A s music educators, when we step in front of a group of musicians to conduct, we draw on a common tradition of mechanical beat patterns and expressive gestures centuries old in its development. 1 In this tradition, both functions-mechanical and expressive-are passed down so each new generation of conductors can learn to communicate a full variety of musical features to our musicians.The art of conducting, however, has progressed beyond this traditional foundation of mechanical and expressive functions. The progress is in how we have learned to connect with musicians who make the music more than merely portraying the music to musicians. This intent has certainly been expressed before, but it has remained difficult to articulate within the limited terms of our two traditional functions. 2 However, a Abstract: This article poses six functions of conducting as a new foundation for music educators. Two traditional functions focus on music: the mechanical precision function indicates beat, tempo, meter, rhythm, cues, entrances and cutoff releases, and the expressive function indicates dynamics and other expressive characteristics interpreted in a score. Used to a lesser degree, yet representing distinct camps or schools of thought in the field, are functions that focus on musicians. Gestures that draw musicians into an intense mental and visual connection with the conductor serve a motivational function. Gestures that mimic and guide performance on specific instruments serve a physical technique function. Smaller, circular, or rising motions serve an unrestrained tone function that unites an ensemble in a self-reliant tempo and tone. Sharing the intention of planned gestures, teaching musicians to conduct, and drawing gestures from musicians' familiar experiences serve a psychosocial function. This multifunctional view of conducting draws attention beyond the act of delivering gestures to how an ensemble receives and responds to gestures. It is educationally better rounded, providing a more complete foundation for music educators.
Basing this study on teachers' perceptions of their own teaching, I identified teaching styles in secondary choral music and developed a self-report scale to assess choral music teaching style. Ten dimensions of choral music teaching style were identified through common factor analysis of 134 teaching behaviors. Eight of these dimensions were validated through confirmatory factor analysis. The dimensions were labeled Student Independence, Teacher Authority, Positive Learning Environment, Aesthetic Music Performance, Nonverbal Motivation, Time Efficiency, Group Dynamics, and Music Concept Learning. Test-retest reliability of the subscales that were used to assess the eight validated dimensions indicated acceptable consistency over time. Eleven choral music teaching styles were identified through k-means cluster analysis of directors, based on their scores on the dimensions. Clusters of directors from two samples were cross-validated with discriminant analysis. The teaching styles were labeled Student-Centered Comprehensive Musicianship Oriented, Teacher-Teaching style has been defined and researched in a large variety of ways. The term is often misconstrued and confused with other aspects of the teaching-learning process. In defining teaching style, discussion arises as to whether it is consistent or changes from situation to situation. Tait and Haack (1984) state that teachers use more than one style in their teaching and that teaching style changes given different situations. Fischer and Fischer (1979) view teaching styles as "distinctive qualities of behavior that are consistent through time and carry over from situation to situation" (p. 245). This controversy reflects a confusion in the literature between what could be called a "microscopic" view and a "macroscopic" view of the teaching-learning process. The former view focuses on the characteristics of teaching behaviors, and the latter focuses on concepts that transcend behaviors and are more appropriate for teaching style. Behaviors do change from situation to situation, but, as Fischer and Fischer (1979) assert, teaching style may not. There is a consensus that teaching style involves a pattern of teaching behaviors, but music education researchers have not gone far enough beyond the behavioral level to examine patterns of music teaching in a macroscopic sense. The premise of this study is that teaching style is a consistent pattern of teaching behaviors and that it transcends the information provided by the unique behaviors in the pattern.Four approaches to the study of patterns of teaching behavior have been used that reflect differing views of the teaching-learning process: The first, the study of combinations of effective teaching behaviors (Forsythe, 1975;Kuhn, 1975;Price, 1983;Yarbrough & Price, 1981, focuses solely on the behavioral level. Although these studies raise issues related to teaching style, the purpose is to analyze behaviors and not style. The second approach is the study of the effectiveness of intact teaching styles, such as direct-in...
The study’s purpose was to examine a 6-function model of conducting using concurrent measures in 3 ensemble types. The model sorts conducting gestures into mechanical precision, expressive, motivational, psychosocial, physical technique, and unrestrained tone functions. A convenience sample of choir, orchestra, and band conductors (N = 3) at a Midwestern U.S. top-tier university consented to different levels of data collection designed to test measures by type of validity. Conducting Priorities Survey (CPS) ratings across all ensembles (N = 62) supported content and construct validity with strong subscale alpha reliabilities. Correlations between conductor CPS self-ratings, ensemble CPS average ratings, researcher observations of band and orchestra conducting, and band conductor and random band member interview content were significant and substantial, supporting concurrent validity. Strongest significant correlations among observed conducting functions demonstrate how the band conductor drew on musician-oriented functions to support music-oriented functions. Strongest significant correlations between observed band conductor functions and computerized analysis of band ensemble sound support convergent validity, and with descriptive interview content plausibly explain how a conductor functionally shaped ensemble sound. Present study findings illustrate the potential application of mixed methods and the 6-function model in future research and teaching of conducting and support the CPS as a valid accessible measurement tool.
looks at dimensions of music teaching style and at how teachers can understand and adjust their style to balance personal, curricular, and student needs. * A A S T he term "teaching style" has been used by educators to mean a number of things, such as specific, effective teaching behaviors, traits related to personality, ways of matching student learning styles, and the interpersonal skills of a teacher. Which is it? The answer is that teaching style is not just one thing, but rather several things that function collectively. In other words, it is not individual aspects of teaching considered in isolation but the entire pattern of teaching considered at once that reveals teaching style.Any aspect of teaching viewed singularly, or microscopically, does not reveal teaching style-considering the meaning beyond those teaching behaviors is essential. Music teaching style can only be defined by viewing teaching macroscopically and gleaning new information at that level. "Teaching style" and "teaching behaviors" are not interchangeable terms. Teaching behaviors are chosen to meet changing needs from situation to situation and from rehearsal to rehearsal. In contrast, teaching style is pervasive and ingrained in the teacher's approach and drives the conscious decision making toward consistent patterns of instruction. It is founded in relatively stable characteristics, such as personality, learning Alan J. Gumm is professor of music education at Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York. "Teaching style" and "teaching behaviors"are not interchangeable terms. style, background, and philosophical beliefs. Decisions of what and how to teach, therefore-in a broad sense-do not change drastically over time.To adapt to new directions or advance to new heights in this profession, change must be sought at the style level and not at the behavioral level. Common discussions with music teachers depict the stable and macroscopic notions of music teaching style. Music teachers, when asked where they learned their successful techniques, often answer that they borrowed them from many sources based on how the techniques suited their overall goals in teaching music. In other words, the specific techniques used were less important than the personal goals that led to the use of those techniques. This indicates that new techniques did not change music teaching style, but rather were adapted into it. There is something in every person's way of teaching that goes beyond the specific teaching behaviors they use-it is their music teaching style.Though music teachers may be aware of the specific teaching behaviors they use moment to moment, they may not be directly conscious of how their music teaching styles function in the rehearsal. They may also be unaware of alternatives to their styles. Without an understanding of music teaching style, teachers will not make decisions as purposively as they could.Examining both the dimensions of music teaching style and the possible music teaching styles within the profession can lead to a macroscopic view. The dim...
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