a case study of a new high school choir at cais

EDF 6301/6302 Master Dissertation November, 2010

Student Name: Selana Hoi Yi, Kong

Student Number: 20543816

Monash University

EDF 6301/6302

Master Thesis Part I and Part II

A Case Study of a New High School Choir at

the Christian Alliance International School

of 129 Hoi Yi Selana Kong Student Number: 20543816


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract..............................................................................................................................8

Acknowledgement.............................................................................................................9

Chapter 1: Introduction

Research Issue.....................................................................................................10

Research Aims.....................................................................................................10

Research Questions..............................................................................................11

The Researcher/Conductor..................................................................................11

Background of the CAIS Choral Program...........................................................12

Significance..........................................................................................................15

Research Design..................................................................................................16

Organisation of the Thesis …..............................................................................18

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Motivation for Participating in Choral Music.....................................................19

Benefits of Choral Music.....................................................................................20

Musical Benefits......................................................................................20

Social Benefits.........................................................................................21

Personal Benefits.....................................................................................22



Effective Choral Strategies for the CAIS Choir

The Use of Popular Music.......................................................................25

Effective Choral Rehearsal Techniques..................................................27

Teacher Encouragement for Reducing Performance Anxiety.................28

Individual Supports..................................................................................29

Chapter 3: Methodology

Case Study Approach..........................................................................................30

Researcher/Conductor Journal…………………………………………………32

Questionnaire ………………………………………………………………….32

Focus Group Interview…………………………………………………………33

Reflective Diaries ………………………………………………………...……34

Video Recordings………………………………………………………………35

Generalizability...................................................................................................35

Validity and Reliability.......................................................................................36

Methodological Considerations and Limitations …............................................37

Summary………………………………………………………………………..38



Chapter 4: Main Study

Administration and Collection of Data................................................................39

Researcher/Conductor’s Journal………………………………………..39

Questionnaire Survey ….........................................................................46

Focus Group Interview ...........................................................................47

Reflective Journal …...............................................................................49

Ethical procedures...............................................................................................50

Analysis and Interpretation of Data.....................................................................51

Motivation of Participation in the CAIS High School Choir..................53

Musical Motivation......................................................................54

Social Motivation........................................................................54

Personal Motivation.....................................................................55

Musical, Social and Personal Benefits of Choral Engagement...............55

Musical Benefit: Improved Musical Skills …............................57

Social Benefit: Building Positive School Environment.............59

Personal Benefit: Positive Thinking...........................................63

Pedagogical Issues...................................................................................65

Teacher Instructions....................................................................67

Explicit Vocal Teaching..............................................................68

Teacher's Encouragement in Reducing Performance Anxiety....69



Selection of Songs …..................................................................70

State of Flow…............................................................................71

Summary of Questionnaire Data ........................................................................72

Discussion of Questionnaire Data……………………………………………...72

Common Interest in Singing……………………………………………73

Performance Anxiety…………………………………………………...73

Joy……………………………………………………………………....73

Teacher’s Personal Traits………………………………………………74

Flow Experience………………………………………………………..74

Inadequate Individual Support………………………………………….74

Insufficient Social Interaction………………………………………….75

Analysis of the Focus Group Interview Data…………………………………..75

Parental Support………………………………………………………..76

Peer and Teacher Encouragement…………………………………...…76

Love of Music...................................................................................…...77


Discussion of Focus Group Interview Results…………………………………78

Parental Support………………………………………………………..78

Limited Musical Style in Repertoire…………………………………...78




Chapter 5: Interpretative Case Studies

Carina...................................................................................................................81

Ethan....................................................................................................................84

Jasmine................................................................................................................87

Ivan......................................................................................................................88

Hillary..................................................................................................................91

Megan..................................................................................................................94

Summary..........................................................................................................................97

Chapter 6: Discussion, Implications and Recommendations

Discussions of Findings.......................................................................................98

Like-mindedness………………………………………………………..98


Effective Pedagogies…………………………………………………...99

Joy……………………………………………………………………..100

Answering Research Questions……………………………………………….101

Recommendations for the CAIS High School Choir.........................................104

More Opportunities to Practice Performing..........................................105

Opportunities to Talk More Often and More Openly About Anxiety...105



A More Supportive Atmosphere during Lessons..................................106

Special Performance Training...............................................................107

Cooperative Activities……………………………...…………………107

After school Program………………………………………………….108

Future Development of the CAIS High School Choral Program ….................109

Future Research Ideas........................................................................................110

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................110

References.....................................................................................................................112

Appendices

Appendix A: Questionnaire for the CAIS High School Choir..........................117

Appendix B: CAIS Focus Group......................................................................124

Appendix C: Reflective Journal Topics............................................................126

Ethical Approval Letter.....................................................................................128



A Case Study of a New High School Choir at the

Christian Alliance International School

Abstract

This research aimed to find out about the motivations affecting high school choral

enrolment; effective strategies of implementing a new choral program; and the musical,

social and personal benefits of choral studies at the Christian Alliance International

School (CAIS). A case study approach was used including: a questionnaire, a focus

group interview and reflective journal. Findings were reported through multiple case

studies of 6 choir participants. Students from different grades went to choir because of

their common interest in music. They also wanted to become better singers. Effective

instructional strategies used by the researcher/conductor included: the use of popular

music, teacher's encouragement, explicit vocal training, individual support and

performance preparation. The musical, social and personal benefits of the CAIS choir

were: improvement in music skills, building positive school environment and positive

thinking. The major obstacles were performing anxiety and time-tabling. The

recommendations included: 1) more opportunities to practice performing, 2)

opportunities to talk more often and more openly about anxiety, 3) a more supportive

atmosphere during lessons, 4) special performance training, 5) cooperative activities and

6) after-school program. The researcher/conductor argued that the high school choir

should be an important part of CAIS and a priority for curriculum development and

school promotion.



Acknowledgment

I would like to thank the following people for their kind support and encouragement. To

my husband, William, who has always been patient with me. To my friend, Liz

Laforest, who tirelessly interviewed the focus group, proof-read my paper and shared

her passion for choral music with all my students. To my colleague, Sue Quong, who

encouraged and supported this research project and administered the questionnaire. To

my best friend, Catherine, whose friendship and support lightened up many of my days.

To my supervisor, Peter, who helped me become a better researcher and writer. I am

truly grateful for each one of you.



CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Research Issue

A senior high school choir was added to the arts program consisting of band and drama

at the Christian Alliance International School (CAIS) in Hong Kong. As choral

conductor, the author was a participant as well as researcher. This research begins with

a question, “What is the most effective way to develop a high school choral program at

the beginning stage and in a way that the students may benefit most musically, socially

and personally.” This research aims to recognize the achievement of choir members

and justify its place in the curriculum against increasing academic pressure.

Research Aims

1. This research aims to identify the motivation, benefits, as well as the challenges

students experienced in the high school choral program at CAIS.

2. This research aims to investigate the way a new high school choral program may

be most effectively implemented and how it can be beneficial for CAIS students

and the school community.

3. This research aims to raise students' awareness of their own musical growth and

encourage life-long musical engagement in vocal music.



4. This research aims to cultivate singers' sense of belonging to the CAIS high

school choir and increase recruitment and retention of senior high school

students, especially boys, in the choral music program.

5. This research aims to justify the continuation of the senior high school choral

music program in the future.

Research Questions

1. Why did students enrol in the choral music program?

2. What pedagogies were used to meet students' needs?

3. What were the personal, social and musical benefits of the CAIS choir to its

participants?

The Researcher – Conductor

Since the researcher is also the choral conductor of the CAIS choir, this means there are

similarities in this research to action research in the way the researcher aims to

“improve own practice, integrate research and action, collaborate, ground research in a

body of existing knowledge, and lead to powerful learning for the participants” (Cain,

2008, p.283). Like Kennedy (2003), the researcher/conductor was a “complete

participant” (p.32). As a leader of the choir, her insider's perspective helped constructed

knowledge (Lytle, 1993; Cain, 2008). The researcher/conductor has been teaching at

CAIS for the past 12 years and she is currently teaching music from K3 to Grade 12 at



CAIS. She has diverse choral experiences in conducting school choirs and community

choirs involving: children, youth, university students and adults. The diversity of

choral experiences helps her to design the CAIS choral program with the strengths and

weaknesses of her students in mind.

The Background of the CAIS Choral Program

The Christian Alliance International School (CAIS) is an international school in Hong

Kong that offers a Canadian curriculum to students with 20 different nationalities. It

exists to provide international students with a quality education through the

development of knowledge, skills, integrity and discernment that equips them to

dynamically impact local and global communities. Its students are mainly from

expatriate families, local Chinese families as well as returnees who emigrated

previously. Such a community is on the rise and there is a shortage of international

school spaces in Hong Kong. Therefore, a piece of land has been granted to CAIS for

building a new campus in 2008. The new campus is expected to be 10 times larger than

the current one and the student body is expected to grow from 500 to 1600 students. In

order to promote the school and attract more students for the new campus, a high school

choral program was added in 2009 to enhance the competitiveness of the school. As a

result, a senior high school choir was set up for Grade 9 to Grade 12 students. These

students met 2 to 3 times weekly for 45 minutes each time. The CAIS Senior High

School Choir is the only choir, at present, in CAIS. It is a non-auditioned mixed choir

with 23 students from Grade 9 to Grade 12. There are 7 male and 16 female singers of



which all participated in this research except 3 female singers. Out of the 20 research

participants, 10 have had no previous choral experience, 8 have had some choral

experience and only 2 were experienced singers who have been involved in choral

music for more than 5 years. Since the number of male singers is low, all 7 male

singers were grouped to form the bass part. Hence the choir was divided into soprano,

alto and bass.

Since the school is not funded by the government, parents pay ten times or more the

normal tuition fee of local Chinese schools. Parents are willing to pay a much higher

tuition fee for international education because of its superior curricula and innovative

teaching strategies compared to the local education system. International school parents

therefore have high expectations for students' academic achievement. As a result, the

CAIS administration decided to raise academic standards by switching from the

Saskatchewan Curriculum to the Alberta Curriculum in 2008 in order to attract more

potential parents to apply. Alberta is one of the highest-achieving provinces

academically in Canada and it ranked 2nd, 3rd and 5th in the world in science, reading and

math respectively in the most recently published results of the Programme for

International Students Assessment (PISA), a world wide evaluation of 15-year-old

school children's scholastic performance involving students from 57 different countries

and regions. Nevertheless, under this increased academic pressure, the flexibility for

students to take non-core subjects such as choral music has decreased.



“Senior high school graduation requirements pose a challenge for the arts. Student

timetables are very full, and many students who want to participate in the arts simply

cannot “fit it in” or are forced to make course selections where the arts are in competition

with academics and/or other options.” (Government of Alberta, Education, 2009, p.10)

What is even more alarming is that less than 50% of high schools offered music credits

in Alberta and the choir enrolment in 2003-2004 was only 2.2% of the high school

population. Alberta also reported a serious decline in grade level offerings for the

Alberta high schools that did offer music in 2003-2004. As a result, most high school

choral programs in Alberta are suggestive rather than prescriptive in the curriculum

guide.

“Junior high fine arts courses are optional and senior high courses require no prerequisites,

student knowledge and skill in Grade 10 fine arts courses can fall anywhere on a

continuum from novice to advanced.” (Government of Alberta, Education, 2009, p.9)

Hence, it is worth noting that the commitment of CAIS' administration to offer choral

music to its senior high school students is against the norm in Alberta. The decision to

add a choral music to the existing band and drama program for Grade 9 to Grade 12

students at CAIS was extremely generous and supportive. The researcher therefore,

approached the vice-principal of CAIS and was granted permission to conduct this

research to evaluate the new choral program, validate the perceived benefits of the new

choral program and address the challenges experienced by the choral students.

Recommendations for the further development of the CAIS choral program were made.



Significance

How do we justify a formal music curriculum in the midst of increasing academic

standards? The unique position of music education should be justified by its music

benefits to students. Regelski (2005) based his argument of pragmatism about the way

music education should make a musical difference in students' lives (p.7). On the other

hand, Regelski contended that music educators should also consider extra-musical

benefits to ensure that their students are getting “their money's worth at the personal and

society level” (p.7). This research will contribute to the understanding of the musical,

social and personal benefits of choral music.

In Canada and the USA, choir is an elective for students to choose in some schools. In

some western countries, choral and instrumental performing groups generally happen in

extra-curricular settings. These countries include the United Kingdom, Germany and

Scandinavia (Leung, 2003, p.185). Similarly, Hong Kong school choirs often form an

important part of the extra-curricular school life but are not included as part of a formal

curriculum. Hence, this research adds to a limited pool of literature that supports choral

music as a form of formal curriculum in a Canadian and Hong Kong school setting.

1. Next year, the choir will be re-scheduled to meet after-school. Student will be

required to choose between French, Mandarin or Choral Music. Timetable-wise,

students will be put in a very difficult situation because they will have to give up

a language elective in order to join choir. Sadly, the high school choral program



may not exist next year unless enrolment increases to justify the continued

existence of the program. Hence, the researcher/conductor aims to use the rich

musical stories in this research to inspire and encourage senior high school

students to develop their musical talents despite academic pressure. Students

may also find out how their musical and educational stories run in parallel to

each others' and realize that a musician’s journey is not alone. Students could be

encouraged to seek support from other musicians in their lifespan engagement in

music.

Finally, since no research has been done locally about the musical experience of CAIS

students, this case study research evaluated the success and challenges of the present

CAIS high school choir. After the evaluation of the program, recommendations to

expand the choral music curriculum to provide more opportunities for other students to

use their talents in creative ways beyond the formal setting were made. Also, since

most research efforts have been focused on investigating the benefits of music to

students in the socio-economical deprived communities, this research investigated a

socio-economically advantaged school body as they have been neglected by recent

research efforts (Pitts, 2007; Harland et al. 2005).



Research Design

A case study approach was chosen for this research because the research questions were

“exploratory, descriptive and explanatory” (Stake, 1995 and Yin, 1994). The case study

aimed at understanding the musical experience of the high school choir students at

CAIS. The researcher/conductor took on responsibility to evaluate the program she

taught and hence the case was given. This kind of case study is called intrinsic case

study (Stake, 1995, p.3) where the researcher is interested in one particular case instead

of making generalization to learn about other cases. The CAIS high school choir was

the focus in this research as a whole unit as it existed in its real life context.

Data was collected between April and June 2010.

1. The researcher/conductor wrote journal entries

2. A questionnaire was conducted to survey all CAIS high school choir students

about their motivation, quality of choral experience, teacher-students interaction

and challenges of the choral program.

3. 6 students of the CAIS high school choir were chosen to participate in a focus

group interview.

4. Focus group members kept a reflective journal. They each wrote two journal

entries about their choral experiences. The first journal entry was written after

the focus group interview and the second one after the year-end concert.

Prompts for both entries were given.



5. Video recordings were taken during the focus group interview and the year-end

concert for observations and direct interpretation.

6. Focus group members performed member check to verify the data collected and

confirm findings after the researcher/conductor interpreted their cases.

Organisation of the Thesis

Chapter 1 explains what this research is about and what differences it can possibly make

to the CAIS community. Chapter 2 reviews the literature related to the benefits of

choral activities and the effective ways to implement choral programs as part of school

choirs. Chapter 3 outlines the case study methodology used in this research. Chapter 4

presents data collected, including the researcher's journal, results from a questionnaire

survey and a focus group interview. Data were analysed and discussed. In Chapter 5,

six interpretive case studies are presented. In Chapter 6, discussions, implications,

recommendations and future research ideas are provided in regards to the future

development of the choral program at CAIS.



CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review investigates the motivations for choral participation, benefits of

choral activities, effective choral strategies and the case study methodology.

Motivation for Participating in Choral Music

Barrett and Smigiel (2007) highlighted that the love of performance, a shared unity of

purpose, a desire for challenge and professionalism, the quality of relationship and the

opportunities for individual growth are the reasons why children want to participate in

arts programs. Conway and Hodgman (2008) concurred that the love of music

motivates college and community choir members intrinsically. However, Pitts (2007)

argued that “much research has focused on the benefits of extra-curricular activity for

pupils who are at risk of educational dropout or failure, highlighting this extra

dimension of school life as a possible route to increased engagement, but neglecting to

observe its full range of socio-economic circumstances” (p.148). Pitts has urged that

research effort should also include the investigation of more privileged schools. Hence,

the study of CAIS fills this institutional gap since it is an economically independent

school with students from middle to upper income families.



Although many authors have pointed out that musical involvement leads to success in

school (e.g., Pitt, 2007; Stern, Riley, and Simpson, as cited in Winner & Cooper, 2000,

p.11), most of these researchers investigated the quantitative academic benefits of music

as an extra-curricular activity. However, contrary evidence indicates that the correlation

between musical involvement and academic success may have been over-simplified.

Mahony (2000) cautioned that extra-curricular activities are only a marker of academic

improvement rather than a cause. Winner and Cooper (2000) further questioned the

causal link between arts study and academic achievement based on the lack of

supporting research evidence. Hence, educators were urged to emphasize music for its

own sake. Instead of stream-lining more research effort on investigating extra-musical

benefits in order to justify the place of music in the curriculum, Regelski warned that

people often take for granted that music is special and music educators should not stop

asking ask “how” and “why” music is special in the curriculum (Regelski, 2005, p.9).

In this light, the following literature review points out the musical, personal and social

benefits of choral activities and how choral rehearsals could be effectively conducted.

Benefits of Choral Music

Musical Benefits

There is not a large pool of literature about the musical benefits of choral studies, rather,

research has tended to focus on the social and personal benefits of choral studies.

Choirs exist in a multitude of forms, in institutions including churches, schools,

community and even prisons.



Social Benefits

In 2005, Silber conducted a joint venture to combine a church choir and a prison choir

in Israel and found that interpersonal skills such as interaction, dedication, commitment,

communication, negotiation and cooperation were identified as social benefits of the

inmates' choral experience. She stressed that listening and trusting one another formed

the basis of a successful choral performance and hence brought about harmonious social

relationship among choir members. Additionally, socially acceptable behaviour,

expression of emotion and task mastery may be taught explicitly through choral music.

Silber went on to address the therapeutic effects of choral music in a women's prison in

Israel. She claimed that “the power of group singing surges beyond what any words can

describe – to penetrate the soul, to bind and enchant with a magic that no other group

activity can quite achieve” (2005, p.251). Supporting Kennedy (2003), she reported

that a sense of community was being strengthened through singing together. The

cohesive power of music helps prison inmates to enter into a community of singers.

Similarly, Conway & Hodgman (2005) combined a community and a college choir

which successfully brought people closer in terms of musical collaboration.

Although recent literature has turned music educators' attention to the way music

benefits people who are identified as being at risk, those benefits are not limited to the

marginalized individuals. Freer (2008) reported that choral music enhanced learning

experience by partnerships between individual students, groups of students and teachers.

Fredricks et al. (2002) concluded that being in a socially supportive environment is a



major motivation for music participation. In the CAIS choir, for example, students

supported each other to accept new challenges by initiating dialogues, providing

modelling, observing and giving feedback to peers. Students took ownership of their

social interactions and development skills in sectional rehearsals and after-school

coaching sessions.

Personal Benefits

New Identity and Enjoyment

“The voice is a very personal instrument, and confidence and joy come with the ability to use it.”

(Stupple, 2007, p.36)

Anshel & Kipper (1988) and Peters (1985) reported that homeless men benefited from

choral music participation in self-esteem, social connections and trust. Their new

musical identities helped soften their aggressiveness, impulsiveness and anti-social

behaviour. Bailey and Davidson (2003) identified that emotional health, social

interaction and reconnection through performance are the most important benefits.

Silber (2005) reported that a positive self-image resulting from a well-received

performance also enhances self-esteem. She stated that the “think-first” technique

trained prison singers to curtail impulsive behaviour and exercise self-control. Singers

became disciplined in thinking about the pitch, timing and articulation before they sing

and hence self-control, careful planning, organization and coordination were

internalised. Surprisingly, some prison inmates experienced so much success in the

choir that they wanted to stay in prison for the sake of the choir! Singers cared about



the final concert and they worked hard for this long-term goal to a point that they

deferred their smoking break and minimised their chit-chatting during rehearsals. Such

long-term goals of working towards a concert train singers to delay gratification which

inevitably benefits the rest of their lives. Lastly, she pointed out that the choir formed a

protected space in which singers were encouraged to take risks and grow. Inmates'

sense of self-worth was enhanced by the approval and feedback from others, especially

authority figures in the prison such as educational staff and correctional officials. The

compliments from significant others highly motivate and energize prison singers who

may otherwise feel isolated from the outside world. Prison singers felt that they were

doing something important and meaningful, and that singing was something they were

proud of. Cohen's study in 2009 confirmed Silber's findings about the benefits of prison

choirs to its participants. Cohen claimed that “enjoyment was the outcome of social

reactions”. She also investigated how choral singing can be most beneficial to prison

inmates and their society by increasing joviality, emotional stability and interpersonal

skills (Silber, 2009, p.58-61).

In a youth choir setting, nevertheless, Hammond (2004, p.103) claimed that “choral

singing both articulates the identities of choristers and impacts on the formation of these

identities”. Haywood (2006, p.407) concurred that music helps physically-challenged

students see themselves as 'musicians'. Silber (2005, p.253) claimed that the intimate

social network of a choir helps choir members to form new identities as singers. The

researcher/conductor argues that it is particularly important for CAIS high school



students to re-confirm and further developed their singer identity because they have not

received formal vocal training since Grade 4.

School Engagement

Kinney (1993) reported that extra-curricular participation has powerful effects on the

way it develops self-esteem and identity in schools. It offers alternative domains to

achieving school-wide popularity that allow previously marginalized students to feel

adequate and successful (Kennedy, 1993). Burnard et al. (2008) further supported that

music helped disenfranchised students to adapt to the mainstream culture. For example,

in Sweden, music helps minority students to blend into the mainstream culture; and in

Australia, music creates a “common ground between cultures and seeks to decolonize

European culture” (p.114). Burnard also stated that publicly shared high status

performance helps the participants to develop self-agency. In her study, young people

were empowered by external experts who allowed them to “cast off their negative

reputations” and re-invent themselves in a community setting and hence created a

stronger sense of control in learning (Burnard, 2008, p.68). Furthermore, in Champions

of Change , Heath and Roach argued that young people look for “more than a safe place

to go after school” away from crime, drugs and violence. Young people crave

experience and productivity, they emphasised that quality is essential in the success of

the arts organisations and that quality pedagogy may include utilising young people's

talents and energy, expecting them to respect and follow rules and encouraging young

people to take risk by sharing their ideas (Heath and Roach, 1999).



Effective Choral Strategies

The Use of Popular Music

Elliot (1995) has argued that young people have become increasingly disenchanted with

school music curriculum and therefore music should be de-schooled. He suggests that

traditional music curriculum has been outweighed by music in popular media. Music

listening has been made increasingly accessible and convenient by the development of

technology such as iTunes and YouTube. Such rapid technological development

coupled with the latest phenomenon of popular musical contests, as seen in television

programs such as “American Idol” and “Glee”, have promoted popular music to

mainstream music education. Increasingly, curriculum development authorities have

addressed the need for teaching popular music and paying attention to popular musical

innovations.

In order to make school music more relevant to students, Silber suggested the use of

genres that are familiar to choir members so that she may reach out into the world of the

singers (Silber, 2005). Odam (1987) began pointed to the way teenagers' musical

preference is getting farther away from teacher's classical training background. In his

case study research, a 17 year-old student stated that students should listen to a wide

range of music, not just classical music. Leung (2003) reported that Cantopop and

Putonhua pop songs were the most popular in Hong Kong secondary schools although it

was not a part of the significant part of Hong Kong school music curriculum. Frith

(2001) stated that “musical tastes matter so much to people because, however vainly,



they take them to be a statement of what sort of people they are” (p.39). Therefore, high

school choral conductors should not neglect to choose music styles that reflect young

people's taste. Regelski further claimed that “'school music' and 'real music' exist at

some considerable remove” and that school music should not be a mere academic

subject but something that matters to students (Regelski, 2005, p.13).

On another hand, choral conductors were warned that choral arrangements of popular

music may fail to challenge students technically (Poliniak, 2009). Poliniak has outlined

what choral conductors need to consider when implementing curriculum standards.

Technically, the range and ability level should be suitable for the singers yet conductors

should choose songs according to curriculum goals. Pedagogically, choral conductors

are challenged to define musical and extra-musical goals that the choir need to

accomplish in order to link singers to the larger culture and society. Text should be age

appropriate and meaningful to students; songs in foreign languages should present

opportunities for students to learn about other cultures and languages; time should be

left for preparing and teaching the songs to students; and when preparing for rehearsals,

conductors should think of the most outstanding musical concepts and the most

challenging sections that will require the greatest amount of preparation.

Since repertoire choice affects students' quality of choral experience (Funderburk-

Galvan, 1998; Freer, 2008), it is important to choose repertoire that is appropriate to

skill level. Choral directors are discouraged from “choosing pieces that prove to be too

much of a challenge which easily lead to disappointment and frustration” (Poliniak,



2009, p.34). Similarly, Dillon (2008) stressed that teachers are encouraged to teach

students at their skill level rather than at a preconceived standard.

Effective Rehearsal Techniques

Choral music requires singers to be disciplined because any disruption could affect the

efficiency of the whole group. In order to minimise disruptions, Silber (2005) used

hand signals in a prison choir to distinguish acceptable behaviour from unacceptable

behaviour and it was very effective. Singers learned about musical hand signals and

follow them.

Besides watching the conductor, Silber pointed out that listening is another crucial skill

in choral music. By listening to one another, singers blend their voices to achieve a

good balance between different voice parts. Silber (2005) employed listening games

that promoted active listening and harmony. She also reported that singing harmony

backup enhanced group support for solo singers.



Teacher Encouragement for Reducing Performance Anxiety

Kennedy (2003) reported that teacher encouragement was crucial to building singer’s

self-confidence. Ryan & Andrews (2009, p.109) confirmed that the choir conductor’s

behaviour was highly related to choral singers' performance anxiety level (Fleege,

Charleswort, Burts & Hart, 1992; Passer, 1988; Power, 1982; Roberts, 1986; Smith,

Smoll, & Barnett, 1995; Zatz & Chassin, 1985; as cited in Ryan & Andrews, 2009).

They reported that performance anxiety is common among children, adolescents and

adults and is known to lower performance quality, terminate performance careers

prematurely, and reduce overall life happiness of musicians. Anxiety-inducing

behaviour includes “poor preparation, disorganisation, lack of attention to musical detail

and making last-minute changes.” It is inevitable that conductors and coaches should

play an important role in helping choristers cope with their performance anxiety.

Putting on an appropriate “game-face” could help diminish choristers' anxiety (Price,

2006; Van Weelden, 2002 as cited in Ryan & Andrews, 2009, p.119). Also avoiding

negative attitudes, bad mood and singling out of individuals for criticism were

recommended (Ryan and Andrews, 2009). In Fehnm & Schmidt's study in 2006, gifted

adolescent musicians coped with performance anxiety by asking for more opportunities

to practice performing; opportunities to talk more often and more openly about anxiety;

a more supportive atmosphere during lessons; training courses for relaxation techniques

and special performance training. Ryan and Andrews (2009) argued that singers feel

less anxious if they can gain control over their voice.



Although solo singing was identified as more anxiety inducing than ensemble

experience with higher frequency and severity, it was reported that with increased years

of performing experience, it reduced anxiety level. Welch et al. (2008) argued that

performers who have “a great deal of performing experience have learned to focus their

arousal toward facilitating their performances” and therefore perceive anxiety in a more

positive light.

Individual Support

After-school rehearsal is a common strategy (Freer, 2008). Swanwick argued that the

formal music curriculum and assessment “can combine to create a negative atmosphere

that impedes learning” and therefore argues that after-school music activities are more

beneficial than formal music lessons. Kennedy also agreed that an informal setting is

more desirable for musical learning. She valued the spirit of volunteering in community

music which is stress-free and natural (Kennedy, 2003).



CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

Case Study Approach

Case study is a qualitative inquiry of a unique and complex unit. It aims to create a

holistic point of view from multiple perspectives of participants. General information

about the unit needs to be collected in order to contextualise the case study. Multiple

data sources including questionnaire, interviews, observations and journal entries are

often triangulated for validity and reliability.

In The Art of Case Study Research, Stake (1995) defined the case study approach as a

qualitative research methodology that searches for deep understanding of complex

relationship with empathy and intentionality. In an intrinsic case study, Stake would

intend to understand a particular case. Specificity rather than generalizability is the key.

In choosing research participants, balance and variety are important to learn about the

case. Stake also recommended that primary research issues and goals are identified

before research questions in order to orient to the unique case at hand, and hence, results

are personal and non-causal. Patterns and issues emerge from natural observations of

key episodes, testimonies and stories which lead to assertive interpretation of

experience. Sometimes, direct interpretation may be made by drawing key meanings

from a single instance.



In Pitts' (2007) case study, “Anything Goes”, she claimed that most of the music

research about the benefits of musical activities is quantitative because they use

academic measurement to correlate musical gains. Pitts concurred that these

quantitative researchers may be missing the point because the measurement of musical

gains in terms of "enjoyment, personal fulfilment and pleasure at pursuing shared goals

with like-minded people”. Contrarily, she suggested that musical gains are better

measured by qualitative descriptions (p.149). In order to measure the immediate

musical and social rewards such as recognition, respect and friendship, Pitts used a case

study to re-address the importance of qualitative understanding of individual

motivations and experiences of participants during the production of a secondary school

musical, “Anything Goes”.

Like “Anything Goes”, this research also investigates qualitative understanding of

participants' experiences and hence a case study approach was chosen for this research.

The people in this program form perspective cases in a balanced design of 6 students

from different musical, social and personal backgrounds. The researcher/conductor

wanted to understand the benefits of the choir to its participants as an intrinsic study.

The questions focused on the perceived musical, social and personal benefits of the

CAIS high school choir in order to justify the program. The main issues identified were

the way choir members gain confidence in singing and improved school life.

Pitts' case study used a questionnaire and audio diary to investigate secondary school

students' experiences of participating in an after-school musical production, “Anything



Goes”, in 2007. She aimed to understand the motivation and experiences of the school-

show on its participants as well as the broader school community. Students admitted

that despite the heavy time commitment, they enjoyed making friends with like-minded

individuals. On the other hand, they reported musical, personal and social growth.

Pitts' case study research deepened the understanding of young people's engagement in

extra-curricular music activities. Similar to Pitts, a case study method was chosen to

investigate the qualitative aspects of musical, social and personal gains in this research.

Researcher/Conductor's Journal

The researcher/conductor's journal accounts for the strategies that were found to be

effective for the CAIS choir. The researcher/conductor noted the failures and

successes of the CAIS choir at the beginning stage; how they prepare for the concert

and what the concerts were like. It also forms a context for the case studies in Chapter

6.

Questionnaire

The researcher/conductor's journal served as a context for designing the questionnaire.

The questionnaire gathered the senior students’ motivation of participating in the choir,

collected information about perceived benefits and challenges of the choral experience

and captured the views of all choir participants, whether they participated in extra-

curricular choral activities or not. The questionnaire provided opportunities for students

to comment about their social, personal and musical experiences. As students in Grade



11 and Grade 12 were facing academic pressure of the Standardized Achievement Test

(SAT) as well as the Canada Departmental Examination for university placements,

variations in attitude towards school, social skills, choral experience and personal

aspiration were expected to vary and the questionnaire was designed to allow such

variations to be revealed.

In order to avoid coercion, the researcher/conductor did not administer the

questionnaire; instead, the questionnaire was distributed and completed under the

supervision of another teacher at CAIS. Prior to the questionnaire survey, the teacher

was provided with instructions and a written explanatory statement concerning the

confidentiality, questionnaire procedures, the purpose of the research and information

for participants.

Focus Group Interview

The purpose of the focus interview was to investigate in-depth reasons for student

involvement in the choir. Stake (1995) claimed that “the interview is the main road to

multiple realities.” He advised interviewers to establish a short list of issue-oriented

questions that prompts “description of an episode, a linkage and explanation” (p.65).

Schattner, Sherling and Murphy (1993, p.623) advocated the use of a focus group to

provide information which is “more revealing, richer and true to life”. Each focus

member in this case study was purposefully selected to represent different age, cultural,

personal and musical backgrounds. Purposeful case sampling (Patton, 2002, p.230)

selects candidates who can provide rich information for the central issues of the



research and hence deepens understanding rather than making generalizations. Special

parental permission was obtained.

Reflective Diaries

The diaries aimed to capture the focus group members' thoughts and emotions towards

their own musical, personal and social growth because writing about their singing

experience allowed students to become more aware of their musical growth and the

challenges they faced. After the focus group interview, each focus group member wrote

two reflective diary entries in order to facilitate on-going reflection. All focus group

members replied through email on the individual journal prompts. The first one was

written after the focus group interview about the issues addressed in the focus group

interview. All journal topics and prompts are included in Appendix C. The second

entry was written after the year-end concert and the prompt was “Tell the story of one

specific event that is most memorable regarding your musical experience in the

concert.” Pseudonyms were used to anonymize the focus group members to people

outside of the school circle. Focus group members' names were altered in this research

so that they would feel more comfortable to write truthfully.



Video Recordings

Video recordings were taken during the focus group interview and year-end

performance. A student who was not part of the focus group operated the camera and

all the interviewees were shown clearly in the video. After the focus group interview,

the video was transcribed and used to design reflective journal prompts. Next, a video

recording was taken at the year-end performance which allowed the

researcher/conductor to observe the focus group members more closely and specifically.

Video excerpts were also included in the interpretive case studies in Chapter 6 to

provide ambiance and thick descriptions in order to engage readers in their own

interpretation of the individual case studies.

Generalizability

As in any single case study, the view to music education is only partial since this

research only illuminates information about an affluent international school. The

generalizability of this case study is further limited by the way that this research only

involves the views of the choir students. Since the total enrolment in the senior choir is

only 23, such a small number of students may not represent the CAIS population

significantly. Furthermore, this research is limited by the selection process because the

focus group members have not been randomly chosen. Their musical, social and

personal experiences are mostly atypical and therefore the generalizability of their cases

is rendered low. Nevertheless, Stake (1995) advocated the holistic treatment of multiple



realities to set the backdrop for particularization rather than generalization. The

researcher/conductor claims that the CAIS students, parents, and staff care about this

study but the interest in generalizing from this case to others is small. To help readers

make naturalistic generalizations, Stake suggested case researchers should provide thick

descriptions of what happened at particular times and particular places with particular

people. Generalizability can also be improved by subsequent study in a wider range of

school contexts.

Validity and Reliability

Data source triangulation (Stake, 1995) is one of the ways to find out if the findings stay

meaningful under different circumstances. It provides general information to the case.

The researcher/conductor's journal and the questionnaire further focused the research

context. The focus group interview provided deeper insights into the musical

experience of key informants. There were three groups of questions in the focus group

interview. The first group of questions was about the past music education of focus

group members. The second group of questions was related to focus group members’

self-identity as a singer. The third group of questions was about their choral

experiences at present. The researcher/conductor believes that past musical experiences

shaped singers’ self-perceptions and affected their current choral experience. The focus

group questions can be found in Appendix B.



Methodological Considerations and Limitations

Membership of the choir was fixed since the beginning of school year and students were

not permitted to withdraw once they were enrolled in the class after the first two weeks

of school. Attendance in the choir was regular since it was a credit course in which

attendance was mandatory. The researcher/conductor needed to be careful not to force

responses out of her students and she must help her students understand that their

participation in this research was completely voluntary and in no way would harm their

choral evaluation. Ethical procedures are explained in Chapter 4.

Another concern was that a flexible seating arrangement allowed friends to sit together.

The amount of talking during rehearsals in the beginning of the year was a concern.

Rehearsals were constantly disrupted by high amount of chit-chat among students.

However, the researcher/conductor argues that such a seating arrangement fostered

bonds and closer relationships between singers and a stronger sense of belonging to the

choir. As the year went on, the amount of talking during rehearsals dropped

significantly as singers got more competent and focused.



Summary

The literature review supports that the major motivations for choral participation are the

love of music and the desire to improve musically. The musical benefits of choral

activities include musical literacy, performance skills, broadened musical horizons and

flow experiences. The social benefits are interpersonal skills and friendships. The

personal benefits are new identify, enjoyment and school engagement. Effective choral

strategies include the use of popular music, effective hand signals, teacher

encouragement and individual support. The intrinsic case study approach capitalises the

individual motivations and experiences of the participants. The generalizability of the

case study is usually low but findings are meaningful to its participants.



CHAPTER FOUR

MAIN STUDY

Administration and Collection of Data

The data collection period was done from April to June in 2010. The source of data was

from the 23 CAIS choir students and the researcher/conductor. The researcher/

conductor's journal provided detailed pedagogical issues and strategies taken as well as

the degree to which they succeeded. A multiple data source including a questionnaire, a

focus group interview and two reflective diary entries provided rich data about the choir

members' perspectives on choral experience as well as their past and present music

education.

Researcher/ Conductor's Journal

Although the researcher/conductor would like to observe students' behaviour during

rehearsals, it was very difficult while she was conducting and accompanying.

Therefore, minimal observations were done during choir rehearsals. To compensate, the

researcher/conductor wrote descriptive journal accounts of rehearsals and performances

which provided background data for the choir.

The researcher/conductor's journal below accounts for the quality of the choral

experience at CAIS. It also forms a context for the case studies in Chapter 6. The



following strategies were what the researcher/conductor found to be effective in the

implementation of the CAIS high school choir, based on the literature surveyed

included the use of popular music, effective rehearsal techniques, teacher

encouragement, individual support and concert preparation. On the other hand, the

researcher/conductor argues that the musical learning gap between the singers and their

lack of sight-reading skills limited the success of the choir.

The Use of Popular Music

Like Zielinski (2005, p.44), I (the researcher/conductor) was struck by the amount of

wrong notes produced by the CAIS choir students who cannot sight-read. Then I

quickly realised that songs like “All Things Bright and Beautiful” by John Rutter was

too ambitious a repertoire for my students this year. Therefore I chose music from the

popular music genre to ensure a successful beginning to the choral program. In the first

semester, the choir sang popular songs including: “You Raise Me Up”, “You've Got a

Friend in Me”, a semi-classical number “The Believer's Prayer”, and two traditional

choir pieces such as “The Sound of Music” and “For the Beauty of the Earth.” All of

these songs were successfully performed in the first school concert at Christmas.

According to Poliniak (2009), choral teachers should select repertoire that adolescents

find relevant. She stated that “for or this age group (middle school and high school), it

can be a good idea to ask them what they wish to see in a choral program and you may

be pleasantly surprised” (p.34). I, therefore, suggested to my students that they are



capable of making good choices of repertoire and I encouraged them to recommend

songs that they would like the choir to sing in the second semester. One of the students

recommended “We are the World” by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie. It was an

instant hit. Students found this song “relevant, challenging and satisfying” (Freer, 2007,

p.31). Students listened to the 2010 version of the song and insisted that they inject

their personal interpretation like the pop stars did. The way these students were

involved in this musical decision making greatly affected their sense of ownership

(Poliniak, 2009, p.34, Silber, 2005). However, I also chose songs that had great text

and well-written voice leading because they conveyed a relevant message that was

deemed beneficial to the singers (Silber, 2005, p.256). In this light, “The Prayer” by

Celine Dion and Andrea Boccelli was chosen because of its Christian text. It was

meaningful to the students because most of them are Christians. Students professed that

they identified strongly with the Christian values of the song. Although the popular

songs continued to dominate the repertoire list, the level of vocal challenges increased.

First of all, the choir joined the Grade 5 and Grade 6 students and performed a

Mandarin song, “The Stream of Praise”. Next, the choir sang “Stand by Me” and “What

a Wonderful World”. Then, the Italian contemporary song “The Prayer” was presented

with the best soloists from the choir. Finally, “We are the World” was performed.

There were an overwhelming number of students who indicated that they enjoyed the

songs and felt that the songs were appropriate for the choir.



Effective Rehearsal Techniques

The choir performed in December and June. Approximately 6 songs were performed in

each concert. The audience included parents, students, staff as well as alumni of about

800 people. To prepare for these concerts, the practice at the CAIS choir includes vocal

warm-ups, solfege training and literature practice for upcoming concerts. Teacher-

directed modelling (Grimland, 2005) was employed. Verbal, visual as well as process

modelling were also used. Audible models were used when I demonstrated the vocal

quality of different emotions, intensity of musical phrases and what the voice sounds

like when there is enough breath support. I used hand signals to stop excessive talking

and get singers' attention. By watching my hands, students observed conducting signals

more closely. Visual models were also given by signalling entrances, placing hands on

the diaphragm to remind singers to breathe deeply, and mouthing foreign texts. Facial

expressions were used to model moods reflecting the meaning of the texts. Conducting

cues were explained to the students explicitly so that they responded accordingly.

Process models were used to train students to support high notes with their diaphragm.

Students warmed up their diaphragm, practised pushing the diaphragm in increasing

strength and I explained that their diaphragm needed to push down harder and harder

when they sang higher and higher. Verbal feedback was given to students when they

achieved a strong and supported sound.



Teacher Encouragement

In the CAIS choir, students' performing age is rather young and therefore lots of

encouragement, training and performance opportunities were needed. I was very

sensitive to singers' anxiety level and I avoided raising my voice and criticising

negatively. Also, negative mood was avoided when critiques were offered so that

students felt safe to explore their voice. When students sing alone, positive feedback

was provided to build confidence. An Italian native speaker was invited to teach Italian

and a Mandarin teacher taught the Chinese dictions.

Individual Support

Serious effort was made to introduce vocal training for individual students who have

different levels of competence in singing. Throughout the year, vocal techniques were

taught through vocal warm-ups. In the second semester, students signed up for

individual vocal lessons. Then I explained to students that there will be a final

examination in which all the students will be required to sing a solo. Students could

sing a choir song or with my approval, they may sing another song. All students were

required to sign up for individual coaching which took place in April and May. They

each received 1 hour of one-on-one coaching. Students were given feedback about how

they may improve vocally. Like a regular vocal lesson, the student sang and specific

techniques were taught to improve their singing. The process was repeated until both

the student and I was satisfied with the result.



Concert Preparation

Small group and solo singing opportunities were offered to all CAIS choir students on a

volunteer basis. I offered after-school free time for small group or individual coaching

in a relaxed and non-evaluative fashion in order to resemble a community music-

making experience. In the first semester, four Grade 12, one Grade 10 and one Grade

11 girl remained after-school for extra singing. In the second semester, numerous solo

opportunities were designed for those who were up for further vocal challenge. The

first concert began with the small group ensemble that sang two classical pieces “The

Sound of Music” and “For the Beauty of the Earth” in order to create an impression of

high quality. Then the whole choir sang a 2-part lyrical song, “The Believer's Prayer”.

Since the harmony was simple and lyrics were prayerful, the singers sang with ease and

confidence. The next song “You Raise Me Up” was slightly more challenging because

of the high range. The repertoire finished with a light-hearted Disney movie song

“You've Got a Friend in Me”. Since the tune was familiar to the audience, they sang

along and the concert ended on a strong and memorable note. The concert was

rewarding to the singers as teachers, students and parents all appreciated how good the

choir sounded with only four months of training.

The second concert was in June and higher goals were set. First, students sang “Stream

of Praise” in Mandarin and “Stand By Me” in four parts. Then, they sang a folk number

“What a Wonderful World”. The next two songs were the most challenging. “The

Prayer” is an Italian-English duet which expands the upper range. One soprano was



exceptionally stronger at singing in a classical style and she sang the solo part which the

famous tenor Andrea Bochelli sang on the original recording of this song. Lastly, “We

Are the World” by Michael Jackson & Lionel Ritchie concluded the concert with many

singers assuming a solo part with personally improvised melody.

Limitations of the CAIS High School Choir

Despite the effectively of the above strategies, the musical learning gap and the lack of

sight-reading ability limited the overall success of the choir.

The Musical Learning Gap

CAIS students learn to play band instruments compulsorily between Grade 5 and Grade

8 and no formal vocal training is provided after Grade 5. Contrarily, students who have

come to CAIS from other schools may have more involvement in choral music between

Grade 5 and Grade 8. Hence, a large disparity existed in the years of choral experience

among choir members as there is no prerequisite of previous choral training.

The Lack of Sight-reading Skills

Most singers had very limited choral training and their notational skills were weak.

Sight-reading training was provided but it took substantial time from rehearsing concert

pieces. Like Kennedy (2003, p.35), I soon realized that it was “more important to make

music than to achieve total notational accuracy” so that we would not lose the music in



pursuit of perfect reading of notation. Therefore, sight-reading training was put on

hold.

In choosing the learning priorities, I held Swanwick's claim that one of the principles of

music education is “aiming for musical fluency first and last” and cultivating the

understanding of 'musicking' (Swanwick, 1999, as sited in Kennedy, 2003, p.40). As a

result, the learning priorities of the CAIS choir were cultivating the enjoyment of

singing, recognizing vocal abilities, improving vocal techniques and group singing

skills, increasing musical preferences and knowledge. Skills such as sight-reading

would be introduced in the coming years.

Questionnaire Survey

All 23 members of the choir were invited to complete the questionnaire. Only 20

students responded and 3 did not respond to the questionnaire due to the fact that they

were away in a soccer competition when the questionnaire was administered. As a

result, the return rate was 87 %. Content validity was assured as all the questions were

understood by the subjects instantly and no further explanation was needed, but it was

necessary to note that a few students completed the questionnaire within 15 minutes

whereas the rest of the students took at least 30 minutes. It was asserted that some

students did not take their time to reflect on their experiences seriously. The

questionnaire was non-identifiable and no names were recorded. However, students

were required to indicate their grade level, gender and years of choral experience.



Completed questionnaires were returned to the supervising teacher. Completed

questionnaires were received from 7 Grade 9 students [coded 1-7G9 in the discussion

that follows], 5 Grade 10 students [coded 1-5G10], 4 Grade 11 students [coded 1-

4G11], and 4 Grade 12 students [coded 1-4G12].

The researcher-developed questionnaire was designed in 4 major parts to explore

participants’ motivation, choral experience, conductor-student relationship, perceived

benefits of being in the choral program, as well as challenges faced being in the

program. The first part of the questionnaire comprised open-ended questions about the

general musical experience which shed further light on closed responses. The closed

questions covered 3 main areas. Part 1 was about the motivation of participation

including musical (Q.1-3), social (Q.4-5), as well as personal factors (Q.6-10). Students

answered to what degree they agree or disagree with the motivational factors. Part 2

was about the perceived musical (Q.1-6), social (Q.7-10) and personal benefits (Q.11-

15) of choral participation. Part 3 investigated the interaction between the conductor

and students. Students responded about the frequency of positive experience which

reflected effective pedagogies.

Focus Group Interview

The researcher/conductor invited six choir students to participate in the focus group

after the questionnaire survey. All focus group members were chosen because of their

“noted interest, vocal quality, and behaviour, ability to follow through with preparation



for the event and event participation and talent” (Hedder, 2007, p.53). Carina is a

Canadian-Chinese who was in Grade 10. She loves to sing but was very nervous about

singing alone in public. Megan is an orphan from China who is visually-impaired.

Jasmine is Japanese. She was the soprano part-leader who had the best vocal technique

in the choir. Ethan was an outstanding bass soloist who grew up in England. Hillary's

mother is a music teacher and hence she probably had the richest musical experience.

Ivan has been in CAIS since Grade 4 and his vocal ability suffered due to the lack of

opportunities to sing at school between Grades 5-9. Hillary and Megan were in Grade

12; Ethan and Jasmine were in Grade 11; Carina and Ivan were in Grade 10. The focus

group members represented a cross-section of the different ages, musical and cultural

backgrounds which allowed them varied perspectives on their involvement in a formal

choral program.

The teacher invited to conduct the focus group interview was chosen because she was

the most experienced in choral conducting and teaching music at CAIS and she was not

involved in the research in any other way. She is an experienced music teacher and

therefore was helpful in soliciting musical responses from the interviewees. The

structured focus group interview included questions regarding past music experiences as

well as present learning in the CAIS high school choir. Interview questions included

past and present formal and informal music education students have received at home,

privately and at school. A video-recording of the focus group interview was taken and

transcribed. Focus group interview questions are included in Appendix B.



The purpose and method of the focus group interview was explained to the teacher-

interviewer in advance and she in turn explained to the interviewees that they did not

have to answer any questions that they felt uncomfortable or obtrusive and they could

feel free to interject with comments. She also agreed to take notes during the interview.

When students needed clarifications, she explained interview questions in terms that

students could easily understand. She also asked open-ended questions to deepen

reflection when appropriate and opportune. Each student took turns to answer the first

group of questions, “Can you talk about the types of music education you have had?”

Afterwards, they each answered question two, “What is your self-perception as a

singer?” and lastly, they answered question three, “Can you talk about your choral

experience this year?” After they answered all the questions, the teacher-interviewer

asked them if they had any additional comments. The focus group interview was about

two hours and fifteen minutes and notes were taken to record key comments.

Reflective Journals

The reflective journal prompts were designed after the focus group interview. As each

of the focus group member was benefited in different ways, for example, Carina was

afraid of performing but she overcame stage fright to become a solo singer; Jasmine

battled to succeed in an English school environment and music is something that helped

her ease the academic stress; Megan was the only visually impaired student at CAIS and

music helped her blend into the school's culture because the choir provided an avenue

for her to be involved in the school's major events; Ivan and Ethan first identified

themselves as pop and rap singers but gradually expanded their taste to appreciate



classical music. The researcher/conductor, therefore, designed individual prompts to

deepen understanding of how the choir benefited each individual in a personalized way.

Ethical Procedures

Since the researcher had an unequal relationship with the students as their choral

director, some procedures needed to be done to avoid a coercive situation. Therefore,

another teacher in CAIS approached the students to do the questionnaire without the

researcher being presented. This independent teacher indicated that if at any time

students felt uncomfortable about continuing to undertake the research, they could

approach this independent teacher to discuss the situation and withdraw without any

fear of repercussions. Similarly, the focus group interview was conducted by another

teacher of CAIS.

The explanatory statement of the questionnaire was provided prior to its administration.

The research explained that the participation of the questionnaire was totally voluntary

and in no way disadvantaged anyone who did not participate. The questionnaire was

coded in grade levels and unidentifiable otherwise. Students implied their consent by

completing and returning their questionnaires in a collection box located in the rehearsal

room.



The researcher/conductor purposefully selected six choir members to participate in the

focus group interview afterwards. A focus group explanatory statement was provided to

them and their parents' consent was sought by completing and returning the consent

forms. The focus group interview was video-taped and transcribed. The

researcher/conductor collected two reflective diary entries. Recurring themes were

identified and categorized according with the questionnaire data and focus group

interview transcript. Results were interpreted in six individual case studies of the focus

group members followed by a discussion that addressed the research questions.

Analysis and Interpretation of Data

The research questions guided the analysis of data collected through the questionnaire,

focus group interview and the reflective diary. A thematic analysis was conducted to

categorized questionnaire data into 1) motivations, 2) effective pedagogical and

curriculum strategies, and 3) positive musical, social and personal experience and

benefits. Similar thematic analysis was conducted by Barrett & Smigiel (2007) to

analysis the musical, social and personal benefits of youth arts programs; and Pitts

(2007), who thematically analysed the costs and benefits of musical participation.

The coded questionnaire allowed the researcher to compare the different thinking and

perceptions of the senior students. A comparative analysis was performed to compare

questionnaire data, focus group interview video transcript, the reflective diary entries



and the year-end performance video. After the analysis, additional themes emerged.

The researcher decided how to best organise the emergent themes and the categories

according to the findings. The formal and informal musical experiences of each focus

group member were written into six in-depth case studies. Although individual

attention was focused on six focus group members, the perspectives of all the choir

members were viewed as a whole. The research questions, underlining the motivation,

benefits and issues faced by these students were addressed.

All twenty-three choir members were invited to complete the questionnaire but only

twenty returned it because three had left for a soccer competition before their

questionnaire was completed. Out of the twenty students who returned their completed

questionnaire, 60% were Grade 9 and Grade 10, 40% were Grade 11 and Grade 12

students. The lower number of senior students may be related to the academic pressure

of public examinations in Grade 11 and Grade 12. Furthermore, since no credit was

awarded to Grade 12 students in the first year of choir, the opportunity cost for them to

participate in the choir was higher than their younger peers. Out of the 23 choir

members, 17 were female which indicated that boys were more hesitant in joining choir.

This may be explained by the lack of opportunities for Grade 5- 8 boys to sing. The

questionnaire indicated that half of the choir members had no previous choral

experience and only 30% had more than 3 years of choral experience. Since most

students were novice singers, intensive vocal training was necessary to build up singers'

technique and confidence.



Motivation for Participating in the High School Choir

Students from the whole choir were asked to indicate the degree to which they agreed

with a given list of possible reasons for enrolling in the choir. The list is shown in

Table 1.

Questionnaire Part 1 Results for the CAIS High School Choir

Table 1. Reasons for Enrolling in the Choir

Strongly agree – 5, Agree – 4, Don’t’ know – 3, Disagree – 2, Strongly disagree – 1

I am good at singing Average= 3.2, Mode=4, Range=2-5

I like to learn more about music Average= 4.4, Mode=4, Range=2-5

I want to improve my singing skills Average=4.4 , Mode=4-5, Range=3-5

I want to be with others who like to sing Average= 3.85, Mode=4, Range=1-5

I like to perform with others Average= 3.7, Mode=4, Range=1-5

I do not like band Average= 3.1, Mode=3-4, Range=1-5

I do not like drama Average= 2.8, Mode=3, Range=1-5

I want to learn something new Average= 3.7, Mode=4, Range=1-5

My parent wants me to join the choir Average=2.05, Mode=2, Range=1-4



The following results are from Questionnaire Part 1.

Musical Motivations

The result showed that more students chose to enrol in choir because of musical (38%)

rather than social (31%) and personal (28%) reasons. Most students enrolled in the

choir mainly because they like to sing and they wanted to improve their singing skills.

Half of the students strongly agreed and 40% agreed that they enrolled in choral music

because they wanted to improve their singing skills. Although choir students were

highly interested in singing, 65% of students indicated that they don’t know whether

they were good at singing. The researcher argued that although some students were

good singers in Grade 4, their singing abilities had regressed due to the lack of

opportunities to sing and participate in choral activities. Hence, there was a great need

to provide choral training in the middle years (Grade 4 – Grade 8). Additionally, 75%

of the students were interested to learn more about music but nearly half of the students

professed that they didn’t like playing band instruments. There were 75% of students

who wanted to learn something new because they had never sung in a choir before.

Social Motivation

Although 7 students commented that they liked to sing with their friends, even more

choir students enrolled in choir because they wanted to be with others who like to sing.

Also, 65% of the choir members like the experience of performing with others.

Students enjoyed coming to choir to meet with like-minded people.



Personal and Other Motivation

The CAIS high school choir is time-tabled against band and drama which means that

students who do not like drama and band are in choir. Although 45% of the students

agreed that they were also interested in drama, 75% of the students wanted to do

something new since there has never been a choir at CAIS before. Students wanted to

have first-hand experience of the CAIS choir program. Only 10% of the students

agreed that they chose choir because their parents wanted them to.

Musical, Social and Personal Benefits of Choral

Engagement

It is believed that positive choral experience leads to re-enrolment into the choir and a

life-long involvement in choral music (Meyers, 2008). The frequency of positive and/or

negative choral experience was recorded in Table 2.


Table 2. Positive and/or Negative Choral Experience

Always – 5, Frequently – 4, About half of the time – 3, Infrequently – 2, Never – 1

1. I have become better at controlling my voice

Average=3.9, Mode=4, Range=3-5

2. I have become more confident in singing in front of people in class and in concert

Average=4, Mode=4, Range=2-5

3. My identity as a singer has become stronger




4. I feel safe to sing a solo in class because the teacher and the class is supportive and non-judgemental


5. I have become more active in listening to others and knowing when it is my turn to sing


6. I have become more creative in thinking of ways to interpret songs meaningfully


7. I find it easy to fit in to the choir Average= 3.9 ,Mode= 4, Range=2-5

8. I feel that my contribution to the choir is recognized

Average= 2.9, Mode= 3, Range=1-5

9. My friends and I have become closer Average= 3.3, Mode=3-4, Range=1-5

10. The choir is a place where I can talk to someone about my personal or social issues.


11. I have been given responsibilities to apply my knowledge or skills


12. Singing helps me reflect about my musical, social and personal experience


13. The songs help me to think more positively


14. My attitudes towards school has become more positive


15. I usually feel happier after singing in the choir





The average strength of agreement about the musical, social and personal benefits is 3.725, 3.06 and 3.4 respectively. By average, each student is benefited 37% musically, 30% socially and 33% personally. The following results are from Questionnaire Part 2.

Benefits of the High School Choral Enrolment at CAIS

Musical Benefits: Improvement in Musical Skills

The musical benefits were examined as to the improvement of music skills and

students’ individual role in the choir. All the choir members reported growth in singing

ability and 95% of the students claimed that they became more confident to sing in

public.

All students also reported improvement in listening skills, which is critical to the

success of an ensemble. Increased creativity was reported by 80% of students and 90%

reported increased sense of responsibility. The following are qualitative comments

were reported in the questionnaire about the 1) teacher's encouragement, 2) increased

self-confidence and 3) solo singing.

1) Teacher's Encouragement

In the beginning, the lack of listening skills was a major difficulty. Singers were not

used to hearing their own voices as well as each other's voices. The teacher encouraged

students to sing softly and listened to the harmony and then students gradually

developed their ability to sing in harmony.



Likewise, students were not used to singing in their head voices. In order to help

students use their head voice more comfortably, the teacher ensured that when she

demonstrated her head voice, she would sing in a delicate manner that mirrors the voice

quality of the beginning singers. Students responded positively to teacher's modelling

and encouragement.

1. She (the teacher) is very encouraging and if we mess up, she acts like it's nothing. She does not

care if we can sing really well or if we have the worst voices in the world. If we try our best,

she's already very satisfied with that. (1G9)

2. She gives compliments to those who succeed and hints of support to those who have trouble with

it. (5G9)

2) Increasing Self-confidence

Teacher's encouragement helped students to develop self-confidence in singing and

performing in public.

3. Joining the choir gives me encouragement to perform in front of others (4G9)

4. I used to be in a choir outside school and singing in class (annoys my classmates). It is a way of

talent development. (2G12)

5. It is a way to build my own musical development. I love music and aim to be a better vocalist.

(4G12)



3) Solo Singing

As students became more self-confident, they valued opportunities to sing and perform

individually.

6. Because this song is one of Michael's songs and this song provides opportunity for me to sing a

solo. (We are the World, 3G9)

Social Benefits: Building a Positive School Environment

The social benefits were examined through the relationship between choir members and

relationships between students and the community. The positive social environment

was definitely a highlight. There were 95% of choir members who found it easy to fit

into the choir. The social atmosphere was positive throughout the year. There were

80% of students who agreed that the choir brought people closer together. The

following examples are of positive social experiences in 1) forming new friendship, 2)

sharing the love of singing, 3) unity , 4) supporting other, 5) love and 6) remembering a

previous school.



1) Forming New Friendship

Students modelled the teacher in encouraging others to sing. Students also enjoyed

making friends and working with students from other grade levels.

1. I like the fact that everyone has a positive attitude. If you make a mistake, no one will laugh at

you. They will encourage you so you do not feel bad. (1G9)

2. I like how I can get to know other people from other grade levels. (2G9)

3. I like the interdependence of the class with each other (5G10)

2) Sharing the Love of Singing

Being with like-minded people allowed students to share and cultivate their love of singing more freely.

4. (I like to) sing with others (6G9)

5. (I like) the environment, willingness to sing(3G10)

6. (I like) the people and the environment. (4G10)

7. It is fun to have a gathering with other people who like to sing and discuss about our thoughts

about our music skills. (4G9)



3) Unity

8. Music is unique in the way it brings people closer. The sense of unity among choir members

was the highlight of the questionnaire. I like the unity, and the power of it to produce such

beautiful sounds. (3G11)

9. Now everything works, harmony, the team work and the different skills of individuals are

displayed. (1G10)

10. I also think that this song brings us into unity because everyone loves it. (We are the World,

3G9)

11. It shows unity and strength and standing together as one. We can make a change. (We are the

World, 4G10)

12. It reminds me of the fact that we all have the responsibility of taking care of each other and the

world. (We are the World, 5G10)

4) Supporting Others

The music helped students to see life larger than them and empowers them to serve the

community and others who are less privileged.

13. It helps us consider watching the video on YouTube which supports countries in poverty.

Currently, there is a group named, “We are the World 25”, which supports the country Haiti who

has suffered from destruction and this group influences us and others to help support this

country. (We are the World, 5G9)

14. Encouraging and especially since it is our last year in high school, it allows me to think of all the

people who have supported me. (You Raised Me Up, 3G12)



15. It's a song I've known for a long time and I found the lyrics so rich and full. The music and

power of the melody is also very nice. It relates to how others have “raised me up” in life. (You

Raise Me Up, 1G12)

16. This song was very meaningful to me because it described what I want to do in life. I want to be

an encouragement to others and help people out. (The Believer's Prayer, 2G9)

5) Love

Students responded positively to the moral and spiritual values of Christian love.

17. I like it because it's a Christian song. As a Christian myself, I found the song very meaningful.

To me, it's talking about God's love for us and all the things He has done for us. When we feel

sad we can always turn to God and He will answer. (You Raise Me Up, 1G9)

18. It has a good moral. It shows the heart of a believer. I desire the same thing as the song writer.

(The Believer's Prayer, 2G12)

6) Remembering a Previous School

One of the divergent comments is about the way songs bring back old memories.

19. I sang this song in previous years. I love this song it reminds me of the old times in my old

school. (We are the World, 2G10)



Personal Benefits: Positive Thinking

Although one student expressed that “sometimes (people have) not taken (the class)

seriously” (4G10), involvement in choral music assisted 70% students in reflecting

about their daily lives. The songs helped 90% of students think more positively.

Three quarters of the students reported that their attitude towards school became

more positive. Almost all the students felt happier after choir rehearsals and agreed

that the rehearsals were therapeutic in terms of 1) expressing emotions, 2)

relaxation, 3) entertainment and 4) motivation.

1) Expressing Emotions

Students claimed that music helps them express their emotions in a way that is better

than words.

1. (Music is) a therapy, a comforter, a refuge, my expressions beyond words and part of my life. I

cannot imagine living in a world without music. (4G12)

2. Expressing my emotions. (3G12)

3. It is very important to sing, it is a way to express yourself. Is has values as entertainment and

character development. (2G12)

4. I believe music is a really useful tool to express my feelings, and a way to reduce stress. (1G11)



2) Relaxation

Music was effective in reducing stress and anxiety in students' daily life.

5. Music is a tool for my relaxation from the stressful environment at school. I sing when I take

showers or whenever I'm happy. When I'm facing something frustrating, I like to sing to relax

myself. (3G11)

6. I listen to music everyday to relax and get rid of my anxieties. I could live without music but it

would be extremely difficult. (1G9)

7. I usually hum a tune from a song either at school or at home. Music plays a role of

entertainment in my life, and as a tool to help me relax and feel free. (5G9)

8. The role that music plays in my life is a stimulant that makes me feel better when I'm down. A

very important part in terms of a daily thing that I do. (3G9)

9. I sing whenever I feel like singing, maybe just as I am walking, taking a shower or just when I

am listening to it. Music is very important as it is a form of relaxation to me. (1G10).

3) Entertainment

Music was made students' life more enjoyable and fun.

10. Anytime, (music is) an entertainment to me, music is important to me, because it can change

how I feel. (6G9)

11. I listen to it when I'm not having a good day. It fills the environment and creates an atmosphere.

(3G10).

12. The songs help me forget things around me. (7G9)



13. Choir is fun. We enjoy singing most songs, especially well-known ones. (5G9)

4) Motivation

Music was a source of inspiration and energy to the students.

14. Music is really entertaining and also inspiring. It's pretty important and can be motivating.

(4G10)

15. Music plays a lot in my life. It gives me motivation to press on in life. Without music, I would

find life to be too boring. (5G10)

16. I can get inspiration to draw from music, so I like to listen at home and while I'm going

somewhere. It is fairly important to me. (1G12)

Pedagogical Issues

Students rated the frequency of positive teacher-student interaction as a marker of

effective pedagogy. The frequency of positive interaction was recorded in Table 3.

Effective pedagogies reported from the qualitative comments included 1) teacher

instruction, 2) explicit vocal training, 3) teacher's encouragement with reducing

performance anxiety, 4) selection of songs and 5) state of flow.




Table 3. Positive Teacher-Student Interaction

Always – 5, Frequently – 4, About half of the time – 3, Infrequently – 2, Never – 1

1. The teacher is well-prepared for rehearsals

Average=4.1, Mode=4 , Range=3-5

2. The teacher is organized Average=4.35, Mode=4, Range=3-5

3. The teacher pays attention to musical details

Average=4, Mode=4 , Range=3-5

4. The teacher keeps me well-informed Average=4.05, Mode= 4, Range=1-5

5. The teacher has an appropriate playfulness

Average=3.85 Mode=4 , Range=1-5

6. The teacher discusses how to overcome musical challenges


7. The teacher provides enough individual feedback and assistance


8. The teacher gives me valuable comments about my voice


9. The teacher tailors challenges to fit my skill level


10. The teacher presents challenges at the right pace


11. The teacher talks too much Average=2.55, Mode= 3, Range=1-4

12. The teacher does not let me move around and I feel bored

Average=2.2, Mode= 2, Range=1-5

13. I feel that time goes by quickly during choir rehearsals and I do not feel stressed or bored


14. I focus more on singing and less on chit-chatting.


15. There is enough opportunities for peer dialogue


16. I learn the most during sectional rehearsals




17. There is enough performing opportunities


18. There is enough solo singing opportunities

Average=3.75, Mode= 4, Range=2-5


The average effectiveness of teacher instruction, peer instruction and performance

opportunities are 3.98, 3.55 and 3.5 prospectively.

1) Teacher Instruction

Students unanimously agreed that the teacher’s planning was adequate. Nearly all the

students were satisfied with the teacher’s communication (95%). Majority of the

students agreed that the teacher had an appropriate playfulness which made the class fun

(80%).

1. She rehearses it with us many times, so that the tune of the song and the lyrics are familiar,

making me less nervous when we actually perform. (2G9)

2. Her attentiveness when she conducts. (2G11)

3. Teacher's willingness and teaching style. (3G10)

About half of the students reported that choral training had some transferred effect on

other school subjects (55%). Nevertheless, the researcher was concerned that half the

students found the teacher talked too much. Also, a quarter of the students wanted more

mobility in classroom activities. The issue of differentiated teaching strategies to meet

diverse musical needs will be addressed in a Chapter 6.



Sectional rehearsals were popular and effective except that some students required more

teacher directions and supervision in this area. All students agreed that there were

enough opportunities for peer dialogue and they were focused on musical topics mostly.

However, almost all (95%) of the students felt that there were not enough opportunities

for them to talk to each other about personal and social issues with their choir friends.

More social activities could be designed in the future to provide opportunities for

students to talk about non-musical issues and hence build meaningful relationship

beyond the choir.

2) Explicit Vocal Training

Although one student still feels reluctant to sing individually, 90-95% of the students

were satisfied with the amount and quality of individual assistance through solo singing

experience.

4. Making everyone sing a solo in front of class helps us to sing better in bigger crowds. (3G12)

5. It's good how she is pushing everyone to try out for a solo part, but she could push a bit harder.

(1G10)

6. Mrs. Kong never forces us to sing solo and she always provides feedback and lets us know how

to improve our skills of singing. (4G9)

7. Mrs. Kong taught how to sing well and how to sing well in solo. She's a great teacher, and she

had a lot of patience with us and taught us the harmony in the class. (2G10)

8. She is kind and is always willing to spend time to teach us how to develop our voice. (7G9)



9. I like how we can express our feelings through music, and the tactics that we learn from our

teacher. (4G11)

10. I also like how there's many opportunities for us to showcase our talents either vocally or

artistically. (2G9)

3) Teacher's Encouragement in Reducing Performance Anxiety

The coding of the written responses of the questionnaire highlighted that performance

anxiety was the main issue in choir because most singers were inexperienced in

performing. The data in Table 3 revealed that the researcher was well-prepared,

organized, paid attention to music details and hence helped students reduce their

performing anxiety (Fleege, Charleswort, Burts & Hart, 1992; Passer, 1988; Power,

1982; Roberts, 1986; Smith, Smoll, & Barnett, 1995; Zatz & Chassin, 1985; as cited in

Ryan & Andrews, 2009). As the research literature indicates, a positive teaching style

and personality can help reduce students' performance anxiety; the teacher's

encouragement was a highlight in students' comments in the way it reduces performance

anxiety.

11. I like the teacher's encouragement. (4G12)

12. She is very responsive, always encouraging and also pushes us to strive for more. (3G10)

13. Her kindness and encouragement helps me learn and continue in choral music. Her knowledge

in music is really amazing, and when a young man sees someone else so successful, he wants to

be just like that person. (5G10).

14. Mrs. Kong always gives encouragement to students, so it helps to build up confidence and to

reduce my anxiety in performing. (1G11)



15. She always encourages us. She gives a lot of positive feed back when we sing a song but she

would not neglect the areas where we can improve in. (3G11)

16. Mrs. Kong gives assuring smiles and shows patience which encourages me. (4G12)

17. By smiling, this increases our will to sing more powerfully. (3G9)

18. I get nervous doing solos or leading warm ups, but I think it can be helpful. (4G10)

19. Mrs. Kong comforts us and releases our anxiety through her kind and encouraging words.

(4G11)

20. Her motion and tone of voice are very calming in places like the concerts, which helps. (1G12)

21. Mrs. Kong is very supportive and relaxed. She is very positive and that gives people a boost.

(2G12)

4) Selection of Songs

Students were involved in selecting the repertoire. The teacher invited students to

suggest repertoire in an open and friendly manner. “We Are the World”, “For the

Beauty of the Earth” and “The Sound of Music” were recommended by students.

Almost half of the students (45%) reported that they liked the choir repertoire.

Students who liked the songs:

22. I like (the) music, and I like singing in the choir. (2G10)

23. I really like the songs that we sing. (5G10)

24. Overall, I enjoy the songs that we sing in choir (1G11)

25. I like learning music and songs in school/class. (1G12)

26. I like the opportunities to learn new songs. (2G12)

27. (I like) singing a variety of songs; being able to sing is really fun. (3G12)



One fifth of the students confessed that they didn’t like the songs that the choir sang

because they have more extreme musical tastes. One thought that the songs were too

new and the other too old. One student recommended that there should be more variety

in the accompaniment.

Students who did not like the songs:

28. I feel that some of the songs we sing are old-fashioned. (2G9)

29. There is no other instrument except piano. (1G10)

30. I don’t like the fact that we sang many “popular” songs. It is essential for our musical

development regardless of what teenagers think. I find it unproductive, when we are not

learning the techniques a choir should have. A choir should be a choir not a musical or a band.

(4G12)

5) State of Flow

Majority of students agreed that time went by quickly during choir rehearsals and they

don’t feel stressed or bored. A few students reported that choir has become their

favourite subject because it brought about relaxation and fun. Chit-chatting has reduced

noticeably because students were more focused. However, other students felt that the

pace of the warm-up sessions was too slow. A majority of the choir students were

inexperienced in sight-reading and hence the optimal pace of rehearsals was less than

desirable for the advanced students. Although sectional rehearsals were provided to

speed up the part-learning, the general pace was still slower than usual.



31. Sometimes it's boring just sitting there and waiting for your turn to sing. (1G9)

32. It is sometimes boring ( 4G11)

33. I do not like the fact that the progress is so slow. There should be auditions before students are

allowed into the choir. (2G12)

34. Class sometimes is a bit slow, but not unbearable. (3G12)

Summary of Questionnaire Data

The choral experience was mostly positive and the students’ experienced positive

differences in the way they sing, perform, socialize, think and enjoy life. In particular,

most students reported positive gain in vocal ability and hence their confidence in

singing publicly. The teacher's encouragement was a significant factor in reducing

performance anxiety. Students also highlighted the way the choir was a break from

their busy school life. The teacher's pedagogy was desirable but the rehearsal pace was

too slow because the majority of students were not previously trained.

Discussion of Questionnaire Analysis Results

The following discussion about the 1) common interest in singing, 2) performance

anxiety, 3) joy, 4) teacher's personal traits, 5) flow experience, 6) inadequate individual

support and 7) insufficient social interaction was drawn from the results of the

questionnaire data.



Common interest in singing

The questionnaire revealed that students chose to enrol in choir because of their intrinsic

interest in singing. The majority of the students would mingle with like-minded people

who like to sing rather even more so than with their friends, which supported Pitt's

findings in 2007. The strong musical motivation was conducive to musical learning and

also reinforced a strong sense of belonging to the group which was drawn together by a

common goal.

Performance Anxiety

In addition, students also shared a common fear of singing in public since the beginning

of the year. However, the researcher/conductor were not aware of the high level of

performance anxiety among students. Although the researcher/conductor has done a lot

to affirm students, more explicit discussions would further help students overcome their

anxiety.

Joy

Table 1, 2 and 3 revealed that students were most satisfied about their improvement in

music skills including: vocal control (4), confidence (3.9) and listening (3.95). Most

students reported a increased sense of joy (3.75). This is supported by the Arts

Education Model E recommended by the Alberta Government (Alberta government,

Education, 2009, p.18) where joy is the ultimately goal of music education. Although

students worked hard in the choir, they did not feel stressed because the music helped

them think more positively (11 comments) and relax (9 comments). Students felt that



choir was a place where they can forget their personal and social issues temporarily and

reduce their stress level and hence was a part of school life they enjoy the most.

Teacher's Personal Traits

The researcher/conductor's personal traits of being organized (4.35), paying attention to

details (4) was an asset to the choir. Students felt that they can trust the

researcher/conductor because she kept them well-informed (4.05). Students also

welcomed open discussions about how to overcome musical challenges (4.05).

Flow Experience

It is worthy to discuss the flow experience as most students strongly agree (4.1) that

they feel time goes by quickly although 4 students found the class pace too slow. These

students were likely the more advanced ones, which mean that the beginning students

experienced accelerated learning and mastery of new skills.

Inadequate Individual Support

Nevertheless, nearly half of the students felt that they needed more individual attention

and they felt that their personal contributions were not recognized. The

researcher/conductor may argue that choir was not a place where individual vocal

instructions can be provided frequently, none the less, this issue can be addressed by

providing differentiated instructions in order to meet individual needs.

Recommendations for differentiation will be made in Chapter 6.



Insufficient Social Interaction

Students did not feel strongly (3.3) about getting closer to their friends in choir.

Furthermore, students disagreed (2.15) that choir was a place where they can talk to

others about their personal or social issues. The researcher/conductor agreed that she

has neglected the social growth of her students. As teacher, she was very focused on

teaching music, but she rarely spent time to get to know her students socially and

personally. She did not provide adequate opportunities for students to talk to each other

apart beyond structured class time.

Analysis of the Focus Group Interview Data

Focus group members described their previous music education from their parents,

friends, private lessons and schools; perspective of their own musical identity and

current choral experiences. After analysing each case, cross-case comparison was made

to search for similarities and differences. Common positive experiences included: 1)

parental support, 2) peer and teacher encouragement and 3) the love of singing. Most

common obstacle was 4) performance anxiety in solo singing.



Parental SupportParents played an important role in all focus members' music education except Ethan.

The parents of Jasmine, Carina and Megan were facilitators whereas Ivan and Hillary's

parents were mentors. As facilitators, Carina and Megan's parents always attended the

concerts they performed in; Jasmine, Carina and Megan's parents provided optimal

musical opportunities included voice and instrumental lessons. As mentors, Ivan's

parents are active participants in church choirs. Hillary's mother is a music teacher who

trained her intensively. These parents support were crucial and focus group members

spoke highly of their parents' effort in nurturing their musical growth. Nevertheless,

Hillary felt that her family can be a source of negative pressure when they expect her to

become a professional musician like her mother and cousins. She confided that she did

not want this pressure and would like other people to “see her for herself”.

Peer and Teacher EncouragementIt was not surprising that 5 focus group members had excellent music teachers who

encouraged them to develop their musical potential. Megan had a vocal teacher from

Grade 10 to Grade 11 who was always encouraged her to just try in spite of her

disabilities. Jasmine's had fond memories of her primary music classes because they

were fun; Ivan's first music teacher, who was the researcher/conductor, always

encouraged him to sing despite his vocal imperfections; Hillary appreciated her mother's

patience because she knows it is hard for parents to be their children's music teacher.

Ethan's source of encouragement, however, came from his friends who always talk with

him about music.



Love of MusicMegan, Jasmine, Ethan, Ivan and Hillary admitted that they love music. Megan loved

music since she was 4 or 5 years-old. Jasmine really liked playing the piano although

she did not like playing classical songs. Ethan fell in love with his choir team in Grade

4 and felt that he could “sucked it in”. Ivan's whole life was filled with music and

Hillary did not remember a time when music was not part of her whole life. All the

focus group members had a passion for music and were genuinely interested in

developing their voice. However, their singing ability varied greatly because no

prerequisite was required. The girls clearly had more choral experience than the boys

and they had marked differences in their musical preferences. All the focus group

members liked classical music except Jasmine, although she said she liked the choir

songs. Ethan had the most diverse musical taste including soft rock, metal and Indie,

pop and rap. Ivan disliked rock music because of its negative messages, but he liked rap

music because he can perform it without worries about pitch problems.

Performance AnxietyAll focus group members except Ethan and Jasmine experienced various levels of

performance anxiety. The most severe was Carina. She confessed that solo singing

stopped her from involving in choirs in the past. Megan reported that her major

obstacle was not her blindness, but rather her lack of confidence to perform and she

regretted missing performing opportunities in the past due to her lack of confidence.

Ivan admitted that it was not hard to sing for the teacher but much harder to sing for his



peers. Though Hillary was a competent singer, she struggled with stage fright because

she had high expectation for herself and she felt frustrated when she cannot perform

well. All singers reported increased singing ability in different areas of singing. For

example, Carina, Ivan improved their projection; Megan could sing higher than before;

Megan and Hillary had better breathing techniques; Megan and Jasmine improved in

part-singing and lastly, Hillary gained control over her voice. Abril (2007) reported that

improved vocal skills boosted singer's confidence which explains why all the singers

reported increased confidence.

Discussions of Focus Group Interview Results

Parental SupportThe results of the focus group interview supported Abril's claimed that “Music teachers

and family members seemed to have the greatest influence in shaping their beliefs about

singing ability and singer identity” (2007, p.1). Parents are encouraged to be facilitators

and role models for their children's music education; however, they are discouraged

from over-expecting their children to achieve musically. For example, when Jasmine's

mother pushed her to play the piano, she became alienated from classical music.

Limited Musical Style in Repertoire The diverse musical ability, musical experience and musical tastes called for a well-

planned implementation of curriculum standards. Currently, the researcher/conductor

has focused on the novice students who were not a part of this focus group. She had



chosen repertoire that were mainly popular and slightly classical. In the future, the

researcher/conductor can choose repertoire that are more relevant to the experienced

singers by including classical, pop, soft rock and even rap music. Hence, the

researcher/conductor can provide musical challenges for the advanced students in the

CAIS choir.

Performance AnxietyPerformance anxiety affected not just the novice singers, but also experienced singers

like Hillary and Megan. Megan, who is visually-impaired, claimed that such a

psychological barrier was even more devastating than physical barrier. Therefore, the

researcher/conductor should address this psychological barrier in an explicit way

including discussing about negative experiences in past music programs involved and

tracing the roots of their anxiety (Abril, 2007, p.1).



CHAPTER FIVE

INTERPRETIVE CASE STUDIES

Six focus group members are the focus of the interpretive case studies because of their

varied musical, personal and cultural backgrounds. Balance and variety were kept in

mind when the researcher/conductor chose each focus group member to be represented

in the following case studies. Carina struggled with stage fright but had a break through

at the year-end concert. Ethan has found music to be a big part of his social and

personal life. Jasmine, who is Japanese, finds music to be a subject which she can

succeed at because it does not require very good English. Ivan had problem with his

projection and succeeded in singing a solo in the year-end concert. Hillary, who was

unstable in her vocal ability, became more consistent and competent as a singer. Megan

overcomes her visual impairment with a positive attitude and hard work. The following

are individual cases studies of the way these young singers overcame their musical,

social and personal challenges through their involvement in choral music. These cases

draw on each student's focus group interview data, reflective journal entries and year-

end concert observations.



CarinaCarina stepped down from the choral riser to assume her position in front of the choir. The

audience cheered. Carina did a final check of her choir uniform, tested her microphone,

looked at the conductor and smiled. The bass soloist sang, followed by Carina. The

conductor realized that Carina was standing too far from the microphone and asked her to

step forward. Carina stepped forward quickly and projected her voice into the microphone

with accuracy and great care. The sweet and pure quality of her voice immediately

captured everyone’s attention. A few lines later, Carina struggled with a high note and

exerted extra effort to control her voice. Carina managed to gain control for the rest of the

song and finished the song on a strong note. The audience erupted into clapping and

cheering. Carina smiled again and sang the rest of the song with relief. (Year-end concert

excerpt)

Carina has been actively involved in choir and band since primary school. She was

grateful that her high school choir teacher in Canada pushed her to develop her vocal

skills. Apart from teacher encouragement, her parents also played a significant role in

her vocal development by putting her in choir since she was very young. They always

attended the concerts she performed in. Although Carina had many years of choral

experience, she still felt frightened whenever she performed a solo. Many times, the

pressure of solo singing stopped her from involving in her past choirs.

“Well um, I don’t really like singing by myself, and so, that stopped me from... and um…, I

don’t know….” (Focus Group Interview)



Carina was an active member of her school choir in Canada but moving to Hong Kong

was a major disruption to her singing. After moving to Hong Kong three years ago, she

joined the CAIS high school band because choir was not an option.

She was uncertain about joining the high school choir at first. She debated her decision

to join the choir because not many of her friends were in choir and she thought that

performances could be hard. She joined choir because she did not enjoy band and

wanted to try something new. After enrolling in choir, she enjoyed being with others

who share the same passion for singing and are in the same place vocally. Choir

became a class that she looks forward to and she knows that she will improve when she

makes an effort. Carina was highly motivated in choir and was involved in a small

group ensemble after-school. Through her involvement in the CAIS high school choir

this year, she felt that she has improved in projection, range and part-singing ability.

Over the last year Mrs. Kong has taught me certain breathing techniques that help to better

the pitch of my voice and also the clarity of my singing. Through the warm-up exercises we

do in the beginning of class I have been able to extend my voice range, being able to sing a

little bit higher and lower. Mrs. Kong has pushed me to strive for more by giving the

student opportunities in class to sing solos, and also with the after school practices she

offers. She has taught me how to use my diaphragm and different singing techniques to

better my solo singing, and with that new information I am able to have more confidence in

my singing. (Journal entry 1)



Carina considered herself a beginning singer. She felt inexperienced and

unconfident despite frequent singing at school and at church. Although she really

liked singing with friends, she felt less comfortable to sing in public.

Surprisingly, she agreed to sing a solo in the year-end concert.

I agreed to sing a solo for the concert because I wanted to push myself to try new things.

Over the last two years I have been part of my church's worship team, and it has been a

challenge for me to sing straight into the microphone. Mostly because I am afraid that I will

mess up or go off key. But ever since I have been practicing for my choir solo, I have

gained more confidence in myself. I can remember when I was first asked to sing a solo in

class and I sang so quietly that I could just barely be heard because I was so nervous. How-

ever after I sang it, the few that heard me encouraged me to sing a solo in the concert. I was

not going to do a solo in the beginning, I was too nervous, but when Mrs. Kong asked me to

sing one, I took up the opportunity. Even with all the practice, I am still quite nervous for

the performance, but at the same time I am feeling more confident in myself as I continue

to get more encouragement from both my fellow classmates and Mrs. Kong. (Journal entry

1)

Carina's major barrier was stage fright. She practised her solo over and over on the day

of the concert. She was literally shaking with fear and nervousness. She did not want

to embarrass herself in front of everyone and she thought that the only way of doing this

was if she let herself go and just sing as if no one was listening. She felt really relieved

when the song was over and she was proud of herself for singing freely and loudly in

public. Carina’s confidence in singing has been benefited by her performance as a

soloist. Her identity as a singer became much stronger when others responded

positively to her singing in the year-end concert. She also admitted that the choir had

helped her develop her character traits.



I haven’t done any solos before, ... I did ... but it was not good. I think it helps when, ... in

the choir, and they tell you that you ... that you are better than what you think you are. And

that has heightened my confidence. And I think just being able to hear myself a little bit

more helped me to be more confident. I definitely have improved, I think. With projection,

and in part-singing a lot, because I used to follow the person that was near, I was in the

middle, now I’m towards the side, so I can hear both, the sopranos and the altos, so it’s a

little bit harder, but I think I’ve learned to depend on myself a bit more to sing my part.

And I think I’m able to sing a little bit higher now. (Focus Group Interview)

Ethan

It was intermission. The high school choir and the Grade 5 and Grade 6 Mandarin

students filed in the under-sized choral risers. The band director grabbed the microphone

and made an announcement.

Announcement by the band director: “Excuse me and thank you for coming back in, a

quick announcement. This wallet with I.D. was found in the washroom. The name is Man

Wai, Ethan Cheung.”

Ethan raised his hands and the audience laughed knowingly. The band director threw his

wallet across the choir and Ethan caught it and gave a big bow to the audience. Everyone

laughed again. (Year-end concert excerpt)

Ethan was one of the best solo singers in the choir. Ethan acquired his singing skills

mostly through singing and listening to music a great deal outside school because

singing was a form of relaxation to him. Ethan also found it fun, enjoyable and easy, to

express his feelings through music.



“Just have fun. Just enjoy. This is not like a lesson to me, this is like to relax in a way,

'cause all the other stuff (subjects) is like, stressful. I'm failing Physics. It's also a way to

express feelings.” (Focus Group Interview)

When I’m under a lot of stress, singing can help me to clear my mind because I am just

concentrating on singing and nothing else. (Journal entry 1)

Moreover, music was also a big part of Ethan's social life. He admitted that he was

impatient and choral studies have helped him develop his communication skills. He

likes to talk about music with his friends and his friends introduced him to different

musical styles including soft rock, metal and Indie, pop and rap.

(Music) allows me to communicate with different people as we can discuss the different

songs or tune, and this is why friends can affect what type of music I listen to as well.

(Journal entry 1)

Ethan described himself as “a dude who likes to sing” but he honestly admitted that he

enrolled in the choir because the Design Studies class was full.

“To be frank, 'cause Design Studies was full. (All laughed) After about a couple of weeks,

there were a couple of space (in Design Studies) and Mr. McMillan (the school's

counsellor) said that there is space in Design Studies but I decided to stay in choir because

it's pretty fun and it's like a lesson you can enjoy and not worry about stuff.” (Focus group

interview)



He was grateful that he improved a lot in singing due to the opportunities he had to sing

as a soloist. He appreciated that everyone got to sing a solo part or two, not just the best

singers. The choir repertoire had opened up his love for other musical styles including

classical songs.

“Well I guess, you develop your communication skills. You become more confidence in

speaking to other people. It opens up to the type of music I listen to as well. 'Cause, I do

not know, I do not like that exact type of music (the choir sang), I guess, like the genre. I

did not really like the music we are singing now, before, but now it's like, it sounds OK, it's

actually quite good. I'm in a stage of acceptance I guess. You learn to be patient in a way

because when other people do their part, bass is sitting back and chat away.” (Focus group

interview)

Other benefit included improving his grade average because Ethan earned a high mark

in choral music; gaining more patience; transferring presentation skills to other subjects;

and “chilling out” at the end of a hard school day.

“Um ...it brought my grades up as well. It's like a fun lesson in a way cause it's just like a

lesson you that you do not go “Huhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!” you know. You actually think “Oh,

that's OK”. And then after choir, if there is no lesson, you continue singing.” (Focus group

interview)



Jasmine

“We cannot go on, pretending day by day, that someone some day will make a change...”

Jasmine sang and the audience was captivated by her powerful voice. “She is by far the

best singer of the choir”, someone in the audience confided to the person next to him.

(Year-end concert excerpt)

Since the beginning of the year, Jasmine was a confident singer. Her superior vocal

ability was an asset to the choir because Jasmine always made an effort to blend in. She

admitted that she was a high-achiever in music but she never complained about other

choir members because she believed that team work was more important than personal

achievement in choir

For me, when the choir gets together, the audience will have goose bumps because choir

sounds like one voice when each and every one of us breathe at the same time, and also

when we sing at the same volume with emotions (Journal entry 1). “I do not think choir is a

place where you improve your own singing, but I think choir is about how you cooperate

with others.” (Focus group interview)

Although Jasmine was one of the top singers in the choir, it was not always easy for her

to study at CAIS because English was her second language.



“I started learning English three years ago. In other subjects, I really had to think about “I

should write well” or it's not like I can get 'A' all the time especially with English class. It’s

not like I can get 'A' from the essays, you see. So I have to be really stressed out in other

subjects but this class (choir) is not about that..., uh, it does not require any language skill.

So I think it would be better for me to join it.” (Focus group interview)

Choir benefited Jasmine as a buffer subject that improved her overall grades.

More significantly, it was an area that Jasmine could be recognized by her peers.

Through helping others in the choir, she gained confidence in herself.

Ivan

Unlike other focus group members, Ivan had no previous choral experience. Ivan had

been in CAIS since Grade 4. The researcher/conductor was Ivan's first music teacher .

Although Ivan liked singing, it was no longer an option from Grade 5 to Grade 9. He to

played the baritone and trombone in the CAIS band for 2 to 3 years but he stopped

because did not like playing musical instruments. The lack of choral opportunities did

not stop Ivan from singing, however, because his friends introduced him to rap music

and he became a successful rapper.

I really like rap music because of the beat and the idea to think of words that go with the

beat without having to sing harmonically or anything required in other fields. It is the idea

that anyone can be a rapper not only a person with a good voice, and it's also the idea that

the music is brought out more by the words and the beat than the voice. (Journal entry 1)



The success in rap music motivated him to learn other kinds of music. His started

listening to classical music and he was surprised by how much he liked it. He

appreciated his parents' passion for music but they allowed him free choice of music.

“When my parents were just married, they took a musical course. They were students of a

famous Indian singer, so they were engrossed in music – classical music. They were in their

church choir. Their lives were filled with music. Although they love music, they never

really forced me, they allowed me to listen to what I wanted to. They didn’t enrol me in

any music courses.” (Focus group interview)

Although Ivan wanted to be a solo singer, he struggled with projection and limited

range. His first solo piece was proven too high for him and he was unable to sing it for

the first concert. He volunteered to sing a solo part in “The Prayer” for the second

concert because he loved Italian. Ivan needed substantial choral rearranging because of

his pitch and projection problems. The researcher/conductor re-wrote the high notes in

a lower range and asked all the male singers to sing along with Ivan. Apart from this

vocal challenge, Ivan also hurt his ankle in basketball practice. However, he insisted

that he could sing his solo in the concert.



It was the17:00 call time and there was no sign of Ivan. Everyone started to worry about

him. 30 minutes before the concert, Ethan asked the researcher/conductor, “What should

we do if Ivan does not get here on time?” “Will you sing his solo for him?” the

researcher/conductor replied. Someone giggled near-by. The conductor looked over and

saw Ivan giggling. (Year -end concert excerpt)

Ivan was always worried about what others think of him and his singing and hence,

confidence was an on-going issue for him. However, Ivan reported an increased

confidence after the first concert and a significant change of self-perception after the

second concert.

“One main obstacle is my confidence. Not only in the music area, but ... another obstacle

has to be what people think when I sing, what I think people think of me when I sing.”

(Focus group interview) I must say that I could not hear myself during my solo so I judged

myself so bad. When I heard myself again (in the video recording of the year-end

concert), I thought that it was not all that bad and that is how my confidence increased.

(Journal entry 2)

Ivan's musical identity had changed because he ceased opportunities to perform despite

errors and difficulties. He also agreed that the choir made a difference in his overall

school life.



“I have noticed that it has made me happier, like, when the school week ends on a Friday,

last lesson is choral music, and I feel really happy 'cause, well, choral music is really

enjoyable. And I could say that I would end the week happy, not bored” (Focus group

interview). This choir has given me a different sense of purpose. A different kind of study

in CAIS and that does increase my sense of belonging. (Journal entry 2)

Hillary

Hillary has been asking for a school choir for many years.

“Actually, when the school gave us the survey sheets, I think since Grade 9, I started

suggesting “I wanted choir, I wanted choir” and then I actually went to Mrs. Ng

(Pseudonym, the CAIS high school's vice-principal) and ask “Can we have a choir?”. I was

like, oh, the school is so sports-centred and math-centred, we never have anything creative.”

(Focus group interview)

When she knew about the CAIS choir, she enrolled even though she would not receive a

credit for university since the choir only offered a Grade 10 credit. Hillary has been an

dedicated choir member who made an extraordinary contribution to the choir. She was

involved in the extra ensemble and individual singing rehearsals.

“I think the small group thing we had in the first semester really impacted me because I

feels really good to be able to sing. Not that the choir was not good, but we had a small

group where there were only 4 people, it's feels really to good know “Oh, there are people



who are passionate about singing and who wants encourage each other and work better”.


Hillary had the most developed high voice in the choir because she had taken voice

lessons from her mother, who is a music teacher. Her mother was supportive and

patient with her. She taught her how to perform and discussed musical ideas and

watched documentaries with her about music composers. Hillary was deeply moved by

classical music and she was fascinated by the way a musician’s life can be reflected in

his or her music. Music is very close to her heart.

“Chopin is my favourite person, a very good composer. He really had been through a lot, it

does reflect in his music. I think that really helps me to build my musicality a lot. It really

helps me to see how music is like a therapy for your soul and it's also a window towards

what words cannot express. He (Chopin) had depression, right, it's hard for him to express

his words, he could express it through his music and people can see that and I think that's

really good. But I'm sad some times when I play music, I feel like that's how I can express

it. I do not really know how to say it in words.” (Focus group interview)

It was a pity that being one of the best singers in the choir, Hillary admitted that the

heavy academic workload caused her to lose control over her voice. She claimed that

when she did not have enough sleep; her voice would “crack”. Under the academic

pressure of Grade 12, her voice cracked often. Nevertheless, she reported that her voice

has been more stable at the end of the year due to regular practice. She thought that

vocal warm-up exercises were the most beneficial to her because they helped her to gain

vocal control and flexibility.



“The warm-ups were the most beneficial because I think that's when I learned the most.

That's where I developed the most. I really like it when I'm able to stretch my voice in a

good way. I like some of the songs and I less enjoy some of them. But I always enjoy the

warm-ups. Also the encouragement Mrs. Kong gives. She did not really care on that day

when I keep cracking and lose control and stuff. She's always encouraging, she does not

judge you like “Oh, you sound so bad”. She always gives you a lot of opportunities.”


Though Hillary always looked confident, she confessed that she struggles with stage

fright. She felt that she was not “professional” because she knew that she had lots of

room to improve. Being in a family of professional musicians also gave her unwanted

pressure. Hillary wanted people to recognize her talents for what they were.

“There is pressure to look up to that kind of name, it’s a bit hard. And when you tell other

people that you have a mom who is a music teacher, they expect things from you.

Sometimes I would feel they would say things like “Oh, you're good because your mom is a

music teacher”, they would not see me for me, so then I sometimes I do not like telling

people that my mom is a music teacher until they actually heard me sing or maybe play

music or talk about music.” (Focus group interview)

Hillary will study in Canada and she confided that she will definitely keep singing

because she desires to be a professional singer. Her love for music will help her reach

that potential.

“Music allows me to tell what I dare not speak, feel what I dare not feel, it allows a linkage

to my own heart (Journal entry 1). As I go to university, I really would enjoy the time



because now I can enjoy singing in front of people without having a dried-up throat like a

raisin. Just being able to enjoy singing without thinking of how imperfect it sounds. It

builds a lot of my confidence.” (Focus group interview)

Megan

“May I practice one more time?”

This was a typical question Megan frequently asks because she is visually-impaired and

had to memorize all the songs. Most people would think that learning to sing would be

more difficult for someone who cannot see; but to Megan, her visual impairment

brought her a surprising advantage.

I believe music is something that I'm really passionate about. Not being able to see has

strengthened my enjoyment of this wonderful universal language. My dream is to perform

and share music with others, and showing them this wonderful thing. I want people to truly

listen to music. (Journal entry 1)

Being blind did not stop Megan from singing and playing the piano. She started piano

lessons when she was five years old and she was involved in children's choirs, musicals,

singing competitions and interviews with professional singers since a young age. She

even had voice lessons when she was in Grade 10 to Grade 11. Her voice teacher tried

to find the best in her and encouraged her to just try her best despite her lack of

confidence.



“I think for me, I had a vocal teacher recently, around between the years Grade 10 and 11, I

stopped right now because of school work. But, she is like quite good, and what I like

about her, is that she really tries to find the best in you, she really sees that, she really tries

to find the best in you, and trusts you and helps you to show it, so she is encouraging and

always tells me to try it, I sometimes I am like, I can’t do it, and she is always encouraging,

so it really helps. I always remember what I’m supposed to do.” (Focus group interview)

Her success in music was due to her parents’ tireless dedication and support. They

encouraged her in playing the piano; seeking opportunities for her to perform and

supported her musical development in every way.

Megan is an orphan from China. Her mom and dad adopted her when she was two.

They brought her to Hong Kong and attempted many surgeries to recover her eye sight.

However, the surgeries failed to restore Megan’s eye sight. Because Megan’s parents

wanted her to have a normal life as much as possible, they enrolled her in CAIS.

Megan learned to make the best of opportunities and she learned to strive for excellence

in spite of difficulties.

Well my parents, both of them, have always really, really loved music. That’s why they

encouraged me to learn the piano in the first place. 'Cause, my mom really wants me to be

able to play the piano and sing, and worship God and stuff, and so… Both of them have

been very supportive in every performance that I’ve been. (Focus group interview)



Before the concert, she did not have much expectation because she thought that she was

not an excellent singer. But her musical identity was completely changed since the

concert.

It was 3 hours before concert and Megan told the choral director that she had accidentally

given her choir uniform away. The choral director quickly called home and arranged for a

similar skirt to be brought to the concert hall. 30 minutes before the concert, Megan and

her mom arrived and apologized sincerely. Megan’s mom helped her change and combed

her hair.

When it was Megan’s turn to sing her solo, Hillary and Judy held her hands and guided

her to the microphone. The choral director gave her the microphone; she tested it but it

sounded very soft because she had trouble judging the distance. The choral director tested

the microphone for her and asked her to hold it closer to her mouth. The audience giggled.

The piano started and the choral director moved the microphone closer to Megan once

again before she sang. Despite the microphone episode, Megan’s solo was impeccable. It

was so successful that it was a highlight in the concert. (Year-end concert excerpt)

She received so many congratulations and she began to contemplate pursuing a musical

career seriously. Singing is definitely her strength and it is a way her talents can be

recognized by the community. It also became her identity and life goal.

Choir has given me a strong sense of happiness to know that I can actually do something if

I put my heart and effort into it. (Journal entry 2)



Music also had a tremendous impact on Megan’s social life because it was a way she

could contribute to the school.

I feel content to know that my involvement in CAIS is not just school-work related, but that

I can actually give something back to the school by representing them through the choir.

(Journal entry 2)

Summary

The case studies highlighted the significant musical growth of Carina, and Ivan who

shone in the end of the year as a concert soloist, Hillary who gained vocal control and

acknowledged that her vocal stability gave her more confidence to perform like a

professional singer. Music brought Ethan and Ivan closer to their friends who, in turn,

played a big role in his musical life. Jasmine’s over-all school life was improved

through her achievement in music. Megan gained recognition from the school

community as a good singer and she became a symbol for people who can achieve their

life goals in spite of their disabilities. The CAIS choir made significant differences in

all focus group members' musical, social and personal lives.



CHAPTER SIX

DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

The musical, social and personal gains of the focus group members’ case studies

highlighted how choir students benefited from their involvement in the choral program

this year. All other choir students also reported a higher sense of achievement in the

self-evaluation after the year-end concert. The highlight of the year was that all

students shared a love of singing; almost all students overcame their performance

anxiety and gained confidence. Effective pedagogies included: teacher encouragement,

clear vocal instructions and solo singing opportunities. Students experienced joy as

their singing ability increased and they took pride in being a part of the choir. Finally,

students admitted that the choir has brought them a stronger sense of belonging to

CAIS.

Discussion of Findings

Like-mindednessTheir common interest of singing was the starting point for the choir which brought

people together. All the focus group members enrolled in choir because they liked to

sing and they all shared a passion for choral music although Ethan did not like choir

music at first. He slowly accepted the choir pieces and thought “they were actually

quite nice”. Megan and Ivan were curious to meet others from different grades who like

to sing. Carina and Hillary loved choir all their life. It was desirable to see students



enrolling in choir because of their musical motivation rather than extra-musical

motivations because it will help students to pursue music as their life goal.

Performance AnxietyPerformance anxiety was a major barrier to singers which can lead to avoidance

behaviour (Abril, 2007, p.11). Carina suffered from severe performance anxiety and

she stopped her past choral involvement because she was required to sing alone.

Through teacher and peer encouragement, consistent practice and determination, she

overcame stage fright and gained an overwhelming applause which built up her

confidence tremendously. Although Hillary can sing competently, she was too hard on

herself. She learned to accept her own imperfection as long as she tried her best. Both

Carina and Hillary knew that musical ability can be improved through practice and

concerted efforts (Abril, 2007, p.13). Their example revealed that confidence were

build on solid vocal training, increased performance experience and social recognition.

Hence, a systemic choral training incorporating stage fright strategies are crucial not

just the novice singers but to all.

Effective PedagogiesThere was a consensus that the researcher/conductor was very encouraging to all her

students. All students except one were glad that there were substantial solo singing

opportunities. Solo performance was determined mostly on a voluntary basis. This was

to ensure that all students had equal opportunity to receive individual training because

the researcher/conductor provided one-to-one training to all the soloists. What the



researcher/conductor liked to see was that students took ownership of their own

performances. The concerts were not showcases for the most talented students, but

rather, they were a platform for students to improve their musical abilities. The

researcher/conductor believes that as long as students try hard, they can improve.

Hence, those who ceased the opportunities, especially Carina and Ivan, benefited the

most from their performing experience.

JoyIt was a surprise that all the focus group members looked forward to the choir class.

Megan, Jasmine, Ethan, Ivan and Hillary even claimed choir as their favourite subject.

The ability to sing well gave Megan a sense of self-worth. Hillary's dream of having a

choir at CAIS came true. Carina knew that she can sing in front of people without fear.

Jasmine gained a higher average because of her choral achievement. Ethan and Ivan

became best friends in the choir. In general, choral music helped students relax and

enjoy being at school.



Answering Research Questions

The research questions are systematically answered in the following section:

1. Why did students enrol in the choral music program?

The questionnaire results revealed that musical motivation was the major reason why

students enrolled in choral music at CAIS. Carina decided to join the choir even when

her friends did not. She expected good choral music and improvement in her

confidence and projection. She overcame stage fright and sang her solo clearly. Her

confidence level was much higher because she received recognition from the audience.

Choir turned out to be more fun than Ethan expected. He chose to remain in the choir

because he found a new enjoyment of choral music. Hillary has been asking for a choir

and her dream came true. She expected intense vocal training and she was happy that

her voice became stronger and more consistent. Ivan was curious about what the choir

would be like and he loved the songs that the choir sang and became good friends with

Ethan. Jasmine was good at singing and she expected a good grade in choral music.

She got A+ in all the terms because of her involvement as a part-leader, solo singing

and great attitude. Megan joined choir because she had been rejected from the band and

she was not interested in drama. She expected to improve her singing even though she

did not have a clear musical goal. Her success in the year-end concert gave her a clear

identity as a singer. She confided that singing could possibly be her career.



2. What pedagogies were used to meet students' needs?

The pedagogies that enhanced choral experienced the most was teacher's

encouragement, use of popular music and solo singing opportunities. The

researcher/conductor was crucial to building singer’s self-confidence by avoiding

negative attitudes or bad mood, and singling out of individuals for criticism (Kennedy,

2003, p.29; Ryan and Andrews, 2009, p.115). In Carina case, she needed to sing like no

one was listening. To facilitate that, the researcher/conductor scaffolded the audience

slowly. Carina first sang to the teacher, then a few friends, other solo singers, the whole

choir and lastly the whole school. Her confidence grew each time after she performed to

a larger group of people. Ivan needed to have some of the music re-arranged because he

had a limited range. His solo part was re-written and he performed it with much better

projection and confidence. Popular music was more relevant for Ethan and Jasmine but

yet they also gained a new appreciation for the choral music which tends to be in

classical style. Hillary and Megan requested individual training the most and their

desire to sing “professionally” was satisfied as they gained mastery over their voices.

The choral director argues that the complex learning needs of the focus group members

were met. However, there were still room to improve student's confidence and social

interaction and recommendations are provided at the end of this chapter.



3. What were the personal, social and musical benefits of the CAIS choir to its participants?

The researcher/conductor argues that the musical benefits were the most prominent in

the CAIS choir. The musical benefits included: improved vocal skills, increased

confidence and love for choral music. The researcher/conductor carefully built on

students' choral experiences and set appropriate musical goals for each concert.

Although the songs were more challenging in the year-end concert, students performed

successful because of their increased skills and confidence. The choir sounded better as

a whole and those who took the opportunities to perform a solo felt the most rewarded.

All focus group members performed a solo at the year-end concert and they all reported

a heightened singer identity.

Nevertheless, the researcher/conductor feels that the CAIS choir was missing an

important function as a social network for students. Conway (2008) claimed that

singers should have opportunities to get to know each other before and after rehearsals

He argues that choral conductors should play an active role in promoting dialogue

between choir members. Deliberate planning and coordination need to take place to

design social activities for the choir within and beyond rehearsals in the CAIS choir so

that student may benefit from their involvement socially.



All the students experienced success in the CAIS high school choir, in particular, it

made significant differences in focus group members’ lives. Music was a level playing

ground for Jasmine's and Megan's lives. It helped them to fit into the school despite

their physical and cultural differences. Ivan and Ethan became happier individuals who

music relieved their stress, negative emotions and helped them to connect with their

friends. Carina knew that she could sing “like no one is listening” even in a concert

situation. Lastly, Hillary became more realistic in setting musical goals for herself and

accepted her own imperfections so that she could enjoy the music making process.

Recommendations for the CAIS High School Choir

The major issues revealed in the data were the lack of singing ability which led to

performance anxiety. Vispoel and Austin (1993, as cited in Hedden, 2007, p. 54)

asserted that “ability is a set of skills that can be improved over time” which means that

teachers should help students recognise skill areas that need to be developed and

strategically teach students how to improve their skills. The music teacher has an

important role in forming students’ self-concept as a singer by giving careful attention,

nurturing and encouragement which result in greater motivation, effort and

achievement. The researcher/conductor of CAIS has supported students effectively by

providing singing instructions, feedback, as well as encouragement. Nevertheless, she

needs to address the issue of performing anxiety because it is also a psychological

matter. In Fehnm & Schmidt's study in 2006, gifted adolescent musicians cope with

performance anxiety by asking for: 1) more opportunities to practice performing,



2)opportunities to talk more often and more openly about anxiety, 3) a more supportive

atmosphere during lessons, 4) special performance training, 5) cooperative activities and

6) after-school program.

More Opportunities to Practice Performing

Welch et al. (2008) argued that performers who have “a great deal of performing

experience have learned to focus their arousal toward facilitating their performances”

and therefore perceive anxiety in a more positive light. It is recommended that more

performing opportunities should be provided to students including performing in the

high school and primary school assemblies. Another way of creating more variety in

performance experience is to join choir festivals which can be a meaningful way to

enrich the experience of existing students. Involving parents in the festival may

facilitate more communication to parents regarding students’ strengths which will help

cultivate a positive attitude about music. Joint ventures with other choirs may also

expand the experience, musical taste, as well as, friendship with others in the

community. Recently, the CAIS bands are taking a trips to Macau, China to perform.

Similar events can be coordinated to enhance the cultural, choral and social experience

of students.

Opportunities to Talk More Often and More Openly About Anxiety

In Abril's narrative investigation of singing and social anxiety in 2007 examined the

roots of performers' anxiety of negative experiences in a school music program. She



claimed that the “emotional impact of these (negative) experiences can have lasting

effects on individuals. As the 'experts', music teachers’ opinions or judgements may

have a great impact on students.” (p.12). Therefore, the researcher/conductor may use

the following prompts in future discussions: “What are you afraid of when you

perform?”, “Why do you feel that way?” and “Did you have any bad experience in

performing in the past?”, “What do you think a good singer should be like?”, “Do you

know somebody personally who is a good singer?” The researcher/conductor can

examine the results and provide her opinions. Afterwards, students may conduct their

own research about these good singers to find out how they overcome their performing

anxiety.

A More Supportive Atmosphere during Lessons

Silber (2005) pointed out that the choir is a “protected space, set apart and sufficiently

different to enable participants to take risks (p.268). The researcher/conductor also

agrees with Abril (2007, p.12) that an “informal assessments of a formative nature

might help reinforce the notion that singing is a learned behaviour, and help students

improve their skills.” More opportunities for students to sing in a non-judgemental

environment will help students gain confidence and singing skills. Also, the

researcher/conductor concurs with Abril that “assessment should focus on ways of

helping students improve rather than assigning judgement.” (p.13)



Special Performance TrainingRyan and Andrews (2009, p.118) argued that singers feel less anxious if they can gain

control over their voice. Most students in the CAIS high school choir were novice

singers and needed a lot of vocal training to build up their technique and confidence,

therefore, more vocal training, choral blending exercises and sight-reading activities

should be reinforced in the future to expand their singing skills. Guest singers may be

invited to perform for students and provide master classes for individual students who

are vocally more independent.

Cooperative Activities

More organization needs to be done to promote deeper friendships among choir

members as students clearly expressed that they were glad to make new friends. For

example, a kick-off party at the beginning of the year with ice-breaking activities would

facilitate inter-grade relationships and collaboration which will result in a stronger sense

of belonging to the choir. Music is a highly social activity and therefore, the

researcher/conductor may think creatively about the kinds of social activities that will

promote team spirit and team work. For example, students may be encouraged to

choreograph concert songs and teach choreography to the class; sectional rehearsals can

be structured more regularly to rehearse individual parts of the harmony; social

activities can also be organized so that choir may then become a place where students

can talk to someone about their personal or social issues and form meaningful

friendships.



After-school ProgramSwanwick (1999, as cited in Kenny, 2009, p.31) argued that after-school music

activities are more beneficial than formal music lessons because of the informal setting

which is desirable for stress-free musical learning. Hence a flexible timetable for next

year is actually not undesirable as it is also recommended by the Alberta Government.

“Some administrators understood the needs of fine arts programs and

prioritized time for the fine arts in the school’s timetable or

accommodated creative scheduling to allow students to participate in

fine arts courses.” (Alberta Government, Education, 2009, p.10)

As the choir will possibly meet after-school next year, the researcher and her students

should make the best out of this flexible schedule for creative programming, individual

practice and social activities.



Future Development of the CAIS High School Choral Program

As research literature suggested that attitudes toward music may decline as children

mature (Broquist, 1961; Nolin, 1973; Vander Ark et al. 1980), the opportunity to set up

a primary choir and a junior high school choir in the future is worth exploring. It is

suggested to the administrator of the school that a Primary Grade 4 to Grade 6 Choir

could be formed to provide an avenue for students to sing. Apart from acting as a

feeder choir, the primary choir will be a place where singing abilities are discovered,

preserved and developed. It will also increase the likelihood of boys singing through

their middle school years as it is most likely for boys to stop singing during middle

schools (Freer, 2007). To keep the high school boys interested in singing, the choral

conductor may consider forming a male voice choir including boys in all high school

levels. A male junior high school choir will provide young male singers opportunities

to explore their voice during adolescence. Last but not least, the results of this research

can assure the CAIS administrative decision makers that the high school choir is more

than a public face but a place where students may truly benefit musically, socially and

personally.



Future Research Ideas

The majority of choral students struggled with performance anxiety due to their lack of

singing skills; therefore, future research can be done to investigate the root of their

performance anxiety (Abril, 2007). Since this research only includes the views of the

choir participants, future research may investigate the views of non-choir participants

and their perspectives on choral involvement. Future recruitment could be improved if

the choral director finds out why CAIS high school students do not enrol in the choir.

In addition, future research can be done to evaluate the success of the primary music

program and investigate how a choral program may be successfully developed in the

primary school and junior high school at CAIS.

Conclusion

The love of music is what draws people together. Students who shared a common

interest in singing were drawn together by the CAIS high school choir. There was a

sense of comradeship amongst choir members. They were all uncertain at the beginning

of the year and they shared similar performance anxieties. Through a year of singing

together, the teacher and students encouraged each other and a positive social

environment were formed to provide a safety zone for students to sing comfortably. All

students reported an increased confidence and their identities as singers have grown.



The choir was also a perfect place for CAIS students to learn social skills such as team

work, communication and responsibility. Good lyrics help students relax, think

positively and express their emotions. Hence, choral music helped CAIS students to

have a more positive outlook on school life and have a greater sense of belonging to the

school. Ironically,

“Music courses compete with a plethora of optional and “academic” subjects for the few

spots in the timetable that are not filled by compulsory course work. In addition, semester

timetabling, a common occurrence in Alberta high schools, makes the inclusion of Music in

many student’s programs virtually impossible as they juggle their schedules to get in all the

course requirements for university” (Alberta Education, 2004).

Although the high school choir had a good reputation at CAIS this year, the

administration’s support is still critical in sustaining the choral program due to the

increased pressure from the academic subjects. The researcher/conductor argues that if

a school sacrifices students' musical, social and personal interests in return for academic

excellence, students would not have a strong sense of belonging to the school.

Therefore, the researcher/conductor urges the CAIS administration to maintain the

choral program as a part of the high school’s formal curriculum.



References

ABRIL, C. (2007). I have a voice but I just can't sing: a narrative

investigation of singing and social anxiety. Music Education

Research. 9(1). 1-15.

ALBERTA GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION. (2009). K–12 Arts Education

Curriculum Consultation Report (Draft). Retrieved July 1, 2010,

from http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/finearts/program-updates.aspx

BARRET, M. S. and SMIGIEL, H. M. (2007). Children's perspectives of participation

in music youth arts settings: Meaning, value and participation. Research Studies

in Music Education. 28, 39-50.

BURNARD, P. (2008) A phenomenological study of music teachers' approaches to

inclusive education practices among disaffected youth. Research Studies in Music

Education. 30 (1), 59-75.

BURNARD, P., DILLON S., RUSINEK, G. and SAETHER, E. (2008). Inclusive

pedagogies in music education: a comparative study of music teachers'

perspectives from four countries. International Journal of Music Education.

26(2), 109-126.

CAIN, T. (2008). The Characteristics of action research in music education. British

Journal of Music Education. 25(3). 283-313.

COHEN, M. (2009), Choral singing and prison inmates: Influences of performing in a

prison choir. The Journal of Correctional Education. 60(1), 52-65.


http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/finearts/program-updates.aspx


CONWAY, C. and HODGMAN T. (2008). College and community choir member

experiences in a collaborative intergenerational performance project. Journal of

Research in Music Education, 56(3), 220-237.

DILLON B. (2008). A different kind of music making. American Music Teacher. April

(1), 68.

DILLON, S. (2006). Assessing the positive influence of musical activities in

community development programs. Music Education Research, 8(1), 267-280.

DUST, T, Montgomery A. (2004). Music Education in Alberta: The Contribution of

School Music Programs. Alberta Education.

ELLIOT, D. J. (1986). Finding a place for music in the curriculum. British Journal of

Music Education, 3(2), 135-151.

ELLIOT, D. J. (1995). Music Education and Curriculum. In: Music Matters (259-290).

Oxford: Oxford University Press.

ELKIND, D. (2001). The Hurried Child. Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon. (3rd Ed.).

Cambridge, Massachusetts: Perseus Publishing.

FREER, P. (2007). Between Research and Practice: How choral music loses boys in

the “middle”. Music Educators Journal. 94(2), 28-34.

FREER, P. (2008). Teacher instructional language and student experience in middle

school choral rehearsals. Music Education Research. 10(1), 107-124.

FRITH S., STRAW W. and STREET J. (Eds.). (2001). The popular music industry in

The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock. Cambridge & London: Cambridge

University Press.



GRIMLAND, F. (2005). Characteristics of teacher-directed modelling in high school

choral rehearsals. Update. Fall-Winter, 5-14.

HAMMOND N. (2004). Singing South Africanness: the construction of identity among

South African youth choirs. Journal of the Musical Arts in African. 1 ,103-155.

HEDDEN, D. (2007). Differences between elementary students participants and non-

participants in a choral festival. Update. Spring – Summer. 47-58.

IWAMOTO, D.,CRESWELL, J. & Caldwell, L. (2007). Feeling the beat: the meaning

of rap music for ethnically diverse Midwestern college students – a

phenomenological study. Adolescence. Roslyn Heights. 42(166), 337 – 351.

KENNEDY, M. (2003). The experience of Noye's Fludde: a church and community

adventure in music-making and learning. Music Education Research. 5(1), 29-

44.

KINNEY, D.A. (1993). From nerds to normals: the recovery of identity among

adolescents from middle school to high school, Sociology of Education, 66(1), 21-

40.

LEARD, D. W.& LASHUA, B. (2006). Popular media, critical pedagogy and inner city

youth. Canadian Journal of Education, 29(2), 244-264.

LEUNG, C.C. (2003). Extra-curricular music activities in Hong Kong secondary

schools. Music Education Journal. 5(2). 183-197.

MAHONEY, J.L., CAIRNS, B.D. and FARMER T.W. (2003). Promoting

interpersonal competence and educational success through extracurricular activity

participation. Journal of Educational Psychology. 95(2) 409-418.



ODAM, G. (1987). Music Education As I See It: A report of an interview with a

seventeen year old student concerning his music education. International Journal

of Music Education. 10, 29-31.

O'KEEFFE, A. (2007). “Scaling the heights: Venezuela's pioneering classical music

programme for children has produced world-class artists such as the young

conductor Gustavo Dudamel.” New Statesman, 32-34.

PITTS, S. E. (2007). Anything goes: a case study of extra-curricular musical

participation in an English secondary school. Music Education Research, 9

(1),145-165.

POLINIAK, S. (2009). Singers branching out. Teaching Music. 16(4), 32-35.

REAMES, R. R. (2001). High school choral director's description of appropriate

literature for beginning high school choirs. JRME, 42(2), 122-135.

REGELSKI, T. (2005). Music and Music Education: Theory and praxis for 'making a

difference'. In: LINES, D. Music Education for the New Millennium. Theory and

Practice Futures for Music Teaching and Learning (2nd ed.) Australia: Blackwell

Publishing. 7-27.

RYAN, C & ANDREWS, N. (2009). An Investigation into the choral singer's

experience of music performance anxiety. Journal of Research in Music

Education. 57(2), 108-126.

SCHATTNER, P; SHERLING A.; MURPHY B. (1993). Focus groups: a useful

research method in general practice. The Medical Journal of Australia. 158. 623-

625.



SILBER, L. (2005). Bars behind bars: the impact of a women's prison choir on social

harmony. Music Education Research. 7(2), 251-271.

STAKE, R. (1995). The Art of Case Study Research. London: Sage Publications,

Thousand Oaks.

STAMER, R. (2000). Preparing future choral music educators to implement the

national standards. Journal of Music Teacher Education. 9 (2), 7-13.

STUPPLE, C.M. (2007). The male changing voice. Teaching Music, 15(1), 36-41.

WINNER, E. COOPER M. (2000). Mute those claims: No evidence (yet) for a causal

link between arts study and academic achievement. Journal of Aesthetic

Education, 34(3-4), 11-64.

ZIELINSKI, R. (2005). The performance pyramid: building blocks for a successful

choral performance. Music Educator's Journal. 92(1), 44-49.



Appendix A: Questionnaire for the CAIS High School Choir

Questions regarding the perceived benefits of the choral music program at CAIS and the

factors that contribute to those benefits will be asked. Students are encouraged but not

required to return the questionnaire. Do not put your name on the questionnaire,

however, please write down your grade level for analysis purposes.

Grade Level: ______ Age: ______ Gender: _____ (M/F)

Years of Choral Experience: _______(not including this year)

What do you like or do not like in choral music?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Which song has the most personal meaningful to you? Can you explain

how these songs relate to your musical, social or personal experience?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________



In what occasion other than in the choir would you sing? What role does

music play in your life? For example, entertainment, talent development,

social activity, character development. How important is music in your

life?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Can you describe actions/behaviour of Mrs. Kong that increases or reduces

your anxiety in performing?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________



Put a √ to indicate your answer

You are encouraged to write descriptive answers in the blanks spaces below each

category.

1. Why did you enrol in the choir?

Stro

ngly

Agr

ee

Agr

ee

I do

not K

now

Dis

agre

e

Stro

ngly

Dis

agre

e

1. I want to be with my friends

2. I want to be with others who like to sing

3. I like to perform with others

4. I like to learn more about music

5. I am good at singing

6. I want to improve my singing skills

7. I do not like band

8. I do not like drama



9. I want to learn something new

10. My parent wants me to join the choir

Other comments:

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

2. How positive or negative is your

choral experience?

Alw

ays

Freq

uent

ly

Abo

ut h

alf o

f the

tim

e

Infr

eque

ntly

Nev

er

1. I feel that my contribution to the choir is

recognized

2. I find it easy to fit in to the choir

3. My friends and I have become closer



4. I have become better at controlling my voice

5. I have become more confident in singing in front

of people in class and in concert

6. My identity as a singer has become stronger

7. I feel safe to sing a solo in class because the

teacher and the class is supportive and non-

judgemental

8. I have become more active in listening to others

and knowing when it is my turn to sing

9. I have become more creative in thinking of ways

to interpret songs meaningfully

10. I have been given responsibilities to apply my

knowledge or skills

11. Singing helps me reflect about my musical, social

and personal experience

12. The songs help me to think more positively



13. My attitudes towards school has become more

positive

14. I usually feel happier after singing in the choir

15. The choir is a place where I can talk to someone

about my personal or social issues.

16. My success in the choir motives me to study

harder in other subjects

Other comments:

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

3. How does the teacher interact with

students?

Alw

ays

Freq

uent

ly

Abo

ut h

alf o

f the

tim

e

Infr

eque

ntly

Nev

er

1. The teacher is well-prepared for rehearsals



2. The teacher is organized

3. The teacher pays attention to musical details

4. The teacher keeps me well-informed

5. The teacher has an appropriate playfulness

6. The teacher discusses how to overcome musical

challenges

7. The teacher provides enough individual feedback

and assistance

8. The teacher gives me valuable comments about

my voice

9. The teacher tailors challenges to fit my skill level

10. The teacher chooses music that I like

11. The teacher presents challenges at the right pace

12. The teacher talks too much



13. The teacher does not let me move around and I

feel bored

14. There is enough opportunities for peer dialogue

15. I learn the most during sectional rehearsals

16. There is enough performing opportunities

17. There is enough solo singing opportunities

18. There is enough small group singing opportunities

19. I feel that time goes by quickly during choir

rehearsals and I do not feel stressed or bored

20. I focus more on singing and less on chit-chatting.

Appendix B: CAIS Focus Group

Semi-Structured Interview Questions

1. Can you talk about the types of music education you have had?

1. When did you begin your music education?

2. Who has influenced your involvement in music education?



3. Can you talk about the role of your parents in your music education?

4. Who is the most significant person in your musical development and why?

5. Can you talk about the obstacles or barrier you experienced in your singing?

2. What is your self-perception as a singer?

1. Can you comment on your identity as a singer or musician?

2. What is your current involvement with music lessons or other music

activities? (E.g. Piano, band, singing in church or other choir.)

3. How much do you like singing? (Very much, More than average, Average)

4. Can you describe your singing ability? (Excellent, Good, Average)

5. How has your singing ability improved this year? (Fuller sound, register

increase, tuning, part-singing etc.)

6. Can you comment on how the choir or solo performances this year helped

you overcome stage fright or built up self-confidence?

7. What have you expected yourself to accomplish through the choir?

3. Can you talk about your choral experience this year?

1. Why did you decide to join the CAIS choir?

2. What do you look forward to the most in choir?

3. What do you feel you take away from participation in the choir?



4. What is the social environment like in the choir? Do you feel that there is a

general sense of community in the choir marked by singers who care and

mutually respect each other?

5. Can you talk about how experienced singers help the less experienced in the

choir?

6. What did you gain through your role as a part-leader?

7. Can you talk about how choral music has made a difference in your overall

school life?



Appendix C: Reflective Journal Topics

First Reflective Journal Entry Prompts

Carina:

Why did you agree to sing a solo? Do you still feel as nervous as before? What are the

things you wish Mrs. Kong have taught this year?

Megan:

What is your dream? Do you think that music will be a big part of your life in the

future? How would you like to use music to better you life and the lives of others?

Jasmine:

Were you already a good singer when you were nine? If you don’t like classical music,

how much do you like the choir songs this year? Do you feel more comfortable singing

soprano or alto? Can you describe specific instances when the choir worked together as

a team and cooperated?

Ethan:

Did you sing at all before Grade 4? Do you sing a lot outside music classes? What is

your favourite rock or pop song? What kind of emotional social and musical impact has

it made?



Ivan:

Name a piece of classical music you really like to listen to or sing. What do you like

most about rap music? Name a piece of rap music you like. What are the things you

don’t like about pop or rock music?

Hillary:

Describe the growth of your musicality from 9 years old to now. Can you name a

musician who is your role model?

Second Reflective Journal Entry Prompts:

1. “Tell the story of one specific event that is most memorable regarding your

musical experience in the concert.”

2. “Describe how this year's choral experience has build up your confidence in

singing”

3. “Does the choir help you build a sense of belonging to CAIS?”



Selana Hoi Yi Kong10H, Block 2, Granville Garden

Tai Wai, N.T. Hong Kong

Dr. Peter de VriesFaculty of Education, Monash UniversityPO Box 527, Frankston Vic 3199Australia

7 July, 2010

Re: Ethical Approval Project Number: CF10/0310 - 2010000125

Ethical approval has been granted for the minor thesis “A case study of a new high school choir at the Christian Alliance International School” by the Human Ethics Office at Monash University.

Best regards,

Selana H.Y. Kong20543816


a case study of a new high school choir at cais

Documents