Scott Price is Assistant Professor of Piano, Piano Pedagogy, and Coordinator of Group Piano at the University of South Carolina. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Bowling Green State University, he has studied with Jane Magrath, Thomas Hecht and Virginia Marks. He has performed at the national conventions of the Music Teachers National Conference, Music Teachers National Association, the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy, and has given performances and seminars at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas TX, the University of Oklahoma Seminar for Piano Teachers, the North Dakota State Music Teachers Convention, the South Carolina State Music Teachers Convention, and the Bowling Green State University Summer Music Institute. He has served as repetiteur with Lyric Opera Cleveland, and as music director for Lyric Opera Cleveland's Educational Outreach program. He has been a faculty member of the Cleveland Music School Settlement and the Bowling Green State University Creative Arts program. Dr. Price is Co-Editor of Piano Pedagogy Forum.
Scott Price
School of Music
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
sprice@mozart.sc.edu
803.777.1870
Nearly every doctoral degree in music, whether it be in research or in performance, carries with it some form of final writing requirement. Candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy degree are required to complete a full research paper or study that can vary in length depending upon the breadth of subject and accumulation of data and its analysis. Candidates for the Doctoral degree in performance are generally required to complete a short paper or "treatise" that often is thirty to fifty pages in length. Candidates for the newer hybrid degrees, such as the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy, often complete a research project that falls somewhere between the other two degrees both in scope and content. As more people seek the doctoral degree, and avenues for research become more competitive, it is imperative that we attempt to provide directions in research for our degree candidates. It is also imperative that we examine these types of research and determine which are appropriate and germane to differing degree options.
A survey of entries in Dissertation Abstracts shows that research in keyboard-related subjects falls into a number of general categories. (I stress that these are very general categories and are only used to illustrate posible directions for research.)
While most of these categories are self-explanatory, several merit brief discussion;
3. Edition Preparation/Comparison
As interest, study, and performance in period music and historical performance practices continues to grow, an increasing number of studies are being done to compare historical editions and to create scholarly editions of newly discovered works. In the growing area of piano accompanying, preparation of orchestral reductions remains a viable opportunity for research and productivity for doctoral candidates.
4. Performance Analysis
In this type of project, a work or body of works is analyzed and presented in a format that includes the theoretical analysis, historical information, performance information, and recording listings and reviews as available. The objective is to make all of the important and pertinent information on a specific musical work available to the public in a centralized and organized form.
5. Stylistic Analysis
The stylistic analysis is an attempt to define the personal musical language of a single composer, or group of composers working within a limited historical setting. A group of works by one composer (or by a group of composers) is analyzed in an attempt to identify the inherent musical idiosyncrasies that define the individuality of the composer and his ouevre.
6. Pedagogical Overview
This type of study is newly-emerged and is not yet well-defined.
7. Literature Survey
These documents create resources for the cataloging and location of a specific body of literature. The listing may be for a single composer, or may center around a specific body of works such as piano music published by a specific historic publishing house, or music for a specific combination of instruments.
12. Skill Testing/Measurement
In this type of study existing models may be used to develop tests to measure and evaluate specific musical skills or levels of musical development. This often leads to the development of educational materials.
13. Geographical Survey
The geographical survey is a study that attempts to evaluate the influence of a specific factor on a limited geographical area or group of people and their musical activities.
As categories for research are clearly defined by a survey of existing models, it remains our task to understand which of these types of research are appropriate for the varying degree options. On first perusal, the organization of research categories is somewhat obvious as to their relevance to degree options:
Music History
Music Theory
Music Composition
Music Education
Music Performance
Piano Pedagogy
After reexamination, it is possible that some research categories may be appropriate for several different degree options.
Music History
Music Theory
Music Composition
Music Education
Music Performance
Piano Pedagogy
The inclusion of so many research categories under the areas of Performance and Piano Pedagogy must, of course, be limited to very specific subjects. The breadth and scope of these projects may also become somewhat limited due to the dual requirements of some degree options.
The explosion of possibilities and opportunities in the arts also allows for new and exciting directions for research in keyboard-related disciplines which may be expanded to include Interdisciplinary Subjects, International Studies, Music Business, Recording Technology, Music Technology, Arts Administration, and other newly emerging areas of interest.
As an increasing number of doctoral candidates seek employment in academia upon graduation, it becomes necessary to reevaluate the purpose and function of the final writing requirement and assess the importance, relevance and nature of the work being done by degree candidates. A continuing question to ask is whether the purpose of the terminal writing project is to create a new and ground-breaking body of knowledge, or is it to create a venue for a smaller and exhaustive study where a candidate learns the painstaking process of research, evaluation, and publication.
We must also determine if the current writing requirements for the degree options are of import and relevance. In an arena where the keyboard disciplines have seen a period of fantastic growth and development of doctoral degrees, we must ask whether the shorter written treatise remains a valuable alternative for candidates who may be directing large research projects as they seek employment in academia. We must also ask if the writing requirements for the hybrid degrees are truly specific enough to prepare candidates to direct the larger research components of their doctoral students. In emerging areas of study, we must determine if existing formats are appropriate for areas of study where technology research demands new and different alternatives for study and presentation.
These questions are, of course, very sensitive issues as we all believe in and support the work that we have done in our quest for the doctoral degree. However, there is a vicious circle that is beginning to return to university faculty. The question of educational excellence is increasingly used as leverage in societal discussions and political campaigns. Very soon, people are going to start pointing fingers and ask where the training of scholars occurs and what standards and processes are used to ensure the quality and relevance of research and productivity in our areas of study. We, as faculty, ultimately are responsible for training those who will further the quest for excellence. If we are to continue to foster new study and research, we must constantly reexamine our traditions, methods, and requirements if we are to serve the new generations of degree candidates who will ultimately come back to us with questions about the nature, relevance and method of our research process. Experiments must be made, for better or for worse, and debates must continue or we risk the integrity of standards that define who we are as musicians, scholars, and as a profession.
As one leafs through the abstracts of scholarly work that has been done in the area of music, the breadth, scope and depth of study in music is staggering. The standards and procedures set by our foremost researchers (both present and past) are indeed formidable. I believe that we also continue to uphold high standards of scholarly excellence while vigorously debating the value of differing types of musical research. I also believe that, more than many other disciplines, the nature of our art demands that we "practice what we preach."
As some say, the proof is in the pudding, and our musical table is very well set.
| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|---|