Date of Award

1-1-1998

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Master of Education

School

School of Education

Faculty

Faculty of Community Services, Education and Social Sciences

First Supervisor

Associate Professor John Williamson

Abstract

Lip-slur exercises comprise part of the practice routines of many professional and serious amateur brasswind players. There are several reasons why so many players practise lip-slurs. One of those reasons is the belief that lip-slurs contribute to the development of the brasswind high register. This study argues that while there is a vast amount of anecdotal evidence from many authors widely deemed to be influential in the form of method books or writings that lip-slurs can contribute to the development of the brasswind high register, there has been little research to support this widely held belief. This study used a matched subjects control group pre-test/post-test design to test a researcher-designed lip-slur teaching program aimed at subjects in their second to fifth years of brasswind study. The subjects were in school years eight, nine and ten. The pre-test and post-test was a researcher-designed high register test utilising a chromatic scale. In order to account for family variables which might influence the experiment, a questionnaire was developed and various statistical procedures used to calculate the effect of family background. The results of this study indicated that lip-slurs play an important role in the acquisition of the high register by brasswind students. The degree of importance is dependent on various factors. From this study, it appears that a major factor is the ceiling effect. Students who scored low to medium pre-test scores gained greater initial benefit from the inclusion of lip-slurs in the teaching program than those who had high pre-test scores. The students on whom the ceiling effect acted most were those who achieved high pre-test scores. This study concluded that low achievers can gain rapid short term advantage from lip-slur practice, while for high achievers, the inclusion of lip-slurs in the daily routine could lead slowly to long term gain.

Download

Included in

Music Commons

Share

 
COinS