Comprehensive musicianship through performance in the high school band: a case study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how teaching practices in the high school band setting are informed by Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP) and to examine external factors that may impact the planning process for high school band directors. The CMP Model provides a framework for teachers to develop "a program of instruction that emphasizes the interdependence of musical knowledge and musical performance," while seeking to engage students in "a variety of roles including performing, improvising, composing, transcribing, arranging, conducting, rehearsing, and analyzing (visually and aurally)" (WMEA, 1977, p. 1). The CMP Model consists of music selection, analysis, outcomes, strategies, and assessment. Participants in this collective case study included four self-selected high school band directors and eight high school band students (two students from each participating school) in Minnesota. Data collection techniques included semi-structured interviews with teachers and students at various points throughout the study, classroom observations, artifacts, field notes, and email correspondence. Cross-case analysis of teacher data revealed five emergent themes: (1) teacher planning; (2) an alignment and misalignment of teacher beliefs regarding the CMP Model and implementation of learning outcomes; (3) the teachers' perception and attitude toward external factors; (4) the teachers' implementation of student-centered instruction to deepen the students' musical experience; and (5) the unique ways teachers describe CMP. Cross-case analysis of student data revealed three themes: (1) students' value of student-centered instruction in music; (2) students' expressed interest and desire to engage in composition; and (3) the ways that teacher implementation of CMP impacts student learning. Although data indicated that points of the CMP Model are present in their teaching practice, several external factors impacted the teachers' ability to consistently implement points of the CMP Model. External factors included performance-based pay, the need to support school goals for reading and math, and diminished instructional and planning time due to state mandated testing. Participating teachers indicated that these external factors combined with the pressures of performance expectations by administrators, parents, and community detracted from their ability to consistently teach for musical understanding in the high school band.