An Investigation Of The Effects Of Matching Timbre And Training On Melodic Ear-to-hand Coordination Of College Music Majors.
Victor Alan Markovich · Deep Blue (University of Michigan) · 1985
Ear-to-hand coordination is a form of playing by ear which allows an individual to transfer what is heard, imagined, or recalled, to a musical performance. The primary purposes of this study were to investigate the performance of melodic patterns, ear-to-hand, as affected by (1) timbre familiarity with one's principal performing instrument (i.e., matching timbre), and (2) practice and training. Freshman music majors (N = 72) served as subjects for the timbre investigation. Sophomore and junior music majors (N = 38) served as subjects for the practice and training investigation. The Test of Melodic Ear-to-Hand Coordination (TMEHC), by Froseth, was used to evaluate subjects' performance of melodic patterns, ear-to-hand. The MLR Melodic Ear-to-Hand Skills Program (MEHSP) was used as the instructional training program. To investigate matching timbre effects, the TMEHC was used in its present form and recorded using eighteen instrumental timbres. Timbre study subjects were divided randomly by instrument classification into two groups. Both groups received the TMEHC twice, once with synthesized sound, and once with matching timbre. To account for learning as a result of test taking, Group A received the matching timbre TMEHC first, while Group B received the synthesized sound TMEHC first. To investigate practice and training effects, the practice and training subjects were assigned randomly to a control and an experimental group. The MEHSP was used with the experimental group. The control group received no special instruction. No evidence was found to suggest that familiarity with the timbre of one's principal performing instrument significantly aids (p < .05) the performance of melodic patterns, ear-to-hand. Practice and training study results indicated a significant difference existed (p < .05) between the pretest-posttest gain scores of the control and experimental groups in favor of the experimental group. The evidence suggested that the MEHSP is an effective instructional program for improving melodic ear-to-hand coordination as measured by the TMEHC.