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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) the relationship between the music repertoire used to teach the recorder to fourth grade students and the quality of their musical performance and (b) the relationship between the students preference in music repertoire and the quality of their musical performance. Students (n = 192) from eight pre-existing intact fourth grade classes participated in this study. Students (n = 98) from four intact classes were taught to play the recorder using a folk song repertoire and students (n = 94) from the other four intact classes were taught to play the recorder using a popular music repertoire. The study followed a non-equivalent, posttest only design, a type of quasi-experimental research. After a seven-week period, students were audio- and video-recorded performing excerpts from their respective repertoires. Students performances were evaluated by four adjudicators using the researcher-created 4th Grade Recorder Performance Assessment Rubric. Following this performance assessment, participants continued learning to play the recorder for two weeks but using the contrasting groups repertoires. At the conclusion of the recorder unit, participants completed a short survey asking them to specify their preference of repertoire when learning to play the recorder. A t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test concluded that the quality of the students performances taught using the varying repertoires was significantly different. Performance qualities for students taught using folk music were better than those taught using popular music. Student surveys revealed that popular music was the most preferred music to use when learning to play the recorder. A two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), however, revealed that musical preference was not a statistically significant factor affecting students performance qualities. The researcher concluded that folk songs continue to be a valuable tool in teaching music to young children. Additionally, teachers should be encouraged to incorporate into their instruction the music that most students prefer.