Dissertation Defense

This morning, I got up, went for a run at the club, came home, had breakfast, put on my nicest red, gray, and black outfit for good luck, and logged on to my computer to defend my dissertation. My professors were online for the video chat, two in Boston and one in Minneapolis. I began by reading a review of all of my research with accompanying PowerPoint slideshow. This took about 30 minutes, after which each professor asked me questions about what I had discussed and what was written in the actual dissertation. Then they told me to go offline while they discussed my presentation and answers. After about twenty minutes, I received a phone call to log back on, at which time my primary professor congratulated me on a successful defense and told me that I am now officially Dr. Brame. Then he gave me the final revisions I need to make before submitting my document for binding and graduating on January 31. So while my work is not quite done, my degree is.

Thanks to all of my students, friends, colleagues, and family for all of your support and encouragement. It has been quite a journey, and I am grateful that you all accompanied me on it.

Happy Holidays!

Dr. B

Dissertation Update

My supervisor sent me an email today with the second reader's comments on Chapters 1-4. I knew I was in trouble when I read the first line: "You've got lots of work to do." My second reader really went through my paper with a fine-toothed comb; most pages have multiple comments and corrections. Some are easy enough, like changes in wording, but others require me to go back to sources I haven't looked at since the summer of 2008 to get more information. Still others challenge my methods and conclusions. It's pretty daunting, but she is trying to make sure I plug up any holes in my study so that it can stand up to the grilling of the defense committee. I do appreciate how hard she is making me work--really, I do! (Does it sound like I'm trying to convince myself?)

And so, the saga continues!

Dissertation Update

My advisor approved all of my edits, so now it's on to the second reader. I'll hear back from her in a few weeks, so I have a bit of time off. That will come in handy, since DHS grades are due next week, and the papers and projects are beginning to pile up a bit! Assuming that all goes well, I'll have a practice defense during the first week of December and the real thing before break. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter!

Dissertation Update

I just sent the first truly complete draft of my dissertation to my advisor. This is the result of literally hundreds of edits based on his previous suggestions and those of my second reader, who will get one more crack at it after him. Then it's on to the defense, which I believe I might still be able to fit in before winter break. (fingers crossed!)

Thanks to everyone who has continued to support me throughout the dissertation. I'll keep you informed of the progress. Until there's more news, I'll leave you with this brief excerpt:

This ultimate goal [of comprehensive musicianship] is too important to ignore in an era in which music educators once again find themselves required to justify their curricula in the midst of budget cuts and high stakes testing. CM proponents approach music as a multi-faceted and rigorous academic discipline that teaches critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, the “4 Cs” of learning and innovation as espoused by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2004). The traditional band curriculum, which emphasizes performance training, does not provide students the same depth of experience in these skills. For music education to stay relevant, music educators need to incorporate models like comprehensive musicianship to remain on the leading edge of educational reform and to prepare students for a future of lifelong music-making.

Dissertation Update

Today is a landmark day for me--I sent my first draft of the last chapter of my dissertation to my advisor. I realize that I will have pages and pages of rewrites to do over the next few months as he dissects it and then a second reader has a shot at it. It still feels good, though, to get to this stage. I am hoping that this will keep me on track for a late fall defense and a completion of the degree by winter break. I'm crossing my fingers...

Catching Up...

It's the end of the quarter, and almost all of my grading is done. I have two projects on my desk to grade in the morning, and then I'll be all set.

All four bands seem to be in good shape for the concert Tuesday night. I feel like the concert groups are peaking at just the right time. Certain passages that have always been struggles are now falling into place, and there are some hints of glorious brass sounds at times in the SB and WE. Let's hope that the good work in rehearsal and at home continue for the next six days so we can have a positive culmination to the last 9 weeks worth of work.

The Warrior Marching Band finished the season in grand fashion. We accompanied the football team to their first round playoff game in the city. It was a very interesting setting--the field was a mud pit after a week of rain, much like our home turf probably would have been. The field was surrounded on the sidelines by bleachers (no running track) and in the endzones by the school building to the south, and a street and apartment building to the north. Field goals went on roofs and threatened to break windows. Just across the parking lot behind the home stands was a very busy L-train stop. To quote the Blues Brothers, "How often does the train go by? So often that you won't even notice it."

Our band played from the stands, reveling in the fact that we weren't being rained on (although it was cold and blustery). The opposing team's band was quite small due to their having a day off from school. Their director played along on trumpet, and it was fun to hear their pride. Unfortunately, we heard their fight song way too many times and ours not enough. By the end, we were beaten soundly. But, as always, we had our own fun.

My dissertation is going along well. My survey of Illinois and Wisconsin high school band directors is in its third week. I'm hoping for one last surge of responses to provide a deeper pool of data, but at a video conference tonight with my online peers, our supervisor told me that the 250 responses I have so far will probably be plenty. I'm at about a 22% response rate, and I think that's fairly respectable for an internet survey. 30% would make me feel better, but I think I'm in good shape. Once the questionnaire closes on 11/15, I'll have about four weeks to analyze the data for a presentation I'll be doing at a regional seminar in Chicago in late December. This will be good because it will get me moving on it right away instead of letting my research grow cold over the holidays. I'll share more over the coming weeks.

And because every blog should include some music for you to enjoy, I leave you with a taste of the Scott Joplin ragtime unit we'll be doing in SB and WE:

The Entertainer - William Albr...

And, just to show you that ragtime music is not dead, here is some contemporary ragtime by a Chicago composer/pianist, Reginald R. Robinson:

Lightning Strikes Twice - Regi...

Hello from Wisconsin!

This week I'm attending a workshop on Comprehensive Musicianship at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. The Wisconsin music associations have truly cornered the market on CM teaching, which is the subject of my dissertation. Essentially, they are promoting the teaching of performance, theory, history, and composition as a single, integrated topic. Too often, we teach the latter three disciplines in a specialized course, like Music Theory at DHS. This workshop challenges us as directors to go beyond teaching notes and rhythms to provide a "comprehensive," or complete, music education in our ensembles. So, when I teach about different chords in band rehearsal or talk about the history of the composer, I am engaging in CM teaching. This is something I've done all along, but this workshop is giving me some ideas about how I can do it in a more organized, intentional manner.

Next year, I hope you will recognize when I am asking you to be analysts, composers, and critics in addition to performers. Don't get me wrong--our main focus will still be learning to play our instruments well so that we can experience high quality music and perform it at the highest level possible. We'll just add on to that traditional model in a way that will make us all better musicians. Think of it as not just performance, but performance with understanding. Stay tuned!

(By the way, I am too old to be staying in a dorm without air conditioning. Just thought you should know that.)

Dissertation Update

I reached an important milestone with my doctoral dissertation yesterday. The whole process has been a series of these "red-letter days." The first came at the end of 2008 when I finished my last class. The second came in April 2009 when I passed my eight hours of qualifying exams. Then I spent all of last summer writing the 130-page proposal that spells out exactly what I plan to study. After attending a 10-day residency at Boston University in August, working with my professors and six colleagues, honing my plan, discussing the finer points of research, and doing a lot of reading and rewriting, my proposal was accepted by my professors, which means I was officially "ABD" ("all but dissertation"). My next step was approval by the Institutional Review Board.

The "IRB" reviews all proposals to make sure we researchers are using sound methods and not endangering our subjects. They looked over my work and returned it to me in October with specific questions and requests. I was able to answer all of them to their satisfaction, but I needed some supporting documentation from the state music education organizations. I finally received those letters late this spring and was able to resend my packet to the IRB. After one last minor edit, I was notified yesterday that I had passed this final hurdle and can finally begin my work in earnest. Woohoo!

Unfortunately, my major data collection instrument is a survey of high school band directors, which I now won't be able to undertake until the fall. This puts my time line about a year behind schedule, but at least I can now see a clear path forward. Luckily for me, I am still passionate about my topic, which is Comprehensive Musicianship. This refers to the teaching of diverse musical disciplines in an integrated fashion. In other words, band students can learn history, theory, and composition as part of the rehearsal process for a piece of music. If you've been in the Deerfield HS band program, you know that I have tried to do this to some extent over the years. Some directors have developed programs in which they do this in a very organized and intentional manner. I will be looking to determine just how much band directors know about this topic and how many of them engage in CM teaching. I'll be updating my blog readers throughout the process of my research. Stay tuned!