Children's invented notations and verbal responses to a piano work by Claude Debussy

Abstract

This study considers the way children listen to classical music composed for them and the effect of age on their spontaneous invented notations and verbal responses. The musical selection is a piano piece for children by Claude Debussy: ‘Jimbo's Lullaby’ from ‘Children's Corner’. Two hundred and nine children 4–9.5-years-old listened to the music and expressed their impressions graphically and verbally. Three systems of conceptualisation emerged: Associative responses (A-responses) suggesting metaphoric interpretation, Formal responses include references to sound and Compound responses integrating Associative and Formal expressions. Results show a strong dominance of Associative over Formal and Compound categories at all levels and a gradual decline of A-responses with age. Studying children's responses to a classical work addressed to them paves a way to a greater understanding of their music perception. This bears a number of implications for music educators who introduce young children to classical music and for composers of music for children.