1 THE EFFECT OF ARTICULATION STUDY ON STYLISTIC EXPRESSION IN HIGH SCHOOL ...

185 Pages·2009·2.49 MB·English

THE EFFECT OF ARTICULATION STUDY
ON STYLISTIC EXPRESSION IN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICIANS’
JAZZ PERFORMANCE

By
DAVID CHARLES EDMUND

A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

2009
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© 2009 David Charles Edmund

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To my mother and father

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to thank the individuals who contributed their support, assistance, and wisdom
throughout this process. First, I thank Evan Rogovin and John LaCognata for their important
contributions to this study. I thank Claudio Fuentes for his guidance on statistical design and
rationale. I thank Diane Fischler for her editing expertise and moral support.
I extend a heart-felt debt of gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Timothy S. Brophy, for his never-
ending support throughout the past four years. He is a role model for excellence and the most
generous professor I’ve had the pleasure of studying with. I am grateful to Dr. Russell Robinson
for his guidance throughout my undergraduate and doctoral studies. Dr. Robinson is a brilliant
teacher, musician, and mentor. He has provided direction and support throughout my career
pursuits. I want to thank Dr. Leslie Odom and Dr. John Bengston for serving on my doctoral
committee, but more importantly, for inspiring me as a scholar and musician. I thank Gary
Langford for being my primary musical mentor and role model. I also thank Gary Langford and
Chris Sharp for their generous contributions in the completion of this study.
Finally, I am grateful for members of my family who have supported me in pursuit of this
degree. I thank my mother, sister, Cedric, and Irene for their consistent wisdom and faithful
support. I thank my father for his inspiration. I thank my sister for always being there when I
needed advice. I thank my mother for helping during those “trying” times and for providing the
most steadfast support of all of my life’s endeavors.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................................................... 4
LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................................ 8
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................. 9
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................ 10
CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................... 12
Statement of the Problem............................................................................................................ 14
Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................... 18
Definition of Terms ..................................................................................................................... 19
Significance of the Study ............................................................................................................ 20
Delimitations ............................................................................................................................... 20
2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..................................................................................................... 21
Style Theory ................................................................................................................................ 21
Philosophical Rationale .............................................................................................................. 23
Jazz Education History ............................................................................................................... 28
Jazz Improvisation ...................................................................................................................... 30
Improvisation Research .............................................................................................................. 35
Jazz Pedagogy ............................................................................................................................. 57
Jazz Pedagogy Summary ............................................................................................................ 63
Articulation in Jazz Style ............................................................................................................ 65
3 METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES ............................................................................... 70
Jazz Articulation Survey ............................................................................................................. 70
Pilot Study ................................................................................................................................... 71
Participants .................................................................................................................................. 74
Control Group Treatment ........................................................................................................... 78
Experimental Group Treatment .................................................................................................. 78
Reliability and Validity ............................................................................................................... 79
Data Analysis............................................................................................................................... 81
4 RESULTS .................................................................................................................................... 89
Content Validity .......................................................................................................................... 90
Construct Validity ....................................................................................................................... 91
Descriptive Statistics ................................................................................................................... 92
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Gain Scores .................................................................................................................................. 93
Reliability .................................................................................................................................... 94
Analyses ....................................................................................................................................... 96
Relationships among Posttest Results and Independent Variables .......................................... 99
Post-treatment Questionnaires .................................................................................................... 99
5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................... 113
Data Collection .......................................................................................................................... 113
Findings ..................................................................................................................................... 115
Sample Improvisations.............................................................................................................. 122
Theoretical Implications ........................................................................................................... 124
Issues .......................................................................................................................................... 125
Implications for Music Education ............................................................................................ 127
Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 130

APPENDIX
A JAZZ ARTICULATION SURVEY......................................................................................... 131
B JAZZ ARTICULATION SURVEY RESPONSES ................................................................ 133
C EDMUND JAZZ INTERPRETATION PROFILE (EJIP) ..................................................... 134
D JAZZ IMPROVISATION LESSONS ..................................................................................... 138
E JAZZ ARTICULATION LESSONS ....................................................................................... 142
F ARTICULATION EXERCISES/PRACTICE SCHEDULE .................................................. 146
G RESEARCH APPROVALS ..................................................................................................... 153
H POST-TREATMENT QUESTIONNAIRES .......................................................................... 158
I PARENT CONSENT/STUDENT ASSENT LETTERS ........................................................ 160
J CONTENT VALIDITY DESCRIPTORS FOR A PANEL OF JAZZ EDUCATORS ........ 163
K CONTENT VALIDITY RATING INDEX OF THE JAZZ INTERPRETATION
PROFILE ................................................................................................................................... 166
L “BASIC BLUES,” COMPOSED BY THE RESEARCHER AND USED TO
DEMONSTRATE MELODIC APPLICATIONS OF THE BEBOP SCALE ...................... 169
M TRANSCRIBED IMPROVISATION SAMPLES ................................................................. 170
N JAZZ IMPROVISATION RATING INSTRUMENT USED IN THE PILOT .................... 174

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LIST OF REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 178
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ........................................................................................................... 185
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LIST OF TABLES
Table Page

2-1 Madura’s dimensions of improvisation ................................................................................ 69
3-1 Jazz improvisation lesson contents ....................................................................................... 88
4-1 Demographics (N = 32)........................................................................................................ 105
4-2 EJIP subtests and criteria scoring ranges ............................................................................ 105
4-3 Means and standard deviations on the EJIP ....................................................................... 106
4-4 Mean gains on subtests, total test and performance element scores ................................. 106
4-5 Reliability coefficients for pretest/posttest combined........................................................ 107
4-6 Pretest reliability coefficients .............................................................................................. 107
4-7 Posttest reliability coefficients ............................................................................................ 108
4-8 Coefficient α for reliability among the three judges .......................................................... 108
4-9 Content validity: suggested EJIP criteria ............................................................................ 109
4-10 Pearson’s r correlations: MAP musical sensitivity and EJIP scores (n = 11) ................. 110
4-11 One sample t-test of melody component scores (N = 32) .................................................. 110
4-12 One-sample paired t-tests for mean gains within groups................................................... 110
4-13 Two-Sample t-tests for mean pretest to posttest differences between groups (N = 32) .. 111
4-14 Three-way fixed effects ANOVA: IVs/scores (N = 32) .................................................... 111
4-15 Three-way fixed effects ANOVA: group/pretest/posttest (N = 32) ................................. 111
4-16 GLMa ANOVA to examine performance of the three-way fixed ANOVA model.......... 111
4-17 ANOVA for effects of instrument, grade, experience, and MAP scores (N = 32) .......... 112

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure page

3-1 The bebop scale ...................................................................................................................... 84
3-2 Ratings descriptors on melody tests 1 and 2......................................................................... 84
3-3 Selections for melodic interpretation without articulation .................................................. 85
3-4 Minor blues with articulations ............................................................................................... 86
3-5 Sample minor ii–V–I phrases ................................................................................................ 87
4-1 Residual plot of EJIP data used in three-way linear ANOVA .......................................... 104
4-2 Residual vs. normal percentiles plot ................................................................................... 104

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Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School
of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

THE EFFECT OF ARTICULATION STUDY
ON STYLISTIC EXPRESSION IN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICIANS’
JAZZ PERFORMANCE

By
David Charles Edmund

August 2009

Chair: Timothy S. Brophy
Major: Music Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of articulation practice on the stylistic
interpretation of jazz melodies and improvisations for high school wind musicians. A data
gathering instrument was developed and employed in the collection of pretest and posttest
measures of jazz performance. Three broad components of jazz performance were measured;
technical skill, melodic interpretation, and improvisation ability. Participants were 45 students
from jazz ensembles in two suburban Florida high schools. Two factors contributed to the
stipulation that data collection for the main portion of the study include saxophonists,
trombonists and trumpet players only (n = 33). First, the jazz performance measure was
specifically designed to evaluate melodic interpretation. Second, experimental treatments
included practice of articulation exercises written particularly for wind musicians.
Pretest data was gathered prior to treatments, which consisted of improvisation instruction
for the control group (n = 18), and improvisation instruction complemented by articulation
instruction for the experimental group (n = 15). Both treatment periods lasted for three weeks,
with instructional treatments lasting 30 minutes per day, for four days of the week.
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