Instrumentalists in Singapore: Assessment of solo performances with compact disc, piano, or no accompaniment

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education

ISSN

0010-9894

Issue

153-154

First Page

1

Last Page

7

Publication Date

12-1-2002

Abstract

Band students from Singapore (grades 7-12) listened to 12 instrumental performances, four of which they heard with no accompaniment, four with piano accompaniment, and four with compact disc accompaniment. Listeners from two neighborhood schools and two elite schools (n = 252) judged soloist's performance quality with rating scales and indicated the best feature of each performance, as well as the aspect needing most improvement. Listeners also rated their preferences for each accompaniment. Materials were taken from popular beginning band method books. Grade level had a significant effect on judgments of performance quality and preferences for various accompaniments. Popular music accompaniments swayed listeners' judgments of performance quality in the positive direction, particularly with younger students. Students were discriminating listeners and gave appropriate advice on best aspects and those needing most improvement. There was a significant, moderate relationship between greater preference for accompaniment style and higher performance quality ratings. These effects mirror those seen with adolescents from the U.S.A. in a previous study, in all respects but one; specifically, effects of gender were not parallel. Unlike U.S.A. students, Singaporean girls' and boys' style preferences were similar among the four CD accompaniments.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS