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THE EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY-BASED CONDUCTING PRACTICE ON SKILL ACHIEVEMENT IN NOVICE CONDUCTORS
DIANA HOLLINGER
San Jose State University
JILL M. SULLIVAN
Arizona State University
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare technology-based practice (Radio Baton and Digital Conducting System) to self-practice (recorded music) on the skill achievement of beginning conductors. Participants (N = 33) were undergraduate music majors—education and performance—from two beginning conducting classes randomly assigned to either the technology-based group or the self-practice group. Subjects worked for three, 15-minute sessions on the following skills: staccato conducting, legato conducting, and steadiness of tempo. The experimental design was a pretest-posttest using two conducting etudes to measure six dependent variables: staccato conducting, staccato presence, staccato steadiness of tempo, legato conducting, legato presence, and legato steadiness of tempo. Three expert judges scored videotaped pre and posttests with interjudge reliability ranging from .77 to .84. Six Analyses of Covariance tests (ANCOVA) were used to analyze the aforementioned dependent variables. A significant difference resulted between treatment and control groups for only the legato conducting variable (p = .05). The researchers concluded that a longer treatment period was perhaps necessary to produce a significant difference between the groups on the other variables.
About the Authors
Dr. Diana Hollinger is Coordinator of Music Education and
conductor of the Symphonic Band at San José State University. Born and
educated in California, Ms. Hollinger received her Bachelor of Arts
degree in music education and Bachelor of Music degree in music
composition from California
State University, Fullerton. She received her Master of Music degree in
conducting from the University of North Texas where she studied
conducting with Eugene Corporon and composition with Cindy McTee. While
there she guest conducted the North Texas Wind Symphony, Chamber Winds,
Symphonic Band, and the two Concert Bands, and produced for a number of
recording projects
involving the Wind Symphony and Symphonic Bands. Ms. Hollinger received
her D.M.A. in Music Education with a cognate in conducting at Arizona
State University, where she studied with Gary Hill and was the Research
Assistant for the “Digital Conducting Laboratory.”
In addition to her University duties, Hollinger is active as an
adjudicator and clinician, serves on the CMEA Bay Section board in the
capacity of Higher Education Representative, and recently completed a
term on the California Music Educator’s Association state board as
Secretary. She also serves on the California Music Project board, and is
chair of their education committee. Ms. Hollinger pursues an active
research and writing schedule, most recently finishing her dissertation
on the Venezuelan youth
orchestra system.
Dr. Jill M. Sullivan is an Assistant Professor of Instrumental Music
Education at Arizona State University. She teaches undergraduate
instrumental methods, supervises student teachers, and teaches graduate
courses in quantitative research, historical research, and instrumental
literature. Prior to working at ASU, she held teaching positions at the
University of Oklahoma and Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.
Her research agenda includes historical publications pertaining to 19th
and 20th Century women's bands and preservice and in-service teacher
investigations. Dr. Sullivan has published in several refereed music
journals: American Music, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music
Education, Contributions to Music Education, Journal of Band Research,
Journal of Music Therapy, Journal of Research in Music Education,
Research and Issues in Music Education, and Teaching Music. She is
currently completing her book American Women's Military Bands during
World War II as part of The Scarecrow Press new series on American Wind
Bands. She has presented her research and teacher-pedagogy workshops
internationally in Australia, Austria, Italy, and Sweden.
For more on
her research visit
http://www.public.asu.edu/~jmsulli/Webpages/index.html.
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