A methodology study for string orchestras in music teacher education programs

The purpose of this research is to determine the current situation regarding the Orchestra / Chamber Music course, which is included in the Music Education Curriculum for 4 semesters, and to contribute to the making of the string orchestras in the Music Education Departments of the Faculty of Education a more functional structure and operability, while the instructors are operating the string instrument orchestra. To determine which methods they use and which methods are effective, to determine what they pay attention to when creating the repertoire, to determine to what extent the expectations of the instructors and students from the orchestra are met, and to develop a methodology in this direction to contribute to a more functional structure for string orchestras. A mixed method consisting of descriptive and experimental methods was used in the research. In the descriptive part for the determination of the situation, the views of the instructor and students about the orchestra were determined by qualitative methods with a semi-structured interview form, the methodology created by the content analysis of the obtained data, the methodology was tested by using the matched random design and the control group post-test method in the experimental part. The descriptive study group of the research was employed in the fall and spring semesters of the 2017-2018 academic year at Abant İzzet Baysal University, Dokuz Eylül University, Gazi University, Marmara University, Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Onsekiz Mart University and Pamukkale University Education Faculties, Fine Arts Education Department, Music Education Departments. It consists of 7 instructors who perform and run the string orchestra, and 60 students who work in the string orchestra. The experimental study group consists of 2 instructors who train string instruments orchestras of Mehmet Akif Ersoy University and Pamukkale University Fine Arts Education Department, Music Education Department, and 24 students who participate in orchestral studies. Qualitative data in the descriptive part of the research were collected with the semi-structured "Instructor and Student Interview Forms" developed separately by the researcher. The qualitative data of the experimental part were collected with the "Student Profile Determination Form" and "Work Suitability Determination Form" developed by the researcher, and the quantitative data were collected with the "String Orchestra Performance Rubric". Content analysis method was used for the lecturer and student interview forms, and quantitative data analysis was used for the experimental part of the research. The necessary statistical analyzes of the data collected with the scale for the sub-problems whose answers were sought were made using the SPSS program. As a result of the expert opinions received by the researcher and the applied experiment, an orchestra working methodology was developed. This methodology was applied by the researcher to the experimental group for 6 weeks, and significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups in terms of technical dimension, musical dimension, total and average scores. There was no significant difference in the experimental group in terms of individual instrument variable, but a significant difference was found in the control group. It is envisaged that this developed methodology is a study that can be successfully applied in orchestral courses.