An investigation of variables that predict string students’ musical achievement

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Heather Ann Lofdahl (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Rebecca MacLeod

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the variables that best predict string students’ musical achievement. Five independent variables—grit, socioeconomic status, race, gender, and private lessons—were examined. Sixty string players (30 undergraduates and 30 precollege students) completed a demographic questionnaire and Duckworth’s Grit-S Scale (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009). Music performance achievement was measured on a continuous 11-point scale. Participants self-reported the most recent solo pieces they had studied, and the researcher grouped the participants into one of the eleven performance achievement levels based on the graded repertoire list found in the American String Teachers Association’s String Syllabus: Volume One, 2009 Edition. Analysis revealed significant correlations between musical achievement and years of experience, musical achievement and years of private lessons, and musical achievement and socioeconomic status. Correlations between gender, race, grit, and musical achievement were not significant. An exploratory multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine which variables best predicted string students’ musical achievement. The initial five independent variables (grit, socioeconomic status, race, gender, and years of private lessons) plus one additional independent variable (years of experience) were tested. Four predictor variables (years of experience, years of lessons, socioeconomic status, and gender) were chosen for the final regression model, which significantly predicted musical achievement. This model accounted for 53.0% of the variance in musical achievement among the participants in this sample.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2023
Keywords
Gender identity, Grit, Musical achievement, Private lessons, Race, Socioeconomic status
Subjects
Bowed string instrument players
Music students
Instrumental music $v instruction and study
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