Musical Instrument Selection
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Contents |
Introduction
As a beginning band director, I am, for most students, their first impression of instrumental music. First impressions are everything, especially with fifth grade students. In addition to making a good first impression, I also have the responsibility to help each individual in selecting an instrument, which hopefully they will play for many years to come. I decided to research which factors contribute to a student selecting a particular instrument so that I can be the most hopeful to the students’ success.
Current Practices
For those who are unfamiliar with the band recruiting process, I will describe the process that is used in my school district. During the Spring of a child's fourth grade year, the middle school bands tour the district and perform. Performances include full band pieces as well as student soloists. The soloists talk about the decision to select their instrument and perform a small solo so that the fourth graders are able to get a clear, sound idea of the instruments. The second phase of the recruitment is done during the general music class. Along with the general music teachers I administor the Selmer Music Guidance Survey. This survey helps band directors determine how strong a child's aural skills are with regards to rhythm, pitch and melody. Those who score well are encouraged to select the more difficult instruments, such as the French horn and oboe. Students who do not score as well are encouraged to select easier instruments. The final stage of the process is the instrument trial. A student selects 2 to 3 instruments that he/she would like to try. I then help them form the correct embouchure and briefly teach them the basics of taking a good breath. If the child is successful in producing a good first sound and is interested in the instrument, he/she generally chooses that instrument to study.
Importance of Research
The studies and research described in this section highlight the concepts that contribute to students’ instrument choice and how then the instrument choice affects recruiting techniques, the success of the individual and the success of a program and retention of student members. Several studies have been done to determine the components that contribute to instrument choice. Many researchers found gender to be an influence as well as instrument timbre, parental and peer influences,personality and the amount of exposure to music as well as several other factors of significant relevance. Having an understanding of these influences can provide a better perception as to the reasons why students select certain instruments and how to better recruit and retain students in the instrumental music program. Student satisfaction in music contributes to continued participation which preserves the instrumental music program.
Contributing Factors
Of the many factors that influence a child's decision to play a particular instrument the following repeatedly appeared in my research. The factors are as follows: Gender, peer and parental influence and instrument timbre. personality, exposure to music, music educators influence. Of the many studies done in the past twenty-eight years I found the following to be highly regarded by experts in the field of music education research and helpful in achieving my goals as a life-long learner and educator. With experience I have found that other factors, such as personality, exposure to music and the guidance of a music educator are of influence as well.
One of the first and highly regarded studies done on the sex-stereotyping of musical instruments was completed by Abeles and Porter (1978). This research provided much insight onto this subject by using four studies. The first study determined the extent of musical instrument sex-stereotyping behavior in adults by means of a survey. A portion asked parents to rank the preference of instrument choice for a son and then for a daughter. Most instruments were ranked for either females or males. Two instruments produced a non-significant difference. In the second study the goal was to determine the placement of the instruments on a masculine-feminine continuum. College students, both music majors and non majors completed this portion of the study. The results were in agreement with those found in the first study. The same instruments were rated feminine, masculine and neutral instruments as in the prior study. The third portion of the study examined the gender associations of children in kindergarten through fifth grade. After familiarizing subjects with the instruments by means of visual and aural materials, subjects selected an instrument they would most like to play. Results indicated that there were significant differences due to the main effects of sex and grade, and sex by grade interaction. Also, stabilization in instrument selection occurred in students grades six through eight. The fourth study indicated that the sex-stereotyping behavior in musical instrument preference is not very strong in children, but becomes more apparent in children beyond third grade. Additionally, results indicated that girls were generally not affected by the presentations and therefore selected a larger variety of instruments in comparison to boys.
An outside influence that contributed to student choice and success was parental involvement in music education. This became a concern in regards to the progress made by students. Zdzinski (1996) researched several questions including the relationship between cognitive musical achievement and parental involvement, performance achievement and parental involvement, and musical affective response and parental involvement. The method of research completed involved students in grades fourth through twelfth in two states, totaling 397 subjects. Several tests were used to measure different areas of achievement such as affective outcomes, cognitive musical achievement, performance achievement, parental involvement, and music aptitude. Band directors administered the tests. After tabulating the results, the hypothesis that parental involvement is related to instrumental music outcomes was supported. A strong relationship was evident between parental involvement and affective outcome scores at the senior high level. Performance and cognitive musical outcomes were closely related to parental involvement at the elementary and middle levels. The article stressed that parental involvement can positively influence student learning.
In a another study, Bayley (2001) researched how teachers prepared beginning instrumental music students to select a musical instrument. Of the 77.3% that participated in the survey, the majority reported a restriction of instrument choices including the saxophone and percussion. Encouragement for a specific instrument occurred frequently in order to acquire a balanced instrumentation. There were some preferences among each gender. Peers were the great influence according to the teachers surveyed.
Edwin (1986) completed a longitudinal predictive validity study of the instrument timbre preference test and the musical aptitude profile. The findings demonstrated that playing an instrument for which a child has a timbre preference for and having a high musical aptitude aids in the success as a musician. The students in the experimental group were given instruments by the National Association of Band Instrument Manufacturers for the instrument in which they preferred the timbre based on the Instrument Timbre Preference Test. This test was designed specifically for this study. Both groups studied with the same five teachers and were evaluated by the same judges at the end of each academic year. Neither the teachers nor judges knew which students participated in which group. The study also found that not only did the experimental group demonstrate a higher rate of success, but the group also retained more students over the period of study as opposed to the control group.
Through experience I have found that a child's personality may influence his/her selection. After recruiting hundreds of students throughout my career, I have found that children that tend to be shy or reserved select an instrument that is softer sounding such the flute or clarinet. On the opposite side I have seen the more outgoing children select instruments that have a louder sound such as the trumpet or trombone. I wonder if the child's personality influences his/her selection or if the personality is influenced by the selection of the particular instrument? Each instrument section has it's own personality trait that is demonstrated consistently over the years and I would be interested in doing more research on that topic.
The study by Griswold and Chroback (1981) discovered that gender was a factor in determining instrument selection and also found that sex-stereotyping can affect experiences with various instruments and music professions. But the study also suggested that gender connotation distinctions made between instruments and occupations were not related to the sex but instead to the amount of exposure to music.
Many band directors face the issue of having a balanced instrumentation. Balanced instrumentation means that you have a good ratio of each instrument for the size of the ensemble. Music would not have it's purpose served if it was written for full band but the group was actually comprised of 40 saxophones and 2 flutes. When recruiting beginners and helping them in selecting an instrument, the desire to tell the child no to a particular instrument is sometimes based on balanced instrumentation rather than if the child can produce a good sound on it.
Critics
While there are no known critics of instrument selection nor the factors that contribute to it, almost every researcher emphasized the importance of doing more research. The more we learn about the process the better we can help our students succeed. The process of recruiting will vary from school district to school district. As educators we must do what is best for our student population of young musicians.
Links of Interest
http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com
http://www.educationthroughmusic.com
Testimonials and Life Experiences
My first year teaching, I worked with beginning band students who had already choosen their instruments the previous year. I had one girl, a percussionist, who was just not interested in music at all, could not play, and just caused behavior problems. She was struggling in her regular class too so after the first semester she dropped out of band. After speaking with one of the ladies I used to work with after I left I found out this same girl was now back in band, on the clarinet, and doing quite well. In the beginning her father had pushed for her to play drums since that is what he played but it turns out she was better off choosing the instrument she wanted to play. - C. Cyrus
I remember when the middle school orchestra directors came around my elementary school during the 3rd grade. They did a demonstration of each string instrument and then had those that were interested, trace their hand shape on a piece of paper and turn it into the directors. A few weeks later, we receieved that handshape back and written on it was the string instrument they thought would be most appropriate for us. I wanted to play the violin but my hand shape "best for the double bass" as was indicated on my paper. I began playing the bass in fourth grade and here I am twenty years later and now a high school band director. -J. Daeschler
I remember asking my sister, a budding high school cellist, "I want to play drums, they're the easiest." I was 4 or 5 years old at the time. This was just after she was drilling me on relative pitch recognition. Her response was, "No instrument is easier than any other. Each has their own difficulties and challenges." That stuck with me. I eventually went on to play violin through a university school of music and switched to bass and became a jazz and blues player. I hated getting called an "orchestra dork" during middle and high school. Today I have relative pitch thanks to my sister. It helps a ton with transcription work! - J. Tubbs
At my school, we had a day to test out string instruments and a day to test out wind/percussion instruments. This happened when I was in fourth grade. However, the instrument testing day did not do much to change my idea of what instrument I wanted to play-I can remember wanting to play the flute since I was very young. I was encouraged to choose the violin and oboe, in addition to the flute. I do not recall having any sort of tests done, and in some ways, that idea seems odd to me. I always felt that children should be able to pick whatever instrument they want. Of course I had no interest in playing an instrument that I could not even make a sound on, which is why I knew immediately that the saxophone was not for me. My parents were completely supportive, and they encouraged me to practice. Unlike my older brother, who only lasted for 2 years on violin, I ended up playing my flute (and later, piccolo) throughout elementary school, middle school, and high school, to the point that I considered being a music major in college. I know that, 17 years later, the choice I made when I was nine was the right one. I am happily playing in a community band today.
I would also like to add that I was a very shy child and I definitely think there is truth to the musical instrument/personality style theory. Any person who has been in band for a significant amount of time can explain the personality characteristics of the different instruments. A. Peso
References
Abeles, H. & Porter, S., (1978). The sex-stereotyping of musical instruments. The Journal of Research of Music Education 26, 65-75.
Bayley, J. (2001) An investigation of the process by which elementary and junior high school teachers prepare students to choose a musical instrument. Dissertation Abstracts International, 61 (08), 3097. (UMI No. 9982524)
Griswold, P. &Chroback, D., (1981). Sex-role associations of music instruments and occupations by gender and major. The Journal of Research in Music Education 29, 57-62.
Zdzinski, S. (1996). Parental involvement, selected student attributes, and learning outcomes in instrumental music. The Journal of Research in Music Education 44, 34-48.
