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Ethnically Diverse Sixth Graders’
Preferences for Music of Different Cultures
Jacqueline C. Henninger
The University of Texas at Austin
The increasing ethnic diversity of the United States is evident in many areas of society,
including the educational system. As the number of minorities present in schools continues to
rise, teachers are becoming increasingly responsible for developing lessons that incorporate
materials and ideas representative of different cultures. This increased awareness and
acknowledgment of other cultures may function positively for all students, in that students of
different cultures gain a sense of belonging and an increased level of sensitization to those with
different backgrounds.
Music is one subject area in which heightened awareness can be achieved with regularity and a
high level of success. Music teachers are able to achieve this goal by presenting students with
many opportunities to listen to and perform music of different cultures; however, choosing music
that is unfamiliar and yet interesting to students is a challenging task. Some studies have
examined the music preferences of subjects who represent different chronological ages. Byrnes
(1997) examined students’ preferences for music excerpts performed in different media and
found that second grade students expressed higher preference levels for all of the pre-selected
excerpts than did students in the fifth, eighth, and twelfth grades. May compared the music style
preferences of children in Grades 1-3 and found that students’ preference levels declined as they
got older and that primary grade school children preferred current popular music over other
styles, such as jazz, gospel, folk, and non-Western. Killian (1990) examined ethnically diverse
junior high students’ preferences for video-taped performances of various singers and concluded
that junior high students preferred performance models who were of the same race and same sex
as themselves. These students also indicated a stronger preference for performing solos by
singers who were of the same race and same sex as themselves.
Other variables affecting listeners’ preferences for popular music have been examined as well.
North and Hargreaves (1995) found a positive relationship between subjects’ familiarity with
styles of popular music and the extent to which they liked or disliked the music; however, as the
subjective complexity of a selection increased the subjects’ level of familiarity decreased. This
decrease in the subjects’ level of familiarity negatively affected their level of preference for that
particular selection. Boyle, Hosterman, and Ramsey (1981) found that students of various ages
(Grade 5 through college) expressed similar preference levels for the following four music
factors: harmony, lyrics, singer, and sentiment. Additionally, the students with more music
experience, although expressing similar preference levels for the aforementioned music factors,
expressed different reasons for their preferences than did those students with less music
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experience. Alpert (1982) examined the effects of disc jockeys, peers, and music teachers on
students’ preferences for rock, country, and classical music, and found that disc jockeys’ and
music teachers’ approvals increased the classical music preferences of fifth graders, but that peer
approvals decreased classical music preferences.
Several authors have examined the effects of various cultural and racial variables on music
preferences. Chinn (1997) found that the vocal performing styles of African American females
were related to singers’ own music preferences. Females performed in ways that were consistent
with the styles of music they preferred and listened to most frequently.
Three other studies have also examined the effect of race on music preferences. Morrison
(1993), when exploring the effect of race on subjects’ preferences for popular music, found that
African American subjects had a significant preference for performances by African American
artists, and non-African American subjects preferred performances by non-African American
artists. This supports the findings of McCrary (1993a, 1993b), who found that African
American, Hispanic, and White students preferred same-race performers over performers of a
different race
In addition to comparing preferences of subjects of different ethnic groups, the present study
examined subjects’ preferences for music of different cultures and different genres. Several
authors have sought to determine students’ preference for music of contrasting cultures. Shehan
(1985) presented sixth grade students with music of non-Western origin that was both taught and
untaught. Not only did students prefer current popular music over music of other styles, the
subjects preferred non-Western music that had been taught over non-Western music that had not
been taught. Brittin (1996) also measured the responses of listeners presented with music of
different cultures, and found that subjects indicated a higher preference for music of other
cultures when using a continuous response measurement during listening than when they
expressed their preferences for music using paper and pencil measures at the ends of the
excerpts.
Pembrook (1997) presented Mexican and American musicians and non-musicians with four
different types of music. The results showed that Mexican musicians rated Mexican music
higher than did American musicians. Furthermore, both American musicians and non-musicians
provided similar ratings for American popular music. When comparing the ratings of the
American and Mexican subjects, the Mexican music received the lowest ratings overall.
Morrison and Yeh (1997) measured the preference responses of subjects from the United States,
Hong Kong, and China and found that Chinese students had more favorable responses for
Chinese music and American students had more favorable responses for jazz examples. This is
another example of subjects’ preferences for music from their own culture.
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether children of different ethnic groups
(White, Hispanic, and African American) would indicate similar preferences when presented
with music of three different cultures (American, Mexican, and African American). Two
different styles of music (folk and pop) were used within each of the three cultural styles.
Method
Subjects were 107 sixth grade beginning band students who attended a middle school in
Pflugerville, Texas. These students represented approximately 75% of this school’s sixth grade
population and were from families of a variety of socioeconomic levels. Both males (n = 51)
and females (n = 56) participated in the study and were of four different ethnic groups: White (n
= 52), Hispanic (n = 24), African American (n = 19), and Asian American (n = 12).
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Twelve music excerpts, representing six different music styles, were selected as stimulus
material: African American folk, African American pop, American folk, American pop,
Mexican folk, and Mexican pop. Folk music was defined as music that originated among the
common people of a particular region. Pop music was defined as music that depicted objects of
everyday life and adapted principles that are found within music that has been commercialized.
In an effort to select appropriate pieces, I referred to literary sources and experts in various fields
for input.
Within each style of music, two instrumental and two vocal excerpts that were of moderately
fast tempos were selected. Representative excerpts, with a mean duration of 25 seconds, were
recorded in a random order onto a cassette tape. Subjects listened to the recording during their
beginning band classes. The study was completed during two different band classes that met on
the same day. The following instructions, which appeared at the top of the survey, were read
aloud to subjects:
You will listen to 12 selections of music. After each piece has been played, circle
the phrase that best describes how you felt about that selection. You will be able to
choose from the following phrases: “Dislike a lot,” “Dislike a little,” “Neutral,”
“Like a little,” and “Like a lot.” You will be given 5 seconds to indicate your
preference level for each musical excerpt. Listen to the presenter give you examples
of the appropriate times during which to use each descriptive phrase. Does anyone
have any questions about this sheet and how you will complete it? Here’s a practice
example.
Following the practice example, the students listened to the tape, which included 5-second
breaks between each of the 12 excerpts. Following each selection, the students rated the pieces
on a 5-point Likert-type scale anchored by “Dislike a lot” (1) and “Like a lot” (5). The students
were instructed to refrain from indicating their preference for the excerpt until it had been played
in its entirety.
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Table 1
Mean Preference Ratings and Standard Deviations by Culture, Style, and Instrumentation of
Music Excerpt (Scale of 1-5)
______________________________________________________________________________
Preference Rating
_____________________
Culture, Style, Selection, Artist
M
SD
______________________________________________________________________________
African-American
Folk music:
“Soon and Very Soon” by
Andrae Crouch and the Disciples (vocal)
“If My People” by
3.0
Commissioned (instrumental)
Pop music: “Flowamatic 9” by
3X Crazy (vocal)
“Change” by
Lionel Richie (instrumental)
3.4 1.2
1.2
3.9
1.2
3.6
1.0
Folk music: “Yellow Rose of Texas” from
The Music Connection series (vocal)
“Cotton-eyed Joe” from
The Music Connection series (instrumental)
1.9
1.1
1.5
0.9
Pop music: “Drowning” by
Hootie & The Blowfish (vocal)
“Havana” by
Kenny G (instrumental)
Mexican
3.1
1.5
3.3
1.4
American
Folk music: “Guadalajara” by
2.1
1.0
Los Lobos (vocal)
“Cielito Lindo” from
2.2
1.2
The Music Connection series (instrumental)
Pop music: “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” by
3.6
1.3
Selena (vocal)
“Ayer” by
2.8
1.2
Gloria Estefan (instrumental)
______________________________________________________________________________
Students provided additional demographic data after indicating their level of preference for the
final music excerpt. Although students were instructed to indicate their ethnic background, to
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diminish the ethnic focus of the listening examples and questionnaire, other questions regarding
their age, principal instrument, and number of siblings were also listed. As a way to gain further
insight into the music preferences of these subjects, they also listed the styles of music to which
they enjoyed listening during their spare time.
Results
The purpose of this study was to compare the music preferences of ethnically diverse students
presented with music of different styles and cultures. Mean preference ratings for each of the
music excerpts are presented in Table 1. Overall, the students indicated the highest preference
for “Flowamatic 9,” a vocal African American pop selection (M = 3.9, SD = 1.2), and indicated
the lowest preference level for an instrumental American folk tune, “Cotton-Eyed Joe” (M = 1.5,
SD = 0.9).
Statistical analysis was completed by the application of ANOVA. No significant differences
were found among the four ethnic groups; however, several significant differences were found
among styles. Students rated African American music highest among the three music styles,
F(2,198) = 33.4, p < .001, and Scheffé’s test indicated that the means for the three music cultures
were different from one another (American M = 2.3, Mexican M = 2.7, and African American M
= 3.2). Students also rated pop music styles (M = 3.4) significantly higher than folk music (M =
2.1), F(1,99) = 206.3, p < .001.
There was a significant interaction between the student ethnic groups and the cultures
represented by the music excerpts, F(6,196) = 4.4, p < .0004. The Hispanic students rated
Mexican music higher than did the other groups of students and provided the lowest rating for
American music. Both Asian American and African American students rated African American
music higher than the music of the other two cultures. White students were the only ethnic
group that rated American music higher than Mexican music. These results are shown in Figure
1.
Mean rating of music selection
3.4
B
H
F
J
3.2
J
3
2.8
2.6
F
H
B
F
2.4
B
H
2.2
J
2
Mexican
American
Afr.-Amer.
Culture of music selection
B
Asian-Am.
J
Hispanic
H
Afr.-Am.
F
White
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Figure 1. Interaction between subject’s ethnicity and culture of the music selection.
A significant interaction was also found between gender and the culture of the music excerpt,
F(2,198) = 6.0, p < .003. Male students rated African American music higher than did females,
and female students rated both Mexican and American music higher than did males. There was
also a significant interaction between gender and instrumentation, F(1,99) = 12.7, p < .001.
Females rated vocal music higher than did males, but this effect may be more attributable to the
individual pieces than to the students’ preferences for vocal or instrumental music overall. The
effects of individual music selections is also evident in a number of significant three-way
interactions.
Subjects indicated on the questionnaire the type of music they most enjoyed listening to in
their spare time. The highest percentages in each ethnic group were as follows: Alternative
(40%) and Rap (27%) for Whites; Pop (38%) and Rap (33%) for Hispanics; Rap (58%) and
Rhythm and Blues (58%) for African Americans; and Rap (58%) and Rhythm and Blues (58%)
for Asian Americans.
Discussion
Although no significant differences were found among different ethnic groups’ music
preferences overall, the significant interactions that were found are interesting and should be
examined more closely. The fact that students assigned significantly higher ratings to pop music
and music representative of the African American culture is a possible example of the influence
of popular culture and the media, and suggest that the majority of the ethnically diverse middle
school students in the sample were influenced to a large extent by radio and music television, in
which music similar to the African American examples in the present study is prominently
placed.
Perhaps most interesting among these findings, however, is the similarity of different ethnic
groups’ ratings of African American music examples. Hispanic students’ mean preference for
African American music was equal to their preference for Mexican music. Asian American and
White students, along with their African American peers, rated African American music highest
among the three music categories. It is clear that the music of African Americans has become a
mainstay of popular culture that crosses ethnic boundaries. The same cannot be said of Mexican
music, however, which, in this sample, was rated highly only by the Hispanic students.
As has been suggested in previous research, unfamiliar but style-representative selections were
included in the present study in an attempt to diminish the influence of familiarity on the
subjects’ preferences. However, the Mexican pop vocal selection was performed by Selena, a
very popular singer of the Mexican culture, and, if the students recognized her voice, they may
have been influenced to indicate a higher level of preference.
The students were asked to list the types of music they enjoyed listening to in their spare time,
and many differences were noticed among the different ethnic groups. The White students were
the only group in which a large percentage cited Alternative as their favorite type of music
(40%), although a few students in other groups listed this style of music as well. Hispanic
students were the only group of student who listed Spanish/Tejano (29%) and Latin hip-hop
(8%) as types of music to which they enjoy listening. This is not surprising, but it is notable
since over one-third of these students enjoyed music that was reflective of their culture.
Although Asian American and African American students had the highest percentage of
students who liked Rap and Rhythm and Blues (African Americans indicated 58% for both styles
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and Asian Americans indicated 58% and 50%, respectively), African American students were
the only group who specified Gospel as a preferred style of music. Again, this could be a
reflection of that which is familiar to the students, since gospel is representative of African
American folk music. It is also interesting to note that this type of folk music was the most
highly rated folk music by any of the student groups, with Gospel and Spanish/Tejano being the
only examples of folk music that were listed as styles preferred by students.
As was previously stated, this study demonstrates the possible effects that popular culture and
mass media may have on adolescents’ music preferences. There is a need for continuing
research in this area. Continuing research may provide information that is useful to middle
school music teachers in their work with children from diverse backgrounds. Presenting students
with music of different cultures that is appealing to them may improve their sense of
appreciation for other cultures. This heightened music awareness may function positively as we
continue our task of shaping students into well-rounded individuals.
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