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Keyboard improvisation characteristics of freshman and sophomore instrumental and vocal music majors

Chess, Susan Lorrainne
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1123721766

Abstract Details

2005, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Music.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility that instrumental and vocal majors improvise on the keyboard in characteristic ways that may have a relationship to their major instrument. The National Association of Schools of Music urges that music programs on the college level include improvisation as part of the curriculum. It is possible that the results of this study can be used to inform the teaching of music theory, aural training, and group piano courses, as well as implementing improvisation as a separate entity into the music curricula. Seventy-one students, including 25 sophomores and 46 freshmen with varied levels of keyboard experience from The Ohio State University, were used for the study. A questionnaire, two thirty-second improvisation samples from each student, and an interview were used to gather data. The questionnaire was used to gather demographic data. The interview that was conducted after the students played the improvisation samples was used to gather information from the students on their experience in the testing process, and their views on various aspects of improvisation. The improvisation samples were analyzed with respect to the presence of harmony, melody, counterpoint, and through-composition. The results indicated that melodic material had the highest incidence for the entire testing population. When the freshman and sophomore populations were considered separately, the improvisation samples that were performed by the freshmen had the largest incidence of melody, and the sophomore samples had the highest occurrence of harmony. Within specific areas of study, winds, voice, and percussion students had the highest percentage of melodic material, and strings, woodwinds, and brass had the highest percentage of harmonic material. Contrapuntal material occurred the most frequently among the brass students, and through-composed material was of the highest percentage in the strings students. The high incidence of melody in the testing population indicates that the use of melody and melodic material can serve as a point of departure for teaching various musical concepts.
R.J. Frego (Advisor)
155 p.
piano; music; improvisation; music students; instrumentalists; vocalists; undergraduate music students; learning; teaching

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Chess, S. L. (2005). Keyboard improvisation characteristics of freshman and sophomore instrumental and vocal music majors [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1123721766

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Chess, Susan. Keyboard improvisation characteristics of freshman and sophomore instrumental and vocal music majors. 2005. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1123721766.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Chess, Susan. "Keyboard improvisation characteristics of freshman and sophomore instrumental and vocal music majors." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1123721766

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1123721766
3,305
© 2005, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.