Successfully Defended!

On Monday, November 16, I successfully defended my dissertation, Senior Adult Music Learning, Motivation, and Meaning Construction in Two New Horizons Ensembles.  I feel a sense of relief knowing that the end is in sight.  I brought home from Arizona a stack of edits from each member of my dissertation committee, so I still have a lot of work ahead of me before I print the final document and send it to the publisher for binding and microfilming.  No football for me this Thanksgiving (well, maybe the BYU/Utah game)!

A few hours before leaving for Arizona, I printed my dissertation, punched holes in the side, and put it in a three ring binder.  I then place the document on my desk and stared in disbelief and said, "Did I write all of that!"  Even more sobering, realized that my life for the last two and a half years was distilled in an inch and a half to two inch pile of paper.  All the notes, interview recordings, transcripts, videos, and pictures squeezed into 230 or so pages.  They say writing a qualitative dissertation is like making syrup, "You harvest 10 gallons of sap to get a pint of syrup."

Everyone has been so kind with words of congratulations and support.  I have been pretty low key at school, only giving my students tidbits why I have been missing school lately.  When I returned to school, most of my older students congratulated me, wondering what to call me now:  Sam ? (I allow my high school students to address me by my first name),  Dr. Sam?, Dr. Tsugawa?, Doc?  I specified the protocol:  "You may continue to call me 'Sam' and Mr. Tsugawa.  You can call me Dr. Tsugawa or Dr. Sam.  Please don't call me just Tsugawa or Doc (reserved for a special colleague).  Finally, please don't call me Dr. Tsugawa aloud in a crowded room or an airplane.  If someone drops of a heart attack, they may point to me and say 'Hey, he's a doctor!.'"

To all my doctoral colleagues, thank you for your friendship, support, and example.  The most fulfilling aspect of my graduate school experience has been the people I have met and worked with over the last three and a half years.  Also, thank you to my professors, Drs. Marg Schmidt, Sandy Stauffer, Jill Sullivan, and Jeff Bush.  I will be eternally grateful to their commitment of time and treasure to help find my research voice.  Their dedication to the profession of research and the success of their students is an inspiration to me that I take into my professional and personal life.  To Dr. Schmidt for her constant concern for my personal welfare, paving my way to attend ASU, allowing a trombone player to teach her string methods class, and her tireless editing (even the table of contents!).  And to Dr. Stauffer for her kindhearted demeanor, scholastic integrity, providing the resources for me to write this dissertation, and giving me the confidence and opportunities to write, present, and publish, allowing me to develop my research voice.  Thank you all.

Lastly, I could not have completed this journey without my wife Trish.  She transcribed all 33 hours of interviews, saving me months of extra typing an analyzing.  She made the loneliness of dissertation writing bearable as we were able to talk about the people together as peers.  Also, the personal sacrifices made during my year in Arizona while she stayed in Utah will assure her a place in the Doctoral Spouses' Hall of Fame (she is already a member of the Orchestra Director Widows' Hall of Fame).  "If music be the food of love...play on."

Senior Adult Music Learning and Participation: A Multiple Case Study of a New Horizons Band and Orchestra--2009 AERA Paper Presentation

Chautauqua

As Nan checked in and unpacked her things, she reveled in the rustic atmosphere of her surroundings. The holly, and rhododendrons creates a feeling reminiscent of Nan’s former home in western Washington. She has come home. Arriving in the early afternoon, Nan noticed the fall foliage of the idyllic upstate New York village, incredulous that someone like her would ever do something like attend a weeklong music camp. For years Nancy devoted her life to her husband, raising children, and serving her community and church. Life’s path has changed for Nan since she began to play the cello. Chautauqua brought others like her to the same place for the same purpose, to make music.

The Purpose of the Study

With the expected aging of baby boomers in the next two decades, the United States will soon experience unprecedented growth in its population aged 65 and older. As these baby boomers turn 65, it will be important to study how older adults negotiate the transition from professional to retirement life (Wang, 2005). What activities will senior adults participate that will contribute to maintaining a productive quality life? Four factors significant to aging and music education research justify the need for this study: (1) The rapidly increasing section of the population aged 65 and over, (2) the changing perception of aging, (3) participation in arts education programs among senior adults, and (4) the need for further research in senior adult music learning and participation.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the motivations and meanings of music making and participation among members of two New Horizons ensembles. Adults ranging from age 50 and older participate in New Horizons bands, orchestras, choirs, and folk ensembles organized in over 120 towns and cities across the United States, Canada, Ireland, and Australia. New Horizons ensembles provide access and entry points for musical involvement and participation for nearly 700 senior adults. Many New Horizons members played a band or orchestra instrument as schoolchildren and young adults, while others join a New Horizons group to learn a new instrument.

Methods, Settings, Participants, and Themes

This video summarizes the methods of the study, introduces the settings and participants, and shares preliminary findings and themes from interviews, observations, and artifacts.

Click on the following link to download and read this paper: Senior Adult Music Learning

Click on the following link to read the literature review for this study: Literature Review

Never Too Late To Learn An Instrument : NPR Music

I stumbled upon this NPR story that reports on adults learning to play a musical instrument as an adult. The author, Bridgid McCarthy shares a few stories of adults who struggle through a few "adult issues" as they learn to play a new instrument. McCarthy also reports on a few advantages adults have over children as they encounter the challenges of learning a new instrument.

Never Too Late To Learn An Instrument : NPR Music