Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-zzh7m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T17:33:14.099Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Melody, Language and the Development of Singing in the Curriculum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2009

Akosua Obuo Addo
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this study, the author examines the relationship between tone production and language among children from Ghana. The results suggest that linguistic content influences melodic movement. To a large extent, the singing development of these children is made possible through play and the other culturally acceptable repertoire that they hear around them. The author concludes that teachers should be encouraged to develop exercises that enhance vocal development while rooted within the children's musical cultures.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , July 1998 , pp. 139 - 148
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abraham, O., & von Hornbostel, E. M. (1994) ‘Suggested Methods for die Transcription of Exotic Music’, Ethnomusicology, 38/3, 425–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Addo, A. O. (1995) ‘Ghanaian Children's Music Cultures: A Video Ethnography of Selected Singing Games. Phd dissertation, University of British Columbia, Canada.Google Scholar
Blacking, J. (1973) How Musical is Man? Seattle: University of Washington Press.Google Scholar
Cheska, A. T. (1987) Traditional Games and Dances in West African Nations. Schrondorf, Germany: Verlag Karl Hoffman.Google Scholar
Cooper, N. (1995) ‘Children's Singing Accuracy as a Function of Grade Level, Gender, and Individual versus Unison Singing’, Journal of Research in Music Education, 43/3, 222–31.Google Scholar
Deutsch, D. (1994) ‘The Tritone Paradox and the Pitch Range of the Speaking Voice: Reply to Repp’, Music Perception, 12/2, 257–63.Google Scholar
FORSON, B. (1978) ‘Phonological Regularities in Akan-English Code-Switching’, Studies in African Linguistics, 8, 29–33.Google Scholar
Goetze, M. (1985) ‘Factors Affecting Accuracy in Children's Singing’. PhD dissertation, University of Colorado, Dissertation Abstracts International, 46, 2955A.Google Scholar
Goetze, M., Cooper, N., & Brown, C. (1990) ‘Recent Research on Singing in the General Music Classroom’, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 104, 16–37.Google Scholar
Goetze, M., & Horii, Y. (1989) ‘A Comparison of Pitch Accuracy of Group and Individual Singing in Young Children’, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 99, 57–73.Google Scholar
Gordon, E. E. (1980) ‘Learning Sequences in Music’. Chicago: G. I. A. Publications.Google Scholar
Hanna, J. L. (1992) ‘Dance’. In Myers, H. (ed.), Ethnomusicology: An Introduction. The New Grove Handbook of Music, pp. 315–26. London: The Macmillan Press.Google Scholar
Hornbostel, E. M. Von (1905) ‘Die probleme der vergleichende musikwissenschaft’, Zeitschrift der Internationale Musikgesellschaft, 7, 85–97.Google Scholar
Levman, B. G. (1992) ‘The Genesis of Music and Language’, Ethnomusicology, 36/2, 147–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nketia, J. H. K. (1963) African Music in Ghana. Evanston IL: Northwestern University Press.Google Scholar
Nketia, J. H. K. (1974) ‘The Musical Heritage of Africa’. DÆDALUS, Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 103, 151–61.Google Scholar
Sloboda, J. (1985) The Musical Mind: The Cognitive Psychology of Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Swanwick, K. (1994) Musical Knowledge, Intuition, Analysis and Music Education. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Trehub, S. E., Unyk, A. M., & Trainor, L. J. (1993a) ‘Adult Identify Infant-directed Music across Cultures’, Infant Behaviour and Development, 16, 193–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trehub, S. E., Unyk, A. M., & Trainor, L. J. (1993b) ‘Maternal Singing in Cross-cultural Perspective’, Infant Behaviour and Development, 16, 285–95.Google Scholar
Trainor, L. J. (1996) ‘Infant Preferences for Infant-directed Versus Noninfant-directed Play-songs and Lullabies’, Infant Behaviour and Development, 19, 83–92.Google Scholar
Walker, R. (1989) ‘Some Objective Measurement of Children's Singing’, Canadian Journal of Research in Music Education, 30, 175–83.Google Scholar
Welch, G. F. (1994) ‘The Assessment of Singing’, Psychology of Music, 22, 3–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welch, G. F., Sergeant, D. C, & White, J. (1996) ‘The Singing Competencies of Five-year-old Developing Singers’, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 127, 155–62.Google Scholar