scholarly journals Music Literacy: A Multicase Study of Five Choral Directors' Use and Understanding of Choral Music Literacy in the Choral Classroom

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia M Romero Sardiñas
Author(s):  
Marshall Haning

Through the use of an intrinsic case study, I investigated student and teacher perceptions of a collaborative and student-directed music learning approach in a high school choral classroom. Students ( N = 29) in a beginning high school choir were asked to choose and learn a piece of repertoire without substantive input or help from the choral teacher. Results indicated that students completed this project successfully and achieved a well-received public performance of the piece. Students reported a strong sense of accomplishment as well as increased collaboration skills and opportunities to apply their music knowledge. Although students and teacher acknowledged some social conflicts and relatively high levels of social loafing and off-task behavior during this project, these challenges did not seem to reduce the overall perception of success.


2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Aguirre

Conversations surrounding transgender students are beginning to appear in the nation’s schools. In recent years, experts in the fields of music education and vocal pedagogy have shared their experiences and research on transgender issues in the choral classroom and private lessons. Studies focused on transgender issues in choral music education have yielded inconsistent results. While some have shown music educators to be supportive and accommodating, others have shown a gap in educator knowledge of transgender issues. Vocal pedagogues have had the unique opportunity to work closely with transgender singers one-on-one. Their work is highly transferable to a choral classroom setting. This review of literature synthesizes the work of choral conductors and private voice instructors with the narratives of transgender singers to provide implications for educators and a direction for future research.


Author(s):  
Eduardo Lakschevitz

Corporate choirs represent a large part of choral music-making in Brazil. Many Brazilian companies hire choral directors to develop group singing activities with their employees, thanks in part to the recent Music Education Bill. These directors face very particular challenges that are rarely considered in their training at colleges and universities. Nonetheless, they are a significant part of the work of choral directors in Brazil. Leading a peripheral activity in relation to the company’s core business, lack of rehearsal time, volunteer singer participation, inappropriate physical conditions, management that is not akin to the arts field, and easy access to contemporary urban activities and gadgets are some factors that create these particular challenges. The corporate choir director must bridge these factors with musical procedures of their work, and approach with a more critical view issues such as repertory choice, conducting techniques, and rehearsal procedures.


Author(s):  
Nataliia Kosaniak

Vasyl Bezkorovayny (1880–1966) was a talented artist, an active figure in the musical life of Galicia and a representative of post-war Ukrainian emigrants in the United States of America. He wrote more than 350 works of various genres. Among them are compositions for symphony orchestra; vocal works — for chorus, ensembles or solo singing; chamber and instrumental music — for piano, violin, zither, cello; music for dramatic performances. The article deals with the archival and musicological analysis of expressive and stylistic features of V. Bezkorovayny’s vocal works, based on the materials of Stefanyk Lviv National Library of Ukraine. Attention is paid to the place of the composer’s vocal masterpieces in the context of Ukrainian vocal music of the first half of the XX century. The most important achievements of the composer related to the genres of choral and chamber vocal music. In style, the composer’s works combine the influences of M. Lysenko, composers of the «Peremyshl school» and Western European romantic and post-romantic models. The original secular choral music of V. Bezkorovayny covers genres of songs, plays, and large-form choirs. In his solo songs the influences of romantic western European music and Ukrainian folk songs affected the formation and approval of the composer’s style. Keywords: vocal music, chorus, solos, melodic-intonation means, harmony, rhythm.


Author(s):  
Kirk Moss ◽  
Stephen Benham ◽  
Kristen Pellegrino

After reviewing a small body of literature on the assessment practices of American orchestra directors, this chapter quickly shifts attention to conducting original research. It describes a descriptive survey study with American String Teachers Association (ASTA) members (N = 416) that found performance-based assessments were the most frequently used form of formal assessment to evaluate technique, musicianship skills, creative musicianship, and ensemble skills. Music literacy was nearly equally split between performance-based and written assessments, while evaluation of music and musical performances and historical and cultural elements tended toward written assessments and verbal feedback. Creative musicianship and historical/cultural elements were the top two nonassessed areas, but were still assessed by the vast majority of teachers. Interviews with five string teachers demonstrate that the research participants emphasized performing/playing assessments, focused on student learning/improvement, acknowledged the role of the school district/administration and benefited from its support, and recognized the value in aligning assessment to standards/curriculum.


2020 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-42
Author(s):  
Janet Revell Barrett

Music teachers seek imaginative openings to expand the reach and scope of the music curriculum, particularly by engaging more students in creative production and culturally relevant offerings. This article describes the work of a high school choral music educator who implemented new courses in Hip Hop Production by strategically navigating the policy process for course approval in his school district, informing the proposal with readily available data, consulting with colleagues, and aligning the purposes of the courses with district initiatives. As a case of music teachers’ curricular agency, this story illustrates valuable orientations and principles of change that open up avenues for the expansion of music programs in the context of district-level policy environments.


Notes ◽  
1950 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 445
Author(s):  
Paul Callaway
Keyword(s):  

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