The purpose of this research was to develop and to examine an improvisation curriculum designed to improve the music achievement of elementary school instrumental music students. The specific problems of this study were (a) to investigate the effect of improvisation study on the music achievement of fifth-grade wind and percussion students, and (b) to investigate the effects of various levels of music aptitude on the music achievement of fifth-grade wind and percussion students.
Sixty-six fifth-grade students participated in this study. Students who received instruction that included emphasis on improvisation were found to perform at significantly higher achievement levels than students who received instruction without such emphasis. High-aptitude students performed at higher achievement levels than low-aptitude and moderate-aptitude students. The data obtained in this research provide preliminary evidence that improvisation contributes to the improvement of instrumental music performance achievement in elementary students.
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