Undergraduate

The second part of the teacher/learner dyad is the learner. Discovering how students learn is an important component of developing effective teaching strategies. Age is an important factor in exploring student learning processes. Therefore, research into student learning of music, specifically string music, will be presented here according to age groups: undergraduate college/university students, preschool/early childhood, and secondary school students. Studies that compare learners from multiple age groups will be presented last.

Undergraduate students, both music majors and non-majors provide a convenient population for investigating how students perceive specific music phenomena. McDonald (1999) investigated how string performers, music majors, and non-music majors rated four performances for overall musicianship or the appropriate use of vibrato. In general the most musical performers used vibrato on significantly more notes, and their vibrato rates were slightly faster. Among the other findings, "non-music majors discriminated the least musical performances less effectively than did music majors and string performers" (p. 1387). Vibrato and perceived musicianship were strongly correlated.

With 120 undergraduate subjects, Rentz (1992) addressed the following questions: "(a) Do musicians and non-musicians attend similarly to instrument families in an orchestral excerpt? (b) Do musicians and non-musicians change their aural focus on instrument families with similar frequency? and (c) Are musicians and non-musicians able to estimate the amount of time they spent in each category over the six-minute period" (p. 186). Non-musicians focused longer on brass and percussion. Musicians focused on strings longer and selected strings more frequently. Musicians also demonstrated more ability to focus on three or more families of instruments simultaneously than did non-musicians.

Geringer and Madsen (1998) sought to ascertain if musicians demonstrate consistent listening patterns across good and bad vocal (soprano and tenor) and string (violin and cello) performances. The 48 music student raters consistently distinguished between good and bad performances and most often identified intonation as the element needing improvement, with tone quality second. Significant differences were found across the four timbres used with soprano consistently being rated the highest, while tenor, violin, and cello received similar ratings.

In addition to focusing on how students respond to particular music phenomena, researchers have also investigated how students are influenced by others in their expressed responses. Furman and Duke (1988) examined how statements of preference by group members affected the responses of individual group members. Ten pairs of musical excerpts from popular music and from orchestral music were used as treatment. In 8 of the 10 pairs either pitch or tempo or both was either increased or decreased by 12% in one of the pair, and subjects were asked to indicate a preference for one item within the pair.  Subjects were tested in groups of four, but three of the four in each group were confederates in the experiment. The confederates were instructed in advance to give unanimous preference responses according to a predetermined list. When the excerpts were of popular music, no significant differences were found between music major and non-music major responses. However, when the experimental excerpts were orchestral, non-music majors' publicly stated preferences were significantly affected by the preferences of the confederates.

Researchers have also explored personality as a factor of instrument played. Kemp (1981) used Cattell, Eber, and Tatsuoka's Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire form 16PF (1970) to determine personality differences among 630 British college and university music students divided into five groups: strings, woodwind, brass, keyboard, and singing. Only a small number of group differences were significant. The only significant finding for string players was that string players were rated as more aloof than the composite profile while keyboard players and singers were rated as more outgoing.

A number of researchers have focused on performance related injuries among university music students. Manchester and Flieder (1991) reviewed the medical charts for all students with performance related upper extremity problems who attended a university-level music school in the Northeast from 1986-1989. Among their findings were that "those who play string and keyboard instruments are at higher risk for hand injury than those who play woodwind and brass instruments, regardless of gender" (p. 13). Women experienced a higher injury rate than men in this study. Muscle overuse syndrome accounted for 50% of the diagnoses reported, tendonitis accounted for 16%, other musculoskeletal diagnoses accounted for 16%, and neurological disorders (carpal tunnel syndrome, digital nerve compression, ulnar nerve compression) accounted for 9% of the diagnoses reported. Treatments included partial rest, heat, ice, medications (such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), exercises, more frequent breaks, and alterations in technique. 

Roach, Martinez, and Anderson (1994) investigated musculoskeletal pain among university students who played musical instruments at least 7 hours per week and those who did not. They also explored the relationship between the instrument played and the site of reported pain. Subjects were 90 instrumentalists (19 violinists, 67 pianists, 13 guitarists, 17 percussionists, and 14 horn players) and 159 non-instrumentalists. Subjects completed a questionnaire regarding presences and location of joint pain within the preceding four weeks. While instrumentalists were no more likely than non-instrumentalists to report joint pain in the preceding month, they were twice as likely to report upper body pain and shoulder pain, and three times more likely to report elbow, wrist or hand pain. "Compared with all the subjects who did not play the instrument: the students who played the guitar were 13.8 times more likely to have elbow pain and 5.7 times more likely to have wrist pain; those who played the violin were 6.3 times more likely to have upper-back pain and 6.5 times more likely to have shoulder pain" (p. 125).

Zeigler (1997) investigated tinnitus (ear noise) among college music majors and non-majors. On the 556 surveys returned, more music majors than non-majors reported developing tinnitus. Among the music majors reporting tinnitus, percussionists had the highest incidence of tinnitus with string players reporting the lowest incidence. "The most frequently listed cause for tinnitus was exposure to excessive noise, and nearly half of the music majors surveyed reported developing tinnitus from ensemble rehearsals" (p. 2128). While most students indicated that they do not currently practice hearing conservation, they also indicated they are likely to take precautions in the future.

Suzuki instruction is a method most often associated with string teaching and begins with very young children. Therefore, string researchers have conducted a number of studies regarding Suzuki instruction and its effects on music learning of children. Specific Suzuki techniques are not presented here. Rather it is the effect of Suzuki on student achievement and attitude that is presented here.

The purpose of Nelson (1985) was to identify the relationship between aesthetic responsiveness and age for music performed by subject on the violin. Forty-six violin students between the ages of 3 and 16.5 with at least 3 months Suzuki training participated. Results indicated that age is the primary factor in the development of aesthetic judgments in children.

Suzuki training not only affects the behavior of students, but it also influences the behavior of teachers. In a study of 80 3- to 5-year old children divided into five groups (individual Suzuki, group Suzuki, creative movement, organized preschool, and no organized preschool) Scott (1987) sought to determine if Suzuki violin lessons, Creative Movement classes and/or preschool classes had any effects on attending and perseverance behaviors. Behaviors of students were determined by analyzing videotapes of classrooms, lessons and two tasks designed by the experimenter. From the observations it was determined that subjects receiving Suzuki violin lessons (group and individual) demonstrated more on-task behavior , tended to have higher scores on each of the experimenter-designed attention tasks, and spent significantly more time on the perseverance tasks than either of the other two experimental groups (creative movement and preschool). Teachers of subjects receiving both individual and group Suzuki violin instruction demonstrated significantly more teacher approval than did the preschool or creative movement teachers.

Stamou (1998) investigated the effect of Suzuki String instruction on the aptitude and performance achievement of beginning Suzuki string students. Forty-three beginning Suzuki string students and 73 general music students were pre- and post-tested using Gordon's Primary Measures of Music Audiation. No significant differences were found though the Suzuki students' pre-test PMMA scores were predictive of their string performance achievement after 22 weeks of instruction.

Barrett (1994) found that high socioeconomic status (SES) was a significant predictor of high scores on the PMMA for students between the ages of 6 and 8 from widely divergent economic backgrounds. Suzuki training was also found to predict higher scores on the PMMA. However, no positive correlation was found between the musical proficiency of students with Suzuki training and PMMA scores.

In a study of pre-school children that did not involve Suzuki training, Gibson (1986) found that four-, five-, and six-year old children can demonstrate their understanding of music interpretation using non-verbal techniques. Using auditory stimuli, subjects were required to group stimuli into categories of interpretation. Stimuli included speech, singing and cello playing. All three groups of subjects' mean scores were significantly above chance.

School-Aged Children

Because of an interest in developing and maintaining effective school orchestra programs, many researchers have focused on school-aged children. The research that will be presented here focuses on four areas of concern: selection/retention of string students, improvement of rehearsal behavior, attitudes/preferences, and individual musical development. Technique and skill development research in string education were not included here. Rather, the studies presented here focus on perception, motor development, perseverance and injury for school-aged string students.

Recruitment of quality students remains an ongoing concern for school orchestra directors. Martin (1979) developed a technique for identifying potential orchestra members. Four areas were investigated: (1) musical abilities, (2) musical interests and activities, (3) personality, and (4) home background. Of the areas investigated, music ability as measured by Wing's Tests of Musical Intelligence in combination with experience in playing an orchestra instrument and a measure of competence on the instrument were recommended as promising for predicting orchestra membership.

Stancarone (1992) investigated the efficacy of using aptitude, behavioral/attitudinal and academic achievement measures to select students for string instrument instruction. Stancarone found that, of the ten tests used, the standardized academic achievement test and the music aptitude test were the best predictors of string instrument success (r=.47 and r=.46 respectively). When the ten measures were analyzed according to the three categories, the aptitude set was the best individual predictor (R=.59) while the combination of aptitude and achievement measures yielded the highest overall prediction (R=.67).

Perkins (1999) related participation in public school orchestra programs to Maehr's theory of personal investment. Subjects were 1315 volunteer 6th through 12th grade orchestra students. Using the Spectrum String Education Participation, students indicated their personal incentives for participating in orchestra: (a) reasons for joining, (b) membership, (c) perceived available options, and (d) organizational structure. Perkins found that students join orchestra because of a desire to make music, the influence of the teacher, extrinsic activities, musical ability, extrinsic available options, and family influence. Students' personal incentives were recognition, social, ego, task and extrinsic. Relationships were found between personal incentives-membership and both available options and organizational structure.

Once quality students are recruited, the problem for orchestra directors becomes the retention of students. Papinchak (1992) surveyed 39 string teachers, 192 string students, 191 parents and 176 peers to determine factors that affect retention among middle school string students. He identified 10 areas that may have an effect on retention: student is satisfied with instrument selection; pride in playing a string instrument is encouraged; parent wants student to continue playing; the student receives periodic progress reports; the student feels good playing in concerts; the teacher enjoys teaching strings; parents try to attend concerts; best friends are also in strings class; teacher provides individual help as needed; the school has a good string program.

Research into retention sometimes focuses on identifying the reasons that students choose not to continue in orchestra programs. Allen (1982) surveyed 437 students to determine reasons for student withdrawal from junior high and high school orchestra programs. Among the factors that contributed to students dropping out were (1) changing teachers, (2) peer influence, (3) conditions of the instrument, (4) schedule conflicts and (5) music reading ability.

Morehouse (1988) identified 16 attitudinal predictors of student dropout and retention in beginning string instruction. Student attitudes toward string instruction were assessed using the String Student Assessment Measure (SSAM) developed by Morehouse in an earlier study. Teacher attitude toward students was assessed using the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (MTAI). Forty-seven Texas string teachers and 1229 beginning string students participated in the study. Sixteen variables were found to significantly predict student drop out and retention in beginning string instruction: (1) attitude toward strings as a class; (2) attitude toward music played; (3) expected overall school grade; (4) attitude toward string teacher; (5) attitude toward string classmates; (6) string teacher MTAI raw score; (7) attitude toward string instrument chosen; (8) attitude toward playing in concerts; (9) ownership of instrument; (10) general overall negative string class experience; (11) perceived parent support; (12) sex of student; (13) private string lessons; (14) attitude toward practicing; (15) expected string class grade; and (16) perception of improvement in playing.

Hurley (1992) investigated motivation and achievement in relation to student decisions to continue/discontinue participation in a string instrumental music program. Interviews were conducted with six fourth-grade beginners, six sixth-grade students who were continuing string instruction, and nine sixth-grade students who had discontinued string instruction. Hurley concluded that among the many factors that influence student motivation, "the impact of 'cost of participation' on task values ultimately influenced the achievement behavior of choice" (p. 2727).

Mowrey (1993) used the Myers Briggs Type Indicator along with basic information and exit questionnaires to find out what influence selected personality variables have on the attrition rated among sixth- and eighth-grade string orchestra students. Mowrey concluded that there is a significant difference in how students that persist and students who drop out perceive information and that students with less well-developed perceptive ability are more apt to drop out.

Hallam (1998) investigated the relationships between time spent learning, ability factors, and aspects of perseverance on instrumental student outcomes. One hundred and nine children ages 6.6 to 16.3 years old that were learning to play either violin or viola participated in the study. The best predictors of overall musical achievement were length of time leaning (beta weight .78) and ability to understand instructions (.23). Quality of achievement was best predicted by teachers' ratings of musical ability. Dropping out was best predicted by ability to understand instructions and intention to practice. "It seems that it is the child's own attitude to practice and their intention to undertake it which is ultimately of importance in whether they continue to play or not, rather that the support of parents, teachers, or friends" (p.127).

Research into rehearsal focuses on the behavior of the individual student within an orchestra rehearsal, string class or string ensemble rehearsal. Horn (1982) in a survey of 164 second-year fifth- and sixth-grade students of clarinet, trumpet and violin, found that there is a difference in rehearsal behavior according to the instrument played.

Thomas (1989) explored the effect of positive and negative reinforcement on the on-task behavior of students in a beginning string class. Positive reinforcement tended to yield higher attentiveness behavior than negative reinforcement though negative reinforcement did not tend to lower attentiveness once attentiveness was established. Fluctuation of teacher approval/disapproval rates had no effect on the amount of on-task behavior.

Salzberg and Greenwald (1977) investigated the effect of a point system on attentiveness and punctuality in two string instrument classes. In class one, practicing increased from 74% to 92% and in class 2 practicing increased from 54% to 85%. Punctuality increased to 100% (from 46% to 51%) when the point contingency was in effect. Subjects were 21 seventh-grade students enrolled in the second year of string instruction in a university laboratory school.

In a qualitative study, Johnson (1991) described musical experience from the perspective of students within a secondary orchestra rehearsal. An analysis of the data revealed three multidimensional aspects of musical experience: