Effects of learning modalities on melodic and rhythmic retention and on vocal pitch-matching by preschool children.

To assess whether melodic and rhythmic retention as well as pitch-matching ability could be improved through use of learning modalities, 61 children ages 4 and 5 years were presented music instruction in one of four ways, visually (seeing visual aids with the music), auditorily (singing and listening), kinesthetically (moving to music), or through multimodal presentations. Analysis indicated that preschool children receiving the auditory and multimodal treatments scored significantly higher on both the melodic and rhythmic posttests than on pretests. Children receiving kinesthetic treatment scored significantly lower on both the melodic and rhythmic posttests than the other three classes. Further, children in the auditory and multimodal classes matched pitch significantly better at posttest than children in either the visual or kinesthetic classes.