Relationships between Pitch-Matching and Grade Level, Gender, Ethnicity, and Classroom Teachers’ Use of Music in Grades K-3,

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between pitch-matching and grade level, sex, ethnicity, and classroom teachers’ use of music among K-3 students (N = 289) taught by the same general music teacher. Portions of the data from a pitchmatching exercise that functioned as the music teacher’s roll-taking procedure during the 2005-06 school year were treated as preand posttests. There were no significant pretest differences between ethnic groups (Hispanic, White, Other). There were significant pretest differences among classes taught by different classroom teachers, as well as the female students scoring significantly higher than males. Covariance analysis (pretest as covariate) revealed significant improvement by girls over boys on the posttest. There were no significant pretest differences among grade levels, suggesting a lack of carryover of pitch-matching skills from previous years, despite significant improvement (pre-post) for every grade level during the year under study. The boys performed poorly relative to girls in higher grades, though the interaction was not significant. Finally, the study revealed relationships between classroom teachers’ reported use of music and student gain scores (pre-post) in pitch-matching.