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This is to certify that the
thesis entitled
"The Effect of Singing on the Develop-em: of Music Reading
Skills in Young Piano Students"

presented by

ROSALIA W

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

HJI. degree in ”1181‘: (Piano)

AMM' Jd%\

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6/01 ciclRC/DetoDuepes-pjs

 

THE EFFECT OF SINGING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC READING
SKILLS IN YOUNG PIANO STUDENTS

BY

ROSALIA EMANUELE

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF MUSIC
School of Music

2000

ABSTRACT

THE EFFECT OF SINGING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC READING SKILLS
IN YOUNG PIANO STUDENTS

BY

ROSALIA EMANUELE

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect
of singing on the development of music reading skills in young
piano students. The specific problem of the study was as
follows: to determine if students who have sung a song using
neutral syllables perform the pitches and rhythms of that same
melody on the piano better than if they have not sung the song.
Sixteen students were taught how to read four pieces in the
course of eight weeks using two methods. In the first method,
only verbal instructions were given to teach the piece. In the
second method, verbal instructions were given and singing was
added as an aural aid to “hear” the music before it was played.
Two one-tailed t tests were used to determine whether there were
significant differences in the mean ratings of the pieces when
learned through singing and explanation as compared to only
through explanation. There was no statistically significant
difference between singing and not singing for pitch accuracy,
but there was a significant difference in rhythm accuracy.

The students performed with significantly more rhythmic accuracy
when they sang the pitches as compared to when they did not

sing.

Copyright by
ROSAL IA EMANUELE
2000

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I express my sincerest appreciation to all the wonderful
peOple who helped and supported me during the completion of
this thesis. I am especially grateful to my advisor, Dr.
Midori Koga, for the encouragement she expressed and for the
expertise she provided me throughout each step of this
project. In addition, Dr. Cynthia Taggart and Professor
Deborah Moriarty served as committee members and guided me
with their wealth of knowledge.

I am grateful to the Community Music School and Piano
Pedagogy department at Michigan State University, for this
project could not have been completed without their help. My
appreciation is also extended to all the students who
participated as subjects and the parents who allowed their
children to participate. Without them, this project could not
have been possible. My sincere thanks are extended to music
teachers Kathy Kane, Pamela Sautter, and Vivienne Sommerfield
who assisted with data collection and provided valuable input.

I express my deepest gratitude to my family and dearest
friends who have encouraged me throughout my degree program.
Their prayers have given me hope and their confidence has

given me the determination to achieve.

W

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
II. RELATED RESEARCH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
III. DESIGN AND ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
IV. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATIONS . . . . . . . . . . .22
Inter-judge Reliability . . . . . . . . . . 22

Pitch Accuracy Results . . . . . . . . . . .22
Pitch Accuracy Interpretations . . . . . . .23
Rhythm Accuracy Results . . . . . . . . . . 24
Rhythm Accuracy Interpretations . . . . . . 25

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR FUTURE RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Purpose and Problems . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Design and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Implications of this Study . . . . . . . . .29

Conclusions and Recommendations
for Future Research. . . . . . . . . . . . .29

APPENDICES . . .

APPENDIX A
REPERTOIRE .

APPENDIX B
UCRIHS APPROVAL

APPENDIX C
CONSENT FORM

REFERENCES

M

.32

36

.39

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1: INTER-JUDGE RELIABILITY

TABLE 2: PITCH ACCURACY RESULTS

TABLE 3: RHYTHM ACCURACY RESULTS

fii

(Dimension 1)

(Dimension 2)

.22

23

.25

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Literature Review

 

The art of playing piano and performing music successfully
is one that requires the knowledge and assimilation of various
musical concepts. Many approaches to beginning piano
instruction focus on note reading and rhythm reading as well as
recognizing interval patterns and relationships between keys.
However, there are skills that are not as common in piano
instruction that may be as necessary, such as listening,
understanding, visual memory, and aural memory (Tobin, 1957).
Many music scholars and researchers agree that the better one
has internalized these skills, the more complete his or her
musical performance will become (Bentley, 1966; Gordon, 1990;
Newman, 1979; Robinson, 1996; Tobin, 1957).

It is a psychological fact, according to Hicks (1980),
that small children first comprehend perceptually. Experience
suggests that concentrating on one concept at a time helps
students build a solid foundation and possibly helps save time
in later stages of learning. According to Zimmerman (1971),
conceptual development in musical learning is dependent upon
aural perception, since musical learning begins with the
perception of sound. She states that from our various

perceptions of music, we develop the musical concepts that

permit us to make comparisons and discriminations, to organize
sounds, to generalize, and finally, to apply the emerging
concepts to new musical situations. During the first stages of
learning, proper musical vocabulary should be taught and
verbalization of the concept by the child should be encouraged.
Once conceptual development has been established, skill
learning becomes necessary to further musical instruction.
Music reading is among the various skills that have been
difficult to teach, especially in young piano students.
Difficulties in music reading may be attributed either to
perceptual problems, in which the student must read notes up
and down as well as left and right, as well as to association
problems, in which the student must associate notes with
fingerings (Newman, 1979). However, scholars agree that
“knowing” a concept needed for music reading, should precede
“doing” it (Bentley, 1966; Brown, 1974; Hicks, 1980; Klemish,
1970; Robinson, 1996; Tobin, 1957). Before being expected to
read music, students should be able to internalize the
following experiences: previous aural experience (listening),
aural memory (retaining rhythms and pitches), visual memory
(recognizing musical effects such as notes, rhythms,
signatures, etc.), and basic musical knowledge (understanding
the purpose and meaning of musical effects) (Tobin, 1957).
Once these experiences have been internalized, music

skills can then be learned without extra effort or frustration

for the student. These skills (such as hand coordination,
finger coordination, clapping, and singing) may seem too
complicated for a young student, but they are necessary for
successful music reading. Being able to recognize patterns
from previous experiences enables the student to incorporate
them into the new experience, and having the skills to execute
the musical patterns allows the student an avenue through which
to express his or her knowledge. If these concepts have not
been internalized or skills have not been learned before
reading takes place, then the music becomes no more than a
series of unrelated notes on a page. Bentley (1966) believes
that “to apprehend a melody the subject must be able to
remember the sounds already heard in order to relate them to
sounds currently being heard and those that are to follow”

(p. 24). He continues that “in order to make accurate response
to melody, a child must be able to perceive, and then retain in
the memory for at least a short period of time, a given order
of pitch intervals and note lengths" (p. 28).

A common question that music educators must resolve is how
to teach their students to internalize the aural and visual
memories most efficiently. The question arises because there
are several different methods available. Each method is valid,
but the “correct” one depends on the student's age, level, and
ability (Brown, 1974). Hicks (1980) believes that “sound

before sight" is an effective method for teaching a student,

because developing a listening and performing vocabulary is
essential readiness for successful music reading, which depends
on a reading vocabulary. Developing a vocabulary can be
accomplished in many ways; it can happen by listening, creating
music, performing with rhythm sticks, dancing, or singing
(Gordon, 1990; Hicks, 1980, Johnson, 1984; Matthay, 1912;
Ranke, 1989; Robinson, 1996; Zimmerman, 1971).

Finding an effective way to teach music depends on how
children perceive and learn. Music Learning Theory, according
to Gordon (1990), “is the explanation of how children learn
music" (p. 25). He states that when beginning instrumental
instruction, “a child must be taught sound before sign, that
is, audiation before notation” (p. 114). Audiation, as defined
by Gordon, is “hearing and formally comprehending in one’s mind
the sound of music that is no longer or may never have been
present” (p. 117). However, before being able to audiate, a
child must learn to produce musical sounds by imitating them,
even though the responses may be incorrect at first (Gordon,
1990). For this reason, it is important to use singing as part
of a child’s musical experiences during a lesson.

Singing in the piano lesson can be introduced by
incorporating rote song instruction. The songs that are
introduced should include major and minor tonalities (as well
as other tonalities), tonic and dominant patterns, and melodies

beginning and ending on the tonic note (Gordon, 1990; Ranke,

1989). According to Ranke (1989), “singing is indispensable to
the development of audiation skills” (p. 250). Repetition when
learning rote songs is essential at this stage and necessary
for the development of a musical vocabulary (Bentley, 1966;
Ranke, 1989). Ranke (1989) states that “if the teacher applies
Music Learning Theory (Gordon's) to instruction, the same
students can be taught to audiate, thereby solving some of the
problems in their playing” (p. 247). When students are able
to predict what they see through audiation, their performances
will be more musical and the notation that they see will remind
them of what they can already audiate (Ranke, 1989).

Singing in the lesson can also be introduced by
demonstration. Just as toddlers start to talk by imitating
adults, young musicians can learn my imitating their teachers
(Lanners, 1999). Lanners (1999) feels that “a quick
illustration using singing, playing, conducting, and other
movements can make teaching concise while eliminating a
thousand confusing words” (p. 8). He also notes that singing
is essential because “it makes a direct connection between the
brain and the fingers” (p. 9). For example, a turn or trill
may confuse students into thinking that they need to play many
notes in a short period of time, when, if they sing the turn
with the teacher’s aid, they'll be able to play it without

difficulty (Lanners, 1999).

Another approach to developing audiation skills through
singing is to encourage students to sight-sing. Johnson (1984)
believes that sight singing is the most important aspect of
musicianship, because it can help to develop the skills needed
for successful sight-reading. She states that:

When sight-singing, students are forced to look ahead so

they will be ready to adjust their voices for the upcoming

pitches. Because they don’t have to think about
positioning their fingers, students can abandon the bad
habit of looking up and down between the music and the
keyboard and can concentrate on the line of music they are
reading. When students sing, they hear what the music
should sound like and are able to pay attention to the
feel and sound of their voices rather than to the sound of
the keyboardm. For these reasons when students sing as
well as play music, memory becomes more secure and the ear

develops more fully. (p. 30).

While singing in the piano lesson is crucial for
developing audiation skills, it is also important to note that
being able to sing allows the student to become an independent
learner who is able to use his or her practice time efficiently
(Robinson, 1996). It can, for instance, simplify the
understanding of phrasing, promote better listening skills, and

help to make one’s performance meaningful. Matthay (1912)

believes that one “must never touch the piano without always

 

trying to make music [italics added] . To make music we must

 

make all the sounds mean [italics added] something “ (p. 1).
The purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate
the effect of singing on the development of music reading

skills in young piano students. The specific problem of this

study was as follows: to determine if students who have sung a
song using neutral syllables perform the pitches and rhythms of
that same melody on the piano better than if they have not sung

the song.

CHAPTER II

RELATED RESEARCH

Because reading is a necessary part of music proficiency,
music educators have made many efforts to learn more about
teaching reading. Realizing that students were having problems
organizing musical thoughts in this context, educators began
looking for reasons that could explain their problems. Early
researchers such as Tobin (1957) felt that sight-reading simply
required the use of common sense. In his book, he wrote about
the various difficulties of music reading, what students were
doing wrong, and how to fix the problems. For instance, he
explained how multiple rhythms such as two against three could
be difficult, because students may not have conceptualized how
they were to be subdivided. He then stated that the student
would be able to understand the rhythm once he or she
discovered the “unseen” combination of that rhythm. Tobin
believed that the student needed to discover the combination
based primarily on the teacher’s explanation of that concept.
He also hinted at the idea that aural awareness was important
to the development of music reading skills but did not
elaborate on it. He only stated that it was necessary for
students to have an aural foundation.

As research in the area of music reading continues to

advance, music educators are beginning to concern themselves

with how to teach aural foundation instead of assuming that the
students either have it or do not. In her research, Klemish
(1970) compared two methods of teaching music reading. She
used two classes of first grade students and taught them to
read patterns from the frame of major scales. Each class met
four times per week for 20 minutes, with a total of 52 class
periods. The first method (taught to one class) used hand and
body movements as well as pre-notational symbols to demonstrate
melodic direction. The second method (taught to the other
class) used only staves and conventional notes. Although her
study did not yield any significant results, both methods were
effective in different ways. The students who were taught
under Method 1 developed better aural skills than those under
Method 2 did. However, those under Method 2 were able to
recognize patterns, write tones dictated to them, and match
visual patterns better. In her summary, she suggested that
teachers focus on patterns that children already know so that
they can strengthen their foundation. She did not suggest,
however, that they sing these patterns but that they use them
while learning to read music.

A possible solution to this dilemma of teaching the
reading of music is to incorporate singing in the process of
learning to sight-read. If a student can sing a passage in
tune and with correct rhythms, the student has not only

internalized that passage, but is now able to fix errors

without assistance (Robinson, 1996). Robinson believes that
familiarizing one's self with a passage means that the next
time the same passage occurs, it will be recognized, and less
time will be needed to “decode” the music. This is comparable
to the understanding of language; once a person has learned how
to put words together to form a certain sentence, he or she
will be able to use that same sentence or a similar one in a
later situation. Singing, then, is just as important to the
understanding of music skills as talking is to the
understanding of communication skills.

Singing should take place during the earliest stages of
music learning. Children need to develop the readiness for
learning about music (as they develop the readiness for
language) before they can begin to understand any formal music
concepts (Hicks, 1980). Newman (1979) states that inner
hearing develops through aural experience with music just as a
child’s language develops through hearing spoken language.
Children have achieved rhythmic and tonal readiness when they
can perform singing activities with consistency, accuracy, and
confidence. Only then can music educators know that students
are ready to understand and learn through formal instruction.
For instance, Hicks (1980) suggested a sequence of instruction
that follows a logical progression to music reading. He
includes six stages: (I) non-notational playing, (II) melodies,

(III) line notation, (IV) expanding staff, (V) rhythm, meter,

10

and tempo, and (VI) timbre and dynamics. Although there are
several steps to his sequence and there is no singing
incorporated, Hicks felt that these steps should be preceded by
singing, because it will aid the student in finding the correct
notes and rhythms.

When students first begin piano lessons, most are given
books immediately and then are expected to progress through
them as easily as if they were reading stories in literature
books. However, if they do not understand all the symbols and
notations, they must learn to read as they also learn basic
piano techniques. This is too much for most students to
concentrate on at once. Ranke (1989) believes that the best
way to start piano lessons is to apply Gordon's Music Learning
Theory to private piano instruction. This theory, which is
based on the idea that music is learned in the same way that
language is learned, helps students internalize musical
concepts as well as teaches them to listen with their inner
ear. In order to apply Music Learning Theory, a teacher should
use the first lesson times as a time to chant rhythm patterns,
sing tonal patterns, and incorporate movement. Being able to
perform these skills allows the teacher to know how to assess
the student’s musical abilities and, more importantly, allows
the student to learn music through experience away from the
instrument. Once students can sing patterns in tune and can

chant patterns with an accurate pulse, they are able to

H

internally understand the music and thus have the ability to
audiate.

Singing is often associated with song learning rather than
music learning, so there is no reason to ignore it when it
comes to learning to play a certain piece. Robinson (1996)
stated that “[singing] is used to help students develop aural
skills, learn sight-reading, and make connections between the ?‘
basic elements of music theory and the practical application of

these elements” (p. 17). He believes that if a teacher could

 

spend the first five minutes of band and orchestra rehearsals fl
dedicated to singing musical passages, the class would be able
to internalize the melodies, rhythms, and forms of their pieces
before actually playing them. Robinson expressed that singing
leads the student to become a better listener, better
performer, and most importantly a more confident musician. He
suggested that singing activities can be introduced gradually
in the classroom by teaching short melodies by rote (perhaps
four or eight measures) that the students do not recognize. In
time, students become familiar enough with the melody that they
should be able to play it correctly and in tune the first time.

The problems with singing arise when the teacher has not
decided how or does not know how to introduce it. Music
educators seem to agree that singing is necessary, and they
suggest that by singing, one will have internalized the

concepts of music. However, does it matter if a student begins

12

to sing with neutral syllables rather than with tonal
syllables? Robinson (1996) suggested that neutral syllables
work best at first; then tonal syllables should be added.
Bentley (1966), on the other hand, suggested that students
should learn to sing using tonal syllables from the start so
that they learn the relationships between the notes. The
importance of tonal and rhythmic syllables should be
emphasized, but only after vocabulary has been developed
(Robinson, 1996); this is how students begin to conceptualize
the various directions and relationships of notes. According
to Gordon (1990), the former method is more desirable because
children must first learn to discriminate between familiar
patterns before they can be expected to discriminate and
generalize between new patterns and label those patterns.
Discrimination learning, as explained in Music Learning Theory,
is rote learning. The first stage of discrimination learning
is the aural/oral stage. This is the time when students hear,
audiate, and sing or chant familiar patterns using neutral
syllables. The second stage is the verbal association stage.
During this stage, students hear, audiate, and sing or chant
familiar patterns that they learned at the aural/oral stage
using tonal syllables (Gordon, 1990).

Although few studies have been done concerning music
reading in young piano students, researchers agree that aural

training is necessary in the development of music reading,

13

especially in instrumental education. Robinson (1996) found
that students who are exposed to singing tend to perform higher
on overall musical achievement and aptitude. He also found
that singing could be used to teach general music skills, such
as meters and tonalities, and could help students learn to
think creatively. For instance, he suggests students be put in
small groups and given a simple melody to sing. Then one or
more students could be asked to create a harmony that would
complement the melody. These methods of singing help the
students to listen critically to what they hear and to
understand what they are producing. This is comparable to the
learning of language skills, such as when one hears a phrase
and is able to respond to it.

Vocal melodies are often considered easier to produce than
instrumental ones because instrumental responses require hand-
eye coordination as well as aural and visual understanding. In
his study, Petzold (1959) measured music reading in fourth,
fifth, and sixth grade students. The purpose of his study was
“to determine whether there are significant differences between
normal children and children gifted musically in the ways in
which they perceive and respond to the music symbols commonly
associated with music reading” (p. 5). His sample consisted of
three different schools within a single school district (one
with small, one with medium, and one with large population).

He individually tested two groups of children (with a total of

14

over 400 students) within a 25-minute period. He used vocal
responses rather than instrumental responses because he thought
that if instrumental responses were used, it would be difficult
to judge whether the subject really understood and interpreted
the musical symbols being read, or whether the responses were
mechanical. He found that although the students performed
better on the aural part than on the visual part of the test, E:
there were no significant differences between the two groups of

children.

 

Music reading is an important issue in music education, ii
and many authors have made significant contributions to its
development. Singing is an essential tool that can be used to
introduce aural foundations to young students. However, there
have been no significant studies to determine whether singing
can help a young student's music reading ability as developed

on piano.

15

CHAPTER III

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS

Sample

The sample for this study consisted of 16 children between
the ages of seven and 12 who were in the initial stages of
piano instruction. The children were part of the Community
Music School program and the Piano Pedagogy department at
Michigan State University and were private students of the

researcher as well as other instructors in the programs. They

 

were chosen based on their ability to comprehend basic musical
concepts and to execute basic musical skills. The concepts
necessary to know for this study were as follows:
1) understanding the rhythmic value of whole notes,
dotted half notes, half notes, and quarter notes;
2) recognizing treble clef notes between c1 and c2 and
bass clef notes between c and c1;
3) recognizing the purpose of flat and sharp notes or
what the flat and sharp symbols mean;
4) recognizing intervals of a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th
within a major or minor five finger hand position;
Skills necessary were as follows:
1) being able to play in the C major, F major, D

minor, and E minor five finger hand positions;

16

2) being able to clap the rhythmic values of whole
notes, dotted half notes, half notes, and quarter
notes;

3) being able to sing simple major and minor
melodies.

The children participating in this study had been taking
lessons anywhere from six months up to two years. Their
referral was determined based on their playing ability and the
level of material they studied. Students with perfect pitch
could not participate, however, for concern that the results
may be affected. Data was then collected and recorded over a

three—month period by the researcher.

Design

Based on the knowledge that the students understood
rudimentary rhythms, could identify notes on the staff, and
could find the notes on the piano keyboard, the researcher
composed four pieces to be taught through the course of eight
weeks. (See Appendix A.) The pieces consisted of five finger
patterns in major or minor tonalities and in duple or triple
meters. Each piece had a four-measure single melody, used
either the right or left hand, and was sung in the same key
that it was played. The pieces became progressively more
difficult as larger intervals and black keys were added. These

pieces were arranged as follows:

17

1) key of C major, 4/4 time signature, left hand,
intervals of 2““, note values of quarter, half,
and whole notes;

2) key of D minor, 3/4 time signature, right hand,
intervals of 2mm and 3“”, note values of quarter
and dotted half notes;

3) key of F major, 4/4 time signature, right hand,
intervals through 4flm’ inclusion of B”, note

values of quarter and half notes;

4) key of E minor, 3/4 time signature, left hand,

 

intervals through 5””, inclusion of E3, note

values of quarter, half, and dotted half notes.
The decisions for the repertoire used in this study were
determined through a pilot study that was conducted by the
researcher. After asking students to read an initial set of
pieces, the researcher found that some aspects of the pieces
were too difficult for the children to follow, and as a result
made changes to make the study more approachable. The changes
were as follows:
1) four measures were used instead of eight;
2) one hand at a time was used instead of two hands;
3) larger notation was used.
Once completed, each piece was arranged sideways on an 8 B by

11 sheet with stickers around the edges and notes drawn

l8

oversized so that the children would not feel uneasy or nervous

about the study.

Procedure

 

In order to begin data collection, the researcher obtained
approval from the University Committee on Research Involving
Human Subjects (UCRIHS). (See Appendix B.) Then, prior to the
first lesson, each parent signed a consent form allowing his or
her child to participate in the research. (See Appendix C.)

The study was arranged so that each piece was read through
twice: once with and once without singing. When teaching the
piece without singing, the researcher introduced the lesson by
explaining and reviewing rhythmic values and note symbols.

Each lesson progressed according to the following steps:

1) careful detail was given to the clef, time
signature, and hand position;

2) students were asked to determine the direction of
note movement as well as the size of the interval;

3) the piece was clapped and counted using either
rhythm syllables or numbers (depending on which
method each student was most comfortable with);

4) the piece was performed once through by the
student and recorded on an audio tape.

When teaching the piece with singing, the researcher

introduced the lesson in the exact same manner except that an

19

_-__
4..

my
_,

 

extra step was added after the clapping and before the
performance; the researcher sang the melody once through and
then asked the student to sing it with her.

The order of events alternated every two weeks to control
for the possible effect that order might have on how well the

students performed. An outline of the order of events is as

follows:
Week 1 Piece #1 No singing
Week 2 Piece #1 Singing
Week 3 Piece #2 Singing
Week 4 Piece #2 No singing
Week 5 Piece #3 No singing
Week 6 Piece #3 Singing
Week 7 Piece #4 Singing
Week 8 Piece #4 No singing

Each performance was tape recorded so that careful records
would be kept of the progress from week to week and so that the
results could later be evaluated accurately. (It took eight
weeks to complete the project.) Since there were 16 students,
there was a total of 128 excerpts. Once the study was
completed, each performance was evaluated based on two
dimensions; pitch accuracy and rhythm accuracy. Three experts
not familiar with the study listened to each excerpt twice
(once for pitch accuracy and once for rhythm accuracy) and

rated each excerpt based on the following criteria.

20

The criterion measures used for this study were rating
scales in which each dimension has five criteria. The rating

scale for pitch accuracy (Dimension 1) is as follows:

5 - all notes were played correctly

4 — one to two notes were played incorrectly

3 - three to four notes were played incorrectly
2 — five to six notes were played incorrectly

l — seven or more notes were played incorrectly

The rating scale for rhythm accuracy (Dimension 2) is as

follows:
5 - all rhythms were played correctly
4 - one to two beats were played incorrectly
3 — three to four beats were played incorrectly
2 - five to six beats were played incorrectly
l - seven or more beats were played incorrectly
Analysis

Two one-tailed t tests were used to determine whether
there were significant differences in the mean ratings of the
pieces when learned through singing and explanation as compared

to through explanation.

2l

CHAPTER IV

RESULTS AND INTERPRETATIONS

Inter-judge Reliability

 

In order to determine the reliability of the ratings

between the judges,

Pearson Product Moment Formula.

correlations,

which were very high:

Table l

INTER-JUDGE RELIABILITY

their results were correlated using the

Below is a table of the

 

Dimension 1

Dimension 1

Dimension 2

Dimension 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Singing) (No (Singing) (No
singing) singing)
Judge A and
Judge B .962 .906 .897 ~729
Judge A and
Judge C .925 .971 .836 .691
Judge B and
Judge C .949 .920 .869 .646

 

Pitch Accuracnyesults

 

There was no statistically significant difference in the

tonal accuracy when singing as compared to not singing before

keyboard performance.

22

 

Table 2

PITCH ACCURACY RESULTS (Dimension 1)

 

 

 

Teaching Method M SD t
Singing 49.81 9.43

' -.O87
No Singing 49.94 8.65

p>.05

Pitch Accuracy Interpretations

 

Out of the 16 students who participated in this study, 12
could match pitch and sing in tune. However, only eight
students scored higher when singing prior to playing and seven
out of the eight could sing in tune. Six students performed
better when they did not sing prior to playing and four out of
the six could sing in tune. One student who could and another
student who could not sing in tune both performed equally when
singing was used as compared to when it was not. Therefore, it
is possible that singing is only valuable tonally to those
students who can already sing in tune.

Another possible reason as to why singing did not
significantly affect pitch accuracy in this study is that when
reading music on the piano, it is possible to decode pitches.
First of all, students must decipher the written note on the
page and determine what they are looking for. Secondly, they

need to locate the notes on the keyboard. Lastly, they must

23

physically play the notes. It is possible to accomplish all of
this without audiation.

Another possible reason why singing did not make a
difference is that many beginning students have not yet
achieved the ability to audiate. Unfortunately, some children
are not exposed to enough music in their own learning
environment before they begin formal piano lessons, and for
this reason, musical sounds are still foreign in the early
stages of instruction. In order to audiate, a person must be
able to internally hear the pitches before they are played,
just as he or she can think words before they are spoken. If
students are not able to audiate, they can not understand the
relationship between the melodic line on the page and the
direction or distance of the keys on the piano. Therefore,
steps, skips, and larger intervals seem like random jumps on

the keys instead of logical progressions from note to note.

Rhythm Accuracy Results

 

Although pitch accuracy was not affected by singing, the
researcher found a statistically significant difference in the
performances for rhythm accuracy. Students performed with
significantly more rhythmic accuracy when they sang the pitches

as compared to when they did not sing.

24

Table 3

RHYTHM ACCURACY RESULTS (Dimension 2)

 

 

 

Teaching Method M SD t
Singing 48.56 6.84

' 3.012*
No Singing 44.75 5.46

p < .05

Rhythm Accuracy Interpretations

 

Although only some of the students could sing in tune, all
of them were able to clap or tap the rhythms accurately prior
to playing the pieces. A possible reason as to why singing
significantly affected rhythm accuracy in this study is because
in their daily environment, children are exposed more to rhythm
patterns than melodic patterns. For instance, when children
watch television, they learn words and phrases that they hear
and recognize. Instinctively, they also assimilate the
rhythmic pulse of the nursery rhymes and chant them rather than
sing them. In a musical situation, students will hear a song
with a melody and steady beat, but they will most likely
assimilate the rhythmic pulse before the melodic line. During
the study, the researcher found that all the students who
either could or could not match the pitches could sing with a

steady pulse. It is possible that singing (in addition to

25

 

clapping) added an extra step to the learning process, which
reinforced the rhythmic performance.

While conducting this study, the researcher found that
singing with a steady pulse was easier for some children than
singing in tune. This indicates that it is possible for
students to play a note with the correct timing but to place it
on the wrong key. Although they are concentrating on finding
the correct rhythms at the same time as finding the correct
notes, it seems that it is easier to land on the wrong key at
the right time than to land on the correct key at the wrong
time. Also, there is no way to “decode” rhythm notation.
Therefore, the singing of a melody, which forces audiation, may
be more essential from a rhythmic than a tonal perspective when

performing on piano.

26

 

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Purpose and Problems

 

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of
singing on the development of music reading skills in young
piano students. The specific problem of this study was as
follows: to determine if students who have sung a song using
neutral syllables perform the pitches and rhythms of that same

melody on the piano better than if they have not sung the song.

Design and Analysis

 

Sixteen students between the ages of seven and 12
participated in the study. The students were part of the
Community Music School and Piano Pedagogy department at
Michigan State University. They were chosen based on their
knowledge of rudimentary music concepts and their ability to
use certain music skills.

Based on the students’ level of comprehension and playing
ability, the researcher composed four pieces to be taught
through the course of eight weeks. The pieces varied in
tonality, meter, and hand position and became increasingly more
difficult. They were introduced at the beginning of each

lesson and were taught in the same general fashion that all

27

 

other pieces are taught. However, each piece was taught and
performed twice; once with and once without the help of
singing. One week involved singing and the other week did not.
The order of events alternated every two weeks to control for
the possible effect that it might have on the results.

After teaching each piece, the performances were tape-
recorded. There were a total of 128 excerpts that were
evaluated based on two dimensions; pitch accuracy and note
accuracy. Three judges not familiar with the study listened to
each performance twice; once for pitch accuracy and once for
rhythm accuracy. The criterion measures used for this study
were rating scales in which each dimension has five criteria.

Once data had been collected, the researcher used two one-
tailed t tests to determine whether there were significant
differences in the mean ratings of the pieces when learned
through singing and explanation as compared to only through

explanation.

Results

There was no statistically significant difference between
singing and not singing for pitch accuracy. There was,
however, a statistically significant difference in the rhythmic
performance between when the students sang prior to performance
and when they did not sing. Singing a melody before playing it

significantly increased the students’ rhythmic performances.

28

Implications of this Study

 

Singing is important for the rhythmic development of young
piano students who are learning to read. Therefore, piano
teachers should have their students sing during their lessons.

Young children need to hear the singing voice as a model
so that they can eventually learn how to use their own voices.
It is the same when children learn to speak from adults; they
hear words and then they imitate them. When musical sounds are
produced, children begin to imitate them as well. At first,
the responses may not be correct, but as the ear develops, so
do the responses. Eventually, imitation turns into audiation
and the child is not only able to produce accurate sounds, but
is also able to discriminate between correct and incorrect

sounds.

Conclusions and Recommendations for Future Research

 

In summary, singing before physically reading a piece
makes a difference in young students who can sing in tune
because it allows them to experience the music before actually
having to perform it. Although there were no significant
differences for pitch accuracy, students who could sing in tune
were consistently accurate in their performances because they
were able to retain the pitches and were able to find the notes

on the keyboard. Those who were unable to sing in tune tried

29

to remember the pitches, but were retaining incorrect pitches
and therefore were reaching for incorrect notes. Students who
could keep a steady pulse and use correct rhythms scored higher
when they had the opportunity to sing the song first because
they were able to reinforce the rhythms of the melodies and as
a result performed with better rhythmic consistency.

In order to continue learning about the development
between singing and music reading, further research is
necessary. An idea for a possible study could be to replicate
this project either with a larger population or with older
students learning more difficult repertoire.

The researcher is hopeful that research will continue to
be conducted in the area of music reading as developed in young
piano students and that music educators will continue to learn
how singing can help children further develop their music
reading skills. This particular study has helped the
researcher learn a great deal in this area of music development
and has provided her with valuable experience that can be used

in future projects.

30

APPENDICES

3l

APPENDIX A

REPERTOIRE

SONG 1

Week 1 - No singing
Week 2 - Singing

 

32

Song 2

Week 3 — Singing
Week 4 - No singing

 

33

Song 3

Week 5 - No singing
Week 6 - Singing

 

34

Song 4

Week 7 — Singing
Week 8 — No singing

 

35

 

OFFICE OF
RESEARCH
AND
GRADUATE
STUDIES

University Committee on
Research Involving

llama-Suited:

(”03ml '

Michigan State University
246 Administration Building
EBHngMvmm
488244046

SUNS-21%
FAX: 517/353-2976

 

APPENDIX B

UCRIHS APPROVAL

MICHIGAN STATE

u N r v E a s l T Y
April12.1999

TO: Dr. Midori KOGA

 

RE: IRBII 99172 CATEGORY: l-A
APPROVAL DATEzApriI 6, 1999

TITLEZTHE EFFECT OF SINGING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SIGHTREADING
SKILLS IN YOUNG PIANO STUDENTS

The University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects' (UCRIHS) review of
this project is complete and I am pleased to advise that the rights and welfare of the
human subjects appear to be adequately protected and methods to obtain informed
consent are appropriate. Therefore. the UCRIHS approved this project.

' RENEWALS: UCRIHS approval is valid for one calendar year. beginning with the

approval date shown above. Projects continuing beyond one year must be renewed
with the green renewal form. A maximum of four such expedited 'renewals possible.
Investigators wishing to continue a project beyond that time need to submit it again for a
complete review.

REVISIONS: UCRIHS must review any changes in procedures involving human
subjects. prior to initiation of the change. If this is done at the time of renewal. please
use the green renewal form. To revise an approved protocol at any other time during
the year. send your written request to the UCRIHS Chair. requesting revised approval
and referencing the project‘s lRB# and title. Include in your request a description of the
change and any revised instruments. consent forms or advertisements that are
applicable.

PROBLEMSICHANGES: Should either of the following arise during the course of the
work, notify UCRIHS promptly: 1) problems (unexpected side effects. complaints, etc.)
involving human subjects or 2) changes in the research environment or new information
indicating greater risk to the human subjects than existed when the protocol was
previously reviewed and approved.

if we can be of further assistance, please contact us at 517 355-2180 or via email:

UCRIHS@pilot.msu.edu. Please note that all UCRIHS forms are located on the web:
http://www.msu.edu/unit/vprgs/UCRIHSI

36

cc: Rosalia Emanuele

APPENDIX C

CONSENT FORM

 

Dear Parents,

I would like to invite your child to participate in a study I
am conducting this semester that involves music reading. The
purpose of this study is to show the effect of singing in the
development of music reading skills in young piano students.

The project will last eight weeks and will take five minutes
of each lesson to complete. There are four pieces (each is
four measures long) and each will be read twice. On weeks
one, four, five, and eight I will teach the piece as I would
in a usual setting. On weeks two, three, six, and seven I
will teach the piece as before, but will incorporate singing.
My hopes are that I will find an efficient way to improve
music reading when singing becomes a part of a student's
practice routine.

Participation in this study is voluntary and you may withdraw
at any time without penalty. All data collected will remain
confidential. If you have any questions or concerns about
your rights as human subjects of research, please contact
David Wright at:

University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects
(UCRIHS)

Michigan State University

246 Administration Building

East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1046

(517) 355—2180

 

I, (print name) , allow my
child to participate in this study conducted by Rosalia
Emanuele involving the effect of singing in the development of
music reading skills.

 

 

 

(Parent's signature) (Date)

37

REFERENCES

38

REFERENCES

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London: Novello and Company Ltd.

 

Brown, A. M. (1974). Letters, syllables, numbers,
intervals; Which music reading system is best for young
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Gordon, E. E. (1990). A music learning theory for
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Inc.

 

 

Hicks, C. E. (1980). Sound before sight: Strategies for
teaching music reading. Music Educators Journal, 66L 53—55,
65, 67.

 

Johnson, J. M. (1984, September). Sight-singing: An aid
to musicianship. ClavierL723L 30-31.

 

Klemish, J. J. (1970). A comparative study of two
methods of teaching music reading to first-grade children.
Journal of Research in Music Education, 18L 355-364.

Lanners, T. (1999, May/June). Teaching by example.
Claviery 38, 8-11, 43.

 

Matthay, T. (1912). The child’s first steps in
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Newman, G. (1979). Teaching children music:
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Brown Company Publishers.

 

Petzold, R. G. (1959). The perception of music symbols
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musically. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of
Wisconsin.

 

 

Ranke, M. V. (1996). The application of learning
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Walters & C. C. Taggart (Eds.), Readings in Music Learning
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Robinson, M. (1996). To sing or not to sing in
instrumental music class. Music Educators Journal, 83, 17-21.

 

39

Tobin, J. R. (1957). Common sense in sight-reading: A
guide book for piano teachers. London: Joseph Williams, Ltd.

 

 

 

 

Zimmerman, M. P. (1971). Musical characteristics of
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40