The Effect of Grade, Experience, and Listening Condition on the Melodic Error Detection of Fifth- and Sixth-Grade Woodwind Students

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of grade level and playing experience as well as listening condition on melodic error detection by young instrumental students. Participants (N = 31) were fifth-and sixth-grade students with either 1 or 2 years of experience playing their instrument. The participants were tested in two listening conditions, listening to recordings and listening to themselves while playing. Analysis of the data revealed no differences attributable to listening condition, grade level, or experience. Overall high scores indicate strong abilities in melodic error detection with familiar melodies by students with 1 or more years of experience, including listening to themselves during performance. Further research is called for with a larger sample size and with more musical elements.

The effect of audio recording and playback on self-assessment among middle school instrumental music students

“…It is interesting to speculate on why participants initially had higher self-assessment ratings before listening to the recording. These results are congruous with Waggoner's (2011) exploration of conductor self-assessment; however, they are inconsistent with Thornton's (2004Thornton's ( , 2008) studies aimed at fifth-and sixth-grade instrumentalists. It could be that listeners were unable to accurately assess themselves while performing the etude.…”

“…The use of recordings is by no means a novel concept. Recordings have been used for a variety of purposes ranging from teacher training (Doerksen, 1999;Furman, 1987;Stuart, 1977Stuart, , 1979, to conducting (Johnston, 1993), to self-evaluation (Carroll, 1987;Daniel, 2001;Hewitt, 2001Hewitt, , 2002Robinson, 1993;Thornton, 2004Thornton, , 2008. The use of recordings as models to aid in error detection has also shown to be beneficial (Crowe, 1996;Montemayor & Ross, 2009;Tryon, 2006), and research has suggested that listeners are better able to identify errors when listening to a recording of the music as opposed to identifying errors while performing or conducting the music (Delzell, 1989;Ellis, 1989;Waggoner, 2011).…”

The Relationships Among Interval Identification, Pitch Error Detection, and Stimulus Timbre by Preservice Teachers

“…Consistent with previous research (e.g., Byo, 1993; Thornton, 2008), synthesized sounds in prerecorded files were used to ensure identical presentations of the stimuli. The test items were created in Finale using the Grand Piano timbre and the Vocal Oohs timbre, which allowed us to control all parameters of the sound test files.…”

Formative assessment practices and children’s singing accuracy: A mixed methods inquiry

“…Formative assessment-related studies in K–12 music education have mainly targeted error detection ability (identifying errors in one’s own performance and in other’s performances) and self-evaluation of instrumental skill (Hewitt, 2001, 2005, 2011; Thornton, 2008). Error detection ability has not been linked to improving students’ instrumental skill (Thornton, 2008) and studies of self-evaluation’s impact on various facets such as performance and self-evaluation accuracy have yielded inconsistent results (Hewitt, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2011). For example, Hewitt (2001) documented significant increases in middle school instrumentalists’ tone production, melodic accuracy, rhythmic accuracy, interpretation, and overall performance for those students who listened to a recorded model while engaging in self-evaluation, in comparison to students who only listened to the recorded model.…”

“…In a subsequent study (Hewitt, 2011), self-evaluation instruction did not have a significant effect on middle school instrumentalists’ self-evaluation accuracy or instrumental performance. While error detection ability or self-evaluation may not be related to improving instrumental students’ performance skills, both Thornton (2008) and Hewitt (2011) asserted that these strategies may promote self-regulated learning and more musical independence. Many facets of formative assessment remain unexplored, in particular studies that investigate elementary-level students in general music classes.…”