Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether children's development of musical pattern perception is a function of their audiation ability, as measured by the Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation (IMMA). The IMMA is a test of children's ability to compare short tonal and rhythmic musical patterns (Gordon, 1982). All elementary children (N = 48) at a private elementary school participated in musical activity from January 1998 through May 1998. Children sang songs; played songs on recorder and hand drum; performed in an Orff Schulwerk orchestra; read selected rhythmic patterns using syllables from the French conservatory system; and sang and signed selected melodic patterns using solfege syllables and Curwen hand signs, one hour weekly from January through May, 1998. A univariate repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with tonal pretest and posttest as dependent variables, audiation group as factor and age as covariate, showed a significant main effect for audiation group, F (1, 45) = 24.93, p< .001. A univariate repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with rhythm pretest and posttest as dependent variables, audiation group as factor and age as covariate, showed a significant interaction between gain from pretest to posttest and audiation group. High audiation children, with an adjusted rhythm posttest mean of 33.84 (SE = 0.48), gained +1.52; low audiation children, with an adjusted rhythm posttest mean of 29.96 (SE = 0.53), showed a net loss of -1.57. These results show that children with differing levels of audiation ability respond to musical sound differently. Whereas children may have positive musical experiences, they may not necessarily use visual, tactile, kinesthetic, or spatial information to organize their perception of musical sound into patterned mental images.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bebeau, M. (1982). Effects of traditional and simplified methods of rhythm-reading instruction. Journal of Research in Music Education, 30(2), 107-119.

Borg, W. , & Gall, M. (1983). Educational research (4th ed.). New York: Longman.

Boyle, J.D. (1970). The effect of prescribed rhythmical movements on the ability to read music at sight. Journal of Research in Music Education, 18(4), 307-318.

Bruner, J. (1960). The process of education. New York: Vintage Books.

Domer, J. , & Gromko, J. (1996). Qualitative Changes in Preschoolers' Invented Notations Following Music Instruction. Contributions to Music Education, 23, 62-78.

Dowling, J. (1986). Music cognition. San Diego : Academic Press, Inc.

Flohr, J.W. (1981). Short-term music instruction and young children's developmental music aptitude. Journal of Research in Music Education, 29, 219-223.

Gordon, E. (1979). Primary measures of music audiation. Chicago, IL: G. I. A. Publications.

Gordon, E. (1982). Intermediate measures of music audiation. Chicago, IL: G. I. A. Publications.

10.

Gromko, J. (1994). Children's invented notations as measures of musical understanding. Psychology of Music, 22, 136-147.

11.

Gromko, J. , & Poorman, A. (1998). Does perceptual-motor performance enhance perception of patterned art music? MUSICÆ SCIENTIÆ: the Journal of the Ettropean Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, 2(2), 157-170.

12.

Lewis, B. (1988). The effect of movement-based instruction on first - and third - graders' achievement in selected music listening skills. Psychology of Music, 16(2), 128-142.

13.

Martini, J. (1998). The effects of an enriched program of rhythmic instruction which integrates auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning modalities on the rhythmic and overall sight-reading abilities of ninth grade instrumental music students. Unpublished master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio.

14.

Metz, E. (1989). Movement as a musical response among preschool children. Journal of Research in Music Education, 37(1), 48-60.

15.

Morrongiello, B.A. , & Roes, C.L. (1990). Developmental changes in children's perception of musical sequences: Effects of musical training. Developmental Psychology, 26(5), 814-20.

16.

Mueller, A. (1993). The effect of movement-based instruction on the melodic perception of primary-age general music students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.

17.

Persellin, D. (1992). Responses to rhythm patterns when presented to children through auditory, visual, and kinesthetic modalities. Journal of Research in Music Education, 40(4), 306-315.

18.

Rauscher, F. , Shaw, G. , & Ky, K. (1995). Listening to Mozart enhances spatial-temporal reasoning: Towards a neurophysiological basis. Neuroscience Letters, 185, 44-47.

19.

Rideout, B. , & Laubach, C. (1996). EEG correlates of enhanced spatial performance following exposure to music. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 82, 427-432.

20.

Wilson, T. , & Brown, T. (1997). Reexamination of the effect of Mozart's music on spatial-task performance. The Journal of Psychology, 131(4), 365-370.

21.

Wis, R. ( 1993). Gesture and body movement as physical metaphor to facilitate and to enhance musical erperience in the choral rehearsal. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Northwestern University, Evanston.

22.

Bisgaard, E. , & Stehouwer, G. (1976). "Grizzly Bear." Musicbook O ( T. Aaron , Ed.). St. Louis, MO: Magnamusic/Edition Wilhelm Hansen. [lower elementary]

23.

Orff, C. , & Keetman, G. (1956). "Canon 46." Music for Children I (D. Hall & A. Walter, Adapt.). New York: Schott Music Corp. [upper elementary]

24.

Orff, C. , & Keetman, G. (1956). "Canon 47." Music for Children I (D. Hall & A. Walter, Adapt.). New York: Schott Music Corp. [upper elementary; simplified version for lower elementary]

25.

Rao, D. (Ed.) (1991). "Siyahamba (African Song)." New York: Boosey & Hawkes. [all children]

26.

Sletto, B. (Arr.) (1995). "Two Native American folk songs." Ft. Lauderdale, FLA: Plymouth Music Co. [all children]

27.

Solomon, J. (1990). "Painted Bunting" (p. 16-17). Tropical Recorder. Lakeland, TN: Memphis Musicraft Publications. [upper elementary]

28.

Stadler, W. & Perchermeier, M. (1981) "Study 7" (p. 46). School for Hand Drum. Allison Park, PA: Musik Innovations. [all children]

The Development of Musical Pattern Perception in School-Aged Children

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References