Using Verbal Reports to Investigate Children's Aesthetic Experiences with Music

Abstract

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).

Estetik Dinlemenin İlkokul 4. Sınıf Öğrencilerinin Dinleme Becerilerine Etkisi

“…By using these fun activities, individuals can be directed to gain the desired behaviors and skills. In this respect, it can be said that there is a similarity between the results of the research conducted by Paul (2008) Kılınç, 2015). In order for children to acquire correct and effective listening skills, listening education should be given starting from an early age.…”

“…In the study conducted by Paul (2008), it was concluded that aesthetic musical experiences for children contribute to their development of positive feelings towards music. Aesthetic listening is a type of listening that the individual does to get pleasure and have a good time.…”

Essai de modélisation de l’expérience esthétique

“…Les recherches sur l'expérience esthétique ont apporté une connaissance plus fine de la question, mais les deux modèles présentés sont en apparence inconciliables. Par exemple, concernant l'habilité des enfants à exprimer verbalement leur expérience esthétique, les tenants de l'expérience sensible pensent qu'ils n'ont pas cette habilité tandis que pour les autres, ils en sont capables (Paul, 2008). Adoptant une approche pratique de l'expérience esthétique, Phillips (1994) met en garde contre un enseignement de la musique qui négligerait le développement de l'estime de soi à travers la musique pour valoriser des valeurs plus sociales.…”