Abstract:
Purpose of the Investigation
The purpose o f the investigation was to design and develop an individually administered, criterion-referenced music test designated Infant Music Profile (IMP), in order to provide:
(1) information on the development of musical concepts with a selected population of children aged five to seven, and
(2) a basis for the development of measurement tools for teachers and administrators in order to supply objective information related to the mastery of various musical concepts by young children, such information being of use in pupil guidance, programme evaluation, teacher training, and curriculum development.
Procedure
Young children's development in the conceptual areas of music: pitch, volume, timbre, chords, pulse, duration, speed, and metre were tested by delineating eleven types of task based on different ways of responding to sounds (response domains), and possible stages in musical development (types of competence). Five response domains utilised performance and verbal responses to verbal and musical stimuli, whilst nested within these response domains were three types of competence related to children's ability to respond to one sound, a series of graduated sounds and two contrasting sounds. The research design culminated in the development of IMP, a test divided into four batteries, each of which took approximately fifteen minutes to administer. Inter-tester reliability was assisted by the use of a recorded cassette tape with all the test instructions contained therein. One hundred and eighty-three young children from the Auckland area were tested on the ability to demonstrate mastery of forty-five subtests. Further studies on validity and reliability were undertaken, such as testing other children who had received specific types of music instruction.
Summary of Results
(1) Music education programmes which are designed to promote music concept learning need to encompass a wide variety of activities, whilst objectives within each conceptual area are systematically accomplished.
(2) Account must be taken of the cognitive development of children between the ages of five and seven, in designing beginner programmes in teaching basic music concepts.
(3) Whilst basic concepts of speed, duration, and volume are relatively easily mastered by young children, particularly since the terminology associated with these concepts can be learned outside school, pitch concepts require specific instruction.
(4) Developmental stages within conceptual areas of music need to be taken into account in planning music programmes. For example, change in pitch involving a graduated series of sounds is easier for children to master than a comparison of two sounds.
(5) A small but significant number of young children are able to detect changes in chords and demonstrate mastery in a variety of metre tasks.
(6) If specific teaching in clapping and feeling a pulse does not occur in school programmes, young children's ability in these skills cannot be expected to improve with maturation.
(7) Listening tests make a more powerful contribution to a music ability score and are more reliable than those involving performance.
The basic rationale of IMP as outlined in the objectives was satisfactory. Most of the forty-five subtests possessed satisfactory levels of reliability, but further investigation for a few subtests is warranted. Although requiring further research, some of the techniques and subtests have potential for developing a musical aptitude test for young children.