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Analysis of beginning to intermediate percussion methods used in selected public schools and PDF
Preview Analysis of beginning to intermediate percussion methods used in selected public schools and
ANANALYSISOFBEGINNINGTO INTERMEDIATEPERCUSSIONMETHODS USEDINSELECTEDPUBLICSCHOOLSAND THEIRRELATIONSHIPTOTHEPERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTSOFSTATEAPPROVEDBANDLITERATURE By JAMESKENTACKMAN ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA 1998 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thecompletionofadissertationismerelythelastprojectinasequenceofevents leadingtoadoctoratedegree, Anendeavorofthismagnitudewouldnothavebeen possiblewithoutthesupportandsacrificeofmyfamilyandfriends. Assuch,Iwouldlike totakethisopportunitytoacknowledgethepeoplewhohaveguidedmethroughthis long,sometimesarduous,andultimatelyrewardingprocess. Firstandforemost,Iwishtothankmymotherforherunwaveringbeliefinme. Sheprovidedmoralandemotionalsupportthroughtheentireprocessandalways understoodhowmuchthepursuitofadoctorateinmusiceducationmeanttome. Her understandinganddeepcompassionarepricelessgifts. Mywife,Jan,alongwithmydaughter,Katie,whohadtospendalotoftime growingupwhileIwaspursuingmydream,deserveaveryspecialplaceinmy acknowledgments. Theyhadtosacrificethemostofallthosewhohelpedmereach mygoal,andwerealsotheinspirationthatallowedmetohandlethedifficulttimesalong theway. I wishtoextendmywarmestthankstoDr.CharlesHoffer,mycommitteechair. Heguidedmethroughthewholeprocessandhadamoreprofoundinfluenceonmeasa personandastudentthanhewilleverknow. Althoughhetaughtmemanythingsabout musicandeducation,themostimportantthingsIlearnedduringthepursuitofthisdegree hadnothingtodowithmusic,andforthishehasearnedmydeepestgratitude. Iconsider himafriendaswellasamentor. AnothermajorinfluenceduringmytimeattheUniversityofFloridawasDr.David Kushner. Hisimpeccablyhighacademicstandardsandattentiontodetail,alongwithhis graspoftheimportanceofeventswithinthelargerschemeofthings,providedtheimpetus formetobecomeamorediscerningscholar. Hisgenuinewarmthandhumorwerealso greatlyappreciated. IalsowishtoacknowledgeDr.PhyllisDorman,Dr.JamesSain,andDr.Art Newman. Theywereallthoroughlyprofessionalandpersonable,andhadanenormously positiveinfluenceonmyeducationalandmusicalgrowth. Inaddition,Iwishtothankmy twoclosestfriendsinGainesville,VikkiTruesdailandPaulBarrett,whohelpedme throughsomeverydifficulttimesandaskednothinginreturnsavefriendship. Iamindeed fortunatetohavetwosuchcaringandcompassionatefriends. Mylastacknowledgmentsareperhapsthemostimportantones. Theygotomy grandmotherandthememoryofmygrandfather. Alongwithmymotherandmybrother, Jon,theytaughtmetheessentialimportanceofhardwork,dedication,andfinishinga project,regardlessoftheobstacles. TheirinfluenceissomethingIwillalwayscarrywith me. Thisdissertationisdedicatedtotheirspirit,compassion,andsimplehumandignity. in TABLEOFCONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT vi CHAPTERS OVERVIEW 1 1 2 SURVEYOFRELATED LITERATURE 12 METHODOLOGY 41 Research Design 42 ParametersofStudy 44 4 RESULTS 53 RegionalResultsofSurvey 54 CurrentBandMethodsUsedinPublicMiddleSchools 55 AnalysisofPercussionBooksfromBandMethods 57 SummaryofMethodBooks 94 5 CONTENTANALYSESOFBANDLITERATURE 107 6 SUMMARY,CONCLUSIONS,ANDRECOMMENDATIONS..119 . Summary 119 Conclusions 121 RecommendationsforImprovement 124 RecommendationsforFurtherResearch 127 IV BIBLIOGRAPHY 129 APPENDICES A FORMLETTER 140 B PERCUSSIONREQUIREMENTSOFSELECTED BANDLITERATURE 142 BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 153 AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchool oftheUniversityofFloridainPartialFulfillmentofthe RequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy ANANALYSISOFBEGINNINGTO INTERMEDIATEPERCUSSIONMETHODS USEDINSELECTEDPUBLICSCHOOLSAND THEIRRELATIONSHIPTOTHEPERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTSOFSTATEAPPROVEDBANDLITERATURE By JAMESKENTACKMAN August1998 Chairman:CharlesR.Hoffer MajorDepartment:Music Thepurposeofthisstudyistoexaminetherelationshipbetweenbeginningto intermediatepercussionbooksfromcontemporarybandmethodsandtheperformance requirementsoflevels III-VIbandliteraturetypicallyprogrammedbyhighschool ensemblesinconcert,contest,andfestivalsituations. Contemporarybandcomposershavewrittenwithincreasingfrequencyandfluency forpercussioninstruments. Inturn,thishasleadtoademandformorecomprehensively trainedstudentpercussionists. Forthisreason,thereisaneedforanexaminationof whethertheskillsstudentpercussionistsaretaughtinelementaryandmiddleschool percussionclassesarewhattheyactuallyneedtoknowinordertosuccessfullyperform levelsUJ-Vlbandliterature. Amajorissueinvolvingcontemporarybanddirectorsandinstrumentalmusic teachersintheareaofpercussioninstructionisspecialization. Thisisasituationinwhich vi astudentlearnstoperformonaparticularpercussioninstrument,suchassnaredrum,and remainsonthatinstrumentthroughouthisorherpublicschoolperformingcareer. This studyexaminestheextenttowhichspecializationinfluencesthecontentofpercussion methodbooksaswellastheperformancerequirementsoflevelsIII-VIbandliterature. Thesampleofpercussionbooksfrombandmethodswastakenfromtheresults ofasurveyof150middleschoolbanddirectorsinthreeseparategeographiclocationsin theUnitedSates,50eachinFlorida,Illinois,andMassachusetts. Schoolsforthesurveywererandomlyselectedfromtheweb-siteoftheAmerican SchoolDirectory. Methodbookswereexaminedforpresentationofskills,concepts,and instruments. Thereasonforthiswastoprovideabasisforexaminationoftheefficacyof themethodbooksinpreparingelementaryandmiddleschoolpercussioniststosuccessfully performtypicalhighschoolbandmusicliterature. Contentanalyseswereperformedonthefourmethodbookseriesmostfrequently citedinthesurveyasbeingincurrentuseinmiddleschoolinstrumentalmusicprograms. Thesemethodbookserieswereexaminedforsequenceofskills,concepts,and instrumentspresentedintheirtexts,aswellastheirmusicalandeducationalscope. Inordertoexaminetheextentoftherelationshipbetweenelementaryto intermediatepercussionmethodbooksandperformancepractices,100intermediateto advancedbandworkswereanalyzedfornumberofpercussionplayersandinstruments required,aswellaspercussiontechniquerequirements.Workswererandomlyselected fromtheapprovedconcertbandliteraturelistoftheNewYorkStateSchoolAssociation Thefinalportionofthestudyisdevotedtoadiscussionofconclusionsfromthe surveyandcontentanalysesofmethodbookseriesandbandliterature. Inaddition, recommendationsaremadeforimprovingthemusicalandeducationalcontentof percussionmethodbooks,aswellasfacilitatingthetrainingoffuturemusiceducatorsin undergraduatepercussionskillsclasses. vii CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW Percussioninstalmentshavebeenapartofmusicalculturesincethedawnof civilization. Fromprehistoriclogdrumstocontemporaryelectronicdrum-machines,there hasbeensignificantinterestintheperformanceandeducationalareasofthisparticular family. IntheimmediateaftermathofWorldWarII,thetrendinpublicschoolswas toprogrammusicforconcertsfeaturingworksofcontemporarybandcomposersin additiontostandardmarchesandtranscriptionsoforchestralworks. Thesecomposers weretrainedinthe20thcenturystyleofcomposition,whichinvolvedinclusionofthe percussionsectionaspartofthemainfabricofthemusic.1 Thiswasadramatic departurefrompercussion'straditionalroleofaccompanisttotheband. Duringthesecondhalfofthe20thcentury,oftenreferredtoasthe"goldenage ofpercussion,"bandandorchestracomposershavewrittenwithincreasingfrequency andfluencyforpercussion,exploringtheirmusicalandcolorpotential.2 Inthe1980s,percussionenteredthearenaoftechnologywiththedevelopment ofelectronicpercussioninstruments. Today,usingMIDI(musicalinstrumentdigital interface)andotheradvancedcapabilities,percussionistsandcomposershaveattheir disposalanalmostinfiniterangeofsoundsandtimbres.3 1HaroldF Abeles,CharlesR.Hoffer,andRobertH.Klotman.FoundationsofMusic Education(SecondEdition).SchirmerBooks,NewYork,1973.page284. 2GaryCook.TeachingPercussion.SchirmerBooks,NewYork,1988.page9. 1 . 2 Thepracticalimplicationsofthisphilosophyofcompositionwithregardto percussionperformancerequirementsaretwofold. 1.)Thenumberofpercussion instrumentsemployedincontemporarybandliteraturehasbeenexpandedtoinclude ethnicandworldpercussioninstrumentssuchasmarimbasandLatinpercussion. 2.) Percussion partscontainedincontemporaryliteraturehavebecomemoresophisticated anddemanding4 NeedforComprehensivePercussionInstruction Alongwiththisincreasedemphasisuponpercussionwritinghascomeademand forcomprehensivelytrainedpercussionists,musicianswhocanperformcompetentlyon avastarrayofinstruments: pitchedandnon-pitched,melodicandrhythmic.5 Contemporarypercussionistsmustdevelopdiverseskillsinordertomeetthe performancedemandsofmodernbandliterature. Itisadifficultdilemmaforthe contemporarybanddirector:whethertoprogramapiececontainingacrucialmallet partthatnoneofthepercussionistscanplay,oruseamusicianfromanothersection toperformthepart.6 WiththeimplementationoftheNationalStandardsformusiceducation,there hasbeenawidespreaduseofpercussioninstrumentsforclassroominstruction. The 3SteveWilkes.'WelcometoPlanetElectronicDrum."PercussiveNotes,35:57-8n6 1997. 4Ibid. 5Cook,page3 6DonaldGilbert."ChangingConceptsinPercussion."TheInstrumentalist,23:64-5nlO 1969. 3 Orff-Schulwerkmethod,amongothersfeaturespercussioninstrumentsasthebasisof musicalinstruction. Percussioneducationisappropriateforstandardnumber2,regarding thestudent'sabilitytoplayaloneandwithothers,awidevarietyofinstruments.7 Thisquandaryfacingmodernpercussionistsandmusiceducatorsisrecognized byRichardColwellandThomasGoolsby(1992)inTheTeachingofInstrumentalMusk. Theirsummaryoftheproblemisfoundinthefollowingquote: Inspiteoftheirancientage,thepercussioninstrumentshave notbeenquiterespectableuntilrecently. Theyhavehadno literatureoftheirown,nogoodtextsormethodbooks, andnosystematicapproachforlearningthenecessary techniques.8 Theperceptionofpercussionistsasmusiciansisdiametricallyopposedtotheir traditionalreputationasmeretime-keepers,whichhasprimevalroots. Theperception oftheroledualityofpercussionistsalsoprovidesanequitablestartingpointforthe examinationofcontemporarypercussioneducation.9 RobertBuggert(1956)mentionshisbeliefthatinstructionforpercussion instrumentsisbyitsnaturedifferentthaninstructionforwoodwindandbrass instruments. Heattributesthistobrassandwoodwindplayersreceivinginstructionin 7NationalStandardsfortheArts(Music).MusicEducatorsNationalConference Reston,VA,1996. 8RichardColwellandThomasGoolsby.TheTeachingofInstrumentalMusic. (SecondEdition).Prentice-Hall,EnglewoodCliffs,NJ,1992.page323. 9Cook,page3.