Piano-accompanied solfege reading experiences of preservice music teachers

Abstract

This study examines how piano-accompanied solfege reading practices of preservice music teachers (N = 28) affect their performance on their musical hearing, reading, and writing (MHRW) classes. A pretest-posttest design with control groups was employed. The data were analyzed by 2 x 2 split-plot analysis of variance (ANOVA) and one-way ANOVA. Consequently, a significant difference was not found between the MHRW performance scores of the experimental and control groups. An analysis of mean performance scores revealed that the scores received by the control group were higher than those of the experimental group after the practice. Follow-up interviews that were held with 14 students after the experimental implementation revealed that students believed piano-accompanied courses were more useful, and they felt more comfortable with piano accompaniment. Although MHRW performance scores indicated that piano-accompanied solfege reading practices did not have a significant effect on preservice music teachers' MHRW performances, it helped them participate in courses more enthusiastically.