caroline davis

I have a genuine fascination with the process of learning - this is one reason I went to graduate school! My most recent CV is below, if you'd like to see what I've been up to lately:

For the short story, my dissertation had two main foci: 

1) Model the content and structure of knowledge for famous jazz performers through interviews, focus groups, and listening experiments

2) Understand the relationship between culture (jazz community) and this knowledge through social network analysis

I found that associations for music are content-specific, hierarchically organized, and tailored to the listener's experience. I got some pretty cool graphs from the social network software, UCINET, developed by social network analysts at The University of California, Irvine. My most impressive figure is below, and it shows the network of names mentioned during my interviews with jazz musicians in Chicago - 461 names!

I have extended this research of music communities to other regions. Most recently, I traveled to New Orleans, where I played music and spoke with some of the best jazz musicians in the world, in the birthplace of jazz! Some of those musicians I had the privilege of spending time with were: Ellis Marsalis, Shannon Powell, Germaine Bazzel, Loren Pickford, Wessell "Warmdaddy" Anderson, Ed Petersen, Simon Lott, Rex Gregory, Darrian Douglas, and Jason Marsalis. In the future, I would like to return to New Orleans to conduct research in a more systematic way, to compare the jazz community with that in Chicago. I'd like to follow up with a perceptual study as well.

DePaul University (2010-2012): During the winter quarter, I teach Psychology of Music Teaching and Learning, which is a course designed to encourage a closer bond between Music Education and Music Psychology. The relationship between these two disciplines has the potential for growth. It is important to know how the mind develops in order to successfully apply learning techniques inside and outside of the classroom. What cognitive mechanisms prepare children for learning aspects of music, like melody, rhythm, harmony, and timbre? Should music educators be aware of age markers in music development? How does assessment play a role in musical development and creativity? How do we explain music psychology to children in the classroom? What components (social, cultural, musical, developmental, etc) contribute to the learning of music? These questions lie at the heart of this course. The syllabus for the class can be found here:

Litchfield Jazz Camp (2005-2012): During the summers, I connect with jazz enthusiasts (young and old) for several weeks in Kent, Connecticut. The camp is also affiliated with the Litchfield Jazz Festival, which showcases world-renowned musicians, such as Jimmy Heath, Roy Haynes, Wayne Shorter, Dave Brubeck, Joe Lovano, Tito Puente, Slide Hampton, Toots Thielemans, Ray Charles, Tommy Flanagan, John Clayton, James Moody, Sonny Rollins, and Lee Konitz.

Northwestern University (2010-2011): As an Aural Skills instructor, I was able to work as part of a team, teaching a curriculum developed my music theorists at Northwestern. This curriculum is based on learning Partimenti in the galant style of music. In essence, our approach matched that which Mozart was exposed to as a young musician and composer in his heyday. We also incorporated traditional tools for rhythm, such as the Kodaly syllables.

Private Lessons: I have a modest-sized studio who are studying saxophone, piano, and flute performance at all levels. In the lessons, we will create an atmosphere for learning that is both motivating (i.e. fun!) and systematic. If you are interested, please contact me at carolinedavismusic@gmail.com.

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