The development of musical style sensitivity in elementary school-age children
Campbell, Mark Robin
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/22878
Description
Title
The development of musical style sensitivity in elementary school-age children
Author(s)
Campbell, Mark Robin
Issue Date
1991
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Zimmerman, Marilyn P.
Department of Study
Music Education
Discipline
Music Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ed.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Music
Language
eng
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of musical style sensitivity in elementary school-age children. The problem was to discover the extent to which children in first through sixth grade are sensitive to style differences in music. The following questions were formed to facilitate the exploration of the problem: (1) To what extent does musical style sensitivity vary among children of selected age/grade level and gender? (2) To what extent does musical style sensitivity vary with selected genre or musical media? (3) To what extent does musical style sensitivity vary with selected musical stimuli that come from the same genre or from one or two stylistic genres apart? and (4) To what extent can developmental growth be identified in children's sensitivity to selected musical style stimuli?
Through a series of pilot studies, several validation and reliability strategies were employed to construct a 20 item test to investigate children's sensitivity to musical style. The main study was carried out at an elementary school in suburban Chicago.
Descriptive statistics, item analysis, ANOVA, post hoc comparison of means, and trend analysis were employed to analyze children's responses. Results indicated that children in second grade performed significantly better than all other grades. Children in grade 1 performed significantly more poorly than all other grades. There was little difference between grades 3, 4, 5, and 6. Gender was significant in that males performed better than females.
For recognizing stylistic similarities and/or differences, results indicated that items coming from the Baroque and Classic genres were easier for subjects than items from the Renaissance and Romantic genres. Items which were composed of large groupings of instruments were easier for subjects to recognize stylistic similarities and/or difference than items composed of smaller groupings of instruments. Items separated by two historical eras apart were easier for subjects to recognize stylistic differences than items separated by one era apart.
Analysis also revealed that developmental growth should not be viewed as a simple and discrete process. It was concluded that children's development of musical style sensitivity is best characterized by the types of interactions children have with musical style stimuli at various grade levels.
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