Characteristics of Motivation for Music and Musical Aptitude of Undergraduate Nonmusic Majors

Abstract

Nonmusic majors in a music appreciation course were administered an experimental college version of the Musical Aptitude Profile (CMAP) and two measures of motivation for music. One motivation measure assessed five factors to which students attribute success or failure in music: effort, musical ability, background, classroom environment, and affect for music. The other measure assessed the magnitude of student motivation for music in three areas: personal commitment, school music, and music compared to other activities. Low reliability obtained on the CMAP Musical Sensitivity scale necessitated its elimination from the analyses. No significant differences due to sex or academic level were obtained, nor was there a significant relationship between the motivation and aptitude variables. The motivating factors and magnitude-of-motivation measures were significantly related, although these two types of variables were found to measure different aspects of music motivation. The main reason cited for being musically motivated was affect for music.