Visual Representations in Music Listening Activities: Comparing sixth-graders’ reception of a “rhythmic music” excerpt under three listening conditions

Abstract

This master’s thesis is an attempt to explore sixth-graders’ (n=18) responses to a “rhythmic music” excerpt under three different listening task conditions. It investigates the extent to which the participants’ drawing to visually represent music may be determined to affect their music perception. An additional goal has been to develop refined tools for future experimental research in a large-scale study with a large sample of participants. This research can be described as a mixed methods study with a quasi-experimental design, or what has sometimes been called a “qualitative experiment.” Collected data include semi-structured one-to-one interviews with all participants, freely drawn visual representations of music, and a selfdeveloped Likert-type questionnaire.

Analysis of the qualitative data did not reveal any considerable music response differences that can be ascribed to variations in listening task conditions. However, it does on several occasions support previous research and corresponds with utilized theoretical perspectives. The deductive analysis of qualitative data demonstrated that understanding analytical and emotional listening as an essential dichotomy (as common in previous studies) should be challenged, since these concepts actually appear to have a dialectic relationship. Results were interpreted using various “microtheories” related to music perception, cognition and philosophy.

Analysis of questionnaire data revealed insufficient reliability and validity of the testing instrument. However, knowledge gained from the quantitative analysis provided valuable information used to develop specific recommendations for modification of approaches to future experimental research in this field.