Which forms of notation are used by primary school children? An empirical study on different forms of rhythm-notation with signs.

Abstract

Since the end of the 1990s the focus of primary school music teaching has been on practical music making. Dealing with notation, as demanded in the curricula, plays an important role here. With the visual representation of rhythms, pupils learn a cultural technique which allows them a deeper level of participation in music production. This is referred to as “musical literacy”. Virtually no curriculum demands the learning of a rhythm language, as proposed in the theories of rhythm learning based on the work of Gordon (2012) or Jank (2013). This study seeks to investigate what connections exist between the notation of performed rhythms using signs, rhythm syllables and notes. A test using four rhythm-related items was carried out on over 500 subjects. The results reflect Bamberg’s (1991), Upitis’ (1987) and Hildebrandt’s (1987) theory on the figural and metric type of rhythm notation, as well as showing that the ability to use a rhythm language has a positive impact on notation with signs and notes.