Marju Raju Some aspects of singing development, the song creating process and favorite songs of Estonian children Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Dissertations 6 Tallinn 2015 Marju Raju Mõningaid aspekte Eesti laste laulmise arengust, ise laulude loomisest ja lemmiklauludest Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia Väitekirjad 6 Tallinn 2015 Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Dissertations 6 Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia Väitekirjad 6 Layout / Küljendus: Kala Ruudus OÜ Photos / Fotod: Kent Raju, Marju Raju Editing / Keeletoimetus: American Journal Experts, LLC This research has been supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (award 412-2009-1008) and the Estonian Research Council (institutional grant IUT12-1). Uurimuste läbiviimist on toetanud Kanada Sotsiaal- ja Humanitaarteaduste Fond (grant 412-2009- 1008) ja Eesti Teadusagentuur (institutsionaalne toetus IUT12-1). Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre / Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia Department of Musicology / Muusikateaduse osakond Tatari 13, Tallinn 10116 Supervisor / Juhendaja: Professor Jaan Ross, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Consultant / Konsultant: Professor Stefanie Stadler Elmer, University of Zurich Opponent / Oponent: Professor Tiina Selke, Tallinn University Preliminary reviewers / Eelretsensendid: Dr. Allan Vurma, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Professor Tiina Selke, Tallinn University Approved for defense: October, 12, 2015 ISSN 1736-0714 ISBN 978-9949-9458-4-9 (print) ISBN 978-9949-9458-5-6 (pdf) Printed by Print Solutions OÜ Table of Contents List of original publications................................................................................................6 Abstract..............................................................................................................................7 Abbreviations.....................................................................................................................8 Foreword............................................................................................................................9 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................11 2. Analytical overview of the empirical studies...................................................................21 2.1. Methods concerning more than one publication...........................................21 2.2. Overview of research questions, methods and main results of the publications.....22 2.3. Discussion.....................................................................................................27 3. Conclusions / thesis......................................................................................................31 4. Summary in Estonian / Kokkuvõte...............................................................................32 References........................................................................................................................37 Publication I.....................................................................................................................42 Publication II....................................................................................................................60 Publication III...................................................................................................................81 Publication IV.................................................................................................................101 List of original publications The dissertation is based on the following four publications (listed thematically, not in order of publication dates), which are referred to in the analytical overview by Roman numerals: I. Raju, Marju; Ross, Jaan 2015. Sõnadest meloodiani: juhtumiuuring väikelapse laul- mise arengust. [Words before melody: a case study of infant musical development] Keel ja Kirjandus [Journal of the Estonian Academy of Sciences and Estonian Writ- ers’ Union]. Vol. 58, pp. 316-332. II. Raju, Marju; Ross, Jaan 2012. Adaption to Estonian children of the protocol for cross-cultural research in singing. Trames. Vol. 16, pp. 125-144. III. Raju, Marju; Välja, Laura; Ross, Jaan 2015. Estonian children’s improvisational songs, the nature of performance and songs’ coherence with the Western tonal mu- sical canon. Musicae Scientiae. Vol. 19, pp. 282-300. IV. Raju, Marju; Välja, Laura; Ross, Jaan (forthcoming). How the musical culture is reflected in the choice of favorite songs of Estonian children. AIRS Book. The articles are (re)printed with the kind permission of the respective publishers: Foundation Kultuurileht (Publication I), Estonian Academy Publishers (Publication II), SAGE Publishers (Publication III) and Dr. Annabel Cohen, director, the AIRS Book Project (Publication IV). The author of this dissertation was fully responsible for formulating the research designs, conducting the data analysis and writing all parts of all the publications. Professor Jaan Ross was the academic adviser of this dissertation and is therefore included in the list of authors of the publications. Laura Välja, MA, collected the data under the supervision of the author of this dissertation for publications III and IV and is therefore included in the list of authors of publications III and IV. 6 Abstract This doctoral dissertation “Some aspects of singing development, the song creating process and favorite songs of Estonian children” combines four previously written articles. First arti- cle is a case study on the musical development and the linguistic development of a small child (the daughter of the author). The subject of the case study was observed from birth to the 25th month of age; a more detailed analysis is provided for the period of approximately 20- 25 months. The linguistic development and musical development of the child are illustrated with vocal examples of two improvisational songs and four performances of the song Põdra maja (“The big old deer”) over the observation period. Three following articles are based on data that were collected with the Test Battery for Singing Skills (ATBSS), developed as part of the initiative “Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing” (AIRS) in Estonia. During the piloting process, the ATBSS was administered to 26 children (17 girls and 9 boys; Mage = 8.4 years, age range: 4-12 years), and a second wave of data collection included 43 children (22 girls and 21 boys; Mage = 5.5 years, age range: 2-8 years). Given that the ATBSS includes as many as eleven vocal tasks, only three were chosen for a more thorough analysis: singing one’s favorite song, ending a melody and making a song about a choice of picture. The per- formances for ending a melody and making a song based on a picture were analyzed using expert evaluations on the song’s accordance with the Western tonal musical canon and on the spontaneity of the performance process. All of the favorite songs that the children pro- duced were identified and categorized; and the list of songs was compared with the national curricula for music studies and also with the repertoire that, over time, has been performed in the Song Celebrations. To conclude the research combined for this doctoral dissertation, five theses can be formulated: (1) the development of language and the development of singing are strongly re- lated to each other, but the methodology and definitions of the main concepts may influence the results in different studies; (2) according to the linguistic connotations of the concepts laul and laulmine (song and singing) in the Estonian language, the process of song making seems to be more of a verbal than musical challenge for children; (3) the main principles of the Western tonal musical canon are acquired at an early age. There was evidence in the performance of a two-year-old child and several four-year-old children to confirm this con- clusion; and (4) the Estonian musical scene and the events of our musical history are reflected in the choice of the favorite songs of Estonian children. 7 Abbreviations AIRS A major research initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Rsearch Council of Canada, “Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing” (AIRS) aims to advance interdisciplinary research in singing through the cooperation of over 70 researchers representing every province in Canada and 15 other countries on 6 continents; www.airsplace.ca ATBSS Test Battery for Singing Skills developed as part of the AIRS initiative ID Infant-directed (speech and/ or singing) SC Song Celebration, Laulupidu MMATools “Music Micro Analysis Tools”, a suite of tools (written in Java™) for analyzing musical and pre-musical vocal productions in the research field of singing, developed by Stefanie Stadler Elmer and Franz-Josef Elmer; www.mmatools.sourceforge.net 8 Foreword I once heard a saying that a book shows even more about the author than about the topic. The publication of a doctoral dissertation is a bit different from a book, as commonly un- derstood, but there may be a point in this saying after all, even in my case. “Everybody else sings, but Marju, you can recite a poem” was just one sentence from my kindergarten teacher that has haunted me to this day. I admit that my ability to finally carry a tune according to an acceptable minimum standard was a result of serious practice over the years, and now, I most likely qualify for amateur choral singing. However, I never forgot my sadness over not being allowed to sing with the others