Music

Discrimination and categorization of pitch direction by young children.

“…In contrast to the remarkable abilities of infants in the aural-music domain, the evidence for such competence among preschool children is very limited. As Serafine (1986) states "research on children between two and eight years finds them surprisingly incapable of musical understanding " (p. 314). This is the case with studies involving preschoolers' discrimination of pitch direction.…”

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

“…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.…”

Improving the measurement of tonal memory with computerized adaptive tests.

“…Information obtained from these aptitude tests and standardized music achievement tests over the years has been important to the fields of music and music education. According to Serafine (1986, p. 300), “The literature from the musical testing movement was, and remains, the most powerful influence on both music research and educational practice.”…”