Effects of Verbal and Verbal-Motor Responses on Meter Conceptualization in Third-, Fourth-, and Fifth-Grade Children

Abstract

My purpose was to determine the effects of grade level and response mode on the ability of second-semester third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students to identify and conceptualize meter in music. Thirty-six subjects at each grade level were divided into two response-mode groups. Subjects in the verbal-motor response groups were asked to respond verbally and to use specific conducting motions; verbal-response-mode subjects used only verbal responses. A two-way analysis of variance indicated that both main effects of grade level and response mode were significant, indicating that scores on the meter-concept test improved with increasing age and as a result of using the verbal-motor response mode. Analysis of simple effects indicated that fourth- and fifth-grade subjects in the verbal-motor response mode were superior to fourth- and fifth-grade subjects in the verbal response mode; mode of response, however, did not result in a significant difference in third-grade subjects.