Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item An analysis of elementary education majors' and music majors' experiences with Comprehensive Musicianship principles in high school general music courses(2010) Sitarz, Jane Margaret; Montgomery, Janet M; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to determine the percentage of elementary education majors and music majors at a mid-Atlantic university who experienced principles of the Comprehensive Musicianship approach during their high school general music experiences. Principles of the Comprehensive Musicianship approach came from Heavner's (1995) theoretical Comprehensive Musicianship curriculum model, and include concepts, content, activities, instructional literature, and evaluation techniques. Two hundred seventy three elementary education majors and music majors were invited to complete a questionnaire about their high school general music experiences, and 43 usable responses were obtained. Percentages of participants who experienced each of the Comprehensive Musicianship principles were calculated, and results indicated that Comprehensive Musicianship principles were not experienced equally. These findings reveal the need for greater attention to the equality of Comprehensive Musicianship principles in high school general music courses.Item The Status of Instruction in Composition in Elementary General Music Classrooms of MENC Members in the State of Maryland(2008-05-05) Phelps, Kerry Bowman; Silvey, Philip; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to examine the status of composition activities in elementary level general music classrooms in the state of Maryland. Participants (N=60) completed an online questionnaire with questions in the areas of teacher demographics, beliefs about composition, and frequency of composition activities in the classroom. Responses indicated that composition was present, at a low frequency, at all student grade levels. Relationships were found between student grade level and structure of composition activity and student grade level and group structure of composition activity. Implications of the frequency of composition activities as well as relationships found for music education are discussed. Suggestions are made for increasing the frequency of composition activities by building upon the most common practices identified by this study.Item Composing in a second grade music class: Crossing a watershed as children begin to understand song as structure(2007-05-31) Hall, Margo M.; McCarthy, Marie; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Many children have little opportunity in school settings to develop their natural propensity to create music. The purpose of this collective case study was to describe and interpret the experiences of seven-year-old children as they composed and shared songs in a second grade music class during sixteen class sessions over an eleven-week period. The primary research questions were: What processes do children use to compose songs and what is the nature of the songs that the children compose? How do interactions with others in the classroom influence children's song compositions? In what ways do the children's songs and the processes used to produce them indicate development in musical thinking? Twenty-three boys and girls participated as class members of the case study. Three children were selected as focus case study participants and their voices were individually recorded as they composed. Children completed three composition projects: a whole class song, a small group song, and a song created individually or with a partner. Data collected included video tapes of class sessions, recordings of songs in progress and final performances, picture song books made by the children, individual recordings by three case study children, and interviews of three case study children, their parents, and their classroom teacher. Findings included support for theories that children around the age of seven have reached a watershed of cognitive thinking ability enabling them to construct, remember, and perform composed songs that resemble the vernacular. Children's songs and processes were indicative of a path of development of musical thinking. Some children worked alone or together to produce stylistic and melodic variations and to modify their songs, incorporating tonal and rhythmic structures that made their songs memorable. Leadership, control issues, gender bias, confusion between speaking and singing voices, and reading fluency problems affected composing processes and content of the songs. A major aspect of the teacher role was to bring awareness of musical structures to children. Future research possibilities include the importance of singing as a tool in instrumental composition, memory for composed songs, and the connection between musical aptitude and ability to compose songs.