A comparison of aural and visual instrument preferences of third and fifth grade students

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Rebecca B. MacLeod, Associate Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Instrument preferences of third and fifth-grade students (N = 90) were investigated for eight instruments commonly found in orchestra and band: flute, clarinet, saxophone, violin, cello, trumpet, French horn, and trombone. Participants were divided into two groups and asked to identify their favorite and least favorite instrument from a list of the eight instruments. One class each of third and fifth-grade students, Group A, listened to aural examples of the instruments and rated preferences for each instrument. The other two classes, Group B, rated pictures of each instrument. Overall rat- ings placed the eight instruments in the following order of preference: violin, flute, cello, saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, and French horn. A significant interaction between grade, gender, and instruments indicated little difference between genders in instrument preference at the third-grade level, but in fifth-grade, females preferred flute, violin, and cello more than males. No significant difference was found between the two methods of testing.

Additional Information

Publication
Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 179, 33-43
Language: English
Date: 2009
Keywords
instruments, elementary students, music education

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