Development and Validation of a Rating Scale for Wind Jazz Improvisation Performance

The purpose of this study was to construct and validate a rating scale for collegiate wind jazz improvisation performance. The 14-item Wind Jazz Improvisation Evaluation Scale (WJIES) was constructed and refined through a facet-rational approach to scale development. Five wind jazz students and one professional jazz educator were asked to record two improvisations accompanied by an Aebersold play-along compact disc. Sixty-three adjudicators evaluated the 12 improvisations using the WJIES and the Instrumental Jazz Improvisation Evaluation Measure. Reliability was good, with alpha values ranging from .87 to .95. Construct validity for the WJIES was confirmed through the analysis of a multitrait-multimethod matrix. The results of this study indicate that the facet-rational approach is an effective method of developing a rating scale for collegiate wind jazz improvisation performance.