Music Students & Nonverbal Behavior

This study focuses on a selected group of preadolescent beginning music students. The research seeks to explain whether the students are able to identify and attach significance to the nonverbal behavior of other music students their age. Three student performers were rated poor, average, and excellent by their teacher and videotaped performing a short 4 minute solo clarinet piece. The video excerpts were shown to a group of 27 music students who ranked the silent performers and determined the level of the performer's proficiency, comfortableness, and enthusiasm. Results showed that there was a high degree of correlation between the manner in which the students perceived the filmed performers and their own selfperceptions on the musical ability. The implication of this study lies in further applications for educational and therapeutical use. Other qualifications and future research avenues are suggested.

Within the past two decades, there has been a significant increase in empirical attention within the field of nonverbal communication (Baesler & Burgoon, 1987). In part, this may be due to not only the recognition, but the popular realization that nonverbal behaviors account for a substantial portion of communication between human beings, and that they are important indicators of thought, emotion, attitude, and socialization

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ned off, and that we wanted them to pay close attention to the way the performers looked. The class was held at 9 a.m., and was the second period of the school day. We told them that after the video they would be asked to answer several questions about each four minute video segment. We stressed that there were no right or wrong answers, and that all we cared about was their own response. To avoid confusion, we separated the tape into four minute segments, and asked the students to appropriately respond only to that particular segment, #1, 2, or 3. This was done so that the students could respond to each segment as it was freshly viewed, to prevent excessive blending between the segments, and to receive their immediate personal response without having the opportunity to discuss their opinions with others, and thus, altering their response. We repeated this for each section of the tape and collected the questionnaires following each segment. Results were then tabulated and are summarized below. IV. Results  The class questionnaires are summarized as follows: Question #1  Does this student enjoy, not enjoy, or not care about playing the instrument? Student #1#2#3 Enjoy3 (11%)10 (37%)16 (59%) Not Enjoy20 (74%)7
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2548
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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