A COMPENDIUM OF ARTICLES PUBLISHED AND AN ASSESSMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL TRENDS IN THE JOURNAL OF MUSIC THEORY PEDAGOGY,

Transcription

1 A COMPENDIUM OF ARTICLES PUBLISHED AND AN ASSESSMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL TRENDS IN THE JOURNAL OF MUSIC THEORY PEDAGOGY, A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts By Kyree A. Martin May, 2016

2 ii Thesis written by Kyree Martin B.A., Ohio Northern University, 2014 M.A., Kent State University, 2016 Approved by Richard Devore, Ph.D., Advisor Ralph Lorenz, Ph.D., Interim Director, School of Music John R. Crawford-Spinelli, Ed.D., Dean, College of the Arts

3 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES......iv Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION...1 II. MACROANALYSIS...7 III. REPRESENTED TRENDS WITHIN MUSIC THEORY PEDAGOGY IV. TRENDS NOT REPRESENTED WITHIN MUSIC THEORY PEDAGOGY V. CONCLUSIONS APPENDIX Compendium of Articles Published in the JMTP...46 I. Sorted by year.. 46 II. Sorted by author. 65 III. Sorted by subcategory...86 REFERENCES. 130

4 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Subcategories/tags assigned to articles in JMTP Distribution total over time Distribution based on decade: 1987 to Distribution based on decade: 1997 to Distribution based on decade: 2007 to Distribution based on editor: Michael Rogers, 1987 to Distribution based on editor: Mary Wennerstrom, 1992 to Distribution based on editor: J. Kent Williams, 1999 to Distribution based on editor: Timothy Smith, 2006 to Distribution based on editor: Steven Laitz, 2010 to Present Topics within the analysis subcategory... 22

5 v MARTIN, KYREE, M.A., MAY 2016 MUSIC THEORY A COMPENDIUM OF ARTICLES PUBLISHED AND AN ASSESSMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL TRENDS IN THE JOURNAL OF MUSIC THEORY PEDAGOGY, Director of Thesis: Dr. Richard Devore This thesis utilizes a compendium of articles published in the Journal of Music Pedagogy to analyze pedagogical trends as found in the journal. The compendium is sortable by year, author, and subcategory, allowing for different types of trend analyses to be conducted, including a macroanalysis of the category trends over specific decades and editor tenures, as well as a microanalysis of the subcategories used to determine whether topics are representative of theory. The trend analyses revealed that, curriculum,, post tonal, and analysis were among the top representative subcategories in the journal. Additionally, the analyses revealed that only 30% of the published materials in the journal were based on actual as defined by the author, leading to a discussion regarding pedagogical materials versus curricular materials. Other results examine possible future trends in the field of music theory, as well as outlier topics.

6 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to offer my thanks to my thesis advisor, Dr. Richard Devore. Thank you for allowing me to pursue my interests and helping me focus on a project which will support my future endeavors. I cannot express how grateful I am to work with someone who believes in me and my goals. I would also like to express my gratitude to those who assisted me in the editing process. Firstly, to Dr. Devore for correcting the same mistakes and having the patience to explain the corrections every time. Secondly, to Robert Cotrell, who spent several hours every weekend helping me edit and revise. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Jena Root for her willingness to not only meet with me, but also for her invaluable insights into the Journal of Music Pedagogy, as well as the field of music theory.

7 1 CHAPTER I Introduction In the field of music theory, three principal sources are utilized by pedagogues to assist in the teaching of pedagogical methods: the Journal of Music Pedagogy (JMTP), Teaching Approaches in Music : An Overview of Pedagogical Philosophies by Michael Rogers, and Guidelines for College Teaching of Music by John D. White,. Music theory is a relatively young field of study; both the Rogers and White texts were published in the mid-1980s, with revisions made to both texts in the early 2000s. The Rogers text, published in 1983/2003, is divided into three different sections: background, thinking and listening, and achieving teaching success. Thinking and listening consists of mind training and musical analysis, which fall into the categories of written theory and ear training. The text includes a suggested reading list, as well as a select bibliography for music theory section. The second edition features an updated reading list and bibliography, but leaves the main text unaltered due to perceived relevance in the music theory classroom. The White text, published in 1981/2001, has nine chapters. Each chapter covers an aspect of music theory including analysis and theoretical concepts, keyboard skills, and writing skills. Like Rogers, White s text includes selected readings and a selected bibliography of pedagogical materials. The second edition updates these sections and adds a chapter regarding the use of technology in music theory. Additionally, the second edition features chapters updated to better reflect the striking changes in college and university [curricula] during the late 20 th century. 1 As texts, these 1. John D White, Guidelines for College Teaching of Music (2nd ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 2004), x.

8 2 sources are invaluable for beginning study in the field of music theory ; however, since textbooks are static, they do not reflect changes in the present day. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the field and how it has grown over the past thirty years, we must examine a source that is continuously changing over time. The Journal of Music Pedagogy (JMTP) was founded in 1987, with Michael Rogers as the primary editor, in an effort to create a forum where music theorists and teachers could share their findings. 2 Prior to the creation of the JMTP, was a comparatively infrequent topic in academic settings, but was a recurring one at the annual meetings for the Society for Music. There was a brief attempt to highlight the importance of within the field in 1980 when the journal Music Spectrum created a column dedicated to. The intention was to feature one or two articles per volume, but the column was discontinued after only two entries. The first article, written by Ellis Kohs, is entitled Current Needs and Problems in the Teaching of Undergraduate Music. 3 This article is often cited in current research to demonstrate the need for change in undergraduate theory instruction. Even though both of these texts have been revised, the core content of the second editions remains largely unchanged, now with additional chapters discussing technology. The field of is constantly changing. Do two books written in the 1980s accurately address what current undergraduate level theory students require? In order for teachers to better equip themselves to teach music theory or aural theory courses, they must be familiar with current 2. Michael Rogers, Trends and Issues in Music Teaching. Journal of Music Pedagogy 1, no. 1: Ellis Kohs, Current Needs and Problems in the Teaching of Undergraduate Music, Music Spectrum 2: , 1980.

9 3 research and publications within the field. Without this continuing knowledge, advances in general education and specifically theory may be missed. At the outset of my research, I looked to the JMTP with the intention of finding popular trends in the field; however, in looking through the JMTP s website and article search functions, I found that the site lacks article tags. I had no way of finding specific articles without exploring every volume and reading through every article. For someone new to the field or for secondary theory teachers, the lack of searchable articles could deter potential interest. My first objective was to create a compendium of JMTP articles, then to archive them into categories and subcategories. My second objective used the compendium to identify trends within the journal which are representative to the field of music theory. In analyzing the contents of the journal, I found a disturbing lack of pedagogical articles; thus, my third goal is to initiate a conversation regarding the confusion between and curriculum. My research was conducted in two phases. First, I created an index consisting of articles found in the JMTP. The articles were entered into a database in chronological order with preexisting parameters: title, author, volume, issue, if applicable, and year of publication. Articles were then separated into larger categories: written theory, aural theory, curriculum, material reviews, and other. The other category includes non-pedagogical articles such as conference reports/reviews. The creation of the curriculum category was a late addition to the database. A large amount of articles fell solely into the curriculum and subcategories. In order to better identify these articles, the curriculum category was created and the articles were added to the written or aural subcategory based on their original category placement. If articles were defined by both the written and aural categories, they were assigned the aural label. Generally,

10 4 written curricula do not focus on aural subjects (i.e. dictation, error detection, sight singing). These skills are usually limited to aural theory classes. However, aural theory curricula incorporate written theory skills to strengthen the aural skills; for example, knowledge of harmonic progressions and voice leading practices as they relate to dictation. The subcategories were first compiled based on topics commonly taught in undergraduate theory courses. The list was adjusted based on article content throughout the project. A complete listing of the subcategories used can be found below. Table 1: Subcategories/tags assigned to articles in JMTP Analysis Course Melody Sight Singing Assessment Curriculum Music Cognition Solfege Aural Dictation Pedagogy Technology Bass Error Detection Perception Terminology Bibliography Experiment/Study Performance Practice Texture Chromaticism Form Popular Music Voice Leading Comparison Fundamentals Post-tonal World Music Composition Harmony Reports Writing Composer name Improvisation Rhythm Written Conference Interval Rhythm Syllables Counterpoint Jazz Schenker The purpose of a subcategory is to streamline the search process and make it easy to use for both music theorists and non-theorists. The subcategories were assigned based on the best fit for any particular article. Many articles could have easily been placed into six or seven subcategories; however, no more than four subcategories were assigned to any particular article. Some of the tags were created with the sole purpose of facilitating an easier search process; therefore, the composer name, conference, and reports tags were not included in the trend analysis.

11 5 The database is sortable by year, author and subcategory. 4 The trend analysis examines data from a macro- and a micro- perspective. The database, when sorted by year, was used for the macro analysis, while the micro analysis was conducted when the database was sorted by subcategory. The editorship of JMTP was factored into the macro trend analysis due to the potential bias towards certain topics. The goal of the microanalysis was to pinpoint pedagogical trends over the history of the journal. In order to be considered as representative, publication must have occurred within a subcategory twice in a ten year period with no longer than a ten year publication gap. Subcategories that do not fall into this scope, while not representative, were examined and discussed for their growth potential. Through my research, I found only two resources which directly discussed the topic of music theory as it pertains to ; in 2010 there was a published dissertation, and the most current research was a brief article in the JMTP in Neither of these sources directly compares music theory sources; one was a qualitative study of theory professors, and the other was a quantitative survey which yielded inconclusive findings due to a small sample size. Up to this point, minimal research has been published regarding pedagogical trends in music theory. By cataloging the contents of the JMTP, I was able to evaluate pedagogical trends over the journal s publication span from 1987 to The body of this document will present 4. See Appendix 5. The dissertation: Andrew Shanefield, A Qualitative Investigation of the Attitudes and Self-Perceptions of Music Faculty Not Trained in Teaching Pedagogy on Their Classroom Effectiveness, PhD diss., Widner University, The article: Elizabeth W. Marvin, The Core Curricula in Music : Developments and Pedagogical Trends, Journal of Music Pedagogy 26: , 2012.

12 6 readers with the macroanalysis and the microanalysis according to representative and nonrepresentative subcategories. These sections provide readers with a brief overview of the content within the journal, content within the subcategories, and a brief discussion regarding the publication rates and trends over time.

13 7 CHAPTER 2 Macroanalysis Between 1987 and 2014 the Journal of Music Pedagogy published 28 volumes, releasing two issues per year until 1991, but then dropping to only one annual publication beginning in To date there have been 247 entries in the journal. 1 The distribution of the five categories from 1987 to 2014 is shown in the table below. Of the 247 entries, fifty-two of them are other or material review, leaving over 79% of the published articles to fall into the major three categories: written theory, aural theory, and curriculum. Further review of the remaining categories (195 entries), reveals that 54% fall into the written category, 30% cover aural theory, and 16% fall into the curriculum category. These figures do not account for potential category crossover. Table 2: Distribution total over time Category Percent/247 Number of Three major Number of Percent/195 articles/247 category total articles/195 Written 43% % Aural 23% % Curriculum 13% % Material 16% 40 Other 5% 12 Distribution by decade divides the publication dates into 1987 to 1996, 1997 to 2006, and 2007 to The first decade of publication includes 111 entries. This is almost half of the total amount of entries made to the journal. The high rate of publication is most likely due to the semi-annual release until Of the 111 entries, 86 fall into the three major categories, with a spread of 49% (written), 36% (aural), and 15% (curriculum). This distribution is similar to the 1. This total does not include online articles published as a part of the e-journal.

14 8 Table 3: Distribution based on decade: 1987 to 1996 Category Percent/ 111 Number of Three major Number of Percent/86 articles/111 category total articles/86 Written 38% % Aural 28% % Curriculum 12% % Material 21% 23 Other 1% 2 complete distribution over time. The curriculum proportion is 15% versus 16%. The written and aural theory categories reveal a larger difference than the curriculum proportion; however, neither spread is larger than 10 percentage points. There is a higher proportion of aural theory entries: 36% versus 30%; as a result, the written theory proportion is smaller than the complete totals: 49% versus 54%. Table 4: Distribution based on decade: 1997 to 2006 Category Percent/ 66 Number of Three major Number of Percent/54 articles/66 category total articles/54 Written 47% % Aural 23% % Curriculum 12% % Material 12% 8 Other 6% 4 The decade from 1997 to 2006 included 66 total entries. A drop in the amount of entries could be attributed to the annual rather than semi-annual publication schedule. Furthermore, this decade had four different editors, which undoubtedly affected the types and variety of articles published. 82% of the entries during the decade fall into the three major categories. The curriculum proportion remained stable at 15%, but the written and aural proportions skew in the opposite direction from the first decade. The written theory proportion rose from 49% to 57%, a

15 9 16% increase. The aural theory percentage declined from 36% to 28%, a 22% decrease. These totals compare to the overall average totals similarly to the first decade. Table 5: Distribution based on decade: 2007 to 2014 Category Percent/ 70 Number of Three major Number of Percent/55 articles/70 categories total articles/55 Written 47% % Aural 17% % Curriculum 14% % Material 13% 9 Other 9% 6 The current decade, 2007 to 2014, has seventy entries. This time period features a higher proportion of articles on written theory than the first two decades: 5% higher than the previous decade and 22% higher than the first decade. The increase could support the idea that the perceived importance of written theory has increased over time. The aural theory category decreased another 22%, declining from 28% to 22%. The consistent decline of the aural theory category and the increase of written theory could potentially show a gradual shift towards written theory over aural. Another change from previous decades shows an increase within the curriculum category. Instead of remaining consistent at 15%, the category saw an increase of 20% between the previous and current decades. The increase of articles regarding curriculum does not make it as prevalent as articles on written theory; however, if current trends continue, curriculum could overtake the aural theory category as second in frequency behind written theory. Over the past twenty-nine years, five people have served as the editor for the Journal of Music Pedagogy. Analyzing the proportions of the categories that each editor established

16 10 Table 6: Distribution based on editor: Michael Rogers, 1987 to 1991 Category Percent/ 67 Number of Three major Number of Percent/52 articles/67 category totals articles/52 Written 42% % Aural 24% % Curriculum 12% % Material 21% 14 Other 1% 1 during their tenure with the journal helps to explain the fluctuation of categories over the different decades. Michael Rogers served as the first editor for the first five years of the journal s existence from 1987 to The publication distribution, as shown in the table above, compares the average distribution to that of the distribution during Rogers tenure as editor. The percentages are nearly identical, suggesting perhaps that the distribution established by Rogers served as a model for future editors. Table 7: Distribution based on editor: Mary Wennerstrom, 1992 to 1997 Category Percent/ 49 Number of Three major Number of Percent/38 articles/49 category totals articles/38 Written 29% % Aural 39% % Curriculum 10% % Material 22% 11 Other 0% 0 The second editor, who served from 1992 to 1997 was Mary Wennerstrom. One of the changes made to the journal under Wennerstrom was the change from a semi-annual to an annual publication. The article distribution differs greatly from Rogers, in that the aural theory category made up 50% of the articles published in three major categories. Wennerstrom s tenure is the only one which includes more articles in the aural category than the written theory

17 11 category. The high distribution is partially due to two volumes featuring articles solely pertaining to that category. Table 8: Distribution based on editor: J. Kent Williams, 1999 to 2005 Category Percent/ 43 Number of Three major Number of Percent/34 articles/43 category totals articles/34 Written 47% % Aural 19% % Curriculum 14% % Material 12% 5 Other 8% 4 In 1998, the editor position became vacant; as such, two people filled in as interim editors until J. Kent Williams was appointed to the position in The percentage totals from 1998 are not included in this analysis due to the small sample size. Williams served as editor for seven years, from 1999 to This period of time marks a shift in article content for the journal. The growth seen in the aural theory category not only ceases, but decreases by 52% from 50% to 24%. At the same time, the written theory category underwent a 58% increase, from 37% of articles to 59%. Curriculum also saw an increase from 13% to 17%. The category distribution during Williams time as editor more closely mirrors that of Rogers than Wennerstrom, placing slightly more emphasis on written theory. Table 9: Distribution based on editor: Timothy Smith, 2006 to 2009 Category Percent/ 31 Number of Three major Number of Percent/26 articles/31 category totals articles/26 Written 58% % Aural 16% % Curriculum 9% % Material 13% 4 Other 3% 1

18 12 Williams successor, Timothy Smith, took over in 2006 and served for four years as editor. Smith s distribution seems to continue where Williams leaves off. The trends for written theory and aural theory both continue prior trends. Of the three major categories, written theory consists of 69% of the entries. This is the first instance of potential bias that appears within the editorial distributions. The aural theory category declines for a second consecutive time, from 24% to 22%. The curriculum category declines 30% during this period; however, as a category, it has remained fairly consistent, fluctuating between 12% and 17%. The average of these figures correlates with the overall average score for the curriculum category. Given that some of Smith s previous publications discuss aural theory, the extreme emphasis placed on written theory during this period is surprising. 2 Table 10: Distribution based on editor: Steven Laitz, 2010 to Present Category Percent/ 45 Number of Three major Number of Percent/36 articles/45 category totals articles/36 Written 44% % Aural 18% % Curriculum 18% % Material 13% 6 Other 7% 3 The current editor for the journal, Steven Laitz, took over the post in Presently, the distribution of the three major categories has reverted back to figures which resemble Rogers original percentages. The written theory category has seen an 18% decline during Laitz s tenure 2. See Timothy A. Smith, "A Comparison of Pedagogical Resources in Solmization Systems," Journal of Music Pedagogy 5, no. 1 (1991): 1-24, Micheal Houlahan and Philip Tacka, "The Americanization of Solmization: A Response to Timothy A. Smith," Journal of Music Pedagogy 6 (1992): , and Timothy Smith, "The Liberation of Solmization: Searching for Common Ground," Journal of Music Pedagogy 6 (1992):

19 13 as editor. This decrease has allowed for the growth of the other two major categories. Aural theory has risen in popularity by 15%. The curriculum category has seen a publication increase of 83% from 12% to 22%. This is the largest percentage increase not only within the category, but across any other category as well. The increase of aural theory and curriculum places both categories in a tie for the second highest rate of publication behind written theory. The percentages and rates of increase and decline are best viewed from the editorial perspective. These percentages reveal the most information regarding the macro trends across the three major categories. The sharp rise or fall of publication rates between editorial tenures suggests that editorial interests and biases may play a role in publication rates. As the numbers stand, written theory is the most popular category, and there is little indication that the popularity will decrease in the near future. Conversely, the fluidity of the aural theory and curriculum categories will no doubt continue to develop in an unpredictable fashion.

20 14 CHAPTER 3 Represented Trends within the Journal The sections below briefly discuss the subcategories that meet the criteria required to be considered as a representative trend in the field of music theory. It is important to consider that the designation of representative does not necessarily indicate article importance. Additionally, since many articles have several subcategory labels, every effort was made to avoid redundancy in discussing specific articles. Two subcategories included in this chapter do not meet the required criteria; however, they feature other characteristics that set them apart from the non-representative subcategories. The solfege subcategory stands out as an outlier from all other subcategories. From a publication point of view, only six unique entries have been made to the subcategory; however, two of those articles sparked a chain of debate. The first entry to the subcategory was Timothy Smith s article A Comparison of Pedagogical Resources in Solmization Systems. In the article, Smith presents an overview of several different sight singing syllable systems, as well as presenting the pros and cons of each system. He mentions that most agree that teaching of solmization is beneficial, but that there is little consensus as to which is the most effective or useful system. 1 Smith s point was supported the next year when Houlahan and Tacka responded to the original article. 2 Their ultimate purpose was to reveal what they perceived as flaws in Smith s article, all while presenting their preferred method of teaching. Smith responded, 1. Timothy A. Smith, "A Comparison of Pedagogical Resources in Solmization Systems," Journal of Music Pedagogy 5, no. 1 (1991): Micheal Houlahan and Philip Tacka, "The Americanization of Solmization: A Response to Timothy A. Smith," Journal of Music Pedagogy 6 (1992):

21 15 intending to spark further interest and discussion. 3 Two years later, in 1994, two additional exchanges among the three authors were published. Neither side was willing to concede that the other had presented valid ideas. In 2000, another highly debated article was published by Pembrook and Lorek. 4 The authors created an experiment to test the effectiveness of different sight singing syllable systems; ultimately, their findings were inconclusive. The experiment caught the attention of Michael Rogers, who opened a brief discussion with the authors. No other subcategory features more debate and discussion than solfege. Regardless of the publication rates, active conversation proves that this subcategory is representative of the trends found in the JMTP. Given the relevance of solfege, sight singing must also be included as an outlier subcategory. Many articles are shared among the subcategories. Generally speaking, solfege is used in conjunction with sight singing; however, not all sight singing articles pertain to the application of solfege. Out of fifteen total entries to the sight singing subcategory, seven do not explicitly focus on solfege. Some of the articles discuss curricular ideals, such as the use of prose to enhance musical understanding. Others discuss different pedagogical methods within aural theory classrooms. Both sight singing and solfege were popular categories early on, with yearly publication in the early- to mid- 1990s. The publication rate decreased through the late 1990s and ceased altogether by 2001, until reappearing in Starting in 2011 and leading into 2014, 3. Timothy Smith, "The Liberation of Solmization: Searching for Common Ground," Journal of Music Pedagogy 6 (1992): Mary Lorek and Randall Pembrook, "To Doh or Not To Doh: The Comparative Effectiveness of Sightsinging Syllable Systems," Journal of Music Pedagogy 14 (2000): 2.

22 16 an article about sight singing and/or solfege can be found in every publication, signaling a potential resurgence of popularity in the years to come. The rhythm subcategory features entries from both the written and aural theory categories. Rhythm articles categorized as aural theory mainly consist of entries examining the takadimi syllable system; however, some diverge and cover rhythmic, as found in Roger Graybill s Towards a Pedagogy of Gestural Rhythm, as well as Tonal Markers, Melodic Patterns, and Musicianship Training Part I: Rhythm Reduction by Laurdella Foulkes-Levy. Rhythm articles categorized as written theory cover a broader range of topics than aural theory. Harmonic rhythm is a popular topic of discussion. Arthur Komar s article Derivational Analysis Step by Step utilizes harmonic rhythm as a tool for gaining a deeper understanding of musical analysis. Conversely, Joseph Swain presents a pedagogical approach to harmonic rhythm in his article Teaching Harmonic Rhythm. A third topic, polyrhythm, is discussed by Nick Rissman in his article Cycling Through Polyrhythm. Even though the subcategory lacks a wealth of articles, the publication rate is consistent through the journal s history, with no gaps in publication. Composition and music theory are often considered to be closely related. It comes as no surprise that the JMTP contains a respectable number of articles about composition and its relation to written theory. Of fourteen entries, only two are not classified as written theory, one being aural-based and the second being classified as other. The article in the other category is part of the Master Teacher Series. 5 The article by Poulin discusses composition from a historical perspective. Several other articles feature this perspective, Toplis article from 2005 and 5. This series tends to be lecture-based and less focused on.

23 17 Bomberger s 1998 article. The aural composition article by Melissa Hoag discusses the idea of recomposition as a way to create interest in the repertoire being learned. The other composition articles can be divided into two topics: model composition and composition. The articles on model composition cover a range of styles including sixteenth-century counterpoint, sonata form, ragtime, and even school fight songs. The first article to discuss composition was Thomas Benjamin s On Teaching Composition in Benjamin published a second article in 1989 regarding the use of composition in the theory classroom. As a subcategory, composition has maintained a steady rate of publication with the highest rate of interest beginning in the mid-2000s and continuing to The fundamentals subcategory encompasses aspects of the written theory curriculum taught in the first year of instruction. This term covers topics such as cadence, phrase, scales, and key signatures, which did not have enough entries to warrant a stand-alone subcategory. Five of the seventeen articles review a course, textbook, or software pertaining exclusively to the first-year experience. The course reviews discuss musicianship courses from West Coast and Midwest schools, offering two differing perspectives on the class. Bakar and Kosar also wrote a course review of a fundamental rudiments course. 6 Timothy Smith and Jeffery Gillespie contribute to the subcategory with articles regarding pre-coursework assessment. Smith s article discusses a specific format of testing, whereas Gillespie reviews a summer program dedicated to preparing first-year students for their upcoming theory courses. Of the fundamental topics, cadence is featured most often, starting with an article by Ann Blombach in 1988, and seen most 6. This course is not affiliated with any particular school of music or university; thus, it is not considered part of the course review subcategory.

24 18 recently in 2012 in an article by Mark Richards. Unlike other subcategories, fundamentals has had such a consistent rate of publication that there is no specific period of popularity. The post-tonal subcategory includes entries regarding music written during or after the twentieth century. 7 While there are some early entries to the post-tonal subcategory, the bulk of the articles were published after The earliest publications, 1989 to 1994, discussed posttonal theory narrowly, focusing on perhaps the most common topics associated with the idea of post-tonal music: atonality, twelve-tone rows, and set theory. During this time, the articles discussing post-tonal analysis are simpler and meant for undergraduate level coursework. One article by David Mancini presents set theory specifically from this perspective. A majority of these articles have a practical or curricular purpose. The tone of the subcategory shifts starting in 1997, featuring analyses of different works rather than discussing teaching strategies. Additionally, the topics discussed are more varied than the earlier articles, covering composers ranging from Stravinsky to Schoenberg to Crumb. Some traditional fundamental ideas are combined with post-tonal ideas in articles by Daniel Arthurs in 2003 and later by Mark Sallmen in Despite the large number of articles published from 2000 to 2010, none fall into the aural theory category. In fact, the only category with entries during this time is written theory. After 2010, the post-tonal subcategory sees entries to the material review and aural theory categories. The material review published in 2013 by Jane Piper Clendinning discusses two post-tonal textbooks. The aural theory article written by Michael Oravitz in 2012 explores the potential use of Schoenberg s thematic material for post-tonal melodic dictation. This entry contrasts with a 7. Popular music is the only exception to this as it has a separate subcategory.

25 19 previous aural theory entry from 1997 that presents aural theory strategies using modality-based materials. The differences between the two articles showcases the wide variety of samplings found within the post-tonal subcategory. As post-tonal music has become more relevant to students and curricula, the amount of written theory entries has increased, and the number of aural theory articles has remained stagnant. If more post-tonal music is being studied in written classrooms, musicians should also be spending an equal amount of time listening and learning about it aurally. Performance practice is often the vehicle that theorists use to relate theory ideals to practical musicianship. A majority of the articles in the subcategory provides examples of how the two ideals work together. Elizabeth West Marvin published a discussion of this idea in In her article, West suggests that questioning techniques, which guide students through specific thought processes, will encourage similar thoughts later, outside of the classroom. 8 Other early entries to the subcategory feature discussions of pieces by Bach, Chopin, and Wagner. A gap in publication occurred from 1994 to 2002, but publication has since resumed. Articles published after this time return to the example presentation format from pre-1997, discussing the composers Crumb, Stravinsky, and Scarlatti. Performance practice has one of the smallest number of entries, with ten, of the representative subcategories. The low number of entries may indicate a possible lack of interest in performance from the theory community. Like many of the subcategories, harmony tends to be a secondary topic to some of the more widely used subcategories such as analysis. The harmonic aspects of different musical 8. Elizabeth W. Marvin, "Intrinsic Motivation: The Relation of Analysis to Performance in Undergraduate Music Instruction," Journal of Music Pedagogy 8 (1994): 57.

26 20 styles is discussed including counterpoint, chromaticism, jazz and popular music. Of the seventeen entries in the subcategory, four articles feature harmony as the main idea. Two articles in particular approach the topic from a less content-driven perspective: John Schaffer s article from 1991 and Roxanne Prevost s article from The harmony subcategory has a higher rate of publication in the earlier decades (approximately 1987 to 2001) with over 50% of the content published before The recent drop in harmony entries could indicate a shift in pedagogical interests; however, it seems more likely that the idea of harmony is being integrated into other topics, such as analysis. The technology subcategory is divided into two kinds of publications: technology in the classroom and reviews of music theory software. One article examines software use in a written theory classroom and how it facilitates quicker learning. This instance is atypical of the expected use of technology, as most programs are intended for use in an aural theory curriculum. Some of the programs reviewed in the 1980s are still in use today, most notably MacGAMUT. As technology advances and becomes a larger part of the classroom environment, one would expect a higher rate of article publication; however, the opposite is true of this subcategory. During the first decade of publication, nine articles were published about technology. The next consistent rate of publication occurs after The articles published thereafter differ in that they discuss technology that can enhance the curriculum, as opposed to early programs, which were sometimes used to replace classroom instruction. This shift could also be explained by how quickly technology advances. An article from 2007/2008 discusses the use of ipods to make music accessible to all students. A more recent article, from 2013, covers the use of applications for mobile devices. Good software is invaluable to today s students because it is a familiar

27 21 medium. Integrating technology with traditional instruction could be an excellent way to engage students who may otherwise find written or aural theory frustrating. Dictation is one of the smallest subcategories with nine entries. The publication rates for the subcategory, while sparse, are consistent enough to be considered representative. The subcategory saw more publications after 2000 than before. Traditionally, dictation is taught in three separate formats: rhythm, melody, and harmony. No articles focus solely on rhythmic dictation. Instead, melodic dictation includes a rhythmic component; therefore, some articles do have a brief discussion regarding rhythm. Harmonic dictation is covered in three of the articles. Jay Rahn and James McKay s article The Guide-Tone Method: An Approach to Harmonic Dictation details three different approaches to harmonic dictation: reduction, holistic, or guidetone. Aside from the aforementioned articles, the other entries involve certain aspects of melodic dictation. These articles encompass musical styles from the medieval period to twentieth-century post-tonal music. The article on medieval music by Lorenz and Devore, published in 2000, is the only article in the journal that examines early music. One of the larger subcategories, with fifty-eight entries, is analysis. To discuss each article, or even every other article, would be impractical given the large number of entries. The breakdown of the analysis subcategory is shown in Table 11. The table details the different tags beyond analysis assigned to each article in the subcategory. 9 Not surprisingly, harmony was one of the most common topics in the subcategory, appearing throughout 13% of the other 9. Composer names are also omitted from the table as the purpose of these tags is to facilitate search functions, making articles easier to locate.

28 22 subcategories. Usually, melody and bass are topics that are associated with harmony; however, they both appeared four times out of the fifty-eight articles. Pedagogy and curriculum each appeared seven times throughout the sixty-eight subcategories. This is high in comparison to Table 11: Topics within the Analysis Subcategory Harmony 9/68 13% Rhythm 3/68 4% Post-tonal 9/68 13% Melody 2/68 3% Curriculum 7/68 10% Technology 2/68 3% Pedagogy 7/68 10% Composition 2/68 3% Schenker 6/68 9% Bass 2/68 3% Performance Practice 6/68 9% Voice Leading 1/68 1% Form 5/68 7% Fundamentals 1/68 1% Improvisation 1/68 1% Total 49/68 72% Popular Music 1/68 1% Counterpoint 1/68 1% Experiment/ Study 1/68 1% Terminology 1/68 1% Chromaticism 1/68 1% Total 19/68 28% more than half of the other topics listed; however, since it is not the most prominent topic, the subcategory could be lacking in pedagogical substance. Post-tonal and Schenker collectively make up over one fifth of the topics discussed through the analysis subcategory. For the most part, all of the topics included in the 72% group are representative trends except for Schenker. Conversely, there are two topics, technology and composition, which are representative, but fall into the 28% grouping. As opposed to many of the other subcategories, there is not a trend throughout the analysis subcategory.

29 23 The largest representative subcategory,, has seventy-two entries. 10 Three material reviews are published in the subcategory, two of which were written by L. Dee Fink about college teaching texts. The first article was published in the first issue of the journal, and an update was published ten years later in Fink asserts that college teachers often do not take time to read books regarding college teaching methods because so many are invested in their own research. 11 None of the texts discussed in Fink s review are related to music, rather, they are all education resources. The other material review was written by Robert Gauldin in 2003 and provides a brief bibliography of texts and sources. The major three-category breakdown within the subcategory is as follows: 43% written theory, 24% aural theory, and 29% curriculum. Many of the entries in the subcategory appear elsewhere, but is unique in that fourteen of the articles are only found in this subcategory. The first of these articles was published in 1989 by David Damschroder. His article sought to identify methods for introducing flexibility into theory curricula. 12 A second article was published in the same issue, by James Caldwell, titled Using Bloom s Taxonomy to Develop an Approach to Analysis. Caldwell argued that using the questioning levels from Bloom s taxonomy would yield a deeper understanding of analysis because students would think about the music at a deeper level. 13 Two articles discuss D. A. Kolb s experiential learning ideas as they 10. For further discussion regarding the subcategory, see Chapter L. Dee Fink, "Guides to Better Classroom Teaching: A of Three Books and Additional Possibilities," Journal of Music Pedagogy 1, no. 1 (1987): David A Damschroder, "Flexibility in the Classroom: Strategies for the Management of Diversity," Journal of Music Pedagogy 3, no. 2 (1989): James Caldwell, "Using Bloom's Taxonomy to Develop an Approach to Analysis," Journal of Music Pedagogy 3, no. 2 (1989): 231.

30 24 apply to a music theory curriculum, while another approaches music theory from a cooperative learning point of view. Striking the Right Chord (or applying first aid to the wrong one) in the Day of a Teacher by Dorothy Payne and Elements Associated with Success in the First-Year Music and Aural-Skills Curriculum by Jones and Bergee provide readers views of successful teachers and methods for creating successful students. Later entries to the subcategory discuss questioning strategies, formalism, and a cross-disciplinary article regarding mathematics. These articles support the ideal that theory is enhanced by content, but must have a basis in in order to be truly effective. The curriculum subcategory was created for content-based discussion. It is important to understand that not every article in the curriculum subcategory will incorporate a pedagogical idea. The rate of publication throughout the subcategory is consistent with no popularity spikes. Articles concerning written theory out-number all the other categories in the subcategory with twenty-three entries. These entries cover a broad range of topics, with the most commonly discussed subjects being counterpoint, post-tonal music, and analysis techniques. Crosscurricular articles appear throughout this subcategory more than any other subcategory. Writing is mentioned several times as having a potential application when learning how to write voice leading examples (for example, in an article by Bruce Kelley in 1999). Another article in which writing serves as a way to enrich music learned through sight singing was published in 1995 by Davidson, Scripp, and Fletcher. The articles which fall into the aural theory category largely feature, but also solfege and its application to sight singing. Many of the articles in this subcategory share similar goals in that the author is conveying a new perspective on a topic

31 25 or challenging a pre-existing idea. Additionally, a large portion of articles in the curriculum subcategory were written specifically aimed towards the undergraduate curriculum. Music cognition is a field closely related to music theory. The music cognition field is supported by the journal through the subcategory. 14 The aural theory category is most commonly associated with ; however, there is one written theory article in the subcategory. One of the most frequently discussed topics is melodic. This is approached from a multitude of ideas ranging from dictation techniques to a study on scale degree function. The subcategory features a wide variety of secondary ideas, both curricular and pedagogical in nature. Additionally, stands apart from other subcategories by the number of research-oriented articles it includes. Furthermore, the section is noteworthy for the variety of authors present. A large proportion of the articles were published before 2000; however, of the most recent four volumes published, three have included an article featuring. 14. There is a music cognition subcategory; however, it only contains two material reviews.

32 26 CHAPTER IV Trends Not Represented within Music Pedagogy The sections below will each briefly discuss the subcategories that did not have a large enough quantity or time range to be considered a representative trend within the field. It is important to keep in mind that subcategory non-relevance does not determine article importance. Many articles have several associated subcategories, and thus may be discussed in different contexts; however, every effort was made to avoid redundancy in discussing specific articles. The jazz subcategory appears first in 1994 in a material review by Gary Potter. Potter introduces three texts: Jazz Improvisation in and Practice by Benward/ Wildman, Jazz by Jaffe, and Jazz and Practice by Lawn/ Hellmer, in the article, but focuses on the newest of the three by Lawn/Hellmer. The article is written for jazz musicians and theory teachers alike, providing an overview of the book as well as its strengths and weaknesses. An absence of jazz articles in the journal from 1994 until 2007 ended with the publication of Beyond Chord-Scale : Realizing a Species Approach to Jazz Improvisation by Keith Salley. Two other articles were published within the jazz subcategory following Salley s article: A Model of Common-Tone Connections Among Jazz Scales by Stephan Love and How to Write a Jazz Composition s Chord Progression by Patricia Julien, published in 2009 and 2012 respectively. The recent, close publication dates could possibly signal a growing interest in the subject of jazz theory. If this trend continues, this subject could potentially become a representative subject in the future.

33 27 Error detection is a skill that musicians of all practices utilize. Both Rogers and White mention the importance of the skill in their respective texts, so it was surprising to discover a lack of publications surrounding error detection. Out of 250 articles, only one features error detection. The article, published in 2010 by Stacey Davis, discusses the lack of error detection curriculum in colleges. She mentions the lack of published classroom exercises and provides data to support her claims. Given the subject matter of the article, and that only one error detection article has been published, Davis concerns are supported. The article mentions the Karpinski text Acquiring Aural Skills as an advocate for the importance of error detection. There are only two articles that fall into the chromaticism subcategory. The first written in 1987 by Robert Gauldin discusses structural versus non-structural chromaticism from the perspective of sixteenth- and eighteenth-century counterpoint studies. The article covers a number of composers from Gesualdo to J.S. Bach. Conversely, Guy Capuzzo s article The Backcycle Progression: A Supplement to the Omnibus Progression for the Study of Chromatic Harmony covers chromatic harmonies more traditional to the Romantic era. Capuzzo briefly discusses the uses of the omnibus progression before providing supplemental materials for further exploration in a classroom setting. There are six course reviews published in the JMTP. The first four were published early in the journal s history as part of a recurring series. This series reviewed courses and curricula from San Diego State University, the New England Conservatory of Music, Indiana University and Northwestern. Given the age of the articles, it is safe to assume that the courses reviewed within have changed over time; however, the information can still serve as a valuable model to schools looking to improve their curriculum. More recent articles include one published in 2004 by

34 28 Teresa Davidian discussing curricular changes in music theory courses at Texas colleges and universities and a second published in 2010 by Meduschi and Meeùs regarding a Schenkerian analysis course taught at the Sorbonne. This article also includes the challenges associated with teaching Schenkerian analysis using the French language. One of the most recent subcategories is improvisation. It first appears in 2007 with Salley s article regarding jazz theory and improvisation. The second showing occurred five years later in Michael Callahan s article Teaching Baroque Counterpoint Through Improvisation: An Introductory Curriculum in Stylistic Fluency discusses an unorthodox approach to the topic of counterpoint. No counterpoint articles to that point focused on the idea of combining improvisation and counterpoint. A year later, two additional articles were published regarding improvisation. Interestingly enough, both articles discussed the ideal from a historical perspective, as opposed to the more common jazz perspective. Current music education standard reforms are placing more value on the skill of improvisation. This could possibly be a factor in the current upswing of articles. If this subcategory continues its trend in popularity, it could possibly become a representative topic in the near future. There are only three entries in the interval subcategory. In 1988, Ann Blombach and Regena Parrish published findings of a study they conducted regarding interval. 1 The study compared the effectiveness of acquiring interval identification skills through two means: a pre-determined specific order and a non-specific order. The findings were inconclusive. Both groups struggled/succeeded equally; no method was more effective than the other. They 1. Ann K. Blombach and Regena T. Parrish, "Acquiring Aural Interval Identification Skills: Random Vs. Ordered Grouping," Journal of Music Pedagogy 2, no. 1 (1988): 113.