Approaching the song acquisition process
Stefanie Stadler Elmer · Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education · 1997
• How do children acquire new songs? How can we analyze and represent this learning process? The investigation of these questions is guided by the theory of a structure-genetic constructivism approach in the tradition of Piaget that is at first briefly outlined. Next, a microanalytic procedure is described that is devised for gaining insights into the changes in the song learning process. Children between 2; 7 and 8; JO years of age were instructed in learning new songs in natural interactive settings. The microanalyses of the individual children 's consecutively produced song trials are supported by a computerized pitch analyzer. Graphic representations more reliable and detailed than conventional music notation and an extensive conceptual framework permit the specification of simultaneously present parameters. Together with the analyses of the child-researcher interaction, a rich microscopic ' view of the progressive co-constructive processes is supplied that allows individual children 's song acquisition processes to be reconstructed theoretically and empirically. The kind of insights gained by this 'microscopic ' view is very briefly illustrated. Addressed issues are joint singing, produced pitch quality, and the strategies of applying conventional melodic patterns or adopting another song 's melody.