Date of Award
12-1996
Degree Name
Master of Music
Department
Music
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
This research examined the particular aspect of group process, group cohesiveness, through an electroacoustic analysis of group musical improvisations. The musical parameter, amplitude, was displayed and compared to independent judges' ratings of group cohesiveness. The interrater reliability for ratings of group cohesiveness vs. noncohesiveness was very high (100%). The interrater reliability for the degree of group cohesiveness or non-cohesiveness was, given the small number of examples used, adequate (80%). The improvisations rated cohesive by the judges also matched in rank order placement. The two dimensions of the amplitude patterns that were relevant to this study were density and form. These are described in relationship to the judges' ratings. This study presents a prototype method for the analysis of group musical improvisations in music therapy. The results are considered only preliminary, but promising.
Recommended Citation
Hakes, Rosemary, "Group Cohesiveness Represented through a Multidimensional Analysis of Group Improvisations" (1996). Masters Theses. 636.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/636