EFFECT OF FIXED-DO AND MOVABLE-DO SOLFEGE INSTRUCTION ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SIGHT-SINGING SKILLS IN 7- AND 8-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN By ALENA V. HOLMES A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2009 1 © 2009 Alena V. Holmes 2 To my parents: Regina Kozhyna and Vladimir Kozhyn 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and amazing support I received from the members of my dissertation committee. I have to start with Dr. Timothy Brophy, the committee chair. He has been an outstanding mentor and an inspirational model to draw from. I would like to express my deepest appreciation for all your guidance, endless support, patience, understanding, and inspiration throughout the research process and years of doctoral study. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr. Robinson for giving me the opportunity to teach at the University of Florida during my doctoral program. This was an invaluable experience that prepared me well for the teaching profession in the university setting. It has been such an honor and a blessing to study and work under the umbrella of such a distinguished professor as Dr. Hoffer, an icon in the Music Education field. My deepest gratitude for all the mentorship you gave me through the years of my doctoral study. My appreciation also goes to Dr. Ellis for being very supportive and understanding, and for opening new worlds of musical experiences by introducing me to the great pleasures of playing the organ. I offer my sincere gratitude to Dr. Dana for graciously accepting to serve on my committee and participating in the reviews. Of course, I could not have done any of the research without the participation and help of the six amazing teachers who volunteered to apply the sight-singing methods in their regular music classrooms: Mrs. Kathleen Kaminsky, Mrs. Annette Short, Mrs. Jolene Jones, Mr. Joshua E. P. White, Mrs. Lou Hyatt, and Mr. Marco Thomas, and all the wonderful children who participated in the research. Their contribution made a world of difference. Thanks to my new true friend Dr. Annie Stinson for editing this dissertation and for her support in helping me settle in my new work environment in Wisconsin. I am deeply grateful to 4 my parents, Regina Kozhyna and Vladimir Kozhyn, for passing on to me their love of music and the yearning for an advance degree. They have devoted their lives helping me and my son, and have supported me in all of my endeavors. My thanks go out to my son Anthony, who was so patient with his always busy mother. Finally, I would like to thank my dearest special friend Khalid Yasin who unfailingly gave me his support through all these years. Without his belief in me, and unconditional help and love, my dream to finish the dissertation and earn this degree would probably have never become a reality. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................................8 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................10 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................13 Need for the Study..................................................................................................................13 Purpose of the Study...............................................................................................................23 Research Questions.................................................................................................................23 Definition of Terms ................................................................................................................24 Significance of the Study........................................................................................................25 Limitations..............................................................................................................................25 Delimitations...........................................................................................................................26 2 LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................................27 Philosophical Rationales.........................................................................................................27 David J. Elliot: Praxial Music Education ........................................................................27 Johann Henrich Pestalozzi’s Pedagogical Principles ......................................................29 Theoretical Rationales ............................................................................................................29 Developmental Theories..................................................................................................30 Instructional Theories......................................................................................................32 Edwin Gordon’s Music Learning Theory........................................................................33 Historical Overview of the Development and Use of Solfege ...............................................36 Teaching Music Literacy in the United States........................................................................38 Research..................................................................................................................................42 Development of Music Reading Skills............................................................................42 Effect and Contribution of Solfege Syllables..................................................................49 Effect of Tonal Pattern Training......................................................................................55 Fixed-Do or Movable-Do? ..............................................................................................61 Summary..........................................................................................................................68 3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................72 Subjects...................................................................................................................................72 Demographics.........................................................................................................................73 Teachers..................................................................................................................................74 Reliability Procedures.............................................................................................................75 6 Independent Variables ............................................................................................................76 Instructional Treatment ...................................................................................................76 Movable-Do Solfege Instruction .....................................................................................76 Fixed-Do Solfege Instruction ..........................................................................................80 Control Groups ................................................................................................................81 Dependent Variable ................................................................................................................81 Sight-Singing Achievement.............................................................................................81 Testing Procedures ..........................................................................................................82 Judging and Scoring ........................................................................................................84 Summary of the Procedures....................................................................................................86 4 RESULTS...............................................................................................................................91 Variables and Analyses of Data..............................................................................................91 Descriptive Statistics ..............................................................................................................92 Analyses of Covariance, Regression Analyses, and Tukey Tests ..........................................95 5 DISCUSSION.......................................................................................................................114 Summary...............................................................................................................................114 Conclusions...........................................................................................................................115 Research Questions...............................................................................................................116 Discussion.............................................................................................................................117