The effects of gesture use on young children's pitch accuracy for singing tonal patterns

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of gesture use on young children's singing with regard to improving pitch accuracy. The second purpose was to examine the differences in gesture use among boys and girls and different melodic motions. Eighty Taiwanese young children, five to six years old, participated in this experiment. The children were asked to sing six tonal patterns with and without gestures, which subsequently were evaluated by three professional music teachers. The results showed that gesture use had immediate positive effects for young children in aiding their pitch accuracy. The effect of gestures for girls was greater than for boys. However, the level of gesture effects in melodic motions was different. Gesture had a greater effect for repetition, ascending patterns and large leaps. Sweeping and opening—closing arm gestures especially appeared to work very successfully. This suggests that gestures provided a kinesthetic sense of motion, which can be an effective tool in aiding singing.

Les effets du geste pour améliorer la justesse chez les jeunes enfants dans les chants tonaux

Le but principal de cette étude est de montrer les effets du geste pour améliorer la justesse chez les jeunes enfants dans les chants tonaux. Le deuxième but est d'étudier les différences dans l'utilisation de geste chez les garçons et les filles selon les différents mouvements mélodiques. Quatre-vingts jeunes enfants taiwanais, âgés de cinq à six ans, ont participé à cette expérience. Les enfants furent invités à chanter six phrases tonales avec et sans les gestes, qui, plus tard, furent évalués par trois professeurs de musique. Les résultats ont montré que l'utilisation du geste a eu des effets positifs immédiats chez les jeunes enfants en facilitant leur justesse. L'effet des gestes pour des filles était plus important que pour des garçons. Cependant, le niveau des effets de geste selon les mouvements mélodiques était différent. Le geste a eu un plus grand effet pour la répétition, les phrases musicales ascendantes, et les grands sauts. Les gestes de bras de balayage et d'ouverture—fermeture ont particulièrement fonctionné avec beaucoup de succès, semblet-il. Ceci suggère que les gestes peuvent donner un sens kinesthésique au mouvement, qui peut être un outil efficace en faciliter le chant.

Die Wirkung von Gesten auf die Tonhöhengenauigkeit beim Singen tonaler Patterns bei jungen Kindern

Hauptziel der Studie war es, die Wirksamkeit von Gesten auf das saubere Singen von Kindern zu prüfen. Zusätzlich sollten Unterschiede im Gebrauch von Gesten bei Jungen und Mädchen und bei unterschiedlichen melodischen Bewegungen untersucht werden. 80 taiwanesische Kinder im Alter von fünf bis sechs Jahren nahmen an der Untersuchung teil. Die Kinder sollten sechs tonale Patterns mit und ohne Gesten singen. Dies wurde sofort von drei professionellen Musiklehrern ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass der Gebrauch von Gesten eine unmittelbar positive Wirkung auf die Tonhöhengenauigkeit hatte. Dieser Effekt war bei den Mädchen größer als bei den Jungen. Doch der Grad der Wirkung von Gesten in Bezug auf die Bewegung der Melodien war unterschiedlich. Gesten hatten einen größeren Effekt auf Wiederholungen, steigende Verläufe und große Sprünge. Wischende und öffnende oder schließende Armbewegungen scheinen besonders erfolgreich zu sein. Dies deutet an, dass Gesten einem kinästhetischen Sinn von Bewegungen entsprechen, die somit als ein wirksames Mittel zum Singenlernen gelten können.

El efecto del gesto para mejorar la justeza de la afinación en niños pequeños al cantar patrones melódicos

El propósito principal de este trabajo fue examinar el efecto del gesto usado para mejorar la afinación en los niños pequeños. El segundo propósito fue revisar las diferencias en los gestos usados entre niños y niñas y los diferentes movimientos melódicos. Participaron en este estudio ochenta niños taiwaneses de cinco y seis años de edad. Se pidió a los niños que cantaran seis patrones melódicos con y sin gestos, los que posteriormente fueron evaluados por tres maestros de música profesionales. Los resultados mostraron que el uso del gesto tuvo un efecto positivo inmediato para ayudar a los niños a lograr precisión en la afinación. El efecto de los gestos fue mayor para las niñas que para los varones. Sin embargo, el nivel de los efectos del gesto en los movimientos melódicos fue diferente. El gesto tuvo un efecto importante para la repetición, para patrones ascendentes y saltos largos. Al parecer, los gestos de barridos de brazos y de abrir y cerrar los brazos funcionaron exitosamente. Ello podría sugerir que los gestos proporcionan un sentido cinestético del movimiento, lo cual podría resultar en una herramienta útil para ayudar a cantar.

Keywords

intonation melodic motion movement music education

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