VOCAL AGILITY IN THE MALE ADOLESCENT CHANGING VOICE A Dissertation presented to the ...

142 Pages·2005·0.58 MB·English

VOCAL AGILITY IN THE MALE ADOLESCENT CHANGING VOICE

A Dissertation

presented to

the Faculty of the Graduate School

University of Missouri—Columbia

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

by

Sally Hook

Dr. Wendy Sims, Dissertation Supervisor

December, 2005
© Copyright by Sally Hook 2005
All Rights Reserved
The undersigned, appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School,
Have examined the dissertation entitled.
VOCAL AGILITY IN THE MALE ADOLESCENT CHANGING VOICE
Presented by Sally Hook
A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
And hereby certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance.
DEDICATION

This document is lovingly dedicated to my husband, Marty, who gave me
emotional support, technological advice, and educational wisdom throughout this
process.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Wendy Sims, for sharing her excellent
teaching and research skills; Dr. Martin Bergee, for his advice and wisdom; and my other
committee members for their help. I would also like to thank Dr. David Rayl, who
helped instill the spark of this research topic. Several area educators assisted in the data-
gathering process: Briana Belding, Ed Hanson, Ken Jeffs, Melanie Ledbetter, Beth
Luetjen, Christy Keilholz, Judy McCaw, James Melton, Cheryl Nichols, Mike Pierson,
Melissa Straw, Dr. Fran Wells, and Claude Westfall. Additionally, I would like to thank
all of the boys who were participants in this study.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................ii

LIST OF FIGURES...........................................................................................................iii

LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................iv

ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................v

Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................1

Background of the Study
Need for the Study

The Problem

Significance of the Study

Purpose of the Study

Definitions

Limitations

Structure of the Report

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE................................................................................11

Philosophies of Voice Use during Mutation

Identifying and Charting Vocal Ranges

Vocal Phenomena during Voice Change

Predictability and the Voice Change

Pedagogical Methods for Adolescents during Voice Change

The Need for Agility Research in the Changing Voice

Vocal Agility in Adult Voices

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Agility and the Vocal Mechanism

Summary

3. METHOD..............................................................................................................45

Method

Participants

Independent Variables
Dependent Variable
Procedures
4. RESULTS..............................................................................................................61
Null Hypotheses
Analysis for Cooksey Range Stages
Analysis for Cooper Range Stages
Agility and Choral Experience
Summary
5. DISCUSSION........................................................................................................80
Early Observations
Stages/Categories
Lyrics
Tempo
Choral Experience
Additional Observations: Lessons, Intonation, Registers
Participant Strategies
Implications for Music Education
iv
Suggestions for Future Research
Summary
Closing
APPENDIX
A. RANGE CHARTS.................................................................................................98
B. LETTERS OF INFORMED CONSENT.............................................................103
C. STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE..........................................................................106
D. VOCALISE..........................................................................................................108
E. RANDOMIZED ORDER OF PARTICIPANTS.................................................111
F. CERTAIN, MODULATING, UNCERTAIN SINGERS RESULTS..................114
G. AGILITY ADJUDICATION FORM..................................................................116
REFERENCES................................................................................................................118
VITA ..............................................................................................................................130

v
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. Figure 1: Graph of the Means of the
Lyrics by Tempo Interaction (all participants)................................................69

2. Figure 2: Graph of the Means of the
Lyrics by Tempo by Cooksey Stage Interaction..............................................71

3. Figure 3: Graph of the Means of the
Lyrics by Tempo by Cooper Category Interaction..........................................75

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Agility Adjudication Rubric..................................................................................58

2. Interjudge Reliability Correlations for Each Tempo with
Lyrics Category......................................................................................................59

3. Interjudge Reliability Correlations for Each Tempo without
Lyrics Category......................................................................................................59

4. Means and Standard Deviations by Cooksey Stages,
Lyrics, and Tempi............................................................................................64-65

5. Summary Table: Repeated Measure ANOVA Comparing
Cooksey Stages by Lyrics and Tempi....................................................................67

6. Means and Standard Deviations for Vocalises Sung
With and Without Lyrics (Cooksey)......................................................................68

7. Means and Standard Deviations Contributing to the Lyrics
by Tempo Interaction.............................................................................................70

8. Means and Standard Deviations by Cooper Categories, Lyrics,
And Tempi.............................................................................................................73

9. Summary Table: Repeated Measure ANOVA Comparing
Cooper Categories by Lyrics and Tempi..............................................................76

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