An assessment of music cognitive processes used by children to compare phrase types within a song.

Abstract

This study was undertaken to gain insight into how children cognitively process music events. A basic premise of this investigation was that music is a cognitive event which is wholistically perceived and experienced over time. In accordance with this perspective, music cognition was broadly defined as the processes involved in gaining an awareness and understanding of music sounds while performing, creating, and listening to music. Two of these music cognitive processes, transformation and abstraction, are considered to be responsible for conceptualizing relationships in music that result in a sense of unity and cohesion. Serafine (1986, 1988) has described the process of transformation as a general source for conceptualizing relationships in music. As applied to this study, relationships are considered to be generated by the recognition of similar and different aspects of a music event, such as, phrases within songs that are the same, similar, or different than the initial phrase. Abstraction is the second process which involves recognizing some aspect of a music event apart from its original context. For example, two phrases may be recognized as similar if the pitch sequences are the same for both the original and comparison phrases while the rhythm in the comparison phrase is significantly altered. Music cohesion is presumed to be achieved by recognizing some relationship or connection between the original and subsequent appearance.To test the theory that these processes are used by children, the study assessed children's comparisons of phrase types within a four phrase song based on alterations in melody, harmony, and rhythm. Three groupings were examined: (a) three basic types-same, similar, or different, (b) four subcategories derived by considering the number of altered parameters in the similar category, and (c) eight classifications obtained by considering which parameters were altered in the similar category. Developmental, experiential, and gender factors were examined as main effects which may have influenced the subject's accuracy in comparing phrase types.The test format involved listening to a four phrase song three times before indicating, during the fourth listening, if phrases two, three, and four were the same, similar, or different, in respect to the initial phrase. The test population consisted ofN= 201 subjects (females =101;males =100).

An assessment of children's discrimination of change when listening to a theme and variations form.

“…Research conducted by DeNardo (1990) and DeNardo and Kantorski (1995, in press) supports this finding. In these studies, listeners were least accurate when discriminating segments considered similar to an initial musical idea.…”

A Comparison of Listeners' Musical Cognition Using a Continuous Response Assessment

“…While listening to 12 prerecorded, four-phrase songs, each subject moved the pointer of a CRDI dial to indicate whether he or she considered the second, third, and fourth phrase of each song to be the same as, similar to, or different from the song's initial phrase. The melody, harmony, and rhythm of Phrases 2, 3, and 4 were altered as in DeNardo (1990) and DeNardo and Kantorski (1995), as previously described. All other musical parameters (e.g., dynamics, tempo, timber) remained constant.…”

“…The eight phrase types examined in DeNardo (1990) were the focus of this study. Of particular interest was the discrimination among parameters which resulted in the perception of similar phrase types as defined in this study.…”

“…The format differed from DeNardo (1990) in that CRDI was incorporated. The intended purpose for using this technology was to simplify data collection and analysis.…”

“…In the first study, DeNardo (1990) assessed the ability of students (N = 201) in Grades 2, 4, and 6 to compare eight phrase types within fourphrase songs relative to the initial phrase. A paper-and-pencil format was used in the study to gather responses as students listened to the test examples.…”