The effects of voice training applications on the voice-using skills of mosque officials

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of voice training applications on mosque officials' voice-using skills. The research employs a pretest–posttest design with a semi-experimental focus group. The participants who took part in the studies conducted with different samples to determine the professional needs of mosque officials stated their need for a well-planned voice training program with the right content and resources, prepared by experts in the field. Another finding from these studies is that the schools from which these mosque officials graduated (Imam-Hatip High Schools or Faculties of Islamic Theology) did not provide them with any voice education, which they would require in order to perform their duties properly. This finding was critical in determining the research topic. After scanning the relevant literature, expert opinions in the fields of voice education and religious music were used to determine the type and method of research, as well as the form of data collection tools. The needs, objectives, content, and evaluation steps of the voice training program were determined based on the scope of the experimental procedure to be used. Following that, a focus group of eight people was formed, consisting of imams and muazzins (one who delivers the azan) who work in various districts of Istanbul, as part of the Religious Music in-Service Training Program given to mosque officials at the Haseki Abdurrahman Gürses Training Center of the Directorate of Religious Affairs. To evaluate the study group's pretest – posttest performance, a three-member expert team from the field of voice education was formed, and a 5-point Likert scale behavior observation form was created based on their opinions to evaluate the focus group's performance. A twenty-six-week audio training program was held during the academic year 2020–2021. Video-audio recordings of the participants performing the same pieces for testing purposes were taken during the pretest and posttest phases. The data gathered as a result of the expert team's evaluation of the performance evaluation scale, which contains seventeen criteria, is presented in graphs and tables. According to the expert team's evaluations, the pretest group average was 48.18 on a scale of 100, while the posttest group average was 80.18, showing a 32-point increase. As a result of the study, it was discovered that voice training applications improved the voice usage skills of mosque officials by 66.41 percent. Furthermore, an analysis of the experimental procedure's results reveals a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest levels.