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Articles
*

t

Appti cations of Scienee
T h e A g e o f S t a n d a r di z a t i o n
and Efficiency
in Music Education

,*

#
+

JERE T. HUMPHREYS1
From the
ancient Greek period to the present,
"
s
c
i
e
ncen
word
describe
has been used to
the
various
nusic,
musical learnlng,
and
aspects
of
performance.
nusical
For example, in both Ancient
the
Greece and in European nedieval unive.rsities,
"science
of music" meant music theory, or possibly
In early America,
the
study
nusic
theory.
of
preachers
people
Puritan
learn
the
urged
to
"science"
which
to then meant reading
of
nusic,
music at
singing.by rote.
sight
as opposed to
centuryr
Later,
during
nineteenth
the
early
"scientificn
nusic was the nusic of Handel, Haydn,
musie was
Itlozart,
and BeeLhoven, while
other
The term 'sclence,"
thought to be 'unscientific."

lrhis
research was supported in part by a l{est
Virginia University Faculty Senate ResearchGrant,.
2n.. wiley Hitchcock, "william Billings and the
Y a n k e e T u n e s m i t h sr " H i F i / S t e r e o R e v i e w r" F e b r u a r y
1965,p. 62.

g

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2
as it
related
history.

f.
.$l
i$

r.
;..

to education,

has an equally

varied

Beginning
in the last two decades of the nine_
,
teenth
eentury, the term took on
new mea.ings
i n t h e A r n e r i c a n " aT";c; ;i t i o n a r
?ttd applications
worrd.
It
came to. mean any one or more of
t
h
e
f
o
l
l
o
w
ing:
( 1)
systernat,ic. appioaches to
teaching;
(Zl the
.
grti.ciency-by
whi"ir1 given subject was or courd be
taught;
(3)
use of itandard ""iii;;tu
and course
contenti
(4)
educational
research,
(5) teachinq
based upon educational or.psychologi""i'd;;;i;;;
(5)
and
schoor administratioi
u a s e d - ,-r6pro . b u s i n e s s
nanagement principles
Regardless
its ";;;t
neaning,
the
terrn scientifi6
"J""iiion
b
e
came the
watchword
of
rate
nineteenttr-ceniury
r
e
fornist
educators.
The first
widespread attempts to effect
a nev,
scientific
education
,"i"
nadi
b
y
e
d
u
c
a
t
o
r
s
and
psychologists,
who, by studying the physical
;
i
,
a
nd
intellectual
charact!ristic3
i
r
r
d
i
r
r
i
d
u
al
children'
sought to dir""i
the focus of the schoors
toward
specific
needs, interests,
and growth pro_
cesses of studenrs.
Bv rhe 1Bto;; ;i;; widespread,
systenatic,
d " : . " r i p' tci hv ii i a _ " t rsat uy d y o f c h i l d r e n
came to
be known as the
movement. F,rom the
beginning,
t!" movenent-reried upon scientific
and
guasi-scientific
m e t h o d s , . s p u r r l-d' e r Uo"nr t b y C h a r l e s
Darwin, s writings
on evolution,
S p e n c e r ,s
advocacy of a. scienti!i"
ipproach to eaucation, the
emergence of the field of lipiricai-p"V"nofoqt;
;;;
well-publicized
discoveries and appri"-"tion"
i
n
the
physical and biological
sciences.J'

&

*
'+

t
I

_
and

3J...
T._ Humphreys, ,,The Child-Study ltovement
public
School
ttusic
Education; " Journal
of

33 (sunierffii-#

ou[;;ffi;"

e d u c a t i o n s e e L a w r e n c eA . c r e n i n , T h e r iffiiiio,i"
5i"i;;r;:

4ii!i.&
-tl$P

Sri
-:$!-:

i#

Scientific
expand beyond

began to
r e s e a r c h in
education
in
descriptive
studies of children
the
1890s.
organizat,ions
Several
influential
dedicated
to educational research were established
around
the
the National
turn
of
the
century:
Society
for the Scientific
Study of Education (the
word nscientific"
the
was dventually
dropped),
Educational Research Department and the Educational
Research Society
of
The Forun magazine, and the
Society of Educational Research.
Although
researchers and
several
child-study
other educators and psychologists
of the Iat.e nineteenth
century
engaged 1n reeearch
on musical
learning,
interests,
and aptitude,'music teachers
were apparently either unaware of or not interested
in
research.
They were more interested in
the
place
music's
in the
expanding and solidifying
methods,
school
curriculum
and
in
teaching
especial]y
nethods
for
the
of
sightteaching
singing.'
rt is not surprising,
then, that some of
the
earliest
attenpts by nusic educators to apply
what they considered the nethods of science were to
goal
teaching
the
of sight-stngigg,
the prlncipal
of music teachers of the era.Connecticut,
. A nusic supervisor fron t{estfield,
was one of
Sterrie
A.
I{eaver,
the f i rst. music
educators
a scientific
approach to
to
advocate
music teaching.
For several years before his death
in
1904, Weaver "tirelessly
urged
superthe
tion

of

the

School:

^ Humphreys, "the
=

Proqressivisn

Child-Study

5sdward

in

84.

Bailey Birge, History of PubIic School
Itlusic in. the United States (Washington, D.C.: Music
Educators National Conferenee, L966), p. 113.

.?

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F

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ii
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*
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Aner

t{ovement," p

!:
bj,;

4
vrsors
. ,- through his sunmerschool, public
a d d r e s s e sa n d w r i t . t e n a i t i e r e s t o t a k e a s c i e n t i f i c
attitude
t o w a r d t h e i r w o r k . " w e a v e r ,s s c i e n t i f i c
approach was to t.each each tone and rhythm by
rerating
then systematicarry to tones and itytrrri
previously
learned,
folrowid
by tests
of
the
results,
which
consisted of itudents
singing
material
at
sight
from basal series uo6rs
A l t h o u g h w e a v e r ' s c o n c e p t o f s c i e n c e a s a p p l i e d i o]
music teaching was crude when conpiieo to rater
efforts
and even to child-study iis"arcn of his
d"y,
he at least pranted the seel from which more
sgehisticated scienlific
approachesto music education' would 9row.
E
d
w
a
r i -e a i r e y s i i g ; c a r l e d h i n
the "first
e x p o n e n t o f t e s t s a n d n e a s u r e m e n t si n
r e a d i n g , t o a n d n o t e d t h a t " t h i s s i-a" n da s, o u t a s
9i9ht
his main contribution to schoor-nusic,
in the
writel':t!,e main co
n
t
r
i
b
u
l
i
o
n
o
f the
^
o
p
i
n
i
o
n
period [1885-19051.no

j
a.

*
;.G
*
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ip

#
''
*
,*

Another early
attenpt to apply the methodEof
science to nueic instruclion wai-niae by philip c.
Hayden, musl'c supervisor in Keokuk, rovra and edltor
p
Syguheoeor l - rl t' ryyssi tqg . (l nl tool n
r Et h, nl vl y) ), , w hh oo w r oottee a
" - rs" er ir;i ;e-s; ; o f
:.. .

.E

{

cenrurycitins
:e:x: p1e: lr :i n: _e ^n lt ya l" l -s" tIu! "dri e s or hn et .hr eu r pnsoy cf htohr e
ogy of rfrythm bf

:1

;

psychologist
rhaddeus L. iroiton oi'clark
0niverl
sity.
Hayden wrote
that
the ear,s tendency t,o
^ Gf L - . - g . r o r p r a p ll ddl lVy ooeeecu ur rrl n. lor g qsnor ur nnddr :s {i nn t} ao ^g?rAor ui ^p- s o
tios,
threes,
and fours had been "scientiticirry
d
e
monStrated, " Set forth
in "scientific
ordlr, " anrt

u

6rbid.,
pp.
a d vo ca te d a

t'

#

*

during

the

128-31.

.'::i.":ill:
late

Other

music educators

a p p r o- "a"c" ih"t o
r ;.: n u s i c i ; " ; h i ; ;

nineteeitni le"e' *, . Jf oi r
e x a m Prl:e1, . , .G?€: o r 9 : , N .n e t l e r , ; r r " a " i i " i ' w " o aS
( 1 8 4 5 - 1 9 1 6) :
S i n g i.n g
Teacher
Extr"oidirr"i re, i
UPDATE: The

*

f

.-!rFrtr!-

*
t:

+

.-d------.

5
"scientifically
proved" by Bolton, s experinents.T
Hayden also demonstrated his ideas aboul rhythrn at
the
gducitional
1905 neeting
of
the
National
(NEA) and at
Association
the first
two meetings
.(1907 and 1909) of
what became later the ltusic
Supervisors'
National
Conference (ttSNC).d Hayden
may have been the first
nusic educator to attlnpt
a
p
p
l
y
r
e
s
u
l
t
6
p
s
y
chological
o
f
experiments to
.tg
his own teaching.'

:i
1t

s
*
*

'v

*

1' P h i l i p

C. Hayden, "The place
of Rhythm in
Classifying
and Teaching the Elenents of ltusic,'
School ltusic ltlonthlv 7 (January 1906): 23.
-R" S e c r e t a r y ' s

ltinutes:
Department of
ltusic
Education,' Journal of proceedinqs and Addresses of
the
National
(Winona,
Educational
Aesociation
ltinnesota! National Educational Association,
1905),
p: - 6?9, Birge, History of Public School trtusic, pp.
246-47 i
and ph
ariirg
Time,tr School ltusic 10 (ltay-June'1909): 27, 30-35.
o
-Hayden
and certain
other music educators of
period
the
were influenced
by psychologist
G.
" recapitulation
Stanley
tla1l's
writings
on the
theory," but Hall, unlike Bolton, was not primarily

an

experinentalist.

i

&
*}
4

;*

For infornat,ion on Hayden's

interest
in
recapitulation
see ehilip
C. Hayden,
School titusic ltonthlv 5 (Novenber 1905):
lno tit,lel,
28-30.
fo
the
recapitulation
theory
and ttall, s influence on nusic educators see
"Granville
Roger Rideout,
Stanley Hal1 and lrtusic
(Ed.D
Education:
1 8 8 0 - 1 9 2 4"
dissertation,
University
of
IlIinois,
19?8),
and nOn Early
'Psychology in
Applications
of
ltusic Education, '
of
Journal
Research in
ttusic Education 30 ( FaII
1 9 8 2) : L 4 1 - 5 0 .

ttltl

*

6
EFFICIENCY

.

Hayden, weaver, and othe16 were influenced
by
what. by then amounted to a scientific
c
r
a
z
e
Ameriean education. one of ttre-liincrpar goals in
the nevr scientific education *ai efficienty,-;tt" of
w o r d _ w h i g hb " ! ! e x p r e s s e s t h e i n n e r - " p i r i t
of this
period. n^'
educalor" ,"r"
q u i c- k, r " " Jt ,' o s e i z e u p o n
efficient
management techniquds
"o successfulry
by induitriar.ists
t o l n c r e-aogi -er a nouuf at pcut ut r eadn d
reduce waste in
the pro{uctlo"goods.
A s t. h e y w a t c i r e d . l i n a u - t r y l r phenonenal
growth, educatori
came tc luetieve'ttrat these nerr,
t e c h n i q u e s , w h e n . c o u p l e d ' , , f i t r r - r " i "-"-[ -i fc o ui cf a
methods
a d v o c a t e d b y c h i l-d - s i u d y
leaders;
forn a
truly scientiric basi;-i;;
education.

a
s

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\

The
tern
efficiency
seems to have meant
different
things to difie."ni
p"opi", so much so
that
its
exact meaning nas sonewhat vague. For
exanpte, witlian H. uaxielr, s;;;;inlenoent
of rhe
New york city
_-p u b t i c s c h o o l s , a e i i n " a i t a s t h e
'.'d:y.lqpment
of
each
citi zen,
f i rst
as an
individual,
a n d s e c o n d a s a m e m b e ro f s o c i e t y , ,
while
psychorogist
Edward L. rn"inair"
thought of
it
as the inprovenent or deterioriiion
of.nental
functions.
fhe word was overused for so long by
nusic
educators that a precise definition
is
elusive,
but for
most of then it seems to have
meant, simply,
ratio
of useful work to the
e n e r g y e x p e n d e d .. .' ,i f*t.r "
l o e i 1 99€€,,
114.
airge

&

f

as the

H ii ssttoor v

nenbodiment'

1lWi11ian
B.
ciency,' "
J o u r n a rl

t

of

of

public

the spirit

School llusic, p.
faaver
of efficiency.

'Education
t{axwell,
for
Ef f ip r o c e e d il rnlqgss a n d A ,ddddr reesssseass f
of
o

i.

on, 1905t;

"'iq'!rrFt|F-

*:

.i'

*

7
nas related not only.to the indusEfficiency
of Progrefrevolulion but to the new spirit
trial
estabe
d
u
c
a
t
i
o
nal
A
m
e
r
i
c
a
n
enbraced by the
sivisn
nation
t
h
e
o
f
The industrialization
lishnent.
class
m
i
d
d
l
e
I
a
r
g
e
r
a
o
f
developnent
the
fost.ered
B
e
g
i
n
n
i
n
g in
t
i
n
e
.
I
e
i
s
u
r
e
a
i
r
a
more wealth
with
b
y
.
J
ohn
l
e
d
e
d
u
c
a
t
o
r
s
,
1g90s, Progressive
the
o
p
p
o
r
t
u
n
l
!
t
-9"
e
d
u
c
a
t
i
o
h
a
l
e
n
h
a
n
c
e
t
;
sougtri
o-*.y.
m
i
ddle
b
u
r
g
e
o
n
i
n
g
t
h
e
o
f
s
t
u
d
e
n
t
s
to
avai-Iable
e
x
p
a
n
ding
b
Y
s
t
u
d
e
n
t
s
,
a
t
l
t
o
i
n
d
e
e
d
and
"1""",
m
ore
o
f
f
e
r
i
n
g
s
s
c
h
o
o
l
s
'
t
h
e
n
a
k
i
n
g
b
y
a
n
d
curricula
P
r
o
g
r
e
s
s
i
ve
s
o
c
i
e
t
y
'
o
f
n
t
e
d
s
t
h
e
t
o
responsive
make the schools
to
wanted above all
educators
They set out to
change.
social
for
instruments
task, iD par!t Py seeking ways to
this
acconplish
with which each subject was
improve the efficiency
allow tine for
which would, Lhey believed,
iaignt,
in the school cursuuiects
of
variety
a wider
disire to inprove teaching
From their
riculum.
arose a need to nreasure the cesults of
efficiency
or
a more precise
in
lg9rning
and
teaching
mannet.'scientific
p.

6Li

Edward

L.

Thorndike,

TFe, Ps

E C@I
L eeaarrnnr inngg, , vv ooLl . z2a: E
Feacner; coiiege, -

hology of
(New Yorks

Wright, "Ef f iciency in tlusic
p.
and Francis
83;
piogeedinqs . of
the- $gEic
of
Journal
ieaching, "
(
D
.
P
'
r
L'Lq,,
Conference
National
Supervisorst
P. 30.
12ro,
and
about progres'ivisrn
more infornation
"The
l
l
i
l
l
e
r
,
v
f
.
T
h
o
m
a
s
see
educat,ion
music
Education,
on llusic
Progressivism
of
Influence
"
Education
-Lg
ie_Fear!tt_jn_-.![gslc
47,
L}LT
.Jour4e!_g!_
(
Spring
L4
in
education see Cremin, The Transprogreisivisn
the School; and trtorton whiE@
of
fornation
' I ' n e lR
e { gev vu rouI t AAqgoar rirnD s t F o r m a i i s m
Thr.rrldht
1n
Amerl.ca:
'
(Boston: Beac

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Progressives
considered
usic an important
s u b j e c t w i r h i n r h e s c r r o o f ; " r ;m
i;;iumi'a
n o ! _ g o u n n o t i c e d b y n u s i c e d u c a tfoarcsr, r h a r
9
i
d
.
eventually
c ? T q t o s e e m u s i c a s , , a n i n s t r u m e n tw h o
of
sociatizarion,'r'
rhat could hgip ;i;.;; a person,s
rppreciarig?r; idearsl
atlitudes,
]n!e: :nt t: a
" ,l p e r €
and
spectives. nl{
Each cfrif a rraa a right to
music instruction,
and arr oiiiei-tvi."
of education,
in
accordance with his iUifities
and
interests:
not
a musicalr;ducation for
l
i
o
v
i
a
e
t
o
;una"ro"iIiil-;rS'
alt students wourd

bi

Despite
progressivism,s
posture
toward nusi"^-"" an appropriate favorable
s
c
f
r
o
o
f
s
u
b
j
ect
the fact
t h a t m u s i c w i s i r o r e f i r n r y e n t r e n c h e da n d
in
the schools than ever u"eor", readei"-in
t
h
e
f
i
e
r
d
of nusic education teii pressured
t
o
i
n
p
r
o
v
e
t
h
e
s t a t u s o f n u s i c r e l a t-i ev xei-a nt oa e a
o
t
h
e
r
s
u
b
j
e
c
t
s
v
y
i
n
g
fg.. a place in
th;
curricurum.
since
status'
to
de?a:e' was determined by the
?
,
,
l
:
:
9
"
perceived efficieniy
ritrr
which i
suuject was
taught, they eet out to irfro""
their efficiency by

.

13".

George payne, nMusic as a tleans of
Social-

ifiiili;"'"
*

"1 Jl o h n
w. Withers, ',The place
c in the
S c h e n e o f l t o d e r n D e m o c r a t i c e d u c a i i oorfr , lJt ups"i p
"r" and
..eevv.qL.Lru

I r r l r r r , E o r q r'

,-ffitfti;i

cool€ctlcut:
ltusiE-feaEffiET
rdi6 f ,r Pp.. zg.

*

EMM,ffiT]Gsociation,

#

15w.
nltusic Democratizedr,,
otto
ltiessner,
proceedinss
Journal
of
.-€__E!g_"usic I"r*

f

9
developing standards for students and achi"":T"lE
tests by wtricn those standards could be measurecl.-STANDARDIZATION

one in
The issue of standards was an important
c
e
ntury.
n
i
n
e
t
e
e
n
t
h
education beginning in the late
l
evels
a
n
d
m
e
t
h
o
d
s
,
teaching
iurric,lta,
By naking
s
c
h
ools,
consistent anong teachers,
attainrnent
of
e
d
u
c
a
t
i
onal
the country,
of
and regions
states,
more
e
n
s
u
r
e
could
they
that
believed
Ieaders
like
The tern standardization,
quality
control.
fron
!
r
a
6
_
b
o
r
r
o
w
e
d
c6mpanion term efficiency,
fts
the
a
r
o
u
n
d
p
g
p
u
l
a
r
and became extremely
industryl
the
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
,
o
f
ot. the century. Like that
turn
c
o
na
l
w
a
y
s
n
o
t
n
a
a
standardization
meaning of
c
o
g
e
nt
n
o
s
t
t
h
e
o
f
O
n
e
among users.
sistent
f
o
l
l
o
w
i
n
g
:
t
h
e
i
s
e
d
u
c
a
t
o
r
bi a music
definitions

si

has two distinct
The word "standardization"
to the naking or
r
e
f
e
r
s
i
t
S
o
n
e
t
i
m
e
s
meanings.
s
o
m
e
t
i
n
e
s to the process
s
t
a
n
d
a
r
d
s
,
defining of
accepted- . . ald
s
t
a
n
d
a
r
d
s
g
e
t
t
i
n
g
of
w
orld botfrkinds
m
u
s
i
c
a
l
o
u
r
I
n
adopted .
a
t
t
enpted'-'
b
e
i
n
g
a
r
e
b
o
t
h
a
n
d
are needed

'

I'

15oth"r

music education were ?Iqo
of
aspects
thinking during thig Period,
a f f e c t e d b -y s c i e n t i f i c
and. certification,
training
teacher
including
teaching, school adninisand university
college
psychological research on music perception
trati6n,
A
and standardized music testing'
and leariring,
t
h
e
of
these topics is beyond
treatnent
thorough
scope of this article.

17w"rdo S.

ization, "
Teachers'

g.F.!,

,'t
'4

ry.ry*

Pratt,
-P a p q r s a n d
Natronar

nThe Problems of StandardP- rsoscoecel adti fnqgqg o f
9be . {usic
(Hartf ord '

j

"fr
IF

.10
r Sterrie
pioneers
in

ili

.&

fi
f

s*
a r.

t

philipHayden grere early
_atternpt to mlke misic t,eaching a

weaver.

and

science,
b u t !! 1h ."" d r i v i n ! f o r c e u e t r i n a - t n " m o v e m ' e n t
to improve music's statui through-ct"-trin
m o d e so f
standardization
and effici""cf-.
"
i
s
p
r
o
v
ided by
professionar organizations.
The eri
o
f active
_
organizationar
i n v o l v e m e n t i n t t r -i sn " ipJn" "i ", " o f m u s i c
education began in 1992, when
then of
Quincy, rltinois,
made itre fott;;i;;
s
r
a
tenent
during an address to a convention of the
NEA:
There is to-day no statenent enbodying
a course
of
study to serve as
guide'to inguiring
t e a c h e r s o r s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s o- i-- = i i t i " g
the kind
of
wor k wr r ich shour d be r "g"ir "a
of
different
g r a d e s i n t h e s c t r o o i i - r r r i " t r c a r r i the
es
the sanction of any number of
influential
teachers, as for
iistance of this
the National Educational asio;i"ai;;.
t6"ai;;-;;
connecticut:
ltusic Teachers' Nationar Association,
l : 9 1 . 4 [ 1 9 1 5] )
_ p . 1 5 8 . T h o u g hm u s i c e d u c a t o r s u n _
d o u b t e d l y w o ul r d
iravg_attenpted to stanJirdize music
instruction
even if
t h e i e r r a a u e e n - - n os c i e n t i f i c
movement in education,
thei,
it i"riig
was in_
f l u e n c e d b y t h. a t n o . r e r . n t . '
-1-nP h i f i p
g. Hayden, "ltusic in public Educat,ion,
and
some Erenents Essentiar to--iis
proceedings and Adareiies suceess,'
Journal
of
of
the

s
#

$
*

f
1'
!.

t"-affi

raiz t1Be3t),

pp. 531-32.
See Chester N. Channon,-iTh. Contrib u ti o n s of phtlip cady Hayden to nuiii Educ ati
on i n
the United States" (pa.ol dissertiiio",
Universiiy
of-.Michlgan, 1958), p
. 33, for tt.-iUo"" quotation
(although- misquoted -and -incorrectrycited)
and
additional
infornation
about Hayden?sinterest in
efficiency and standardization.

-------=F-J

"r

*
i

?
.*
T
,::

.

11
After
Hayden's address, the NEA's music departnent
adopted
a five-part
resolution
outlining
a set of
goals
for
school music instruction.
Through this
resolution the nusic departnent declared its belief
in
value of the developnent of sight-singing,
the
quality,
intonation
tone
and blend, nusical taste,
and expressive
singing.
According to Bi(9e, this
"seems to
have been the
first
resolution ever

professional
framed
by
a
schggl-nusic
regarding the ains of school nusic."'-

*
t
*
$

*

body

The next
inportant
step toward the establishment of
standards
for grade schools was taken in
1903 with
the publication
of PhiIip Haydegfis list
of
objectives
for
the first
four grades.-That
same year,
Hayden introduced a motion that evenformation of an NEA comin
the
resuLted
tually
der{?Iop.a course of study for the first
to
nittee
grades.o^
The commit,tee's report, presented
eight
1
t ' 0B i r g e ,

Historv

of

PubIic School ltusic, PP'

234-35.
"t ne h i l i p

C. Hayden,
in
F
o
ur yelrs
Fi rst
the
(
I
{
a
r
c
h
2
8.
1
9
0
3
)
:
t{onthlv 9
zt t t B i r g e

"An outline
School, "

in ltlusic for
School ltusic

Fchool l|!r9icr p.
ired this cominpiies
23gl
of Phtlip
Channon (n1he Contrlbutlons
intle
"fti"",
says that llayden served as
35)
Cady ilayden,"
P.
g
t
e
a
v
e
r
was appointed chair in 1903
in fact,
chair.
(by
a nonrinating connittee chaired by Hayden), -and
death in 1904 by Hayden'
his
aiter
roa'" replaced
"
s
l
c
r
e
t
a
r
y
'
s
Department of l{usic
lrlinutes:
See
p
r
o
c
e
e
d
i
n
qs and Addresses of
Education,tr Joirrnal of
(Boston:
Educat,ional Associatlo-q
National
the
), p. 694;
DePartment of l'lusic
Minutes:
and "Secretary's
Educatiofir" .rournal of Proceedings and Addresses of
(ltistory

of

PubIic

*
fl

#

L2
in
19.03, detailed rather specific musical requirements for eaeh grad,e,aa and generated a great deal
of
hope for the future on the part of music supervi sors .

bther

organizations
soon followed
t h e N E A ,s
The ltusic
Teachers' Nat,ional Association
(llrNA) first
addressed the guestion of standards at
its 1907 neeting, and propoJed a set of examinaticq
questions
grammar school students in LgOg,45
for
perhaps
the
first
questions
test
for
students
developel
by a professional
body in music education.
The fledgling
r , r s N Ca r s o b e c l n e i n v o l v e d w i t h
standardization
and
efficiency,
but
concerned
itself
at
first
with the nore Linitea subject of
efficiency
in
sight-singing
instruction.
Its
committee
appointed to standirdize
methods for the
teaching
of
music reading
reported in 1910 that

lead

,'.f,
*

#
4

tr
:
rt

the
pp.
:

t*
is

Natlonal
675-76.

'..i

(winona,
"n' 1904);

tt

"philip

nReport
c.
Hayden, Chairnan,
of
Comnittee on What Results Should be Obtained in the
Study
of
tlusic
in the Eight Grades of the public
Schools, r
Journal

tlg_Ngtiollal

*
*
*
*
*

Educationql__4FEociation

,

Egucqtional

Association

(Winona,

PP. 667-68; and Philip C. Hayden, Chair, rReport ;;
connittee
of Ten: what nesults should be oLtained
in. the
of ltusic in the Eight Grades of the
_study
Public
Schoolsr" .school ltuelg Uon!!f.y G (September

1 9 0 5) : 5 0 - 5 1 .
-) '?R a l p h

L.
Baldwin,
Chai rman, "Repo;pt of the
Conmittee
on Grannar School Requi rementl, ', School
I r l u s i c 1 0 ( l { a r c h 1 9 0 9) : 1 0 - 1 1 .

13
"economy 1s the
modern educatiogn uld
word in
rn
economic ones."-m
u
s
t
b
e
t
e
a
c
h
i
n
g
rnetlhods- in
b
y
u
P
d
r
a
w
n
c
o
u
r
s
e
i
o
f
s
t
u
d
y
P
!
!
f
g
s
;
t
o
adciltion
published
several individuals
iic :iat organizations,
p
e
r
i
o
d
'
t
h
i
s
d
u
r
i
n
g
c
o
u
r
s
e
s
r
o
w
n
ttre,i
for high school subjects
cour6es
standardized
vrere developed at about the same tine as those fot
During the nineteenth eenturyr
elementary slhools.
when a lirge proportion oi students attending nigl
school
high
the
college,
ittlnaea
also
school
by colleges through
had been dictatid
curriculum
By th9 tYTl
of entrance requirements.
setting
the
century, dS more and more students who did
the
of
began to attend high
college
inter
plan
to
not
schooi, high schools became morgqaccountable to the
of
This division
Iocal .conmunities.o'
denands oi
in
a power vacuuD that was filled
left
authority
part by professional education organizations.

*
*
?
ill
G

"the first
construcfor high school music,
n
u
sic aE a
s
c
h
o
o
l
high
organize
to
attenpt
tive
resulted
b
a
s
i
s
n
rnajor study and on a iegular credit
c
o
mmittee
a
b
y
L
9
0
2
in
developed
in
a course
the- New
b
y
a conferencg6 sponsored,
at
appointed
which
r
t
s
s
y
l
l
a
b
u
s
,
League.o'
Education
eirllana
c
o
u
n
t
e
r
p
o
int,
music theory,
in
studies
iniluded
As

") At E l s i e
l{. shaw,
R e a d i n g ," J o u r n a l o f
Suoervisors
p. 37.

nstandardization
of Sight'
Procgedinqs 9f the ,Iy:ic
. p . . 1 9 1 0) ,

2SJ"t""

R . A n g e 1 1 , " T h e C , - n b i n a t i o n o f C er t i f " Thc School Review
icate
and Exanination Systene,
20 (ltarch 1912): 145-46.
)' o
RB i r g e ,

168.

History

of

PubIic

School l*lusic, p'

t
t
t?

L4
form,
biography,
history,
e n d o r s e d b y t h e r , l T N Aa n d t n "

and applied 4qsic,
NqA i;-igO-a.",

was

This gras a first
step, but it did not resolve
satisfactoriry
t
h
g
p
r
o
bllm
of
hi;h
school cur.
riculum
contint
in
nusic.
rn
response to the
problen, a group
prof essional o.g"rri-""tions,
led
b y t h e E a s t e r n E d_ uocf a l i o n a l r , r u s i c c o n f e r e n c e
and the
England Education League, proposed an innovafgt

i*

!1i 9f :0 6 , p l a n
the

in
*
.L

to setrle the issue. in-if," spring of
c o r r e g e E n t r a n c e E x a m i n a t i o nB o a r d f o r

N e w E n gland and the ltiddle Atlantic
stiies
-io
ac c epted
th9 plan, which required correfes
administer
entrance exaninationJ
in muslc aia to accept high
school credits
in muslc.
The plan incruded
a c c e p t a n c e o f c r e d i t f o r a p p l i e d m u s i c s t u d y wti ht rer
quarif ied teachers outside al,e high sctroor.
s c h o o r i n c h e r s e a , l r a s s a c t r u s e i [ s i m f i e m e n tie oh i ; h
plan in the fal.t of 1900. rn suuseq.r-ii year6 the
many
other cities awarde{ocredit for
m
u
s
i
c
s
tudy
a;;ii;e
outside tha school. ao

*
i
1.

27eor
nore information.about
.
this proposar see
Richard
Lee - Dunham, nllusic Appreci"-tio'
in the
Fublic
Schools of
the
U n i t e d b t-ilir"i"; ,; i 9 d nf 8, g Z _ f g 3 0 "
( Ph.D. dissertation,
University "t96l ) ,
p. 31.

-) A- B i r g e ,
1 6 9 -77L1..

{

Hirt

ilusic, pp.
ollege

e

*

t

::::::::-,::qlirenenrs-

*.
*

nlial

fi

Wact i g
U
o ngadl i n gAss s o c : [ a

in nueic aac o""iir,-;;;;i:

ioili"n"il;;

i"IiE=ii"il;1"$:;
"!:l]:r"-_:"r::l!!,9reait;
o --i;
r rh; ilsi; ;;";;;;;,
I o^o

Errt-----

-i-e:t3-irgz
Ple+ A=?logiati
natftiEl-association,

4| t,

T:l:l:."'
r6 2 -6 6

-a!re

!

i

iE

PP.

-,

--e

-.-",

l5
O T H E RS C I E N T I F I C A P P T I C A T I O N S
The scientific
movenent ln
nusic
education
encompassed considerably
nore than efftciency
and
the
developnent
of
standard courses of study for
programs lrere
school
students.
ltusic
studled
"objectively"
fornal
thr6ugh
Iarge
numbers of
of city and state school systerns conducted
surveys
during
The
the
first
one-third
of the century.
school-survey
novenent
and
other
descriptive
research
activities
fostered
the
developnent of
permanent educational
research bureaus by cities,
state
departments
of
education,
universit,ies,
teachers
colleges,
foundations.
and independent
These agencies nere often called efficiency
bureag5
and staffed by persons calIed efficiency
experts.-An increasing
anareness of
science by music
educators
manifested itself
also in the actions of
certain
individuals
who sought to establish closer
ties
to
the
field
of psychology.
Several music
educators,
for example, yrere influenced by CarI E.
Seashore's
experinents on musical aptitude testing
conducted in the nusic laboratory
at the University
of
Iowa.
Other prominent music educators either
psychological
experinented
in
laborat,ories
or
attenpted
to found their own: Karl 9f. GehrkenE at
(1910),
Oberlin
College
Charles ll. Farnsworth aL
(1917), and
Teachers CoIIege,
Columbia University
Osbournqn l{cConathy
Northwest,ern
University
at
(19171.'still
another exanple of the degree of
-? -q J e r e

Hunphreys, "llusic Education and the
T.
School-Survey ltov^ment,nThe Bulletin of HistgEig?I
( Januar y 1987) :
I
l tu si c e d u c-tfon
Research in
33-43.
2
' "nF r a n k

T. Lendrim, t'Music for Every ehild: The
Story of Karl WiIson Gehrkens" ( Ph.D. dissertation,
t l i c h i g d o , L 9 6 1 ), p p . 2 0 - 2 3 ; w i l l i a m
of
University

*

il
&

il

t
i

''1.
;
t

t

?

s#

15
interest
in
psycl?Jogywas an unsuccessful.
, T9y1:2i "
atternpt in 1
t
o
e
" -yi "i ti o
i rri oi t9ei""-ai n
r l " - s l c t i,oTnN A , s
seerion rir!^-rf".
musie
-ii'un"um
o fe ntrh e
Association'

ror"--ti"

Sliliillrt

. or

OBSTACLES
*
*
*

s
f
tJi,s
'i

:,]'

The

scientific

experienced serious novement- in music education
J- -i ireeri i";"; r; ;t -i "- "
ili, ttr. outset.
Althoush
oroponents
m e t h o d sw o u i d
scienrific
p r o v i l e s o l u t i o n "i "l ;i ti
:
o
o
l
all
n
ost if not
the perceivgg
m u s i c e d u c a t o r s a i a ;- ;n; ;Jit; -i ,i " r i e vf "e" r l . g r h e f i e t d , o t h e r
" s h o u r J - 6 " - " p p r o " cthf readt m u s i c i n s t r u c _
scientiricarry.
;i:' r::i::

-E;;
-'""?iiii* e,llind:ii
.i:.Hi
rr,u
!
I
- i ; ;i;*ffi
;
dardizarion.
t Ui:
. _ : _ r a i ; i ; r & i ' ' " r", dr h e
were,,scien_

"on"i"iing
,,onry
:i:i:""tlo"lln"arance t h a6nlv,
t w a s " r n , r o - J ! r r " " or
or selectiv".I3tton"
cri
tical

Three

najor

problenrs

to

pered
d e v e l o p a s c i i n c e - J i - r , rhsarm
; - ; i l " ; i ; ;t h o s e w h o s o u q h t
durins lrre

R.

Lee,

"Edr

li;,t:f;n;te
sltiiii:"l"ollr",ii:diii:;
-';i;":lj'"i"r*,Yli""i"i!i"
iru-:t
";
Kenrucky,
,-:s1zj n.

n
"os6"".ij
Platt,
M
M ccCcoonna a
t hrih
r :y :^ i rm
. re
i rai rc^a niE--;-;-i!i " - q .
.
I
u
"
u
i
:
:
:
1
,
,
'
o
sbourie
-a;;;;;
xesearchin A
uusic educaf
iJi 2r
te+ii:#
31nl*tinutes
-of

the AnnuaI }|eeting, n

'F

+

fr
*

f

tratTonEI-tE"; " i ; t i ; n]', ; i; "
=
; i ; i ;i i ; f i ;;
32nichard
,,-

{Xilrr]".*'

Boone,

s"i"rr".
!3use
chaiies--i"i;o.

-'--rff*-:

.

rs

L7
first
two decades of the century.
One was that the
profession
sinply
could
not agree upon goals for
music
instruction
in
the
schools.
Sone music
educators,
for
example,
did not believe that the
teaching
of
sight-singing
should be the nain purpose of school music.
One of these individuals
was
Charles
Farnsworth,
who complained that the field
"makes sight singing its goal.n
He,did adnit that
an emphasis on sight-singing
had the advantage'of
"formal
Iending
itself
to
nethods"
and ease of
"dear
measurement, naking
sight-singing
to
the
hearts
of
many teachers in systenatized schools,"
but
he preferred
insfqad to eoncentrate on mi.reic's
gualitie6.""
aesthetic
This
failure
to reach a
consensus
inpeded
the
developnent
of
standard
nethods
of instruction,
standards for achievement,
and nethods
for neasuring the results of instruction,
and rendered
irnpossible
the
dream of
a
science
of
nusic education with efficient
rnethods
of
instruction
and evaluation
tailored
to each
student
The second rnajor problen facing scicntifically
ninded
music educators
nas that the nscience of
education"
was stilI
very
nuch ln its infancy.
Terns
were not
well
defined and were used quite
loosely.
Research techniques enployed so eitensively
generations
by
later
of
educational
researchers--sanpling,
€xperinental
controls,
correlational
nethods,
just
and the
like--were
beginning
to
be discovered and developed.
e Lrue
"science
of educationn yras at that tlnc in reality
Iittle
nore than a dream.
-he
tors
of

third
the

difficulty
was aet nost music educaearly
twentieth century, like their

33crrur 1es
llusic

M-

ffi

(ttew

H. Farnsworth,
Education
York: Anerican Book @

Through

a

f
fif
6

*

ti

+
&

;{i
iii

i'

ir

#
i.

!*.',ir*:,:,.-..-d.,&:,

.-:-'::.

18
counterparts
during
the child-study
era,
were
u n a v r a r eo f o r i n d i f f e r e n t
to scientific
principles.
fiost
vrere lightly
educated--undergraduate degrees
in
music education
were just beginning to bicome
popular
and graduate
prograns in musii education
were
very
few in
number--and
there
vrere few
journals accessible to nusic teachers that included
results
of
music research.t"
rn fact, a content
analysis
of
the
first
long-standing
rnagazine
devoted to nusic educatioft,
School Uusig_lUonlhfy.l,
founded and edited
Uy'fen
i
distinctly
non-scienqfiii :i ortlntatlon,
e
s
p
e
c
i
a
l
l
y
',rt
before the nid-1920s. tt

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None of
these problens deterred proponents of
scientific
nusic
education,
who continlalty
compared
educat,ion to
the
tield
of nedicinel
predicting
that . tine and hard work wourd provide'the
answers they
so urgently sought.
By ibout 1915,
however,
profession was b-coning increasingly
the
frustrated
over
its inability
to agiee upon goiri
for
school
nusic, to establiltr a siientiiic
Sasis
for
music education,
and to raise music fron its
perceived inferior
position within the hierarchy of
the
scho.ol curricurun.
Leaders were.paintirlty
aware that
the
first
courseg of study aiopted bir
the
NEA ( 1905 ) ,
the
ritTNA ( 1909 ) ,
ind-tire
nSNa
(1910) had never been used extensively,so
targely
because of the profession's
lnabltity
t; agree upon
-

t
:l

i!

):
;r

34J"r.

T. Hunphreys,,,periodical Literature in
Itlusic Education:
A ttistorical
Oveiview, " UpDATE:
The Applications
of *"""

6

*,

-2 -RE e n r y
E u g e n e K a r J a l a , ' A C r i t-i icpat lr l o .A n a l y s i s o f
s-chgol--.Tusic rrtagazini fg6o-r936;
dieserta_
c t o n , U n i v e r s i t y o f t { i n n e s o t a , 1 9 7 3i .

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35th"dd",r"

$F.

p.
Giddings,
Music 15 (January1914):6.

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:

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n P e d a g o g y ,n

School

19
music educators struggled
goals.
Increasingly,
goals and nethods while watching other fields
*ittr
what were perceived to be well-organized
inplenint
tests
sophisticated
courses of study and relatively
results.
there was considerable
to
measure the
nethods
used in nusic leaching rtere
that
coircern
than those used for other subjects,
efficient
Iess
of
other
and teachers
aCrninistrators
and that
in
d
e
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
i
e
s
o
f
t
h
e
a
l
l
e
g
e
d
were aweqe
subjects
f
e
l
t
a
l
s
o
l
{
u
s
i
c
e
d
u
c
a
t
o
r
s
nusic
education.''
w
h
i
c
h
g
o
v
e
r
n
m
e
n
t
s
,
p
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
f
r
o
n
s
t
a
t
e
increasing
f
c
i
r
s
c
h
o
o
l
s
p
r
o
p
o
s
e
s
t
a
n
d
a
r
d
s
l
e
g
i
s
l
a
t
e
d
began to
of the
a move opposed by the naJority
and teacher;"
of these Pressures,
profession.'"
As a result
issues
paranoiac
about
always
educators,
nusic
d
u
r
i
n
g the
n
o
r
e
s
o
b
e
c
a
m
e
e
v
e
n
status,
related
to
t
h
e
c
e
n
t
u
r
y
.
o
f
'
second decade

.ll
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t{:
*
t

THE }IODERNERA
of 'the
f i rst director
the
walter
S. llonroe,
of
Bureau of Educational Research at the University
wrote
that the "pioneer stage" of educaIlinriis,
ended around 1918, and that the
research
tional
i-

I

' li

'l i

t,
Ir
37rbid.,
pp.
6-7i
and J.l Beach Cragun, 'A
Psychological Analysis of the Basis on l{hich Credit
f or
Study
l . t u s ic i s t o b e P l a c e d , '
the
of
School

l l u s i c 1 5 ( S e p t e n b e r 1 9 1 4) : 1 4 .
-?-nF r e d e r i c k
"The I leal
Basis
of
Schlieder,
n
Standardization,
PaDers and Proceedinge of the
Irlusic Teachers'
W
6sociation,
1 9 1 s t 1 9 1 5 1 )p . 1 5 9 .

:E-ffif

ffi,

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+

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a"

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field
.,[,hen passed into the "quantity
production',
stage. -The' same can be said for research in
music education.
The profession comnitted itself
to
research
with
the
estabrishment
of the r,tsNc
Educational
council
in 1918.
rn keeping with one
of
purposes,
to "standardize moiE [horoughly
. its
various
phases of school music work,qu the educal
tional
Council, s
fi rst
publication
outlined
detailed standard courses of itudy,for
srade school
students
and nusic
supervisors...
et about the
same tine the profegsion saw the publication
of the
first
s t a n d a r d i z e d t e s t s o f n u s f g i r a 'p t l t u d e ( 1 9 1 9 )
and nusical achievenent (L920.){4

:1

39wult".
s. ltonroe et dI. , Ten
E d u ca tion Resear ch, 1919- _lg??, iufffi

years

Bureau of Educational

3.

;l"iri--"i

R e s e a r c h , L g } ' g l, p ,

of

rttinois:

4O.loh'

nThe l,tusic
w.
Beattie,
Supervisors,
National Conference,', leper_E_qlld proceediircs of
the
llusic
Teachers'
Nati
ssociation,

L920 [1921]), p. 93.
4lltsHc

Educationar

Standard Course of

$

counci.r,

Burretin

srudL__i-g- lt5ig

Number 1,

and irii"i"i

n.p. ,
L g Z L l.
For more
lnrormatron see Fred Anthony !{arren, "A History of
'the
the
ltusic Education neselrch council
and
Journal of Research in ilusic Education of the nusic

di;s;;id'di;;;

t

University

;

E.
Seashore,
Don Lewis, and Joseph G.
Saetvei t .
Seashore
ltgg_illfgg of ltusical
Taients
(New York:
and Frank A. Beach with H.E. Schramrnel, €d., Beach

?

42carl

of ltichigan,

1 9 6 5) , p p . L S _ r i .

2L
research in music education won nany
Scientific
new adherents
during
the
1920s and 1930s as it
fron
increasing
wealthr
benefited
national
€xpanding
music prograns, more highly educated music
methods, a
teachers, more sophisticated statistical
nunber of
and
larger
standardized musical tests,
programs.
research
ne\,r graduate
ltany prominent
music educators came to believe that "nothing short
reorganization of music teaching
of
a scienlific
wiII serve,"-- while others found nuch to criticize
in
the
approach.
Nevertheless, music education
nodern era
entered
the
during t,hat period, and,
for
except
a significant
decline ln enphasis on
testing
beginning
in the Iate 1930s, the practice
of
research
in nusic education, along
scientific
with some debate over its pertinence, has continued
unabated to the present day.
--Arizona

C

#
*
*
I

State University

r,

+

;
P

t
ll

ir

Standardized

ltusic

Tests

(Enporia, Kansas: Bureau
nts,
Kansas State Normal

S c h o o l , 1 9 2 0) .
d
- -1J .

Lawrence Erb, "[usic Teaching: A Trade or
a Profession?' Papers and Proceedings of the llusic
Teachers' Natio
L920
aI Association,
tL921l), p. 107.

w.

G

#

.x