Effects of Conducting-Gesture Instruction on Seventh-Grade Band Students' Performance Response to Conducting Emblems

Abstract

This study is an investigation of the effects of short-term conducting gesture instruction on seventh-grade band students' recognition of and performance response to musical conducting emblems (gestures). Subjects were 60 seventh-grade wind instrumentalists. During 5 consecutive days, treatment-group subjects (n − 30) received instruction designed to improve their recognition and response to common conducting gestures. The control group ( n = 30) participated in a warm-up routine designed to review concepts of musical expression without the use of conducting gestures. Two dependent measures of conducting-gesture recognition were used in this study: (1) a paper-and-pencil measure and (2) an individual musical performance measure. An independent t-test revealed statistically significant differences in favor of the treatment group for the paper-and-pencil test (p < . 001). Additional analysis by a repeated-measures ANOVA revealed statistically significant differences in favor of the treatment group for the individual musical performance test (p < .0001). Results of this study indicate that short-term conducting-gesture instruction is effective in improving the recognition of and performance response to musical conducting emblems for seventh-grade band students.