Abstract

This thesis equivalent concerns the development and evaluation of a self-instructional method for jazz guitar. The method was designed to teach chords, scales and arpeggios to jazz guitarists enrolled in a university music program. A second purpose in the design was to create a method which focuses on presenting this information in a manner which is oriented towards jazz improvisation. As such, the method incorporates examples and exercises which are primarily rooted in jazz. The method is predominantly text based with numerous musical examples and is accompanied by a cassette which includes recordings of the various musical examples and exercises contained within the method. The method was evaluated using a single group, pretest, posttest design. The dependent measures were obtained through a pretest administered prior to the trial period and through a posttest and an attitude questionnaire administered at the end of the trial period. The subjects were 14 jazz guitar majors studying at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. The purpose of the evaluation was predominantly formative. As such, the results of the evaluation were used to analyze the effectiveness of each of the objectives. The 14 subjects were divided into small groups and instructed to each use 1 of 4 sections of the instructional method for a period of ten days. Overall, the objectives of the method were successfully met and the subjects indicated positive attitudes towards the instruction. An objective by objective analysis of the dependent measures indicated weaknesses in specific areas of the method. A discussion of the conclusions drawn from the findings follows with recommendations for revisions to the instructional method. It was concluded that revisions should be made and that other forms of evaluation need to be applied.