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Dissertation Defense Announcement

The College of Communication and Fine Arts announces the Final Dissertation Defense of

Jennifer Amox

for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts

April 16, 2018 at 8:30 AM in Music Building, Room 125

Advisor: Janet K. Page

Polishing GEMS: A Supplemental Curriculum for Developing the Musical Literacy and Musical Expression Skills of Junior High Flute Students

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine the content for a supplemental curriculum designed to improve musical literacy and musical expression skills using the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra (ASBOA) all-state junior high flute etudes. It involved the first two steps ("analysis of practical problems" and "development of possible solutions") of a Design-Based Research (DBR) project. The author intends to address the third and fourth steps ("iterative cycles of testing and refinement" and "reflection and enhancement") in future research studies. The first step of the DBR process involved a pilot study that identified technical and interpretive deficiencies exhibited in nine (N = 9) student audition recordings using excerpts from the ASBOA etudes. A modified version of Saunders and Holahan's Woodwind/Brass Solo Evaluation Form (WBSEF) was used to assess the recordings. The results showed deficiencies in the areas of tone, intonation, rhythmic accuracy, technique/articulation, and interpretation (primarily musical coherence). These results were compared to the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) Beginning Band Curriculum Framework in order to determine possible modifications and/or additions to address the technical and interpretive difficulties found in the pilot study. The second step of the DBR process involved the creation of a supplemental curriculum framework designed to improve musical literacy and musical expression using Patrik Juslin's GERMS model that explains the components of musical expression: Generative rules (G), Emotional expression (E), Random variability (R), Motion principles (M), and Stylistic unexpectedness (S).