A national survey of music education majors’ confidence in teaching improvisation

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate undergraduate music education majors' confidence in teaching improvisation, according to the NAfME (1994) K-12 Achievement Standards. Specific research questions were: 1) How confident are music education majors in implementing the 11 improvisation achievement standards for grades K-12? 2) How confident are they in their own improvisation ability? 3) How interested or motivated are they in learning more about how to teach improvisation? 4) Are there differences in confidence among music education majors by year in school? 5) Are there differences in confidence among music education majors by primary instrument? Participants were 397 undergraduate music education majors from National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) accredited institutions in the United States, whose confidence in teaching improvisation decreased as grade level increased. Sophomore and senior means were higher than freshman and junior means, and slight differences were observed by primary instrument (woodwind, piano, brass, voice, string, percussion, in increasing confidence). Participants reported slight to moderate confidence in their own ability to improvise, but moderate to great interest in learning more about how to teach improvisation.

Creative Musical Activities in Undergraduate Music Education Curricula

“…Based on data from this study, we identified curricular spaces that support and embed CMAs within music teacher education. However, we also believe there is a need for more openings for creativity, diversity, and integration in music curricula (Campbell et al, 2016), echoing calls from other researchers who suggest there is still more work to be done (Bernhard & Stringham, 2016; Brophy, 2002; Stringham et al, 2015). When PMTs experience arranging, composing, or improvising, it is typically within music theory or music education methods courses, applied lessons, and ensembles.…”

“…For decades, music educators have been advocating for revisions to music curricula that engage students more with the creative processes of music. Most MTEs claim to value CMAs (Forsythe et al, 2007; Stringham et al, 2015), but few fully embed these activities throughout undergraduate music education curricula (Bernhard & Stringham, 2016). Beyond the music education curriculum, music school faculty commonly focus on the development of technical musicianship skills that center around analyzing and recreating “masterworks” of Western European and American composers (Campbell et al, 2016).…”

“…Participants in a study specific to improvisation by Forsythe et al (2007) rated improvisation the least learnable musical activity in music teacher training institutions. To address these deficiencies, Bernhard and Stringham (2016) encouraged more opportunities for “preservice candidates to experience and teach improvisation” (p. 388).…”

Influence of learning Ugandan folksongs using aural/oral versus notation means on US music majors’ preferences for instruction method and quality of freely created rhythmic accompaniments

“…We completed a pilot study ( N = 3 music education doctoral students not included in the final analyses) to test clarity of instructions, quality of video and audio recordings, accurate recording levels of the hand drum used for participants’ rhythmic improvisations and appropriate timing for each excerpt. Based on the pilot study, we modified instructions to include references to creating ‘accompaniments’ rather than ‘improvisations’ to lessen potential anxiety about improvisational abilities (Bernhard & Stringham, 2016). Timing of all aural material as well as all recording and playback processes were deemed acceptable, and thus used for all subsequent participant tests.…”

“…Bernhard and Stringham (2016) examined US preservice music teachers’ confidence with improvisation and found participants had less comfort in their own improvisational abilities, but more interest in learning how to teach improvisation. Similar results were found among practicing music educators (Bell, 2003; Byo, 1999; Madura Ward-Steinman, 2007).…”