Essential skills for the 21st century Christian musician: A theory textbook, contextual monograph, and pilot study

This project addresses the growing need for musicians to be equipped for both traditional and contemporary worship practices. It consists of a comprehensive theory test based on Multiple Intelligence and VARK learning theories, and a monograph that explores the theoretical and practical context of the method and presents results of a pilot study with students at Atlanta Christian College. The author has sought to bridge gaps between traditional and contemporary music theory and to make music theory practical for music students and music ministry practitioners.; Each volume of Essential Skills for the 21st Century Christian Musician includes music analysis, keyboard harmony, aural skills, guitar applications, and improvisation activities. Roman numeral analysis, figured bass, and contemporary chord symbols are presented. Other features of the curriculum include sight-singing exercises using solfege and Kodaly hand signs. Techniques are provided for students to energize traditional hymns written in 4-part harmony. Each chapter ends with a section, Making Theory Practical.; The contextual monograph describes the nature of Christian Contemporary Performance practice and the special demands of contemporary music theory. Current research and pedagogical philosophies of contemporary and traditional music theory scholars and textbook authors including Gold, Devries, Betts and Cassidy, Payne, and Liesch are reviewed. The relationship of music theory pedagogy to Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences and Neil Fleming's VARK strategies is examined. Suggestions are given for ways in which multiple learning channels and cooperative-learning activities can be integrated with the music theory curriculum. The results of a pilot study of the effectiveness of the method with three music theory classes at Atlanta Christian College are described with suggestions for further research. An appendix includes sample lesson plans, assessment forms and questionnaires, and an annotated bibliography of traditional and contemporary music theory textbooks.