School Orchestra Research Articles

The Origin and Use of an Authentic Irish Folk Tune in American School Orchestra Arrangements

Every orchestra director has, at some point in his or her career, dropped the first ictus of the baton and heard Ti-Do-Re-Mi played by the orchestra they start on one of the many versions of Londonderry Air. It is possible, however, that a much smaller number of directors have considered the origins of this music or if their current arrangement is an authentic representation of the original work. It is also possible that those responsible for arranging the melody for school orchestras are unaware of the long history of the work. There is an emerging movement promoting the use of authentic folk music in the classroom. Although this is sometimes difficult to do, it is an imperative task, not only for the benefit of the students involved, but for the preservation of ancient music of all cultures well. In Elliot Del Borgo's arrangement of Londonderry Air, his notes in the score state that it dates as far back (1) It is true that George Petrie first published a piece named Londonderry Air in his collection of Irish music in 1855. tune itself, however, dates back much further--to at least 1792 when Denis Hempson performed it in Belfast, Ireland, at the Belfast Harpers Festival, and nineteen-year-old Edward Bunting transcribed it under the name The Young Man's Dream. Bunting's work documenting the ancient Irish music performed at the Belfast Harpers Festival becomes even more important when one considers the era of cultural oppression enforced by the English Crown up to the late 1780s when the Penal Laws were finally repealed. Unfortunately, the Penal Laws and attempts to anglicize the island so severely impacted Irish culture and music that only ten harpers elected to participate in the Belfast Harpers Festival. As with much folk music, continual changes in performance practice, well the breakdown of the oral transmission of music from one generation to the next by Irish bards and musicians, has led to a possible lack of authenticity in the music it is written for scholastic orchestras. Methodology impetus for this study was an examination of Edward Bunting's 1796 collection of Irish music in which one tune, The Young Man's Dream, closely resembled Oh Danny Boy. Due to the similarities between these two tunes the researcher sought out Bunting's manuscripts and biographical texts about him. This search led to several texts in which other authors have made similar claims. These findings directed the researcher to investigate the authenticity of works found in the modern repertory of scholastic orchestras. research authentication method relied on processes found in New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning regarding internal and external authentication of documents and artifacts. (2) In order to establish triangulation and to ensure the accuracy of facts, the researcher utilized multiple historical sources. In addition, the guidelines for authenticating primary documents were applied to information found in the Edward Weatherly Collection in the University of Colorado at Boulder Archives. (Edward was the brother of Frederick Weatherly, known the author of the lyrics to Oh Danny Boy.) University archivists authenticated these documents they received the collection directly from the Weatherly estate in Ouray, Colorado. Authorship and provenance were determined to the best of the researcher's ability well. author also attempted to gather original documents of Bunting's writings, however, this proved to be impractical. researcher's copy of Bunting's 1796 transcription of The Young Man's Dream was verified by the rare books curator at the University of Florida, where original copies of Bunting's works are housed. Literature Review Historical Texts Seamus MacManus's text Story of the Irish Race covers the historical perspective of Ireland and its people. (3) This book gives a detailed account of the history of the Irish people well an extensive account of the oppressive laws enforced upon the Irish people by the English Crown. …

Regional Outreach Tours for Your School Orchestras: Instilling a Sense of Servanthood, Pride, and Musicianship

Regional Outreach Tours for Your School Orchestras: Instilling a Sense of Servanthood, Pride, and Musicianship

Singing Strings: National Content Standard No. 1 in the School Orchestra Rehearsal

Singing Strings: National Content Standard No. 1 in the School Orchestra Rehearsal

U.S. Mounted Bands and Cavalry Field Musicians in the Union Army during the Civil War—Background, Duties, and Training

Introduction Military music is a key component in the global history of instrumental music, and while hundreds of military bands still exist throughout the world, the last century has seen the wind band tradition shift from its military origins to an increase of community bands in Europe, as well as school, college, and university bands in North America. Modern concert and marching bands are direct descendents of military bands in terms of instruments, instrument development, repertoire, and pageantry. Part of this convention rests within the mounted tradition when trumpet and drum signals were crucial for cavalries within European armies--especially after the advent of gunpowder, when something louder than the human voice was needed for communication on the battlefield. These signalers, as well as the Saracen model of horse- and camel-mounted musicians playing hautbois (shawm-like instruments--predecessors of today's oboe), kettledrums, trumpets, and other horns in processions, ceremonies, and battle movements, served as the basis for mounted bands in Europe. While the mounted band tradition had been introduced to Europe through the Crusades-probably by the French-the practice caught on initially in the areas of Hungary and Austria, where it was reinforced through repeated connections in war with the Ottoman Turks. (1) Mounted bands of trumpeters and kettledrummers had become common in the trains of artillery and cavalry in Europe when moving to and from battle, with musicians gathering from individual units at the heads of trains to serve as an impetus on the march, as well as to provide a noble presence at and away from court. Capitalizing on this centuries-old custom, which had originally been reserved for nobility, the U.S. Cavalry employed horse-mounted bands for roughly a century, at least from the 1840s until World War II. The purpose of the present study is to chronicle the function and training of U.S. horse-mounted field musicians and bands through the time of the Civil War, with the intent of illustrating one aspect of the predecessors of present-day school bands. American music education in the 1860s was a far cry from that of the following century. It was not yet thirty years past the time of Lowell Mason's work in Boston. Luther Whiting Mason served in the Civil War and had not yet made a name for himself with the National Music Course, and the school band and orchestra movements were still several decades away. Professional and amateur music-making, however, was abundant in many areas across the country, with vocal and instrumental instruction being provided by private teachers, singing schools, and on-the-job training. Professional orchestras like the Philharmonic Society of New York had been in existence since 1842; the Boston Handel and Haydn Society was a half-century old, and town bands were thriving even in rural areas across the country. Within this context, the period of the Civil War propelled bands further into the popular mainstream with bands playing at recruitment rallies and troop farewells, and within most of the major campaigns. While several individuals, including Custer himself, mentioned mounted bands and field musicians in memoirs and other chronicles, it is the intent of this study to add to the body of knowledge of band history and document the rich heritage of contemporary band music education and performance practices by gathering these accounts, letters, and narratives into a single record. U.S. Military Music Background While a detailed history of military bands is outside the parameters of this study, a brief review of bands leading up to those of the Civil War warrants mention, as does making a distinction between field musicians and band musicians, who had different duties and were regarded separately. U.S. Military Band History As direct descendents with strong British and Continental ties, military bands in the American colonies stemmed from their European roots in instrumentation. …

The Role of the String Project in Teacher Training and Community Music Education

The National String Project Consortium was designed to encourage string education majors to become string teachers and to stimulate growth of new school orchestra programs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which these goals were accomplished across 13 university sites in 2003-2004. Survey data were obtained from project directors, master teachers, student teachers, children, and parents (N = 1,458). Results indicated the majority of student teachers were music education majors who received professional and financial benefit from participation, and were engaged in authentic string teaching in productive and rewarding settings. Children studied string instruments under satisfying and affordable conditions. The String Project seems to have filled a void where school strings programs do not exist, or functioned to supplement strings instruction available in the schools.

William Lichtenwanger, Reference Librarian

Readers of second series of are doubtless appreciative of Herculean efforts of its of early years, Richard S. Hill. But many may not be aware of prodigious labors of Hill's longtime coeditors, William Lichtenwanger and C. Campbell. Both toiled faithfully in various subsections and interconnecting pathways of each issue of Each participated for more than seventeen consecutive years; that is, more than seventy consecutive issues. Lichtenwanger was guest editor who wrote for Notes when Hill could not, who became acting during Hill's final illness, who was for eight issues after Hill's death, simultaneously continuing his previous duties as associate editor. It was a killing task from which he sought relief. He resigned both aspects of work prior to publication of vol. 20, no. 4 (Fall 1963). That issue carries his name as editor, but unsigned for Notes mentions the regretted resignation of Bill In fact, Frank Campbell [associate editor] ... out of goodness of his heart ... finished volume twenty of Notes. (1) Thereafter Lichtenwanger contributed infrequently to journal, focusing his efforts on editing, Henry Cowell catalog, Star Spangled Banner research, and other projects. William John Lichtenwanger was born in Asheville, North Carolina, 28 February 1915, only child of John Matthew and Lelia Gertrude (Williams) Lichtenwanger. (2) His parents were originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, to which they returned when Bill (3) was two-and-a-half years old; his father worked as a bookkeeper. When Depression hit Knoxville in 1930-31 his father lost his just as it was time for Bill's college years. Paul Wentworth Matthews, Bill's high school music teacher, was very influential in Bill's musical education. Matthews took special interest in Bill and invited him to his house to hear records. Bill began study of clarinet at age thirteen. He played in both high school orchestra and band--which was much better than that of University of Tennessee, located in Knoxville. So high school band played at university's football games, both home and away. By time he was a senior in high school Bill knew he wanted a career in music. He listened to broadcast concerts from Interlochen Center for Arts in Michigan, New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestras, and later, Metropolitan Opera. He requested brochures from University of Michigan and Interlochen, and selected university for his academic career. To no avail! His parents were determined against a musical life. The plight of musicians during Depression exacerbated their opposition. His father advocated a business career, perhaps as a certified public accountant. His mother favored preacher or medical missionary as suitable careers for her son. In face of parental opposition to University of Michigan, Bill was obliged to spend his freshman year at hometown University of Tennessee, 1933-34. Summer 1934 Bill played tennis all morning, then drank gallons of liquids, even though I knew better, even then. (4) The combination caused a severe illness during which he became delirious at times. While delirious he was very vocal about how much he hated Tennessee and how much he wanted to go to University of Michigan that his mother relented and found a way to send him. (5) In 1928, her maternal aunt had left her a legacy of $30,000, of which only interest on $20,000 could be spent. That was enough to get Bill to Ann Arbor fall of 1934. (6) In Ann Arbor Bill, who wanted to enroll in musicology program, consulted Dr. Earl Moore, a professor in School of Music, who advised he enroll in undergraduate program in music education, so you can get a job, and consider musicology later on graduate level. The music education program required rudimentary skills on many instruments, which was quite easy for Bill. …

Strategies for Teaching Strings: Building a Successful String and Orchestra Program

Ideal for use in undergraduate string methods, string techniques, and instrumental string pedagogy courses, Strategies for Teaching Strings provides readers with all the information and skills necessary to teach string instruments in schools and to develop a successful school-based orchestral program. Based on national standards for successful string and orchestra teaching, the text begins by introducing the string instrument family and providing an overview of the development of the school orchestra program. Subsequent chapters-divided into three levels of string competency corresponding to elementary, middle, and secondary school skills-cover performance goals and objectives, strategies for teaching technical and performance skills, and solutions to common problems for each ability level. Rehearsal planning and preparation, rehearsal techniques, strategies for teaching improvisation, student recruitment and retention, and choosing literature for the school orchestra are also covered. The text is enhanced by line drawings and photographs that demonstrate correct playing techniques and fingering positions. An appendix includes special pedagogical approaches, lists of resources for string teachers, a listing of professional string associations, and a full listing of the Standards for Successful School String/Orchestra Teaching (published by the American String Teachers Association with the National School Orchestra Association). Offering more extensive and up-to-date coverage than other texts, Strategies for Teaching Strings is an essential all-purpose guide for those planning to enter the string teaching profession.

Music expertise and memory: the relationship between music expertise and memory of music patterns, within various degrees of contextual constraint

The present study investigated the relationship between expertise in one's principal instrument and memory performance achievement of various aural melodic patterns, constructed in such a manner as to reflect three degrees of contextual constraint. Music patterns ranged from random music approximations (zero-order) to music patterns generated from systematically increased degrees of contextual constraint, simulating classical Western tonal music (second- and third-order music approximations). Participants were selected from those who play viola in the Chicago Symphony and the Toledo Symphony (experts) and in two high school orchestras (novices). Two tests were designed by the investigator to assess the respondents' ability to replicate music patterns in a listen–imitate format. Results indicated that for the approximations to classical Western tonal music (second- and third-order) there was a great difference between the expert and novice violists. The experts showed a superior performance. However, for the zero-order or random music approximations, there was little difference between the two research groups.

Harp Integrating the Harp into a School Orchestra Program

Harp Integrating the Harp into a School Orchestra Program

A Review of Literature Pertaining to Factors that Contribute to the Process of Starting a Curricular String Program

While anecdotal information on how to improve a string program is available via the testimonials of string teachers who lead recognized programs, how those same string programs actually started has not been systematically researched. At some point in every school orchestra program's history, a local school board, for some reason, appointed the first string teacher. This review of literature explores factors that lead a school district from having no string program and no string teacher to having the first string teacher under contract through a study of advocacy, new string program development and model building. Findings reveal that the process is complex and political.

School Orchestras Daily Rhythm Exercises

School Orchestras Daily Rhythm Exercises

Essay: What Constitution for Europe. Can a Gathering of Assorted Musicians Create a Harmony?

The bewildering number of articles and books which concern or touch upon the European constitutional debate remind one, at times, of a children's orchestra in which each child plays as loud as possible (more in order to hear themselves than to make themselves heard) and without listening carefully to the parts of others. The result is, simultaneously, an inharmonious cacophony of individual instruments to the skilled listener; an encompassing and confusing wall of sound to the amateur. Refined only slightly, the crude and unoriginal analogy is not far off the mark in describing the community of scholars working in the field of European constitutionalism: it is rare to find a commentator willing to grasp the score as a whole; most choosing, instead, to focus only on their section. Interdisciplinary research seems to be just as often proclaimed as it is ignored. While it would be both undesirable and impossible to have (keeping with musical metaphor) everyone singing from the same song-sheet, an orchestra can accommodate a wide variety of sounds and parts before it descends into the sort of tuneless noise one associates with so many school orchestras.

Career Choice among String Music Education Students in American Colleges and Universities

The objective of this study was to identify teacher strategies for attracting school orchestra students to string teaching. Full-time string music education professors at 17 universities surveyed their music education students who were principally string players. Students were asked to describe their background, reasons for choosing teaching, and recommendations of approaches for teachers to use to interest students in string teaching. Results of the 153 completed surveys revealed that the majority of string music education students are female undergraduates who previously participated in school orchestras. Students chose string education because they liked teaching, music, children, playing their instrument, and being a role model for children. To attract others to teaching, respondents suggested that teachers be teaching role models for their students by showing their love for music and teaching, relating positively to students, giving special teaching opportunities and support to students interested in teaching, discussing the rewards of string teaching, and challenging students musically.

How to Develop Community-Wide Support for String Study

School and community-based string programs and the value placed on them have increased steadily since Will Earhart started a school orchestra in Richmond, Indiana in 1889. 1 During the last several years the developments have been particularly dramatic with a rapid escalation of numbers of students and numbers of programs that have been established. Stringed instrument sales have increased 12 percent per year for each of the last seven years. 2 Recent studies and anecdotal information exist that substantiate a trend of growth. 3

The Status of Orchestra Programs in the Public Schools

The objective of this study was to gather descriptive information about orchestra programs that can be used as baseline data when considering the needs of school string programs. Of the 1,345 surveys sent to schools offering orchestra instruction, 652 were completed. Orchestra teachers were asked to describe themselves, their schools, and their orchestra's curriculum, students, and music. Findings indicate a continued enrollment increase in school orchestras in the 1990s, although the number of orchestra teachers has remained relatively stable. Also, larger schools are more likely to offer orchestra instruction. The majority of orchestra students and their teachers are white. More than two-thirds of students who begin to play stringed instruments in the schools continue playing them until graduation. Twenty percent of orchestra students are in the upper 10% of their graduating class, even though they make up less than 5% of the student population.

School Teachers Forum Theater Music and the School Orchestra

School Teachers Forum Theater Music and the School Orchestra

Harp Lessons by Telecommunication

Dennis A. Downs, orchestra instructor at Cedar Falls High School and Peet Junior High School, has taught public school orchestras for 25 years. Past president of the Iowa String Teachers Association and Iowa School Orchestra Association, he is an MENC Certified Music Instructor with a BFAE from Wayne State College, MA from the University of Northern Colorado, and Ed Ad from the University of Nebraska. A cellist in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, he also directs the Cedar Falls Municipal Band and performs professionally on guitar, bass, and trombone. Downs is the project facilitator for the distance education program he describes in this article.

Improving Conducting with Video Scripts

It is not uncommon for young as well as experienced instrumental music teachers to lack confidence in their conducting technique. Some are bothered by feelings of awkwardness or self-consciousness on the podium. Others are all too aware of the limiting nature of a vocabulary of gesture that is marked by much sameness of movement. Their conducting lacks variety, and they know it. Still others desire to look more expressive. They are frustrated by an inability to show nonverbally what they may feel musically. Perhaps the greatest frustration is felt by those of us who are unable to determine a course of action or are unaware of where to turn for help to become better conductors. Some school band and orchestra directors have sought to improve their conducting technique by observing rehearsals of an established conductor or by participating in one of the many conducting workshops across the country. These venues provide excellent opportunities to witness firsthand the conducting technique of exemplary conductors and, in the case of the workshops, to receive group instruction and individualized feedback.

Middle School — Where the Action Is!

Judith Petersen Evans received her BME at Baldwin Wallace College, her ME at Florida Atlantic University, and a Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership from Nova University. She has taught for 25 years, first in Ohio and then in Florida. She is currently orchestra director at Pine Ridge Middle School and Barron Collier High School in Naples, Florida. She has appeared as guest conductor or orchestra festivals in a number of states and is a freqwuent adjudicator and consultant to public school orchestra programs. Evans has been active in the music education field as president of the Florida chapters of ASTA and NSOA and of the Florida Orchestra Association. She has recently been elected national secretary of ASTA and is publications editor for NSOA.

Our Job: Understand and Articulate the Value of School Orchestra Programs

Our Job: Understand and Articulate the Value of School Orchestra Programs