Annabelle Porter

MUED 376

Dr. Dr. Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy

January 22, 2022

Reflection on Madsen Research Article

In this article, Clifford Madsen discusses the importance of research in the field of music

education. He primarily gives a summary of his past musical experiences and the research

questions that those experiences have led to. Madsen believes that you should research things

that you are passionate about discovering more information about. While some research to

complete a class assignment, real research, Madsen claims, consumes the researcher. There are

an infinite amount of research questions to be asked, we just must be willing and passionate to

investigate.

Overall, this article revealed a lot about my own musical experiences and how they can

reveal possible opportunities to explore new and diverse topics for research. My time at JMU has

been absolutely wonderful, filled with so many musical experiences. Singing and accompanying

various JMU Choral Ensembles has taught me so much and opened my eyes to a musical world I

never thought existed. One research question I could investigate that relates to my time at JMU is

how does an ensemble’s size correlate to the audience’s perceived musical enjoyment. At JMU, I

sung in small chamber choirs, as well as very large university choirs as. All of those groups were

exceptional, but in events such as Holiday Fest, there seems to be a bigger audience reaction with

the larger ensembles. I would love to see the musical benefits of having a chamber choral

ensemble, and what differences a choral chamber ensemble has in relationship with a larger

choral ensemble.
 This article also forced me to look back on my high school music experience and what

possible research questions could stem from that. In high school, I participated in a large number

of musical activities. Such activities include singing in my high school choir and chamber choirs,

accompanying our choirs, and playing the lead in numerous musicals. I also participated in band,

including concert band, jazz band, pit orchestra, and marching band where I was the drum major.

I was a member of the jazz band, marching band, and concert band, playing several different

instruments. This abnormal musical involvement inspires me to possibly research the effects and

benefits of participating in multiple musical ensembles and subjects in high school. To my

knowledge, most high school music students only participate in a select type of musical

ensemble (band, orchestra, musical, or choir). In my experience, participating in more than one

of these ensembles greatly increased my musical skill, love for music, and other skills such as

work ethic and responsibility. While uncommon, I would like to see what impact this has on a

student, both on their lives in high school and on their musical development after high school.

Overall, this article allowed me to think deeply about my life as a musician and what

questions I can ask. I now am inspired to analyze my experiences and see how they can provide

valuable research topics to explore. Also, I now feel increasingly motivated to start researching

diverse topics related to music and more specifically choral music education. With the rapid

advancement of technology, researching will only become easier and more convenient. As I take

my first steps into the world of being a professional music educator, I plan to establish research

as a central part of my musical endeavors. Without progressing research, the world of music

education can not advance and grow. For that reason, I beelove it is our duty as music educators

to continue to research new topics so that we can continue to learn, grow, and advance.