Research Studies in Music Education

Pitch is a psychoacoustic concept that has distinctive functions in speech and music across languages. The present investigation is based on a hypothesis that speakers of tonal and non-tonal languages may have distinctive vocal pitch behaviours. Ethnographic observations was conducted on the vocal development of a group of English and Chinese Canadian children over 42 months. Acoustic analyses were performed on recorded vocalizations to extract pitch. Comparisons of longitudinal vocal fundamental frequencies between the Chinese and English speaking children suggest possible language differences in the use of pitch to distinguish between speech and song production. Implications on strategies to provide more effective singing experience in a multicultural classroom are discussed.

This article examines the singing assessment context, first in relation to the assessors' evaluation procedures and, second, in relation to the students' anxiety levels, gender and developmental stage. The primary intention is to explore the psychological processes used by the performers themselves for the effective projection of their skills in a natural performance situation. The study was conducted at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where twenty-one second year and twenty-two third year vocal studies students were being assessed during their mid-year examinations. The analysis is based on the collection of qualitative data after the completion of openended questionnaires by the students. Findings show clear evidence of the singers' objective to make their presence attract the attention of the audience by meticulously planning and working on their physical, musical and mental states for the effective projection of their intentions and acquired skills. Inter-group comparisons on development and ability revealed traits of independence and self-sufficiency for the most able singing students and those that are higher in state of development.

Investigations of the processes and products of children's invented notational activity have generated a growing body of research that reflects some of the interests and concerns of the study of children's symbolic activity in general. However, whilst the emerging picture of children's use of invented notation in music has suggested some commonalities in the processes and products of children engaged in notational activity, a number of anomalies are also evident. This article provides a brief summary of research in children's invented notation in music in order to identify tensions that exist in the findings of such research. Through the description and analysis of a five-year-old boy's invented notations and his verbal accounts of such notations, it explores the ways in which our understanding of children's notational activity and musical understanding may be enhanced through attentive listening and substantive responding to children's meaning-making as composer/notators.

In recent years, the benefits of social interaction have been recognised in learning and working environments, the impact of social support on individual confidence and creativity being widely reported. In many domains including music, ability, personality, gender and friendship relationships have been identified as influencing the success or failure of group interactions. Despite the assumption in educational practice that group work can improve individuals' performance, however, social facilitation literature indicates the presence of others can sometimes be a hindrance (Hunt & Hillery, 1973). The main aim of the current paper is to investigate how various groupings of individuals (here, children) influenced creative musical tasks. In particular, friendship as opposed to random, single and both male and female sex groups were contrasted. It was hypothesised that quality of musical outcome would be influenced to some degree by the standard of social interaction and thus impact on individual sense of self within the task context. Fifty-nine children aged 11 participated in the study. All sessions were video-recorded. A researcher and class teachers observed the children's musical interactions using a check-list and a detailed structured questionnaire to guide observations whilst the children worked in groups of six participants in the following configurations: Randomly assigned, friendship based single and both sex, non-friendship based single and both sex. In each context, the children completed a compositional task, which was then assessed by independent, experienced assessors. The children were all individually questioned post-task about their experiences. The results suggested that social grouping did not influence the standard of the creative product, but it did affect the children's social interaction and thus their personal sense of achievement and enjoyment on task.

Affective responses are at the core of musical thinking: they form the basis for meaning and value in music, and provide motivation for future musical experiences. Therefore, the development of musical affect in children is a primary concern for music education, as are the methods most effective and convenient for measuring this development. This article examines the history, use, and structure of verbal response methodologies to study children's affective reactions to music, describes the conceptual and philosophical framework underlying the use of verbal data to assess cognition in the arts, presents music education research that adopts this framework, and offers suggestions for future directions in music education research.

The promotion of and public interest in the Australian pianist David Helfgott seems to have died away since the media hype of the blockbusting movie, Shine (1997)— a Hollywood version of David's biography - faded a couple of year ago. Yet, for me as a music psychologist, there are several major issues which persist and which I wish to share with others with similar interests. Firstly, I am intrigued by the conditions in which Helfgott acquired his musical skills. Secondly, I wish to explore his adult ability as a performer, and last, I am fascinated by how he has been perceived by audiences.