MUED 376: Choral Music, Materials & Techniques (M2 & T)

A. 1a. WORKSHEET: Madsen- Research-A Personal Perspective

What are the influences of family or lack of family participation in our music programs? When do children begin to come to know music,
and when do they start to make meaningful connections between music and their separate experiences? What are the changing social
and familial contingencies that make a child want to participate or not participate in our music programs or to change their
participation? When is the best time to start various music activities? When and how do we get every child involved in music and, much
more important, how do we ensure keeping each child with us? How might we best use technology to capture and hold student interest
and to teach students? How do we get them through the difficult years? Is it appropriate for fast fingering and loud notes to prevail, if
but for a short time? What are the relationships between a child's needs at different times? Why do children accept or reject "our" music
as opposed to theirs? How do we equip them so that as adults they have their own personal relationship with music and a firmly
developed desire for lifelong involvement?

“Developing a research perspective starts from our own experience.” C. Madsen

1. Early Childhood Experiences: What were some of your pivotal early childhood
music experiences and what research questions stem from them?
Most of my early childhood music experiences were not formal by any means. The things that I
remember are putting on the radio and dancing in the living room. While this isn’t formal music
education, it greatly shaped my love and tastes in music. I think a research question would be,
How do parents music selections imprint on young children and influence their own tastes as they
grow up?

2. Elementary School Experiences: What research questions do you have that stem from
early elementary school experiences in music?
I remember my elementary music teacher very well. She always made sure that students felt safe
to explore and play during class time and made sure that there were plenty of opportunities for
students to make music. A question for this would be, How can we incorporate both
contemporary music making with traditional methods in a general music classroom?

3. Middle School Experiences: What were some of your pivotal middle school
music experiences and what research questions stem from them?
In a time that was otherwise a dark time in my life, music classes were great for me. It had moved
away from general music, and turned to more western traditional ensembles. Specifically band
and choir for me. A question for this would be, In a system that favors Western Traditional
Ensembles, how can we reach students who aren’t interested in that kind of music making?

4. High School Experiences: What research questions do you have that stem from
high school experiences in music?
In high school, I did everything from band, choir, to musicals. There were more options, but it
was still very centered around the western classical traditions. A question for this would be, How
can we accommodate all levels of musicianship in the ensembles when there is such a wide range
of skill level?

5. Undergraduate Experiences: What research questions do you have that stem from
your undergraduate music experiences?
From undergraduate music experiences, the question I would like to investigate is “How can we
get people with less background in the performing arts the chance to still find a career in music?

6. Music Job Experiences: What research questions do you have that stem jobs you
may have already had in music?
I haven’t had too many jobs in the music field, so my question would be “How can we
incorporate more entry level jobs into music? How can we lower the barriers?”

7. Pre-teaching Experiences: What research questions do you have that stem from pre-
teaching experiences (camps, practica, etc.) in music?
Honestly when it comes to this, I have so many questions. Everything is so overwhelming for
someone new to teaching like myself. I think the most pressing thing so far would be “How can a
teacher best follow standards while still putting their own imprint on the class and ensembles?”