This study investigated the music-reading errors of 6--13-year-old piano students (n = 35) as they read three unfamiliar musical pieces. The musical pieces were similar in terms of tonality, and rhythmic and melodic complexity, but differed in terms of simultaneity of left- and right hand and complexity of left-hand arrangement. / Pitch errors were examined in terms of frequency, placement, and type. Of all pitches played, 23% were incorrect pitches. However, 30% of the incorrect pitches were followed by an immediate correction (self-correction). There were significantly more errors made in the left-hand parts than in right-hand parts of all three pieces. The most common error type was erroneous pitches, followed by redundant and omitted pitch errors respectively. Erroneous pitches were significantly more often contour preserving than contour violating. The younger children made significantly more redundant pitch errors and contour violating pitch errors than did the older children and the younger children tended to make more self-corrections than did the older children. / Timing data were examined in terms of the length of performances and in terms of the length and frequency of pauses. No significant differences were found between pieces or age groups in terms of timing. A high frequency of pauses was noted in both age groups. Evidence drawn from pitch and timing errors suggested that the children in this study tried to play all the pitches in the score with little or no consideration for the rhythmic information in the score. This finding was in accordance with results of previous studies on children and music reading. Implications for music education and research are discussed.

No description available.

Thesis (MMus (Music))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / The piano teacher faces an enormous task as educator in initial educational practice. The child must receive clear directives in terms of piano technique, sight reading skills, aural training, music theory and general music history. These aspects are accepted as providing the basic principles for effective tuition for beginners. Efficient guidance can be delivered only when the piano teacher has the necessary knowledge. In this study piano teachers who lack sufficient experience, knowledge and insight in the relevant knowledge, especially concerning piano technique, are considered to be underqualified.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1972. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of the study was to explore the effects that individual vs. collective structured creative musical problem solving tasks had on students' compositional products. Subjects in a convenience sample of 32 fourth-graders and 32 fifth-graders were randomly assigned to either the individual or collective condition. The 3 treatment sessions were characterized by an open-ended creative problem solving task, which included questions intended to guide subjects through 3 stages of the creative problem solving process: Understanding the Problem, Generating Ideas, and Planning for Action. Subjects participated in the pre- and posttest individually. Three experienced music educators assessed the compositional products in terms of pattern use, cohesiveness, and creativity. The originally intended MANCOVAs could not be carried out because the data did not meet the necessary assumptions. Pretest and posttest scores were explored with individual ANOVAs. The Bonferroni technique was used to adjust the alpha level. The statistical analyses showed that subjects exposed to the individual condition obtained higher scores than subjects exposed to the collective condition on six of the eight explored subtests, but these differences were not significant. The level of interjudge reliability decreased at each of the three measurements of the study: pilot test, pretest, and posttest. The study's results suggest that music educators interested in observing specific characteristics of individual students' compositional products, such as the levels of cohesiveness, creativity, and pattern use, could do so regardless of the condition under which students were exposed to compositional tasks, either individually or collectively. Recommendations for future research include the use of a measurement instrument specifically designed for open-ended tasks, and the exploration of the current study's measurement instrument with closed-ended tasks. The study highlights the need for appropriate measurement instruments designed for the compositional tasks at hand, and the need for research results reported clearly, so that more advancement of this field is possible.