Betty DamonFollow

Date

4-2014

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Amanda Rockinson-Szapkiw

Keywords

Instruction, Pitch, Pitch Accuracy, Sing and See, Singing, Voice

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Education | Fine Arts | Higher Education | Music | Music Education | Music Pedagogy | Music Performance

Abstract

In this quantitative study, the researcher examined differences in pitch accuracy scores of 59 female collegiate voice students (N = 59) at a large university in the mid-Atlantic United States to determine instruction type efficacy on pitch accuracy. In this double-blind, true-experimental posttest only control group design, the control group (n = 19) received traditional corrective verbal cues (TCVC) only. Treatment groups received either real-time visual feedback (RTVF) with traditional corrective verbal cues (n = 20), or performed audio feedback (PAF) with traditional corrective verbal cues (n = 20). Data were collected via a demographics survey, audio-recorded vocal response, and visual-recorded vocal response using Sing and See software. Though the participants were assigned at random to the three type of instruction, it was worthwhile to assess the comparability of the three groups in terms of the two factors that have been documented in music education literature as influencing pitch accuracy, the dependent variables, namely number of semesters of voice taken by the participants and their menstrual status. Analyses demonstrated that groups did not differ in terms of these variables. Data was analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and results show that pitch accuracy scores differed according to instruction type. Post hoc tests revealed that the average gain in pitch scores of female students who received RTVF instruction was significantly better than female students who received TCVC instruction and PAF instruction. The comparability of the three instructional groups in terms of the two factors that have been documented in the music education literature as influencing pitch accuracy, number of semesters of voice taken by the student and their menstrual status, was also assessed; they were found to be evenly distributed.

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