REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 1

Repertoire in the High School Orchestra:

Increasing Motivation and Meeting Psychological Needs Through Repertoire

Introduction

Oh Mee F. Kruse

Department of Music, Northern State University

MUS 722 Research in Music Education

Dr. Wendy Van Gent

November 29, 2020

REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 2

Abstract

School orchestra programs face many challenges in engaging students and providing valuable

musical learning experiences. The purpose of this study is to gain understanding of how

repertoire choices in the school orchestra program can contribute to those learning experiences.

More specifically, this study will assess psychological needs being met through the choice of

repertoire. This study was conducted at a Midwest public school and included participants from

three middle school orchestras and one high school orchestra. Research presented included

quantitative and qualitative analysis in a mixed methodology. Initial findings point to the

importance of choosing repertoire that provides opportunities to develop skills and thereby

satisfy students’ competency, autonomy, and feelings of relatedness among students. These

findings will help to inform orchestra teachers as they seek to create cohesive learning

experiences for their students.

REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 3

Repertoire in the High School Orchestra:

Increasing Motivation and Meeting Psychological Needs Through Repertoire

Introduction

Choice of repertoire is a major component when considering motivational factors for

developing musicians. Every year high school music directors spend hours choosing repertoire

for their ensembles with the hope that the music will create interest, develop skill, and instill a

lifelong love of learning music in their students. A considerable amount of literature is produced

annually for the developing youth orchestra that seeks to emulate the standard repertoire from

classical literature along with original works that hope to emulate songs from current popular

styles. Music educators understand the fine balance that must be made to attract students to

participate in extracurricular or cocurricular music ensembles, thus looking for ways to motivate

their students to remain active in music. Motivation has become a key focus in the area of music

education, both for practice and research. A substantial amount of literature exists that addresses

extrinsic and intrinsic motivation within the constructs of Self Determination Theory (SDT)

(Evans & Liu, 2019). SDT addresses the ways in which an individual develops their sense of

identity as an autonomous being. SDT proposes that when basic psychological needs are met in

an educational setting, students are more likely to thrive by increased interaction, personal

enjoyment, and greater focus. Evans and Liu use the work of Deci and Ryan to focus on three

basic psychological needs: competence, relatedness, and autonomy. The purpose of this study is

to explore how repertoire in a high school orchestra can meet psychological needs in music

students. The psychological needs that were assessed are those listed above: competence,

relatedness, and autonomy. This study seeks to understand what genres of repertoire allow the

students to relate to the music, what level of difficulty provides students with a sense of
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 4

competence, and what teaching practices in choice of repertoire provides students with a sense of

autonomy. For this study a mixed methodology was used. Data was collected in two phases. The

first phase was a quantified study, collected via survey. The survey asked questions about current

repertoire and past repertoire. Students were allowed to answer survey questions according to a

scale. The second phase involved interviews. Participants were chosen from the Harrington

Public School Orchestra. There is very little current research that specifically addresses how

choice of repertoire influences motivation in music education. Research on motivation in

practice habits, instructional strategies, external incentives, etc. abound. Articles and books

related to repertoire choices are also in good supply. Many such articles and books give tips on

how to choose repertoire, components of a sound concert program, the pitfalls of over

programming, rehearsal techniques, as well as repertoire lists from various grades of music

literature. The specificity of repertoire in relation to motivation is lacking in research as the

target subject. Evans and Liu (2019) report in their study an example of a piano student who

experiences increased motivation when given the opportunity to practice music of her choice

rather than the music prescribed by her piano teacher. As it is, this specific topic seems to be

addressed in a tangental way in current research on motivation in music. This subject is of great

interest to me as I have sought over the past five years to build a thriving string program as a new

director. We have long struggled with attrition in our program. I am happy to say that the

elementary and middle school programs have experienced a significant increase in enrollment as

well as a noticeable decline in attrition. However, the high school orchestra has not seen the

retention that I would like to see. There are a number of factors that I consider out of my control

that may contribute to attrition at the high school. First, under the old director, a much-loved

teacher, students felt that orchestra should not require any time outside of the classroom. Their
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 5

involvement was largely out of loyalty to their beloved teacher. Secondly, one of my main

objectives for the ensemble when I took over the job was to improve the intonation of the string

orchestra. This has largely been achieved, but students who began under the old director continue

to quit, citing reasons like, “I just don’t have a passion for it anymore” and “I shouldn’t have to

practice for orchestra”. Another factor is the scheduling. Under the current block schedule,

students are shared with other ensembles during the first block of the day. Freshman meet for

orchestra every day for 45 minutes, while sophomores, juniors, and seniors, meet for orchestra

only every other day. It is unfortunate that the upper classmen lose so much rehearsal time and

thus lose valuable time to improve their skills for the last three years of their Huron Schools

Orchestra experience. For these reasons, I consider choice of repertoire to be extremely

important in maintaining interest, building upon existing skills, creating a sense of competence,

providing a feeling of mastery, and creating a sense of community within the group as we discuss

ways to rehearse, interpret, and perform as an ensemble. The results of the study have provided

me with valuable data that will inform my repertoire choices in the future in such a way that will

allow me to make choices that will appeal to the psychological needs of my students.

Literature Review

Research that directly addresses repertoire selection in orchestras and motivation is

scarce. This is a topic that is plentiful in pedagogy books and articles in music educator

periodicals, but as a research topic there are few resources. Motivation, on the other hand, has

long been a subject that music teachers have sought to understand when engaging students

through music ensembles and private lessons. The success of the music student and the

likelihood of continuing musical studies is strongly correlated to autonomous motivation of the

student. Self-determination theory (SDT) explores the source of motivation and the degree of
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 6

that motivation. SDT seeks to explain six types of motivation that further explain extrinsic and

intrinsic motivation. The following studies show the positive associations of autonomic

motivation in music learning outcomes.

The Motivation in Learning Music (MLM) questionnaire was developed as an instrument

for measuring SDT (Comeau, Huta, & Swirp, 2019). In “The Motivation in Learning Music

(MLM) Questionnaire: Assessing Children’s and Adolescents’ Autonomous Motivation for

Learning a Music Instrument” researchers Comeau, Huta, Lu, and Swirp from the University of

Ottawa seek to understand the validity of the MLM questionnaire by studying a large sample of

piano and violin students paired with their parents. Six types of motivation are identified and

measured by the questionnaire: amotivation, external regulation, introjection, identification,

integration, and intrinsic motivation. Their research was able to show a positive correlation

between intrinsic motivation and continued participation in music activities, positive practice

outcomes, and autonomy, while external regulation would decrease intrinsic motivation. While

this study addressed motivation directly, its primary purpose was to test the validity of its own

instrument, the MLM questionnaire. Regardless, there was thorough discussion of motivation

that was in-depth and even practical. Practical implications for the study may give teachers and

parents more to consider when providing tangible rewards and how to provide support for

students without also causing guilt and shame as they show to decrease a sense of autonomy.

In the study, Psychological Needs and Motivational Outcomes in a High School

Orchestra Program, Evans and Liu (2019) frame the study within the context of self-

determination Theory (SDT) and more specifically, basic psychological needs theory (BPNT).

Within this construct, Evans and Liu seek to understand the correlation between psychological

needs satisfaction and intrinsic motivation. Their study identifies three psychological needs:
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 7

competency, relatedness, and autonomy. Psychological needs satisfaction in these three areas led

to positive self-esteem, increased quality practice, and greater intentions to continue in orchestra

on the part of the student. Conversely, data reflecting psychological needs frustration had mixed

results. Psychological needs frustration did not seem to directly correlate to negative intentions to

continue in orchestra, but it did point to lower self-esteem and lower quality practice time. While

this study provides valuable information for the music educator, it does not specifically address

repertoire selection.

Rotjan (2017)addresses high school orchestra repertoire selection and how it relates to

motivation. Rotjan basis his study on the constructs of self-determination theory and social

constructivism. This qualitative study explores the ways in which six orchestra teachers select

repertoire, how they involve students in the process, and the motivational outcome along with

their psychological needs satisfaction. This study uses multiple interview phases with each

orchestra teacher along with focus group interviews from each orchestra. Rotjan was able to

make the following conclusions. First, the process of repertoire selection was ambiguous. While

all teachers considered criteria of quality, pedagogical value, variety of styles, and elements of

difficulty presented by the music, their lack of choices were also other factors. Secondly, the

process of selection was closely linked to a broader concept of pedagogy in offering students a

sense of autonomy by providing ways for students to be involved in the selection process. This

created a powerful tool for setting the tone for a learner-centered classroom. The third finding of

this study was the depth and breadth of relationship that teachers took the time to create with

their students. The final conclusion shows a high level of satisfaction from the orchestra students.

Students acknowledged a large gap between their personal listening habits versus the repertoire

they played in orchestra. Regardless, they reported high levels of satisfaction due to a variety of
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 8

repertoire, the level of challenge presented, and appreciation for their teachers. All of this

translated to increased motivation for home practice.

These three studies provide the basis for my own research. The practical applications

from the MLM questionnaire provide guidance for the survey instrument constructed for

quantitative data collection. The qualitative phase is largely modeled after the interview process

of Rotjan. Surveys and interviews seek to understand psychological needs as modeled by the

work of Evans and Liu. Though these studies are not a comprehensive list of existing literature,

they provide a sound basis for my own research

Method

This study was conducted in two phases. The initial phase used a quantitative survey

administered to 79 subjects. Subjects were chosen from the Huron Middle School and High

School Orchestras. 121 students were invited to participate in the survey. 79 students responded.

The instrument used for survey delivery was a Google Form. The link for the Google Form was

emailed to all students. The email explained the nature of the survey, invited them to participate

on a voluntary basis, and assured their privacy. Students who chose to open the Google Form

were informed in the initial stage of the form of the voluntary nature of the survey and were

asked to give their consent on the form.

All subjects have been in the Harrington Orchestra program for a minimum of two years.

27% of the subjects were from the 9-12 Grade Orchestra, 27 % of the subjects were from the 8th

grade orchestra, 25% of the subjects were from the 7th grade orchestra, and 21% of the subjects

were from the 6th grade orchestra. 68% of participants were female, 28% male, and 4% declined

to disclose their gender.

REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 9

The instrument used for quantitative data collection was a survey collected via a Google

Form. The survey contained a total of 15 questions. The first two questions identified age group

and gender of the participant. The remaining questions asked students to identify their favorite

and least favorite pieces that they studied in orchestra, and to rate the reasons they found a piece

to be their favorite or least favorite.

The second phase of the study was a qualitative analysis conducted through interviews

with three high school students. Two participants were female and the third participant was male.

All students were volunteers and were given assurance of the independent nature of the study in

relation to any academic outcome. Each student participated in an individual interview. Two of

the students were principal members of their sections and the third participant was a coprincipal

member. The interview questions asked them to describe their reactions and their own motivation

in regards to the difficulty levels of a piece of music. The interview began with a set of nine

prescribed questions. In each interview, the questions led to further discussion and conversation

that were recorded for the interview. All parts of the interview were recorded in a voice memo

file on the researcher’s smartphone.

Results

The quantitative portion of the study was conducted in two parts. The first question asked

students to name a favorite piece of repertoire studied in orchestra. This was followed by six

questions that identified factors that contributed to that piece being their favorite. Students were

asked to rate each statement on a scale of 1-6.

REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 10

Table 1A

This piece was my favorite because:

1. I recognized it from a popular source such as the radio.
2. It was a classical piece that I recognized
3. It was easy to play.
4. It was challenging.
5. I felt I became a better player and improved my skills by playing this piece.
6. It made me want to practice more because I felt like I was improving.

Note: Table 1A provides each statement students were asked to rate.

Table 1B

Question 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 25.3 7.6 30.4 17.7 11.4 7.6
2 17.7 10.1 26.6 13.9 24.1 7.6
3 10.1 25.3 16.5 16.5 22.8 8.9
4 11.4 6.3 15.2 22.8 25.3 19
5 1.3 0 13.9 17.7 38 29.1
6 2.6 3.8 14.1 24.4 29.5 25.6

Note: Table 1B shows student responses to each question in percentages. The ratings are as

follows: 1- Strongly Disagree, 2- Somewhat Disagree, 3- Neither Agree or Disagree, 4-

Somewhat Agree, 5- Agree, 6- Strongly Agree.

Results from the first half of the questionnaire indicate very low correlation between

being a favorite choice of repertoire and also being a recognizable tune from a popular source.

Over 63% of responses indicate that recognition of a popular song does not contribute to a piece

being a favorite. Only 7.6% identify this as an important factor. Conversely, students showed

more interest in a piece if it was a classical piece that they recognized. Over 45% of responses

indicated that a piece was their favorite because it was a classical piece that they recognized,

while 27% said that this was not a contributing factor. Statements 3 and 4 related to a student’s
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 11

level of competence. A slightly lower percentage of students chose a piece as their favorite

because it was easy to play. Conversely, over 70% of students identified a piece as their favorite

because it was challenging to play. Question 5 follows this trend with over 85% of students

indicating that they felt an increased level of skill in their playing as a result of playing the piece

they identified as their favorite. Finally, over 80% of students say that the feeling of improving

their skills provided motivation to practice more.

The second half of the questionnaire asked students to name a least favorite piece studied

in orchestra. This was followed by four questions that identified contributing factors to their

choice. Students were asked to rate each statement on a scale of 1-7.

Table 2A

This piece was my least favorite because:

1. It was too easy.
2. It was too difficult to play.
3. I didn’t recognize it from a popular source like the radio.
4. I didn’t feel like I learned anything new.
Note: Table 2A provides each statement that students were asked to rate.

Table 2B

Question 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 13 14.3 3.9 26 14.3 15.6 13
2 28.6 23.4 7.87 20.8 13 6.5 0
3 27.3 20.8 6.5 33.8 1.3 7.8 2.6
4 13 15.6 5.2 28.6 19.5 9.1 9.1
Note: Responses are shown in percentages. Ratings are as follows: 1-Strongly disagree, 2-

Disagree, 3- Somewhat Disagree, 4-Neither Agree or Disagree, 5-Somewhat Agree, 6-Agree, 7-

Strongly Agree
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 12

Results from the second half of the questionnaire are less decisive with responses being

more neutral. Students show relatively even distribution in response to the statement, “It was too

easy”. However, when asked if a piece was liked the least because it was too difficult to play, 60

% disagreed with this statement. The majority of students also disagreed with the statement,

“This piece was my least favorite because I didn’t recognize it from a popular source like the

radio.” 27.3% strongly disagreed with this statement, while only 2.6 strongly agreed. Lastly,

Students remained mostly neutral with the statement, “This piece was my least favorite because I

didn’t feel like I learned anything new”, with slightly more students agreeing with the statement

rather than disagreeing.

The second part of the study involved three individually conducted interviews with

principal members of the high school orchestra. Students were asked a series of nine questions

and were allowed time for further conversation about orchestra.

Table 3

Interview
Question
s
1 Describe how you feel when you get a new piece of music in orchestra.
2 Describe how you feel when you feel like the new piece is too easy.
3 Are you motivated to look for ways to make it more musical if the basic notes and
rhythms are easy?
4 Describe how you feel when the piece is too difficult.
5 Are you motivated to go home to practice it and gain mastery over the difficult
passages?
6 Are you motivated to practice less when the piece feels difficult?
7 How have certain pieces helped you relate to other ensemble members, if at all?
8 What are some of your favorite orchestra pieces?
9 What are some orchestra pieces that you wish you could play?
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 13

Interview 1

The first student was a sophomore male violist in the high school orchestra. Student 1

chose to be identified as “Leroy”, the name of his cat, for this interview. Leroy’s responses to the

questions in Table 3 are recorded in Table 4.

Table 4 Student Interview #1: Leroy

Questio Leroy’s Response

n
1 Excited. I look for black. I don’t really like whole notes…I just look for movement
more throughout the piece…. if it’s lots of long notes and really slow then I get
bored with it. I like faster pieces, especially for viola because we don’t get that
much.
2 I feel really bored and it almost makes me play worse because I know that I can
relax with it even though I know that’s not a good thing. My posture changes when
I’m bored with the piece.
3 Yeah, even though I’m not very good at it, I try to add vibrato.
4 I feel a little overwhelmed, but that’s usually because I wait and procrastinate to
practice. But if it’s early on then I’m not too overwhelmed because I know I have
time.
5 I do when it’s a higher-level achievement like for solo and All State.
6 I don’t think so.
7 There were some last year that we played that were more independent with all the
sections that I could hear different parts. There were a lot of highlighted parts in
each section and I think that helps because I get to listen to all the other ones.
8 Elegy, O Magnum Mysterium. I liked the whole plot and the build-up. It was
independent with all of the sections too. I like the musical storyline.
9 I don’t really know. I really like the All-State Orchestra pieces this year.

Leroy’s skill level is far above the level of the rest of his viola section. This is

problematic because viola parts are notoriously monotonous already. When asked about feeling

overwhelmed with a new piece of music he specified that he rarely feels overwhelmed with the

difficulty level of orchestra ensemble music and that the main place where he might feel

overwhelmed is with solo viola music. Leroy expressed more frustration and a feeling of being
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 14

overwhelmed for other sections in the orchestra who were experiencing intonation issues in areas

that he perceived to be clearly instructed and of basic skill level. Leroy also noted when asked

about his favorite pieces, that the pieces that he chose were very slow pieces. This seemed to be

inconsistent with his answer to the first question, “How do you feel when you feel like the new

piece is too easy?”. He explained that he liked the independent parts and the build-up that created

a story line in both of these pieces. He expressed a lot of interest in the music when each section

of the orchestra had interesting parts with which his section could interact.

Interview 2

The second student interview is a female junior bass player in the high school orchestra.

She is coprincipal and has been playing the bass since 8th grade. She chose to be identified as

Leila for this interview. Leila’s responses are recorded in Table 5.

Table 5 Student Interview #2: Leila

Questio Response
n
1 That depends. Most of the time it’s exciting. Deck the Halls is fun because I have to
work harder to make it sound better. It depends on how the group feels about it. As
a bass it’s really difficult unless it has an interesting part.
2 If it’s too easy, I mean, I feel like you have to make the most of it as a bass. Even if
it’s easy, putting your own musical twist on it is important.
3 Yeah, especially if it’s an easy piece. It’s even easier to make it more musical and
harder for myself when the group enjoys the piece because then it’s easier to get
into it.
4 You get overwhelmed by these emotions that, “I can’t do that”. I don’t initially
think that I can do it. It takes a lot more thought and motivation for myself. When I
first look at it I think, “Yeah, I’m not even gonna try.”
5 If I really want to show up my partner. There’s motivation from you as well,
because if you show interest in the piece and you’re like, “We’re gonna play this.”
6 No, not as a bass player. I need to get this part down for this class.
7 I definitely feel connected to my section, but that may be just a partnership. You do
feel connections often but that’s just how the music is with the class. I love when
we play a piece and we can hear the viola line.
8 I always love when we play Greensleeves.
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 15

9 I wish we could play Debussy.

Leila is an above average music student. She has taken piano lessons for nine years and has

competed in piano festivals for most of those years. When Leila said that it’s difficult as a bass

unless they have an interesting part, she was asked “What makes it interesting?”. She responded

by saying that it’s interesting if the bass gets the melody or if there are some “cool harmony

parts” with a dissonance then “it’s really exciting”. In contrast, she noted that when the music

looks less interesting, then she also feels less motivated. She also expressed boredom with

something that was too familiar. She first used the example of a classical piece that might be well

known as being boring. Later in the interview, she identified popular music as being boring,

citing bad arrangements that didn’t copy the original style and sound of the music.

When asked about how to make her part more interesting, she said that she felt a certain amount

of responsibility to the group as the bass player. Leila expressed her feeling of importance when

providing a good foundation for the rest of the ensemble as well as being responsible for

providing a sense of forward motion to the music even if her music wasn’t technically difficult.

She mentioned a number of sources of motivation. First, she cited her own self as a motivating

factor. The second motivating factor was competition with her coprincipal. She feels that the

other bass player always thinks that he is better than her so she is motivated to prove him wrong.

Other sources of motivation that Leila mentioned were the sound of the piece and the historical

connection. “Students enjoy the history of the piece and will have more buy-in when the teacher

goes over the history. I enjoy the history of the pieces and when we go over it and it’s like, this is

the inspiration for the piece, it puts me in a mindset to imagine it. I’m more motivated to play it

and I can have a connection to it as well. It puts us in a mindset to communicate with the music

more.” Following this part of the interview, Leila said, “I feel like I connect more to the classical
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 16

music.” Leila then expressed areas that she felt frustration. She explained that she gets very

frustrated with other sections who experience continual intonation problems despite clear

instruction.

Interview 3

The third interview was with a senior female cellist. She chose to be identified as

“Hyacinth Bucket” for this interview.

Table 6

Questio Response
n
1 I feel excited to play. I look for something kinda harder but not too hard that I’m
gonna butcher it the first time I play it. I look for something preferably with
something more with just a walking bass line.
2. I feel really bored and disappointed. If the paper looks too white, that’s how you
know.
3 Yeah, if it’s too easy I will take the liberty to just have fun with it. Articulation is a
big one. Dynamics is obvious.
4 I feel overwhelmed.
5 Sometimes
6 No
7 No
8 Shostakovich Waltz. Usually anything Russian and Tangoes.
9 The Montagues and Capulets by Prokofiev and The Nutcracker

Hyacinth is also a principal member of the orchestra and has held this position for the last

three years. Like the other students that were interviewed, Hyacinth expressed frustration with

other sections. She also felt frustrated with her own section, the celli, when she felt they weren’t

getting a passage right. She noted that she especially would get frustrated with the 2nd violins for

either being too quiet or when people play out of tune. She then related this to sections needing

extra coaching in class and it being a source of frustration.

REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 17

Discussion

In this study, motivation and psychological needs were studied through the tool of

orchestra repertoire in a middle school and high school orchestra program. The instrument

attempted to assess ways in which repertoire choices could meet psychological needs of

competence, relatedness, and autonomy in an orchestra classroom.

Competence

Evans and Liu define competence as “feeling effective in one’s actions and pursuits.”

(citation). Their study goes on to describe this need being met when “people are able to learn,

master new skills, and express their talents and abilities.” The survey had four statements that

addressed the feeling of competence being satisfied. These questions can be found in Table 1A,

in which students rated how they felt about a piece being too easy, too difficult, making them

feel like they were improving their skills, and providing motivation to practice. The results point

to a large majority of students favoring repertoire for its level of challenge and the ability to

increase their playing ability. Evans and Liu make the correlation between psychological needs

and increased motivation to practice. This study is congruent with their findings. Not only did

students choose a piece as their favorite for the learning challenge but they also noted an

increased desire to practice in order to master a new skill.

The interviews support this as well. Each student interviewed expressed frustration with

being presented with music that lacked material that challenged them or provided them with an

opportunity to develop a new skill. This frustration also extended beyond themselves and into the

rest of the ensemble.

Just as competence satisfaction increased motivation, responses to questions that point to

competence frustration have a direct correlation to the choice of repertoire. Repertoire that is
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 18

perceived as being too difficult was linked to students choosing a piece of music as their least

favorite. This correlates to the three student interviews as well. Leila expressed a feeling of being

overwhelmed when a piece was too difficult. Likewise, Leroy and Hyacinth both expressed a

feeling of being overwhelmed by a difficult piece of music. However, it is interesting to note that

in the case of the students who were interviewed, they each continued to clarify their statements

by explaining that they felt motivated to practice difficult music. They stated reasons such as All

State Orchestra music, wanting to avoid being called on and feeling embarrassed in class, or

impressing other people in their section in a form of competition. None of the students

interviewed indicated that difficult music would demotivate them to practice.

Relatedness.

Evans and Liu (2019) refer to relatedness as the “need to feel close and connect to others

—a sense of belongingness, without which people feel isolated and lonely.” For the purposes of

this study, questions 1 and 2 from Table 1A and question 3 from Table 2A were used to measure

relatedness. The purpose of the questions was to rate how the students relate to different types of

music, specifically, popular music versus ‘classical’ music. Interestingly, students showed less

affinity to music that they recognized from the radio and gravitated more favorably to more

classical choices of repertoire. Perhaps the reason for this is the lack of quality arrangements as

noted in the study by Rotjan (2017). Students also seem to indicated that the instrumentation

doesn’t seem to fit the style of a lot of popular songs. On the other hand, there is a clearer

indication that students favor classical music choices, especially the ones that they recognize. All

three interviewed students listed classical composers when asked about music that they would

like to study in the future. In this way, it seems that students relate just as well to classical music

as they do popular, modern music, in terms of their own learning. Leila indicated that this is
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 19

largely facilitated by how it is presented by the teacher through historical lessons and the

teacher’s own enthusiasm for the piece.

The interviews also showed how they interact with other sections and within their own

sections. Leila expressed experiencing motivation through competition within her section. All

three expressed frustration with other sections when they lacked accuracy. They also expressed

satisfaction when the musical composition was balanced between all parts, creating a dialogue

that provided interesting cues for them to listen to outside of their own sections. This seemed to

balance a part that may be particularly boring if the overall sound of the piece was one that they

found interesting. It may be said that a feeling of creating as an ensemble, rather than as an

individual, contributes to a feeling of relatedness, community, and the feeling of being an

integral part to a larger work.

Autonomy

It is important to evaluate autonomy as it points to a number of positive outcomes.

Namely, increased persistence, higher quality engagement, willingness to work, better learning

outcomes, and better performance. (Comeau, Huta, & Swirp, 2019). The research presented here.

focused primarily on autonomic motivation as a result of repertoire choices. The results of the

questionnaire indicate that when students feel a sufficient amount of challenge and their need for

competency is being satisfied then their motivation is increased. This is illustrated by over 80%

of the responses indicating that a piece was their favorite because it made them felt like they

were improving and that it increased their motivation to practice. The interviews were consistent

with the questionnaire as all three students said that they feel motivated to practice when the

music provides a challenge.

REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 20

Limitations and Implications

It should be noted that there are some significant limitations with the research presented

here. First, the scale design in the instrument was poorly constructed and inconsistent within the

questionnaire. Secondly, the questionnaire did not ask questions addressing psychological needs

frustration that completely paralleled the questions that addressed psychological needs

satisfaction. Additionally, the questionnaire lacked clear evidence of addressing true issues of

relatedness within the group as well as autonomy. Rotjan (2017) includes lengthy descriptions of

six orchestra teachers and their process for choosing music. In his study, each teacher has various

checkpoints that allow for student interaction and student input in the selection process. This was

a key component to creating a sense of autonomy among orchestra students. Upon further

examination, it would be useful to use the questionnaire as a pilot study and to continue the

research after having adjusted the instrument. Furthermore, my recommendation is to include a

case study that would allow for the teacher to provide sight reading opportunities for the

ensemble, followed by a variety of steps for selection process that would include student

feedback. Another consideration is the participants for the interviews. All three participants were

high school students and all three were principal members. It should be noted that the limitation

is due to the volunteer nature of the interview. Upon further reflection, specific requests should

have been made from differing age groups in order to obtain a better representation of skills from

the interviewees. As it was, the qualitative study does not account for the difficulties that arise

for the orchestra member who needs significantly more instruction and training.
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 21

Finally, it is very likely that these limitations will be improved upon with more

experience on the part of the researcher. A broader scope of the application of statistics in

quantifiable data, experience in research design, and instrument design will work to improve

future research in this subject.

Notwithstanding the limitations presented above, the results provide several implications

for orchestra teachers to consider. First, teachers need not rely heavily on the use of pop music in

an effort to relate to their students. The results from the study show that students are willing and

excited to learn music from classical repertoire when it provides them with a feeling of

competency. Secondly, because competency satisfaction was shown to be a major factor in

creating motivation, teachers must show great care in the selection of repertoire. This further

implies that teachers must have a thorough understanding of the skill sets that their students

possess through ongoing evaluation and assessment followed by a clear plan for building on to

those skills.

Conclusion

The challenges a teacher must face in a high school orchestra to meet each student’s needs,

create a cohesive ensemble, and provide a satisfying musical product for each student may seem

overwhelming at first. Repertoire selection and the process of that selection is central to creating

a learning environment that fosters growth through building of competency and creating

relatedness while at the same time providing a means for creating autonomy. This cannot be done

simply by non-systematic choice of repertoire. Choices must be informed by student-teacher

relationships and a deep understanding of the playing abilities of each member. This study

provides a very modest starting point for the orchestra teacher to use as a guide.
REPERTOIRE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 22

References

Comeau, G., Huta, V., Lu, Y., & Swirp, M. (2019). The Motivation for Learning Music (MLM)

Questionnaire: Assessing children’s and adolescents’ autonomous motivation for learning

a musical instrument. Motivation and Emotion, 43, 705-718.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-019-09769-7

Evans, Paul, & Liu, Mark, Y. (2019) Psychological Needs and Motivation Outcomes in a High

School Orchestra Program. Journal of Research in Music Education, 67,83-105.

Rotjan, M. (2017). In between and together with: Exploring the complexity of repertoire

selection with school orchestra teachers and their students. (Number 10284642)

[Doctoral dissertation Teachers College, Columbia University].ProQuest.