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The Effect of a Researcher Composed Mouthpiece Buzzing Routine on the Intonation and Tone Quality of Beginning Band Brass Students

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The Effect of a Researcher Composed Mouthpiece Buzzing Routine on the Intonation and Tone Quality of Beginning Band Brass Students University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2017 The Effect Of A Researcher Composed Mouthpiece Buzzing Routine On The Intonation And Tone Quality Of Beginning Band Brass Students Jason William Beghtol University of Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the Music Education Commons Recommended Citation Beghtol, Jason William, "The Effect Of A Researcher Composed Mouthpiece Buzzing Routine On The Intonation And Tone Quality Of Beginning Band Brass Students" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 714. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/714 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE EFFECT OF A RESEARCHER COMPOSED MOUTHPIECE BUZZING ROUTINE ON THE INTONATION AND TONE QUALITY OF BEGINNING BAND BRASS STUDENTS A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Mississippi Jason Beghtol May 2018 Copyright © 2017 by Jason Beghtol All rights reserved ABSTRACT The present study is an investigation of the effect of an author composed mouthpiece buzzing routine modeled by the teacher on beginning band brass students’ intonation and tone quality. The subjects (N = 43) were sixth grade beginning band brass students from a large band program in the northeast region of Mississippi. The experimental group (n = 27) buzzed a daily routine modeled by their instructor at the beginning of each class period. The control group (n = 16) received no treatment and proceeded through normal classroom activities. The duration of the instructional period was ten weeks. This study utilized a posttest only design. An independent-samples t-test was conducted to analyze the data. Taken as a whole, there were no statistically significant difference in the scores for treatment and control conditions. Results suggest the inclusion of a daily mouthpiece buzzing routine does not have a significant effect on beginning band brass students’ intonation or tone quality. Although not statistically significant, the measures lean toward improved intonation and tone quality. Results of the t-tests may have found no significant differences between means due to the wide ranges of variance in the two sets of scores. Keywords: intonation, tone quality, mouthpiece buzzing, embouchure, modeling ii DEDICATION First and foremost, this dissertation is dedicated to my family. To my wife Ginger and my two boys Jackson and Johnson who have been very supportive, patient, and loving throughout this entire process. Also, to my mom Vicki for supporting me, not only throughout this process but also throughout my entire musical journey from the first day I put a trombone together to the present. Secondly, this dissertation is dedicated to all of the phenomenal musical educators and influences that have inspired and guided me to this point and will continue to walk with me down my path. May you all continue to influence others for years to come with the love of music that you have shown to me. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to my committee for insuring the quality of this research and for your guidance, as well as patience, of my experiences as a new researcher. Dr. Michael Worthy, Dissertation Supervisor, Department of Music Dr. Alan Spurgeon, Graduate Advisor, Department of Music Dr. John Schuesselin, Department of Music Dr. Marie Barnard, Department of Pharmacy Administration Furthermore, thank you to all family members, friends, colleagues, professors, and students−past and present−who have helped me throughout this journey. I would like to express a special thanks to Ashley Pruitt for serving as the instructor for this study who went above and beyond. Also, special thanks to: Chris Dunn, Andy Hall, Joe Holloway, Deborah Kehoe, Amanda Mattox, Bryan Mitchell, Leslie Mitchell, Paul Moton, Colleen Parman, Trevor Shoup, and all of my colleagues at Northeast Mississippi Community College, especially the Fine Arts Division. I would also like to thank the participants as well as their parents/guardians for allowing me to perform this study. Lastly, I would like to thank God for making all of this possible. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ii DEDICATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iv INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 DELIMINATIONS OF THE STUDY ------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 DEFINITION OF TERMS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 EMBOUCHURE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10 EMBOUCHURE FORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------12 COMMON EMBOUCHURE PROBLEMS ---------------------------------------------------------15 MOUTHPIECE PLACEMENT -----------------------------------------------------------------------19 TONGUING AND INTIAL ATTACK OF THE PITCH ------------------------------------------21 BUZZING ON THE MOUTHPIECE ----------------------------------------------------------------23 MODELING ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------28 BEGINNING INSTRUMENTAL/BAND INSTRUCTION --------------------------------------35 INTONATION/TONE QUALITY --------------------------------------------------------------------47 METHOD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51 INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES -----------------------------------------------------------------54 v DATA COLLECTION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------56 FIELD NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------58 NULL HYPOTHESIS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------59 RESULTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60 FIELD NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------61 INTONATION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------63 TONE QUALITY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------67 DISCUSSION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 70 IMPLICATIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------77 QUESTIONS RECOMMENDED FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ---------------------------------78 BIBLIOGRAPHY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 79 LIST OF APPENDICES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 88 APPENDIX A: TEACHER INSTRUCTIONS AND MOUTHPIECE BUZZING ROUTINE ------------------------------------------------------89 APPENDIX B: POSTTEST ---------------------------------------------------------------------------92 APPENDIX C: POSTTEST PROCEDURE ---------------------------------------------------------94 APPENDIX D: ADJUDICATOR LIST AND LETTER OF REQUEST FOR PARTICIPATION ---------------------------------------------------------96 APPENDIX E: ADJUDICATION SHEET AND ADJUDICATOR INSTRUCTIONS ---------------------------------------------------------100 APPENDIX F: HUMAN SUBJECT AND CONSENT FORMS -------------------------------105 vi APPENDIX G: FREQUENCY CHART -----------------------------------------------------------109 APPENDIX H: SUBJECTS' RESULTS IN FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCIES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------111 APPENDIX I: SUBJECTS' RESULTS IN CENT DEVIATION -------------------------------115 APPENDIX J: ADJUDICATORS' RATINGS FOR TONE QUALITY -----------------------123 APPENDIX K: IMAGES OF COMMON EMBOUCHURE PROBLEMS -------------------128 APPENDIX L: IRB APPLICATION ---------------------------------------------------------------134 VITA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------142 vii LIST OF TABLES 1. INTONATION MEAN AND STANDARD DEVIATION --------------------------------------- 64 2. TONE QUALITY MEAN AND STANDARD DEVIATION ------------------------------------ 68 3. FREQUENCY CHART (IN HERTZ) -------------------------------------------------------------- 110 4. TREATMENT GROUP RESULTS FOR INTONATION IN FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCIES (IN HERTZ) --------------------------------------------112 5. CONTROL GROUP RESULTS FOR INTONATION IN FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCIES (IN HERTZ) --------------------------------------------114 6. TREATMENT GROUP RESULTS FOR INTONATION IN CENT DEVIATION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------116 7. CONTROL GROUP RESULTS FOR INTONATION IN CENT DEVIATION ------- -------118 8. RANGE AND MEAN FOR INTONATION IN CENT DEVIATION- TREATMENT GROUP ---------------------------------------------------------------------------119
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