Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2010, Music Education

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the forms of pedagogical content knowledge needed by vocal jazz educators. A secondary purpose was to examine the role of professional development in the acquisition of pedagogical content knowledge by vocal jazz educators.Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is the specialized type of knowledge teachers possess that is characterized by an overlapping and interaction of subject matter content and pedagogical understandings (Shulman, 1986). Using PCK as a theoretical construct, the researcher designed the Vocal Jazz Educator Knowledge and Skill Inventory (VJEKSI), a survey that contained primarily quantitative, closed-ended items, with a few open-ended responses also solicited. The survey was delivered online to 271 purposefully selected secondary and post-secondary vocal jazz educators. Ninety- three respondents returned completed surveys, representing a return rate of 34.3%. Data analysis prioritized the statistical examination of the quantitative data, but also employed qualitative data analysis in a sequential explanatory strategy to highlight conclusions and illuminate broad points with a personal perspective (Creswell, 2003). Respondents rated all 15 subject matter knowledge and 14 pedagogical skill items between “4” (moderately important) and “5” (important) on a 5-point Likert-type scale. The knowledge and skill data was further delineated into eight categories for additional analysis. Study participants indicated that they acquired their PCK from a variety of sources, with regular, focused listening to live and/or recorded jazz, attending jazz festivals as a member or director of an ensemble, self-study on various topics related to jazz, and participation in jazz workshops most frequently utilized. The top topics that participants indicated interest in for future professional development included vocal jazz ensemble rehearsal techniques, new literature sources, and opportunities for net (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Bauer PhD (Committee Chair); Lisa Koops PhD (Committee Member); Kathleen Horvath PhD (Committee Member); Richard Varga PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Music Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Music

This dissertation aims to explore and describe, in ethnographic terms, some of the principal formal and non-formal environments in which jazz music is learned today. By elucidating the broad aesthetic, stylistic, and social landscapes of present-day jazz pedagogy, it seeks to encourage the revitalization and reorientation of jazz education, and of the cultural spaces in which it takes place. Although formal learning environments have increasingly supported the activities of the jazz community, I argue that this development has also entailed a number of problems, notably a renewal of racial tensions spurred on by 1) the under-representation of non-white students and faculty, especially black Americans; 2) the widespread adoption of 'color-blind' methodologies in formal music-learning environments, which serve to perpetuate ambivalence or apathy in the addressing of racial problems; 3) a failure adequately to address cultural studies related to the black heritage of jazz music; and 4) the perpetuation of a narrow vision of jazz music that privileges certain jazz styles, neglects others, and fails to acknowledge the representative intersections between jazz and related forms of black music. The study seeks to answer two main questions: What is the nature of the twenty-first-century learning environment? Moreover, how do cultural and racial dynamics affect the ways in which jazz is taught and understood in formal and non-formal settings? My proposition is that teaching jazz as a part of a broad spectrum of black musical styles and cultural traditions, which I shall call the black musical continuum, provides solutions for the dearth of cultural competency and narrow vision of jazz found in many learning environments. Through a continuum theory, I seek to provide a framework for viewing, teaching, learning, and performing jazz that situates it within the larger socio-cultural context of black American music. I argue that such a reorientation toward African-American cu (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Graeme Boone (Committee Chair); Ryan Skinner (Committee Member); William McDaniel (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; American Studies; Black History; Black Studies; Cultural Anthropology; Fine Arts; Folklore; Music; Music Education; Performing Arts

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2014, African-American and African Studies

This thesis examines the complex sociocultural dynamics that surround the concept of jazz theory from two broad perspectives: formalized or academic jazz theory, which emerged as a result of the formal institutionalization of jazz in the academy, and organic or intrinsic jazz theory, which first arose from African American music-making practices. This dichotomy does not suggest that the majority of jazz community members exist at the extremes of either of these two poles. Contrarily, most musicians tend to occupy the grey area somewhere in between. The aim of this study was to shed light on the complex and elusive intersection between formalized and organic approaches to jazz theory. Through an analysis of informal, formal, and virtual (internet-based) jazz music-learning environments, the results offer a thick description of the way in which notions of "jazz theory" affected the social lives of musicians, fostered racialized jazz identities, defined community boundaries, and influenced music-making practices. The paper includes a variety of case studies, such as Miles Davis' experience studying music at Julliard, an analysis of the first methodological theory books published for jazz students and educators, online forums where jazz students discuss music theory, and ethnographic data related to modern day jazz theory that I collected from nonacademic and academic jazz learning environments. Two theory-related books examined included George Russell's Lydian Chromatic Concept and David Baker's Jazz Pedagogy: A Comprehensive Method of Jazz Education for Teacher and Student. In both, the cultural contexts in which the works were created and how many students and educators misinterpreted or omitted elements that reflect the tabooed subject of race were considered. The study also relied on original ethnographic content collected during a field study at a Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop, a racially charged debate between two Aebersold camp attendees, a meeting wi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William McDaniel PhD (Advisor); Ryan Skinner PhD (Committee Member); Horace Newsum DA (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; Music; Music Education