Children’s Abilities To Conserve Some Basic Sound Parameters

Abstract

In my contribution I will present the results of a series of tests concerning the perception of three fundamental parameters of sound: pitch, duration, and timbre. The tests are based on the concept of “conservation” elaborated by J. Piaget. They were carried out in a didactic setting of ca. 50 children, divided into 5 groups of ca. 10 children each, according to their age, from 5 to 10 years, and of 8 children of a first middle school class. The aim of the tests was to observe how the ability of “conservation” of one parameter of sound, re-presenting this latter while varying another parameter, differs in the various age groups. This study emerges from the observation of some characteristics of musical perception in children in the different grades, during educational activity. Far from any pretence of exhaustiveness, it may be considered the beginning of a more ample study. A first version of this project presented al the 9th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (Bologna, August 22-26, 2006).