Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Students’ Affective Response and Ability to Discriminate between Melody and Improvisation after Receiving Instruction in Singing and/or Playing a Piece in the Blues Style

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess fourth- and fifth-grade students’ (9- and 10-yearolds’) affective response and ability to discriminate between melody and improvisation after receiving instruction in singing and/or playing a piece in the blues style. Subjects ( N= 102) were assigned to one of three equal-sized groups. Group 1 learned to sing a blues melody, group 2 learned to play a blues melody on the recorder, and group 3 subjects acted as the control and were given non-specific instruction in both singing and playing various melodies. Data were gathered as subjects manipulated the dial of the Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) to indicate ‘likeability’ and ‘recognition’ along a positive continuum, while listening to five musical examples. A descriptive analysis of group graphs indicated that groups receiving specific instruction in melodic and improvisatory discrimination responded with a higher level of discriminatory skill and positive affective response.