Effects of overt speech upon accuracy and expression of rhythmic movement

The purpose of this research was to contribute to an understanding of rhythmic skill acquisition for two culturally diverse populations of students (urban versus suburban) by examining the effects of overt speech upon the accuracy and expression of rhythmic movement. The specific problems of this study were to investigate the effect of learning condition (with and without speech) upon (1) the accuracy of rhythmic movement performances by urban and suburban third-grade students, and (2) the expressive quality of rhythmic movement performances by urban and suburban third-grade students.;Subjects for this study were students from four third-grade classes ( N = 16 + 19 + 21 + 22 = 78). Students in two classes attended a suburban school and had received music instruction two times weekly since Kindergarten. Students in two classes attended an urban school and had received no prior classroom music instruction.;This study was based upon a quasi-experimental model. A between-subjects, posttest only experimental design for differences was used. Within each school, one class was assigned to Condition WS (movement with speech) and the other to Condition WOS (movement without speech).;The Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation (Gordon, 1986a) was administered prior to instruction. Each group received two 15-minute rhythm instruction sessions weekly for a period of sixteen weeks. Students learned and performed nine rhythmic movement pieces (six procedural pieces and three criterion pieces).;At the end of the sixteen-week period, individual Rhythmic Movement Performance Tests (McFarland, 2004) were administered to all students. Videotape-recorded performances were scored by three independent judges. Two 2 x 2 x 2 analyses of variance were calculated---one for rhythmic accuracy and the other for movement expression. The main effect of condition was significant (p < .001) for both rhythmic accuracy and movement expression. No interactions were significant. Movement performances by students in Condition WS were rhythmically superior and more expressive than those by students in Condition WOS, regardless of a student's rhythm aptitude or school setting.