Oswaldo Lorenzo

Effects of phonological and musical training on the reading readiness of native- and foreign-Spanish-speaking children

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a music training program on children’s phonological awareness and naming speed in Spanish. Participants were preschool children whose first language was either Spanish (n = 45) or Tamazight ( n = 52), a Berber dialect spoken in Morocco’s Rif area. The two-year pretest/posttest study showed that the children who received phonological training with or without music performed significantly better in a naming speed posttest and a series of phonological processing tasks than those who did not participate in specialized training. The phonological training that included music activities was particularly effective for the development of phonological awareness of ending sounds and naming speed. The benefits of the training on children’s phonological awareness and naming speed, two strong predictors of reading acquisition, were significant regardless of the native language of the children.

Musical tastes of secondary school students' with different cultural backgrounds: A study in the spanish north african city of Melilla

Abstract The purpose of this study is to analyze the musical tastes of secondayr school students in terms of cultural origin, in the Spanish city of Melilla, a North African enclave bordered by Morocco and characterized by its cultural diversity. The study also examines the musical environment of the students since, as different studies have shown (Frith, 2004; Hargreaves, Marshall & North, 2003; Lundquist, 2002; Pitts, 2007), there is no direct relationship between music studied formally in school and the music listened to in daily life. Some 667 students from first to fourth year in compulsory secondary education level (334 females and 323 males), between the ages of 12 and 16 participated, of which 55.9% were of Berber origin, 39.1% of European origin, and 4.9% of mixed origin. The results that were derived from the Questionnaire on Preferences of Musical Styles prepared by Lorenzo, Herrera & Cremades (2008) reflect that the musical tastes of students are oriented towards popular music (Reggaeton, Pop, Hip-Hop or Rap, amongst others) and, on the other hand, they differ according to the cultural group of origin. These musical preferences are clearly influenced by several agents of socialization that are part of informal education (principally peer groups, TV, radio, and the Internet), that shape the cultural and musical consumption habits of young people. Finally, a number of proposals are made for the integration of formal and informal musical education.

Preferencias musicales de los estudiantes de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria: influencia de la educación formal e informal

Resumen Los adolescentes se encuentran inmersos en un entorno sociocultural repleto de manifestaciones musicales en los diferentes contextos en los que se desenvuelven: familia, escuela, amigos, medios de comunicación…, siendo estos últimos protagonistas indiscutibles en la sociedad actual. El presente trabajo pretende analizar, en una muestra formada por 667 alumnos de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, la influencia que ejercen la educación formal e informal en las preferencias musicales de los estudiantes. Los principales resultados ponen de manifiesto que los estilos musicales más escuchados son el Pop, el Reggaeton, el Hip-Hop y el Rap. Además, mientras que la educación informal influye directamente en los estilos musicales más consumidos por los adolescentes, la educación formal lo hace en los estilos musicales menos consumidos.

Intervención educativa en conciencia fonológica en niños prelectores de lengua materna española y tamazight. Comparación de dos programas de entrenamiento

Resumen El presente trabajo evalúa la eficacia de dos programas de entrenamiento en conciencia fonológica, uno de los cuales incluye actividades musicales, en función de la lengua materna de los niños. Participaron 97 niños de educación infantil, el 46.39% de lengua materna española y el 53.60% tamazight (un dialecto bereber, de transmisión oral, de la zona del Rif de Marruecos). Se diseñó un estudio pretest-postest durante dos años, contres grupos de comparación (dos grupos de intervención y un grupo control). Se tomaron medidas tanto de lectura de letras como de conciencia fonológica, memoria verbal a corto plazo y velocidad de denominación. De forma general, los resultados indican que después de la fase de intervención los dos grupos experimentales obtenían resultados superiores al grupo control en todas las medidas de procesamiento fonológico y lectura. Además, la intervención del grupo que combinaba fonología y música era mejor para incrementar la conciencia o sensibilidad a las rimas. Se encuentran, también, diferentes efectos de los programas de entrenamiento en función de la lengua maternal.

Gender and religion as factors of individual differences in musical preference

The goal of this article is to analyse the musical preferences of Brazilian students by considering the variables of gender and religion. Using random sampling, a class was selected from each high school year group of 10 public schools in the city of São Luís (Brazil).The total study sample consisted of 658 students: 358 females (54.4%) and 300 males (45.6%). Of these, 343 (52.1%) were Protestants and 315 (47.9%) were Catholics, and their ages ranged from 14 to 19 years (M = 16.24 years old, SD = 1.14). For the data collection, a version of the Questionnaire on Musical Style Preferences by Lorenzo, Herrera, and Cremades (2008) was used; however, it was shortened and culturally adapted to the Brazilian context. The participants were asked to evaluate how often they listened to 19 different styles of music. The overall results indicated that the participants’ musical preferences were heavily influenced by mass media. However, ANOVA results indicated significant differences and a variety of size effects in the frequency of musical listening based on gender and religion. Females had a greater preference for styles with emotional content, dance music and music with a strong connection to mass culture, while males preferred more vigorous styles. Regarding religion, Protestants had a stronger preference for gospel music, while Catholic preferences were more diverse.

Music Preferences and Personality in Brazilians

This article analyzes the relationship between musical preference and type of personality in a large group of Brazilian young and adult participants (N = 1050). The study included 25 of 27 states of Brazil and individuals aged between 16 and 71 years (M = 30.87; SD = 10.50). Of these, 500 were male (47.6%) and 550 were female (52.4%). A correlational study was carried out applying two online questionnaires with quality parameters (content-construct validity and reliability), one on musical preference and the other on personality. The results indicate four main findings: (1) the musical listening of the participants is limited to a reduced number of styles, mainly Pop music and others, typical of Brazilian culture; (2) the Brazilian context supposes a determining aspect in the low preference of non-Brazilian music; (3) there is a positive correlation between most personality types analyzed and the Latin, Brazilian, Classical and Ethnic musical styles. A negative correlation between these types of personality and the consumption of Rock music was also observed; (4) musical preferences are driven not only by personality but in some cases they are also driven by socio-demographic variables (i.e., age and gender). Likewise, this work shows how participants make use of music in personality aspects that may be of interest for the analysis of socio-affective behavior (personality) as well as according to different socio-demographic variables (e.g., age and gender). More cross-cultural research on musical preference and personality would need to be carried out from a global perspective, framed in the context of social psychology and studies of mass communication.

Consumo musical de estudiantes universitarios de México. Una comparación entre alumnos de distintas facultades de una universidad mexicana

Los jovenes representan el sector poblacional que mas consumo de musica realiza, entre otras razones porque la musica les ayuda a definir su identidad. Las preferencias de consumo musical de este grupo social estan delimitadas por el entorno, edad y sexo. En esta direccion, se realizo un estudio de analisis sobre el consumo musical de un grupo de 530 jovenes estudiantes de la Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua (UACH), pertenecientes a 10 de las 15 facultades de dicha institucion educativa. Para ello, se empleo una adaptacion cultural del cuestionario sobre “Habitos y practicas culturales en Espana” (Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte, 2003), con el objetivo de conocer los habitos de consumo musical de jovenes universitarios mexicanos y saber si existen diferencias de consumo musical entre los estudiantes de las distintas facultades participantes en el estudio. Los resultados obtenidos senalan diferencias en cuanto a las preferencias musicales y seleccion de medios para escuchar musica en relacion con distintas areas de conocimiento academico.

Teacher–student physical contact as an approach for teaching guitar in the master class context

In this study, the role of physical contact between teachers and students in the process of teaching guitar was investigated in the master class context. Thirty-five videotaped guitar master classes were classified into five groups according to student performance level. The musical topics studied in these classes were categorised, and all moments of physical contact between teachers and students were identified. Analyses of variance and non-parametric tests were used to determine the relationship between use of physical contact as a teaching approach and student gender, student performance level, the teacher giving the lesson, and topic presented by the teacher. The results indicated that physical contact was significantly related to the teacher giving the lesson and to guitar performance topics of “nails”, “muscle relaxation”, and “body posture”. However, of these three topics, only “body posture” was significantly related to students’ performance level. Ultimately, the results suggest that the topic presented by the teacher is helpful in determining the gestural behaviour of teachers in a musical instrument class.