Abstract
The purpose of this study was to build upon recent research dealing with the ways children of primary school age operate when composing original music. Through examining the musical and structural content of the musical products, and linking these features to working procedures in the composition process, the aim was to explore the interaction between process and product, and to identify any effects attributable to gender, age, or computer use.Control of the circumstances in which the compositions were generated made possible the examination of the activity of the subjects during the working period, providing data which was linked to features of the compositional products for possible "cause and effect".
Compositions were collected from 60 primary school children aged 7, 9 and 11 years. Half of the students in each age-group used the computer to help them work out their music. There was equal gender representation in each subgroup.
The working session of ten minutes for each child was recorded, and later analysed, to discover the pattern of activities taking place during the composition process.
A second procedure was then undertaken which involved analysis of the final versions of the compositions of each subject. The pieces were evaluated by a panel of six judges who identified levels of achievement on a range of musical and structural items. The process and product data were analysed to ascertain the influence of gender, age and computer use. Any significant interactions between process variables and product variables were also noted.
The research design proved to be useful and functional in providing empirical data that allowed detailed statistical analysis. The major significant results related to the process were:
1. Age was a significant factor in subjects' use of the compositional activities (i.e. exploration, development and repetition [implying closure] of musical ideas).
2. Computer-users developed their musical ideas more quickly during the compositional process than non-computer users.
3. There were significant 2-way interactions between age and computer use.
The judges' evaluations of the product generated data that supported previous research that found a developmental sequence of stages in musical composition. Age was shown to be a significant influence in all factors derived from the developmental model. The significant period was between seven and nine years in all cases.
Although significant differences attributable to gender were not revealed overall, females were predominant in the high scoring groups on some product variables.
The influence of the computer emerged most clearly in profiles of subjects who received high/low scores from all judges in each of the main product variables. In the high scoring groups, computer users outnumbered non-computer users in every case.
Little is known of the effects of the use of the computer by young children for composition. Further research is indicated in order to understand the impact of the computer on the creative and cognitive processes in music. There is a need for greater understanding of its role in this area of music education.
| Date of Award | 1992 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | John Fraser (Supervisor) |
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