Rural Band Students' Perceptions of Practice Aids Created by Music Notation Software

This qualitative action research study was conducted in the Carson Valley School District in Cisne, Illinois. Through direct observation, students enrolled in the Carson Valley District Band have consistently demonstrated low levels of motivation to practice and consequently lack aural familiarity with basic rhythms. Previous research indicates providing students with aural models to use while practicing can mitigate these factors. Subsequently, two band arrangements were created from music notation software for this study and instrument-specific aural models were exported to a CD and given to participants (N = 8) as a practice aid. A ten-question open-ended survey was administered to participants to gather their perceptions of using the practice aid. In addition, open-ended, semi-structured interviews with participants were conducted to obtain detailed responses. Responses were analyzed and recurring words and themes were noted. Findings indicated participants held a unanimous positive perception toward the aural models however, a majority of participants expressed no increased motivation to practice. The primary theme discovered during this study was inclination of participants to use the aural models as a definitive source of how their sheet music should be interpreted. Prevalent secondary themes discovered were that participants enjoyed the use of the aural models during band rehearsal and aural models increased the confidence of participants. Feedback from participants regarding technical issues indicated two preferences: for the aural models to be made available via other delivery mediums, such as iPods, and for the aural models to incorporate higher quality synthesized instruments. Recommendations for future research include investigation of student perceptions of audio-visual music models as practice aids, investigation of the feasibility and student perceptions of delivering practice aids to students via the Internet, and investigation of student perceptions of locally installed music notation software compared to music notation software accessed as an Internet service.