Discrimination of pitcb direction: a developmental study.

by Vdirie Descombes

Theory Department, McGiIl University, Montreal

August, 1999

A thesis submitted to the FacuIty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial tùlfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts.

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Table of contents

... ......................................................................................................................... Abstract III

Sommaire ....................................................................................................................... iv

............................................................................................................ Acknowledgments v

.................................................................................................................. List of Tables vj

... .............................................................................................................. List of Figures W I I

................................................................................................................... Introduction 1

........................................................ Development of cognitive awareness of pitch 2

Direction labehg task ......................................................................................... 4

........................................................................ Measurement of pitch perceptioa 5

Tests using chifdren's invented notations .............................................................. 8

................................................................................................... Purpose ................. ...... 9

Pilot Study ..................................................................................................................... 1 1

Main Study

Experiment 1 : Test 1

...................................................... Subjects ........... .....,. 1 6

...................................................... Stimuli and Experhentai Tape 16

............................................................. .................. Procedure .. -16

.............................................................. ................ Results .... -17

Experiment 2 : Retest 1, Test 2, Test 3

....................................................................................... Purpose -30

.................................................................................... Subjects -30

...................................................... Stimuli and Experimental Tape 30

.................................................................................... Procedure -30

ResuIts @etest I) .......................................................................... 32

............................................................................ ResuIts (Test 2) -38

......................................................................... Results (Test 3) - 3 0

................................................................................................................... Discussion.. -65

. . .............................................................................. ............................ Implications ... -72

............................................................................................. References .......... ... -73

................................................................................................................... Appendices -77

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the ability to perceive pitch

direction across a varie@ of melodic contours d E m across grade levels. In addition,

difkrences between responses to ascending versus descending patterns and between

responses to two- versus three- versus four-note patterns were examined.

The main sîudy involved two experiments; Experhent 1 examined children's

ability to iderit* pitch direction using a visuai aid; Experiment 2 exarnined children's

spontaneous notations of the same melodic contours.

The results showed a subsequent increase in mean scores fiom grades 1 to 6 across

both tests- The clearest increase in ability occurred within the 6rst three grades with a

plateau reached by grade four. Same-pitch patterns received the highest overd1 means.

The ability to idente direction using a visuai aid was easier for children than to write

spontaneous notations. Melodic contours with larger intervals were more &y

perceived.

Sommaire

Le but de cette étude est de vérifier si la perception des directions tonales de

contours mélodiques variés dinere selon les niveam scolaires. De plus, les différences

entre les réponses à diverses mélodies ascendantes par rapport à descendantes et entre des

motifi variés à dew, trois ou quatre notes sont analysés.

Cette étude est divisée en deux sous-études; la sous-étude 1 véritie la capacité des

enfants à identifier la direction tonde en utilisant une aide visuelle; alors que la sous-étude

2 vérifie comment les e n h s notent de manière spontanée ces mêmes contours

mélodiques.

Les résultats de cette étude démontrent que la perception des directions tondes

s'améliore avec les niveaux scoIaires des élèves. La plus forte amélioration est notée des

niveaux 1 à 3, tandis qu'à partir de la quatrième année un plateau est atteint . Dans

l'ensemble. les motifs non directionnels ont présenté Ies scores moyens les plus élevés.

Les contours mélodiques présentant des intervales plus grandes sont ceux les mieux

perçus par les élèves, indépendamment du niveau scolaire. La mesure de la perception des

directions tonales est facilitée par l'aide visueue par rapport à la notation spontanée.

Acknowledgments

1 wish to express my gratitude to Professor Eugenia Costa-Giomi for her guidance

and critical suggestions throughout the d g of this study and most of aii for her

countless patience and support. I would also like to thank Loïs Gagné for her the and

support in letting me test her students during her music classes, and for her amazing

patience when it came to scheduling. A special thank you to the teachers at Holy Cross

Elemenmy, as weii as Lawrence Badow, for acranging time for me with theu students for

the Pilot study. A very warm thank you goes to my father, Michel Descombes, and his

assistant, Gavin Fernandez fbr the recordmg, arranging and rerecording of the test tape

used for the main study. Finally, 1 wish to give specid thanks to Yves Fiion, not oniy for

his technical support, but also for bis wntinuous encouragement.

List of Tables

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

Table 5

Table 6

Table 7

Table 8

Table 9

Table 10

Table 11

Table 12

Table 13

Table 14

Table 15

Table 16

Table 17

Table 18

............. ......... Melodic patterns ushg 2. 3. or 4 notes (Pilot study) ... 13

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade level across the 15

............................................................................... categories (Test 1) 17

.......................... ANOVA table for a Zfactor repeated measures (Test 1) 18

.......................... ANOVA table for a 3-factor repeated measues (Test 1) 22

Mean pitch d i i o n scores by grade level for nurnber of pitches

................................................ and direction (Test 1) ................. .....,.,. -23

.......................... ANOVA table for a 3-factor repeated measures (Test 1) 24

Mean pitch discrimùiation scores by grade level for 3- and 4- pitches

........................ and d directions (Test 1) ................. ................,.............. 25

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade level for d 4 5 test items

................. ....*........................*.*......*.............................. (Test 1) ,... -26

Significant T-Tests hund for paired sarnples with similar contours

(Test 1) ................................................................................................... 28

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade level for both Test 1 and

Retest 1 across the 15 categories ............................................................ 32

ANOVA table for a 2-factor repeated measures (Retest 1) .................... -34

.................... Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade level for Retest 1 35

....................... Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade level for Test 2 38

ANOVA table for a 2-factor repeated masures (Test 2) .......................... 39

Mean pitch discrimuiation scores by grade level for number of pitches

and direction (Test 2) ..................... .... ........................................... -41

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade IeveI for aU 45 test items

(Test 2) .................................................................................................. -42

......... ANQVA table for a 3-factor repeated measures (Test 1 and Test 2) 44

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade for both Expechent 1 :

..................... Test 1 and Experhent 2 : Test 2 across the 15 categories 45

Table 19

Table 20

Table 2 1

Table 22

Table 23

Table 24

Table 25

Table 26

Table 27

Table 28

vii ANûVA table for a 3-fàcîor repeated measures (Rets 1 and Test 2) ...... 47

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade for both Retest 1 and

..................................... Test 2 of Experiment 2 across the 15 categories 48

ANOVA table for a Zfactor repeated masures (Test 3) ...................... ..30 ....................... Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade level for Test 3 5 1

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade level for number of

pitches and direction (Test 3) ................................................................... 53 ........................ ANOVA table for a 3-factor repeated measures (Test 3) 5 4

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade for both Experiment 1 : Test 1

and Experiment 2 : Test 3 across the 15 caîegories .................................. 55

ANOVA table for a 3-factor repeated measures (Test 2 and 3) ............... .57

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade for both Test 2 and 3

across the 15 categories ........................................................................... 58

Mean phch discrimination scores by grade for Experiment I and 2

for the 15 categories, for number of pitches, and for d i i o n .................. 6 1

AU mean pitch discrimination scores by grade for Experunent 1 (Test 1)

............................ and EKperiment 2 (Retest I, Test 2, and Test 3) ,...64

List of Figures

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade level across the 15

categories (Test 1) ..... . . . .. . . ... .. .. . . . . .. . .-- --. . -. . -. . -. -. . . -. . -. . -.. . -. -. . . -. . . . . -. . .. -- .. . . -. 19

Overall mean pitch discrimination scores across the 15 categories

(Test 1) .............................estest..est..........*....................~....~.~.......~.................. 20

Overd mean pitch discrimination scores for the 3- and Cnote patterns

Pest 1) ................................................................................................... 21

Overall mean pitch discrimination scores across the 15 categories

fiom lowest to highest score (Test 1) ....................................................... 2 1

Total mean pitch discrimination scores across the 15 categories for

Test 1 (Experiment 1) and Retest 1 (Experiment 2) ............ .......... ... . .... .. .33

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade level across the 15

categories (Retest 1) ................ ....... ............. ..... ................. .-........ . ..... ... . . -36

Overail mean pitch discrimination scores across the 15 categories

fiom lowest to highest score (Experiment 2 2 Retest 1) ............................ 37

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade level across the 15

categories (Test 2). .... ... ........................................................-............ .. .. ..40

Totai mean pitch discrimuiation scores across the 15 categories

for Experiment 1 : Test 1 and Experiment 2 : Test 2 ................................ 46

Totai mean pitch discrimination scores across the 15 categories for

Retest 1 and Test 2 of Experiment 2. .... . . ... . . . .. .. . -. .. .. .-. -. . . .. . . . . ... . .. . . . . . . . . . . -. -49

Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade level across the 15

categories (Test 3) ...................estest....est..est..est....estest~....~..~~~...........~~~......~..~.......~.. 52

Totai mean pitch discrunination scores across the 15 categories for

Experiment 1 : Test 1 and Experiment 2 : Test 3 ..................-....-.........-..-- 56

Total mean pitch discrimination scores across the 15 categories for

Experiment 2 : Retest 1, Test 2, and Test 3 ...................estestestest.est.est....estest.est.estest.~~~.~~~ 59

Ur Figure 14 Total mean scores across the 15 categories for Experiment 1 and all

Tests of Experiment 2 (N=441) ............. ....... ...--..-........-. ..... ......-.*. 62

Figure 15 Total mean scores for each 2-, 3-, and Cnote patterns dong with

each of the six directions for Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 @=44 1 )... .63

introduction

One of the important mles of music education is to help students becorne

progressively more sensitive to the various elements of music. Through the development

of spontaneous and immediate perception ofthe elements %und in music - the musical

qualities of melody, harmony, rhythm, tone color, textures, form - the student has the

possibility for an aesthetic response to music. m i l e the affective response to the

elements of music may be ineffable, the elements in themselves can be adequately

described, thus likely enhancing the experience. Active listening to details of pitch,

rhythm, intervals, dynamics, and modulations, remembering them and then organizing

them into paaems wiIl hopefirlly yield an affective conquence. By dweloping an

awareness of different musicd stimuli chiIâren will hopefilly enrich not only th&

affective experiences, but cognitive ones as welI.

Many books and series have ben wrïtten for use in elementary schools music

classes. Though materials and objectives vary, the overall objective of the elementary

school music program is probabiy similar. In the curriculum guide of the Ministère de

l'Éducation du Québec (1985) the objective is "to provide the child with a variety of

musical experiences so as to elicit persona1 and meaningful responses to the phenomenon

of sound on both affective and cognitive levels" (p. 1 15). The disciplinary approach

involves perceiving, expressing, and responding. Reference to perception is primarily

made to activities centered on building listening skills. However, practical outwmes of

the application of curriculum objectives in the classroom are not always obvious for

music educators. For example, children shouid be able to distinguish pitch direction by

age seven (MEQ, 1985). Tt is expected that grade 2 children shouId recognize a series of

ascending or descendhg notes played on a bar instrument, as welI as perform such series.

However, the ability for chiIdren to determine pitch direction in a melodic contour does

not always seem obvious.

Music educators in generai agree that cfddren should deveiop an aura1

understanding of the meIodic elements of music before they are engagecl in music reading

activities. it is expected that children will be able to proceed more easiiy to the visual

2

perception of musical symbols required in music reading as a result of growing

ampetence in the aura1 perception of musical sounds. It is, therefore, important to

understand how and at what age children are capable of perceiving and ide-ng pitch

direction.

Development of cognitive awareness of pitch

Findings on the development of auditory perception indicate that perception of

tempo and volume develops first, followed by pitch and rhythm, with perception of

hannony developing last (Zimmerman, 197 1). In a five year study, Petzold (1 966)

studied auditory perception of over five hundred children in grades one through six. He

found that the most significant gains for most of the skills occuned between the ages of

six and seven (first and second grades) with a plateau reached by the age of eight (third-

grade). These results suggest that most significant development occurred between ages

six and eight. However, it would seem that children are ready to l e m musicai skills at

even the earliest ages.

Research has indicated that pitch discrimination develops early in Iife. Bridger

(1961) detemined that infants of only a few days old couid discriminate between tones of

varying pitch. He first played the same tones (400 Hz) d l the baby became accustomed

to them, and then played tones with a fiequency of 1,000 Hz. Fifteen of the fi@ babies

discriminatd between the tones. Chang and Trehub (1977) determined that infants of

five months cm process melodic information. By monitoring changes in the infantsf

heart rates, they found that the infants discriminateci between the transposition ofa

famiiiar meIody and a new melody. Thorpe (1986) found that older infants (aga seven

to ten months) were able to discriminate reliably between ascending and descending two-

tone sequences, even when pitch changes were as smail as one or two semitones. in

another study, i h t s eight to eleven months were shown to use a global strategy to

pmcess melodic information (Trehub, Bull, and Thorpe, 1984). The abiiity of the babies

to use this strategy, indicated that melodic contour is an important feature in melodic

perception fiom early infancy. Trehub, Thorpe, and Morrongiello (1987) suggest that the

perception of contour is elastic enough that infants, at least by the age of nine to eleven

months, can recognize melodic shapes even when cornponent intervals within the patterns

are varied. These studies conclude that pitch information is stored in contour schemes

rather than exact pitches.

Despite the remarkable abilities of infants in aura1 discrimination, such

competence is not as evident among preschool and early elementary children. Seraphine

(1986) States that, "research on children bmeen two and eight years finds them

surprisingly incapable of musical understanding" (p.3 14). Though music educators and

researchers have been left with many unanswered questions concerning children's

abilities in pitch perception, the extent of such incornpetence is questionable.

Research supports the hypothesis îhat young children's cognitive abilities

improve with age. White, Dale and Carlsen (1990) tested children aged between 3.5 and

5 on discrimination and categorization tasks wing 3-note unidirectional pitch pattern.

The results of their study indicated that perceptual focus was age-related. The younger

children focused on abdute features of the stimulus rather than the relationship between

consecutive pitches while the 5-year-olds were able to focus on the duectional

relationship. Other studies involving children aged between four and six also found that

large percentages of the children could not adequately indicate their discrimination of

pitch direction, using either verbal or nonverbal response modes (Hair, 1977; Van Zee,

1976; Webster & Schlentrich, i982). Dowling (1982) found that children's melodic

perception develops fiom a general awareness of the overall melodic contour to a precise

discrimination of tonality and intwval sue. Davidson and Scripp (1988) confirmeci that a

similar development occurs within the dimension of musical representation. Children's

notation of pitch sequenced tiom melodic contour to intervailic boundaries to regulated

pitch. By the age of eight, children's melodic perception operated within an increasingiy

stable tond system.

Direction lobelling rcl~k

Music educaton have demonstrated great interest in understanding how children

discriminate pitch (higMow) and its direction (ascendingldescending) (Andrews & Diehl,

1970; Cooper, 1994; Costa-Giomi, 1998; Costa-Giomi & Descombes, 1996; Costa-Giomi

& Descombes, 1997; Flowers & Costa-Giomi, 1991; Hair, 1977; Hair, 1987a; Webster

& Schlentrich, 1982; White, Dale & Carlsen, 1990; Williams, 1990). These researchers

have found that young children have diniculty in expressing their perception of pitch. A

recurrent problem has been that the use oftraditional musical terminology and concepts

seems to confiise rather than aid chiIdrenls understanding. It has been suggested that

children express their perception of pitch better through nonverbal than verbal responses

(Hair, 198%; Webster & Schlentrich, 1982). Young children have not yet learned to

associate the up and down labels with the aura1 directional phenomena. However, even

when using non-verbal responses children perfonn pwrly on pitch discrimination tasks

(Haiu, 1977; Hair, 1987; Van Zee, 1976; Webster & Schlentrich, 1982). This seems to

occur until children are in the fourth grade level (Forsythe & Kelly, 1989; Geringer,

1983). When using new technology allowing for a duect nonverbal, non-visual-spatial

response, a large percentage of children, aged between 3 and 5, were also unable to

provide evidence of pitch direction discrimination (White, Dale, and Carlsen, 1990).

Children 6 to 1 1 years old were generally more successfiil in detecting a difference in

pitch than in identifjing the direction of the change (Cooper, 1994). Cooper found that

the only signifiant difference on elementary children's performance in the direction task

was between the means of first- and fifkh-grade. These findings suggest that, while pitch

discrimination ability seems to improve with age, differences among grade levels for

identification of duection may be Iess evident to assess.

ChiIdrenYs identification of pitch direction is worth of M e r study. It is

important for music educators to understand the concepts that make pitch duection

meaningful for children. in order to assist them in gaining the necessary tools to

transform the concrete experience of auditory perception into one that cm be represented

in syrnbols,

Gromko & Poonnan (1998) exarnined the reiationship between children's aural

perception of tonal patterns and children's symbol use in drawing and selection tasks.

Subjects were 64 children aged fiom 4.7 to 12.8 years. Aura1 perception of tonai patterns

was measured with the tonal subtests of the Prim~ay/Intemediaîe Measures of Music

Auaïarion (Gordon, 1979, 1982). ChiIdren indicated whether sets of paired phrases were

the same or different. Both the selection and drawing of tonai patterns were measured

with researcher-designed tests derived from the PAdMUZMW aurai perception measure.

For the selection task a melodic pattern was played on a soprano recorder and the

children were instructed to circle one of the two patterns that they thought represented

what they had heard. For the drawing task they were asked to wnnect the dots to show

the direction in which they thought the pitches went. Results showed a developmental

progression within and across perception, selection and drawing tasks. On the aura1

perception task children aged 4.9 to 7.8 differed significantly fiom the ones aged 7.9 to

12.7. On the selection task significant différences were found between the youngest (4.9

- 6.3) and oldest (10.3 - 12.7) children. On the drawing task, the youngest children (4.9 - 6.3) diiered significantly fiom al1 older children (6.4 - 12.7). No significant differences

were found in the scores of children aged 7.9 and older across al1 three tests implying that

a plateau may be reached by age eight. Results of this study also showed that children's

ability to use symbols in the reading and drawing tasks were related to their ability to

aurally perceive the tonal patterns. These findings suggest that spontaneous notations

may be a good indicator of children's musicd understanding.

Pitch perception has been an important element in examining children's musical

abiIity and therefore has been induded in musicaI aptitude tests. Well-known tests that

have been used are reviewed here.

Measurement of pitch perception

Though there are numerous tests of musical aptitude (Lehman 1968, ch.6) six of

the most well-known and published standardid musical aptitude test batteries will be

6

discussed here : the Seashore Meannes ofMus1ca1 Talents (Seashore et ai., 1960), the

Measures of M m d Abiiities (Bentley, 1966a), the Stmdrdised Tests of MusfUSfcd

Intelligences (Wing, 196 l), the Musical Aptituàè Profite (Gordon, 1965), the Primary

Measutes of Music Aurliuiion (Gordon, 1979) and the Intemediate Memres of Music

Audiaton (Gordon, 1982). The Seashore, Wing, and Gordon IU~P tests are basicaily

intended for grades four to twelve and Bentley's test for children as young as seven.

Gordon's PMU4 are for children in kindergarten through third grade and the MiU for

grades 1 to 4, as an advanced version of the P M .

Seashore's battery contains six sections: pitch, loudness, rhythm, time, timbre,

and tonal memory. The pitch test requues the subject ta indicate whether the second of

fi@ paired tones is higher or lower than the first tone. The fiequency difference begins

with a standard of 500 Hz and becomes progressively more dificult with ranges fiom 17

to 2 Hz (2 Hz is about 9 cents; 100 cents = 1 semitone). The tonal memory test

comprises of thirty paired items; ten items for each three-, four-, or five-tone patterns.

Wihin each pair of the sequence, one note is different. The srnailest intervai difference

is one tone. The subjects's task is to identi@ the number of the note that daers. Lehman

(1968, p. 40) reports that these two tests, the pitch and tonal memory tests, have been

generally the most reliable sections in Seashores battery.

Bentley's battery contains four tests : pitch discrimination, tonal memory, chord

analysis, and rhythmic memory. The pitch test is similar to Seashore's except that there is

a "same" option in addition to up and dom. There are twenty pairs of tones representing

intervals, ranging fiom 100 to 2 cents. The tonal memory test also resembles Seashore's

task. Subjects are asked to listen to ten paired organ melodies and indicate which note is

dierent. in comparison to Seashore's tests, Bentley's tests not oniy has audio oscillator

tones but in addition uses real musical instruments, increasing the tests' musical appeal.

According to Lehman (1968, p. 55) Bentley's test is the oniy adequately standardised

aptitude test battery designed exclusively for the elementary grades.

Wing's battery contains seven sections : chord analysis, pitch change test, melodic

alteration, rhythm, harmony, intensity, and phrasing. The pitch change test contains

thirty pairs of chords. In some of the pairs one note in the second chord is either higher

7

or lower than the corresponding note in the first. Some items remain the same. The

subject indicates Wher answer by checking "up", "down", or "same" ("ü", "D", or "Sn)

on the answer sheet. In the melodic alteration test there are dso thirty items but these are

paired melodies instead of chords. These range in length fiom three to ten tones. The

second melody of each pair is like the first, except that one note is altered. The subject

indicates the number of the altered note or is asked to write "s" for same if there are no

changes. However, no unaltered melodies are played and the subject has no blanks for

any "same" responses. There are only dots representing each note. Perhaps the most

serious limitation of Wing's battery, as reported by Lehman (1968, p.48) and Boyle &

Radocy (1987, p. 147) is the technical quality of the tape.

Gordon's MAP battery contains three major divisions : tonal imagery, rhythm

imagery, and musical sensitivity. Melodies are played on string instruments. The tonal

imagery test has subdivisions of melody and harmony, each containhg 40 items. The

melody subtest requires subjects to listen to two meIodies, the second of which contains

embellishing tones, and determine whether the second melody would be the same as the

fvst if the added tones were removed. The hannony subtest contains paired items with a

melody line performed on violin, and a lower harmony line performed on cello. The

upper violin iine aiways remains the sarne. The task is to indicate whether the second

cello melody is the sarne or diierent fiom the tint.

Gordon also created two aura1 discrimination tests for children wing pictographic

scaies and item identification : The Primary Memures of Mm*c Audation ( P M ) and

the Inrennediate Measures of Music Audiution (W). Both the P M and Mihl

include a tond and a rhythm test, each of which has 40 items. For the tonal items

subjects indicate whether sets of paired phrases are the same or different. The task

requires students to &de two smiling faces for pairs of tonal patterns that are the same

and a fiowning and smiling face if the patterns d ier . Sequence length is from two to

five notes. The test contains eIectronical1y synthesized tones of v a 1 duration. The

items in both tests are similar, with onIy increased use of minor mode in the W. The

MM4 content is constructed to be more advanced then the PMU4 but l e s advanced than

that of the W.

Tests wng chiiden 's invented notations

Music research in the Iast decade has shown that children's invented notations are

measures of theu musical understanding (Bamberger, 1995; Gromko, 1994; Upitis,

1990). Cognitive activities such as symbol invention, analysis, problem soiving and

reflection are used in the mental and physical process of inventing notation. Testing

children for musical ability through their invented notations is appropriate because the

musical elements heard need to be intemdized and analyzed in order to be represented.

Upitis (1990) found definite patterns of notational style when children were asked to

notate what they had heard. She found that pitch was conunoniy expressed by vertid

lines indicating the rise and hi1 in a melody. Furthemore, the more the melody was

complex the more the notation was complex.

Studies have also shown that children's invented notations grow richer in musicai

details with maturity and musical experience (Bamberger, 1995; Davidson & Scripp,

1988; Upitis, 1990, 1992). Davidson and Scripp (1988) found that five-yearslds tended

to use pictorid patterns while seven-year-olds tended to use abstract symbols and words

to represent a Song they had heard. Also, children's melodic development moved Erom

perception of contour to perception of pitches. Upitis (1992) found that children's

invented notations for original compositions dso developed fiom descriptions of meIodic

shape to notations resembling traditional musical notation. Gromko (1 994) exarnined

children's invented notations as a rneasure of their musical understanding. Sixty children

aged 4 to 8 years were tested for their perceptual discrimination usintp the tond subtest of

the Primmy Meusures of Music Audation (Gordon, 1979). Children were then asked to

sing, play, and k t e the short song they had heard. Results showed that children's

percephrd discrimination of tonal patterns and their performance skills were significantiy

related to one another, Also, the higher the musid understanding the more likely the

notation reflected awareness of pitch ChiIdren's invented notations show a

developmentai progression fiom the generaI contour of a melody, to discrimination of

diectional leaps and steps within a meIody, to perception of fùnctional pitch

relationships within a melody @orner & Gromko, 1996; Grornko, 1996). Studies

9

indicate that notational development reaches a plateau around the age of seven or eight

(Davidson, Scripp, & Welsh, 1988), coinciding with studies in pitch perception (Gromko

& Poorman, 1998; Petzoid, 1966). Measuring children's musical understanding through

their inventa! notations shows positive attnbutes in understanding how children perceive

pitch direction

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the ability to perceive pitch

direction across a variety of melodic contours differs between grade levels. in addition,

the following questions were posed. Would there be any differences (1) between

responses to ascending versus descending patterns, (2) between responses to two- versus

three- versus four-note patterns?

A pilot study was first carried out to ver* the validity, reliability, and the design

of the test designed by the investigator. The main snidy involved two experiments.

Experirnent 1 examined children's ability to identie pitch direction using a visual aid.

The purpose of Experiment 2 was two-fold; (1) to have the same children take the test

used in Experiment 1 a few months later inorder to examine any changes in their ability

to perceive pitch direction (Retest l), and (2) to examine children's ability to represent

pitch direction through spontaneous notations across grade levels (Test 2 and 3).

The general lay-out of the study is the following :

Pilot Study

- Verification of test materiais and procedures for both Experiment 1 and

Experiment 2.

Main Study

Experiment 1

- Test 1 ; Identification of pitch direction using a visual aid.

10

Experiment 2

- Retest 1 ; Exact same test as in Experiment 1 (Test 1) but administered to

part of the original sample five months later.

- Test 2 ; Spontaneous notation with guided ins~ur;tions.

- Test 3 ; Spontaneous notation without guided instructions.

Pilot study

The abjects were 84 children (35 boys and 49 girls) fiom grades 1 to 5 of an

urban public school in Saint-Laurent, Montreal. There were 15 6rst graders, 1 1 second

graders, 1 1 third graders. 23 fourth graders, and 24 fifth graders. Ail were intact classes

(grades 2 and 3 combined in a mixed 2/3 class), Ail children received a 30-minute weeldy

session taught by a music specialist as part of their regular music program, Typical

activities for al1 grades included singing, listening, playing instruments (barred 0 8

instruments, small percussion instruments, and recorder), and reading music.

Stimuli

The melodic patterns consisted of either two, three, or four pitches taken tiom the

C major chord, ranghg fiom C4 to CS, with the exception of two items which used E5.

Al1 melodic patterns consisting of an ascendiig, descending, or same direction were

extracted. Two ascendiig, two descendmg, and two same-note patterns were selected

across the two-note, three-note, and four-note patterns. AU interval laps chosen for the

ascending patterns were also used for the descendimg patterns. For example : C4, E4, G4

and G4, E4, C4.

For the 2-note section of the test, the six items (two ascendimg, two descending,

and two same) shown in Table 1 were selected.

For the 3-note section of the test, six items (two ascendiig, two descending, and

two same) were selected. Many other combinations of direction are possible for the three-

note items, for example samJdown\or dodsame L. in order to make a selection,

aIi the possible combinations of a melodic contour consisting of either an ascending or

descendhg pattern plus the same direction were extracted. Three of these mixed items

were randomly chosen; dowdsame, samddown, and samdup. Three different sets of

12

pitches were randomly chosen for each of these, &hg a totaI of nine items. These nine

items dong with the six ascending, descending, and same patterns gave a grand total of 15

items for the 3-note section of the test as shown in Table 1.

For the Cnote section of the test, six items for the ascendiig, descending, and

same patterns were selected. Since two possibilities exist for the four-note pattern for the

downisame, samddown, and samdup mixed items (for exampIe : G4, E4, C4, C4 and G4,

C4, C4, C4), six different patterns were randomly chosen for each combination, three

using two repeated pitches and three using three repeated pitches, giving a total of 18

items. Thw, the number of items for the four-note pattern consisted of six up, down, and

same patterns plus the 18 mixed items, givïng a totaI of 24 items. The entire test consisted

of a total of 45 items which are shown in Table 1.

One experimental tape was prepared for the test. It consisted of instructions, three

practice examples, and 45 test items. The pitches were played on a soprano recorder and

recordeci unto a MA (type IV metal) TDK cassette, using a Hitachi tape player (mode1

3D3SHC). Each pitch was played for one second. Each item, which was played only

once, was foilowed by eight seconds of silence. The duration of the emire test session was

15 minutes. The same tape was used for al1 groups, thus each receiving the same order of

stirmili. The test was administered to aü classes using the same equipment.

Table 1.

Meldc patterns usïng 2, 3, or 4 notes.

Triai: 1 CE 2 GEC 3 GCCC

Test : Part I (2 notes) 1 CG 2 GC 3 CE 4 CC 5 EC 6 GG

Part 2 (3 mies) 1 GEC 2 GEE 3 CCE 4 GGC s C'GE 6 GGG 7 EGC' 8 GCC 9 CEG 10 ECC 11 CCG 12 GGE 13 CCC 14 EEG 15 EEC

Part 3 (4 notes) 1 EEGC' 2 C'C'EC 3 EEEG 4 EEEC 5 EGC'E' 6 CCCC 7 ECCC 8 CEGC' 9 C'GEC 10 ccGC1 11 CCEG 12 GEEE

GGEC C'C'C'E E'C'GE C'C'GE GECC GGGC C'ECC CCCE GGGG GCCC CCCG C'GEE

AU pitches shown in Table 1 range h m middle C to an octave higher (CL) with the additionai E above (E').

The pilot study was carried out to ver@ the validity and design of the tests that

would be used in Experiment 1 and 2 of the main study. The pilot study therefore has two

parts, each corresponding to an Experiment in the main study.

The fùst part of the pilot saidy examineci chiidren's ability to i d e n e pitch

direction using a visual aid. ïhe second part examuiecl children's spontaneous notations of

the same melodic contours.

AU testing was administered on the same day in April of the school year. Each

grade level was tested in their classrooms by th& music teacher, thus the students were in

their reguIar environment.

Subjects were asked to tiü in their name and grade level on their a m e r sheets,

and toid that the entire music test would be heard on tape. Each item was represented on

the answer sheet by three boxes, each box consisting of dots (one dot for each pitch)

representing a melodic contour (see Appendk A). Chiidren were instructed to circle the

box that best represented what the recorder played. After the subjects had heard the

instructions and completed three practice examples, they were asked if there were any

questions. There were no questions in any group. The tape was lefi running and the test

begun, No subjects at any time during the testing session raiseci their hand indicating a

problern or a question.

The use of the soprano recorder for the stimuli was initidy used for two reasons.

Fi, because the students were hniüar with this instrument. The test was seen as part of

their usual curriculum, thus creating a more cornfortable atmosphere. Secondly, the use of

an awustic instrument gives each pitch a timbre and rnusicality absent in pure tones,

providing a more naturiil sound, Though the quality of the tape did not seem to pose any

problems when administered in the pilot study, it was decided that it was important to

have upmost controi for the exact duration, volume, and clearness of each pitch, A new

tape was made using the exact same information only with better technology. Pitches

were played on a soprano recorder into an AKG 460-B microphone linked to a New VRP

console. A Software h d i o Workshop audio editor was used to d i t the stimuli. The

audio test was rerecorded unto a MA (type IV metal) TDK cassette, using a Technics M-

85 tapedeck. Ln order to control for the quality of the recorder pitches and the overall

audio test tape of the rerecorded version, an inter-judge retiability form was created and

6iied by five music graduate students in Music Education. The criteria to be rated were:

1) overall recordiig quality. 2) clarity of spoken words; 3) clarity of recorder notes; and 4)

equality of notes, AU five judges considered ail aspects of the quality of the tape to be

higher than four on a 1- to 5-point scale where 1 was poor and 5 nas excelient (means =

4.6,5.0,4.6, and 4.3 respecthliy). The technologicaiiy improved recordiig was used for

aii fbrther testing. Three intact copies were made, with oniy instructions at the beginning

of the tape being aitered and taiIored to each specific test type.

Given that the procedures worked weii in the first part of the piiot study they were

kept intact for Experiment 1.

Part two of the pilot study verified the design of the tests that would be used in

Experiment 2 of the main study. This second part was run with chiidren tiom grades 1

and 2 from the same school who had not taken the melodic test. The stimuli used were

the same as in the melodic test, but the answer sheet was diierent. The answer sheet had

blank spaces beside each number instead of three multiple choice boxes. While without

any guidance chiidren found the task contùsing, with enough prompting they usuaiiy found

a way to notate wh t they had heard. However, the notations were extremely diicult to

interpret and therefore this second part of the pilot study was modified for use in

Experiment 2 of the main study. An answer sheet was created which allowed for certain

tieeness in notation whiie providing guided instructions (see Appendix B). Alsu, initially

the tape was stopped between items in order to give children tirne to think and notate what

they had heard. With the modiied m e r sheet it was decided that for the main study the

tape would be lef€ running and that this was adequate tirne for the chiidren to notate their

answers. The procedures were sirnilar to those of the rnelodic test in the 6rst part of the

pilot study.

in summary, the fkst part of the pilot study was found appropriate for examining

chiidren's ability to iden* pitch direction. The procedures and test materials were kept

intact for Experiment 1 (Test i) of the main study with oniy the tape being technologically

improved. The second part of the pilot study proved diculties in both the procedures

and the answer sheet to properly examine chiidren's spontaneous notations of the same

melodic contours. These were modified for Experiment 2 (Test 2 and 3) of the main

study.

Main Study

The subjects were 506 children (267 boys and 239 girls) fiom grades 1 to 6 of a

city public school in Westmount, Montreal. There were 59 t k t graders, 98 second

graders, 97 third graders, 86 fourth graders, 80 tifth graders, and 86 sixth graders. AU

children received two 30-minute weekly sessions taught by a music specialist. Typical

activities for al1 grades included singing, Listening, playhg instruments (band Orff

instruments, and small percussion), and radmg music.

Stimuli and Expenmental Tape

The same melodic patterns (Table 1) and the same answer sheet (Appendix A)

used in the pilot study were used for Experiment 1 of the main study.

Experiment 1 (Tut 1)

AU testing was adrninistered in the month ofNovember of the school year. Each

grade level was tested in their classrooms by their music tacher and the investigator. The

children were told that the visitor in the class was a fnend that was helping out for the day.

This dowed the students to work in their regular environment without undue 3nxiety.

The test was administered in the sarne manner as in the piIot study. Once the

testing was completed, the answer sheets were coiiected and scored by the investîgator. A

score of one was &en for each correct answer and zero for every incorrect answer, the

maximum possible score behg 45.

Test 1 was readrninistered in Experiment 2 during the Spring term as Retest 1.

The main purpose of the study was to examine whether age had an effect on

children's discrimination of pitch direction. For statistical analysis, the average of each

pattern of the same direction was calcuIated, grouping the 45 test items into 15 categories.

This was done to d o w for cornparison between the dinerent contours, regardless of

intemi size.

Mean scores on each 2-note, 3-note, and &note patterns by grade level are

provided in Table 2. There is a clear trend toward higher overall scores at each

subsequent grade level. Tt is aiso clear that the 2; 3; and Csame patterns received the

highest scores.

Table 2. Mean pitch dscrinrinaîion scores by gr& lewl across fite I5 categories.

18 An ANOVA with repeated masures was performed for grade on each of the 15

categories. The resuIts indicaieci signifiant dineremes between the grade levels, the

stimuli, and a signifiant interaction between these f'actors (Table 3).

Table 3. ANOVA îable for O 2-factor repeaîedmeastaes: gr& (I-6) anàstrstrmuIus means (15 caîegories).

Source SumofSquares df Mean Square F P

Subjects 153.40 500 .3 1

Grade 94.42 5 18.88 61.55 <.O01

Category 38.39 14 2.74 60.26 <.O01

Grade by Category 13.21 70 .19 4.15 <.O01

Subjects by Category 3 18.54 7000 .O5

To examine the interaction between stimuli and grade levels a Tukey post hoc test

was conduaed (a=.05). Across aii 15 categoties grade L scored significantiy lower than

other grades. For the patterns 2-dom 2-same, 3-same, 3-down/same, 3-samddown, 4-

up, 4down, rlsame, and Csame/down first grade scored signïfiantiy lower than aii other

grades. For the patterns 2-up, 3-down, 3-samdup, 4-down/same, and Csarndup 6rst

grade scored significantly lower than grades 3,4,5, and 6. For the pattern 3-up first

grade scored significantiy Iower than grades 4,5, and 6. Aiso, second grade scored

significantly lower than subsequent grades on ail patterns except 3-dom in which it

scored significantly lower than grades 3,4 and 6,3-samddown in which it scored

sigdicantiy lower than grades 4, 5, and 6, and kame in which it did not score

si@cantly lower than any other grades. Third grade scored si@cantly lower than

grades 4, 5, and 6 on the pattern 4-samdup, si@cantly lower than grades 5 and 6 on the

19 pattern 3-sandiq1, and scored siMc* Io- than grade 6 on the patterns 4-

downlsame and 4 - d d o w n .

ûmd, grades 1,2, and 3 scored signincantly Iower tbpn their subsequeat grade

Ievels. Tbe graph in Figure 1 shows the clear dematkation of grades t,2, and 3 from the

highcr grades. Noticeably, the 2-, 3-, and Csame pattern aiways received the highest

scores. Also, difxirences among grade means h c r d with item S c u k y ( e.g, the

2- and Mown, 3- and 4-dodsame, and 3- and Csamefup patterns).

15 piMi dindon a ~ g o r i a s

20 In order to examine the di&renccs among the stimuli without taking gracie level

into account, a significance matrix based on Tukey cornparisons set at a=.05 was

conducted. The score for the 3-samdup pattern was sisnificantiy lower fiom ail other

patterns. Children scored significantly lower in the 3-dowdsame pattern than in ali other

patterns except Csamelup, 4-downlsame, 2 4 0 ~ 1 4 and 2-up. n ie Csamehp pattern

score was si@cantly lower than al1 patterns excep 4-dodsame, 2 4 0 ~ 1 4 2-up, and 4-

down The 2-up, 2-down, edown, and 4downlsame patterns were signüicantly lower

than the 3- and Cup, 3down, and the 2-, 3-, and Csarne patterns (Figures 2,3, and 4).

It was mspected that the more notes p m t e d the easier it would be to perceive

the melodic contour. Interestingly, number of notes did not necessady produce this

effect, as seen in Figure 3. W e same 3-note patterns were recognized more accurately

than the rlnote patterns, others were iiadeed recognized less accurately than their 4note

counterparts. It seems important to mention that the fluctuatin~ scores of the patterns

with sinùlar contours cannot be the resuit of order, because the melodic contours were

presented in random order within each 2-, 3-, and Cnote sections of the test (Table 1).

Figure 2. ûverall mean pitch rirsmcnimmîi*on scores acrm the I5 caregories.

Figure 3. Ovemlf mean pitch &scrimrircrlitm scores for the 3- and -te pcinem

Figure 4. Owrall meun pitch dscrimircan'tm scores ay:toss the 15 categories jrom lwest to highest score.

22 To examine whether number of notes and grade affecteci children's perception of

pitch direction, an ANOVA with repeated measures was performed for grade on number

of pitches (2-, 3-, or 4-note pattern) and direction (up, down, and same). The mixed

items of the 3- and +note patterns (dowdsame, samdup, and sarnddown) were not

included in this analysis because there were no mixeci items in the 2-note patterns. The

results indicated signi6cant differences between the grade levels, the number of pitches,

the direction, ail three 2-way interactions (grade by number ofpitches, grade by direction,

and number of pitches by dirdon), and between the 3-way interaction (grade by number

of pitches by direction) (Table 4).

Table 4. ANOVA table for a 3-factor repeated mearcrres: gr&, number of pitches (3 levels), and direction of pattern (3 levels).

Source SumofSquares df Mean Square F P

Grade

Subjects

Number of pitches

Subjects by Pitches

Direction

Subjects by Direction

Grade by Pitches

Grade by Direction

Pitches by Direction

Grade by Pitches by Direction

Subjects by Pitch by Direction

Post-hoc analyses were conducted using Tukey's tasb for multiple cornparisons

(a=.05), Grades 1 and 2 scored signiscantiy lower than aii other subsequent grades

23 across the 2-, 3-, and 4-pitch patterns. Grade 3 scored s ign indy lower tban grades 4,

5, and 6 on the Cpitch patterns and lower tfian grade 6 on the 3-pitch patterns, Grades 1

and 2 scored signrficantly lower than al1 0 t h grades on d3 directions of patterns (up,

down, same). Paired t-tests showed signiscant d8krences for aii pitch and direction

combiions except for the dom and samddown patterns.

Mean scores by grade lm1 for each 2-, 3-, and Cnote patterns, dong with the up,

down, and same directions are provided in Table 5 . The 3- and 4-pitch patterns received

higher overall mean scores than the Zpitch pattern Within the directional patterns the

"same" pattern received the highest overall mean score.

Table 5. Mem pitch ~scritniMfiiMfion scores by pu& levei for mrrnber of pztches tmddrection.

In order to determine any différences between how chiidren discriminate between

the duectionai patterns up, down, dodsame3 samdup, and samefdown, an ANOVA with

repeated masures was perfonned on direction using al1 patterns (up, down, same,

down/same3 samdup, and samddown) and number of pitches using only the 3- and Cnote

patterns. The Znote pattern was not inciuded in this analysis because there were no

mixed items ( e-g., dowdsame, samehp, and samddown) in the 2-note part of the test.

24 The d t s indicated si@cant Herences between grade levels, direction, the three 2-

way interactions of grade by number of pitches, grade by direction, and number of pitches

by direction, and the 3-way interaction of grade by number of pitches by direction. No

significance was found for the main efF'ect of number of pitches (Table 6).

Table 6. ANOVA table for a 3=$acfor repeaied measirres: gr&, nummmiber of pitches (2 levek), and directim of partent (6 levels).

Source Sum of Squares df Mean Square F P

Grade 71.39 5 14.28 53.66 <.O01

Subjects 133.04 500 -27

Number of pitches .13 1 -13 2.98 .OS5

Subjects by Pitches 22.04 500 .O4

Direction 29.15 5 5.83 114.27 <.O01

Subjects by Direction 127.55 2500 .O5

Grade by Pitches 1.46 5 .29 6.63 <.O01

Grade by Direction 6.48 25 .26 5.08 <.O01

Pitches by Direction 3 -64 5 -73 20.94 <.O01

Grade by Pitches by Direction 3.05 25 .12 3.51 <.O01

Subjects by Pitch by Direction 86.84 2500 .O3

Post-hoc analyses were conducted using Tukey's tests for multiple cornparisons

(a = -05). Grade 1 scored signîficantly lower than aU other grades across di stimuli

except in the samehp pattern where the significant merence was reached with grade 3

and up. Grade 2 scored significantly lower than al1 subsequent grades across aii stimuli.

Grade 3 scored significantly lower than grades 4,s. and 6 in aü 4-pitch and the samdup

patterns, and reached a significant ciifference with grade 6 scores on the 3-pitch pattern,

25 and the down/same and samddown patterns.

Mean scores by grade level for each 2; 3; and +note pattern, dong with each of

the six directions are provideci in Table 7. The similar mean scores of the 3- and 4- pitch

patterns can be seen here. In the unidiredional patterns ( i-e., up, down, same) the higtiest

o v d mean score was for the "same" pattern. in the mixed patterns the highest overall

mean score was for the samddown pattern.

Table 7. Mean pitch àiscncnminahon scores by gracie level for 3- d 4- pitches d aii atrectio11~~

26 For cornparisons between the patterns with similar contours but different interval

feaps the means for each of the 45 test items across aü the grades were caiculated (Table

8). Interestingiy, patterns with wider intervals usually received higher scores than simiiar

pattern wiîh smaller intervals. For example, CG versus CE, GCC versw GEE or ECC,

GGC versus GGE, GCCC versus GEEE.

Table 8 Mem pitch discnscnmi'on scores by grade level for al1 45 test items.

Paired t-tests for sirnilar contour patterns were calculated. Only the diffErences

which were sigdïcant are included in Table 9.

Table 9. Sigqtîcant t-tests fotrnd for paired sampIes with similm contours.

2up CE .74 3samdup EEG .7 1

.39 2.49 .O13 3samJup CCE .65 4 =Jup EEGC' .77

.4 1 4.39 <.O0 1 4 samchip EEEG .68 ~ U P CG .87

.5 4.07 c.00 I

2up CE .74 3 samd&wn GGE .83

25 5.27 c.00 1 3 samchip EEG .7 1 4 u ~ EN' E' .86

.2 1 2.77 -006 4 d o ~ n EVGE .81 4 u ~ CE& .88

.46 3.77 <.O0 1 4 dom C'GEC .81 3Qwnlsame GCC .88

.29 4.06 <.O0 1 3down/98m~ GEE .%O 3&wn/same GCC .88

.15 12.50 <.O0 1 3 Qwnlsame ECC .57 3 down/sme GE. .80

.16 8.74 <.O0 1 3downlsamt ECC .57 ~si imeldo~n C~C'C'E .92

.36 5.42 <.a0 1 4 d Q w EEEC .83 4 d Q m GGGC .9 1

.35 4.47 -=.a0 l 4siimJdrnm EEEC .83 4downlsame GCCC .85

.I4 10.37 t O O I 4down/s~mc ECCC .59

29 4dowal- GCCC .85

.26 4.27 <.O0 1 4dowalsame GEEE -76 4down/snmc GEEE .76

.26 6.81 <.O0 1 4dodsame ECCC -59 4 d d o m clc lc l~ .92

27 7.05 ~ . 0 0 1 4samJdom GûEC .78 4slimeldom EEEC .83

.30 4.62 <.O0 1 4 d d o w 1 1 C ~ ~ E C -73 4 W d o m EEEC -83

.26 2.03 .O43 4sameidom MEC -78 4 d d o m C'C'C'E -92

.16 8.9 1 c.00 1 4 samddowu C'C'EC .73 4SBmeldom GGGC .9 1

.27 6.23 t 0 0 l 4samJQm GûEC .78 4 d d o w n GGGC .9 1

.20 8.28 <.O0 1 ~ S ~ ~ J Q W I ~ C'C'EC .73 4 d Q m GGGC .9 1

.34 7.73 <.O0 1 4 ~ 1 1 d d o ~ n C'C'GE -76 4samddown EEEC .83

.3 3 3.41 .O0 1 4~amc/down CVGE -76 4down/~~rne GCCC .85

.28 3.7 1 c.00 1 4 d o W ~ ~ r n e GECC .78 4down/seme GCCC .85

.16 7.0 1 al0 1 4downlsame ECCC 39 4dowalsame C'ECC .80

25 8.47 <.O0 1 4downlsame ECCC .59 4downlsame C'GEE 3 2

2 1 9.30 c.00 1 4down(58me ECCC .59 4 d o w n / ~ ~ 1 ~ ~ C'GEE -82

.24 167 .O08 4down/same GEEE -76

Experiment 2 (Retcst 1, Tm 2, and Tut 3)

The purpose of Experiment 2 was two-fold; (1) to have the same children take the

same test a few months later to examine any changes in their ability to perceive pitch

direction (Retest l), and (2) to study the ab@ to represent pitch direction across grade

levels (Test 2 and 3).

The sarne classes which participated in the Experiment 1 participated in

Experiment 2. Sixty-five childm were absent dwing the second experiment; 11 fht

graders, 6 second graden 14 third graders, 6 fowth graders, 14 fifth graders, and 14 sixth

graden. This left a total of 441 subjects (217 boys and 224 girls); 161 chiidren took

Retest 1, 135 took Test 2, and 145 took Test 3.

Stimuli and Experimentai Tape

The experimental tape used in Experiment 1 wnh the 45 melodic patterns having

2-, 3-, or 4notes was aiso used for this study (Table 1).

AU testing was administered in the Spring term, approdtely 5 months afler the

administration of Test 1 in Experiment 1. The multiple choice answer sheet used in

Experiment 1 was also used for Retest 1 in this experhent (Appendk A). The answer

sheet used for Test 2 and 3, however, was altered in order to aüow children to notate the

stimuli themselves. in the altered anmer sheet each item was presented by one mpty box

3 1 with ody doîted lines dividing the box in either 2,3, or 4 sections. Each section

wrresponded to each pitch of the melodic pattern (see Appendix B). The children were

asked to place a dot in each section of the box, each dot representing one pitch, in the

same way that the notes were played. In Test 2 the instructions guided the chiIdren by

giving hints as to how the notes were movhg; "Are they going up, down, or staying the

same?" Also, fier each triai (one trial for each 2-, 3-, and 4pitch section) the answer as

to where the child should have placed their dots in each of the d~sions of the box were

given. In Test 3 the children were also asked to place a dot in each section of the box but

were not guided as to how to do so and were not given any m e r s &er each trial. The

exact same recordhg was used for both Test 2 and 3 except that parts of the instructions

were omited for Test 3.

Once the testing was completed, the answer sheets were collecteci and scored by

the investigator. A score of one was given for each correct answer and zero for every

incorrect answer, the maximum possible score behg 45. Tests 1,2, and 3 were ail graded

in this manner.

Experiment 2: Retest 1

The purpose of Retest 1 was to have the same children take the same test a few

months later to examine any changes in their abiiity to perceive pitch direction For

statistical analysis, the average of each pattern of the same direction was caiculated,

grouping the 45 test items into 15 categories. As in Experiment 1, this was done to aiiow

for cornparison between the ciiffirent contours, regardlas of interval sUe.

In order to compare mean scores for Test 1 of the Faii term (Experiment 1) and of

the Spring terrn (Experiment 2) the mean scores for each Znote, 3-note, and 4-note

patterns by grade levet for both Test 1 and Retest 1 are provideci in Table 10. T-tests for

paired samples between Test 1 and Retest 1 were calcuIated. Bold scores uidicate a

significant Merence (a=. 05).

Table 10. Mean scores by gr& level for both Test I and Retest 1 acrosr the 15 uttegories.

4up 4 h 4.ramt 4Qwd- 4- 4ssmetdown

Note. Bc

J4 49 .74 .86 .79 .71 .78 .81 .81 .88 .47 .n .43 .43 .67 .75 .62 6 7 .40 3 9 -78 .û4 58 .71 A7 57 .56 .6â 58 A9 I smres indic;

-80 . 811a9 96191 95 Pnences between hperhent 1 : Test i and

OvonO. ail Retest 1 scores exccpt for the 4-up pattern wcre bigha tban Test 1

scores* Furthmore, the mean di&rence between the w tests for each melodic sontour

was very cunsistent as shom in Figure 5. Pattems tht w m difiicuit for the cMdren to

perceive in Test 1 were again for hem in the Retest ( e.g., 3- and C d u p

pattern). Oae siight ciifference ihat is of interest is how II1 2-note patterns were

signüicantly higher in the Retest than in Test 1.

Figure 5. Toial mean pifch dscncnmimiion scores acrm the 15 categories fw Test I (iExpenmmt

An ANOVA with repeaîed masures was performed for grade on the scores in

each of the 15 aitegories. As with the r 4 t s obtained in the Fali, the results of the Spring

test indiateci si@cant cliûkmces between the grade levelq the stimuh, and between the

interaction of both (Table 1 1).

Table 1 1. ANOVA table for a 2-fitor repeated meosrrres: pack armdsrimuZus mem.

Source SumofSqwes df Mean Square F P

Subjects 47.23 155 .30

Grade 22-96 5 4.59 15.07 <.O01

Caîegory 7. 19 14 .5 1 14.14 <.O01

Grade by Category 4.73 70 .O7 1.86 <.O01

Subjects by Category 78.85 2170 .O4

Mean scores on each Znote, 3-note, and 4-note pattems by grade level are

provided in TabIe 12. There is a trend toward higher o v d means with higher grade

levels. hwrestingiy however, grade 3 scores do not follow this trend as cleariy as in

Experiment 1. In the Fali, each grade achiwed higher scores as each level increased. in

the West grade 2 achieved higher scores than grade 3 for eight of the pattems.

3 5 Table 12. Mean pitch dTsmCI?mination scores by perle level for Retesî 1 (Expriment 2).

To d e the interaction between stimuli and grade leveIs a Tukey post hoc test

was conducted (a=.05). As in Experiment 1, bt grade scored signincantiy Iower than aii

other grades across d stimuli. For the pattems 3-sarndup, 4-same , and 4-dom 6rst

grade scored sigriticantly lower than al1 subsequent grades. For the patterns 3-same, 3-

samddown and 4same/down, and Cdowdsame kt grade scorecl si@cantly lower than

. grades 2 , 4 5, and 6. F i i grade scored sigNscantly tower than grades 3,4,S, and 6 on

the 2- same pattern A h , grade 1 scored significantly lower than grades 4 and up oa ail

d e r patterns (2-up, 240- 3-up, 3 4 0 ~ 1 4 3downlsame, 4up, and 4samelup).

36 Second grade scored si@cantly lower 16an grades 4 on the 2down pattern, and lower

than grades 4 and 6 on the two patterns 2-up and 3-samelup. Third grade scored

significantly lower than grades 4,5, and 6 on the pattern 4-samdup, lower than grades 4

and 6 on the pattem rlsa.down, lower than grades 5 and 6 on the pattern 4-

dowdsame, and lower than p i e 6 on the pattern 3-samdup.

Overall, grade 1 scored significantly lower than d other grades, grade 2 scored

significantly lower than grades 4 and 6, and grade 3 scored sigrdicantiy lower than grades

4, S, and 6. As in Test 1 of Experllrient 1 the graph in Figm 6 shows a demarkation of

grades 1.2, and 3 h m the higher grades.

Figure 6. Mean pitch aFscnCtlmMon scores by gr& levd QCTOSS tk 15 degories (Retest 1).

1s pitch dinction cabgorkr

3 7 in order to compare mdodic contours without taking grade level into account

overall mean pitch disahination seores across a l 15 categories were reacfanged fiom

lowest to highest score as shown in Figure 7. Test 1 (Experiment 1) mean scores are

shown alongside each corresponding pattern for testIretest wmparisons. Noticeably, the

3- and 4- downlsame patterns rcceived higher scores in Retest 1. The 4-up pattern was

the only pattern receiving a higher score in Test 1 than in the Retest.

Figure 7. & r d mem pitch discrimination scores fw Retest 1 acrm the 15 cutegoriesfiom ltnvest to highest score @Zrperiment 2 : Retest 1) almg with corre~ponrlrng scoresj?otn Test I .

15 pitch direction cabgories (from lowst to highed score)

Expriment 2: Test 2

The purpose of Test 2 was to examine children's ability to represent pitch

direction across grade levels. This was examined by having the children write

spontaneous notations while being given some guidance (see Appendix B). As in

Experiment 1, the average of each pattern of the same direction was caiculated, grouping

the 45 test items into 15 categories.

Mean scores on each 2-note, 3-note, and &note patterns by grade level are

provideci in Table 13. As in Test 1 of Experiment 1 there is a clear trend toward higher

overail means at each subsequent grade level.

Table 13. Mean pitch diseriminrrtion scores &y grade level fur Test 2 @priment 2).

3 9 An ANOVA with repeated measwes was performed for grade on each of the 15

categones. As in Test 1, the results indicated significant difkences between the grade

levels, the stimuli, and between the interaction of both (Table 14).

Table 14. ANOVA table for a 2-foctor ropeated masures: gracie andstimulus mearts.

Source Sum of Squares dÏ Mean Square F P

Subjects 60.02 129 .47

Grade 33.63 5 6.73 14.46 <.O01

Category 1 1.65 14 .83 L9,20 <.O01

Grade by Category 6.25 70 .O9 2.06 <.O01

Subjects by Category 78.25 1806 .O4

To examine the interadon between stimuli and grade levels a Tukey post hoc test

was conducted (a=.05). F i grade scored significantly lower than al1 other grades

across al1 stimuli. For the patterns 2down and 2-same they were significantiy lower than

al1 other grades. For the following patterns grade 1 scored significantly lower than grades

3,4,5, and 6: 3down, 3-down~same, 3- and Csamdup. First grade scored significantly

lower than grades 4,5, and 6 on the patterns 2- and 3-up, 3- and Csamddown, and 4-

dodsame. Also, fùst grade scored lower than grades 4 and 5 on the 4same pattem,

lower than grade 5 on the 3-same pattem, lower than grades 5 and 6 on the Cdown

pattern, and lower than grade 6 on the 4-up pattern. Second grade scored significantiy

lower than grades 3,4, and 5 on the 3-dodsame pattern and lower than grades 4, 5, and

6 on the 3-up, 3-samdup, 3- and 4-sameldown, and 4-downlsame pattems. They scored

significantly lower than grade 4 on the 3down pattern, lower than grade 5 on the 2-up

pattem, lower than grades 5 and 6 on the 4down and the 4-samelup patterns, and lower

than grade 6 on the 4-up pattern.

40 Overali, grade 1 scoreci significantly lower than grades 3,4,5, and 6, and grade

2 lower than grades 4,5, and 6 (Figure 8). As found in Tesî 1, the 2-, 3; and 4-same

patterns consistently teeeived the highest scores. Also, ciifferences among grade means

increased with item diculty as seen in the 3- and 4-up and down patterns.

Figure 8. Meun pitch rh'scnscnminaton scores by gr& level ucrm the 15 categories (Tesî 2).

4 2 In order to examine how children discriminate between the directionai patterns

regardless of the number of pitches and between the number of pitches alone, the mean

scores by grade level for each 2-, 3-, and 4-note patterns dong with each of the six

directions are provided in Table 15.

Table 15. Méan pif ch rii's(:riminuîion scores by gr& Iewl for mcniber of pifches and drection

The scores of the spontaneous notations of the children show larger differences

between the 2-, 3-, and Cpitch patterns than they did in the multiple choice Test (Test 1 )

while keeping the order of accuracy the same. Arnong the d i i o n a l patterns, there are

no clear trends in the results except that the "same" pattern invariably received highest

scores.

42 in order to compare the patterns with similar contours but different interval

leaps, the means for each ofthe 45 test items across al1 the grades were caiculated

(Table 16).

Table 16 Mean pitch discrimination scores by gr& level for al1 45 test items (Test 2).

To determine whether mean scores were dierent between the multiple choice test

(Test 1) and the test whm they had to notate what they heard (Test 2), a repeated

measures ANOVA was performed for grade on the two test types (Experiment 1 : Test 1

and Expen'ment 2 : Test 2). Results showed a significant difference between grades and

test items. Two of the three two-way interactions were significant; grade by test item and

test item by test type. The three-way interaction of grade by test item by test type was

aiso significant. No significant differences were found for test type nor the interaction of

grade by test type (Table 17).

44 Table 17. NOVA ta6le fw u 3-fî tor repeated memures: gracie, sîimhrs meanr, and tesî type (2 levels; Expriment I : Test 1 d&periment 2 : Test 2).

Source - -

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F P

W e

Subjects

Test items

Subjects by Test items

Test l/Test 2

Subjects by Test l/rest 2

Grade by Test item

Grade by Test lrïest 2

Test items by Test 1fTest 2

Grade by Items by T I/T 2

Subjects by Items by Test ln'est 2

45 Mean scores for each 2-note, 3-note and Cnote patterns by grade Ievel for both

Experiment 1 : Test 1 and Experiment 2 : Test 2 are provideci in Table 18. T-tests for

paired sarnples between Test 1 and Test 2 were calculated. Bold scores indicate a

signifiant dierence ( ~ - 0 5 ) .

Table 18. Mean pitch discrimination scores by grade for both Erperiment I : Test 1 and Experiment 2 2 Tesi 2 across the 15 degories.

Nok. Boid mres indicate siguikant Wer~nces between -riment 1 : Test 1 and Experin scores for that paneni (a=.05)

OveralI, Test 2 scores were slightly higher than Test 1 (Experiment 1) except for

the very tow scores of the 3- and 4-up pattern as well as the 3- and 4-down pattern as

shown in Figure 9.

46 Figun 9. Totai mean pitch dscrihinution scwes m s s h 15 caregories for Expen'ment I : Test 1

To determine whether mean scores were different between the multiple choice test

(Retest 1) that the children wrote in Experiment 2 and the test where the other cfddren

were asked to notate what they heard (Test 2 of Experiment 2), an ANOVA with repeated

measures was performed for grade on the two test types. Results showed a significant

difference between grade, test type, and test items. Two of the three two-way interactions

were significant; grade by test items and test type by test items. The three-way

interaction of grade by test item by test type was also sigaificant. No significant

difference was found for the interaction of grade by test type (Table 19).

47 Table 19. ANOVA bble for a 3-factor repeated measures: gr&, siimuhrs means, and test type (2 levels; Experïment 2 : Retest I and Test 2).

-~

Source Sum ofsquares df Mean Square F P

Grade 53.42 5 10.68 28.29 <.O01

Subjecîs 107.25 284 0.38

Test items 15.08 14 1.08 27.25 <.O01

Subjects by Test items 157. IO 3976 0.04

Test type 3.25 1 3.25 8.61 .O04

Grade by Test items 6-77 70 0.10 2.45 <.O01

Grade by Test type 2.99 5 0.60 1.58 .165

Test items by Test type 4.19 14 0.30 7.57 <.O01

Grade by Items by Test type 4.03 70 0.06 1.46 .O08

Mean scores for each 2-note, 3-note and Cnote patterns by grade level for both

Retest 1 and Test 2 of Experiment 2 are provideci in Table 20. T-tests for paired samples

between Retest 1 and Test 2 were calculaied. Bold scores indicate a significant

difference (a=. 05).

48 Table 20. Mean pitch discriminution scores by grade for both Retest I and Test 2 of @eriment 2 mrm the 15 megories.

Note. Bald scores indicate significant différences ktween Rem 1 aod Test 2 of Experimmt 2 for that parti& pattern (p.05).

2-note up and down paaerns, the 3 - d u p patteni, and the Csame pattern Pigure IO).

Figure 10.

ToloI mem pitch &en-rnmation scores across the 15 d e g o r i s fw Retesî I mi Test 2 of Eirperimenf 2.

Resuits

Experiment 2: Test 3

The purpose of Test 3 was to examine children's ability to represent pitch

direction across grade levels. This test resembIed Test 2 except that the children did not

receive guidance as to how to notate the melodic contours.

Al1 subjects participating in this study were involved in two tests; Test 1 in

Experiment 1 and either Test 1,2, or 3 of Experiment 2. The grade 1 students who took

Test 3 had not taken Test 1 of Experiment 1 and were therefore excluded 6om al1 results

in this following section. As in the previous tests the average of each pattern was

caIculated, grouping the 45 test items into 15 categorïes for comparison between the

different contours regardIess of interval size. An ANOVA with repeated measures was

performed for grade on each of the 15 categories. As in al1 previous tests these results

indicated significant ciifferences between grade leveis, the stimuli, and between the

interaction of both (Table 21).

Table 2 1. RN0 VA table for a 2-factor repeared ineanrres:gra& (2-6) anci stimufus m e m .

Source Sum of Squares cf Mean Square F P

Subjects 68-76 140 -49

Grade 10.72 4 2.68 5.46 <.O01

Category 13.78 14 .98 20.50 <.O01

Grade by Category 4.73 56 .O8 1.76 .O01

Subjects by Category 94.14 1960 .O5

Mean scores on each 2-note, 3-note, and Cnote patterns by grade level are

provided in Table 22.

Table 22. Mean pitch discncnmniation scores by grade lm1 for Test 3 (Expmment 2).

To examine the interaction between stimuli and grade levels a Tukcy post hoc test

was conducted (a=.OS). Second grade scored signif~cantly lower than fifth grade on the

2-same pattern and lower than sixth grade on the 3-up, 3-sarndup, 4up, and 4down

patterns. Second grade also scored significantly Iower than grade 4,5, and 6 on the 4-

dodsame, 4-samdup, and the Csarne/down patterns. Third grade scoreci signifîcantly

lower than sixth grade on the patterns Cup, Cdown/same, Csamelup, and Csamddown.

Overall grade 2 scored significantly lower than grades 4,5, and 6, and grade 3

lower than grade 6 (Figure II).

Figure 1 1. Mean pitch dscninikation scores &y gr& lewl acrw the 15 categories (Test 3).

in order to examine how chiIdren discriminate between the directionai patterns

regardless of the number of pitches and vice versa, the mean scores by grade level for

each 2-, 30, and 4-note patterns dong with each ofthe six directions are provided in

Table 23.

53 The mean scores of Test 3 resemble the scores of both Test 1 and Test 2. Here

however the grade 5 scores are weaker overall.

Table 23. Mean pitch discrimination scores by gr& Ievel for mmtber ofpitche and direction (Tesi 3)-

To determine whether mean scores of the test in which children had a choice of

answers (Test 1) and the test in which they had to notate what they had heard (Test 3), a

repeated measures ANOVA was performed for grade on the two test types (Experiment

1; Test 1 Experiment 2; Test 3). Results showed a signifiant difference between grades

and test items as well as test type. Two of the three two-way interactions were

signifiant; grade by test item and test item by test type. No signifiant differences were

found for the interaction of grade by test type nor the three-way interaction of grade by

test item by test type (Table 24).

54 Tabfe 24. AEJOVA table for a 3-factor winqated mwnrtes: gr&, stzariemuius means, and test type (2 ZeveIS; Erpen'menz I : Tesi I and Eicperiment 2 : Test 3).

Source Sum of Squares df Mean Square F P

Grade 24.63 4 6.16 11.15 <.O01

Subjects 77.30 140 0.55

Test items 15.73 14 1.12 25.71 <.O01

Subjects by Test items 85.62 1960 0.04

TestRetest 1.40 1 1.40 8.70 .O04

Subjects by TestRetest 22.5 1 140 0.16

Grade by Test items 6.73 56 0.12 2.75 <.O0 1

Grade by Test/Retest .27 4 0.07 .43 .790

Test items by Test/Retest 6.6 1 14 0.47 12.34 <.O01

Grade by Items by Test/Retest 2.65 56 0.05 1 -24 -114

Subjeas by Items by 75.0 1 1960 0.04 T m e t e s t

Mean scores for each 2-note, 3-note and +note patterns by grade level for bctth

Experiment 1; Test 1 and Experiment 2; Test 3 are provided in Table 25. The t-tests for

paired samples between Test 1 and Test 3 were calculated. Bold scores indicate

signifiant differences (a=.OS).

Table 25. Mean pitch d i s c n ' m ~ o n scores by grade for both Experiment I : Test l rmd Ejcpen'ment 2 : Test 3 ac tw the IS caiegories.

I

Rxences between Experiment 1 : Test I Experbent 2 : Tcst 3 scores for that pattan @=.Of)

Overall, Test 3 scores of Experiment 2 were lower than Test 1 scores of

Experiment I except for the 3-note mixed items and the Csame pattern. The total mean

pitch discrimination scores for the two tests were somewhat similar though scores were

very low for both the 3- and 4note up and down patterns for Test 3 as shown in

Figure 12.

Interestingly, the fact that the scores for these two tests were so similar for the

"easy" items ( e.g., 2-note patterns and all same-note patterns) it seems safe to say that

when children can perceive pitch direction they can use either spontaneous or multiple

choice responses.

56 Figure 12. Total mean pitch dscrimintttion =ores clcth~s the 15 categories for Ekpiment 1 : Tm 1 and Experiment 2 : Test 3.

To determine whether mean scores were different between the test where children

were given some guidance as to how to notate the pitches they heard (Test 2) and the test

where they were given no hints (Test 3) an ANOVA with repeated measures was

performed for grade and test type on the 15 melodic contours. Results showed a

significant difference between grade levels, test items, and the 2-way interaction of grade

by test items. No significant difference was found for the main effect of test type, the 2-

way interactions of grade by test type and test type by test items, nor the 3-way

interaction of grade by test type by test items (Table 26).

57 Table 26. N O V A table for a 3-fcrctor repeaed measures; gr& (2-6). strstrmuItis nteanr, mi test &yp (Erperirnen~ 2; Test 2 and 3).

Source Sum of Squares df Mean Square F P

Grade 24.79 4 6.20 14.71 <.O01

Subjects 105.73 25 1 0.42

Test items 21.30 14 1.52 34.32 <.O01

Subjects by Test items 155.77 3514 0.04

Test type 1.53 I 1-53 3 -64 .O57

Grade by Test items 6.13 56 0.11 2.47 <.O01

Grade by Test type .29 4 0.07 .17 .95 1

Test items by Test type -50 14 0.04 .8 1 ,662

Grade by Items by Test type 2.3 8 56 0.04 .96 ,560

Mean scores for each 2-note, 3-note and Cnote patterns by grade level for both

Test 2 and 3 are provided in Table 27. The t-tests for paired samples between Test 2 and

Test 3 were dculated. Bold scores indicate significant differences (a=.05).

Aithough overall scores were higher in Test 2 than in Test 3, it would seem that

giving some guidance or none at al1 makes Lile difference in the performance of

children's ability to represent pitch direction as only three of the 15 categories elicited

significant differences.

5 8 Table 27. Mean pitch discrimination scores by gr& for both Test 2 and 3 of Expriment 2 acrosr

Note. BoId seores iadicate significant differences betwee Test 2 for

In order to examine trends betwan the scores for ail three tests in Expcriment 2

(Retest 1, n=l6 1 ; Test 2,n=135 ; Test 3, ~ 1 4 5 ) the total mean pitch discrimination

scores were graphed across the 15 categories (Figwe 13).

Figure 13. Total mean pitch &mcnmination scores across the 15 categones for Ejlpenmenî 2; Retest 1, T& 2, and Test 3.

The multiple choice test Pest 1) generdly received higher scores, especially for

the following patterns : 3- and 4-up, 3- and qdown, 3- and 440wn/same, and the 4-

samddown patterns. As for the two spontaneous notation tests Pest 2 and Test 3) there

was a strong consistency between the overall scores.

60 Mean seores of the 15 categories for al1 grades across all test types, both

Experiment I and 2, are shown in Table 28. Alsa included are the means for each 2; 3;

and Cnote patterns dong with each of the six directions. The means were ody

caladateci for the subjects b t took part in both expefiments. Thou* grade 1 means for

Test 3 were not caIculated b r any statistical tests involving Test 3, al1 other grade 1

scores that were used in above calculaiions are included h m .

6 1 Table 28.

Mean pitch discrimination s c m s by gr& for Er;periment 1 I 2 fw the 15 categories, for mmrber of pitches, dandfiK direction.

62 For overall cornparisons between grade levels for ExpMment 1 subjects

(N=441) and the same subjects for Experiment 2 pst-hoc anaiysis w m perforrned using

Tukey's test. In Experiment 1, grade 1 scores were significantly lower than al1 other

grades, grade 2 2 m were signifïcandy lower îhan p d s r 3,4,5, and 6, and grade 3

scores were significantly lower than grades 4,s. and 6. In Experiment 2, grade 1 scores

were significantly Iowa than ail other grades, and grade 2 and 3 scores were significaatly

lower than grades 4, 5, and 6.

The total mean pitch discrimination scores across the 15 categories for

Expenment 1 and Expriment 2 (N=441) were overail similar as shown in Figure 14.

The clearest differences were in the 3- and 4-up and the 3- and 4-down patterns, as weil

as, the 3-samdup pattern

Figure 14. Total means scores across the 15 caiegories for Ex,penment 1 and ail Tests of Eqxriment 2 (N=441).

Total mean pitch discrimination scores h r each 2-, 3-, and Cnote patterns

dong with each of the six directions for Expairnent 1 and Experiment 2 (N=441) also

had overail similar means with the exception of the up pattern as shown in Figure 15.

Figure 15. Total mean scores for each 2-, 3-, and 4mte potrems dong with each of tk six directions for Erperiment 1 I E q d m i m e n t 2 (N=44l).

Al1 mean pitch discrimination scores for Experiment 1 (Test 1) and Experiment 2

(Retest 1, Test 2, and Test 3) for the 15 categories, number of pitches, and direction are

presented in Table 29.

Discussion

The mlts of this study support previous findings that as children get oldw their

a b ' i at auditory tasks in-. The tasks ustd in this study were based on the

identification of pitch direction of 2-, 3-, and Cpitch patterns using both a multiple-choice

and a spontaneous notation test format. The developmental process seems to have an

e W on how children perceive and represent pitch direction since the means showed a

trend of increasing scores with each subsequent grade level in all four tests of the siudy.

Grade 1 achieved the lowest mean scores in al1 the melodic patterns, and grade 2 and 3

achieved significantiy lower mean scores than the older children on most melodic patterns.

No signifiant differences were found in the mean scores of children in grades 4 and older

implying that a plateau might be reached around the age of nine. Aiâhough one sixth-

grader achieved a very low overall score of 39%, most achieved scores higher than 90%.

The resuks of subsequent increases in means fiom grades 1 to 6 are present across

aiI the tests t h the chiidren took. This trend was found in the muitiple-choice test in both

Experiment 1 and 2 (Test 1 and Retest 1), which were administered 5 months apart. This

trend was again found in both spontaneous notation tests (Test 2 and 3). interestingly,

when examining the scores between the categories within each grade level the difference

between the mean scores for each melodic contour is much larger within the scores of the

younger children than the oIder ones.

The scores of the younger students are not oniy generdy Iower than the older

shidents but they also clearIy show larger fierences in scores berneen the melodic

patterns (Figure I,6,8, 11). The dierence among grade means for each meIoclic pattern

inmeases with the difliculty ofthe item. The mean scores for the pattern Csamdup

inmeases more drash'dy for each grade than, for example, the "same" patterns which

eiicited many accurate responses : 4-sarndup pattern : grade 1 = -49, grade 2 = 58,

grade 3 = -73, grade 4 = -86, grade 5 = -90, and grade 6 = -92; Csarne pattern : grade 1 =

-74, grade 2 = -90, grade 3 = -95, grade 4 = -97, gmde 5 = -97, grade 6 = -98 (Tabk 2)-

When the meiodic pattem is casier, the younger chiidren di have more dÏfEcuity in

66 perceiving pitch direction than the older chiidren, but the différence is lesser than with a

difliicult item, as seen with the Csame pattern.

lnitially, it was thought that the chüdren in grade one would have a disadvanrage

over the older chiidren in writing the pitch discrimination test because at the beginning of

the school year they were still not tiiily at ease with reading and writinp; skills. They did

not yet have the instilled reaction to read or mite 6om left to right and would in turn

commit an error when reaiiy the error could have been due to the direction the pattern was

read. By the t h e the îirst-graders took the test again in Mwch this should have no longer

been a problern. in îàct, the results did show an increase in their scores. However, since

the mean scores increased across al1 grades, it is diicuit to determine ifthe improvement

was the result of properly reading the pattern fiom left to right or, like the other chiidren,

an increase in the ability to perceive the pitch d i i o n .

As rnentioned above, Ers-graders are d l getting acquainted with the left to right

spatial concept used in reading and wciting. In the present study this concept was

important since it involveci both reading and writing the iconic representations of the

melodic pattern. In the multiple choice test (Test 1) ofken errors came fiom choosing the

contour which was the reversed pattern. For example, Uistead of choosing 2-up they

chose 2-down. in the fiee notation tests (Test 2 and 3) this also occured. ifthe melodic

pattern was 2-up, they wrote for an answer Z-down . Interestingly, chiidren up

to grade 5 made this type of reversal error suggesting that lack of fiuniliarity with readiig

6om left to right is not the only reason for the [ower grade one scores.

Possible reasons for the o v d higher mean scores in Retest 1 than in Test 1 could

be due to development or fidiarity with the test. in examining the possibility of a

developrnentai trend the foiiowùig data is of interest. Retest 1 mean scores for a particular

grade generally resemble the Test 1 mean scores of the grade above. For example, the

mean score for the 3-same pattern for grade 1 in Retest 1 is .88. For this same pattern in

Test 1 grade 2 children scored -91 and performed vecy closely to the grade 3 means in

their Retest; -97 versus .98 (Table 10). By grade 4 a plateau is reached for this item where

di higher levels achieved a perfect score of 1.00. However, ail grades achieved generally

higher mean scores in the Retest. It is likeiy that both development and fimiiiarity are

67 involved. in lwking at the mean scores in grades 1 to 4 for the 2down pattern there is

clear evidence of impmvement for the Retest scores. In this case though, the Retest

scores exceed the Test 1 scores of the next grade up: grade 1 = O .34, (R) -69; grade 2 =

Cr) .63, (R) -79; grade 3 = (J') -74, (R) -86; grade 4 (T) -8 5, (R) .98 (Table 10).

In Test 2 of E x p h e n t 2, the children's task was more di£Ecuit t h in Test 1

since they no bnger had a choice of answers but rather had to produce their own

representation of what they had heard. The mean scores, however, foUowed the same

rising trend fiorn grade 1 to 6 as in Test 1 of Experiment 1. Furthemore, no significant

cîiEerences were found ketween the two tests across any ofthe grades, showing very

simiiar mean scores between the two tests. When cornparhg Test 2 to Retest 1 in

Experiment 2 the trend of increasing scores fiom grade 1 to 6 is still apparent (Table 20).

It would seem that chiidren are able to perceive and represent pitch direction with similar

ease and that the developmental process for both tasks is comparable.

As in Tests 1 and 2, in Test 3, in which children were asked to spontaneously

notate what they had heard but without guideci instructions, there is agah a trend in

Uicreasing scores m s s grade ievels, with a plateau reached by grade 4. Given that in the

pilot test the task of representing the melodic contours without any specitic instructions

was veiy dif6cult for the chiidren it was expected that Test 3 scores would be lower than

Test 2 scores. Althou@ this was found to be tme, only three significant digerences were

found between the two tests across any of the grades (Table 27). in fact, mean scores of

the two tests were quite similar (Table 27 and 28). In this study, giving children some

guidance as to how to notate the pitches, as in Test 2, or giving them none at ail, as in

Test 3, made tittle Merence in their performance. However, al1 chiidren had been

exposed to the same initial test procedures when taking the multiple-choice test (Test 1) in

November, Surprisingly, not ail children remembered the tkst test they had written (Test J I) for rorne represented the pitchep by drawing quarter-note kons ( J ) instead of dots.

From the spontaneous notation tests (Test 2 and 3) it is easy to determine which melodic

contours were most di8ticult for the children to perceive. Lowest overail mean scores in

Test 2 and 3 alike were the 3- and 4-up, 3- and edown, 4-down/same, and 4-samdup

patterns. (Figure 13).

68 in examining the melodic patterns used in this study, general similarities were

found regardless of test type. Of interest was the decrease in scores across ail the grades

for the 3-note samdup pattem as shown in Figure 4 and 7. These low scores also o w e d

in the Cnote samdup pattem with the younger grades (Figure 1,6,8). Researchen have

found that children tend ta have more difiïculty singing in tune ascendiig patterns than

descending ones (Ramsey, 1983). Perhaps this is due ta chiidrenls dicuity in perceiving

ascendiig pitch direction. This is dicult to justifl however, because the 2-, 3-, and 4-up

patterns in this study were not necessarily found to be more dicul t to perceive than the

dom patterns. Though the same stimuli were used for d tests in this study, the items

were randomly ordered deleting the possible cause of order effect. Further research is

recommended to determine whether these hdimgs are unique to the present study and

why they occurred.

in comparing the mean scores between the six directions (up, down, same,

downhne, samdup, sameldown), regardless of number of notes, the "same" pattem was

always the one which was identifieci and represented more easily. The average scores

across grade Ieveis for the "same" pattem were as follows : Test 1 = 93% (Table 5) ;

Retest 1 = 96% (Figure 7) ; Test 2 = 96% (Table 15) ; Test 3 = 96% (ïable 23). ûther

than the "samel' pattem the other contours do not offer any clear trends. In examining the

mean scores in Table 29 it generally seems like the same-up, up, and dom-same pattem

are more dicul t for the children to perceive than the down and same-down pattern.

From the comparisons of the mean scores between the 2-, 3-, and Cnote pattem

it is unclear whether number of notes has any effect on childrensl ability to perceive pitch

direction. In examining the overall means for both Experiment 1 and 2 it wouid seem that

the 2-pitch items were slightly easier (Figure 15). Significance was found in the multipie-

choice test (Test 1) when comparing ail three kinds of patterns. Overall mean scores for

the 2-, 3-, and Cpitch patterns were -85, -90, and .87 respectively. These means included

oniy the scores for the "up", "down", and "same" patterns (Table 5)- suggesting that for

unidireciional patterns the 2-pitch pattern is the most dficult. No diierence wa. found

when comparing the 3- and Cnote patterns, which included mixed patterns (Table 7),

suggesting that giving chiidren more information does not necessarily yield better

69 responses. However, in the spontaneous notation tests (Test 2 and 3), the 2-pitch pattern

eiicited higher scores than the 3- then Cpitch patterns (Table 16 and 24), regardless of

whether the mixed items of 3 and 4 pitches were included in the comparisons. One reason

that no definite speculations regardmg the effect of number of notes can be made is due to

a problem in the initiai design of the study. AU children received the same order of test

items. Part 1 of the test began with aü the 2-note patterns, Part 2 continued with the 3-

note patterns, and Part 3 with the Cnote patterns. Furthemore, the order of the items

within each section never changed. Even if children did 6nd the 2-note patterns easier,

getting accustomed to the test itself may have caused them to make errors which they

wouid not have made if they were M e r dong in the test. Without a random order given

to each class within each grade of the three sections of the test and a random order of the

stimuli within each section, the effect of order of stimulus cannot be verifïed.

The meiodic patterns chosen for this study consisted of two, three, or four notes

taken h m the C major chord. The six contours chosen were up, down, same,

domisame, samdup, samddown. AU items were derived from these contours, each

having different intervais. For example, the intervals used for the pattern 2-up were a

major 3* (CE) and a p e r f i 5* (CG). When examinhg imervd sizu between patterns

with sirnilar contours a few trends were observed. The most recuning trend was found in

melodic patterns with large interval sizes. Many of these items elicited higher scores than

melodic patterns with Small intervals. This supports previous hâings that children's

ability to perceive the direction of a melody is a fiinction of the size of the rnelodic intervai

(Bentley, 1966; Dueii & Anderson, 1967; Wtlliarns, 1990). This large interval trend was

found in the overail mean scores of the 2-note patterns. For example, CG = .87 versus CE

= .74 and GC = .90 versus EC = -86 (Tables 8 and 16). Aiso, when comparing 3-note

items which incIuded the perfect 5' with items having srnaiier intemis, it was found that

larger intervai contours elicited higher mean scores. For example, GCC = -88 versus GEE

= -80; and GCC = .88 versus ECC = -57. In the Cnote items the foiiowhg examples 1 1 1 reinforces this trend : C C C E = -92 versus EEEC = -83; GGGC = -91 versus EEEC =

-83; GCCC = -85 versus GEEE = -76 (Table 9). in the samddown contour what

seemed to help perceive direction more eady was the initial stableness of the pattern. The

70 fact that the note was repeated either 2 or 3 times before movhg down seemed to have

helped the children. For example, GGC = -86 versus GC = -8 1 and EEC = -88 versus EC

= -80 (Table 8). When the repeated (Le., same) note was presented at the end of the

pattern, as in the down/sarne pattern, the stability factor no longer seemed effechve. For

exampfe, GGE = .83 versus GEE = ..80; EEC = .88 versus ECC = -57; EEEC = .83

versus ECCC = -59; GGGC = -91 versus GCCC = -85 (Table 8). Further examination of

the data regarding interval size revealed spurious relationships.

Many things that the chiidren did whiie writing the stimuli during the testing

sessions are worth desmiing, such as notation placement, notation procedure, and vocal

reproductions. In the spontaneous notation test (Test 2 and 3), some of the older chiidren

were concemed about how precisely the dots had to be placed in the box in respect to the

i n t e d sizes. For example, EEG and CCG both have the samdup contour but diEerent

interval sites (m3" and ~53. For each item on the test only one melodic pattern was

played for the ciddren. This meant that the chiidren were remembering previous stimuli

and realizing that some contours were sirnilar yet had different pitches. Though none of

the younger students asked about this, quite a number of children, even in grade one

(3û%), were meticulously placing the dots in the boxes accordmg to wider or smder

interval leaps. In the 4-note patterns some even placed their dot above or below the box

in order to keep the appropriate distance in relation to the interval size. Encouragingly,

this preciseness in the spontaneous notations suggests that chiidren are able to perceive

melodic contours quite accurately.

Some chiidren foiiowed each dot with their pencil (Test 1) or wrote each dot

(Test 2) whiie they listened to the stimulus. Others listened to the entire example before

writing their answers. Since development of melodic information processing seems to k t

involve awareness of rnelodic contour and then precision of interval size (Dowling, 1982),

perhaps the procedure in which the children notated their answers is in fiuiction to this

squence of development.

A few children were asked to stop whistling or humming after having heard the

stimulus. Research has show that chiidren's perceptual d i s c ~ t i o n abiities and their

performance skiils are significantly related to one another (Gromko, 1994). It would be of

71 value to conduct a simiiar study to the present one, in which subjects were asked to sing

back the pitches heard prior to cirding the appropriate box. The relationship between

performance and perception couId then be firther analyzed.

Summry

From results of this study it appears that:

1. The ability to perceive pitch direction across a variety of rnelodic contours dEers

across grade levels. Grade 1 acheived the lowest mean scores in aii the

melodic patterns regardless of test type. Grade 2 and 3 achieved si@cantly

lower mean scores than grades 4, 5, and 6 on most melodic patterns. A plateau

seerns to be reached around the age of nine (grade 4).

2. The results of subsequent increases in means fiom grades 1 to 6 are present across

ali the tests that the children twk suggesting that age is related to discrimination

of pitch direction.

3. Using a vimal aid is easier for chiidren to iden* pitch direction than to write

spontaneous notations. However, spontaneous notations give clearer

information to the researcher on which melodic contours children have more or

l e s îàcility.

4. The easiest melodic contour was very clearly the pattern with the same direction.

No clear trends were found for 0 t h contours. However, it was exarnined that the

me-up, up, and dom-same patterns were generally more diicult for the

chikiren to perceive than the down and same-down pattern.

5. Number of notes did not significantIy affect children's ability to perceive pitch

direction. However, there seems to be a tendency for contours with larger

intervals to be more eady perceived than contours with smaiier intervals.

Implications

There are implications fiom this study on children's ability to perceive pitch

direction and the use of visuai aids and spontaneous notations in the music classroom. in

this study, chiidren in grades one to six were able to perceive and represent a variety of

melodic contours. There was a clear increase in ability occurring within the 6rst three

grades with a plateau reached by grade four, indicaihg that most significant development

occurs between ages six and eight. These findhgs support the objectives of the Ministère

de l'Éducation du Québec that by age eight children should be able to recognize and use

movement pattern of melodies. Pitch discrimination experiences should be used

extensively with chiidren before the age nine to heIp with the naturai progress made in

these cruciai years of musical development.

in teaching the directionai concept, (ascending and descendmg), visual cues can be

associated with meiodic patterns as the proper terms higher and lower are presented.

Unidirectional patterns, such as the "same" patterns used in this shidy, need not be overiy

emphasized since they are easily perceived by chiidren as young as six. in generai the

wider intervals were easim to perceive. Wide intervals should be used in eariy experiences

in pitch discrimination with smaller intervais being gradually introduced. Short melodies

with simple contours and wide intervals should be introduced first.

Children have the abiity to represent short melodies through spontaneous notation

with guidance and should be provided with opportunity to do so. Students need to be

given ideas on how to represent what they hear. Music educators can aid in the

development of auditory perception through activities involving pitch perception.

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Appendix A and B

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