A Study of Vocal Pitch-Matching Skills Among Undergraduate Education Majors Using Classroom Instruments

Aiming for the singing teacher: An applied study on preservice kindergarten teachers’ singing skills development within a music methods course

“…Additionally, only 27% and 33% of the participants managed to match their initial pitches from the glockenspiel for ‘Marching Michalis’ and ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ respectively. Again, these results indicate that participants in this research had inferior pitch-matching skills at the course’s outset when compared to peers in other studies (Jones, 1989; Siebenaler, 2006).…”

“…From the few studies conducted with adult populations (see for instance Cassidy, 1993; Jones, 1989; Kuhn et al, 1979; McCoy, 1997; Phillips & Vispoel, 1990; Siebenaler, 2006), the singing skills regarded as essential for classroom teachers and thus most important to evaluate were: the ability to pitch match under various circumstances, the use of both upper and lower vocal adjustments, the extension of vocal range – particularly the upper range – and whole-song singing. In consideration of these elements and the limited time available to the music methods instructor, I compiled the Singing Skills Assessment with the aim of gathering the richest possible data in the least amount of time.…”

“…The development of singing skills and the ability to lead singing activities are major components of such courses (Gauthier & McCrary, 1999; Jones, 1989; Moore, 1991; Siebenaler, 2006). This focus is justified, since singing has been found to be among the music activities used most predominantly by classroom teachers of all elementary school grades (Giles & Frego, 2004; Kinder, 1987; McCarthy Malin, 1993; Saunders & Baker, 1991).…”

“…In addition, most studies with adults bear little resemblance to singing in the classroom (see for example, Bradshaw & McHenry, 2005; Price, 2000). Only a few authors have investigated the performance of classroom teachers in real-life tasks, such as singing a simple children’s song (McCoy, 1997; Phillips & Vispoel, 1990; Siebenaler, 2006), or receiving their starting pitch from a classroom instrument (Jones, 1989), indicating that studies that investigate the singing competencies of teachers in real-life situations are warranted.…”

The Pitch-Matching Ability of High School Choral Students

“…Helping students sing in their head voices for the purpose of finding the kinesthetic sensations necessary to match pitch was recommended (McCoy, 1997). The researcher also drew on previous research by Joyner (1969) and Jones (1989) to support this suggestion.…”