH, 1981.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interrelationships among the variables of vocal range, self-concept, audition anxiety, and attitude toward participating in the vocal music class of adolescent boys.  One hundred-four seventh, eighth, and ninth grade boys from West Junior High School in Lawrence, Kansas, were the subjects of the study.  The subjects were currently enrolled in vocal music classes.

It was determined that for this study the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory would be used to measure self-concept.  The Paivio Children’s Audience Sensitivity Inventory was used to measure audition anxiety.  It consisted of three subscales:  exhibitionism, self-consciousness, and audience anxiety.  The Shaw-Tomcala Music Attitude Inventory, which was slightly altered by the investigator to be more appropriate to the specific subjects and circumstances of the study, was used to measure attitudes toward participating in vocal music.  A test was devised by the investigator to determine vocal range from the lowest terminal pitch to the highest terminal pitch.

The audience anxiety test was administered during the first class session, immediately following an explanation of the vocal audition procedures, which would include the vocal range test.  The self-concept inventory and the attitude measure were administered during the second class session.  Vocal range tests began immediately following the audience anxiety inventory and extended throughout the first two weeks of school.

The results of the scores for all of the above variables, as well as highest terminal pitch (HTP), lowest terminal pitch (LTP), age, and grade level of the subjects, were submitted for multiple correlation computer analysis.  A correlation matrix was produced and revealed that the following correlations were statistically significant at the .05 level or beyond:  exhibitionism and vocal range (.307), vocal range and attitude (.256), attitude and HTP (.284), exhibitionism and self-concept (.226), self-consciousness and self-concept (-.313), audience anxiety and self-concept (-.276), exhibitionism and attitude (.359), HTP and age (-.437), exhibitionism and age (-.272), LTP and age (-.632), HTP and (-.418), LTP and grade (-.620), exhibitionism and grade (-.301), HTP and LTP (.640), HTP and range (.809), audience anxiety and exhibitionism (-.243), and audience anxiety and self-consciousness (.426).  The thesis concludes with a discussion of the implications of various of these relationships.

Gaier, M. S. C.  CONTRASTING MUSICAL PREFERENCE IN INSTITU-TIONALIZED AND NONINSTITUTIONALIZED ADOLESCENT MALES. MME, RER, 1981.

This study compared the musical preferences of twelve noninstitutionalized public high school makes with those of twelve males institutionalized in a setting based upon the principles of Yochelson and Smenow’s The Criminal Personality.  Subjects listened to a recording of sixty segments of music, fifteen each from the categories of rock, country, jazz, and classical.  Following each segment, the subjects assigned preference scores.

Results included a significant difference in the preferences of all subjects for different styles of music, and a significant interaction between style and institutionalized status.  There was no significant difference in the preferences due to institutionalization status.  Correlations between familiarity and preference were significant for country and jazz, but not for rock and classical.

Results failed to produce support for the theories in the above mentioned text that a distinct criminal personality exists to the degree that music preference is affected.  There was, however, a distinction between groups in range of responses.

Hunter, Bryan C.  AN EVALUATION OF AUDIOANALGESIA ON THE PERCEP-TION OF PRE-PAIN LEVELS OF STIMULATION AS MEASURED VIA MAGNITUDE ESTIMATION.  MME, ACG, 1982.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of audioanalgesia on the perception of pre-pain levels of stimulation applied to subjects’ hands.  In Experiment 1 (Pilot Study) 19 subjects listened to five sound pressure levels of white noise while their hands were placed on a vibrating speaker.  As the sound pressure levels were changed, subjects made magnitude estimations of the perceived vibration in their hands.  All subjects participated in three trials within which the vibration was held constant.  An analysis of variance for repeated measures revealed sound pressure levels of white noise significantly affected subjects’ perception of vibration in the hands.  Analysis of the magnitude estimations resulted in power functions with small, negative exponents.  The negative exponents indicated that as the sound pressure levels increased the subjects felt slightly less vibration in their hands.

In the second experiment 50 subjects individually listened to six sound pressure levels for each of three sound types:  white noise, music, and music and white noise.  Each subject held a vibrating muscle massager in the left hand while listening to the sound through headphones.  An analysis of variance for repeated measured revealed no significant differences:  (1) between the two groups (suggestion versus no-suggestion in instructions), (2) among the sound types (white noise, music, and white noise) or (3) among the six sound pressure levels.  Analysis of the magnitude estimations revealed, with one exception, small negative exponents, indicating slightly decreased vibration perception with increased sound pressure level.  Limitations and implications of this study, along with recommendations for future research were discussed.

Hunter, Leslie S.  THE MUSICAL APTITUDE OF EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED CHILDREN AS MEASURED BY THE PRIMARY MEASURES OF MUSICAL AUDIATION.  MME, ACG, 1981.

The study focused on the musical aptitude of emotionally disturbed children as measured by Gordon’s Primary Measures of Music Audiation.  The purpose of the study was to (1) determine whether or not emotionally disturbed children score significantly different from normal children on the PMMA; and (2) examine the relationship between musical aptitude scores and the independent variables of intelligence, age, sex, need for structure, and participation in music therapy.

Eighty-four children enrolled in elementary Personal and Social Adjustment (PSA) classes in a northeastern Kansas school district served as subjects.  The subjects ranged in age from 6 to 12 years, and included 66 males and 18 females.  The Primary Measures of Music Audiation was administered to each PSA class in their own classroom.  Data for the independent variables of intelligence, age, sex, and participation in music therapy were gathered from each subject’s school history file.  The variable of need for structure was determined by PSA classroom teachers’ ratings of each student.  Results indicated that the PMMA was a reliable instrument for measuring the musical aptitude of emotionally disturbed children and that there was no significant difference between emotionally disturbed children’s PMMA scores and normal children’s PMMA scores.  Intelligence, as measured by WISC-R scores, was the strongest predictor of Tonal subtest and Composite scores.  Subjects with higher WISC-R scores made higher Tonal and Composite scores on the PMMA than subjects with lower WISC-R scores.  Age was the only significant predictor of Rhythm subject scores and was also a significant predictor for Tonal and Composite scores.  Older subjects tended to perform better on the PMMA than younger subjects.  Results showed that sex was negative suppressor variable for Tonal, Rhythm, and Composite scores.  Sex masked or suppressed the variance contributed by the other variables.  Although females performed better on the PMMA than males, sex was not a significant PMMA score predictor.  Need for structure and participation in music therapy were not significant variables as they had no apparent predictive value for PMMA scores.  Further research is needed to determine how PMMA test results can be used to help develop appropriate music education/music therapy programs for emotionally disturbed children in public schools.

Kacanek, Harold S.  A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF WISCONSIN MUSIC EDUCATORS’ AGREEMENT WITH BENNETT REIMER’S A PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC EDUCATION.  Ph.D., RER, 1982.

The purpose of this study was to describe the degree of consensus existing among music educators regarding agreement in theory with selected statements of Bennett Reimer in A Philosophy of Music Education, and the extent those statements are valued as practical guides in professional practice.

To accomplish that description, this study (1) identified the major statements of Bennett Reimer’s basic beliefs about music education, (2) surveyed the extent to which a sample of Wisconsin music educators agree with those beliefs, (3) analyzed the relationship between agreement with Reimer’s beliefs in theory (AIT) and the perceived application of those beliefs in the field (VIP), and (4) described whether teachers with different combinations of teacher characteristics differed in amounts of agreement with Reimer’s beliefs.

Dr. Reimer assisted the research in selecting, revising and weighting the most representative statements from his (1970) book.  The twenty most highly weighted statements appeared on the final survey.  Subjects responded to those statements on a Likert scale indicating attitude in theory (AIT) and value in practice (VIP).  Surveys were mailed to a random sample of Wisconsin music educators.  Two hundred twenty-four (68 percent) returns were analyzed.

Two-way ANOVAs were performed using means for AIT and VIP as dependent measures on the following teacher characteristics; levels (elementary, junior high/middle school, high school, college), subjects (vocal, instrumental, general), environment (urban, suburban, rural), and experience (0-4 years, 5-9 years, 10 or more).  Results indicated that Wisconsin music educators do agreed with major statements of Reimer’s philosophy.  Agreement is higher in theory (AIT) than in practice (VIP) and highest in theory and practice among college level music educators.  Teaching level influences Wisconsin music teachers’ agreement on both dependent measures with theoretical statements.  Teaching level and environment interact to influence teachers’ theoretical attitudes.  As might be expected, a positive correlation exists between theory and practice with theory evidently representing an ideal practiced somewhat less efficiently.

Matthews, Sheryl J.  EFFECT OF MUSIC ON MOVEMENT IN DEVELOPMENT OF MOTOR SKILLS AND SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY IN HEARING IMPAIRED CHILDREN.  MME, RER, 1981.

The purpose of this study was to investigate music’s effect on movement in the development of motor skills and speech intelligibility in hearing impaired children.  Twenty-six subjects participated in 10 twenty-minute treatment sessions.  Complete sets of data were collected for 23 subjects in the motor skills assessment and 21 subjects in the speech intelligibility evaluation.  The subjects were assigned to the control group or the experimental group.  The control group received a movement alone treatment while the experimental group received a movement with music treatment.  The movements were synchronized activities compiled to aid in the development of balance and maintenance of posture, locomotion, contact, and receipt and propulsion.  The music was excerpts selected to complement the movements.  Pre-tests were administered to assess subjects’ initial capabilities in motor skills and speech intelligibility.  Following the treatment period, post-tests were administered to evaluate development in both areas.  Analyses indicated that music significantly affected movement in the development of particular motor skills as follows:  (1) balance:  standing on preferred leg on a beam (p   .05); (2) balance: walking heel-to-toe on a beam (p   .025); (3) strength:  standing broad jump (p   .05); and (4) upper-limb coordination:  catching a ball with both hands (p    .001).  Examination and analysis of speech intelligibility scores revealed that music had no significant affect on movement in speech intelligibility development.

Ogilvie, M. J.   A BEGINNER’S RECORDER METHOD TO ACCOMMODATE THE MAINSTREAMED BLIND CHILD.  MME, RER, 1981.

In an attempt to make music braille more accessible in the mainstreamed setting, this writer developed a beginner’s recorder method designed to allow visually impaired students to learn music braille more or less independently as classmates learn regular notation.  The method included a Teacher’s Guide, a sighted Student’s Book, and a braille Student’s Book.  A general music specialist agreed to implement the program with two classes--an experimental group containing a mainstreamed blind student, and a control group, having only sighted students.  The efficacy of the month-long program was evaluated via private interviews with participating students and their teacher, and the writer’s observation of one teaching session.

The results of the trial implementation indicated that the braille student was able to learn to read music more or less independently.  It also appeared that the music specialist was able to incorporate music braille into her program with little extra effort.  Though there seemed to be some problem with pace of the lessons, the overall results of the program appear to have been positive.  At this stage, it would be inappropriate to generalize the results to other populations and settings.  However, the pedagogical principles may have value and warrant further research and experimentation. 

Ramsay, Douglas M.  MUSIC THERAPY AND DEPRESSION IN THE ELDERLY.  MME, ACG, 1982.

Music is often used in activity programs for elderly care-home residents in an attempt to meet some needs of the elderly.  However, there is a paucity of research regarding the effects of musical activities on the elderly.  Hence, there is little scientific support for the utilization of musical activities to meet any of their needs.  This study attempted to focus on one particular need of the elderly, that is remediation of depression, and to determine what effect, if any, music therapy has on depression in the elderly.

Sixteen elderly care-home residents volunteered as experimental subjects and nineteen residents volunteered as control subjects.  The experimental group experienced 17 one hour music therapy sessions bi-weekly for nine weeks.  These sessions consisted on three main sections of 20 minute duration each.  Section one focused on music making activities, section two focused on movement to music activities, and section three focused on music listening activities.  The control group went about their daily routine at the facility and had no music therapy sessions.  The Zung Self-rating Depression Scale was used as pretest and posttest for both groups.

The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to analyze data collected in the study.  Results indicated no significant difference in depression levels between the control and experimental groups before or after the music therapy sessions.  However, the results tended to indicate that music high level of depression, that is above 40 on the Zung SDS, than on subjects with a relatively low level of depression, that is 40 or lower on the Zung SDS.

Schwetye, A.E.  SPEECHREADING INSTRUCTION:  A COMPARISON STUDY BETWEEN A TRADITIONAL METHOD VERSUS A SINGING METHOD.  MME, RER, 1981.

Twenty-two male and female subjects, ranging in age from 60 to 91, agreed to participate in a study comparing a traditional speechreading method, Method A, with a singing speechreading method, Method B.  A hearing screening and a reading evaluation were given to each participant before beginning the actual testing.  The Utley Speechreading Test, Part 1, Form B, introduced by Dr. Jean Utley Lehman, was then administered to each participant.  Normal speaking rate, rhythm, stress, and motion were used.  The correct word for word response was recorded and scored one point.  The same procedure was used in-between the two instructional speechreading methods and at the close of the speechreading instruction.  The instruction room was under normal, standard interior illumination, with the subject placed at a frontal position five feet from the experimenter.  Each subject received both the traditional method, Method A, and the singing method, Method B, of speechreading.  For each instructional method a set of twenty different sentences was used for each day.  The instructional period for one method lasted four days, 15 to 30 minutes per day.  After the preliminary Utley, the first instruction period in which one half of the subjects received Method A first and the other half, Method B first, a second Utley test was given.  The methods then were reversed and those who received Method A first received Method B; while those who received Method B first received Method A.  The total instructional time was eight days.  Four different voicings were used for each day starting with day 1; normal voice, half voice, whisper, and no audible sound.  The gain scores from the three Utley tests were analyzed for significant results.  The results indicated there was interaction between order and method.  A further analysis revealed that Method A, the traditional method of speechreading, presented in the second serial position is significant--less than five times in one thousand would the F-value for 4.3694 occur.  Therefore, the null hypotheses of no difference for method in the second position is rejected.  The inference is that if Method B, the singing method is presented first, the speechreader learns to read lips but the whole process of speechreading is slowed because the vowel sound is lengthened.  When Method B, the singing method is presented first followed by Method A, the traditional method, the speechreader becomes confused because the transition from the slower reading process to the normal reading process is too abrupt and sudden.  In other words, both methods enable a person to learn to speechread but if the two are combined in the instructional process with Method B, the singing method presented first followed by Method A, the traditional method, confusion results.

Squires, V. L.  THE BEAT MAINTENANCE AND BEAT REPRODUCTION RESPONSES OF HEARING IMPAIRED AND NORMAL HEARING CHILDREN ON SUSTAINED AND PERCUSSIVE TEMPORAL INTERVALS.  MME, RER, 1982.

Understanding of the rhythmic perceptions of hearing impaired children is needed in order to facilitate teaching appropriate speech rhythm.  The purpose of this study was to compare empirically the beat reproduction responses to hearing impaired and normal hearing children with regard to beat stimulus and performance media conditions.

Seventy-four male and female subjects from sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classes and ranging in age from 11 to 13 years old volunteered for this study.  Forty-one children from the Louisburg Middle School, in Louisburg, Kansas served as the normal hearing population, and were characterized as enduring a hearing loss of zero to 25 dB above threshold.  Thirty-three hearing impaired children with hearing losses characterized as a marked loss of 55 dB to a severe loss of 90 dB or greater (ISO) volunteered from the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Subjects were assigned randomly to eight groups.  Half of each population was given a visual beat stimulus and performed beat reproduction responses on a Sonor bass xylophone or a pair of claves.  The other half of each population was given an auditory and a visual beat stimulus and performed beat reproduction responses on a Sonor bass xylophone or a pair of claves, as well.

The experimental task required the subjects to play their instrument (xylophone or claves) with a metronome producing flashing light or a flashing light and an audible tick at mm = 88 tempo.  Each subject watched or watched and listened to the metronome for eight beats.  Subjects played their assigned instrument with the metronome for eight beats.  The metronome then was turned off and subjects continued to play at the assigned tempo for eight beats.  The last eight beats of the subject’s task were timed by a standard timer and were compared with the established standard time based on mm = 88, whereby eight beats equal 5.45 seconds.  Raw data were converted into temporal deviations.

This study compared the accuracy of beat reproduction responses regarding the variables of hearing ability, performance media, and beat stimulus conditions.  A three-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the absolute temporal deviation scores and the .05 level of significance was chosen.

A significant difference was found between hearing ability groups regarding beat reproduction accuracy.  Normal hearing subjects demonstrated more accurate responses, while tending to play faster than the beat stimulus.  Hearing impaired subjects tended to play slower.  No significant differences were found regarding performance media.  A significant interaction was approached between hearing ability and beat stimulus with regard to beat accuracy.  It appeared that auditory input while performing the task may have interfered with the performance of hearing impaired subjects, but no conclusions are drawn because significance only was approached.

1982-1983

Kvam, Nancy E.  A SURVEY OF TEACHERS AND PARENTS FROM SELECTED SUZUKI VIOLIN STUDIOS.  MME, PAH, 1983.

The purpose of this study was to examine program characteristics of five Suzuki violin studios in the Kansas City region and to compare them with the ideas envisioned by Shinichi Suzuki and practiced in Suzuki violin programs of Japan.  Questionnaires were designed to survey directors, teachers, and parents of the studios.  A program characteristics questionnaire was developed to gather information about the policies and practices of studios.  A questionnaire for Suzuki teachers was designed to determine their musical background and training.  Finally, a parent questionnaire was developed to examine demographic features of participating families, levels of parental involvement, and parents’ perceptions of the effects of this instruction upon their children and home.

Surveyed studios followed Suzuki’s philosophy and method closely.  The study revealed the following differences:  (a) only 25 percent of the parents observed other private lessons, whereas Japanese parents observed for an extra hour each week; (b) note reading was introduced to students in volumes two or three, compared to volume four in Japan; (c) children typically began violin instruction at age four, compared to age three in Japan; and (d) parents of these students reported less time devoted to practice when compared to an estimated Japanese average.

All Suzuki teachers in this survey had been trained in the method and had revised their teaching approach to follow this method.  Many of the experienced teachers had studied with Suzuki, had attended the Talent Education Institute in Japan, and were national teacher trainers in the method.

As a group, the surveyed parents far surpassed the national norms for level of education and earned income.  As home teachers, parents felt that they could best assist their children by following the teacher’s suggestions for practice, providing encouragement, and insuring correct playing habits and a consistent practice time.  Many parents felt that Suzuki instruction provided a basis for close relationships with their children. The home environment was perceived to be more music-oriented.  Parents reported that their children had developed enhanced self-esteem and skills in listening, memorization, and concentration as a result of participation in these programs.

Mattson, Alan K.  MUSIC AS A FOCUS IN AN ATTENTION TASK WITH SCHIZOPHRENIC AND NORMAL POPULATIONS.  MME, GLD, 1983.

The purpose of this study was to compare a schizophrenic population to a normal population with respect to the ability to divide voluntary attention between two simultaneous prolonged and attention-demanding tasks involving laterialized music auditory input.  The two tasks involved single attention and divided attention.  Selected instruments within the musical structure were the lateralized (left-right movement) stimuli to be monitored or tracked by the subjects.  Variables measured included:  (1) overall correct responses, (2) reaction time, and (3) false positive responses.

Subjects included twelve individuals with a schizophrenic diagnosis and a control group of twelve individuals who have never received psychiatric treatment.  All subjects listened over headphones to ten pre-recorded songs and responded to stimulus changes via a signal box containing four momentary contact switches which were connected to a Rustrak eight channel Even Recorded.  Responses were measured from the graph paper and numerical values were assigned.  Three analyses of variance using a three factor mixed design with repeated measured on two factors were performed on the collected data.

Of forty-two hypotheses tested, sixteen were rejected.  Findings suggest differences exist in auditory information processing between the groups.  Also, there seems to exist a hyper-scanning ability within the schizophrenic population which was responsible for many false positive responses.  Overall, both groups were unable to monitor information as accurately on two channels as was accomplished on one.

May, Jr., William Vernon.  MUSICAL STYLE PREFERENCES AND AURAL DISCRIMINATION SKILLS OF PRIMARY GRADE SCHOOL CHILDREN.  Ph.D., GNH, 1983.

This study sought to (1) measure first, second, and third grade students’ preferential reactions to aurally presented musical stimuli representing various styles, (2) determine the effects of grouping by grade level, gender, and race on music preferences, and (3) determine the relationship between children’s music preferences and their aural discrimination skills.  Preferences of 577 Mississippi, Kansas, and Texas children were measured via the Music Preference Reaction Index (MPRI), a non-verbal, non-numeric pictographic self-report form on which students recorded like/dislike responses to 24 musical stimuli.  MPRI reliability estimates (coefficient alpha) ranged from .74 to .90.  Validity was established through factor analytic means.  Aural skills were measured via the Primary Measures of Music Audiation (PMMA).  A 3x2x2 multivariate analysis of variance of MPRI scores yielded significant grade level, gender, and race main effects and non significant interaction effects.  Canonical correlation analysis of PMMA and MPRI variables produced two significant canonical variates accounting for 26% of the total variance, thus indicating a small, positive, bidimensional relationship.

Data analyses revealed:  (1) Primary grade children preferred rock and country and western styles over all others.  With advancing grade level, these preferences became more pronounced suggesting a convergence of music preferences toward popular styles.  (2) Art, jazz, show, march, ethnic, and folk styles were not as well liked; however, first grade subjects held less disdain for those styles than did older subjects.  (3) Gender group responses differed among excerpts featuring high/low dynamism characteristics.  Females preferred low musical dynamism while males favored high dynamism.  (4) Differences in racial group preferences were associated only with excerpts exhibiting identifiably racial content.  (5) The relationship between preferences and aural skills, though statistically significant, was of limited practical value.  However, one dimension’s configuration suggested that preference for certain musical content might be related to skillful discrimination of that certain content.  This relation, however, was meager in magnitude.

McIntyre, Rodney A.  A STUDY OF TWO APPROACHES TO ELEMENTARY PERCUSSION INSTRUCTION.  MME, JWG, 1982.

The writer’s objective was to discover what effect, if any, mallet percussion training for beginning percussionists would have on their attitude, self-image, and development of their ability to perceive pitch and intervals.

The sample for the study consisted of beginning fifth grade percussionists in northwest Iowa schools.  The control group was given instruction on snare drum and bass drum and used the Belwin First Division Band Method and the Experimental group was given instruction on snare drum and bass drum in the same method book, but was also given instruction on mallet instruments using the Belwin First Division Band Method.

At the conclusion of the ten week experimental period, the experimental and control groups were tested over their ability to perceive pitch and intervals, their attitudes about percussion study and participation in band and their snare drum playing ability.

Results of the tests indicated that there was no significant difference in the senses of pitch developed by members of the two groups, but experimental group members scored significantly higher on the test dealing with the recognition of intervals within melodies.  It was the researcher’s opinion that there was a recognizable trend in the attitude test results which indicated a difference in the attitudes and self-images between the two groups.

Results from the snare drum playing test indicated no significant difference between members of the control group and members of the experimental group in their abilities to understand and play elementary rhythmic figures on the snare drum.

Meeks, Veronica Gayle.  A HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE LAWRENCE (KANSAS) HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA, 1896-1953.  ME, GNH, 1983.

The purpose of this study was to look at the development of the high school string program in the Lawrence (Kansas) Public School District from its earliest appearance to 1953.  The study sought answers to the following questions:  (1) Was there any parallel between the development of the Lawrence string program and that of string programs nationwide?  (2) What factors could account for any observable differences?  (3) When did a school orchestra first appear?  (4) How was the string program organized?  (5) Were there any “outstanding” teachers in the program?  (6) Did the program have community support?

Data were gathered from articles in the Lawrence Journal World and the Kansas Music Review; school board annual reports; the Lawrence High School newspaper; and other publications in the files of the school district which pertained to the string program.  Interviews were held with former directors, administrators, and others who had contact or involvement with the program and other programs nationwide, special attention was given not only to the history of Lawrence and Kansas, but also to events and conditions in American society which might have had some bearing on string program development during the period studied.

The earliest appearance of a high school orchestra at Lawrence was in 1896.  The next appearance of such an ensemble was in 1912, and the existence of some type of orchestra in the high school has been continuous since that time.  The evolution of the Lawrence string program has followed very closely the patterns of similar programs nationwide.  As in other early high school orchestras, the instrumentation was dependent on what was available.  Orchestra participation was encouraged as a form of recreation for students.  An elementary string program was later created in 1924 to replace high school students who dropped out or graduated.  Differences between the Lawrence program and others were mainly due to the proximity of the district to The University of Kansas.  From the time the orchestra began to the present, the University had a profound influence. The involvement of the University faculty and students, especially in the early years, kept the orchestra going.  Support from school administrators, such as Neal Wherry and Sarah Barnhart, and from the Lawrence community made the program’s growth possible.  There were three teachers who had a tremendous influence in the success of the program:  Clarence Sawhill, Oliver Hobbs, and Jack Stephenson.

Miller, Linda Bryant.  MUSIC IN EARLY CHILDHOOD:  NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN’S MUSICAL BEHAVIORS.  Ph.D., JPG, 1983.

The purpose of this research was to describe musical behaviors which young children demonstrate naturally, and to describe how these behaviors were demonstrated in interactions with peers.  Musical development of 3, 4, and 5 year olds was examined in terms of conservation, vocal, melodic, rhythmic, and motor skills acquisition.  The critical period of development, the roles of parents and teachers, and the effects of environment on the developing child were discussed.  Background of the study was provided through theories and methodologies of Piaget, Montessori, and the Pillsbury Foundation School.

Ninety-five children selected from eight preschools and kindergartens in eastern Kansas were observed in their natural settings.  Appropriate musical materials were provided and subjects were allowed to manipulate materials freely and spontaneously.  Naturalistic inquiry was used to accomplish the purposes of this research.  Because theory is derived from data in the process called “grounding,” observation was divided into two phases.  The first phase grounded behaviors until no new information was provided by subjects.  A Musical Behavior Observation Matrix (MBOM), including 30 behaviors common to all classrooms, was designed to assess musical and social interactions by age, race, and sex of the subjects.  In the second observation phase data were coded on the MBOM, via event sampling techniques, as target behaviors occurred.

Results showed that young children were capable of creating music without teacher intervention.  No differences were observed in terms of race or environment.  Differences related to the age and sex of subjects were shown, i.e., females demonstrated more movement than did males; males requested records to be played and used drums more than did females; 3 year olds were more involved in solitary and symbolic play than were older children; 4 and 5 year olds were successful at some tasks which few 3 year olds could master, and they imitated each other more than did the younger children.

Ney, Jean Severance.  USING SMALL ENSEMBLES:  THEIR EFFECTS OF ATTITUDES AND PERFORMANCE ABILITIES IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND.  MME, RER, 1983.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of small ensembles in addition to full band literature within the framework of the middle school band class would improve attitudes and performance abilities.

During the sixteen week study members of the clarinet, flute, and trumpet sections of an urban middle school band were divided randomly into control and experimental homogeneous groups.  The control groups rehearsed band literature in small groups two days a week while the experimental groups rehearsed small ensemble literature.  The other three days a week everyone participated in the full band rehearsal.  Students were given a teacher-constructed attitude inventory and a performance ability test on a pretest-posttest basis.

The analyses of covariance of posttest attitude scores, with pretest scores as the covariate, showed no significant difference between the control and experimental groups in the clarinet and flute sections, while the trumpet section showed a significant (p<.025) difference in favor of the experimental group.  Coefficient alpha for the attitude inventory was .44 for the pretest and .66 for the posttest.  Analyses of covariance of posttest performance ability scores, with pretest scores as the covariate, indicated no significant differences between the control and experimental groups, although all experimental groups showed a net gain in ability while only the clarinet and flute control groups showed net gains in ability.  Removing students from the full band rehearsal for small ensemble work did not appear to diminish the quality of attitudes and performance abilities on the part of either the students or the entire band.

Phonraya, Chuleeporn.  A MODEL SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM FOR TEACHING THE HISTORY OF THAI ART.  MA, AS, 1983.

High schools in the United States have often elected to add art history courses to their curricula.  For the most part, however, Southeast Asian art has not been included in course offerings.  In particular, high schools do not offer courses or in-depth information on the history of Thai art and architecture.  Thai art is a fine and delicate art; unfortunately, its characteristics and history are currently known only to a small group of archaeologists and art historians.  The principal reasons courses on Thai art are not offered in high schools appear to be (1) because of this country’s close historic and cultural ties with Europe, emphasis has been on European history and European art, and (2) teachers in the high schools who are responsible for the teaching of art history have not been exposed at the college level to Thai art.

This thesis proposes a partial solution to this problem by introducing teachers to Thai art and architecture.  The author discusses the various periods in the history of Thai art and architecture and offers a comprehensive course structure for the teaching of Thai art at the high school level.  References are given to important works on Thai art and architecture in order that the teacher may supplement this outline further.  A course sequence is offered based on a chronological approach to Thai art history.  The chronological approach was selected because it is seen as the most appropriate method for an introductory course and the easiest to follow.  Other methods for teaching Thai art are discussed as well. Several illustrations are offered to assist the teacher in describing certain aspects or characteristics of Thai art and architecture.  A set of 73 slides is included as suggested teaching material.  Each slide is described in some detail.

The entire course is designed as an introductory course in the history of Thai art and architecture.  The presentation of materials is simplified for use by teachers who have no background in Southeast Asian art history.  Lesson plans and sample tests are provided which cover the proposed course content.  A glossary of terms is provided as well.

It is hoped that this thesis will generate more interest in Thai art, both for educators and students, and that the proposed course outline and content will provide the basis for a solid and comprehensive history of Thai art and architecture to be offered to high school students.

Raney, Mary Ann.  A SURVEY OF TEENAGERS’ ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS CONCERNING THE CURRENT STATUS OF MUSIC IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.  MME, PAH, 1983.

The purpose of this study was to gather information concerning the current perceptions and opinions of teenaged young persons about contemporary liturgical practices relating to music in the Roman Catholic Church.

A questionnaire was developed as a result of concentrated bibliographic research and several months of direct observation and involvement with liturgy and teenagers in the Kansas City area.  Two hundred statements were devised and evaluated.  Fifty-five were selected as most important and placed in questionnaire format.

Pilot testing resulted in changing and clarifying several items, after which the final form was disseminate to 520 eighth through twelfth grade students.  Distribution and collection of the questionnaire was carried on by teachers in one grade school and two high schools in the Kansas City, Kansas area.  Three hundred-sixty questionnaires were returned by 174 boys and 186 girls.  To provide the added dimension for comparison purposes, questionnaires were sent to 30 priests in the northeastern Kansas area and 20 were returned.

An Apple II Plus microcomputer was programmed to provide response totals and percentages for each item by teenage and priest groupings, as well as by teenage male and female and priests “under 40” and “40 and over” subgroupings; ttests for the significance of the difference between percentages were applied where appropriate.  The findings were analyzed in terms of the basic research questions posed in the study:

1.      What are teenagers opinions concerning the role of music in the Roman Catholic Church Liturgy?

2.      In what respects, if any do male and female teenagers differ concerning music in the liturgy?

3.      In what respects, if any do teenagers and priests differ concerning music in the liturgy?

4.      In what respects, if any, do priests “under 40” years of age and those “40 and above” differ concerning music in the liturgy?

In conclusion, it was found that while there appeared to be considerable agreement among all groups and subgroups, noteworthy points of diametric opposition as well as disagreement “in degree” were identified.  These latter points may be particularly worthwhile items for discussion and further study in an effort to bring about better mutual understanding and more effective liturgical practice.

Sink, Patricia Elizabeth.  EFFECTS OF RHYTHMIC AND MELODIC ALTERA-TIONS AND SELECTED MUSICAL EXPERIENCES ON RHYTHMIC PROCESSING.  Ph.D., RER, 1983.

Consumers, performers, and composers of music agree that rhythm orders and energizes musical events.  Organization of musical rhythm depends, in part, upon the objective ordering of rhythmic characteristics and is determined by activities within the music listener.  Rhythmic structures in music are complex, consisting of multiple dimensions which repeat and vary within the boundaries of musical form.  Recent research on rhythmic processing and performance behaviors has yielded disparate findings.

The current study investigated the psychological dimensions underlying auditory processing of monotonic and melodic-rhythmic patterns, and influences of musical experiences on the dimensionality of musicians’ rhythmic processing.  Compositional devices were used to systematically vary duration or apparent tempo, meter, rhythmic patterning, and melodic patterning of 91 pairs of musical patterns.  In the main study, nineteen instrumentalists (INST) and nineteen vocalists and pianists (VP) indicated ratings of rhythmic dissimilarities via magnitude estimations, and indicated past musical experiences via a questionnaire.

Rhythmic dissimilarity ratings were analyzed by the KYST-2 computer program for multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) using the “split-by-deck” and “split-by-group” options.  Dimensional solutions based on MDS analyses of mean and split data were selected and interpreted.  Based on subject stress values resulting from the “split-by-group” analyses, the investigator inferred the dimensionality of each subject’s auditory processing of apparent rhythmic dissimilarity. Influences of nine musical experience variables on the dimensionality of each subject’s rhythmic processing were examined.

Subjects processing rhythm in one dimension based ratings on the amount of global rhythmic dissimilarity in pairs of musical patterns; in two dimensions, on changes in duration and pitch characteristics, and apparent tempo; in three dimensions, on changes in duration and pitch characteristics, apparent tempo, and rhythmic and melodic phrase patterning; and in a higher dimensionality than three, on changes in duration and pitch characteristics, apparent tempo, rhythmic and melodic phrase patterning, and monotony.  Both major performing instrument and instrument classification significantly affected the dimensionality of subjects’ rhythmic processing.  Analyses of variance also showed a slight effect of generic style music listening preference and music course experiences on rhythmic processing.

Results of this study corroborated findings of other studies relating to information processing of music stimuli.  Apparent alterations in tempo, duration and pitch characteristics, rhythmic and melodic phase patterning, and monotony were shown to be organizers of rhythmic processing.  The importance of each organizer for subjects depended in part on the objective ordering of the rhythmic and tonal information, and in part on past formal and informal musical experiences.

Turk, Gayla Claire.  DEVELOPMENT OF THE MUSIC LISTENING STRATEGY -- TEMPO: COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION IN MUSIC LISTENING.  Ph.D., RER, 1983.

This study’s purpose was to develop and test the Music Listening Strategy -- TEMPO (MLS-TEMPO), an individualized, computer-assisted instructional package for the acquisition of tempo discrimination skills by junior high school students.  Based on a learning strategy model, the package focused on tempo as an organizational due in music listening.

The prototype design of the MLS-TEMPO consisted of three phases; (I) Pretest, (II) Instructional Phase, and (III) Posttest.  Phase II was divided into two parts; Part 1 focused on the discrimination of tempo changes while Part 2 focused on whether the tempo increased or decreased.  Each part consisted of four sections; (1) monotonic recurring beat patterns, (2) monotonic rhythmic patterns, (3) melodic patterns, and (4) complex musical excerpts.  The student’s task involved discriminating whether or not the tempo changed, and if it did, whether it increased or decreased.

Designed for the Apple II Plus microcomputer interfaced with the Alpha Syntauri music system, the MLS-TEMPO was tested with 30 eleven to fourteen year old volunteers.  After completing the MLS-TEMPO session, the subjects completed the Student Questionnaire designed to gather musical experience information and to assess subjects’ responses to the package.  Data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics and frequency tables.

Results showed significant pre-posttest gains for the eight subjects who completed Phases II and III.  Instrument and instrument classification significantly effected Pretest scores; all brass and string players met the Pretest criterion while some members of each of the other groups did not and consequently were branched to Phase II.

Subjects responded positively to the package.  Instructions and explanations were clear, and both musical excerpts and the overall package were interesting and helpful in understanding tempo.  Most subjects verbally commented that it was fun.  These findings indicated that the MLS-TEMPO may be an effective instructional package sensitive to individual differences.

Wylie, Mary Ellen.  ELICITING VOCAL RESPONSES IN SEVERELY AND PROFOUNDLY MENTALLY HANDICAPPED SUBJECTS.  MME, JPG, 1982.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of various accompanying instruments or timbres for eliciting sung responses.  Subjects were 28 severely and profoundly mentally handicapped students, ages 8 to 20 years old.  A counterbalanced design was used to vary the order of four songs and the four accompanying timbres (guitar, piano, solo voice, and ensemble) on four different tapes.  Two scores were measured for each subject’s response:  One score represented the total length of time a subject sang with each accompaniment, while the second reflected the number of discrete utterances elicited by each timbre.

Interrater reliability for three judges indicated a mean r of .80 for length of response, and a mean r of .95 for number of utterances.  Results of a MANOVA indicated no significant difference between mean scores for length of response.  Result for number of utterances revealed significant differences (p<.002) between mean accompaniment scores, with the solo voice eliciting the greatest number of responses.  The presented order of timbres on a tape also proved to be a significant factor affecting responses.  Greater responses were recorded to the tape in which the accompaniment order was piano, voice, guitar, and ensemble, than to the other three tapes.

1984

Browne, Nancy J.  A MUSIC-BASED COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE FOR NONHANDICAPPED.  NONVERBAL, AND BLIND, YOUNG CHILDREN.  Ph.D., GLD, 1984.

The purpose of devising the Auditory Perception Cognition Profile, a music based assessment procedure, was to provide music therapists and other special services personnel with a valid, reliable, method for assessing cognitive functioning in young children, including visually impaired, blind, and non-verbal children.

The test development process included item development and selection, pilot testing and trial administration.  Seventeen experts were consulted in selecting fifteen items.  The APCP was administered twice to 54 children to study reliability.  Interobserver, intertester, and test-retest reliabilities were all near 90%, and acceptable level.  After these statistics were computed, additional 220 children were tested and the combined data were used to order the test items from most to least passed and to develop preliminary age norms.  The following pattern of development was observed in children:  two beat imitation, discrimination, imagery, seriation, conservation, and class inclusion.  The APCP was administered to 50 blind children and 15 nonverbal children to examine whether the test was accessible to these children.  A few handicapped children were unresponsive, but the majority of handicapped children responded appropriately to the test items.  The items were accessible to the visually impaired and blind children, and to the responsive nonverbal children.

Crook, Nedra R.  PREDICTION OF SELF-PERCEIVED PERFORMANCE ABILITY AMONG JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS THROUGH THE RELATIONSHIP OF MUSICAL APTITUDE AND SUCCESS.  MME, RER, 1984.

This study’s central purpose was to develop selection devices for junior high instructors to use in building confident performance groups.  An additional purpose was to help the instructor to understand learning potentials of individual participants in order to provide a sufficient music program.

Instructors faced with deciding who participates in a musical performance group must look at various attributes of the participants.  One such attribute, self-perceived performance ability, was defined as an indicator of potential talent.  How one anticipates he/she will perform, known as expectancy for success, and musical aptitude defined as one’s potential capabilities in music regardless of innate ability or formal training, were selected as predictors of self-perceived performance ability by the investigator.  These were used as selection devices and aids in identifying individual capabilities.  The testing devices chosen for this task were Gordon’s (1965) Musical Aptitude Profile, which measured musical aptitude, Fibel and Hale’s (1978) Generalized Expectancy for Success Scale measured the success variable, and the criterion variable, self-perceived performance ability, was measured by the investigator’s own tool Musical Performance Confidence Scale (MPCS).

Students in three rural Eastern Kansas schools were administered the MAP, GESS, and the MPCS for three consecutive weeks, the same day, same time each week.

The summary statistics revealed School Three’s superiority among the three variables which suggested perhaps the class instruction paralleled the measurement of the tests more than the other two schools.  Differences in test administration, attitude, motivation, class instruction or presence of fewer extreme scores could account for this variability.

The statistical evidence from the correlations and regression equation were low and allowed little explanatory power in the model.  Weaknesses determined from these low relationships were:  (1) MPCS designed to measure only performance tendencies not actual ability; and (2) the success variable was too generalized, not specific enough to measure musically.

Recommendations for further research or replication include the following:  an attitude measurement regarding musical ability should be developed to indicate any differences in environment or cultural background; a musical ability rating scale of actual performances could provide stability in measuring musical ability; and an investigation to determine the possibilities of combining these notions for use as objective selection devices for performance groups.

Eiland, Dianna Kay.  A HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS BAND FROM 1878 TO 1934.  MME, GNH, 1984.

The purpose of this study was to inquire into and trace the growth and development of the band at the University of Kansas from its inception in 1878 through the retirement of Joseph C. McCanles in 1934.  The character, organization, status, and mission were studied as well as the functioning of the band and its educational role at the University. Changes in the band’s concert programming and instrumentation were also studied.

Using the techniques of historical research, information was collected concerning the history of the band.  Information was also collected concerning Joseph C. McCanles.  The activities, concert programs, instrumentation, and educational aspects of the band were studied.  Relatives and band members of J.C. McCanles were contacted, and oral history techniques were used to collect information.  Informal telephone interviews were also used.  The authenticity and credibility of the data was established.

The University of Kansas band existed to provide entertainment and education to the students of the University and the community at large.  The band was organized as a quasi-military group.  It provided entertainment for athletic events, music for outdoor University events, and a musical experience for bandsmen and audiences through its concerts.  McCanles provided musical training for the members of the band by allowing them to perform what he considered to be good concert music.  McCanles served as a music educator for the bandsmen, students and the community.  The University administration considered the band a functional asset but devoted only minimal funds toward its support.

The band’s concert programming, formed by McCanles’ concepts, consisted of transcripts, novelties, overtures, solos, marches, college and pop songs, small ensembles, patriotic songs, and waltzes and dances.  The band’s instrumentation varied from semester to semester being dependent on availability among the University students.  The brass section was consistently larger than the woodwind section.  The membership trend was bimodal having peaks in 1917 and 1926.

Johnson, Thomas Eric.  THE EFFECTS OF COMPLEX PARTIAL MASKING ON LOUDNESS GROWTH OF PURE TONES AND SPEECH.  Ph.D., RER, 1984.

The purposes of this study were to (1) determine loudness growth rates for simple and complex sounds in the presence of musically complex partial masking stimuli, and (2) determine the effects of sensorineural hearing impairment on loudness under similar conditions.

Pure tones (100 Hertz) and speech excerpts were presented binaurally to normal hearing subjects (n=10) and hearing impaired subjects (n=10), who used magnitude estimation techniques to indicate loudness growth under a variety of partial masking conditions.  Five-second pure tones and speech samples, which were varied randomly across a range of 35dB SPL (from 55 to 90dB SPL) in 5 decibel increments, were partially masked by musical background stimuli that varied in dynamics, rhythmic pulse, scale degrees, and combinations of these.

Results indicated that (1) loudness increased as a function of sound pressure level, (2) loudness grew at a lesser rate than intensity, (3) pure tones and speech were perceived similarly, (4) normal hearing subjects perceived loudness differently than hearing impaired subjects in the presence of partial masking stimuli, and (5) a lawful power function relationship between loudness and sound pressure level was demonstrated when loudness was graphed on logarithmic coordinates.  More surprising, however, (1) loudness growth rates were less in hearing impaired subjects than normal hearing subjects, (2) there was a significant difference among the effects of partial masking conditions, and (3) musically complex partial masking affected both types of subjects in a different manner.  In addition, partial masking conditions that were characterized by rhythmic pulse tended to produce higher slopes than those characterized by dynamics and scale degrees.

Rowan, James M.  A HISTORY OF MUSIC THERAPY IN TOPEKA, KANSAS, FROM 1881 THROUGH 1956.  MME, GNH, 1984.

This study examined the use of music for therapeutic purposes in the psychiatric facilities of Topeka, Kansas, between the years 1881 and 1956.  It also investigated the organizational efforts of music therapists in Topeka during this time period.  The study researched the following questions:  1) what events led to the introduction and growth of music therapy in Topeka; 2) what figures played significant roles in this process; 3) what was the relationship between the music therapy movement in Topeka and the educational efforts of the University of Kansas; 4) how did the professional identity of music therapists in Topeka develop; 5) what particular theories of music therapy practice emerged from Topeka; and 6) what events in Topeka had implications for the entire therapy field.

Research was conducted by means of an examination of pertinent written material, including books, journal articles, yearbooks of the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT), minutes of meetings, brochures, archival files, and photographs.  In addition, several individuals either were interviewed personally or submitted information on cassette tapes. 

The investigation indicated that musical activities were common at Topeka State Hospital during the last two decades of the nineteenth century.  Music was being used at the Menninger Sanitarium, a private facility, as early as 1932, in conjunction with a treatment philosophy known as milieu therapy.  When Winter Veterans Administration Hospital was established in 1945, the collaborative efforts of Dr. Karl Menninger of the Menninger Sanitarium and Dr. E. Thayer Gaston of the University of Kansas resulted in the establishment of a clinical training program for music therapy students and the placement of the first trained music therapists in Topeka facilities.

Topeka music therapists formed a professional organization in 1950.  This organization hosted two national conferences of NAMT in Topeka in 1952 and 1956.  Topeka also served as the site of the organizational meeting of the Midwestern Region of NAMT in 1953.  Music therapists and other professional clinicians contributed substantially to the body of literature on the use of music therapy in psychiatric settings.

Taylor, Dale B.  PROFESSIONAL MUSIC THERAPIST OPINION CONCERNING COMPETENCIES FOR ENTRY LEVEL MUSIC THERAPY PRACTITIONERS.  Ph.D., GLD, 1984.

The basic assumption of this project was that intended therapeutic outcomes should lead to determine of professional competencies needed to achieve results.  It was hypothesized that (a) music therapy professionals hold similar opinions s to the value of specific competencies for effective practice, (b) groups of competencies tend to be rated similarly by practicing music therapists, and (c) judgments as to the necessity of entry level competencies tend to occur in groups which correspond to the treatment philosophies, client populations served, educational levels, years of experience, and institutional settings served by the music therapy practitioners.

Literature in the area of competency identification reflects use of presage, process and produce criteria, expert consensus, job task analysis, and practitioner testimony.

In Phase I of the present study, 150 competency statements were drawn from various investigations, instructional objectives, standards of practice, and published lists of competencies.  The survey was sent to 1907 Registered Music Therapists for their ratings on an 8-point scale of the necessity of each competency for the entry level practitioner.  Those Phase I items whose ratings did not result in clear practitioner sentiment were refined and reassembled into a 100-item Phase II survey.  It was sent to 100 randomly selected Registered and Certified Music Therapists.  Validity was established through three separate panels of three judges each.

In the 641 (33.6%) usable Phase I responses and 100 Phase II responses, behaviorism was the single most preferred and most used treatment philosophy, although more Phase II respondents indicated an “eclectic” approach.  Developmentally disabled clients were the largest group being served, and the psychiatric hospital was the most frequently marked setting.  Less than 3 years of experience had been completed by 47.1% of the respondents, 68.6% had less than 5 years, and 69.9% had completed no higher than a bachelors degree.  Seventy-nine percent of the Phase I competencies averaged in the upper half of the scale, and 66% in Phase II.  The Phase I coefficient alpha reliability was .97287 and Phase II alpha was .96507.

The first hypothesis was confirmed as a majority of the competencies did elicit similar ratings, especially on items having higher mean scores.  The second hypothesis was confirmed as ten groups of items were identified through factor analysis.  Their topics were (1) geriatrics, (2) music theory, (3) group leadership, (4) eliciting client responses, (5) intervention strategies, (6) treatment plans, (7) the profession, (8) research, (9) interdisciplinary communication, and (10) Orff techniques.  The third hypothesis was rejected for treatment philosophy and setting, and only partially supported for clients, education and years of experience.

1985

Beck, Jeffrey.  AN ANALYTICAL SURVEY OF THREE SCHOOL DISTRICT STRING PROGRAMS:  COMMONALITIES AND DIFFERENCES.  MME, JWG, 1985.

The purpose of this study has been to examine three different districts and the status of their string programs.  The districts studied were Kansas City, Kansas (USD 500), Lawrence (USD 497), and Shawnee Mission (USD 512).  It was hoped that information gleaned in comparing the different string programs would be helpful in developing new string programs.

All three districts reported that the string programs were growing.  Evidence seemed to be to the contrary when comparing the number and size of orchestras in the past.  A survey was instrumented to obtain information on various aspects of a string program.  Subject matter included instructor turn-over, attitudes of administrators, instructors and the community toward the string program, string specialist availability, number of students participating in the string program, instrument rental availability, drop out rate for string players, background of the instructors and teacher preparedness.  Conclusions have been drawn and recommendations made as warranted.

Bergee, Martin J.  A HISTORY OF MUSIC EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS FROM 1947-1955.  MME, GNH, 185.

This study is a history of the department of music education at the University of Kansas from 1947-1955.  Sources include:  (1) books and journal articles pertaining to the subject matter; (2) theses and dissertations containing related material; (3) material from the University of Kansas Archives in Spencer Research Library; (4) material from the Department of Art and Music Education and Music Therapy at the University of Kansas; and (5) oral evidence from persons with primary knowledge of important events.

E. Thayer Gaston was chairman of the music education department within these years, and the study is an analysis of his influence on the people and events these years contained.  Events discussed include the faculty members’ busy schedule of professional travel, the expansion and upgrading of the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, the relationship of the departments of music education and music, and the School of Education’s move into Bailey Hall.

The study contains information on Gaston’s critical role in an event of international importance:  the founding of the graduate music therapy program at the University of Kansas.  The study also contains information on the expansion of the faculty and a brief profile of those faculty members.

Davis, William B.  AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED NINETEENTH CENTURY MUSIC THERAPY LITERATURE.  Ph.D., GNH, 1985.

The history of music therapy in the United States has not been thoroughly investigated and documented.  The few sources containing information on the historical uses of music in medicine concentrated primarily on twentieth century practices, while virtually omitting nineteenth century contributions to the field.

The purpose of this study was to analyze selected music therapy literature of nineteenth century America.  An examination of sources during this period indicated that most reports of music therapy activity in this country were in medical journals and in two dissertations composed by medical students.

The present study focused on four sub-problems:  (1) biographical information on each author, (2) a content analysis of each article, (3) an examination of the origin of ideas found in each paper, and (4) an analysis of how the literature evolved over the course of the nineteenth century.  A total of nine articles were analyzed.

The dissertation was based on primary evidence located in medical journals and dissertations written between 1804 and 1899.  The sources were located in a variety of bibliographies found in books, journals, dissertations, and theses.

Cornell, Cheryl Lynn.  MUSIC AS A PALLIATIVE TO COLD PRESSOR PAIN:  EFFECTS UPON THRESHOLD AND TOLERANCE.  MME, ACG, 1985.

The recent discovery of pain-relieving endorphins and the currently accepted gate-control theory of pain perception have renewed interest in non-invasive pain management strategies.  Music has long functioned to reduce pain, but empirical studies generally pair music with other strategies such as relaxation or suggestion.  It was the purpose of this study to examine and isolate the effects of music on cold pressor pain threshold and tolerance in healthy male college students.

Twenty-seven healthy male college students were individually administered either one or two cold pressor trials in a double-blind situation.  During immersion, subjects heard either 5 minutes of silence or 5 minutes of music from Steven Halpern’s Spectrum Suite.  Subjects signaled the first discomfort sensation, then withdrew the immersed arm when the discomfort became intolerable, or after 5 minutes, whichever came first.  Sixty seconds postwithdrawal, subjects rated the discomfort on a visual-analogue scale.

Results of the study supported the null hypothesis that music had no significant effect on either threshold or subjective rating of cold pressor pain.  The data on tolerance was not analyzed because 26 of the 27 subjects tolerated the full 30 second exposure.  Analyses of variance indicated that threshold and subjective pain perceptions did not vary over time, and that post-test results were not prejudiced by having a pre-test.  It was concluded that the investigation should be repeated with modifications and a larger sample size before ruling out music as an effective pain management strategy.

Fox, Barbara Gordy.  A COMPILATION OF VIOLIN MUSIC AND ITS RELEVANCE FOR THE AVERAGE HIGH SCHOOL VIOLIN STUDENT.  MME, GLD, 1985.

Because of the violin’s extensive use as a solo instrument since the middle 1500’s, there has been a very large amount of music written for it.  This thesis deals with two portions of the music written for the violin:  the violin as an unaccompanied solo instrument and violin with piano accompaniment.

A list of violin solo and violin with piano accompaniment music was compiled from publisher’s catalogs, music store stock, music libraries, and violinist’s libraries.  Three professional violin teachers in Oklahoma critiqued the compilation.  The teachers indicated which of the pieces of music they knew, which of the known pieces were deemed playable by the average high school violin student, what technical and expressive problems those pieces would present for that student, and an estimated difficulty rating.

Letters were sent to 159 publishers and distributors of violin music.  Of the 159, 64 returned catalogs of their music.  From these catalogs, a list of 1,755 pieces was compiled.

The three judges responded with 203 pieces known, but only 30 agreed upon to be playable by the average high school violin student.  Difficulty ratings were evenly divided among the 30 pieces deemed playable.  There were 8 pieces listed as “difficult,” 9 pieces “moderate,” and 8 were marked “easy.”

In summary, there is a lot of music written for the violin solo and violin with piano accompaniment; but relatively little of it is known to the professional violin teacher, and a very small amount of the known music is judged suitable for the average high school violin student.

It could be concluded that teachers must broaden their music literature knowledge to incorporate the new or little known music available to them.  There are possibly new and better teaching tools available if the music were utilized more fully.

Grimes, Ev.  CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN COMPOSERS ON MUSIC EDUCATION FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC.  Ph.D., PAH, 1985.

The purpose of this study is to review what composers have written in the recent past about music education for the general public and to build upon this with an analysis of personal interviews with American composers concerning what they are currently saying about the subject.  A set of questions was developed as a result of discussions with composers and educators, and from the review of the literature.  Twenty-nine composers were selected on the basis of professional recognition and stylistic and geographic variety.  The interviews, which were recorded from February through October, 1984, were transcribed and the transcripts were edited.  The material from the transcripts was collated to compare what the interviewed composers say and to point up areas of agreement and disagreement within the six research topics:  (1) what music is and does, (2) goals of music education for the general public, (3) composers and the sonic environment, (4) responsibility for the music education of the general public, (5) the interviewed composers as teachers, and (6) composers on teaching training.

It is apparent from the composers’ cooperation with and generous response to the project that many American composers are concerned about the music education of the general public.  Many of the interviewed composers had obviously given much thought to the topic, and they all had much to offer in at least several of the areas.

Hall, Karen Abraham.  COMPARISON OF MELODIC AND VERBAL PRESENTATION MODES ON AUDITORY SERIAL LEARNING BY LEARNING DISABLED CHILDREN.  MME, ACG, 1985.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of musical mnemonic devices on the learning patterns of learning disabled children.

A total of 33 fifth and sixth grade learning disabled students from seven self-contained special education classes participated in the study with the written permission of parents or guardians.  Subjects were assigned randomly to one of three experimental conditions:  verbal, melodic with a familiar melody, or melodic with an unfamiliar melody.  They were tested individually on an auditory serial learning task in which they were asked to learn a list of words.

Data were collected for each subject to consider the following variables:  rate of learning, defined as the number of trials to the criterion of two consecutive correct trials, and accuracy of responses, defined as ratio of correct individual word responses to the total possible number of responses.  One-way Analyses of Variance were computed to test for differences between the experimental groups on each variable.  Results showed no significant differences between the groups on either variable.

The results of this study imply that neither familiar nor unfamiliar musical presentations affect sequencing and memory skills significantly in learning disabled children.  Implications of this study indicate a need for further study to consider the following issues:  familiarity, auditory presentation, training and cuing in the use of mnemonics, and methods of measuring serial learning.  Information on these issues are integral to the development of effective uses of music with learning disabled children.

Ice, Diana.  THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC AND GUIDED IMAGERY ON SELF-ESTEEM OF ELDERLY FEMALE CARE HOME RESIDENTS.  MME, ACG, 1985.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of using a music and guided imagery procedure to increase self-esteem in elderly females residing in residential care homes.

The subjects were 26 females, aged 69 to 100 years old, of which 14 were randomly assigned to the experimental group, and 12 were randomly assigned to the control group.  Each of the women met with the researcher individually for 30-minute sessions twice weekly, for three weeks.  The women in the experimental group listened to a tape recording of music and guided imagery, while the women in the control group listened to a tape recording of poetry.

Eight women in the experimental group, and six women in the control group, were randomly selected to receive the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale as a pretest.  The scale was administered to all 26 women as a posttest.

Analyses of the pretest and posttest scores were completed using the chi-squares test of homogeneity, which indicated that the two groups were homogeneous; the Wilcoxin signed-ranks test, which indicated no significant change from pretest to posttest scores for the experimental group; and the Mann-Whitney U-test, which indicated no significant differences in posttest scores between the experimental and control groups.

Although the statistical results showed no significant gain in self-esteem, there are indications that further research is needed to determine more conclusively the effects of individual music and guided imagery sessions in this population.

Kastendieck, Mary K.  FRANK AMBROSE BEACH:  HIS LIFE AND CAREER IN THE MUSIC SUPERVISORS’ NATIONAL CONFERENCE.  MME, GNH, 1985.

Frank A. Beach was born on September 20, 1871 in Weedsport, New York.  The only child of George and Myra Bowen spent his childhood in Medina, New York and at an early age took an interest in music.  He engaged in private study of voice at age eleven and of piano at age fourteen.  He graduated from the Medina Free Academy and pursued further education in business at Rochester Business College and at the University of Michigan where he received his Bachelor of Letters degree in 1895.

Around 1897, George Beach fell ill, and Frank Beach took over the family business of iron manufacturing.  Beach remained in this position until his father’s death in 1901. Shortly thereafter, he again pursued the study of music.  As a student of voice, he ventured to New York City, Rochester, Philadelphia, Boston, and Paris to study, specializing in the sight-reading methods of France.

In 1908, Beach returned to the United States and married Bertha May Robinsion in June.  In September he moved to Emporia, Kansas to accept a position as head of the Rural School Music Department at the Kansas State Normal School.  He became head of the music department there in 1913 and remained in that position until his death on January 21, 1935.

During his years in Emporia, Beach provided numerous musical services for the community.  An avid believer of community participation in music, Beach worked to elicit individual involvement in music regardless of ability.  His interests included community singing, music by telephone, music appreciation lessons by mail, and local concerts featuring the best of musical talent by visiting nationally recognized artists.

Beach also became a reputable figure in the Music Supervisors’ National Conference (MSNC).  He was active in the organization for a total of twenty years from 1915 to 1935.  During this time, he participated in numerous national conventions, served on a multitude of boards, committees, and councils, and was elected as the organization’s president for 1922.

Other accomplishments of Beach included the inception of the state-wide music contest, the development of the Beach Tests of Musical Achievement, one book titled The Preparation and Presentation of the Operetta, and memberships in the Music Teachers’ National Association and other councils and committees in music.

Beach’s career activities were not unlike those of others in similar positions of the profession.  In fact, they share common characteristics in education, experience, and administrative abilities.  Beach’s executive talents to organize, communicate, and administrate were responsible for his career success in music education. 

In short, Beach was a giant of music education in the early twentieth century.  His accomplish-ments as a music educator are unsurpassed and he ranks as one of the elite among those in his profession.

McCune, Darrell.  DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH FOR TEACHING INITIAL PIANO SKILLS TO GROUPS OF BEGINNING ELEMENTARY STUDENTS IN AN ELECTRONIC LABORATORY.  MME, GLD, 1985.

The purpose of this study was to develop and test an instructional approach for teaching initial piano skills to groups of beginning elementary students in an electronic laboratory.  It was limited to approximately the first ten hours of instruction.  The need for the study was based on the lack of published materials designed specifically for the type of instruction described above.  Development was to include original and published materials which conformed to a set of student goals and objectives and to a list of criteria for materials formulated by the author.

The approach which was developed included an instructor’s lesson guide and accompanying materials, homemade and commercial rhythm slides, homemade melodic sight playing slides, and cassette practice tapes.  Particular emphasis was given the areas of ear playing and sight playing.  Also developed in the approach was a point system, a posttest, and a parental questionnaire.

The first field test of the approach occurred during the summer of 1983 and the second field test during the 1983-1984 school year.  Subjects in both field tests enrolled as beginners in a group piano course taught by the writer in an electronic laboratory.  Grades ranged from first through fifth with students grouped according to age, access to practice facilities, and scheduling considerations.  During the first field test at Ottawa University, Ottawa, Kansas, 20 students were placed in seven groups and were instructed for a period of ten weeks, with each group meeting once a week for an hour.  The second field study test at Central Heights Elementary School, Richmond, Kansas had 14 students placed in five groups who were instructed for approximately 34 weeks, with each group meeting approximately 20 minutes per week.

An informal evaluation procedure was used consisting of the instructor’s descriptions and observations from both field tests. Formal evaluation procedures were periodic tests, a posttest, and a parental questionnaire.  Three music teachers assisted the instructor in scoring the periodic tests and posttest.  Mean scores from these tests were reported and interpreted in the main emphasis areas of ear playing and sight playing.  Results of the questionnaire yielded data based on the opinions of parents about various aspects of the approach.

The conclusion reached in this study was that the instructional approach developed is an effective method of teaching initial piano skills to groups of beginning elementary students in an electronic laboratory.  This conclusion was based upon the fact that students in both field tests successfully completed all goals and objectives, and upon an overall positive response from the parental questionnaire.

Meeker, Anne M.  TEACHING SKILLS FOR ANGER MANAGEMENT TO PRIMARY STUDENTS USING MUSIC AND OTHER EXPRESSIVE ARTS:  EFFICACY OF INTERVENTION AND POSSIBLE SOCIOECONOMIC RELATIONSHIPS.  MME, JWG, 1985.

The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of a learning package designed to teach skills for anger management using the expressive arts.  The relationship of socioeconomic status to measured ability of students to manage anger was also considered.  The subjects (n=37) were first and second graders from two elementary schools in Olathe, Kansas:  a Title I school and a non-Title I school.  The Meeter/Ault Pictorial Feedback Tool was administered to both a control and a treatment group from each school before and after the learning package intervention was administered.

A three factor analysis of variance revealed significant differences for pre-posttest and treatment/ control variables, subjects scoring higher in treatment and posttest groups.  However, no significant interaction was discovered between these two variables.  Socioeconomic status (SES) was not indicated as making a significant difference, although Title I mean scores were generally lower than those of non-Title I subjects.  SES and three-way interactions also were not significant.

Pearson, Marcheta W.  THE EFFECTS OF A PROGRAMMED TEXT ON THE PITCH ACCURACY AND VOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUAL CHILDREN AND CHILDREN’S CHORUSES.  MME, AAD, 1985.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a programmed text, The Children’s Chorus, on the pitch accuracy and vocal development of individual children and children’s choruses in the third and fourth grades.  The method focused on the vocal development of children’s singing voices by encouraging the light “head” tone.

Eighty-two third and fourth grade students served as subjects.  Four intact classrooms were randomly assigned to control or experimental groups.  Each individual and group was pre- and post-test tape recorded singing America. During a six-week treatment period, the experimental groups were instructed using materials and exercises presented in The Children’s Chorus, while the control groups received traditional general music instruction.

Judges knowledgeable in vocal production analyzed the pre- and post-test tape recordings of each group for the overall vocal development. A comparison of group gain scores on the Vocal Development Form suggested that the experimental groups had acquired more vocal skills than the control groups.  Individual tape recordings were analyzed for cent deviation from the desired pitch, and gain scores for pitch accuracy were calculated for each group.  Results from a one-way analysis of variance revealed that there was a significant difference in gains in pitch accuracy between control and experimental groups.  It was concluded that the programmed text, The Children’s Chorus, was a useful took for aiding in the improvement of pitch accuracy and vocal development in third and fourth grade children.

Reaves, Sharon E.  A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER AND PEER APPROVAL ON STUDENTS’ LIKING FOR VARIOUS STYLES OF MUSIC.  MME, PAH, 1985.

Fifty-eight eighth grade subjects were randomly divided into two groups.  Each group received a taped treatment involving excerpts from classical, country and rock music styles.  The only difference between treatment tapes was the role model who gave approval or disapproval commentary on any given excerpt, i.e., where a peer gave approving comments on one tape, an adult did the other.  This was done as an effort to control for any baseline “liking” differences for the various excerpts employed.  Two peer and two adult models were employed and both sexes were represented in each model type.  Subjects responded to the musical and verbal stimuli with like-dislike reactions noted on response sheets.  Raw data were converted to “influence scores” for statistical analysis.

Mean scores of peer influence and adult influence varied from what seemed to be a slight to moderate extent in all three categories, generally in favor of peer influence.  Additionally, when division was made between male and female subjects, and mean scores in the three music style categories were compared according to adult and peer influence factors, the same condition was found.  That is, scores seemed to vary to varying extents among one another; however, female mean scores tended, overall, to be somewhat higher and particularly so in response to adult influence.

Finally, the data was subjected to a two-way analysis of variance which revealed that role models were a significant variable, and that music type produced a statistically significant effect as well.  Further, a significant interaction between the role model variable and the type of music variable was noted.  By comparing all information, it was possible to conclude that while adult influence lagged behind peer influence in every style category, it did so most notably in the classical music realm.  Country music mean influence scores were slightly greater than those for rock, while classical music influence scores lagged behind both of these by a notable margin.  With respect to the significant interaction finding, it can be noted that while relative stability seems to exist between the data for the rock and the country styles under both the peer and adult influences, adult influence in the classical style area is considerably weaker when compared to peer influence scores.

Robison, Kenneth James.  THE ACQUISITION OF ABSOLUTE PITCH:  A COMPARISON OF TWO METHODS OF TEACHING AN INTERVAL REFERENCE.  MME, RER, 1985.

Absolute pitch has interested musicians for years.  Theorists disagree concerning the reasons why some possess absolute pitch and others do not.

Part of the problem is defining absolute pitch.  However, most authorities do agree that two elements are involved in absolute pitch:  the response is immediate and the judgment is not based on an outside standard.  The present study, a variation of Mull’s 1925 study, endeavored to teach c1 to two groups of subjects using two different methods.  Both groups took a pretest to determine their skill at recognizing c1.  One group listened to c1 for five seconds every minute for 15 minutes.  Another group listened to c1 for 15 continuous minutes.  At the end of the 15 minutes, both groups listened to seven tones, played consecutively.  One of those seven tones was c1.  The subjects were to say “yes” to any tone they judged to be c1 and “no” to any tone they judged not to be c1.  If they identified c1 correctly, they went on to the next series of seven tones.  If they said “yes” to a tone which was not c1, the experimenter told them what tone they identified as c1 and then played c1 for five seconds.  The subjects then went on to the next series of seven tones.  The subjects attended each training session for one hour each week for six weeks.  At the end of the six weeks, a posttest was given which was similar to the pretest to determine if the subjects could discriminate c1.

T-tests were run on both groups’ pretest and posttest scores to determine whether learning took place.  both groups’ t-value turned out to be highly significant, indicating that both teaching methods improved pitch discrimination in most subjects.

A test was also run to determine if the highest scores in the posttest were due to a greater number of middle c’s possible in the posttest than the pretest.  The test indicated that the higher posttest scores were due to the two training methods.

Solomon, Alan L.  A HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR MUSIC THERAPY, 1960-1980.  Ph.D., GNH, 1985.

This study is a history of the second and third decades of the National Association for Music Therapy.  Sources include:  (1) the national archives of the National Association for Music Therapy; (2) personal records of officers, committee members, executives, and members of the organization; and (3) oral evidence from individuals making important contributions or having primary knowledge of events.

The first volume contains a brief review of the history of the first decade (1950-1959) as well as a complete historical analysis of the second decade (1960-1969).  Milestone events discussed include the emergence of the professional association from provincial origins, the close of the grandfather clause with new standards for certification and registration, new standards for clinical training, the establishment of a central office, the publication of the Journal of Music Therapy, and congressional passage of P.L. 88-164 and its impact on music therapists.

The second volume contains a historical analysis of the third decade (1970-80).  Signal events discussed in this volume include the increased political awareness of the Association, the awarding of the Association’s first federal grant, bitter problems with other national organizations, the decision to pursue certification for music therapists, the emergence of coalition among the different arts therapies, record increases in membership, the establishment of a code of ethics and standards of clinical practice, and the decision to move the central office from Lawrence, Kansas to Washington, D.C.

Walker, Kenneth R.  THE HISTORY OF PUBIC SCHOOL MUSIC IN IOLA, KANSAS.  MME, GNH, 1985.

This study is an investigation of the development of the school music program in Iola, Kansas.  The curriculum is examined from primary through secondary grades, with particular attention given tot he purpose for the music program, its objectives and its outcomes.  Questions concerning curriculum decisions, number of students involved in the program, emphasis on performance groups and the influence of economic conditions, school population and community interest are discussed.

Detailed examinations of individual school systems are needed to help educators plan effectively for the future and the continued growth of music education in the public schools.

The study was conducted from research into community newspapers, school records, photographs, periodicals, papers by local personalities and texts related to the school music program.  Personal interviews with former teachers and students of Iola schools were conducted, as well as telephone interviews.  Data were gathered, external and internal criticism techniques were used to determine authenticity and credibility and the facts presented along with interpretations and conclusions.

Music was as part of the lives of the first settlers of the Iola area and was used for social and religious activities.  Music was a part of school life as early as 1869 and was a part of the school day by 1883.  Early music instruction was given by the regular classroom teachers, the purpose being to teach social values.

The gas boom which started in 1893 and the influence of the Iola Commercial Club had a great effect on the growth and economy of Iola, and on the schools.

Vocal music held a prominent place in the Iola schools for many years, but the interest in instrumental music grew and by the 1960’s as much emphasis, if not more, was placed on this aspect of the music program.  By this time the purpose for teaching music in the schools had shifted to helping students to gain an appreciation for the value of music.

The Iola schools have been successful in instilling an appreciation for music in many students who participated in school music activities, as shown by a significant number of participants in community music activities.  The major weakness of the program, however, is in the lack of any general music or music appreciation class for those students who are not inclined toward performance activities in junior and senior high.

Wolff, Patricia.  The Attitudinal Effect of the Orff-Schulwerk Approach in Music Education in the Elementary School.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interrelations among treatment variables and grade level variables on elementary school children’s attitudes toward participation in general music class activities.  The investigation focused on the attitudinal effects of a traditional and the Orff-Schulwerk approaches to general music education.  One hundred sixty second and fifth grade students were the subjects of this study.

It was determined for this study that an investigator-devised measure was reliable and appropriate to the specific needs and circumstances of the study.  The measure was used to assess attitudes toward participation in the various activities of the general music class.  The measure consisted of ten adjectives with an agree-disagree response format applied to each of twelve activity factors.

The attitude measure was administered, followed by instructional treatment in one of two ways:  the Orff-Schulwerk approach, or a traditional approach.  After the time-span of nine weeks, the measure again was administered as a posttest.

The responses were scored and these data were treated via computerized analysis of variance procedures.  The analysis revealed the following factors were associated with positive attitudinal shifts having the Orff approach which were statistically significant beyond the p<.01 level:  music class, singing, movement, and playing instruments.

The thesis concludes with a discussion of the implications of these various findings.

1976

Along, Julia M.  THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MANUAL FOR TEACHING MOTOR SKILLS THROUGH MUSIC IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.  MME, GH, 1976.

The purpose of this study was to provide a teacher’s manual delineating a program of musical activities to be used in teaching specific motor skills.  The completed manual is appended to this report.  It is intended for use in the preschool and kindergarten and may also be used in first grade and special education classes as a remedial program.  In preparation of this manual, a number of topics were reviewed.  These included the relationships between motor development and learning, the advantages of using music to teach motor skills, and the planning of a motor development program.

The result of this study is a manual for use in the preschool and kindergarten classrooms.  Skills up to and including those which should be mastered by the five-year-old child are included in the manual.  The songs and activities presented in the manual are based on familiar nursery songs and traditional folk songs specifically adapted to the teaching of a particular motor skill.  The manual is divided into three sections corresponding to the main areas of motor development; i.e., body image and body part identification, gross motor skills, and more complex motor skills and patterns.  A listing of supplemental materials is also included.  An informal assessment of the manual by eight teachers in preschool, kindergarten and first grade classrooms showed its usefulness as a tool for teaching motor skills.

Asmus, Edward P.  COMBINATION TONES:  AN OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS.  MME, GLD, 1976.

The purpose of this study was to collect descriptive data on difference tone perception, and to determine if these tone phenomena exist as physical entities in the environment.  Effects of music training, and the interval frequency between sounding primaries were also determined from analyses of descriptive data.  The investigation was divided into a two-fold process.  First, Asmus investigated the perception of difference tones by human subjects.  Subjects were instructed to listen for a tone lower than a pair of primary frequencies.  When the difference tone was heard, subjects attenuated it until inaudible.  Second, difference tones were analyzed as environmental events by using the same primary frequencies employed with human subjects.  Four microphones were presented with 70dB tones, and measurements were made of the intensity magnitude of the difference tone event.

Average level of difference tone detection for music majors was 70dB, and for nonmusic majors, 68dB.  The average intensity difference music majors withstood prior to perceptual loss of difference tones was 26.5dB, and for nonmusic majors, 31.5dB.  Asmus concluded that difference tone perception was not dependent on equal intensity of the two primaries.  Each microphone detected the difference tone with a mean detection level of 26dB.  This data indicated that the difference tone exists as a physical entity of the environment at a level 40dB below the 70dB primaries.

Blood, Dixie K.  USING MUSIC IN THE PERCEPTUAL-MOTOR DEVELOPMENT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN.  MME, WWS, 1976.

It was the purpose of this study to demonstrate, observe, and evaluate the effects of music therapy within the preschool curriculum and to evaluate the results of using music therapy in the perceptual-motor development of a group of preschool children.  The study was conducted at a preschool and child care center where the music program was incorporated in September, 1974.  The program’s primary emphasis was perceptual-motor development, but sought to improve other skills in conjunction with the entire preschool program.  It was hoped that this study would help establish that music therapy could be a useful tool in the perceptual-motor development of the preschool child and that, as such, it would be recognized that music therapy could play an important role in preschool education.

Based on the results of this study, the following conclusions seem valid in answer to specific questions raised in the problem:

1.      From the analyses of perceptual-motor pretest items, effective objectives can be obtained and a training program can be devised to significantly improve the child’s performance in perceptual-motor skills.

2.      Orff-based musical techniques can be used to improve perceptual-motor abilities in individual children.

Concerning the use of music therapy in early childhood development and based upon the results of this study, the following implications seem valid.  Music therapy can play an important role in preschool education because:

1.      It is a useful took in the perceptual-motor development of the preschool child;

2.      it can provide for the individual needs of the preschool child;

3.      it is a useful medium to teach verbalization skills;

4.      it provides a nonthreatening, success-oriented learning situation;

5.      it provides a different medium for learning as well as variety in the structure of the child’s day;

6.      it provides the preschool child with a chance to develop musical abilities and to learn to love music;

7.      a music therapy program makes extracurricular activities possible;

8.      a music therapy program is likely to attract prospective students;

9.      a registered music therapist is trained to deal with various problem behaviors and is, therefore, an asset to the preschool;

10.    a registered music therapist is trained to test various skills and abilities of the child using standardized tests; and

11.    a registered music therapist can, at staff meetings, provide input concerning every child.

Brown, Sheila N.  DESIGNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR CREATIVE-AFFECTIVE LEARNING.  Ph.D., WWS, 1976.

The purpose of the study was to test the effectiveness of a creative-affective learning module included within the curriculum of an innovative, performance-based teacher education program.  More specifically, the purpose was to isolate several elements of the creative process related to teaching, to cast these elements into creative learner-centered instructional processes, and to evaluate the effect of the creative processes by viewing the student teacher in in-life settings, i.e., the student teacher setting.

A creative module, “Creativity, Sensory Awareness, and You,” was designed and offered on a volunteer basis to students in the pre-student teaching program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Fourteen students from five disciplines participated in three two-hour sessions held during a ten-day period.  A control group was chosen by matching each student in the creativity module with another student in the pre-student teaching program.  Four criterion measures were used:  (1) Scores on the Creative Teaching Behavior Instrument (an observation instrument constructed for the study), (2) The Ss’ responses to a Creative Influence Questionnaire, (3) The Ss’ written reactions to each of the environments in the module, and (4) The creative multidisciplinary units designed by the experimental group.

The Creative Teaching Behavior Instrument was used to evaluate the degree of creative teaching behaviors demonstrated by the Ss in video-taping microteaching.  Six raters used the C.T.B.I. a total of four times; once as a pre-test behavior assessment, and three times as a post-test assessment.  Results were evaluated statistically with the Wilcoxen Matched Pairs-Signed Ranks test.

The difference between the experimental and control groups was significant at the .04 level.  The experimental group demonstrated a higher degree of creative teaching behavior than the control group; however, many of the Ss’ scores dropped progressively throughout the semester.  The results of the Creative Influence Questionnaire gave some indication that there were outside factors which could have contributed to the drop in scores.  The Ss’ written reactions to the creativity module were extremely positive.  The instructional goals of increasing sensory awareness in persons and of helping persons relate more closely to others were reached to a significant degree.  Many students reported that they learned a great deal about themselves while exploring the three environments.  The multidisciplinary units designed by the Ss demonstrated that they were able to apply the techniques modeled during the creativity module.

Browne, Nancy.  AN INVESTIGATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF BEHAVIORISM AND EXISTENTIALISM ON MUSIC THERAPY AS FOUND IN SELECTED LITERATURE.  MME, PAH, 1976.

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the use of behaviorist and existentialist therapeutic techniques in music therapy in the literature of the last decade.  Articles in the Journal of Music Therapy and in the Music Educator’s Journalspecial issue “Music in Special Education” were reviewed to see if these techniques had been reported by music therapists.

Existential and behaviorist techniques and ideas can be seen in the literature’s discussion of activities in music therapy.  That is not to suggest that  music therapy practice is based on those techniques, but that the techniques are present.  Behaviorist music therapists’ references to behaviorists in other fields indicate that there is some interdependence of ideas.  The fact the therapists who were classified “non-directive” did not refer to the influence of psychologist might suggest that this approach to music therapy has been more independent of psychology, relying on innovations and developments within the field of music therapy.  The multi-disciplinary approach to music therapy can be extremely confusing to the therapist who is lacking in analytic tools and perspective.  Yet the multi-disciplinary approach has been a part of the foundation of music therapy.  This suggests that music therapists must develop perspectives so that the large number of techniques and the increasing amount of literature can be utilized to their full potential.

Chalmers, Brian A.  THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MEASURE OF ATTITUDE TOWARD INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC STYLE.  Ph.D., GLD, 1976.

The purposes of this study were to develop a measure of attitude toward instrumental music styles: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, early twentieth century and experimental music; and to establish its reliability, validity and practicality as a measure of such attitudes.  The measure developed was entitled the Music Style Attitude Profile (MSAP).

A listening test was constructed to measure attitude toward the music styles.  The test produced data regarding attitudes by registering subjects’ like and dislike responses to ten items on each style sub-measure.  A test booklet was designed in which seven-point continuum was provided for each excerpt so that subjects could indicate their degree of like or dislike for each item.

The MSAP was sufficiently well developed to establish norms for groups by virtue of its validity, reliability, and power to discriminate.  Further work needs to be done in order to establish attitudinal norms for other populations such as high school students, college music majors, and professional and amateur musicians so that individual profiles may be compared with these groups.  The MSAP can be used effectively to discriminate subjects with favorable and unfavorable attitudes toward the five style periods by placing individual raw scores for each style on the profile form.  The comparative strength of favorable and unfavorable attitudes toward each style becomes clearly evident when compared with percentile norms of the group on the profile chart.

Cornish, Nancy L.  THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAMMED TEXTS AND TAPES FOR TEACHING MUSIC READING FUNDAMENTALS AND SIGHT-SINGING SKILLS.  MME, HLA, 1976.

The purpose of this study was to develop the first phase of a programmed text with accompanying tapes to teach music-reading fundamentals and sight-singing skills, to conduct a study utilizing the programmed teaching materials, and to analyze and interpret the data from the study to determine the degree of effectiveness of the programmed materials and to determine where revisions could be made to make the materials more effective and more oriented towards the students’ needs.

The respondents’ scores on a pretest and posttest indicated overall effectiveness of the programmed materials.  The scores on the section testing knowledge of music-reading fundamentals (43% correct responses on the pretest and 86% correct responses on the posttest) indicated that the music-reading fundamentals portion of the programmed materials was successful.  The scores on the section testing sight-singing skills (26% correct responses on the pretest and 57% correct responses on the posttest) indicated that sight-singing portion of the programmed materials was effective, although not as effective as the music-reading fundamentals portion.  The fact that three weeks’ time was spent on the music-reading fundamentals portion of the program and only one week’s time was spent on the sight-singing portion may have a bearing on the results.  The scores on the complete test (39% correct responses on the pretest and 79% correct responses on the posttest) indicated that the programmed materials were successful as a whole.

It was concluded that:  (1) the use of programmed instruction provides for a great deal of flexibility in dealing with individual differences of background, learning speed, and vocal range, making it an effective means for achieving more individualization of instruction; and (2) seventh and eighth grade students can learn music-reading fundamentals and sight-singing skills through the use of programmed texts and audio tapes in a library listening center situation.

Earles, Roma.  TEACHING THE MUSIC AND OTHER CULTURAL TRADITIONS OF THE KICKAPOO AND POTTAWATOMI PEOPLE IN KANSAS.  MME, 1976.

This study sought to describe and record several examples of the music of the Kickapoo and the Pottawatomi people in Kansas.  These included social songs, pow-wow songs, children’s songs, and music of the Kennekuk, Drum, and Peyote religions.

Hanna, Alan.  THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXPERIMENTAL APPLICATION OF PROGRAMMED INSTRUCTION FOR CORRECTION OF KEY SIGNATURE PROBLEMS.  MME, 1976.

The goal of this project was to devise and evaluate a method of instruction that was designed to assist in teaching key signature function to 7th grade band students.  Learning packets were developed which included cassette tapes.  Pretest, posttest, and a 5-week retention test were administered during class time to the pupils.  It was concluded that the devised materials were effective for the purposes for which they were designed.  Programmed instruction is recommended as a useful device for teaching key signatures to young band students.

Hodge, Shirley J.  THE DEVELOPMENT, TRIAL, AND ASSESSMENT OF A STUDY UNIT AND LISTENING GUIDE FOR PERCEPTION OF ETHNIC MUSIC STYLES.  MME, 1976.

The project involved 1) developing a 12-hour teaching unit on world ethnic music; 2) developing a listening guide for use with the aural experiences provided by the teaching unit; 3) testing the effectiveness of the teaching unit; 4) testing the effectiveness of the listening guide.

Two groups - experimental and control - were chosen from a night Music Appreciation class at Kansas City Kansas Community College.  The MAP was administered as a pre-test but since the two groups were approximately equal the results were disregarded for this study.

It was concluded that the 12-hour listening test devised by the writer brought about significant improvement in identification skills.  The simple guide that was designed for use with the unit did not significantly enhance the students’ skills in aural perception during the experiment.  The fatigue evident in the night class was identified as a possible confounding factor in this study.

Johnson, Ellen I.   A STUDY OF THE TEMPO PREFERENCES OF FOUR-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN.  MME, 1976.

The purpose of this study was to determine if four-year-old children prefer music of either a fast or a slow tempo.  In each of the two sessions administered one week apart, subjects listened to six musical pairs and selected music they preferred.  Each musical pair consisted of one excerpt played at two tempos, 54 beats per minute and 114 beats per minute.  Subjects indicated their choice of selection either by “number one” or “number two.”

Results to be drawn from the data were:  (1) subjects as a total group tended to prefer music of a fast tempo over music of a slow tempo; (2) boys alone did not show a significant preference for music of either tempo; (3) girls showed a preference for music of a fast tempo in one session but showed no significant preference in the other session; (4) subjects indicated much preference for music of a fast tempo when it was the most recently heard music, but when music of a slow tempo was the most recently heard they showed no significant preferences during the first session, yet some significant preference for music of the slow tempo during the second session; (5) when the order of presentation was a fast selection followed by music of a slow tempo, boys showed no significant differences in their choices while girls indicated some preference for the musical selections of a slow tempo; (6) subjects chose the selection most recently heard in 74 percent of their responses; (7) subjects were consistent in their choices in both session, regardless of the reversal in the order of presentation, only in 38 percent of their responses; and (8) although the musical excerpt most recently heard was generally preferred, subjects chose music of a fast tempo in 73 percent of their “number one” responses.  Children tended to select the song most recently heard, although there were significant preferences for music of a fast tempo over music of a slow tempo.

Kauffman, Kay H.  A COMPARISON OF TWO INTONATION DEVICES FOR BEGINNING ELEMENTARY STRING STUDENTS.  MME, 1976.

Beginning string classes were instructed with intonation aids:  either a tactile device or a visual device.  After five months the treatment was discontinued.  A three week period was allowed for the students to adjust to the absence of the intonation aids.  Then each child’s performance was taped.  Three string teachers evaluated these taped performances.  Inter-judge reliability was .87.

It was determined that there was no significant difference between the group that used the tactile device and the group that used the visual device.

Krusemark, William.  THE MALE FALSETTO IN HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL MUSIC.  MME, HLA, 1976.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of the male falsetto as a means of alleviating high range limitations in the tenor line of S.A.T.B. choral music.  The subpurpose was to investigate the role of the falsetto in the development of the upper range of the adolescent male voice.  Conclusions were reached for four questions raised by the study based on the assertions of writers, teachers, and singers surveyed in the literature, a pilot study, and an attitudinal survey.

On the basis of the data gathered from the review of literature, the pilot study, and the attitudinal survey, the following conclusions were reached:

The falsetto can be employed by adolescent male tenors and baritones to alleviate high range limitations in the tenor line of S.A.T.B. choral music.  The ability of the falsetto to blend and balance with other voices may be dependent on such factors as dynamics, range, and tempo.  Its acceptability in different choral styles is largely a matter of individual taste.  The falsetto requires little or no vocal effort; therefore, its use cannot be unhealthy to the voice.  The exercise of falsetto may be usefully employed as a means of extending the upper range and developing the head voice.

Finally, in regard to the mental and emotional aspects of falsetto, it was hypothesized that the vocal ease of falsetto production for high notes may help the singer focus more attention on music reading than on vocal production.  Some adolescent boys may be embarrassed to sing in falsetto because it is similar in quality to the voices of children and adolescent girls.

Manning, Clifford D.  THE MEASUREMENT OF TONE QUALITY AS AN ADDITION TO THE WATKINS-FARNUM PERFORMANCE SCALE.  MME, RER, 1976.

Since tone quality has been stated as a criterion lacking in the WFPS, and since there is a need for a test of instrumental performance which can be used to test all traditional band instruments, the researcher has studied the development of tonal paragraphs and scoring of tonal problems as applied to the WFPS.

The researcher presented terms used by music teachers to describe tone quality.  These words and phrases were then subjectively rated by music educators by using a Likert-type scale.  Those terms and phrases which were highly accepted were then used to create tonal paragraphs.  Tonal examples were created to accompany the tonal paragraphs and were applied to the WFPS in a test-retest situation, with tone quality added to the retest.  Results indicate that tone quality, as a resting criterion on the WFPS, does make a difference in a student’s performance score.

The researcher’s recommendations were:

1.      That the questionnaire surveys be expanded to include as many instrumental music teachers as possible.  This should produce more data on acceptable and unacceptable tone quality and a high consensus on their use.

2.      That more student tapes be used with the inclusion of  a bassoon performance.

3.      That student performances be organized so that norms can be computed for all instruments and years of experience using the added criteria of tone quality.

4.      That single judge reliability, using the added criterion of tone quality with numerous trials, be researched.

5.      That the tonal examples be re-evaluated with a pilot study to produce a higher consensus of opinion of instrumental music teachers regarding acceptable and unacceptable tone quality examples.

6.      That data be gathered on the consistency of ratings when live performance is used as opposed to tapes.

Patrick, Frederick, D.  RESPONSES ON THE HEVNER ADJECTIVE LIST OF PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS IN THE PRESENCE OF EIGHT MUSICAL STIMULI.  MME, WWS, 1976.

The broad purpose of this study was to examine patterns of responses to musical stimuli of subjects whose general deviance from accepted group of cultural norms had resulted in a psychiatric diagnosis.  In particular, the study sought to establish whether patterns of responses to musical stimuli show any relationships to grouping of subjects by psychiatric diagnoses, or conversely, whether patterns of responses to musical stimuli show any relationships to differences in the musical stimuli.

Differences in subjects’ responses to music resulting from differences in such variables as age, sex, educational level and psychiatric diagnosis were found.  Relationships between these variables were indicated.  When subjects were grouped on the basis of psychiatric diagnosis, significant differences were found between the responses of schizophrenics and alcoholics, however, this significance level (.05) was low compared to the significance level of other measures.  Obtained differences in responses were not due to different reactions to the test instrument alone, but were rather, differences in reactions to the musical stimuli and differences between response patterns of subjects diagnosed schizophrenic as a group and subjects diagnosed alcoholic as a group.  Significant differences were found not only in the responses of subjects to different musical stimuli and in the responses of subjects on the different groupings of adjectives, but also in the interaction between the musical stimuli and the groupings of adjectives.  It is therefore concluded that different musical stimuli do elicit unique patterns of responses on the Hevner Adjective List, not only for the types of subjects studied by Hevner, but for the subjects of the present study as well.  It is also concluded that the significance of difference in response to different musical stimuli is far more important than the significance of difference in response of subjects grouped on the basis of psychiatric diagnoses.

The results of this study suggest that the “state of the organism” represented by a psychiatric diagnosis has little effect on the ability of an individual to respond differentially to different musical stimuli.  Further study is needed to determine whether or not such responses to music are essentially the same as for “normal” subjects.

Phillips, Linda L.  EFFECT OF PROGRAMMED BACKGROUND MUSIC ON THE FREQUENCY OF HYPERACTIVE AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR OF CHILDREN DURING PSYCHOTHERAPY SESSIONS.  MME, WWS, 1976.

Two groups of emotionally disturbed children were observed during 60-minute therapy sessions for 10 weeks. Continuous background music, chosen on the basis of the Iso Principle, was presented to an experimental group, but not to a control group, to investigate the effects of the music on overt behavior.  The 10 weeks were divided into:  baseline to establish behavior to be observed for each subject, 3 sessions; music treatment to experimental group only, 3 sessions; baseline comparison, 2 sessions; music reinstatement for experimental group, 2 sessions.

The experimenter sat in the room as a silent observer while a psychology graduate student conducted the sessions.  Subjective observations by the experimenter indicated differences between the experimental group and the control group.  These differences, however, were not statistically significant.  The study also explored the influence of background music upon activities which members of an activity group chose to do.  The only difference in activity between the experimental group and the control group was that the subjects in the former left the room and the building frequently.

Although there were no statistically significant changes in observed behavior, certain tendencies did occur.  The experimental group was noisier and more active as the session progressed.  One subject in that group became physically aggressive towards the experimenter and her equipment.

If this study was replicated, these suggestions are made:  use a room with one-way mirror; more variety in instrumentation and type of music; use of a stereo tape recorder; more sessions; use music not based on the Iso Principle.

Range, Sue P.  TEACHING BEGINNING STRINGS:  COMPARISON OF NOTE AND ROTE APPROACHES.  MME, 1976.

This study investigated the trial and comparison of 2 approaches of teaching beginning string classes on the elementary school level.  One method involved rote teaching one semester before introducing note reading.  The second method involved the teaching of note reading as soon as the students acquired a basic understanding of caring for their instruments.

Conclusions show a significant difference between rote and note groups as evaluated by visual observations.  Students achieved greater progress in learning and concentrating on basic motor skills in a shorter amount of time without the added difficulty of note reading.  Since there were no visual distractions, the child could concentrate on what was heard.  Children playing by rote exhibited more confidence in their playing at an earlier stage than the children who were struggling to read notes as well as manipulate the instrument.  Delaying the teaching of note reading to one group of students until the second semester did not seem to adversely affect their ability to sightread, but the reading group seemed more confident when sightreading by themselves due to a longer exposure time of reading musical notation.

Spitzer, Schmuel.  THE INFLUENCE OF MUSICALLY-GUIDED AFFECTIVE IMAGERY ON COOPERATION AND TRUST.  MME, 1976.

The intent of this study was to investigate whether music, and the way in which this music was heard, affects interpersonal trust and cooperation.  Measurement was obtained by a music questionnaire, the Giffin Trust Differential and the Prisoner’s Dilemma Game.

Conclusions were:

1)      There was not significant difference in reported trust within groups of subjects who hear music preceding the measurement and groups who do not.

2.      There was no significant difference in reported trust within groups who hear conventional music appreciation preceding the measurement and groups who hear music with no introduction.

3..     There was a significant difference in reported trust within groups of subjects who hear Guided Affective Imagery introduction preceding the measurement and groups who hear music with Music Appreciation introduction.

4.      There was no significant difference in the degree of cooperation reported by subjects who hear music and those who do not.

5.      There was no significant difference in the degree of cooperation reported by subjects who hear a conventional music appreciation introduction to selection of music and those who hear the music with no introduction.

6.      There was no significant difference in the degree of cooperation reported by subjects who hear a Guided Affective Imagery introduction to a selection of music and those who hear the music after a conventional introduction.

Wyllie, Linda L.  FURTHER STUDY OF PIAGET’S PRINCIPLE OF CONSERVATION IN THE RESPONSES OF CHILDREN TO MUSICAL TASKS.  MME, GH, 1976.

The purpose was to study musical growth through tasks based on Piaget’s principle of conservation.  The tasks were extracted from The Responses of Children to Musical Tasks Embodying Piaget’s Principle of Conservation by Marilyn Pflederer, and modified.  Eight five-year-olds and eight eight-year-olds were tested individually.  Their responses were summarized as case studies and analyzed by age groups.  The group results were compared with the Pflederer results and discussed.

The five-year-olds were generally non-conserving and functional at the preoperational level of thought.  Eight-year-olds generally expressed intermediary thought and were conserving musical elements in some instances.  The eight-year-olds answered correctly 20% more items than the five-year-old group.  The performances of children in Pflederer’s study and the present investigation concurred except for a complete reversal in Task IB.  The five-year-olds moved overtly in response to Task IB and performed at a much higher level than the eight-year-olds who were passive listeners.

The relationship between correct, incorrect and conserving, non-conserving responses reflected the characteristics of the preoperational, intermediary, and operational stages.  Non-conserving responses were seldom logically related to correct answers.  Intermediary responses were accompanied by correct and incorrect answers and conserving responses were usually also correct.  All the tasks showed a need for revision and uniformity in administration.

1977

Bo-Linn, Cheelan.  THE EFFECTS OF SELECTED CONSERVATION TRAINING METHODS THROUGH MUSIC ON MUSIC AND PIAGETIAN TASKS.  MME, GLD, 1977.

The study investigated the effects of training methods through music on number conservation on a Piagetian tasks of visual discontinuous quantity and on a Piagetian-like music task of tones.  One kindergarten class and one first-grade class from a white middle-class public elementary school served as subjects.  A total of thirty-eight students were studied.  Their age span ranged from six years, one month to sever years, six months.

After the subjects were randomly divided into three treatment groups, each individual received a two-part pretest:  a music conservation-type task of a musical patterns and a Piagetian conservation task of discontinuous quantity.  The music task presented an aural one-to-one correspondence of two five-tone patterns, identical in melody, rhythm, and tempo, before the deformation of tempo.  The child was asked for a judgment response on number equivalence before the deformation and judgment and explanation responses after the tempo change.  In the Piagetian task, a visual one-to-one correspondence of two rows of M&M’s were presented before the transformation of the arrangement of one of the rows.  Again the child was asked for a judgment response before the change and judgment and explanation responses afterwards.  Both tasks tested the child’s maintenance of quantitative invariance.  The music treatment and music control groups met separately with the researcher for five consecutive daily sessions, each fifteen minutes in duration, and the no treatment group remained with its teachers on regular classroom activities.  The treatment group received conservation training methods through music:  the music control group received regular music instructions.

At the conclusion of the sessions, a posttest identical in testing format to the pretest’s was given individually to each subject.  Two univariate analyses of covariance (Winer, 1971) were performed on the data.  The results were significant, p<.008.  The Scheffé post-hoc t test showed the music treatment group scored significantly higher than the other groups on the music posttest task.  The results of the ANCOVA on the Piagetian conservation task did not show any significant differences due to me treatment condition.  Regression analyses performed determined that age and sex were not significant predictors of conservation.  The conclusion of the present study is training methods in music did aid the development of number conservation in music tasks; however, they did not transfer to the Piagetian task of discontinuous quantity.

Brown, Carol A.  THE EFFECTS OF PITCH MATCHING TEST SCORE FEEDBACK ON THE PITCH MATCHING ABILITY OF SELECTED HIGH SCHOOL INSTRUMENTALISTS.  MME, 1976.

The purpose of the adult was to determine the effects of a socially reinforcing adult music teacher upon the preferential music responses of 10 to 12 year old elementary school students; the effects of group peer pressure upon preferential music responses, and the effects from no group peer pressure.

Under the conditions of this study, the teacher was not able to alter group preferential responses beyond an initial setting.  Initial group responses indicated peer support aided teacher reinforcement in obtaining the least preferred choice.  No group maintained an altered response during the absence of the teacher and peer group conditions.  Neither teacher effect nor peer group effects produced any significant changes in preferential responses.  The overall results appeared to indicate that social reinforcement was not effective in producing response changes.  Peer interaction was unable to produce changes away from the preferred response.

Corbett, Donald L.  AN ANALYSIS OF THE OPINIONS OF RECENT MUSIC EDUCATION GRADUATES FROM KANSAS TEACHER TRAINING INSTITUTIONS REGARDING THE ADEQUACY OF THEIR PREPARATION TO TEACH MUSIC.  Ph.D., 1977.

The major objective of the study was to determine how recent music education graduates from colleges and universities in Kansas regarded the adequacy of their undergraduate preparation.  Since higher education institutions generally evaluate and revise curricula primarily on the basis of internal evaluation, it was felt that an external means of assessment would be of value and interest to those concerned with music teacher preparation in the State.

A four-page survey was developed that provided data in the following areas:  (1) personal information, (2) elementary music preparation, (3) secondary music preparation, (4) student teaching preparation, (5) orchestra preparation, (6) community junior college preparation.

Major variables for most of the data comparisons were (1) type of undergraduate institution attended, and (2) year of graduation.  In each appropriate instance, analysis of variance was employed to determine if there were significant differences in means for these major variables.

Private School Respondents.  This subject category contained 40% of the respondents, most of whom tended to be choral or keyboard majors.  They tended to be teaching in smaller communities.  They had received less preparation in instrumental music than other respondents, but appeared to have more training in choral and theatrical areas.  They indicated considerable confidence in their abilities and were generally satisfied with their undergraduate training.

State College Respondents.  These subjects seemed satisfied with their choral training, although it appeared that instrumental music was emphasized more in their schools than was choral music.  They tended to come from the smaller communities of Kansas and were teaching in small to medium size communities.  State colleges had a significantly higher percentage of their respondents remaining in the music teaching profession than did state universities and private schools.

State University Respondents.  This category contained 37% of the respondents, who tended to be equally divided between urban and rural backgrounds.  More of these respondents were teaching in larger communities than respondents from state colleges and private schools.  They indicated adequate to very adequate undergraduate curricular experiences, but appeared to be more willing than other respondents to be critical about their training.

Elementary Classroom Music Teacher Respondents.  Their background appeared strongest in the more “traditional” techniques in their field.  They regarded their keyboard training as adequate and the most beneficial of all their undergraduate training.  They felt inadequately trained in the more innovative techniques such as Orff, Kodaly, and Dalcroze, and considered them relatively unimportant to their present teaching needs.

Secondary Choral and Instrumental Teacher Respondents.  These respondents appeared most concerned about the lack of undergraduate emphasis on the “pragmatic” aspects of teaching.  They indicated concern for the organizational and administrative skills necessary for school music teachers.  Choral teachers noted training weaknesses in Broadway show production and guitar instruction, while instrumental teachers expressed concern over a lack of systematic training in marching band and improvisational techniques.

Student Teaching.  Respondents believed that music education majors should get into the public schools earlier, spend a minimum of one full semester student teaching under superior cooperating teachers, teach in more than one school, and have frequent visits by college supervisors.

Orchestra Training.  Respondents thought they did not receive sufficient training to work with confidence in an orchestra program in their schools.

Overall results indicated that even though music education respondents from Kansas colleges and universities had some specific criticisms of their training, in general they seemed to be well satisfied with their undergraduate experiences.

Daugherty-Drabkin, Jane L.  THE USE OF THE OPTACON FOR FACILITATING THE READING OF SIGHTED MUSIC NOTATION BY BLIND PERSONS.  MME, 1977.

The use of the Optacon for facilitating the reading of sighted music notation by blind persons was investigated.  The advantages are its availability and reasonable cost, wider array, portability, and increased reading speeds.  However, the use of the Optacon is limited by the extensive training necessary and requires a high degree of tactile sensitivity and perceptual skills.

Two experimental subjects and a personal interview with a resource person assisted in providing information concerning preliminary aids in teaching sighted music to the blind, such as felt musical symbols, “Braille-like” patterns, and dry transfers.  Several samples from music were introduced to “read” with the use of the Optacon.  Alterations of the tracking aid Model T-2A were recommended. 

Ficken, Carl T.  AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ATTITUDES TOWARD MUSIC AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS SELF.  MME, RER, 1977.

It was noted that a need existed for more music related diagnostic tools, and to reduce the music therapist’s dependency on other disciplines for diagnosis.  The author noted that attitudes toward music might be projections of attitudes toward self.  Literature was reviewed which demonstrated that patient’s attitudes toward music long have been of concern to music therapists, and that attitudes have been found to be self-descriptive.  A study then was conducted to investigate the relationships between attitudes toward music and attitudes toward self, and to develop a music attitude questionnaire to be used as a projective test of self-image.

A music attitude questionnaire (MAQ), consisting of 80 “music is. . .” statements drawn from books about music and the author’s clinical observations, was administered to 135 University of Kansas students.  Twenty Washburn University students (12 females and 8 males, with an age range from 18 to 47) responded to the MAQ and the Interpersonal Check List (ICL), a list of 128 adjective phrases divided into 8 personality types (octants).  Subjects responded to the ICL once for the way they say themselves, and once for the way they would like to be.  MAQ factors and three sets of ICL octant scores (real, ideal, self-actualization) were correlated.

Several relationships between MAQ factors and ICL octant scores were found to be significant beyond the .01 level, with other relationships needing further research.  It was concluded that music attitudes may be used as an object for the projection of self-attitudes, and that the MAQ should be used and refined in further studies.  Recommendations were made for the refinement of the MAQ, and for studies to investigate its reliability and validity with a variety of subject populations.

Friedken, Deborah S.   A MANUAL OF COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS FOR THE MUSIC THERAPISTS DIAGNOSIS, EVALUATION, AND TREATMENT.  MME, ACG, 1977.

This guide has been designed specifically for the music therapist interested or involved in community mental health centers.  The primary objective of this guide is to facilitate the therapist’s development as an informed, effective, and innovative multidisciplinary.

Chapter II informed the therapist of the fundamental structure and processes of a mental health center.  A historical legislative perspective of the mental health center movement is provided along with the fundamental components of a mental health center which included:  facilities, recipients, and personnel, philosophy and objectives, and currently practiced treatment modalities.

Chapter III described effective therapist through an examination of the principal qualifications of a therapist, i.e., educational competence, personality traits and attitude, effectiveness, the therapist as a clinical team member, professional and personal philosophies and objectives, and therapeutic techniques.

Chapter IV focused on the concept of innovation and its implications for the music therapist.  Community Mental Health Centers challenge the music therapist to provide effective therapeutic treatment.  This guide attempted to substantiate the effectiveness of music in therapeutic treatment in mental health centers and the adaptability of music therapy to any mental health care system as long as the therapist is informed, effective, and innovative in the system.

Gibbs, Teresa L.  THE EFFECT OF SINGING ON ARTICULATION PATTERNS OF PRE-SCHOOL LEVEL BLACK CHILDREN.  MME, RER, 1977.

This study was a formative study, testing the worth and effectiveness of a qualitatively differentiated curriculum.  The underlying assumptions were:  (1) when a qualitatively differentiated education is provided for intellectually gifted children, they will respond with a positive attitude and sensitivity for learning, and (2) this positive attitude and sensitivity can be evaluated.

The subjects in this study were 56 children in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades who qualified for a program for the intellectually gifted.  The experimental group experienced a qualitatively differentiated curriculum during the school year; the control group experienced the normal curriculum for fourth- and fifth-, and sixth grade children.

The 56 subjects in the study completed a pre- and post-attitude inventory, and their teachers completed a pre- and post-opinionnaire.  The subjects were also given originality and musicality pretests and posttests (the Torrance and Cunnington “Sounds and Images” and the Gaston “A Test of Musicality”).

Both within the experimental and control groups and between the experimental and control groups, there was no significant change in attitude.  The opinions of the teachers of the control group did not show a significant gain from pretest to posttest; however, the opinions of the teachers of the experimental group showed a significant gain from pretest to posttest.  The teacher opinionnaire indicated a significant difference in gains in attitude and ability between the experimental and control groups.

The measures of originality and musicality did not show a significant difference between the gains of the experimental and control groups.  However, the measures of originality and musicality did show a statistically significant change between the pretest and posttest evaluations of the children.

Howard, Vicky A.  DEVELOPMENT OF A LEARNING PACKAGE IN MUSIC LISTENING FOR DISABLED READERS.  MME, GH, 1977.

This thesis discussed various learning disabilities, their general characteristics, and current medical and educational definitions used to describe them.  Further information regarding the learning-disability classification was reviewed through an examination of legal implications in regard to parent pressure, minority biases, and the basic clause of “right to treatment” for all exceptional children.

More specific attention was directed toward disabling reading conditions and identifying those skills assessed as being pertinent to reading success; this process included a review of professional literature and research studies.  Similarly, a discussion of music reading, hemispheric specialization, and the Kodaly method of music teaching was examined and correlated to concerns in reading remediation.  The rationale implied here was that similar skills are needed for successful language- and music-reading, and if trained, can transfer from one situation to the other.

Finally, a programmed instruction learning package was developed, targeted at training music listening.  The learning activities were sequenced in order of task hierarchy and were divided into four sections:  (1) listening to sound, (2) producing sound, (3) writing sound notation, and (4) reading sound notation.

A teacher/therapist checklist was included with directions concerning assessment and identification procedures in identifying students with reading problems for music therapy.  Suggestions for facilitation of the learning package were enclosed to promote successful experiences for the student and program facilitator.  A data sheet for the teacher/therapist was included, designed to measure program effectiveness in completing reading objectives.  Cassette tapes with learning activities and verbal directions for the student were included.

Kirchoff, Kim A.  A HISTORY OF MUSIC EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS FROM 1866 - 1936.  MME, GNH, 1977.

The primary purpose of this study was to trace the development of music education at the University of Kansas from its inception through the time when Otto Miessner became the Department’s chairman in 1936.  The following questions were answered:

1.      What were the attitudes of the early Kansas settlers toward music and what were the backgrounds that formed these attitudes?

2.      Where did education, in general, rank in importance to the lives of the settlers and how did they provide for it?

3.      When did the University begin  include music as a part of its curriculum and what emphasis did they place on it?

4.      What kind of musical training did the early Normal Students receive?

5.      When did teacher training become a recognized need within the Department of Music and how did its curriculum develop? 

6.      Why did music become a part of the public school curriculum and why?

7.      Once Public School Music became a department within the School of Fine Arts, how did it become involved with the School of Education?

The answers to these questions determine why and how music education at the University evolved.

The historical approach toward investigation was implemented.  A wide variety of documents was searched in order to answer the preceding questions.

Rever, Barbara L.  MUSIC THERAPY IN A PSYCHIATRIC FORENSIC UNIT.  MME, WWS, 1977.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of music therapy versus no music therapy in a therapeutic milieu of forensic psychotic patients.  Socialization and interaction skills of the experimental group were also observed during the music therapy sessions.

The 16 male subjects, all new admissions to the forensic unit included both first-time and repeat offenders in the crimes against persons, property, social order, and nature categories.  The patients were chosen from those diagnosed as psychotic upon admission to the forensic unit and assigned to me experimental or control groups at random.  The experimental group attended bi-weekly one-hour sessions, for five consecutive weeks.

The Standard Observation Scale for In-Patient Evaluation was used to rate residents in both groups.  After the five-week treatment period, the residents in both groups were again rated on this scale.  In addition to the observation scale, the investigator designed a rating scale to observe group behavior during music therapy sessions.  It was used to find major differences between behavior at the beginning and behavior at the end of the treatment period.

Changes of behavior within each group were not shown to be statistically significant; however, the investigator’s in-group observation of the residents during music therapy showed improvement.  If this study was replicated, these suggestions are made; a trial period or pilot run utilizing the rating scale prior to actual investigation; only one or two observers; longer time period; rewriting the instruments to be more objective.

Russell, Sue A.  THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIA-BASED SIMULATION MATERIALS FOR TRAINING MUSIC THERAPISTS, MUSIC EDUCATORS AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS.  MME, GLD, 1977.

The purpose of this thesis project was to develop media-based simulation materials for training music therapists, music educators, and other professionals to design music activities for children who have physical handicaps which are nonsensory.

The writer followed the basic outline presented in the sourcebook, Instructional Development for Training Teachers of Exceptional Children (Thiagarajin, Semmel, & Semmel, 1974) when designing media-based simulation materials.  A written, videotape-written, and music activity analysis criterion-reference pretest was developed and piloted.

A task analysis, concept analysis, and instructional objectives provided the basic framework for the development of the media-based simulation materials themselves.  A case history approach, utilizing videotape clips, slides, reel-to-reel tapes, and printed information, was developed to train professionals to design music activities for children with the following disabilities:  cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and spina bifida.  Printed information on other physical handicaps which are non-sensory was developed along with a glossary of terms, an evaluation of the simulation experience.

Salmon, Dianne J.  Consistency Between Art and Music Preference and Its Relationship to Personality.  MME, 1977.

One purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between classical/ romantic aspects of personality and classical/romantic tastes in music and the visual arts.  A second purpose was to examine whether subjects are consistent in indicating preference for classical or romantic content in two different modes of artistic expression, music and the visual arts.  In brief, this was done by determining correlations between the subjects’ personality type ratings, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and their artistic preference ratings for romanticism/ classicism, as measured by a test constructed by the researcher.  This was a forced-choice test which required subjects to view paired slides of classical and romantic exemplars in the visual arts, and to listen to similarly paired musical excerpts.

The results of the study indicated there was a significant tendency for subjects to be consistent in preference for romanticism or classicism between the visual arts and music.  A significant relationship between romantic/classical personality types and romantic/classical preferences on the combined music and art test was not found.  Further examination of the results indicated that predictions from the personality type indicator did correlate significantly with preferences made in the visual arts portion of the test, but did not correlate with music preferences.  It was found that as a whole, the subjects preferred classical music exemplars over the romantic examples (p<.01), while no such significant difference was noted for the visual arts.  However, preference scores of a pilot sample of music/art majors indicated that the majors preferred romantic musical items.  No significant differences in preferences were found for female-male groupings.

Scales, Jean E.  EDUCATABLE MENTALLY RETARDED AND NORMAL CHILDREN’S DUPLICATION OF RHYTHMIC PATTERNS.   EdD, 1977.

Petzold (1966) found that the mode of presentation, rhythmic or rhythmic-melodic, did not affect the accuracy with which normal intelligence children, grades 1 through 6, duplicated rhythm patterns.  He also found no significant difference in ability to repeat rhythm patterns between adjacent grade levels, but when upper and lower grades were compared, significant differences resulted.  The purpose of this study was to determine if findings similar to those of Petzold would be found with another population of elementary school children, and to investigate how these findings relate to the educable mentally retarded (EMR).

Two semi-related rhythmic imitation tasks, one for each group (EMR and normal), were constructed.  Each test consisted of 11 rhythm patterns, with six patterns common to both tests.  Each pattern was presented two ways, simply as rhythm on a congo drum and in a rhythmic-melodic context on a piano.  Scoring was in terms of the number of tones (rhythmic taps) correctly reproduced at the rate of one point per tone.  Answers to the specific questions posed in the study:

1.      Does the mode of presentation, rhythmic or rhythmic-melodic significantly affect the accuracy with which children of normal intelligence duplicate rhythm patterns?  A t-test revealed no significant difference between scores on the rhythmic and rhythmic-melodic items.  These results were consistent with Petzold’s earlier findings.

2.      Does the mode of presentation, rhythmic or rhythmic-melodic, significantly affect the accuracy with which EMR children duplicate rhythm patterns?  Although the differences between the mean scores on the two item types were not large, a t-test revealed a statistically significant difference in response accuracy in relation to presentation mode.  Mean scores were slightly but consistently higher on the items presented as rhythm only.  Petzold’s results were not replicated with EMR subjects.

3.      Is there any significant difference in accuracy of response on a rhythmic duplication task between EMR and normal children of the same chronological age?  Mean total scores on the common items for subsamples of EMR and normal children of the same CA (6 through 12) showed that the EMR consistently scored lower than the normal children.  The t-tests, however, revealed significant differences only for the 6-, 7-, and 8-year olds; no significant differences were obtained for ages 9, 10, and 12.  The EMR children ages 6, 7, and 8 responded significantly less accurately than normal peers.  For ages 9, 10, and 12 the performance level was quite low for some EMR children while others performed at the level of the normal children.  The wide range of scores particularly for the EMR’s and the small sample sizes may have contributed to the lack of more definitive results, particularly as concerns the upper age levels.

4.      Is there any significant difference in accuracy of response on a rhythmic duplication task between the various grade levels (1 through 6) for normal children?  Analysis of variance revealed no statistically significant differences in scores between the various grade levels, although mean scores did increase with increasing grade level and differences between grades were noted.  These findings were not congruent with Petzold’s research, but the small sample size of this study may have contributed to the differing result.

5.      Is there any significant difference in accuracy of response on a rhythmic duplication task between the various class levels of EMR students?  Analysis of variance revealed a significant difference only between the Primary class and all other class levels, although mean scores increased with each successive class.  These results were analogous to Petzold’s findings of significant differences only between Grade 1 with Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Taylor, Sheila M.  THE MINISTERIAL FUNCTION OF THE CHILDREN’S CHOIR IN THE MASS:  A HISTORICAL - EMPIRICAL STUDY.  MME, RER, 1977.

It was proposed that a children’s choir can be successful in improving and adding to the beauty of the liturgy as well as being of great benefit to the children enrolled.  Success was measured by informal parent response concerning performances and rehearsals.  Responses of parishioners, pastors, and children were also noted.  It was concluded that the children’s choir was appreciated and enjoyed in this particular parish.

Tomsic, Jo Ann A.  THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER SOCIAL REINFORCEMENT ON PREFERENTIAL MUSIC RESPONSES OF STUDENTS AND STUDENT GROUPS.  MME, RER, 1977.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of a socially reinforcing adult music teacher upon the preferential music responses of 10 to 12 year old elementary school students, the effects of group peer pressure upon preferential music responses, and the effects from no group peer pressure.  This study attempted, then, to answer the following questions:

1.      Would results of this study be similar to those achieved by the Steele (1966) study?

2.      Would a teacher using social reinforcement alter the preferential responses of students in a group?  Would this group response be similar under peer support or peer opposition?

3.      During the absence of the group and the teacher, which experimental group would maintain the altered preferential response?

As a result of the study, the following conclusions were made.  Results did not substantiate the major findings of the Steele study, which showed differential presentation of social reinforcement effective in altering preferential music responses.  Under the conditions of this study, the teacher was not able to alter group preferential responses beyond an initial setting.  Initial group responses indicated peer support aided teacher reinforcement in obtaining the least preferred choice.  This performance was not repeated over time; final responses under all group conditions were similar -- no group chose the teacher-reinforced style.  No group maintained an altered response; no significant alteration in responses was produced.  Additional conclusions were produced from the study were:  (1) neither teacher effects nor peer group effects produced any significant changes in preferential responses; (2) subject’s style preferences were stable over experimental conditions; (3) a uniform low response to classical music occurred in all groups, showing for these subjects, classical music was a consistent least-preferred style; (4) group means indicated a similar response pattern across groups.

Implications from this study are (1) that peer effects which require opposition to a preferred style choice may not produce any changes, and (2) that group conformity may be maintained in spite of peer leader opposition.  This implied that even if class leaders were asked to help produce changes in overt responses and attitude to a pre-determined least preferred style choice, group conformity to the preferred response may be expected to continue.  Finally, certain styles of music may be highly reinforcing to some school age children.

Williams, Roger C.  MUSIC LISTENING AS A REWARD FOR IMPROVED ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SOCIAL STUDIES.  MME, GH, 1977.

Psychological theories and research studies pertaining to behavior modification prompted the investigator to study the effects of music listening as a reward for improved academic performance in social studies.  In collaboration with the social studies department, an experiment was carried out in which subjects were rewarded for displaying suitable attending behavior in social studies classes on a daily basis for 18 weeks.  It was believed that increased attention would influence scholastic improvement in social studies.

The specific concerns of the investigation were:  (1) to determine whether a control group receiving no special treatment would show significant change in social studies grades from first semester to second, (2) to determine whether an experimental group receiving music-listening as reinforcement during the second semester would show significant change in social studies grades from first semester to second, and (3) to determine whether the change in grades of the control group would be significantly different from the change in the grades of the experimental group.

It was decided that every member of the experimental group exhibiting the appropriate behavior of listening attentively would be given a paper token at the end of each class period in social studies.  Ownership of a paper token entitled the subject to 55 minutes of listening to music of his choice.

The results of the study indicated that (1) the control group receiving no special treatment did not show significant change in social studies grades from first semester to second, and (2) the experimental group receiving music listening as reinforcement during the second semester did not show significant change in social studies grades from first semester to second.  Therefore, as neither group made significant improvement it was concluded that, in this case, music listening was not an effective reward and did not bring about improved academic performance.

Wolfersberger, Marsha.  PLAYING BY EAR:  A SELF-INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDE.  MME, 1977.

The purpose of this self-instructional guide for learning to play by ear is to aid those students having difficulty with the requirement stated:  “After one hour of preparation, play or sing a melody and accompany it by ear.”  This is part of the Quizout Examination required of all students graduating from the Department of Music Education and Music Therapy of the School of Education at the University of Kansas.

Analysis of the quizout results for the three years ending Summer, 1975, revealed that approximately one-third of the students failed this portion of the examination on their first attempt.  The skills needed to pass were not identical to those required in any specific course.  However, these listening skills were some of the most needed and used by music classroom teachers, and most graduates of this department will be teaching in public school music classrooms.

The purpose of the instructional guide was to enable the student to hear so he can reproduce what he has heard.  The instructional guide included directions and exercises in:  (1) hearing melodic direction, (2) recognizing pattern, repetition, and sequence, (3) verbalizing rhythmic values, (4) understanding harmonic probabilities, (5) recognizing intervals by ear.

With the introduction of each new chord there was a chord progression to practice, a melody to accompany with this progression, and an exercise in creating a melody to play with the chords.  Then followed suggested tunes and excerpts of popular tunes to accompany with the chords.  The block chord was the basic harmony experienced first.  Then chords in inversions and other accompaniment styles were to be practices.  The styles suggested are:  (1) waltz bass, (2) single-note waltz bass, (3) broken chord bass, (4) single-note broken chord bass, (5) partial chord -- open sound, (6) alberti bass, (7) march bass, (8) western bass, (9) single-note bass-line style.  The guide was ordered in such a way that students may omit earlier, and easier pages beginning at their individual levels.

1978

Barta, Richard J.  INTONATION BEHAVIOR OF HIGH SCHOOL WIND INSTRU-MENTALISTS IN SIMPLE TRIADS:  JUST INTONATION OR EQUAL TEMPERAMENT.  MME, CE, 1978.

It was not the intent of this study to determine what constitutes good or bad intonation, but how intonation in simple harmonic structures would be perceived in a hands-on performance basis by high school instrumentalists, and to what degree they would tend to favor either just tuning or equal temperament.  The study was based on the hypothesis that because of the overwhelming emphasis placed on equal temperament in public school music, and because little emphasis is placed on instruction in tuning systems, high school instrumentalists would not perform harmonies in beat-free tuning, but would prefer those more closely associated with equal temperament.

The test procedure consisted of four measures of prerecorded open fifths which required each subject to place major and minor thirds within the open fifths.  Each subject was given two minutes to tune his or her instrument, and was allowed to practice the four measures of the test procedure three times.  The fourth presentation was recorded for test analysis.  The analysis of performances was made with a stroboscope, the results scored in plus or minus cents deviation from equal temperament.

In essence, the responses overwhelmingly favored no preference over either equal temperament or just tuning, and that when given a choice between equal temperament and just only, subjects favored equal temperament to a significant degree.

Cox, Douglas R.  THE EFFECTS OF PRE-BAND INSTRUCTION ON THE MUSICAL LEARNING OF BEGINNING FOURTH-GRADE BAND STUDENTS.  MME, 1978.

The purpose of this study was to determine if teaching beginning fourth-grade band students the musical factors of rhythm, notes, rests, correct posture, and correct breathing in conjunction with pre-band instruments, before starting them on regular band instruments, will result in a significantly higher level of musical performance and a better understanding of music theory.

The control group was given traditional beginning band instruction following the Learning Unlimited Band Series for a period of 14 weeks.  The experimental group received two weeks of instruction of playing basic rhythms, two weeks instruction on the song flute, and ten weeks of instruction following the Learning Unlimited Band Series.

The effectiveness of the two methods was measured by comparing the gain scores achieved on a pretest and posttest of the Kwalwasser-Ruch Test of Musical Accomplishment and the playing score achieved on the Watkins-Farnum Performance Scale.  It was found that there was no significant difference between the control and experimental group in any test area.

Culton, Carol A.  THE INFLUENCE OF RHYTHM AND GUIDANCE ON SELECTED MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES OF TRAINABLE RETARDATES.

The purpose of this study was to provide a group of randomly selected institutionalized trainable mentally retarded individuals with a sequence of simple songs, rhythmical movements, and visual cues in order to (1) provide a basis for musical and rhythmical learning; (2) see if subjects could demonstrate a feeling of steady and strong beats during a rhythmic sequence; and (3) see where differences may exist in subjects’ abilities to demonstrate steady and strong beat patterns with or without guidance of the therapist.

A concern for mentally retarded individuals’ needs and the belief that rhythmical movement, enhanced through music, is essential for child development were the study’s motivating ideals.

Data were analyzed via a 6 (activities) X 2 (rhythm states) X 2 (guidance states) X 2 (groups) factorial design.  Two sets of data were analyzed:  (1) success and failure in meeting the criterion, and (2) number of trials completed.  Results indicated:  (1) all subjects performed better with a steady beat pattern, (2) Group A consistently had better scores, (3) an order of difficulty and development and influence of variables such as rhythm and guidance seems to be present for all subjects, especially when downward movement was involved in legs (stamp) or in combination with up and down movement of arms (march), and (4) subjects had beaten scores for a majority of movements when guidance of the therapist was available.

Gaberstein, Nina S.   A DEVELOPMENTAL MUSIC THERAPY PROGRAM FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN.  MME, 1978.

Early infantile autism is a children’s disorder characterized by severe communication and behavioral problems.  It manifests itself at a very early age and is irreversible in sixty to seventy-five percent of those it affects.  One of the major problems of this disorder is the lack of knowledge regarding causation.  To date there are three major theories which seek to solve the etiological enigma and provide goals for treatment and education--the psychological, the biological, and the neurophysiological.  The differences between these theories have caused considerable controversy, resulting in a lack of unification toward the common goal--the socialization of the autistic child.  The purpose of this paper is to provide a treatment program which can be implemented within the framework of any theory.  As it has been demonstrated that many autistic children have an unusually strong interest in music, the writer has designed a developmental music therapy program for use with all autistic children.

The procedures for this thesis involved two main areas of study and presentation:  the program development, and the trial implementation of parts of the program.  For the former, resources were collected from libraries, colleagues, conventions, and clinical experience.  From these resources the writer designed fifty-three music therapy activities specifically for five problem areas common to most autistic children:  awakening, sense of self, sensorimotor skills, language development, and social skills.  Many activities were applicable to more than one area, and were created to be adaptable to the needs of the individual child.  The writer also offered suggestions for teaching and management techniques, as well as a list of sources providing practical ideas for working with autistic children.

The subject for the trial implementation was a six-and-a-half year old boy who lives at home and attends a public school class for the trainable mentally retarded.  He was never diagnosed professionally as autistic, but does exhibit many autistic-like behaviors, including severe communication difficulties, and lack of appropriate play.  He differs from the “classically autistic” child in that he is aware of people and shows that he needs them.  Music is an area in which he has particular interest, and often his parents calm him by playing a favorite record on the stereo.

The results of the trial implementation indicated that the child appeared to progress in the areas of physical communication and relation, ability to sit still, and language development.  His enjoyment of particular songs increased with time.  Most activities presented were successful as far as immediate reaction, and thus it seems likely that they may become effective teaching tools.  Generalizations cannot be made, however, because every child’s experience is unique.  This indicates a need for further research; all activities should be tried and tested with other autistic children, and those that are usable should be an important part of the child’s educational and therapeutic program.

Hudgens, John T.  MUSIC THERAPY AS A REMEDIATION PROGRAM FOR AUDITORY SEQUENCING PROBLEMS:  A MATERIAL PROGRAM.  MME, 1978.

The purpose of this project was to develop music therapy materials which could be helpful in the remediation of auditory sequencing problems in young children. After an investigation of research related to the problem, a package of 28 music therapy activities was created.  Appropriate behavioral objectives were also included.  To test the effectiveness of the materials, they were used as the treatment in an informal experiment.  Five boys, ages six to ten years, comprised the experimental group.  A digit-span test was used as a pretest-posttest instrument.  The materials package was completed by the group in fourteen daily sessions.  The data demonstrated that the subjects’ sequencing scores on the digit-span test increased by an average of 10 percent.  This implied that music therapy could be used as a viable remediation technique for auditory sequencing problems.

Kramer, Shirley, A.  THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC AS A CUE IN MAINTAINING HANDWASHING IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN.  MME, 1978.

Music in the form of songs has been used in various settings to teach certain skills.  This study attempted to determine the effects of a training song in maintaining a self-help skill which was taught with the aid of the same song.

Twenty-one preschool children were first taught to wash their hands as a ten-step procedure.  They received ten training sessions in which they washed their hands with the aid of a “Handwashing Song.”  The first maintenance group followed a control procedure (M1) in which no attempts at maintenance were made.  The second group heard the music only of the “Handwashing Song” as they washed their hands during maintenance (M2), while the third group heard only the lyrics, spoken in a normal voice (M3).  The fourth group heard the complete song as a maintenance procedure while washing their hands (M4).

None of the maintenance procedures showed effects which were statistically significant when compared to any of the other procedures.  However, subjects who received M3 and M4 showed better maintenance of their posttest scores than subjects who received the control and music-only conditions.  A multiple-baseline procedure was then implemented, and those subjects who had received M1 and M2 were randomly switched to the M3 and M4 conditions.  Improved performances of subjects switched to M3 showed statistical significance beyond the .01 level when compared with their scores in their previous maintenance conditions.  Scores of subjects switched to M4 showed no statistical significance.

Overview of the data of the original maintenance groups indicated that the entire song was as effective as verbal reminders in maintaining the subjects’ handwashing performance.  Music alone did not maintain the subjects’ posttest scores.  The improved performances of subjects switched to M3 compared to the lack of improvement and decrease in performance levels of subjects switched to M4 poses questions regarding retention of the song.  However, it was concluded that a song can indeed be effective as a maintenance procedure, provided the maintenance program is instituted immediately after training.

McMurray, William I.  THE ROLE OF FOUR SELECTED VARIABLES IN SUCCESSFULLY PREDICTING SINGING PERFORMANCE SCORES.  MME, 1978.

This study investigated the ability of four selected predictor variables to predict the actual singing performance scores of 39 fifth-grade students.  Predictors justified by the literature for use were:  pitch discrimination, tonal memory, musical attitude, and musical experience.

Pitch discrimination and tonal memory were measured via Colwell’s Music Achievement Test, tests 1 and 3.  Musical attitude and musical experience were measured using Gaston’s Test of Musicality, page 1.  Singing performances by all subjects were tape recorded and then rated by a panel of three expert judges, using the criteria established by The National Assessment of Educational Progress (Rivas, 1974).

The predictor variables, as measured in this study, do not show the relationship to singing performance scores that the literature seems to imply they should.  Perhaps the literature’s claims are based on personal opinion not validated by research (Petzold, 1963).  Or, perhaps more refined measurements of these and other predictor variables need to be developed, to yield more accurate predictions.

Romine, Jack B.  THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MANUAL FOR AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENTS ON RUDIMENTAL DRUMMING FOR MARCHING PERCUSSION.  MME, 1978.

The problem of retaining entry level students in the band, so well known as to need no documentation, is so significantly exacerbated by the current status of Indian education that it requires a new approach to band instrument instruction which is geared to the unique problems of the Indian student.  The author developed an accelerated percussion instruction method which was tested for eight weeks on entry level drummers.  The test was conducted in the fall of 1976.  Pre- and posttests were administered to measure the students’ understanding of the subject matter and their skill.  Evaluation of the test results showed that the students who were taught with the experimental method were substantially superior to a group of control students who had been taught with the First Division Band Method method.  In addition retention of students in the experimental group was markedly superior to that of the control group.

The conclusion of the study, based upon evaluation of the tests and student retention, was that the instruction method tested proved to be a more effective approach to the teaching of American Indian students than did the traditional approach.

Raskam, Kay S.  MUSIC THERAPY AS AN AID FOR INCREASING AUDITORY DISCRIMINATION AND IMPROVING READING SKILLS.  Ph.D., 1978.

This study was designed to test the use of music as a remedial tool for auditory discrimination problems, and to examine whether the process led to improved reading skills.

Thirty-six children, diagnosed as learning disabled, ages 6 to 9, were randomly assigned to one of three groups.  One group received music therapy; another received language development activities; and the third received a combination of music therapy and language development activities.  The music therapy consisted of individualized prescriptive music activities which were structured to allow each child to experience success and to improve discriminative listening, attention span, pitch and rhythm responses, auditory sequencing and recall, recognition of loud/soft differences and directionality awareness.  The language development activities included reading, writing, and prereading and writing activities which are routinely used for remedial work with learning disabled children.  Each group was pretested and posttested in five areas:  (1) non-verbal auditory awareness; (2) verbal auditory awareness; (3) reading recognition; (4) reading comprehension; and (5) spelling.  Behavioral data were also obtained to further evaluate the effectiveness of the music therapy treatment.

There are no statistically significant differences in gain scores in auditory discrimination and reading skills between three groups of learning disabled children receiving remedial work with music therapy, language development activities and a combination of these.  However, in four of the five measures the music therapy group achieved the highest mean gain while the language development group achieved the lowest.  This outcome suggests that further study should be done which explores the relationship between improvement in auditory discrimination and improvement in reading.  Continued efforts utilizing music therapy as a remedial tool seem warranted by this outcome, as well as by behavioral data which indicated improvement in the subjects during the three-month period.

Seiden, Marcella L.  CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING IN THE MUSIC THERAPY CURRICULUM.  MME, 1978.

Four heterogeneously grouped classes of Principles of Music Therapy II served as experimental and control groups for this study.  The treatment consisted of eight, fifty-minute sessions based on an adaptation of creative teaching and problem solving methods of Parnes (1967a, 1967b).  Fluency, the number of ideas produced; flexibility, the categories or types of ideas produced; and originality, the uniqueness of response were measured.  The instrument used in this study was The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, Verbal Forms A and B (1966a, 1966b).  Additional data were gathered from investigator-constructed situations and a questionnaire.  The experimental design monitored pretest sensitivity and the interaction effects of testing.  There were no significant differences in the experimental and control groups in the area of fluency and flexibility, but significance was obtained for originality of response.  It was further determined that pretest sensitivity did not significantly affect test scores.  A final conclusion was that this type of training, although not specific to me field of music therapy, transferred in application to a music therapy situation.  This was evidenced by significantly higher scores in fluency and originality of response in the experimental groups for this test item.  Experimental group responses on an investigator-constructed questionnaire indicated that the process of creative problem solving has begun to transfer to other academic and personal areas.  These results were consistent with findings by Parnes and Noller (1973).

Stuart, Melanie H.  TEACHER TRAINEES DEVELOPMENT OF ERROR DETECTION SKILLS, TWO GENERIC TEACHING SKILLS, AND SUBSEQUENT PUPIL PERFORMANCE IN THE MUSICAL REHEARSAL.  PH.D., GLD, 1978.

The purposes of this study were (1) to analyze the effect of two training techniques on the development of specific error detection skills (EDS) in music education, (2) to evaluate the effect of three training procedures on the development and use of two generic teaching skills (GTS:  positive reinforcement and stimulus variation) in music education, and (3) to examine pupil performance changes generated by teacher trainees instructed through the six training sequences and associated with trainee use of the two GTS.

The stated purposes were implemented as three interlocking studies.  The first two studies involved the following steps:  (1) identification of specific goal behaviors in each area (EDS and GTS), (2) implementation of specific training procedures in each area, and (3) assessment of the effect of the training procedures on the teacher trainees.  The third study evaluated the training procedures influence on the teacher trainees’ generation of pupil performance changes and validated the generic teaching skills developed by assessing the association with pupil performance changes.

Study 1 indicated the trainees who received error detection training (EDT) and those who did not receive error detection training (NEDT) evidenced significant changes in their ability to recognize and detect errors.  The EDT class, however, performed at a significantly higher level in the recognition and analysis of errors than the NEDT class.  There was no significant difference between the EDT and the NEDT classes on the pretest or the posttest conducting scores.

Study 2 indicated that both GTS were present in the trainees’ original repertoire of teaching skills.  Both teaching skills evidenced a significant change in their usage and qualitative usage across the semester.  EDT in conjunction with any of the training procedures [i.e., perceptual modeling (PM), focused feedback (FF), or the combination of PM and FF (PM/FF)] was indicated as the training combination which generated significant changes in trainee usage of positive reinforcement (PR) and stimulus variation (SV).  The qualitative usage of PR and SV did not evidence significant change during the course of Study 2.

Study 3 indicated that the trainees given PM/FF generated final pupil performances which were significantly different, in a positive direction, from those of trainees who received only PM or FF.  The significance was evidenced across both EDT and NEDT.  The trainees who generated significant differences in the pupil performance (i.e., those who received PM/FF) also evidenced the highest usage and qualitative usage of stimulus variation.

It was concluded that the training procedures PM/FF in conjunction with either EDT or NEDT is the strongest training sequence applied during this study, in terms of generating significant pupil performance within a string orchestra rehearsal.

Tims, Frederick C.  CONTRASTING MUSIC CONDITIONS, VISUAL AFFECTING BEHAVIOR, AND STATE IN EIGHT-WEEK-OLD INFANTS.  Ph.D., 1978.

The existing knowledge of infant auditory development is insufficient to explain the processing of complex auditory stimuli by infants.  Additionally, information on the nature and emergence of early musical responses has been rarely substantiated by a data base.  Whether or not early responses to auditory stimuli are precursors of language development, or if early musical responses are related to the acquisition of cognitive skills is, at present, in the realm of speculation.  Therefore, to expand the existing data base, this study examined the relative capacities of various types of music to elicit visual attending behavior in eight-week-old infants, their abilities to discriminate among gross music types, and the effects of music type on behavioral state.

The responses of 36 infants (24 experimental subjects and 12 control subjects) to sedative, stimulative, and intermittent (electronic) music stimuli were investigated in a habituation paradigm, using visual fixation as the criterion measure.  The three music stimuli were presented successively, contingent upon an infant’s fixating a visual stimulus.  A single session design was employed with counterbalancing for sex and order or music presentations.  The visual stimulus was presented only as long as an individual infant fixated the stimulus.  Data were recorded on visual fixation, as well as on the occurrence of crying and sleeping, by independent observers.

The visual fixation data indicated that the infants chose to fixate on the visual stimulus more times during the sedative music phases, resulting in more looking accumulating during sedative music.  However, the sedative music did not produce longer individual visual fixations, suggesting that the power of sedative music to elicit looking lies in the production of a more positive approach situation toward the visual stimulus. A situation was created where the infants indicated a “preference” for sedative music, as indicated by their looking at the visual stimulus more when their looking triggered the onset of sedative music.

Consistently, the sedative music produced more looking than the other music types, as well as more demonstrations of discrimination, and more crying and sleeping.  These results suggest that sedative music is possibly easier for two-month-old infants to process, or at least has greater effects on them.  The study failed to demonstrate differentiations between the stimulative and intermittent music types employed.

Further research is required before definite conclusions can be drawn on early music discrimination abilities and the functional application of music with young infants, i.e., in early stimulation programs.  Until the data base on early responses to music is expanded, further statements concerning such responses will rely, to a great extent, on speculation.

1979

Asmus, Edward P.  THE OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ADJECTIVES AS DESCRIPTIONS OF MUSICAL AFFECT.  Ph.D., RER, 1979.

The study focus on the affective responses individuals have toward music.  Affect was defined as the feelingful, emotional state developed within a listener as a result of exposure to musical stimuli.  To assess this state, numerous researchers have developed measurement instruments employing adjectives.  The purpose of the investigation was to establish how these adjectives operate as descriptors of musical affect.  The study utilized a multifaceted approach to determine:  (1) those adjectives that can describe the range of evoked affective responses to music, (2) the dimensions that underlie these affective adjectives, (3) the terms which best represent these dimensions, (4) the stability of the dimensions across age groups, and (5) the stability of the dimensions across musical styles.

Ninety-nine adjectives were determined by expert judges and through a review of the literature to best characterize affective responses to music from a pool of 165 terms.  The 99 adjectives were rated by 2,057 subjects enrolled in junior high (N = 643), high school (N = 695), colleges and universities (N = 719) in response to 3 musical excerpts.  The musical excerpts were selected by musically expert judges to represent a range of possible affective responses.

Subjects rated the appropriateness of each term in describing the emotional or feelingful responses they had to the music on a 4-point scale of strongly agree to strongly disagree.  The responses for each subject group and the combined groups on each piece of music were analyzed using principal component factor analytic techniques.  Nine dimensions were found to occur in 75% or more of these analyses:  Evil, Sensual, Potency, Humor, Pastoral, Longing, Depression, Sedative, and Activity dimensions.

Forty-one terms loading highly in the factor analyses were selected to represent these dimensions based on their frequency of loading. To determine the stability of the 9 dimensions, these 41 terms were again factor analyzed for each subject group on each piece of music using maximum likelihood procedures.  Factor comparison techniques, both interpretive and statistical, were applied to the rotated factor loadings of these analyses.  The results indicated that the 9 dimensions were stable across the music rated and the subject groups tested.  The 41 terms representing the 9 dimensions were organized into a tentative device for measuring affective responses, the 9 Affective Dimensions (9-AD).  The instrument, when used with caution, should be of value to researchers who require the multidimensional measurement of affective responses with an empirically derived measurement instrument.  Researchers should be aware that further refinement of the device is necessary.  However, scores on homogeneous yet discrete dimensions are obtainable from the 9-AD in its present state.

Brubaker, Linda K.  A STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSICAL ABILITY AND READING ACHIEVEMENT OF FOURTH-GRADE CHILDREN.  MME, GH, 1979.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether there is a relationship between:  (1) musical ability and reading achievement of fourth-grade children, (2) musical ability and reading achievement of fourth-grade girls, and (3) musical ability and reading achievement of fourth-grade boys.

Scores on the Bentley Measures of Musical Abilities, scores on Part I of the American School Achievement Tests, and the sex of the individual subjects were tabulated.  The Pearson r method was used to compute correlation coefficients.

Significant correlation coefficients were obtained from scores on the reading achievement test and the scores on each of the following parts of the Bentley test:  pitch discrimination, rhythmic memory, and composite musical ability.  The correlation coefficients that were obtained from scores on the reading achievement test and scores on the tonal memory test and the chord analysis test were not significant.  When only the boys’ scores were used, the correlation coefficients were slightly higher than when only the girls’ scores were used in the computations.  The differences, however, were not significant.

Davis, William B.  THE USE OF CONTINGENT MUSIC IN THE MANAGEMENT OF RUMINATION AND OUT OF SEAT BEHAVIOR IN A PROFOUNDLY RETARDED INSTITUTIONALIZED MALE:  A CASE STUDY.  MME, WWS, 1979.

The purpose of this study was to examine (1) the effect of contingent music and a verbal cue (“No”) on the frequency of rumination and (2) the effect of contingent music on the duration of out-of-seat behavior.  A profoundly retarded 26 year old institutionalized male served as subject.  Sessions were held three times a day, one-half hour after each meal in three different areas of a state institution for the mentally retarded.  A multiple baseline across situation design was used for the duration of the 93 day study.

During baseline sessions the frequency of rumination and duration of out-of-seat behavior was calculated over a 12 minute period.  Treatment consisted of five phases:  (1) During the morning session, rumination was consequated by turning off the music for a ten second interval.  If the subject got out of his seat the music was immediately stopped and remained off until the subject has reseated himself; (2) During the second phase of the training program, the contingencies during the noon and evening sessions remained unchanged as was the out-of-seat behavior during the morning session. Each time the subject ruminated the music was turned off for 30 seconds instead of ten seconds as was done in Phase I; (3) During phase three baseline data was collected as before in the noon and evening sessions while out-of-seat contingencies remained the same during the morning session.  If the subject ruminated, the experimenter emitted a loud sharp “No” while simultaneously turning off the music for 30 seconds; (4) Contingencies remained the same in the morning and the evening sessions.  During the noon session the experimenter emitted the verbal cue each time the subject ruminated.  The “No” was the only contingency in effect during the noon session; (5) During phase five, the “No” contingency of the noon session was removed so that neither out-of-seat behavior nor rumination was consequated.  With the morning session unchanged, baseline collected during the evening session was changed to training identical to that of the morning session.  The noon session served as a baseline control for the morning and evening sessions.

Results of the study indicate that contingent music and “No” were effective in reducing the frequency of rumination by 97% while contingent music alone was effective in reducing the duration of out-of-seat behavior by 73% in a profoundly retarded institutionalized male.

Gibbons, Alicia C.  MUSICAL APTITUDE PROFILE SCORES IN THE ELDERLY AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS TO MORALE AND SELECTED OTHER VARIABLES.  Ph.D., GLD, 1979.

The study focused on music ability in elderly persons as measured by Gordon’s Musical Aptitude Profile.  The purpose of the investigation was to (1) examine musical ability test scores in relation to age in an elderly population sample; (2) compare musical ability test scores with self-esteem and morale scores; and (3) compare musical ability test scores with the following attribute variables:  sex, preretirement occupational noise levels, formal education, health, income, housing type or living situation, musical experience and training, and musical activity levels.

The Musical Aptitude Profile was administered to groups of subjects in free field.  Questionnaires were used to collect data concerning the various attribute variables.  Results showed that the MAP had high consistency for the elderly subjects tested.  Age did not correlate with either partial or composite MAP scores, and there were no significant differences among MAP scores on the total test and on all the test parts, except Tonal Imagery, for three age groups:  (1) 65 to 70 years, (2) 71 to 75 years, and (3) 76 to 93 years.

Musical activity level, musical experience, frequency of music listening, and monthly income consistently emerged as the strongest predictors of MAP partial and composite scores.  Subjects with higher musical activity levels, greater musical experience, higher frequency of music listening, and higher monthly income were related to higher MAP scores.  Sex and housing type were predictors for all MAP scores except the Tonal Imagery scores.  Females performed better on most parts of the MAP than males and persons in most independent housing types made better scores than those who lived in more dependent situations.  The musical self-esteem variable predicted scores on only one test part, Rhythmic Imagery.  Subjects with greater musical self-esteem performed better on that section than subjects with less musical self-esteem.  There was no significant relationship, however, between musical self-esteem and other test parts.  Generally morale was a rather weak predictor of composite MAP scores, and was not significantly related to any of the partial scores.  Subjects with high general morale tended to have high composite scores.  None of the eother attribute variables had predictive value for the partial and composite MAP scores in the elderly subjects analyzed in this sample.  The MAP and the questionnaires used in this study were viable measurement instruments for elderly persons’ musical abilities and the attribute variables associated with them.  Future research efforts with the devices may provide additional descriptive data of elderly persons in various socioeconomic strata.

Gagnon, Sharon A.  THE RELATIONSHIP OF VERBAL AND PERFORMANCE RESPONSES OF KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN TO MUSICAL TASKS.  MME, GH, 1979.

The problem of this study was concerned with the relationship of verbal and performance responses of kindergarten children to musical tasks.  The study was designed to obtain information on verbal and performance responses to tasks involving the musical properties of pitch, melodic direction, duration, and rhythm.  Furthermore, the study was designed to gain knowledge about any relationship which might exist in kindergarten children’s understandings of the selected musical properties due to sex, chronological age, or having a keyboard instrument in the home.  A subpurpose of the study was to develop reliable tests for assessing kindergarten children’s understandings of pitch, melodic direction, duration, and rhythm.

The first test constructed for the study, Test A, required verbal responses to test items.  The second test, Text B, required performance responses on a small electric organ and rhythm sticks.

The following conclusions are advanced for possible use in instructional planning, evaluation, and further research of this type with kindergarten children.  Kindergarten children appear to be able to express their musical understandings both verbally and through performance.  Their verbal responses tend to be positively correlated with their performance responses, i.e., those children that tend to do well when expressing their understandings of music verbally will also perform well when asked to demonstrate their understandings on an instrument.

Age is a factor which may have a significant relationship to the ability of kindergarten children to express understandings of the properties of music.  Music educators cannot assume that a common starting ground exists for the kindergarten music program when a wide range of ages are grouped in one class.

These conclusions are advanced in light of the various problems which could not be avoided or controlled in the study but which may have affected the results of the investigation.  Some of these problems include the fact that some children may have been more familiar with the terms used in the Verbal test.  Also some children have better motor control which could have affected scores on the performance test.  And finally other problems encountered relate to whether or not the answers of kindergarten children can be accepted to mean the same thing as the investigator’s and whether or not kindergarten children’s understandings of these concepts remain the same in different situations.

Gilbert, Janet P.  THE DEVELOPMENT OF MOTORIC SKILLS IN CHILDREN AGES THREE THROUGH SIX.  Ph.D., GLD, 1979

The purpose of this research was first to develop a scale to measure selected motoric music skills in children ages three through six.  Subsequently, this instrument was used to describe the characteristics of motoric music skill development in these children.  Variations in motoric music skill development were also examined in relation to age, sex, race, community size, and previous musical instrument experience.

The Motoric Music Skills Test (MMST) was administered to a sample of 808 children, which consisted of 44 items measuring motoric music skills through five subtests:  (1) Motor Pattern Coordination; (2) Eye-hand Coordination; (3) Speed of Movement; (4) Range of Movement; and (5) Compound Factors.  Performance videotapes were analyzed by independent judges; interjudge reliability, based on evaluation of 100 subject performances by three judges, ranged from .89 to .96.

Content validity of the MMST was established through the rigorous judging and pilot testing procedures described previously.  Assessment of concurrent validity was obtained through correlating MMST scores with total scores for selected items of the Lincoln-Oseretsky Motor Development Scale; these correlations ranged from .50 on the Range subtest to .78 on the Compound Factors subtest.  Predictive validity, examined by correlating MMST subtest ranks with teacher-assigned ranks of general motor skill, resulted in positive but inconsistent correlations from one class to another.  Internal consistency of the MMST subtests ranged from .78 on the Motor Pattern Coordination subtest to .89 on the Compound Factors subtest. Test-retest data were obtained on a sample of children retested within the same day of original testing, after seven days, and after 30 days; resulting coefficients ranged from .91 to .96 for the same-day group, decreasing to .84 to .91 for the 30-day retest group.

Descriptive data were analyzed to determine if test performance improved with increases in age.  Measure of central tendency and variability for each age group indicate that the skills tested by the MMST do, in fact, improve with increases in chronological age.  On the Motor Pattern Coordination subtest, variance decreased with each subsequent age level.  On the other subtests, however, variance alternately increased and decreased; these variance patterns may reflect tasks not yet mastered, or may imply that motoric music skill development proceeds unevenly, with progress in skill acquisition interspersed with developmental plateaus.

Item difficulty was assessed indirectly through computation of the age levels at which 25, 50, 75, and 90 percent of the subject achieved arbitrarily defined performance criteria for selected tasks.  Resulting data essentially confirmed the trends suggested by variance patterns and measures of central tendency.  Item analysis also suggested that patterns involving separate use of the hands were mastered before patterns requiring the use of two hands.  Group data indicated that two-handed patterns may develop in the following order:  bilateral striking, alternate striking, opposite movement, and parallel movement.

As a result of these statistical analyses, age was determined to be a significant factor (p < .0001) for all MMST subtests, with older children performing better than younger children.  Sex was a significant factor for the Motor Pattern Coordination (p < .0001), Eye-hand Coordination (p < .001), and Compound Factors (p < .0396) subtests; girls performed better than boys on these three subtests.  Race, community size, and previous musical instrument experience were not significantly related to MMST performance, and no interactions were discerned among the variables.

Jansonius, Amy S.  THREE CASE STUDIES OF THE CONTINGENT USE OF MUSIC THERAPY SESSIONS TO INFLUENCE SELECTED CLASSROOM BEHAVIORS.  MME, GLD, 1979.

The purpose of this study was to examine three cases of the effect of contingent music therapy sessions on maintenance and completion of appropriate classroom behaviors of three elementary school children.

The three subjects were originally selected because they exhibited inappropriate behavior in their classroom which was not exhibited during music therapy sessions.  Target behaviors which focused on appropriate classroom behavior rather than inappropriate behavior were developed by each subject’s classroom teacher together with the music therapist (experimenter).  Two subjects were rewarded for classroom academic task completion.  One subject was rewarded for verbal responses to her teacher’s classroom questions.  Music therapy time served as the contingent reward in all cases.  If the subjects appropriately met his/her specific contingency plan requirements, then he/she received music therapy time.  The most preferred musical activity chosen by each subject comprised the entire music therapy session time except for one subject in which the preferred activity comprised one fourth to one half of the session time.  Each subject’s classroom teacher kept data on classroom behavior of each subject.  Earned and unearned music therapy sessions were recorded for two subjects.  Minutes of music therapy time were recorded for one subject.  Comparisons between initial baseline, treatment and follow-up baseline periods for each case were logically analyzed to note any significant change in target behavior performance.

Logical analysis of the data showed that the contingent music therapy sessions did not appreciably improve classroom academic task completion of two subjects and did not appreciably improve one subject’s ability to verbally respond to questions.  A better understanding of subject personality factors and rates of behavioral change may have provided more successful results.  Further investigation into the influence of contingent music therapy on behavior is highly recommended.

Johnson, Edward R.  THE EFFECT OF A COMBINED VALUES CLARIFICATION AND SONGWRITING EXPERIENCE ON SELF CONCEPT OF SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED ADOLESCENTS IN A FAMILY-ORIENTED, GROUP LIVING SETTING.  MME, WWS, 1979.

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of a combined values clarification and songwriting experience on the self concept of socially disadvantaged adolescents in a family-oriented group living facility.  The independent variable was the values clarification and songwriting treatment.  The dependent variable was self-concept as measured by the Interpersonal Checklist.  A general background to the study of adolescence, as well as related issues, was offered.  A review of selected literature revealed studies using values clarification to affect self-concept, those using music to affect self-concept, and those describing the nature, validity, and use of the Interpersonal Checklist (ICL).

Based upon the data presented, there were differences in reported self concept between members of the Experimental and members of the Control groups, especially in regard to the Self-effacing--Masochistic (HI) and the Cooperative--Conventional (LM) areas (as measured by the ICL).  The members of the E group tended to see themselves as less self-effacing and masochistic and more cooperative and conventional.  While these findings only approached significance, they seem to lend support to the notion that self concept can be changed in specific areas through exposure to the type of treatment used in this study.

This kind of treatment would lend itself well to use in the clinic, especially with depressed or low self esteem individuals.  While, in this study, the individuals were grouped for comparison purposes, the treatment is best suited for use on an individual basis.  It provides a socially appropriate manner for these type of individuals to express themselves.  The process is one of help and encouragement to overcome the reluctance these people possess to express or talk about themselves in a positive manner.  The treatment is also seen as an important step in a therapeutic process for those individuals (especially adolescents) who may be acting out strong negative feelings toward their family or background. Those participants in the study with these feelings or behaviors seemed to become more aware of them through participation in the treatment.  They also seemed more able to verbally express these feelings and to begin dealing with them.  An additional benefit from the treatment that was observed during the study was an apparent improvement in peer status for members of the E group.  The songs and song tapes seemed to be a valued item in the subjects peer group.  Since an individual, especially an adolescent, seems to get much of the feedback that helps to determine self concept from the peer group, this area is important for reinforcing gains made outside this group.  In addition to suggestions for clinical uses for this treatment there are several suggestions for alteration and improvement of the study itself.

Ralston, Susan F.  DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING PACKAGE TO AID OUT-OF-TUNE SINGERS.  MME, GH, 1979.

The individualized learning package was designed to help the out-of-tune singer learn to sing.  The package took into consideration the vast array of underlying causes hindering a child’s singing.  It put various techniques recommended by many music educators into practical usage.  These many-faceted remedies were channeled into a learning program that could be used by an individual student, usually with a partner at his learning pace.  The learning package was designed for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students.

The teaching tool developed here had three basic sections to help the student learn to sing.  Section One was Developing Discriminating Listening Skills.  Section Two was Experimenting with the Speaking Voice.  Section Three was Experimenting with the Singing Voice.

The first section developed a student’s listening skills and helps him or her learn to discriminate between sounds.  The second section helped the student experiment with his speaking voice.  The third section helped the student discover his singing voice and experiment with it.  Work with kazoos, puppets, and cassette tapes was emphasized.

Following each section was an evaluation or assessment that involves both the student and the teacher.  It was a review of many of the games and activities encountered earlier in the package.  If the student successfully proved that he had a good understanding of the section, the teacher advanced him to the next section.  If the student needed additional work, the teacher assigned additional activities before continuing to the next section.  The field test results showed that seven of twelve students following the learning package actually learned to sing.  The remaining five students discovered their singing voices on individual pitches but were unable to extend the sound to sing a melody.

Ricci, Doris M.  EXPERIMENTATION WITH LESSON ENVIRONMENTS DESIGNED TO ELICIT STUDENT AFFECTIVE BEHAVIORS IN THE INNER-CITY MUSIC CLASSROOM.  MME, RER, 1979.

The effect of two factors, (1) motivation, and (2) instructional materials on the affective response behavior of inner-city elementary music classes was studied at four different schools, using fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh grade students. Intact classrooms received a series of four lessons containing elements of teacher motivation or student motivation and dominant culture derived instructional materials or sub-culture derived instructional materials.  Carefully trained student observers tallied positive and negative student affective response behavior generated by each of the four lesson treatments.  Analysis of variance revealed relationships between student affective response behavior and the derivations of lesson motivation and instructional materials.

Ruiz, Olga M.  EFFECT OF MUSIC ON HEART RATE.  MME, ACG, 1979.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of music on the heart rate of college students, musicians and non-musicians.  The review of literature showed a discrepancy between studies, some yielding heart beat effects in two directions, due to the categories of music used (stimulative or sedative); some yielding heart beat effects only in one direction  both stimulative or sedative music; and some yielding no effects.  The response of the heart to external periodic stimuli appears to be mediated through the rhythmic action of the glottis, abdominal wall, and swings of limb or trunk, though the last may be so slight as to pass unperceived.

Subjects were tested individually.  Music used was a tape of a Muzak record:  “Stimulus Progression Number One,” side A, and three minutes of silence were included before the music started.  Heart beat recordings were made at the end of the silence period, and at the end of each musical selection, for ten seconds, resulting in a total of seven measures for each subject.

An analysis of variance, and an analysis of covariance were used to treat the data collected.  No significant differences at the .05 level were found for the major subject divisions or the heart beat measures.  It was concluded that music programmed to gradually stimulate the subject does not have an effect on heart beat, and that applies to both musicians and non-musicians.

Steele, Daniel L.  THE DEVELOPMENT AND TRAIL OF LEARNING PACKAGES FOR THE STUDY OF MUSIC OF OCEANIC CULTURES AT THE SIXTH GRADE LEVEL.  MME, 1979.

The purpose of this project-study was to develop and test learning packages which dealt with the musics of selected cultures of Oceania.  The ethnic cultures selected were the ancient Hawaiians, the Samoans, the Fijians, the Tongans, the Tahitians, the Maori people of New Zealand, and the Australian Aborigines.

Each of the learning packages consisted of five divisions.  The first part of each package described representative people of the culture, located the cultural geographically, offered basic information about the culture, and had a slide component.  The instruments of the culture and the music styles were delineated in the second section of each package.  This section was also supplemented with slides.  The third division of each unit consisted of taped examples of music of the culture with explanations of the musical style and the instruments involved.  An activity which was related to the culture served as the fourth component of each unit.  The final part of each unit was a short evaluation which tested for knowledge gained from the learning package.

A pretest-posttest was developed to evaluate the learning packages.  The pretest-posttest was developed to evaluate the learning packages.  The pretest-posttest included attitudinal measures as well as factual and music identification aspects.  Four groups of sixth grade students participated in the study.  Group One and Group Two were pretested, Group Two and Group Four were given learning packages, and all four groups were posttested.

The following conclusions can be speculated upon within the limitations of this project-study:

1.      Learning packages are suitable to the study of musics of other cultures when they include concept focus, multiple activities, diversified learning resources such as tapes and slides, evaluation instrumentation, and when they can be adapted to individual student needs.

2.      While attitudinal effects remain in doubt, factual and identification test scores indicated that learning packages can be an effective means of learning about the musics of Oceanic cultures.

3.      Pretesting, because of its positive interaction effects, may be a good aid to learning, and should be considered as such when employing the approaches utilized in this project-study.

4.      Further studies should be designed which utilize various learning techniques to determine the most desirable methods for studying musics of other cultures.

Weber, Linda A.  THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BEHAVIOR AND INSTRU-MENTAL PLAYING STYLE.  MME, RER, 1979.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between classroom and bandroom behavior and instrumental playing.  Subjects were forty sixth, seventh, and eighth grade band students. Three tests were developed to measure areas of classroom behavior, bandroom behavior, and performance behavior.  Following the first test administration, interitem correlations were calculated which determined that there were seven specific behavior categories measured on the classroom and bandroom behavior tests.  Tests were revised to improve validity and reliability, and readministered. Through a series of zero order and multiple correlations, it was determined that students who do well in areas of performance often are likely to score highly in professionalism, intelligence, and self-control.  Sex, grade, and instrument had varied effect in predicting the level of performance.

1980

Beal, Mary R.  MUSIC CURRICULUM GUIDELINES FOR MODERATELY RETARDED ADOLESCENTS.  MME, GLD, 1980.

This curriculum guidelines development project was designed to create and implement music curriculum guidelines for moderately retarded adolescents ages 12 to 17.  The basic goals of the project were to:  (1) devise a set of music curriculum guidelines which are appropriate to the needs and abilities of the moderately retarded adolescents in an appropriate educational setting; and (2) provide students with the basic musical skills and knowledge necessary for generalization of musical enjoyment to other areas of their lives.

Students participating in the project were 29 moderately retarded adolescents ages 12 to 17.  Ten students participated in Experimental Group 1 and nine students participated in Experimental Group 2.  The remaining 10 students comprised the control group.  The two experimental groups were exposed to randomly selected Level I Music Curriculum Guidelines throughout the two 4-week testing/implementation sessions; the control group experienced music activities unrelated to the guidelines being implemented in the Experimental Groups.

All students completed a pretest and posttest for each testing/implementation session.  The pretest and posttest scores of the control and experimental groups were analyzed using a test for significance of difference between two proportions.  Both experimental groups in session 1 of the guideline implementation showed statistically significant pretest to posttest improvement (p < .0001) when compared to the control group.  In session 2 of the guideline implementation Experimental Group 1 showed statistically significant pretest to posttest improvement (p < .005) when compared to the control group.  Experimental Group 2 also showed statistically significant pretest to posttest improvement (p < .05) when compared to the control group.

Dirks, Charlotte A.  THE CONTRIBUTION OF KEYBOARD-RELATED EXPERIENCES TO THE MUSICAL ACHIEVEMENT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN.  MME, GH, 1980.

Recent research studies have confirmed the importance of early childhood education for future growth.  Since 1970, music educators have begun to focus more attention on the musical development of preschool children.  The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of structured keyboard-related experiences on the musical achievement of preschool children in a class setting.  The following research questions were considered:  (1) How does the musical achievement of children participating in keyboard-related experiences compare with the achievement of children receiving traditional preschool music instruction?  (2) Will keyboard-related experiences improve the preschool child’s musical achievement?  (3) Will traditional music activities improve the preschool child’s musical achievement?

The study was designed to compare a keyboard-related approach in preschool music teaching with a traditional teaching method.  Twenty-eight three- and four-year-old children enrolled in two nursery school in Topeka, Kansas were the subjects.  The Hill Primary Music Skills Test was administered individually to each subject as a pretest.  The investigator visited each school prior to the pretest and during the teaching period to establish rapport with the children.  After the pretest had been administered, 16 lessons were taught by the investigator to the experimental group for approximately 20 minutes twice weekly.  The lessons focused on specific musical concepts with activities centered on the keyboard.  The control group participated in traditional music activities conducted by the classroom teacher for approximately 20 minutes twice weekly.  A posttest, identical to the pretest, was administered to all subjects after the lessons had been completed.

Analysis of the scores showed that the overall musical achievement of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group.  The experimental group improved significantly on the total test and on seven of the eight subtests.  The control group showed significant improvement on the total test and on five of the subtests.  The conclusion was drawn that keyboard-related experiences are an effective means of improving the musical achievement of preschool children.

Dalke, Jacob J.  A HISTORY OF MUSIC EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS FROM 1936-1947. MME, GNH, 1980.

It is usually easy to get involved in a stage production when you have the synopsis in print and the actors on the stage giving you their interpretation of the author’s production.  What goes on behind the scene to make this production live is sometimes a mystery.  This was so true with the history of the Music Education Department at the University of Kansas from 1936 to 1947.  There is no account or written record to give the facts of many of the important events during the period under study.

In order to research and document these important events a number of personal taped interviews were conducted.  Much of the material as researched in the University of Kansas libraries as well as the Kenneth Spencer Research Library.  Some material was gleaned from the Kansas State Education Department, Wichita Public School Library and the Wichita University Library.

Many important events occurred during the period under study which were largely responsible for the future of the Music Education Department at the University of Kansas.  Why was the Music Education Department moved from the School of Fine Arts to the School of Education?  What interest did Chancellor Malott have in this move?  What and who were the motivating forces behind this move?  How did this move affect the music students and the music faculty?  How did the Music Education Department gain national prominence?  Why did W. Otto Miessner leave the University of Kansas in 1945?  Why was the music education curriculum revised in 1947?  What effect did World War II have on the University and especially on the Music Education Department?  Music Therapy gave the University of Kansas national prominence; who was the founder and the driving force behind this study?  Did the events of this period improve the pedagogical efficiency of the music graduates at the University of Kansas?  Some of the events of this period laid the foundation for the future of a great Music Education Department at the University of Kansas.

Gilstrap, Caroline J.  THE DEVELOPMENT AND TRIAL OF AN ELECTRONIC PIANO LABORATORY METHOD TO FACILITATE CONCEPTUAL LEARNING IN FIRST GRADE MUSIC CLASSES.  MME, JWG, 1980.

The purpose of this study was to develop and field test an electronic piano laboratory method in order to compare the class piano method with a more traditional elementary vocal music method.  Two independent first grade classes were taught the same musical concepts, using the two different teaching methods.  Following the eight-week unit, an author-designed posttest was administered.  Through a t-test computation, results indicated that there was no significant difference between the experimental group using the electronic piano laboratory method and the control group using the traditional elementary vocal music method.  It was concluded that both methods are similarly beneficial in teaching musical concepts to the first grade student.  Since both methods were similar in planning and sequential progression from one concept to another, it could be said that the key to the learning process lies within the structure of the lesson rather than the facilities used.

Hoffman, Janalea.  MANAGEMENT OF ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION THROUGH RELAXATION TRAINING WITH SOUND.  MME, ACG, 1980.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of various combined nonpharmacological techniques in the management of blood pressure.  The management process was designed so that it could be easily learned.  Therefore, it could be adopted by anyone to inhibit stress behavioral patterns leading to hypertension.  Various relaxation and internal awareness techniques were combined with music in an effort to teach relaxation strategies for control of essential hypertension.  Hypertension subjects were referred by medical doctors and a hypertension clinical nurse practitioner. Nineteen subjects volunteered to participate at two training sites.  All subjects received four to eight, one hour, weekly training sessions which included the following:  (1) instruction in passive concentration or observation of the breath, (2) instruction in clearing the mind of external thoughts and focusing on their heartbeats, (3) visualization of a warm light around various parts of the body, and (4) music and ocean waves in the background.

Blood pressures were taken for each subject prior to their initial training session and within the week following the final session to determine possible blood pressure changes.  In addition, a medication index was calculated for each subject prior to training and again following training to determine changes in medication consumption.

Blood pressure reductions were significant both for the systolic and diastolic measurements and were significant beyond the (p < .01).  There was no difference in the blood pressure reduction between the group who received the training in a comfortable room and the group who received the training in a barren conference room.  It was concluded that relaxation/awareness training with sound is a viable alternative to pharmacological control of hypertension and that the training site seems to have little or no influence on training effectiveness.

Huber, Jean M.  DEVELOPMENT, TRIAL AND EVALUATION OF A LITURGICAL MUSIC WORKSHOP CURRICULUM.  MME, PAH, 1980.

The purpose of the project was to develop, present, and evaluate a liturgical music workshop curriculum.  The liturgy is the heart of the Roman Catholic Church; therefore, it is very important that the music used during liturgical celebrations be carefully planned and performed.  To improve the status of liturgical music there is a need to instruct Catholic parish musicians on the importance of music in the liturgy and to provide them directives for selecting appropriate liturgical music and organizing choirs.

Topics discussed during the six-day workshop included the ministerial function of music in the liturgy, current Catholic Church music legislation, practical guidelines for organizing both adult and children’s choirs, organ technique, guitar technique, liturgical movement, the new sacramentary, liturgy planning strategy, and liturgical roles.  Participants also gained exposure to publish houses, repertoire, sacred music magazines and books, Catholic hymnals, and copyright laws.

It was the general goal of the workshop that each liturgical musician would realize, understand, and accept more fully the varied responsibilities of his or her position; and that each one would teach other church musicians, thus disseminating the knowledge and ideas presented during the workshop.

At the beginning and closing of the workshop, all participants were asked to complete both a knowledge test and a self-assessment scale.  The knowledge test was a sampling of twenty-nine questions which were abstracted from workshop lectures.  The test format included multiple choice, short answer, and fill-in the blank questions.  Analysis of pretest and post-test knowledge scores of the twenty participants indicated highly significant improvement in this area (p < .0010.

The self-assessment scale, comprised of categories ranging from very good (10 points) to poor (1 point), allowed each participant to estimate numerically his or her ability to select appropriate music for liturgies, improve the musical performance in his or her parish, and organize and direct church choirs and congregations.  Analysis of the pretest and post-test self-assessment scale scores also indicated a highly significant improvement (p < .001).

The participants noted the following points of strength:  the variety of liturgical celebrations and topics, the practicality of the presentations, the “handouts” and resources, the close community atmosphere and the lecture-discussion-demonstration teaching approach used throughout the workshop.

Suggestions for improving the workshop included the following:  spend more time planning hypothetical liturgies (Masses, weddings, funerals, etc.); sing more repertoire; obtain quantities of music, books, and materials from publishing companies for participants to purchase during the workshop; schedule as many “hands on” workshop sessions as possible, e.g. work with cantors on voice projection, directing techniques, etc., rather than present a lecture on it; and allow more time for “special problems” sessions during which participants could communicate their specific problems and seek solutions from other participants.

Several participants reported that they were setting up meetings and mini-workshops with their parish priests and musicians to share the information they obtained from the workshop.  Thus, the goal of obtaining a multiplier effect was realized.

Many participants stressed the need for repeating such a workshop.  Therefore, it has been replicated with some modification in the summers of 1976, 1978, and 1979 at Saint Mary College, Leavenworth, Kansas.  (The entire workshop content is outlined in detail in the thesis.)

Kendall, Roger A.  DIFFERENCE THRESHOLDS FOR TIMBRE RELATED TO AMPLITUDE SPECTRA OF COMPLEX SOUNDS.  MME, RER, 1980.

This investigation was conducted to determine an individual’s sensitivity to changes in timbre as a function of the intensity change of one partial in the spectrum of a complex sound.  The relation of differential sensitivity to partial number and loudness also was investigated.  The determination of a difference threshold for timbre related to me power spectra of complex sounds yielded a more precise definition for the term “timbre.”

A modified method of limits was employed to determine the difference threshold for timbre.  The standard stimulus was a complex of seven in-phase simultaneous harmonic sinusoids with a fundamental of 500 Hz.  The comparison stimuli had energy added or subtracted from a given partial of the standard and redistribution among the other six partials.  There were three random orders for the pairs of standard and comparison stimuli.  Each member of the stimulus pair was presented for two seconds, with one second of silence between members of the pair.  Four seconds of silence were allowed between stimulus pairs of stimuli for the subject’s response.

The stimuli were synthesized digitally using the MUSIC V program.  Digital to analog conversion was at 17,500 samples/sec. sampling rate, and was recorded on standard recording tape.  The tape was played t