Enhancing gesture quality in young singers

Abstract

ABSTRACTStudies have shown positive results for the use of gesture as a successful technique in aiding children's singing. The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of movement training for children with regard to enhancing gesture quality. Thirty-six fifth-grade students participated in the empirical investigation. They were randomly assigned into control and experimental groups: (1) control group – children who sang with gesture but without movement training and (2) experimental group – children who sang with gesture and received Dalcrozian movement training. The gestures were designed for developing singing voice, whereas the movement activities were designed for developing effective gestures for singing. The instructional unit, consisting of two 40-minute sessions per week for 24 sessions, focused on gesture use in singing. Each individual child was tested a Chinese art song. Three experts were asked to judge the children's individual gesture and singing performances by using a nine-point scale. Results showed that the children who received movement training gained a significantly higher score on gesture quality. It was concluded that the combination of gesture and movement training could be a powerful teaching strategy in children's singing.