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The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that influence preservice music teacher efficacy. Participants in this study were undergraduate music education students (N = 124), a convenience sample taken from six mid-South university music education programs in the United States. To explore the factors influencing preservice music teacher efficacy, a survey was sent to participants. The survey consisted of demographic information (race, gender, classification, etc.), questions about the predictor variables, and the Preservice Music Teacher Efficacy Scale (PMTES). Multiple regression revealed that the predictor variables accounted for 38% (R[superscript 2] = 0.38; adjusted R[superscript 2] = 0.33) of the variance in the PMTES. Professional Disposition Scale score ([beta] = 0.35, p < 0.001) and Music Performance Efficacy Scale score ([beta] = 0.39, p < 0.001) contributed the greatest to the regression model. Based on these findings, music teacher education programs may consider implementing a type of professional disposition measurement throughout music education students' undergraduate education. The results also reinforce the importance of developing music performance skills as part of a music education program.

The purpose of this study was to describe the voice change and voice part assignment of male middle school choir members. Volunteers (N = 92) were recruited from three public middle school choral programs (Grades 6-8). Participants were audio-recorded performing simple vocal tasks in order to assess vocal range and asked to share the music they were currently singing in class. Results revealed 23.91% of participants' voices could be categorized as unchanged, 14.13% as Stage 1, 3.26% as Stage 2, 10.87% as Stage 3, 26.09% as Stage 4, and 21.74% as Stage 5. The majority of sixth-grade participants were classified as unchanged or in Stage 1 of the voice change and the majority of eighth-grade participants were classified in Stages 4 to 5 of the voice change. Of the participants labeled "tenors" in their choir, over 60% were classified as either unchanged voices or in Stage 1 of the voice change.

The purpose of this study was to compare the muscle activation of singers and instrumentalists while performing simple vocal exercises. Volunteer participants (N = 28) were undergraduate music majors and minors, with an equal number being vocalists and instrumentalists. Participants performed five vowel sounds (ah, eh, ee, oh, oo), while electromyography of the zygomaticus and masseter muscles was sampled at 1,000 Hz. A statistically significant multivariate analysis of variance effect was obtained and follow-up analyses of variance showed instrumentalists had more masseter muscle activation than vocalists when performing "eh" and "ee." Instrumentalists also had more zygomaticus muscle activation than vocalists when performing the "eh" vowel, but vocalists had more zygomaticus muscle activation when performing the "ah" vowel.

The purpose of this Research-to-Resource article is to provide choral directors a short, practical guide to working with male singers throughout their voice change using research-based strategies. Practical recommendations about vocal range assessment, music selection, and vocal warm-ups are provided.

As one of the recognized media of the Orff-Schulwerk method of music instruction, movement is fundamental to music specialists' teaching. It can embody the mantra of "sound before sign," and provide the means by which students experience the kinesthetic learning that is so natural to their musical development. Because there are multiple variables that may affect self-efficacy, it is important to discover their relationships in the field of music education, specifically as it relates to teachers' own movement development and confidence level. The purpose of this research was to measure the effects of age, experience, and instruction on elementary music teacher movement self-efficacy. This pilot study was designed to examine differences in the overall pretest scores of Level I and Level II participants. Volunteer participants (N = 23) in this study were enrolled in Level 1 (n = 14) or Level 2 (n = 9) of a two-week American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), approved training workshop held at a Southern university. Participants completed the Movement Self-Efficacy Scale for Elementary Music Teachers (MSES), a measure created by the researchers, before beginning the Orff workshop and immediately following the last movement class on the last day of the workshop (pre-test, posttest design). To determine whether Level I and Level II participants differed on the MSES pretest, a one-way, between subjects ANOVA was performed. A mixed ANOVA with repeated measures was calculated to examine the effects of instruction on Level 1 participants' movement self-efficacy, with between-subjects variables of teaching experience and age compared. Overall results indicate that the Level I participants had significantly lower movement self-efficacy than Level II participants upon entering Orff Schulwerk movement training. Results also indicate that Orff Schulwerk Level I movement instruction may significantly increase participants' movement self-efficacy. The increase in movement self-efficacy for Level II participants may not be as substantial due to the ceiling effect, or could be attributed to differences in the amount of instruction between levels. Results from this study also show that neither age nor years of experience appear to have an impact on movement self-efficacy results. [Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Texas Music Educators Association (San Antonio, TX, Feb 2011).]

The purpose of the present study was to examine collegiate band, choir, and orchestra members' preferred teacher interpersonal behaviors. The sample (N = 705) was composed of band, choir, and orchestra members at six universities. Participants completed the Teacher Interaction Preference Questionnaire (TIPQ). Descriptive results showed that all sub-groups most preferred the dominant-cooperative (DC) behaviors, followed by submissive-cooperative (SC) behaviors, and least preferred the dominant-oppositional (DO) behaviors. Three one-way, between-subjects ANOVAs were used with ensemble type (band, choir, and orchestra) as the independent variable and the TIPQ category (DC, SC, DO) as the dependent variable. A main effect was found for ensemble on the TIPQ-SC category with band and choir participants having a significantly higher preference for submissive-cooperative teacher interactions than orchestra participants. These findings indicate that the use of a formative assessment tool could be valuable to the music teacher in gauging preferences and effectiveness in the music classroom.

Music education organizations achieved a huge success in Texas several years ago when legislation declared music as a part of the core curriculum. Similarly, more recent national education legislation like No Child Left Behind has recognized music as a core curricular subject. Since that time, little has been done to assess music students to ensure a set of basic skills and knowledge is being achieved. While national and state music standards exist, these standards, in many cases, are not mandatory and merely serve as a guide or recommendations for music educators to follow. Other core subjects endure severe oversight and rigorous testing at the state and local levels to measure whether or not students are attaining minimum standards. Some music educators are pushing for national testing of music students to demonstrate that music has an academically measurable component. Yet other music educators are fearful that assessment of music education will have the same negative effects that other core subject high-stakes testing has had on schools. This article serves to discuss the current debate on national music assessment and to argue that music education's place in the core curriculum demands an increase in oversight through standardized music assessment of students in music education classes. (Contains 1 footnote.)

The purpose of this study was to examine whether one aspect of conducting technique, the conducting plane, would affect band and/or choral musicians' perceptions of conductor and ensemble expressivity. A band and a choral conductor were each videotaped conducting 1-min excerpts from Morten Lauridsen's "O Magnum Mysterium" while using a high, medium, and low conducting plane. These six videos then were synchronized with an appropriately corresponding identical high-quality band or choral audio excerpt. College ensemble members (N = 120; band, n = 60; choral, n = 60) viewed all six videos and rated the expressivity of both the conductor and the ensemble. Through the use of a forced-choice task, they also provided one brief comment about either the conductor or the ensemble. Results indicated that conducting plane significantly affected ratings of both conductor and ensemble expressivity. A significant interaction was found between conducting plane (high, medium, and low) and ensemble type (band or choir audio excerpt heard) with regard to conductor expressivity ratings. Participants found the choir conductor conducting at the medium plane to be slightly more expressive than the band conductor conducting at the same plane. Conversely, participants rated the expressivity of the band conductor slightly higher than the choir conductor at both the high and low conducting planes. Participants' written comments were directed predominantly at the conductor rather than the ensemble, and the high-conducting-plane videos elicited the most negative comments.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of vocal register use and age on the perceived vocal health of male elementary music teachers. Participants (N = 160) consisted of male elementary music teachers from two neighboring states in the south-central region of the United States. Participants responded to various demographic questions and completed the Singing Voice Handicap Index-10. To examine the possible effects of vocal register use and age on the participants' vocal health, a two-way, between-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted. Vocal register use and age served as the independent variables with the Singing Voice Handicap Index-10 as the dependent variable. Results from the ANOVA revealed no main effect for vocal register use, F(2,147) = 2.20, p = 0.89, ?[superscript 2] = 0.03, or age, F(3,147) = 0.98, p = 0.41, ?[superscript 2] = 0.02. No statistically significant interaction was found.

The purposes of the study are to describe characteristics of the voice change in sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade choir students using Cooksey's voice-change classification system and to determine if the singing self-efficacy of adolescent males is affected by the voice change, grade level, and experience. Participants (N = 80) consisted of volunteer sixth-grade, seventh-grade, and eighth-grade males enrolled in a public school choral program. Participants completed the Singing Self-Efficacy Scale for Emerging Adolescent Males (SSES). After completing the SSES, participants were individually audio-recorded performing simple vocal exercises to attain each boy's vocal range. Results revealed that 45% of sixth-grade participants, 48.15% of seventh-grade participants, and 87.88% of eighth-grade participants were classified as changing voices. Results of a three-way between-subjects ANOVA revealed no main effect for voice-change stage or grade level. A main effect was found for experience, favoring participants with 3 or more years of experience in choir. No statistically significant interactions were found.

The purposes of this study were to compare the age of onset of the voice change in African American, White, and Hispanic male students, as well as to describe characteristics of the changing male voice in fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students, using Cooksey's maturation stages. Participants included volunteers from two urban elementary schools, five suburban elementary schools, one suburban middle school, and one urban middle school (African American n = 62, White n = 58, and Hispanic n = 77). Participants were recorded individually performing three ascending and three descending glissandi on an "ah" syllable. Results indicated that approximately 46% of fourth-grade participants, 62% of fifth-grade participants, and 67% of sixth-grade participants were classified as having changing voices. Results of a one-way, between-subjects ANOVA revealed no significant main effect for ethnicity, although a larger percentage of African American participants' voices were classified as changing voices as compared with those of Hispanic and White participants. The overall mean age of onset for participants in this study was approximately 11.20 years of age. (Contains 4 tables.)

In this article, the author discusses current challenges to the idea of teamwork in fine arts teams, redefines the terms team and collaboration using a business management perspective, discusses the success of effective teams in the business world and the characteristics of those teams, and proposes the implementation of the business model of teams to create more effective and collaborative fine arts teams.