Music
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Item A SLICE OF HOME: MUSIC & CULTURE IN A US-BASED CARIBBEAN STEELBAND COMMUNITY(2024) Francis, Josanne Fiona; Prichard, Stephanie; Grisé, Adam; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of participants in a specific Caribbean steelband community music program in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Using an ethnographic case study design, I focused on the youth-serving community steelband, Caribbean Steel Pulse (CSP). Guided by research questions on teaching and learning, cultural identity, and musical experiences within this context, my methodology was enriched by my insider perspective.I gathered data from observations and in-depth interviews with four participants—a student, two instructors, and two administrative personnel. Through my analysis, I identified four main themes: Family, Service, Cultural Identity and Continuity, and (M/m)usic (E/e)ducation. My findings revealed that teaching and learning in this “informal” Music Education space is a multifaceted process incorporating practical, theoretical, historical, and interpersonal elements. The dichotomy between traditional steelband methods, such as rote learning, and Western music theory in Caribbean Steel Pulse fostered a holistic understanding of music theory and performance while honoring cultural heritage. Participants' narratives highlighted both national and Afro/Caribbean diasporic identities. The steelband community of CSP provided a space for discovering, expressing and affirming these identities, facilitated by the inclusive and supportive environment of the parent organization, Caribbean Cultural Academy (CCA). This study highlights the importance of accessibility and inclusivity in music education, and the important role of youth-serving community music organizations in identity development, and music education. CCA's model, which minimizes financial and bureaucratic barriers to entry, contrasts with traditional school music programs that often inadvertently exclude economically disadvantaged students.Item We All Belong: A Descriptive Analysis of Gender and Sexuality Discourse in Music Education Professional Development(2024) Caithaml, Justin Michael; Prichard, Stephanie; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to understand the state of gender and sexuality discourse presented in the programming of music education professional development in the United States. Research questions that guided this study included the state of gender and sexuality discourse in the field of music education at state and national PD conferences, and how sessions at these PD conferences might vary in frequency or content by year, state, region, or discipline.In this study I employed a descriptive, qualitative design encompassing content and discourse analysis of music education professional development conference programs from the 2018-19 school year through the 2022-23 school year (Fairclough and Fairclough, 2012; Sunderland and Litosseliti, 2002). This design was also informed by the tenets of feminist critical discourse analysis (Lazar, 2005). Findings indicate that the state of gender and sexuality discourse is incredibly varied by context. Various topics—including supporting LGBTQIA+ students, gender/sexuality topics in the music classroom, and the roles of women in music—were addressed at PD conferences across the five-year period, but how topics were addressed seemed to be dependent upon the context of the conference in which they were presented. Topics such as inclusive strategies for LGBTQIA+ students, revisiting gender norms in choral settings, and empowering women conductors were some of the topics that were most common. In addition, the total number of sessions were an incredibly small portion of total sessions offered regardless of the relative size of the organization sponsoring the conference. This study has important implications for PD policy makers: a) how state and national organizations can interact more efficiently, and b) how state organizations can increase access to PD outside of one yearly conference. There are also four implications for music teachers: a) the role of teachers as leaders in presenting and authoring sessions, b) the importance of consistent language choices across contexts, c) a commitment to student safety over personal views, and d) varied impact of state legislation on PD content. Findings also suggest two implications for music teacher education: a) cultivating a critical disposition and b) empowering future leaders. Future research on topics related to this study can focus on three main areas: a) continued, periodic content analysis of conference programs, b) further examining PD presenters’ perspectives, and c) understanding teacher perceptions of LGBTQIA+ inclusive pedagogy and gender expansive classroom practices.Item Into the Archives: The Founding and Evolution of the College Band Directors National Association as Shown by its Archives at the University Maryland(2024) Higley, Christine Lopez; Votta, Jr., Michael; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In 1941, William D. Revelli, the Director of Bands at the University of Michigan, sent a letter to college band directors throughout the United States encouraging them to attend the first meeting of the University and College Band Conductors Conference (UCBCC) at the Congress Hotel in Chicago on December 22-23, 1941. This letter included the topics that would be discussed at this meeting including Policies and Philosophies of the Marching Band, Band Budgets, Financing the Commencement Band, and more. After this initial meeting, the plan was to meet again the following year, but because of complications due to World War II, the organization did not meet again until 1946. In 1947, it was moved that the UCBCC change its name to the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA). All this information is found in the documents of the National Conference Proceedings of The Performing Arts Special Collections archives at the University of Maryland, which is home to many historical documents. This dissertation is an exploration of the contents of the CBDNA National Conference Proceedings from its foundation in 1941 to 2011. These contents include administrative records, correspondence and information bulletins, membership listings, financial records, committee reports, surveys, questionnaires, publications, articles, conference programs and proceedings, photographs, and oral histories. This document explores the history of the CBDNA and its development according to what is included in these archives. This is not a comprehensive history of the CBDNA, but a compilation and description of the documents stored in the Special Collections at the University of Maryland. The dissertation is organized into decades and discusses the priorities of National Conference Proceedings throughout each decade.Item TEACHER PRACTICES AROUND REPERTOIRE LEARNING AND SELECTION IN THE ELEMENTARY GENERAL MUSIC CLASSROOM(2024) Nixon, Elizabeth Rivera; Elpus, Kenneth; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In music education, it is sometimes said that “the repertoire is the curriculum.” This research seeks to study the ways that elementary general music teachers select repertoire for use in their classrooms, and how the repertoire that they choose in turn influences what students are taught. By interviewing four elementary general music teachers about their practices around repertoire selection, with a focus on one specific lesson, I attempted in this research to answer the following questions:What resources (textbooks, digital resources, etc.) do teachers report utilizing when seeking repertoire for use in their classrooms? When selecting repertoire for their classrooms, what musical and extra-musical factors do elementary general music teachers consider? How do teachers describe the influence of repertoire selection on the concepts taught in elementary general music classrooms? After conducting these interviews and analyzing the data collected, I have determined that the teachers in this study report drawing repertoire from a variety of different resources, including digital resources, print books, and their colleagues. From these resources, they select repertoire based on a variety of overlapping selection criteria, including content-based, aesthetic, functional, and repertoire that provides opportunities for learning about different cultures. The repertoire selected has impacts on the remainder of the lesson, whether through pedagogical or structural impacts. Finally, this paper discusses the impacts of teacher pedagogical approaches on repertoire selection, and the ways in which repertoire is transmitted between colleagues within the world of elementary general music education.Item Resonance of Change: An Exploration of Repertoire Programming Shifts in Choral Conducting Graduate Programs in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic and George Floyd Protests(2024) Helms, Mark; Ferdinand, Jason M; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Few decisions made by a choral conductor are as important as the selection of repertoire. This study seeks to uncover the ways repertoire selection practices may have shifted in choral conducting graduate programs following two major concurrent disruptive events: the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd protests. The study also seeks to fill a gap in the literature by examining repertoire trends in standard concerts on university campuses rather than in concerts occurring exclusively in festival settings (such as ACDA conferences). Complete repertoire data for four academic years (2017–2019 and 2021–2023) were collected from sixteen research universities with choral conducting graduate programs. The design of the study was guided by four major questions, which concerned: (1) the overall characteristics of the body of repertoire performed, (2) changes in the characteristics of performed repertoire between the two-year time periods studied, (3) similarities and differences in programming practices among the sixteen participating schools, and (4) whether the trends found in the present study echo those found in previous studies of repertoire trends in festival settings. The data were also analyzed with two hypotheses in mind: (1) that composer and composition diversity and representation would increase (in part in response to the George Floyd protests), and (2) that composition difficulty would generally decrease (due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic). Findings reveal high variation in the works and composers performed by the sixteen schools in the study, with few specific composers and works seeing broad performance across a majority of the schools. Demographically, performed composers were overwhelmingly White and male, though the percentage of non-White- and non-male-composed works performed at each school increased significantly between 2017–2019 and 2021–2023. It was found that much of this increase could be attributed to non-idiomatic works by Black composers, though this increase did not come at the expense of idiomatic works by the same. The data further suggest that conductors may often select a single piece to fill both race- and gender-based diversity goals. Performed compositions skewed significantly toward newly-composed works, though to what extent varied substantially between schools; the data suggest these variations are largely attributable to the programming practices of individual faculty members. A high level of variation among the schools was seen for sacred/secular status and accompaniment status. No conclusive result was found concerning the average difficulty of performed works, but English- language works were found to be inversely related to composition difficulty; the percentage of English-language works increased significantly between 2017–2019 and 2021–2023, suggesting a corresponding decrease in average difficulty.Item OBJECT SOUNDS: CONNECTING MUSIC EDUCATION AND MUSEUM EDUCATION AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE(2024) Folk, Christian Michael; Giebelhausen, Robin; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), part of the Smithsonian Institution (SI) complex in Washington, D.C., is the only SI museum with a permanent music exhibition, titled Musical Crossroads. This exhibit traces significant figures and developments in African American musical cultures, demonstrating “how African American music provided a voice for liberty, justice, and social change” (NMAAHC, 2016). In this document, comprised of three interrelated studies, I navigated the connections between music education and museum education in this unique space. In the first study, I relayed the narratives of performing arts curator Dr. Dwandalyn Reece and her team on the development of Musical Crossroads. For the second study, I surveyed current NMAAHC visitors to determine the efficacy of the Musical Crossroads exhibit. Finally, in the third study, I described the experiences of three music teachers who use SI’s online platform, Smithsonian Learning Lab (SLL), to teach lessons on African American musical cultures using objects found in Musical Crossroads. In the final chapter, I traced the throughline of these studies and provide implications for future connections between music education and museum education pedagogies. The first study, a narrative inquiry, traced the development of Musical Crossroads from the perspectives of three key figures in the exhibit’s history: Dr. Dwandalyn Reece, former curator of music and performing arts; Dr. Kevin Strait, a former curatorial assistant for the exhibition; and Ms. Hannah Grantham, a current curatorial and research assistant for NMAAHC. These narratives are bound by temporality, sociality, and place, highlighting the crux of music and museum education in the development of Musical Crossroads. I identified several common themes through their stories, including: (a) the educational, professional, and musical backgrounds of participants; (b) the themes and objectives of Musical Crossroads; (c) the curation and collaboration process; (d) tensions in the development process; and (e) the role of education in Musical Crossroads. Although three distinct experiences were present throughout, I funneled the three perspectives into one cohesive narrative. In the second study, I distributed surveys to Musical Crossroads visitors (n = 422) over several months to examine if visitors meet the experiential and educational goals set by NMAAHC staff. The survey contained questions on visitors’ overall experience in the exhibit, what genres they experienced, what elements of the exhibit they interacted with, if they learned about various themes of African American musical cultures, and several demographic items. Results of the survey showed that Musical Crossroads visitors generally had a positive experience in the exhibit, had varied levels of interaction with exhibit elements, and are learning about key themes of African American musical cultures developed by NMAAHC staff. In the conclusion of this study, I discussed implications based on various survey items, including visitor demographics, exhibit interactive spaces, musical genres, and exhibit themes. For the final study, I conducted a multiple case study of music teachers’ perceptions and implementations of the Smithsonian Learning Lab (SLL) program. SLL is an online platform that provides users access to millions of museum artifacts, specimens, recordings, and other materials from all museums across the SI ecosystem, including NMAAHC. I tasked three music teachers with using SLL to conduct two lessons that included African American musical cultures. Each participant approached these lessons differently based on their varied classrooms and comfort with the SLL program. I identified several findings, including the varied impressions of SLL from the teachers, how they incorporated SLL based on various specialties and grade levels taught, and how they perceived and practiced culturally relevant pedagogy and object-based learning using SLL. Along with these findings, I discussed how music teachers may utilize SLL in the future and possible improvements to SLL. I conclude this dissertation with an overview of the three studies, their connections to each other, and their relevance in music and museum education. Additionally, I discuss how this dissertation uniquely contributes to the music and museum education literature. Finally, I provide a reflection on this specific project and how music and museum educators can influence each other in future projects and research.Item WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE? CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCES ON MUSICAL ENGAGEMENT(2023) Durbin, Allison Hayley Reisinger; Elpus, Kenneth; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to test a conceptual model of contextual influences on 7th graders’ musical engagement in school. Inspired by Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development, I devised a conceptual model to represent contextual factors that interact in a person’s world to influence their own music making. I used restricted-use data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth Third Cohort 2015-2016 to determine what personal and familial characteristics were associated with students’ enrollment in different types of school music classes during their 7th grade year in order to test my proposed contextual model.I used a multinomial logit model to conduct the analysis in order to ascertain which individual-level and familial characteristics were associated with 7th graders enrollment in four different categories of music courses: (a) no music courses, (b) non-band/orchestra/choir (BOC) music courses, (c) choir, or (d) band/orchestra. The restricted-use data from the LSAY Third Cohort contained student-produced responses of the types of music courses they were currently enrolled in as well as questions about their musical habits at home. The data set also contained a caregiver questionnaire that contained questions about the caregiver’s musical engagement with their own child. Results of the analysis supported the proposed conceptual model and indicated a multitude of characteristics that are associated with 7th graders’ enrollment in varying types of music courses. Different covariates were significantly associated with different types of music course enrollment. As such, students enrolled in school music courses should not be considered as a collective. The results from this study support previous research that there is not a singular profile of student who enrolls in different types of music classes (Elpus & Abril, 2019).Item MUSIC TEACHER LABOR MARKETS: THREE STUDIES ON MARYLAND EARLY-CAREER MUSIC TEACHERS(2023) Miller, David; Elpus, Kenneth; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In these three studies, I analyze data from the Maryland Longitudinal Data System (MLDS) to investigate how labor markets for early-career music teachers are related to the ongoing music teacher shortage in Maryland. In the first study, I explore the transition from postsecondary graduation into the public-school music teacher workforce. In the second study, I examine early-career music teachers' retention and attrition patterns. In the final study, I consider the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on these two critical stages of the music teacher pipeline. In the final chapter, I evaluate evidence from these three studies alongside the broader teacher labor market literature to provide policy recommendations that may ameliorate the worsening music teacher shortage in Maryland. Leveraging data from the MLDS, I used a variety of analytic strategies to describe the workforce transition of individuals who graduated from Maryland institutions of higher education with degrees in music education between 2008 and 2020 (N = 700). I used linear probability modeling to examine the individual factors associated with entry into the public-school music teacher workforce in Maryland. I used descriptive statistics to examine the teaching responsibilities of new teachers and the characteristics of schools in which new teachers worked. Finally, I explored the characteristics of high schools from which the new teachers had graduated and how these characteristics compared to the schools in which new teachers were employed. Results indicated that approximately 60% of new graduates entered Maryland's public-school music teacher workforce. The majority (60%) found employment in elementary schools, and 59% taught general music as part of the instructional responsibilities. Overall, new teachers tended to come from high schools with higher overall socioeconomic status, larger student enrollment counts, and student body demographics with higher proportions of White students compared to state averages. New music teachers in Maryland also taught in schools that were a farther distance from home compared to previous national estimates for all teachers. In the second study, I examined early-career music teachers' retention and attrition patterns between 2013 and 2020 (N = 6,430). On average, 74% of early-career music teachers retained their current position each year, 8% moved to a different school in Maryland, and 18% of left public school music teaching in Maryland. Teachers who moved schools tended to have different teaching responsibilities in their new position. About half of the teachers who moved schools changed the grade levels that they taught, and the vast majority of this change (77%) was to an older student population. On average, teachers tended to move to schools with higher average socioeconomic status and to schools whose demographic composition had a higher proportion of White students. I used discrete-time survival analysis to examine the teacher-, school-, and district-level characteristics associated with whether and when an individual would leave public-school music teaching in Maryland. Kaplan-Meier survivor functions showed that half of all music teachers left public-school music teaching in Maryland within their first five years of teaching. Attrition risk was greatest in years two and three. Other factors associated with attrition risk included sex, race, ethnicity, school grade level, aspects of school culture, the student body, school and district urbanicity, and the number of teachers employed by the school district. In the final study, I exploit the exogenous nature of the COVID-19 pandemic to explore its impact on the workforce transition and attrition of early-career music teachers in Maryland. Using an interrupted time series analysis, a quasi-experimental design that can yield causal insights, I demonstrate that attrition of early-career music teachers was likely not impacted by the pandemic. Analyses for the workforce transition were not as conclusive: There was a drop in the workforce entry rate in the first year of the pandemic, but the second year came with a sharp rebound to a much higher rate of workforce entry. Still, the number of provisionally-licensed music teachers, an indicator of shortage severity, has been increasing steadily for nearly a decade. Although media narratives have sounded the alarm on the COVID-19 pandemic’s potential impact on the teacher shortage, it would be disingenuous to suggest solving pandemic-related problems would reverse the trend. I conclude this dissertation with a discussion of policy implications for Maryland local education agencies and music teacher preparation programs. Additionally, I discuss the unique substantive and methodological contributions to the broader music education literature. Substantively, these studies provide a novel framework for examining music teacher labor markets. Methodologically, these studies illustrate a blueprint for music education researchers to leverage the rich data available within the underutilized State Longitudinal Data Systems to explore issues of access, uptake, equity, and pipelines throughout K-12 and postsecondary music education.Item A PEDAGOGICAL STUDY OF MODERN SLIDE TECHNIQUE AND COMMON DEFICIENCIES OR HINDERANCES IN THE NOVICE TROMBONIST(2022) Hanson, Leanne Rae; Gekker, Paul Chris; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation aims to: 1) define the standard for modern slide technique, and 2) develop a new curriculum tested on novice trombonists with the goal of aiding private and classroom instruction of the instrument. Resources surveyed on the topic include dissertations, scholarly articles, websites, pedagogical devices and aids, instrument specific methods, and beginner band methods. The gaps ascertained in the literature and resource review inform the creation of the new curriculum method. The purpose of the curriculum is to teach proper playing position, slide technique, and determine how those skillsets impact tone quality and intonation. The study comprises five lesson plans tested on six trombonists who had fewer than three years of classroom band experience. Students performed an identical assessment at the beginning and conclusion of the study to determine understanding and growth in the areas of proper playing position, slide technique, tone quality, and intonation. Analysis of the assessments determined that students could effectively learn and implement proper playing position and slide technique, and it had an impact on tone quality improvement. Improvement in intonation, however, was inconclusive with half of the students showing improvement and the remaining showing regression. The results indicate that novice trombonists benefit from instrument-specific instruction, and the pedagogy is not too advanced for the novice student to understand and implement. Further research is needed to identify other ways instrument-specific instruction could impact a student’s overall intonation mastery.Item The Oompah-pulor Tuba: An examination and pedagogical approach to incorporating popular and commercial music elements in solo tuba literature(2022) Ambrose, Samuel Ryan; Votta, Michael; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation traces the history of writing for the tuba in a variety of musical realmsand examines pedagogical approaches to studying the instrument in an attempt to create more works and solo performance opportunities, specifically through a lens of popular and commercial music. The recorded project features a sample of works for solo tuba featuring various elements of popular and commercial music. The recorded selections include works written for tuba and adapted for tuba, all specifically arranged to encompass a particular popular or commercial style and sound. All arrangements are original to this project and adhere to the proposed model for inclusion of musical elements that performers and educators can implement in their studies, as well as their pedagogical justifications.