Investigates the effects of age on musical preferences. Provides a brief review of the literature on this topic. Hypothesizes that the inverted-U curve will form the most general description of changes that occur with age in music preference. (RKM)

Reports a study designed to investigate patterns of music listening among music and nonmusic majors regarding four primary constituent elements of music--rhythm, dynamics, timbre, and melody. Finds that musicians do attend to listening in a significantly different manner than nonmusicians do. (DB)

Explores which styles, genres, and trends in contemporary music are most popular among 15 year-old high school students in the German Democratic Republic. Contends that such information is important for helping teachers improve planning and instruction in music education classes. (RKM)

Discusses some problems found in defining the term "musical preference." Gives a new definition for this term and discusses how this definition might be used to encourage further research in the area of structure and development of musical preference. Reports an investigation that explored this criterion. (RKM)

Presents study results of the effects of different teaching methods on the ability of nonmusician, college students to distinguish meter. Explains that one group heard meter defined with examples, another emphasized meter with large muscle movements, and a third heard examples with reinforcing clicks. Reports that all groups differed from the…

Attempts to provide a plausible theory of music's evolutionary development. Speculates that music may have provided survival benefits by helping establish mother/infant bonds, by aiding in the acquisition of knowledge, by providing a unique way of knowing, and by playing important roles in social organization. (LS)

Relates the creation of a teaching method in which students create physical movements reflecting their understanding of a musical piece. Students begin by mirroring instructors' movements, then modifying them to better fit their individual understandings, and, finally, create their own movements for new pieces. Evaluates the method's pedagogical…

Analyzes orchestral repertoire data as indications of musical taste. Collects data from 34 U.S. and Canadian symphony orchestras from 1982 through 1987. Summarizes and compares programing of 600 composers and 10,500 works. Reveals that Mozart was most frequently performed, and Beethoven was given most time. Shows relationship between student and…

Compares the effects of explicit training in classical and romantic styles, the relevance of four musical dimensions, and the congruence of categorizations with predictions of exemplar- or prototype-theories of concept formation. Explains that subjects in both the exemplar and prototype groups relied on independently abstracted cues rather than…

Expresses concern that students need to be exposed to many musical options. Reports on a study of 242 high school students in select and nonselect choral ensembles. Finds that both groups prefer popular music over other genres and that nonselect choir members rated country music higher than select choir members did. (CFR)

Articulates a fundamental rationale for the practice of qualitative research in music education. Argues that knowledge and experience are by definition subjective and constructed, thereby validating research methodologies that incorporate and acknowledge these realities. Identifies eight "processes" that offer productive research opportunities.…

Presents study results comparing attitudes of elementary school students who did or did not attend an in-school opera performance. Explains that students completed questionnaires measuring attitudes toward opera. Reports that fifth- and sixth-grade students experienced a positive effect from attending the opera. Suggests that fourth grade may be a…

Examines the differences in methodology, content, and conclusions among various approaches to music education historical research. Argues that the preeminent role of interpretation in historical research mandates a broad assortment of methodologies including qualitative research. Includes excerpts from four different histories describing a seminal…

Provides a brief overview of the uses of rhetoric in the history of writing about music. Discusses Aristotle's topology of the three different kinds of rhetoric: deliberative, judicial, and epideictic (demonstrative). Includes excerpts from past music criticism, copious notes, and a 27-item bibliography. (MJP)

Examines music terminology acquisition of 71 undergraduate students in an elementary music-methods course. Observes effects of differential training by testing for apparent knowledge transfer in written concert reports. Finds students whose vocabulary lessons were reinforced by listening exercises used music terminology more frequently. (CH)