Children's perception of timbre by selected orchestral instruments in Grade 2

An Empirical Study

Abstract

When children start primary school musical acculturation is expanded by the regular music lessons that take place at school. This study examines the extent to which children in primary school can differentiate instruments of the orchestra by their timbre, compared to preschoolers.

The results of 84 children in Grade 2 at elementary schools in Saxony show that they can draw a connection between the sound and the image for an average of three to four out of nine instruments (M = 3.3, SD = 1.6 instead of M = 2.9, SD = 1.2) and between the sound and the name of the instrument for two out of nine instruments (M = 2.1, SD = 1.4 instead of M = 1.7, SD = 1.2).

The usage of type names decreases significantly compared to preschoolers. This could be evidence of the transition from the preoperational stage to the concrete operational stage according to Piaget.