Boys' and Girls' Preferences for Musical Instruments: A Function of Gender?

Abstract

This study investigated children's preferences for learning to play musical instruments and the extent to which boys' and girls' preferences are based on the gender stereotyped associations that have been found in previous studies. During individual interviews, 153 children (aged 9-1 1) from the north west of England stated their preferences for learning to play six musical instruments, and gave their views on which instruments should not be played by members of each sex. It was found that girls showed a significantly stronger preference for the piano, flute and violin than boys, whereas boys expressed a stronger preference for the guitar, drums and trumpet than girls. Log-linear analyses revealed that boys and girls have similar ideas about which instruments should not be played by members of each sex. Implications for music education are discussed, along with an explanation of the results in terms of children's social understanding of gender differentiation.