Relationships Among Ensemble Participation,Private Instruction,and Aural Skill Development

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships that exist among students' participation in public school performing ensembles, those skills measured by the Gaston Test of Musicality, the number of years of private piano study, and the number of years of private instruction on ensemble instruments. The study was conducted in a large, suburban, midwestern school district with a sample of 164 music students at one junior high school. All subjects were administered the Gaston test upon entering the fourth grade. When the sample students reached junior high school they were assigned to band, orchestra, choir, or combination groups, and the Gaston test was read-ministered. Although the groups exhibited no significant differences on the Gaston test at the fourth-grade level, differences were significant when the same test was given at the junior-high level. Significant differences between mean scores on the Gaston test at the junior-high level were attributed largely to the low scores of the choir group. Years of piano study appeared to be a significant independent factor in the development of aural skills. Years of private instrument instruction did not seem to be a factor in the results.

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