Different-Age and Mentally Handicapped Listeners' Response to Western Art Music Selections

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to provide insight into the musical responsiveness of different groups of participants. A listening activity was developed to measure likeability of pre-selected excerpts in different performance media. One-hundred-and-sixty-three subjects, students from Grades 2, 5, 8, 11/12, and trainable mentally handicapped (TMH) students, participated in the study. Students listened to excerpts from Puccini's La Bohème, Haydn's Symphony No. 104, Mozart's Vesperae Solennes, and Hoist's First Suite in E-flat, while simultaneously manipulating a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CBDI) dial. Overlays used with the CRDI dial were developed specifically for the populations tested and included a pictographic scale continuum. Results indicated that (a) second-grade participants rated all excerpts higher than did the other groups, and (b) instrumental music examples were rated higher than vocal music examples. Results concur with findings reported in music preference research literature.