Whittaker holds a DICS from Fuller in Intercultural Studies, as well as a DMA from the University of Arizona in music education and piano; and has twelve years teaching experience in higher education: remotely at Liberty University, and onsite at Arizona Christian University and Lee University. She is the author of Music and Liturgy, Identity and Formation: A Study of Inculturation in Turkey, published by Wipf and Stock as part of the American Society of Missiology Monograph Series 56 (2021). Having served in Turkey for ten years as an ethnodoxologist, she has carried out music research projects in the neighboring country of Northern Iraq as well as The Netherlands. She has collaborated with both Turkish and Kurdish Christian composers to produce multiple musical resources: transcription of songs, CDs, and music videos, plus a songbook of eighty-seven indigenous hymns in the Turkish makam music system. Her focus is the intersection of the arts, faith, and culture. Supervisors: Dr. Roberta R. King
The purpose of this study was twofold: to develop a computer-based piano performance trainer, an... more The purpose of this study was twofold: to develop a computer-based piano performance trainer, and to study subjects' frequency of choices pertaining to different kinds of information feedback during self-directed practice while using a computer-based trainer. Additional concerns in the present study were: (1) the preferences of subjects regarding other practice options; (2) subjects' accuracy of performance, as measured by an investigator-designed test; (3) the relationship between subjects' accuracy of performance and their attributes of musical aptitude, reading ability, sightreading ability, and manual dexterity; and (4) the relationship between subjects' sightreading ability and the other three attributes. Data were collected from thirty-seven volunteers in piano class at Mesa Community College. In a natural setting, subjects practiced a fifteen-measure composition daily until the earlier of two events occurred: (1) students reached criterion level, or (2) two weeks elapsed.
Results indicated that during self-directed practice as they were using a computer-based trainer, students most frequently chose: (1) to receive supplementary visual feedback--superimposed errors over the musical score, (b) to practice with a metronome and (c) to practice part of the composition with both hands. Across all subjects, the number of rhythm errors was significantly greater than the number of pitch errors; only two subjects reached criterion level during the two weeks. A correlation coefficient between performance accuracy scores and subject profile scores revealed a significant relationship between performance accuracy and sightreading, and a slight relationship between performance accuracy scores and reading. The findings indicated no significant relationship between performance accuracy and the other three attributes; also, there was no relationship between the same attributes and sightreading.
Some of the researcher's recommendations regarding future research in computer-based piano instruction were as follows: (1) Use courseware that "recognizes" student errors and makes incisive commentary or remediation as is necessary. (2) Select appropriately graded material for different skill levels. (3) Incorporate different styles of music. (4) Provide subjects with a supplementary IF mode that combines visual and aural feedback simultaneously. (5) Compare the performance accuracy of different groups of subjects with looser or tighter tolerances of the rhythm error for the beginning of each note.
This article is the outcome of an interview in Turkey between IMB staff member, Eliza Thomas, (ps... more This article is the outcome of an interview in Turkey between IMB staff member, Eliza Thomas, (pseudonym) and ethnodoxologist, Sue Whittaker. It is a discussion of the importance of using indigenous worship music in church planting.
This dissertation examines a model of musico-liturgical worship and its dynamics
of inculturation... more This dissertation examines a model of musico-liturgical worship and its dynamics of inculturation, exploring how seriously a pastor takes context, culture, and worship. The applied case study of All Saints Moda (ASM) in Istanbul, Turkey, focused on the impact Pastor Turgay Üçal’s worship songs had on the assembly, and it demonstrated a correlation between local music, self-identity, and spiritual formation.
Music and Liturgy, Identity and Formation: A Study of Inculturation in Turkey, 2021
This is a one-of-a-kind book about All Saints Moda Church in Istanbul. In this book, the author e... more This is a one-of-a-kind book about All Saints Moda Church in Istanbul. In this book, the author explores the ways Dr. Turgay Üçal, the MBB founding pastor, has intuitively blended Christian faith and the local urban culture. Indigenous songs and adaptations of Reformed liturgy work together to enable worshipers to feel comfortable with Christianity. Images, customs, and gestures guide seekers into new ways to pray and live their lives. Turgay's theologically sound approach provides a welcoming Christian home for those searching to connect to Allah/God. For thirty years, the practices and strategies detailed in this book have merged to clearly present the gospel message in culturally appropriate ways.
The purpose of this study was twofold: to develop a computer-based piano performance trainer, an... more The purpose of this study was twofold: to develop a computer-based piano performance trainer, and to study subjects' frequency of choices pertaining to different kinds of information feedback during self-directed practice while using a computer-based trainer. Additional concerns in the present study were: (1) the preferences of subjects regarding other practice options; (2) subjects' accuracy of performance, as measured by an investigator-designed test; (3) the relationship between subjects' accuracy of performance and their attributes of musical aptitude, reading ability, sightreading ability, and manual dexterity; and (4) the relationship between subjects' sightreading ability and the other three attributes. Data were collected from thirty-seven volunteers in piano class at Mesa Community College. In a natural setting, subjects practiced a fifteen-measure composition daily until the earlier of two events occurred: (1) students reached criterion level, or (2) two weeks elapsed.
Results indicated that during self-directed practice as they were using a computer-based trainer, students most frequently chose: (1) to receive supplementary visual feedback--superimposed errors over the musical score, (b) to practice with a metronome and (c) to practice part of the composition with both hands. Across all subjects, the number of rhythm errors was significantly greater than the number of pitch errors; only two subjects reached criterion level during the two weeks. A correlation coefficient between performance accuracy scores and subject profile scores revealed a significant relationship between performance accuracy and sightreading, and a slight relationship between performance accuracy scores and reading. The findings indicated no significant relationship between performance accuracy and the other three attributes; also, there was no relationship between the same attributes and sightreading.
Some of the researcher's recommendations regarding future research in computer-based piano instruction were as follows: (1) Use courseware that "recognizes" student errors and makes incisive commentary or remediation as is necessary. (2) Select appropriately graded material for different skill levels. (3) Incorporate different styles of music. (4) Provide subjects with a supplementary IF mode that combines visual and aural feedback simultaneously. (5) Compare the performance accuracy of different groups of subjects with looser or tighter tolerances of the rhythm error for the beginning of each note.
This article is the outcome of an interview in Turkey between IMB staff member, Eliza Thomas, (ps... more This article is the outcome of an interview in Turkey between IMB staff member, Eliza Thomas, (pseudonym) and ethnodoxologist, Sue Whittaker. It is a discussion of the importance of using indigenous worship music in church planting.
This dissertation examines a model of musico-liturgical worship and its dynamics
of inculturation... more This dissertation examines a model of musico-liturgical worship and its dynamics of inculturation, exploring how seriously a pastor takes context, culture, and worship. The applied case study of All Saints Moda (ASM) in Istanbul, Turkey, focused on the impact Pastor Turgay Üçal’s worship songs had on the assembly, and it demonstrated a correlation between local music, self-identity, and spiritual formation.
Music and Liturgy, Identity and Formation: A Study of Inculturation in Turkey, 2021
This is a one-of-a-kind book about All Saints Moda Church in Istanbul. In this book, the author e... more This is a one-of-a-kind book about All Saints Moda Church in Istanbul. In this book, the author explores the ways Dr. Turgay Üçal, the MBB founding pastor, has intuitively blended Christian faith and the local urban culture. Indigenous songs and adaptations of Reformed liturgy work together to enable worshipers to feel comfortable with Christianity. Images, customs, and gestures guide seekers into new ways to pray and live their lives. Turgay's theologically sound approach provides a welcoming Christian home for those searching to connect to Allah/God. For thirty years, the practices and strategies detailed in this book have merged to clearly present the gospel message in culturally appropriate ways.
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Results indicated that during self-directed practice as they were using a computer-based trainer, students most frequently chose: (1) to receive supplementary visual feedback--superimposed errors over the musical score, (b) to practice with a metronome and (c) to practice part of the composition with both hands. Across all subjects, the number of rhythm errors was significantly greater than the number of pitch errors; only two subjects reached criterion level during the two weeks. A correlation coefficient between performance accuracy scores and subject profile scores revealed a significant relationship between performance accuracy and sightreading, and a slight relationship between performance accuracy scores and reading. The findings indicated no significant relationship between performance accuracy and the other three attributes; also, there was no relationship between the same attributes and sightreading.
Some of the researcher's recommendations regarding future research in computer-based piano instruction were as follows: (1) Use courseware that "recognizes" student errors and makes incisive commentary or remediation as is necessary. (2) Select appropriately graded material for different skill levels. (3) Incorporate different styles of music. (4) Provide subjects with a supplementary IF mode that combines visual and aural feedback simultaneously. (5) Compare the performance accuracy of different groups of subjects with looser or tighter tolerances of the rhythm error for the beginning of each note.
of inculturation, exploring how seriously a pastor takes context, culture, and worship.
The applied case study of All Saints Moda (ASM) in Istanbul, Turkey,
focused on the impact Pastor Turgay Üçal’s worship songs had on the assembly, and it
demonstrated a correlation between local music, self-identity, and spiritual formation.
Results indicated that during self-directed practice as they were using a computer-based trainer, students most frequently chose: (1) to receive supplementary visual feedback--superimposed errors over the musical score, (b) to practice with a metronome and (c) to practice part of the composition with both hands. Across all subjects, the number of rhythm errors was significantly greater than the number of pitch errors; only two subjects reached criterion level during the two weeks. A correlation coefficient between performance accuracy scores and subject profile scores revealed a significant relationship between performance accuracy and sightreading, and a slight relationship between performance accuracy scores and reading. The findings indicated no significant relationship between performance accuracy and the other three attributes; also, there was no relationship between the same attributes and sightreading.
Some of the researcher's recommendations regarding future research in computer-based piano instruction were as follows: (1) Use courseware that "recognizes" student errors and makes incisive commentary or remediation as is necessary. (2) Select appropriately graded material for different skill levels. (3) Incorporate different styles of music. (4) Provide subjects with a supplementary IF mode that combines visual and aural feedback simultaneously. (5) Compare the performance accuracy of different groups of subjects with looser or tighter tolerances of the rhythm error for the beginning of each note.
of inculturation, exploring how seriously a pastor takes context, culture, and worship.
The applied case study of All Saints Moda (ASM) in Istanbul, Turkey,
focused on the impact Pastor Turgay Üçal’s worship songs had on the assembly, and it
demonstrated a correlation between local music, self-identity, and spiritual formation.