The Effects of Music Literature in Developing Aesthetic Sensitivity to Music

Abstract

The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of stage band versus concert band music literature on the development of musicality and aesthetic sensitivity. Accordingly, pre-instruction and post-instruction tests were administered to approximately 600 band students in six Contra Costa County, California, high schools during the 1971–1972 academic year. There was no significant difference in musicality between the band organizations as evidenced by test scores on the Gaston Test of Musicality. There was, however, a pervasive superiority in favor of the concert bands on the California Test of Aesthetic Judgments in Music. An important observation drawn from the data is that individuals exposed exclusively or partially to concert band literature attained the primary goal of music education—the development of aesthetic sensitivity to music. In this area, they did better than the stage band students.