This study is an examination of the effect of two instructional procedures for teaching songs to children: (a) immersion, in which the teacher presents the song in its entirety repeatedly, always from the beginning of the song to its conclusion, and (b) phrase-by-phrase, a method whereby the teacher fragments and then gradually connects song phrases toward the creation of a meaningful whole. Thirty-nine second-grade children from two classes were taught two traditional children's songs using both methods in a counterbalanced design. Results showed that children taught through the immersion method performed the songs with fewer errors than did those taught through the phrase-by-phrase process. A discussion of children's need for musical and textual continuity (which the immersion process provides) is followed by recommendations for future research.
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