THE USAGE OF VOCAL AND CHORAL PEDAGOGIES IN THE CHORAL REHEARSAL: PERSPECTIVES OF HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGIATE CHORAL CONDUCTORS
Open Access
- Author:
- Schade, Don Belton
- Graduate Program:
- Music Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- August 18, 2017
- Committee Members:
- Dr. Joanne Rutkowski, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Dr. Joanne Rutkowski, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Dr. Christopher Kiver, Committee Member
Anthony Leach, Committee Member
Dr. Peggy N. Van Meter, Outside Member - Keywords:
- Vocal pedagogy
choral pedagogy
choral directors
perspectives - Abstract:
- The purpose of this study was to describe choral conductors’ perceptions regarding voice pedagogy and choral pedagogy. It also empirically investigated the degree to which those perceptions differed by educational preparation. Descriptive data were collected from a. A sample of active high school and collegiate choral conductors participated in the study. A questionnaire was designed by the researcher to collect data. Some questions collected demographic information from the participants. The remaining questions required asked choral conductors to reveal their understanding of voice and choral pedagogies, their usage of voice and choral pedagogies in the choral rehearsal, and their assessment on how choral singing affects solo voice technique and health. Four research questions were posed: What are choral directors’ perceptions regarding aspects of voice and choral pedagogy that are supported by vocal and choral pedagogues? To what degree do most choral directors use solo vocal training techniques in choral rehearsals? To what degree do choral conductors perceive that choral singing alters the solo singer’s vocal technique and/or affects the solo singer’s vocal health? Do perceptions among choral conductors differ by educational preparation of the choral director (conducting degree, music education-voice concentrate, music education-non voice concentrate, voice performance degree, voice pedagogy degree, other degree)? Results indicated that a majority of choral conductors agreed with most consensus statements of vocal pedagogues regarding voice and choral pedagogies. The majority of choral directors used solo vocal training techniques most of the time in their rehearsals. The majority of choral conductors believed choral singing had no negative effect on solo singing technique or vocal health, and finally, no statistically significant differences were found among the four groups of educational preparation on any of the 11 techniques used in rehearsals. In conclusion, results from this study suggest that choral conductors and voice teachers, who share no statistical difference in training, essentially share the same perspectives on vocal and choral pedagogy and strive to maintain good vocal health and technique by teaching the same principles of proper vocal production in voice lessons and the choral rehearsal.