This dissertation has been 62—776 microfilmed exactly as received HANSHUMAKER, James Richard, 1931- FOUNDATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH-SCHOOL COURSE IN MUSIC LITERATURE BASED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF GENERAL EDUCATION, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION. The Ohio State U niversity, Ph.D., 1961 Music University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan FOUNDATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH-SCHOOL COURSE IN MUSIC LITERATURE BASED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF GENERAL EDUCATION, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By James Richard Hanshumaker, B.S.Ed., M.A. ****** The Ohio State University 1961 Approved by Adviser Department of Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to thank the following people for their help in the preparation of this study: Dr. William B. McBride for his encouragement and helpful suggestions throughout the writing of the study; Dr. Everett J. Kircher who suggested the initial approach to the problem; Dr. H. Wayne Ramsey for his willing and interesting discussions of general music; Dr. C. Thomas Barr for his knowledgeable help in selecting composers, readings, and music; Mr. Charles Benner for his suggestions in regard to teacher edu­ cation; Dr. Herbert Livingston for clarifying, in the mind of the writer, many of the basic issues involved; Dr. Charles Spohn for his helpful reaction to many of the ideas contained in the study; and Dr. George Wilson for his con­ sideration through the past year. t In addition, the writer wishes to gratefully acknowl­ edge the support of his father, Mr. Harold W. Hanshumaker, without whose help this study would never have come about. ii CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................... ii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION......................... 1 Purpose of the Study Need for the Study Limitations of the Study A Brief Outline of the Study II. MUSIC AND GENERAL EDUCATION ................... 8 The Origin of General Education General Education in the High School Education in General General Education— Its Function and Purpose The Purpose of Music The Relationship of Music to Programs of General Education III. MUSIC IN THE HIGH SCHOOL AS IT EXISTS AT P R E S E N T ..................................... 40 Performance Organizations The General Music Class Occasional Offerings in Music The Strengths and Weaknesses of Present Music Offerings in the High School IV. A COURSE OF STUDY IN MUSIC FOR THE GENERAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT .......................... 59 Introduction "Music Appreciation” The Music Class for the General Student Sample Segment for a High School Course in Music iii Chapter Page V. THE PREPARATION OF THE STUDENT FOR THE HIGH-SCHOOL MUSIC COURSE ....................... 198 Pre-developed Skills and Knowledge Required by the High-School Music Course VI. NECESSARY STEPS IN MAKING THE COURSE OPERATIONAL ..................................... 120 The Teacher Education Program in Music Orienting Today's Public School Music Teacher to the Theory VII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS .......................... 1*11 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................. 145 AUTOBIOGRAPHY ........................................... 147 iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Purpose It Is the primary purpose of this study to develop, describe, and make specific suggestions for a course in music for the American public high school. Since teachers must be prepared to teach such a course, another purpose of the study is to make suggestions for the preparation of teachers of public school music for this course. Another purpose is to show the relationship of the study of music to general education In the high-school curriculum. A subsidiary purpose of the study is to describe existing pro­ grams of music In the high school showing their strengths and also those weaknesses which might be corrected by a basic course such as the one to be suggested. Need for the Study A problem which creates a need for the study can be attributed to public school music education itself. Programs of music in the high school commonly consist of performance organizations geared to the special student with special skills rather than to the general student and general musical understanding. In most cases the music educator has ignored the teaching of music as a general study. This need for the study has been presented in the November, 1958, issue of the American Council of Learned Societies1 Newsletter in a report of the music panel which consisted of the following persons: Earl V. Moore, Arnold Hoffman, Gustave Reese, Emile H. Serposs, and Harold Spivacke. The members of the panel reaffirm their belief that music should be an integral part of the secondary school curriculum. The cultural values to be de­ rived from musical study speak for themselves. The panel also recognizes the recreational value of music and encourages its study for leisure time use. In addition, the panel felt that some provi­ sion should be made for those students planning careers in music. Specific weaknesses in the present program: (1) Too often the high school music program con­ sisted of band, orchestra and chorus, enroll­ ing only students with musical aptitude and talent. (The panel did not wish, however, to minimize the value of these groups, especially for students who will not go to college.) (2) There has been a tendency to overstress cer­ tain activities of questionable musical value. It was felt that the marching band in particu­ lar needed to be de-emphasized and placed in the category of an extra-curricular activity. The panel also questioned the value of competi­ tive festivals. (3) In many instances little opportunity is pro­ vided for the 70 to 80 per cent of the student body who may not be interested in musical per­ formance, but who are all potential consumers of music. Recommendations: (l) A basic course of consumer music education should be available to all high school students, and preferably required for one year. This course is not to be construed as a music appreci­ ation course of the traditional type. Such a 3 course should be humanistic in its approach, relating music to other subjects in the curriculum and other aspects of our culture. It would deal with broad areas of musical interest, involve student participation, and make extensive use of audio-visual materials and library resources. Its objective would be the development of musical taste and posi­ tive attitudes toward music. It should form the core of the high school music program; performing groups should relate to it. (2) Most public school teachers are trained pri­ marily in the area of musical performance and are not prepared to teach the basic type of course described above. In-service training programs and summer institutes are needed to provide teachers with the necessary cultural background and perspective to teach such a course effectively. Another need for the study arises from the conditions under which our society exists at the present time. The events of the twentieth century have brought about a vast emphasis In our society upon materialism and the technologi­ cal sciences. Two world wars have resulted in forces cap­ able of instant world destruction. The advances of science have quickened the world’s pace and have made the acquisition of modern material wonders an important part of the living process. Medical science has found ways to increase the life span. Improvements in manufacturing and production methods have resulted in constantly increasing leisure time. Major Industries have developed as a result of increased time which is needed neither for work nor for rest. Television, 1"Report of the Music Panel," ACLS Newsletter, IX, No. 9 (November, 1953), pp. 16-18. recordings, books, and hobbies are all concerned with pro­ viding activities with which to fill this time. Throughout it all, the critics can be heard with their justifiable censure of the quality of these activities and the lack of taste exhibited by their consumers. The development of good taste and of aesthetic judgment have become an increas­ ing need in modern society. It is of increasing importance that the members of the society be prepared to utilize this side of life as well as the scientific and technological. It has become more and more evident that the increased emphasis on science in education has produced value judgments which are of unquestionable importance but which are also out of proportion with m o d e m living. The increased scientific values found in today’s high school must be counterbalanced by other values of equal importance if true perspective is to be maintained. The need for this study arises from the lack of importance attached to artistic, and, specifically, musical values in the modern high-school curriculum. With respect to this need the following quotation from General Education in a Free Society is presented. Values are of many kinds. There are the obvious values of character, like fair play, courage, self-control, the impulse of beneficence and human­ ity; there are the intellectual values, like the love of truth and the respect for the intellectual enterprise in all its forms; there are the aesthetic values, like good taste and the appreciation of beauty. As for the last, people are apt to locate beauty in picture galleries and in museums and to 5 leave it there; it is equally, if not more, impor­ tant to seek beauty in ordinary things, so that it may surround one's life like an atmosphere. The need for the study becomes even more apparent if one considers the following extensive but important satire presented by the authors of Toward General Education. Imagine, however, a situation in which the pres­ tige of the arts and sciences is the reverse of that which prevails In contemporary society. Everywhere exciting works of art and architecture are springing up and, except for aesthetic dis­ coveries on the most experimental frontier, every­ one understands them.