Improvised song endings in a developmental perspective: A mixed-methods study

The aim of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the development of children’s improvised song endings over the course of two years, through researcher-led tasks. While quantitative data were used to examine the roles of age, biological sex, and music training on children’s improvised song endings and pitch-matching skills, qualitative data were gathered to shed light on the musical contents of improvisations, the strategies used by children when improvising, and children’s reactions to different improvisatory tasks. Although scores for both improvised song endings and pitch-matching skills increased with age ( p < .01), there were no significant group differences between musically-trained children and their untrained peers. Additionally, girls outperformed boys in both improvisation and pitch-matching tasks ( p < .01). Qualitative data offered six strategies that children used to improvise song endings, and suggested that engagement in improvisational tasks depends on a combination of children’s musical skills and interests, and familiarity with the tasks.