Pitch Systems and Curwen Hand Signs: A Review of Literature

Frey-Clark, Marta

doi:10.1177/8755123316689812

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Inclusion in the Kodaly method boosted the spread of hand sign usage to the international scale (Choksy, 1974). Within the United States, hand signs are widely used by choral (Frey-Clark, 2017;Kuehne, 2010Nichols, 2012-2013Sanders, 2015) and elementary (Gentry, 2016;Reifinger, 2013) music educators.…”

Section: Glover/curwen Hand Signsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Music educators employ a variety of instructional strategies within their classrooms. Such strategies, including rhythm syllables, tonal solfege syllables, and hand signs, are included in music classes to provide support for students as they explore rhythmic and melodic concepts (Frey-Clark, 2017). To reach large numbers of students in relatively short amounts of instructional time, it is critical for educators to select highly effective strategies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The system enables students to non-verbally represent their musical thinking processes (Bowyer, 2015) and provides a physical method of expression (CAST, 2016). Although widely used in music classrooms in the United States (Frey-Clark, 2017; Gentry, 2016), research on hand sign effectiveness is not conclusive (Nichols, 2012). Furthermore, the perceptions of the students who use the hand signs remain largely absent from existing scholarship.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Student Perceptions of Glover/Curwen Hand Signs in the Elementary Music Classroom

Mayo

2023

Update: Applications of Research in Music Education

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Elementary music educators use a variety of strategies in classroom instruction. The purpose of this case study was to explore student perceptions of Curwen hand signs, a common instructional strategy in elementary music classrooms. Second- and third-grade students reported various challenges, benefits, and influential factors surrounding hand sign use. Results indicated that students enjoyed movement activities and benefited from visual and physical reminders of singing tasks during instruction. They described several challenges, including multitasking, required background knowledge, and distraction. Influential factors included a learning curve, accuracy, placement, pattern length and complexity, and enjoyment. The results of this study suggest that hand signs should be considered one instructional strategy in a toolbox of multiple approaches.

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Section: Glover/curwen Hand Signsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Student Perceptions of Glover/Curwen Hand Signs in the Elementary Music Classroom

Mayo

2023

Update: Applications of Research in Music Education

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“…Tonal patterns are used initially, and similar to a Kodály teaching approach, solmization syllables and Curwen hand signs are incorporated as mnemonic aids to help teach and reinforce pitch concepts (Choksy, 1999; Houlahan & Tacka, 2015). In a review of research, Frey-Clark (2017) concluded that hand signs neither helped nor hindered the development of vocal music literacy, but their use as a pedagogical tool provided unique pragmatic benefits. In addition to adding visual and kinesthetic modes to the aural mode for the learner, hand signs allow teachers to communicate pitch information without singing and provide a means for teachers to assess the students’ understanding instantly with a quick visual scan (Reifinger, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Pitch Notation–Reading Skills

Reifinger

2019

General Music Today

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The teaching of music-reading skills has been cited as a neglected area of music education needing improvement. Music reading is the process of translating notation into sounds. Producing the notated sounds by singing, more specifically referred to as sight-singing, is especially demanding because it requires the individual to first mentally construct aural images of the sounds, an essential process that is challenging to teach and assess. This article describes a series of activities for teaching music-reading skills in general music or choir, focusing mainly on reading and singing pitch notation, though many of the ideas could also be used to teach rhythm reading. The activities are sequential, are easy to implement, and allow for the assessment of skill acquisition at various stages of development.

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Parkinsonics: A Randomized, Blinded, Cross-Over Trial of Group Singing for Motor and Nonmotor Symptoms in Idiopathic Parkinson Disease

Butala

Swaminathan

et al. 2022

Parkinson's Disease

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Introduction. Parkinson’s disease (PD) frequently causes communication difficulties due to various voice impairments and there are few treatment options for vocal/communication complaints. We assessed the effects of weekly group singing on PD patients’ objective vocal and motoric function, cognition, mood, self-efficacy, and quality of life. Methods. Thirty-two participants were randomly assigned to either a singing group or a facilitated discussion group weekly over 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, participants crossed over for an additional 12 weeks. Evaluations were performed at baseline and every six weeks for 30 weeks. Objective voice measures included volume/loudness (decibels), held vowel duration, jitter, shimmer, and harmonic-to-noise ratio. Additional outcome measures included patient-centered quality of life, voice-related quality of life, MDS-UPDRS, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and questionnaires assessing depression, self-efficacy, and overall well-being. Results. Twenty-six participants (16 M/10F; Hoehn & Yahr stage 2.3 (range 2–3); and age 68.6 (55–89)) completed the study. Across participants in both groups (intention-to-treat analyses), there was significant improvement from baseline in average loudness on the Cookie Theft picture description at 24 weeks (end of interventions), corresponding with improved minimal reading volumes at 24 weeks and 30 weeks (end of study). Similarly, there were improvements in minimal loudness on Rainbow passage reading at 24 and 30 weeks. There were improvements observed in the Emotional Well-Being (mean delta −12.7 points, p = 0.037 ) and Body Discomfort (mean delta −18.6 points, p = 0.001 ) domains of the PDQ-39 from baseline to week 24 in the overall cohort and greater improvement in the Communication domain for Group S than Group D after 12 weeks of singing (delta −12.9 points, p = 0.016 ). Baseline differences between the participant groups (age, gender, Hoehn & Yahr stage, and several voice loudness measures) and observed improvements during the weekly discussion group period limited our ability to attribute all of the above results specifically to singing (per-protocol analyses). No significant changes in other assessed outcome measures were found. Conclusions. Weekly group singing may improve some aspects of conversational voice volume and quality of life in PD. Some improvements were sustained at least six weeks after interventions ended. Further investigations of the mechanism of benefit and randomized controlled studies (without crossover) to assess the longitudinal effects of singing in PD are necessary.

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Pitch Systems and Curwen Hand Signs: A Review of Literature

Cited by 4 publications

References 20 publications

Student Perceptions of Glover/Curwen Hand Signs in the Elementary Music Classroom

Student Perceptions of Glover/Curwen Hand Signs in the Elementary Music Classroom

Teaching Pitch Notation–Reading Skills

Parkinsonics: A Randomized, Blinded, Cross-Over Trial of Group Singing for Motor and Nonmotor Symptoms in Idiopathic Parkinson Disease

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