This study, which is a replication and extension of earlier research by Paul, examines the correspondence of perceived aesthetic experiences between musicians, in the present investigation, and children, from Paul's previous experiment. As did fourth-grade students ( N = 60) in Paul's earlier study, 56 adult musicians listened to Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, Variation 18, and used a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) to simultaneously indicate reactions. Mean group responses were calculated and graphed. Visual analysis of graphs indicates that children did not differ substantially from musicians in their reaction to the excerpt, and correspondence between the two groups, computed using Pearson correlation coefficients, showed a strong positive correlation, r = .87, which was significant at the p < .001 level. These results are consistent with those from previous studies that found little difference in the frequency or magnitude of perceived aesthetic responses between adult musicians and nonmusicians.
The purpose of this study was to explore children's aesthetic experiences with music through verbal report. (The term "aesthetic experience" was defined as follows: "intense subjective and personal experience; feelingful reaction; requires perception, experience of feelings and reactions, and psychological involvement," Price, 1986, p. 152). Participants were fourth graders, 31 girls and 29 boys, who possessed a variety of developmental statuses and conditions: normally developing (n = 35), gifted (n = 11), and special needs (n = 14). Students listened individually to Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, Variation 18. Immediately following the listening session, I used structured interviews to investigate the students' aesthetic reactions to the music. Their comments were recorded and later transcribed. Content of the transcripts was analyzed, and categories emerged from the responses. Although it is impossible to ascertain if these children truly had aesthetic experiences, data indicate that they did respond to the music and could communicate their feelings verbally, some of which were deeply emotional. Except for word counts of student responses, there was little difference in reactions from the three developmental groups (normally developing, gifted, and special needs).
This study examined the perceived aesthetic experiences of elementary school children. Sixty 4th graders, from 3 intact public school classes that included students identified as gifted and with special needs, listened to 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, Variation 18,' by Rachmaninoff and simultaneously indicated responses by manipulating a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) dial. One week later, participants repeated the listening activity under identical experimental conditions. As in similar studies with adults, aggregated graphic analyses showed that many of the children's highest and lowest reactions tended to cluster at the same places, and test-retest reliability showed a high positive correspondence between the two listening sessions (r = .99). Although it is impossible to know if these 4th graders actually had aesthetic experiences, it seems clear that they did respond to this music. It was determined that 57 students, including most of those with special needs, successfully used the CRDI dial to indicate their reactions and 58 expressed comfort with the simplicity of its use. Additional analyses, which compared responses based on developmental statuses, found a wide range of correlations between children who were categorized as normally developing, gifted, or having special needs.
uch has been written about the reciprocal relationship between music and the language arts. Numerous articles have discussed the use of music to improve reading skills, increase language skill development, and enhance effective writing (
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