Does Gender Affect Musical Aptitude?
Group D
Emily Parker
Alyssa Heitman
Aly Schmidt
Laura Wilson
JiTilya Troupe
EDP 101A
Introduction
The inquiry of this group was to determine what musical aptitude is, and whether or not it is affected by one’s gender. Several key points are addressed in this paper. The questions investigated include; is musical aptitude affected by gender in children, does one’s gender affect what musical instruments they choose, what are musical aptitude tests, is one’s vocal abilities affected by their gender, and how do you measure musical aptitude? We plan on finding an answer to the main inquiry by combining all the information gathered through our research on the subtopics and reaching an overall conclusion.
Musical Aptitude in Children with Relation to Gender
It has been believed that young children in elementary school, grades kindergarten through fifth, regardless of sex all have the same treble-based singing voice. The range of these children, even the ones who have reached puberty at a young age, is composed of about five to six different notes. When the children reach about ten years old, their voice ranges begin to expand either high or low, and by the time they reach middle school the universal five to six note range is but a thing of the past. But, in fact this isn’t the case at all. Many researchers preformed studies on elementary aged children to test the validity of the prior belief, and the researchers all agreed that there was proven differentiation between the accuracy of the children’s singing voice (Guerrini, Susan C.).
Some researchers sought to gain confirmation in that children’s singing voices were instead based on intrinsic factors, like their gender and musical aptitude. A study was designed in which inaccurate, and accurate elementary school children were administered a musical aptitude test (the PMMA, which is the Primary Measures of Music Audiation), and the results were compared between the two groups. The test showed that pitch discrimination and vocal accuracy had a direct correlation (Guerrini, Susan C.).
A researcher by the name of Apfelstadt performed a test in order to prove whether or not there was a connection between gender and performance. The PMMA test was given once again, and also a vocal-pitch matching test was also given. The research showed that there was no relationship between the gender of the child, and the performance of the child. It was also shown in other tests administered by Rutkowski, and Welch, Sergeant, and White that gender does not affect the musical aptitude of boys and girls.
In another study, researchers Goetze and Horii observed 100 early elementary kids. These two researchers noticed that children were more accurate in their singing ability when they sang alone. They also observed that girls sang more accurately, and more on key, then the boy students did (Guerrini, Susan C.).
In this specific study the question was posed as to how children gained their musical ability. The study also posed the question in what the differences were in children’s singing ability relative to tonal musical aptitude and gender. This study used 174 students from the fourth and fifth grades. The male to female ration was just about 1:1. The students were given three different compilations to sing, a familiar song, a newly learned song, and a melodic patter from the Singing Voice Development Measure. The children sang these pieces in a room by themselves and was audio recorded so they could be evaluated later. The students then, in a group setting, were given the tonal portion of the test. This test showed that there were significant differences found between the singing accuracy and gender, and also between the singing accuracy and aptitude. The researcher was most surprised to find out that gender played a major part in vocal accuracy. For the most part, female students have a more accurate singing voice than boy students. (It appears that gender plays a major part in musical ability; however, other factors could come into play. Like the want and desire to please the teacher, which female students are more like to do.) Overall it can be stated that yes, gender does effect musical aptitude, and the female children are more likely to sing more accurately (Guerrini, Susan C.).
Another study was performed on children to test if gender differences played any part whatsoever in the musical aptitude of children, except this time the children used were preschool children. 50 boys and 45 girls were used in the study. The three tests done were the Primary Measures of Music Audiation, the High/Scope Rhythmic Competence Analysis Test, and the Gross Motor Development test 2. They overall results of this study showed that the girls out performed the boys in four out of the six movements of rhythmic ability test (Pollatou Elisana).
Gender Differences in the Decision Process for Choosing a Musical Instrument
When it comes to deciding which musical instrument to play, there are many differences in the decision process for males and females. Recently, there have been many attempts to decrease gender stereotyping and gender bias in instrument selection, but so far the attempts have been unsuccessful. Both gender stereotyping and gender biases exist in schools and are present at a very young age, and both of them play a major role in children’s preferences for particular instruments. In the instrument selection, gender bias is a natural result of the stigma attached to certain instruments. To get rid of gender bias on the selection process there should be examples of both males and females playing every instrument or show examples of males and females playing the instruments that break the stereotype (Bazan). One of the problems with stereotypes is that elementary books tend to present woman as singers, flutists, and pianists, which are all roles that are stereotypically perceived as feminine, more often than composers, percussionists, or brass players, which are roles stereotypically perceived as masculine (Walker). Gender stereotypes might decrease as children grow older. For example, drums, which are rated most masculine, are the second most popular instrument among females. Also flute is the most feminine, but it ranked 4th in preference for males (“A Summary of Gender Research”).
It is believed that students’ initial choices of instruments were most influenced by friends, peer pressure, the sound of the instrument, relatives, size/weight of the instrument, difficulty to learn, and the cost. Students should be free to choose whatever instrument they want to play without the fear of peer pressure or discrimination. Elementary music teachers were the least influential on a student’s instrument choice. Parents, siblings, and relatives inputs also play a deciding factor as to what instrument a child chooses. Parents can influence their child’s selection both consciously and subconsciously. Parents also say that the sex of their child, rather than the sex of the adult or their past musical experiences, influenced their preference.
Another influence on the selection process for children choosing an instrument is personality type. In a study conducted, it was found that personality types of children who play instruments did not differ from students who do not play instruments. This helps to prove the fact that there is a wide variety of students who play instruments, and most of the stereotypes of certain personalities of people who are in band are false. Evidence was found in the study that personality types were influenced by instrument choice (Bazan).
Females consider friendship in their decision on which instrument to play more so than males. On the other hand, males refer to teachers as having some degree of influence. Both males and females indicated that the sound of the instrument was the main reason for choosing a certain instrument (Walker). Females indicated the biggest reason they did not want to play a particular instrument was because they did not like the sound of it, and males indicated they did not want to play a certain instrument because it was too difficult for them. Females are seen as harder working and more dependable than males, even though males may appear to gather more of the societal awards of playing a musical instrument (Bazan).
The main reason why a student would switch from one instrument to another was so he/she could play the instrument his/her friend played. Other reasons include it being too difficult, the size/weight of the instrument, how popular it was considered by peers, or they just do not like the sound of the instrument.
Girls tend to play more instruments and appear to be more attracted to music that is melodious and acoustic, and music teachers say that girls tend to play a certain type of instrument, usually described as orchestral or traditional (“A Summary of Gender Research”). The selection of these instruments by girls is an expression of their femininity and helps in developing their identity (Bazan). On the other hand, males tend to be attracted to music that is rhythmic and electronic. Research also suggests that girls have better attitudes towards music and boys are more frequently rewarded for their accomplishments (“A Summary of Gender Research”). According to a study done by Bayley, females generally possessed an attraction for woodwind timbres while males tend to have an attraction for brass and percussion timbres (Bazan).
A study was conduced by Abeles and Porter, and their findings show that children found drums to be the most masculine and flute to be the most feminine. Males and females have similar ideas about which instruments are more appropriate for males and females. The violin, clarinet, and flute are considered feminine, and the drums, trombone, and trumpet are considered masculine. Females and males both agree that saxophone and cello are rated neutral. Females tend to choose a wider variety of instruments than males do (“A Summary of Gender Research”). The tuba is rated the least popular instrument for females, and following it closely is the trombone; the flute is rated the instrument least desired by males. The clarinet is usually the first choice for female students, and the trumpet is thought to be the first choice for male students.
In order to develop a better basis for choosing an instrument, students need a better combination of aural, visual, and physical representations. The procedures most often used to assess the best instrument for a person are playing tests, analysis of physical characteristics, and input from elementary teachers (Bazan).
Gender and Singing Aptitudes
Musical ability is often viewed in all-or-none terms: some are blessed with “talents,” others must do without. Research shows that music aptitude is normally distributed in the population, like all human characteristics. Few people have high aptitude, a similar number have low aptitude, and the majority of people fall somewhere in the middle with average. Music aptitude is developmental during early years of life. At birth, a child’s aptitude is innate, but can change continuously until the age of nine according to the richness and diversity of musical experience the child develops. Musical aptitude is only measured by a valid aptitude test. The judgment of a music teacher is often based on significantly on musical achievement, not the potential to achieve. Everyone has the potential to achieve in music. So do men and women have that same potential or is one genders aptitude higher than the other?
Another aspect of musical aptitude as it relates to gender is the possible variance between men and women in terms of abilities to sing well. In order to research this, it is necessary to look at first what the vocal cords are responsible for doing and is there any variance between men and women, secondly when do voices change and what is the primary cause of this and finally an experiment with kindergarten-aged children.
Vocal cords are two strips of throat muscle that stretch across the larynx horizontally. These muscles are responsible fore the sound of humans’ singing and talking voices. Sounds form when air passes through the opening between the two strips and they begin vibrating. Men and women have varying sizes of throat muscles. Males with lower pitch voices have larger folds generally between 17 and 25 inches long, while females have smaller folds between 12 and 17 inches long, creating higher pitched sounds (Vocal Folds, 2007).
Male voices begin to change during puberty, while female voices do not change. Males’ voices deepen significantly during puberty as a result of increased testosterone production (Elements of Male Sexual Desire and Response, 2006). This deepening of the voice has a dramatic effect not only on the sound and pitch of the boy’s speaking voice but as well as his singing voice.
An experiment conducted with kindergarten-aged children revealed that in fact, there is no correlation between gender and singing abilities. In the experiment, the children were randomly assigned different types of musical instruction. The first group received vocal instruction using icons, physical movement and step-stair resonator bells. The second group also received vocal instruction, although it varied in that the songs were taught through imitation alone. Finally, the third group received traditional music instruction. The results revealed that there was no relationship between gender and the ability of these children to understand pitch and performance (Apfelstadt, 1984).
Studies have shown a strong correlation between a child’s ability to read music aiding in their abilities to do mathematical problems. Our text book discusses an experiment where the most intelligent seventh and eight grade students were asked to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test. These are the results.
A meta-analysis of 254 samples sheds new light on the mathematical ability of boys and girls (Hyde, Fennema, & Lamon, 1990). This analysis involved the mathematics performance of more than 3 million students. Girls did better than boys at computation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division); the difference, however was small. There were no differences in the understanding of mathematical concepts at any age. A small to moderate difference in problem solving favoring boys emerged in high school (Hyde, 1994). In some samples, such as those including highly precocious students, the differences favored males; these differenes emerged in high school and college. In general, however, the differences between males and females were small and favored females in samples drawn from the general population (Davis & Paladino, 2006, pp 456).
Overall, no relationship or correlation exists in the ability of one gender to sing better and have higher musical aptitude than the other. Some psychologists have asked, if gender is not a factor in one’s musical ability, than what causes the variances in musical abilities between people? Daniel J. Levitin discusses this idea in his book “This is Your Brain on Music.” Levitin writes,
“Either high levels of musical achievement are based on innate brain structures (what we refer to as talent) or they are simply the result of training and practice. They define talent as something (1) that originates in genetic structures; (2) that is identifiable at an early stage by trained people who can recognize it even before exceptional levels of performance have been acquired; (3) that can be used to predict who is likely to excel; and (4) that only a minority can be identified as having because if everyone were “talented,” the concept would lose meaning. The emphasis on early identification entails that we study the development of skills in children. They add that in a domain such as music, “talent” might be manifested differently in different children” (Levitin 191).
Levitin is inferring that what we perceive as talent is predetermined by a child’s genetics, and may often be mistaken and perceived differently from child to child.
Musical Aptitude Test and Gender Bias
“Musical ability is often viewed in all-or-none terms: some are blessed with "talent," others must do without.”(gimlmusic.com). This is often what most people believe when it comes to the music industry these days. Take for example the show American Idol, the show is a perfect example of how we as a society classify who is “talented” or who has no talent at all. On the show they have judges who are supposedly “experts” on vocals and can make the educated decision who should be let through each round of the show. In my research about this topic in musical aptitude and gender, I looked at musical aptitude tests to see, one, what constitutes a person with true musical aptitude, and if the test maybe be gender bias or not.