Scott Spiegelberg is interested in the perception of timbre, theory pedagogy, improvisation, and popular music analysis. He is researching how much average listeners are aware of timbre, what timbral sources they can identify, and how much information about timbral sources and qualities affect music enjoyment.
He continues to work on incorporating improvisation into the aural skills classroom and has begun thinking of ways to incorporate it into the theory classroom. Additionally, he is working on ways to best teach ecumenical concepts of music, regardless of genre, so students will be prepared to analyze and perform a wide variety of musical styles. He continues working on incorporating more sophisticated theoretical concepts into popular music criticism. His writings have appeared in Empirical Musicology Review, the Dutch Journal of Music Theory, Notes, Computer Music Journal, and The Daily Book of Classical Music.
Scott is Dean of Academic Programs, Assessment, and Policies, and Coordinator for Music Theory and Musicianship at DePauw University. He previously taught at the University of Minnesota, Indiana University, Valley City State, and SUNY Buffalo State. He has degrees in trumpet performance, chemistry, and theory pedagogy, and received his PhD in Music Theory from the Eastman School of Music in 2002.