Morrell, Amanda J.2024-08-142024-08-1419861986https://hdl.handle.net/1828/19043Research findings concerning children's rhythmic perception have been ambiguous. There is still some question as to how two or more musical stimuli interact during the perceptual process, and how specific musical perception skills develop with age. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between children's perception of temporal structures (rhythm) vs. combined temporal and tonal structures (melody), and to determine if this relationship changes with age. The study was designed to make an additional comparison between results of three separate response modes, and to determine if these modes influenced the relationship between the perceived temporal and tonal structures at any or all age levels. Forty-nine children from three age levels (Kindergarten, Grade 2, and Grade 4) were randomly chosen from one school. The children participated in a series of tasks which allowed comparison of responses to a) a temporal structure and b) the same temporal structure combined with a tonal structure (referred to as pure rhythm and melodic rhythm in this study) in three separate response modes; visual, motor, and memory. The data were subjected to a series oft-tests which revealed that the Grade 2 subjects and the Grade 4 subjects performed significantly more poorly on the melodic rhythms than on the pure rhythms (p. < .05). The Kindergarten subjects performed equally well on both types of items. An analysis of variance and a Scheffe test revealed that the Kindergarten children scored significantly lower (p. < .05) than the Grade 2 and Grade 4 children on all three response modes. The two older groups achieved significantly higher scores on the motor response items than on the visual or memory response items, and the Kindergarten group achieved significantly higher scores on the motor and memory response items than on the visual items. Differences were also found between sexes in the lower grades, particularly within the motor response section. Results suggest the following considerations for educators and researchers: -children at different stages of development appear to process perceptual information differently. -children at the kindergarten level naturally focused their attention on one element, but Grade 2 and 4 children had difficulty focusing on rhythm when melodic material was also present. -children aged 7 to 9 years should be taught rhythm in isolation from melody, or be taught how to isolate musical elements when necessary. -children as young as 5 can successfully match aural sounds with visual symbols, indicating that they are capable of more than mere rote-singing instruction. -greater emphasis on aural memory skills as well as motor and visual skills should play a large part in any music program. There is a need for further research exploring children's developmental patterns in musical learning, and a need for more effective testing devices with which to conduct this research.89 pagesAvailable to the World Wide WebThesis