The effects of involvement in chamber music on the intonation and attitude of 6th and 7th grade string orchestra players.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

One 7<super>th</super> grade and two 6<super>th</super> grade orchestra classes participated in a 39-week study which examined the effects of chamber music involvement on the students' intonation skills and attitudes towards music. One 6<super>th</super> grade class received a large ensemble curriculum experience only, while the other 6<super>th</super> grade class received a combined large and small ensemble curricular experience. The entire 7<super> th</super> grade orchestra class received a large ensemble curricular experience, with approximately one-half of the class members receiving a small ensemble experience as well during class time. The small ensemble time was spent on their own, with little teacher involvement. The large ensemble groups only served as the control groups, while the chamber music and large ensemble groups served as the treatment groups. An attitude survey and intonation test were administered at the end of the treatment.
During the first two weeks of the study all students were given Gordon's <italic> Music Aptitude Profile</italic> (1995) to determine that the music aptitudes of the groups were not significantly different. During the last two weeks of the study all students were tested for intonation skills using the Carmody <italic> Intonation Test</italic> (1988), and attitudes toward music of all students were measured using the Zorn <italic>Music Attitude Inventory</italic> (1969).
Students in the experimental groups had significantly higher (<italic> p</italic> = .003) <italic>Intonation Test</italic> scores than those in the control groups, indicating that involvement in chamber music in a student's musical education made a positive difference in intonation skills. Also, the composite attitude survey scores showed that the experimental group students had a more positive attitude toward music than those students in the control groups (<italic>p</italic> = .245), though for 7<super>th</super> graders the attitude scores of those in chamber music were significantly more positive (<italic>p</italic> = .004). These results indicate that involvement in chamber music in a student's musical education may make a difference in positive attitudes toward music.