High School Band Students Research Articles

An Exploratory Case Study of Mindfulness Techniques in a High School Band Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of mindfulness practices on high school band students. This action research project took place in spring 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home orders. Four students enrolled in the high school band participated in five weeks of mindfulness practice interventions over the virtual format alongside their instrumental music director. Mindfulness practices included diaphragmatic breathing, relaxation imagery, cued relaxation, and stretching. Throughout the five weeks, student participants discussed improved focus, improvement of stress management, and increased frequency of mindfulness practice. However, four months after data collection was complete, three of the four student participants continued to practice mindfulness techniques on their own time to assist with nervousness, anxiety, and stress.

Passing the Baton: Building Student Autonomy and Democracy in the Large Ensemble Setting

The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomena of participation in a democratic large ensemble experience in a secondary public school setting. Specific research questions included (a) Do high school band students feel capable of performing a music work without teacher intervention? (b) In what ways do high school band students describe the experience of performing in a student-led large ensemble? (c) What music decisions were most often made by high school band students in a student-led large ensemble? and (d) Were there any changes in high school students’ perceptions of autonomy following a student-led large ensemble music rehearsal and performance experience? Findings illustrated that the democratic experience increased student autonomy and music discrimination across larger distances in the classroom as students listened to other nonsimilar sections. Furthermore, student voice, self-efficacy, and personal affect also increased as a result of the experience. Students felt empowered to offer their rehearsal critiques; however, a lingering concern is that participants continued to feel that their peers would not listen to their opinions on rehearsal issues or strategy usage.

The Perceived Influence of Social Media on High School Band Students’ Decision to Participate in a College Marching Band

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived influence of social media on high school band students’ future decision to participate in a college marching band. Participants ( N = 158) were high school band students. Results indicated that social media could be influential in high school band students’ decision to participate in a college marching band, as high social media usage rates were reported. Results also indicated that personal communication, such as face-to-face conversations with family and friends and direct email contact from band directors, strongly influenced their decision to join a college marching band. These results suggest that recruitment strategies containing direct modes of communication resonate with prospective college students. Suggestions for future research are provided, as social media technology is quickly evolving and investigations are needed to guide and inform the recruitment practices of college marching band programs.

The Time Usage of College Music Majors, Non-Music Majors, and Marching Band Participants

College marching bands face recruitment challenges each year. Many high school band students may not participate in college marching band due to concerns about adequate study time. This research wa...

Self-Efficacy, Self-Evaluation, and Music Performance of Secondary-Level Band Students

In the present study, relationships between two components of self-regulation (self-efficacy and self-evaluation) and gender, school level, instrument family, and music performance were examined. Participants were 340 middle and high school band students who participated in one of two summer music camps or who were members of a private middle school band program. Students indicated their level of self-efficacy for playing a musical excerpt before performing it and then self-evaluated their performance immediately afterward. Findings suggest that there is a strong and positive relationship between self-efficacy and both music performance and self-evaluation. There was also a strong negative relationship between self-evaluation calibration bias and music performance, indicating that as music performance ability increased, students were more underconfident in their self-evaluations. Gender differences were found for self-evaluation calibration accuracy, as female students were more accurate than males at evaluating their performances. Middle school males were more inclined than females to overrate their self-efficacy and self-evaluation as compared to their actual music performance scores. These gender differences were reversed for high school students. There were no other statistically significant findings.

The Role of Conductor Facial Expression in Students’ Evaluation of Ensemble Expressivity

The purpose of this study was to explore whether conductor facial expression affected the expressivity ratings assigned to music excerpts by high school band students. Three actors were videotaped while portraying approving, neutral, and disapproving facial expressions. Each video was duplicated twice and then synchronized with one of three professional wind ensemble recordings. Participants ( N = 133) viewed nine 1-min videos of varying facial expressions, actors, and excerpts and rated each ensemble’s expressivity on a 10-point rating scale. Results of a one-way repeated measures ANOVA indicated that conductor facial expression significantly affected ratings of ensemble expressivity ( p < .001, partial η2 = .15). Post hoc comparisons revealed that participants’ ensemble expressivity ratings were significantly higher for excerpts featuring approving facial expressions than for either neutral or disapproving expressions. Participants’ mean ratings were lowest for neutral facial expression excerpts, indicating that an absence of facial affect influenced evaluations of ensemble expressivity most negatively.

The Socio-Educational Model of Music Motivation

The well-established socio-educational model of second language learning motivation developed by R. C. Gardner was adapted and applied to study instrumental music learning motivation. The similarities between music and language suggested that the adaptation might lead to new insights in the study of music motivation. At the heart of the proposed model is a multifaceted description of the relationships among motivation, attitudes, anxiety, support from others, perceived competence, and achievement. A sample of 107 high school band students was selected to participate in this study. Results of a path analysis of questionnaire responses indicate that the adapted and expanded socio-educational model fit very well with the present data and described key motivational structures. The key support for motivation to learn was supplied by integrativeness (an interest in taking on the characteristics of musicians, positive attitudes toward learning instruments, and an interest in music learning), plus attitudes toward the learning situation (music teacher and course).

High School Students’ Participation in Music Activities Beyond the School Day

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the music activities that high school band students are involved in and how these activities might lead to lifelong music participation. Specific research questions were the following: (a) In what activities are high school band students involved? (b) What are high school band directors doing to encourage lifelong participation in music? (c) How do students describe their plans for musical involvement in the future? Three focus group discussions at one rural school ( n = 5), one suburban school ( n = 5), and one urban school ( n = 4) were conducted to discover ways students participated in music activities beyond the school day. These opportunities ranged from cultural groups, to community youth events, to time with friends listening to music. Influences of family members and the desire to maintain connections seem to be beneficial in creating musicians with a desire for music participation as adults.

High School Band Students’ and Directors’ Perceptions of Verbal and Nonverbal Teaching Behaviors

This study was designed to examine the use and perception of selected teaching behaviors of high school band directors. Videotaped rehearsals of six band directors’ top-performing ensembles were analyzed for conductor magnitude, sequential pattern components, and instructional pacing. Directors and students rated video excerpts of their rehearsals, completed a questionnaire, and participated in interviews. Teaching behaviors were generally consistent with previous research. Student evaluations of excerpts containing drill, all strict conducting, and more teacher talk were rated lowest. Highest rated excerpts contained more or relatively equal amounts of student response and teacher talk, some expressive conducting, and varying facial expressions. Directors rated excerpts containing little variety in facial expression and more or equal amounts of teacher talk highest. Lowest rated excerpts contained drill or structured rehearsal; all or mostly strict, or no conducting; and longer student activity times. Students were able to identify and discuss their director’s teaching behaviors, had a respect for their director’s musical abilities and knowledge regardless of rapport, desired more praise, and thought of disapproving feedback as necessary critique. Directors were most critical of their conducting behaviors, spent time reflecting on their teaching, and believed self-assessment was beneficial to improve one’s teaching.

Understanding Your Band, Orchestra, and Choir Students

Stereotypes about the personalities of musicians, which have evolved over time, seem to direct our perception of musical experiences that take place in different ensembles. This article presents the stereotypes often associated with musicians’ personalities and examines eight personality trends of high school band, orchestra, and choir students that can be identified in research. Personality similarities and differences among ensemble students are discussed. Teaching techniques and strategies that accommodate students’ personality types are suggested.

High School Instrumental Music Students’ Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Practice: An Application of Attribution Theory

The purpose of this study was to explore high school band students’ perspectives of instrumental music practice from within the attribution theory paradigm and to attempt to elucidate the secondary student’s attitudes toward practice. High school band students from three Midwestern school districts ( N = 218) completed a survey that was used to collect data related to (a) the high school band student’s view of practice as a growth activity, (b) the high school band student’s view of practice as necessary for musical success, (c) the high school band student’s attribution of success by their musically talented peers to practice, and (d) to observe whether there was a difference in views regarding practice because of the student’s grade level. Results indicated that internal attributions of ability and effort were rated the highest of all belief areas, whereas external attributions of task difficulty and luck were rated lowest. Reported amount of time practiced correlated significantly with intrinsic motivational beliefs and internal attributions regarding practice. The number of years of private lessons provided weak correlations in all belief areas with the exception of External Motivation: Avoid Failure. Gender appeared to be significant in the area of attribution of effort with female participants rating statements higher than male participants. Engaging in private study correlated to significant findings in all belief areas with the exception of effort.

The Relationship of Compositional Experiences of High School Instrumentalists to Music Self-Concept

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of factors relating to high school instrumentalists’ involvement with music including compositional experiences to music self-concept. Subjects (N = 77) were high school band students in a moderate-sized suburban school district in Midwestern United States. Over a period of 12 weeks, students were given the opportunity to compose using the software sequencing program Garageband during the regularly scheduled band class. Measurement instruments were given prior to student compositional experiences and immediately following student compositional experiences. Measurement instruments included the Self-Esteem of Music Assessment (SEMA) and a researcher-devised questionnaire. Music self-concept as measured by SEMA was found to be significantly related to compositional experience (p < .001). Music self-concept was found to be a relatively stable characteristic over the 12-week treatment period (p < .001). Although music self-concept was found to be stable, an analysis of the change between pretreatment SEMA scores and post-treatment SEMA scores and change in compositional experience over the 12-week treatment period suggests that compositional experience had a significant affect on SEMA 1 (Self-Perception of Music Ability). The strongest predictor of music self-concept of the factors utilized in this study was compositional experiences.

High School Instrumental Students' Perceptions of Effective Music Student Teacher Traits

This study examined high school band and orchestra students' perceptions of effective music student teacher skills and behaviors. Participants ( N = 314) began by completing a 34-item survey by rating items 1 to 31 from 1 ( not very important) to 5 ( very important) regarding the degree of importance with which each trait should be exhibited by a student teacher in a music class. Items 32 to 34 asked the respondents to indicate (a) how often they had a music student intern during a specific time period, (b) the respondent's primary performance area, and (c) the respondent's year in school. Resulting data indicated that skills and behaviors receiving the highest mean scores were “Is able to apply knowledge; being competent” ( M = 4.595) and “Has a positive behavior” ( M = 4.586). Skills and behaviors receiving the lowest mean scores were “Can play the piano” ( M = 2.952) and “Has knowledge of technology” ( M = 3.407). ANOVA found few significant differences among the teacher traits and different groups of students.

Expiratory Muscle Training Increases Pressure Support in High School Band Students

An experiment to increase expiratory muscle strength for instrumentalists, using a high-intensity, low-repetition expiratory training method, was conducted with 40 healthy high school band players. Subjects trained five days per week for 2 weeks using four sets of six training breaths for a total of 24 training breaths with a spring-loaded pressure relief valve that provided an adjustable threshold. The training valve pressure was set at 75% of the subject's measured maximum expiratory pressure (up to 80 cm H 2O). Results demonstrated that high-intensity, low-repetition expiratory exercises significantly increased expiratory pressure generating capacity in these subjects and the degree of the training effect was similar regardless of the instrument the band member played. The training effect occurred within 2 weeks of initiating expiratory muscle training. Thus, this simple method of expiratory-specific strength training is effective and efficient for increasing expiratory pressure support in high school band students and has possibilities of a respiratory support device for many high pressure generating purposes. The potential mechanisms of the training effect are discussed.

Effects of Two Instructional Methods on High School Band Students' Sight-Reading Proficiency, Music Performance, and Attitude

Effects of Two Instructional Methods on High School Band Students' Sight-Reading Proficiency, Music Performance, and Attitude

The Effect of Positive Models of Inclusion on Band Students' Attitudinal Statements regarding the Integration of Students with Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of five positive models of inclusion on band students' attitudinal statements regarding the integration of students with disabilities in their music program. Elementary, junior high, and senior high school band students from 15 public school served as subjects (N = 757), and a Solomon Four-Group design was chosen for this study. Bands (from elementary, junior high, and senior high school) were randomly assigned to one of the following four conditions: (1) pretest-treatment-posttest, (2) pretest-posttest, (3) treatment-posttest, or (4) posttest only. The independent variable for this project was a 30-minute videotape containing five segments that documented students with cognitive, physical, behavioral, or sensory disabilities successfully participating in a band in either rehearsal or performance situations. The dependent variable was a questionnaire consisting of attitudinal statements related to the following subscales: (a) inclusion of students with disabilities in band, (b) degree of comfort with inclusion, (c) efficiency of the band with students who have a disability, and (d) procedural issues involving students with a disability in band. Results indicated that treatment-group subjects' attitudinal statements were significantly more positive than were attitudinal statements of control-group subjects on three of the four subscales: inclusion, comfort, and efficiency. In addition, female students were significantly more positive than were male students on the same subscales. No clear trends were found among the different age-groups.