Musical and social factors affecting attention regulation of children in band playing and mobile music making

Abstract

This study focuses on attention and hyperactivity regulation of children in band playing and mobile music making. The study aims at finding the musical and social elements that help children to regulate their attention, and lead to positive social interaction. Within the mobile music making, stand-alone playing and pair work scenarios are analysed. Within the band playing, instructed and improvised playing are compared.

This research is a multiple case study with four participants: two children with ADHD and two comparison children without ADHD. Non-participatory observation is applied as the main data collection method. The data, in the form of video recordings, is analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Attention regulation of the children is labelled with the following four categories: on- task behaviour, selective on-task behaviour, passive off-task behaviour, and hyperactive off-task behaviour.

Essential elements contributing to improvement of attention regulation and reduction of inattentiveness and hyperactivity found to be sitting independently, far from other musical instruments. Another element improving attention regulation was clear (and repeated) instruction that was preferably given before the children were at close physical proximity to the devices or band instruments. Clarity of the instruction played a key role in all the musical activities, and lack of it reflected in hyperactive off-task behaviour. Role of the music making session instructors was found to be significant.

The overall result is that all the children had mostly good attention regulation in all of the musical contexts. The quantitative time-course analysis shows that with ADHD children 94 %, and with non- ADHD children 93 % of the total time of the analysed excerpts consisted of on-task or selective on-task behaviour. In the band playing there was slightly more hyperactivity by the children with ADHD than by the children without ADHD. There was slightly more selective on-task and passive off-task behaviour by the non-ADHD children than by the ADHD children in the mobile music making situations.

When comparing the different musical contexts, hyperactive off-task behaviour was seen slightly more in the band playing than mobile music making context, while passive off-task behaviour was more prominent in the mobile music making than in band playing. When the children were asked to improvise with band instruments, percussion instruments, and especially drum kits were found to be the most challenging musical instruments in relation to attention regulation.