The Effect of Ear-Training Approach on Music-Evoked Emotions and Music Liking

Abstract

In this study, we examined differences in music-evoked emotions and music liking between two approaches to teaching ear-training in music school. Participants were 423 pupils (60% female; Mage = 10.55 years, SDage = 0.92) in the third grade. In two ear-training lessons prepared either by the standard (STA) or the multimodal and interdisciplinary cognitive-emotional approach (CEA), pupils listened to a 2-minute excerpt from the 4th movement (Allegro con fuoco) of the Symphony no. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 (“From the New World”) by Antonín Dvořák. The Geneva Emotional Music Scale (GEMS-9, Zentner et al., 2008) was translated and adapted to measure music-evoked emotions. Pupils also reported their music liking. In this study, the original three-factor structure of the GEMS-9 was not replicated, and instead a two-factor solution with factors labelled Activation and Calmness emerged. The results showed that in both groups the music evoked moderate to moderately high Activation and low Calmness. Pupils reported high music liking, however, those who participated in the CEA liked the music more than those who participated in the STA. The listening activities that enrich children’s experiences of classical music in the classroom are discussed.