Pedagogical Practices Related to the Ability to Discern and Correct Intonation Errors

The purpose of this study was to identify current practices and expectations associated with pitch discrimination ability as well as assess the effectiveness of a model intonation training program. Specifically, this study was implemented in two phases. Phase one sought to discern current tuning procedures and intonation training techniques in use by K-12 school directors (n=273) and collegiate band directors (n=55), as well as identify expectations of incoming collegiate music students. Two questionnaires were developed and distributed to a national sample to gather information related to the tuning process. In phase two, available teaching texts and empirical literature were reviewed to develop an intonation training program. The program was implemented over six weeks with students enrolled in a middle and high school band program. Two equivalent additional sites were utilized as a control group. All participants (N=47) were assessed using an identical pre- and post-test. The test was comprised of three tasks. The paired-comparison task asked participants to identify if the second note of each pair was in-tune or out-of-tune, the tuning task asked participants to tune their instrument to three stimulus timbres, and the final task was performing a brief melodic example. Reviewing results from phase one, it appeared school directors believed it was somewhat important to tune everyday while collegiate directors felt it was very important to tune everyday. When tuning, most directors appeared to favor a "bottom-up" approach beginning with the tuba. While school directors identified F and Bb as their initial tuning note(s), collegiate directors identified A and Bb as their preferred initial tuning note(s). Often cited in-class teaching techniques included working with a tuner, vocalization, and practicing with drones. Outside of the classroom, directors asked their students to work with a tuner and complete intonation-tendency charts. While a majority of collegiate directors (65%) indicated they taught their ensembles differences between systems of temperament, a majority of school directors (54%) elected not to teach this concept due to time concerns or less-experienced ensemble members. Additional sample-specific questions were utilized. A significant majority of school directors believed intonation instruction should begin in beginning band or earlier as part of an elementary music course. Collegiate directors appeared to expect incoming music students to posses a high-level of pitch discrimination ability and successfully operate the mechanical and physical tuning aspects of their instrument. Phase two results from each task of the pre- and post-test were reviewed to determine the effectiveness of the researcher-designed intonation training program. No significant differences were found between conditions on each task indicating the program was not effective in developing participant's pitch discrimination abilities within the treatment period. However, several findings corroborated prior research. Both latency and accuracy responses to the paired-comparison task significantly improved when stimuli deviated greater than 20-cents. Additionally, an interesting effect was found when comparing results by deviation magnitude and deviation direction. Though a tolerance for sharp intonation has been noted in prior literature, results from the current study indicated sharp stimuli were identified significantly faster than flat stimuli when deviated greater than 20-cents. Reviewing results of the tuning task, participants were significantly more accurate when tuning during the post-test than during the pre-test. As no significant differences were found between conditions on the tuning task, the increased level of tuning accuracy may be the result of musical training or task familiarity. Additional findings in the melodic task indicated unison intervals deviated less than other intervals. Implications for teacher education, as well as suggestions for further research, are discussed.