The effect of music ear training upon the auditory discrimination abilities of trainable mentally retarded adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of music ear training upon the auditory discrimination abilities of 30 institutionalized trainable mentally retarded (TMR) adolescents. Subjects were 15 TMRs enrolled in choir and 15 TMRs who were not choir members. The hypothesis was that music ear training incorporated in choir rehearsals would enhance auditory discrimination abilities, as measured by the Goldman-Fristoe-Woodcock Test of Auditory Discrimination. An analysis of variance revealed significantly more errors in auditory discrimination by the TMR adolescents not enrolled in choir. Results of t tests comparing the scores of TMR choir members to Goldman-Fristoe-Woodcock test norms for the same chronological age revealed significantly more errors by the choir members. However, t tests comparing the performance of TMR choir members and Goldman-Fristoe-Woodcock test norms for normal subjects of the same mental age revealed significantly more errors by normal subjects.