Music educators (n = 601) responded to a survey designed to investigate what undergraduate music education curricular changes might be desired to better serve the profession. Participants rated the value of the 20 most common types of courses in a music teacher education program. The highest rated courses were student teaching, ensembles, applied lessons, conducting, early field experiences, aural theory, and music theory, and the lowest rated were education courses and educational psychology. A content analysis of the data revealed common themes from participantsupplied course recommendations: technical skills, effective teaching, administrative skills, engaging in schools, support for career specialization, and preparation for a broader range of careers. The finding that approximately 83% of participants taught outside their area of specialization during their career supports recommendations to ensure at least fundamental preparation for more than one career track.

Update 28(2) 60 -70Abstract Online graduate degree programs are a growing phenomenon as technology continues to develop and becomes more widely available and the needs of an increasingly educated society require better access to higher learning. In this study, the authors identified and studied the nine online (80% of the program or more) graduate music education programs accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music in the United States. They examined curriculum requirements, program requirements, and factors pertaining to application and enrollment. A fundamental belief in this study is that these online degrees are neither inferior nor superior to traditional coursework but rather represent an additional tool a university may employ to reach and educate its ever-expanding community. As suggested in the literature, these online programs offer significant benefits of convenience, although drawbacks include feelings of weaker interpersonal interactions and limited curricular options.

Music education students ( N = 21) at a university in the southeastern United States took an error detection test that had been designed for this study to determine the effects of tonal contexts versus atonal contexts on the ability to detect performance errors. The investigator composed 16 melodies, 8 of which were tonal and 8 of which were atonal. The test administered included 18 planned errors, 9 in tonal melodies and 9 in atonal melodies, and errors were balanced between the two sets of melodies for error duration and error interval. These melodies were performed live for the participants, who were asked to identify where errors took place in the performance. Participant test scores were calculated, and mean scores were generated for each individual error. Each error was then classified according to its attributes of tonal context, interval deviation, and duration. Interval deviation and duration did not significantly affect error detection scores, while tonal context did. More specifically, errors in tonal contexts that deviated from the tonal framework were significantly more easily detected than atonal errors or errors in tonal contexts that remained within the tonal framework. These results confirmed findings in existing research.

Much of the twentieth century was a turbulent time in the United States for African Americans. During this time of segregation on numerous legal and social levels, bands were becoming part of the culture of many schools across the nation. Despite great adversity, many successful band programs were established at black schools as a result of the efforts of pioneering music educators, often as a result of a deep and lasting commitment to the children of their home communities. This study is a narrative history that sheds light on the band programs at the black public high schools of Hillsborough County, Florida. The events that took place here may be similar to developments that occurred elsewhere throughout the country, especially those in the segregated south. This history examines the legacy of Michael “Prof” Rodriguez and other band directors, and the experience of being a student and a band member at schools like Blake High School and Middleton High School. Topics include the origins of these bands at the end of World War II through Brown v. Board of Education, through court-ordered desegregation and school closings, to reestablishing the high schools in a way that would honor their heritage but avoid re-segregation. While desegregation helped some problems related to equality of opportunity, it also created problems by taking away the pride and sense of community that was centered largely in the high schools.

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