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Carl Hancock, Research Chair

Carl Hancock 

Research in Music Education

Alabama is a state renowned for its history, football, and research. Our discoveries in agriculture, especially through the work of George Washington Carver, and advances made to the aerospace industry, such as the development of the Saturn V rocket are well-known. However, our other efforts are often overlooked. For example, in 1931 Fred Allison discovered the 89th element, Alabamine now called Astatine. Seale Harris’ diagnosed hyperinsulinemia (pre-diabetes) in 1924 two years after he opened the Seale Harris Clinic in Birmingham. Edward O. Wilson’s spent his childhood living in and out of Alabama, eventually earned two degrees from the University of Alabama, became the world's foremost scientist on ant behavior, and then established the field of sociobiology. These accomplishments are but a small sample of the research milestones placed by Alabamians on the road to understanding the world we live in.

Music education research also has a firm foothold in our state. Take a look at these bits of trivia.

The University of Alabama was the editorial home of the Journal of Research in Music Education, the flagship research journal of the music teaching profession and the National Association for Music Education (MENC), from 1994 to 2001 when Harry Price, former Department Head for Music Education at Alabama, served as editor. Today, Carl Hancock serves on the editorial board of the JRME.

For over 30 years, Troy University housed the Journal of Band Research, the “premiere scholarly publication in the world devoted to band music, band history, and band methodology.” Today, Mark Walker, Larry Blocher, and Johnny Long continue to provide editorial and other assistance to the JBR.

Auburn University served as the first editorial home of the Journal of Technology in Music Learning. The JTML is “dedicated to the publication of scholarly articles in the field of music learning which investigate applications of instructional technology.” Kimberly Walls, Program Coordinator for Music Education, and Nancy Barry, Head of the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, served as the first and second editors respectively. Today, Kim Walls serves on the editorial review board of the JTML.

In 1987, The University of Alabama Press published Applications of Research in Music Behavior under the co-editorship of Carol Prickett, Department Chair of Music Education at UA and Clifford K. Madsen from Florida State University. The book was considered “an ambitious collection of recent research studies in music education and music therapy” and became an essential textbook for music education and music therapy research classes across the country.

The Alabama Music Educators Association itself is an ardent supporter of music education research. At the last AMEA In-Service Conference, 21 music educators comprised of university faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates from Auburn University, Cumberland University, Florida State University, Samford University, and the University of Alabama shared research posters with the music teachers of Alabama. What follows is a list of the studies and presenters at the 2011 AMEA Research Poster Session.

1.      Six Beginning Music Teachers' Music Teacher Role-Identities by Michele Paynter Paise.

2.       The Operatic Tenor Fächer and Listener's Preference by Moya Norlund and Thomas Alan Taylor.

3.       An Analysis of Thumb Position Vibrato among University Double Bass Students by James Mick.

4.      Teaching Disadvantaged Students, Part I: Undergraduate Perceptions by Jane Kuehne.

5.      Children’s Sight-reading Skills and Community Youth Orchestra Participation by Kimberly Walls and Katherine L. King.

6.      Teaching Music Listening Skills to Secondary Music Students in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia: Teacher’s Beliefs and Practice by Robert Lyda.

7.      An Analysis of Thumb Position Vibrato of University Cello Student by David Pope.

8.      Reliability of Traditional Non-Rubric State Festival Choir Adjudication Form by Marvin Latimer and Carl Hancock.

9.      The Effect of Head Joint Material and Manufacturer on the Intensity of Flute Harmonics Created in a Musical Context by Corinth Young.

10.  Alabama Band Directors' Use of Warm-up Time Preceding State Concert Band Assessments by Justin Ward.

11.  The Effect of Pre-Assessment Music Listening Tempo on Undergraduate Elementary Education Majors' Associational Word Fluency by Beth Davis.

12.  The Effect of Teacher Intensity and Vocal Model Pitch on Elementary Education Majors' Evaluations of Teacher Effectiveness by Natassia Perrine.

13.  The Effect of Gender, Degree of Gaming, and Music Participation on Middle School Students' Music Preference by Joshua Walker.

14.   The Age and Music-Genre Preferences of Participants in a University Campus Band: A Descriptive Study by Clay Ritenbaugh.

15.  The Effect of Left-Handed Versus Right-Handed Conducting on Musicians' Evaluations of Conductor Effectiveness by Leigh Thomas.

16.  The Effect of Spatial-Temporal Reasoning Ability on Pitch Retention and Recall by Kyle Wheatley.

17.  The Influence of Wind Band Literature Grade Level and Publication Year on the Performance Time of Band Recordings Found in the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band Series by Adam Dalton.

18.   A Comparison of Performance Times of Major Wind Repertoire by Nathan Tucker.

 From all accounts, music education researchers will continue to have supportive friends in Alabama. I encourage you to read the Call for Research Abstracts and submit a study to the 2012 Research Poster Session. We promise to provide an excellent and supportive venue for  you to share your results with interested music teachers and scholars from throughout the southeast!

 CALL FOR RESEARCH ABSTRACTS

On January 20, 2012 the Alabama Music Educators Association will host a research poster session as part of the 2012 AMEA Conference in Montgomery, Alabama. The Association invites submissions from university faculty, music teachers, graduate students, and undergraduate scholars. Submissions may include completed and in-progress research studies involving any aspect of music education, therapy, history, psychology, and performance. Research based on issues facing music educators and students in the Southeastern United States are especially welcome. All submissions should meet the Code of Ethics found in the Journal of Research in Music Education. Research presented at other conferences will be considered, however, previously published work will not be accepted.

Interested researchers must submit a detailed abstract of the research project (650-750 words) as a word or pdf document through our online submission website http://www.musiceducation.ua.edu/posters/

Abstracts will be peer-reviewed. Submissions must be received by 11:59 pm CST on Friday, November 18, 2011 for full consideration. Authors will be notified of acceptance by Friday, December 4, 2011.

When accepted, at least one of the authors must attend the AMEA Conference to present the poster.  Posters should be professional in appearance and have dimensions approaching  36” X 48”.  Presenters are expected to bring 50 copies of the abstract to the session. Information about the 2012 Alabama Music Educators Conference can be found at: http://www.alabamamea.org

 

 
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