Movement as an indication of musical understanding in preschool children
Morris, Grace Marie
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/19657
Description
Title
Movement as an indication of musical understanding in preschool children
Author(s)
Morris, Grace Marie
Issue Date
1992
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Boardman, Eunice
Department of Study
Music
Discipline
Music Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ed.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Early Childhood
Education, Music
Language
eng
Abstract
This study was undertaken to examine the sensitivity of preschool children to unidimensional changes in a musical whole. Three- and four-year-old children were asked to represent, through movement, their sensitivity to changes in dynamics, timbre, tempi, pitch (register), texture, and articulation. The population was drawn from two classes of three-year-olds and two classes of four-year-olds participating in class music experiences at the Child Development Laboratory at the University of Illinois. All children enrolled in the classes were videotaped while participating, but the responses of a sample (N = 32) were examined in depth. All research took place during class music experiences, and all groups had the opportunity to react to changes in musical examples through body movement and when using a prop. Half of the students responded first through body movement, while the other half responded first using a prop.
The developmental profile of children in the four classes showed that all responded correctly most frequently to changes in tempi, followed by changes in articulation. They responded least accurately to changes in timbre. Except for the youngest three-year-olds, children responded more accurately to changes when using a prop. Four-year-olds also seemed more comfortable using a prop than when responding through body movement. There was little difference in correct response whether prop or body movement was used first.
Further research was recommended into the use of movement as a musical response, and into the ways young children respond to changes in whole pieces of music and changes in discrete patterns.
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