The basic purpose of this study was to compare a singing approach to a nonsinging approach with regard to aural thematic recognition and thematic preference. The sample consisted of 241 students in Grades 5 and 6. Upon completion of the researcher-developed art music listening program, participating teachers administered the Thematic Aural Perception Test and Musical Thematic Preference Questionnaire. These researcher-generated tests had reliability coefficients of .84 and .87, respectively. Analyses of variance indicated that subjects who sang thematic material had a significantly higher rate of aural recall (p < .05) than subjects who did not sing. There was no significant difference with regard to preference. Evaluative comments from the participating teachers were valuable in formulating suggestions for teaching and further research.
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