Differences in Preference for Subtle Dynamic Nuance between Conductors,Middle School Music Students,and Elementary School Students

Abstract

This study began as a systematic replication of two previous studies in which a significant proportion of elementary and middle school music students preferred versions of American folk songs with explicit variation in dynamics over versions of the same folk songs where the dynamics were held constant. In the present study, the preference test used in the previous studies was modified to reflect a more realistic representation of dynamic nuance. Dynamic variation was reduced by one-third, and smoother curvatures were applied to the crescendos and decrescendos of the expressive versions of the 10 folk songs. This revised test was administered to 288 Grade 1–5 students, 78 middle school music students, and 22 conductors. The results of the study indicate that age and/or musical experience may affect perception and preference for subtle dynamic nuance in music.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Burnsed, V. (1998). The effects of expressive variation in dynamics on the musical preferences of elementary school students. Journal of Research in Music Education, 46, 396–404.

Burnsed, V. , & Sochinski, J. (1995). The effects of expressive variation in dynamics on the musical preferences of middle school music students. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, no. 124, 1–12.

Gabrielsson, A. (Ed.). (1987). Action and perception in rhythm and music. Stockholm: Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

Haack, P. (1992). The acquisition of music listening skills. In Colwell, R. (Ed.), Handbook of research on music teaching and learning (pp. 451–465). New York: Schirmer Books.

Hargreaves, D. J. , & Zimmerman, M. P. (1992). Developmental theories of music learning. In Colwell, R. (Ed.), Handbook of research on music teaching and learning (pp. 377–391). New York: Schirmer Books.

Rossing, T. D. (1990). The science of sound (2nd ed.). New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing.

Seashore, C. (1938). Psychology of music. New York: Mc Graw-Hill.

Sundberg, J. , Askenfelt, A. , & Fryden, L. (1983). Musical performance: A synthesis-by-rule approach. Computer Music Journal, 7, 37–43.

Sundberg, J. , Fryden, L. , & Askenfelt, A. (1983). What tells you the player is musical? An analysis-by-synthesis study of music performance. In Sundberg, J. (Ed.), Studies of music performance (pp. 61–75). Stockholm: Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

10.

Zimmerman, M. F. (1971). Musical characteristics of children. Reston, VA: Music Educators National Conference.