Experiments with a musical instrument. The continuator and young children aged between 3-5

Abstract

The relationship between technology and learning is becoming increasingly important in the field of musical education. However there are few studies regarding the interaction between children and musical instruments. This article looks at a study carried out with children aged between 3 and 5, and a particular interactive musical system: the Continuator, which was created by the SONY-Computer Science Laboratory in Paris. An analysis of the studies shows that the Continuator is capable of developing interesting interaction between children and the machine and creative musical processes in early childhood. It is possible to observe an evolution in interaction and microprocesses similar to those seen in adult/child interaction. The abilty of the system ton to attract and maintain attention in the children as been interpreted through Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Theory . This article gives an overview of literature regarding musical education and new technologies, a description of the interactive system used in our experimental project, the pilot protocol and the analysis of the two case studies. We also draw certain conclusions regarding the psychological and pedagogical implications of the results.