Equipment/material

During the course of the research period, each condition- the music therapy sessions and the play sessions - had its own set of equipment. The same equipment was used consistently throughout the research period. This ensured three important elements in this study:

• Object permanence for the children;

• The possibility of future replication by other researchers;

• Neutralization of novelty effect.

The room where the sessions took place was set up in the same way every week.

As previously mentioned in section 3.3, at “Micha” Haifa and “Shemaya” B’nei B’rak, the researcher put rugs on the floor in the room where the sessions took place, and the equipment for both conditions was displayed on the rugs, available to the child. At “Micha” Tel-Aviv there was wall-to-wall carpeting on which the equipment was placed.

To signal the commencement of each session, either music therapy or play, as well as the transition from UM to DM (or vice versa) or from UP to DP (or vice versa) (see section 3.1), the researcher used a digital kitchen timer with low volume and high pitched sound. The timer was important for the video analysis as well, because it signaled exactly when the session began and when each session part (undirected and directed) of the session ended and/or began.

3.5.1 Equipment/material for music therapy

The musical instruments were chosen based on the meager literature found by the researcher on this topic as well as on her clinical experience with this population. In their comprehensive resource manual and curriculum guide on music therapy with children with HI, Robbins and Robbins (1980) claim that most of the instruments normally available for children with NH can be used successfully with children with HI. Those that are unsuitable are either too high in pitch and/or too soft. They indicate that “the hearing impaired child’s perception of musical sounds will be limited or distorted to an individual extent. It follows that the “better” the sound quality of the

music the child is listening to, the greater possibility he has of receiving attractive, engaging sound impressions” (p. 93). They claim that together with the quality and characteristics of the music, the timbre of the instrument is a vital factor in determining the significance of the child’s experience and the extent of any resulting growth of auditory capability. Therefore, they point out that it is of great importance to use instruments that produce clear, distinctive, interesting and enjoyable sounds.

Their suggestions are based on their extensive experience and supported by audiological investigations (Robbins & Robbins, 1980).

As mentioned in section 2.3.1, no specific recommendations were found in the literature regarding choice of instruments for children with HI³². For children with CI, the only recommendation was the one made by Gfeller, that is to determine individual preferences for particular musical instruments (Gfeller, 2000, p.128).

Guidelines for choosing the musical instruments in this study were as follows:

1. To expose these children to musical instruments that produce a variety of sounds that motivate them to explore each instrument and choose the instrument they prefer and the way they would like to play it;

2. To provide musical instruments with a good sound quality;

3. To suit the instruments to the children’s developmental stage. Children gain control over whole-arm movements before they gain control over its parts.

Following are some examples of instruments that offer these young children easy sound production and the various motoric movements required to produce the sounds, e.g., beating the cymbal or the bongos with different mallets or hands, shaking the bells, playing on the electronic keyboard with their fingers, hands, or even their feet; playing the handle castanets by shaking them in the air or holding the handle in one hand, and beating the castanets on the other palm;

shaking the tambourine or beating it with a mallet while it is on the floor or other flat surface;

4. To purposely present some of the instruments in pairs, e.g., the castanets, the mallets, the tambourines, and the set of bongos (which consists of two drums that are attached to one another) to enable communicative interactions by using the same instrument (or playing the same instruments with the same type of

32 Since 1991 (Darrow's article on preferences for timbre and musical instruments), no literature has been written on this topic. Prof. Alice-Ann Darrow, Florida State University (personal communication, September 15th, 2008). E-mail: aadarrow@fsu.edu

mallets), and thus, not overwhelming these children with different instrumental timbres.

The following instruments and other equipment and material were used in the sessions:

1. Electronic keyboard, four octaves, (Yamaha Portasound PSS-290). All buttons, with the exception of those needed for volume and power, were covered with a piece of foam sheet, to avoid distraction;

2. One set of bongos (Toca manufactured), head size: 20 cm & 25 cm, 8 lugs, 19 cm height;

3. A cymbal, silver-bronze, 40 cm diameter, on a cymbal stand, height adjustable.

4. Two headless tambourines with the handles built into the frame:

(a) 25 cm diameter, a plastic frame with two rows of seven pairs of jingles in each row;

(b) Half moon tambourine, a plastic frame with two rows of eight pairs of jingles in each row;

5. Two handle castanets;

6. Two sets of sleigh bells on plastic handles; three bells in a set; one bell is larger than the other two;

7. Two pairs of mallets:

(a) 25 cm long, hard felt-heads and a plastic handle (made for metalophones) (b) 30 cm long felt ring head, diameter 50 mm, ring thickness 40 mm, wooden

handle (Heavier heads produce louder sounds. (Harder heads produce sharper and louder sounds and generate more overtones);

8. A portable CD player;

9. A CD with three recorded songs (Appendix N);

10. A binder with three pictures associated with the recorded songs (Appendix O).

The instruments used in the present study were, for the most part, those recommended by Robbins and Robbins (1980). The sleigh bells, though not on the Robbins and Robbins list, were included because of the researcher's personal experience (Amir, 1982) with them while working with young children with HI. A spectral analysis (Amir, 1982, p. 115) confirmed that these specific bells have a wide

frequency range (from 20 to 6000 Hz), further increasing the probability that the sound would fall within the audible range of the children in this study.

The CD with the three recorded songs was prepared by recording the researcher singing on the computer and burning it onto a CD. This was preferable to preparing a cassette tape because it was easier for the researcher to find a specific song on the CD than struggling to find the right place on the cassette tape and thus risk losing the child’s interest and focus.

The rationale for this activity of listening to unaccompanied recorded songs as well as other music experiences is detailed in Appendix A.

3.5.2 Toys/games for play sessions

The toys and games for the play sessions were carefully chosen after searching the literature (Casey, 2005; Hughes, 1991; Oesterreich, 2002; Riddick, 1982) for toys and games that are developmentally appropriate for this age group (two to three years of age). In addition, the researcher consulted the kindergarten teachers who worked with the children for recommendations. Some considerations that were taken when choosing the toys and games for this study were:

• Safety: An issue of paramount importance: Toys should have no sharp points or rough edges, and should be nontoxic and too large to be swallowed. Fabric toys should be labeled as nonflammable or flame-retardant. There should be no strings or cords that could wrap around a young child's neck.

• Durability: The toys’ durability and their parts should be appropriate in relation to the child’s size and strength. They should be sturdy and not splinter or break with normal use.

• Cleanness: Preference should be given to toys which can be easily washed and cleaned.

• Stimulation, curiosity and multi-purposeness: The toys/games should stimulate the child’s interest and evoke curiosity. Some toys should provide the child with opportunities to play with them creatively in a variety of ways rather than only one definitive way.

• Usable: It’s important that the child be able to effectively manipulate the toy as independently as possible with minimum help from an adult to avoid undue frustration.

In order to create a clear difference between the music therapy intervention and the play sessions, and to avoid contamination of the results, no sound-making or musical games or toys were included. For this young age group, consistency and object permanence are key factors. Therefore, the selected toys and games, listed below, were always available to the children during every play session:

1. A plastic bucket with “Duplo” blocks and dolls (two ‘windows’, a baby, a girl, a boy, a man, a woman, a dog, two mini-carts);

2. Plastic kitchen dishes (a plate, a pot with a lid, a cup, a fork, a spoon and a knife);

3. Plastic food (a cookie, a croissant, a bun, and some fruits: a peach, a pear, a lemon, a banana);

4. A small plastic bottle with ‘milk’ that disappears when it is turned upside down and re-appears when it is turned the other way around, as if the bottle is filled up with milk again;

5. A doll which consists of three dolls in one: “Little red riding hood”, the wolf, and the grandmother;

6. Two small furry blankets;

7. A small pillow;

8. A wooden in-set puzzle, which includes five human figures and four cars.

3.5.3 Recording equipment 3.5.3.1 Video equipment

All sessions were recorded by using two video cameras (on two tripods). The cameras were placed in the room so that the angle between them was 90˚ and a wide lens was assembled on each of them, to ensure widest possible coverage of activity within the room. Due to the fact that the research was carried out in three different settings, it was impossible to use permanent hidden recording equipment to prevent the children’s distraction, but it seemed that the children adjusted immediately to the presence of the cameras, and were perhaps too young to have an understanding of what they were, or their purpose. Sometimes, when the light in the room seemed insufficient for getting a clear enough picture, the researcher used a 500 Watt projector. The projector was placed on the floor and connected by a long electrical cord that could be plugged into different outlets in the room. This enabled the researcher to place the projector closer to where the session was taking place, but far

enough from the children to be able to move around without getting burned from the heat of the bulb. The projector was directed to the ceiling, so that the returning light from the white ceiling would provide more light and thus result in better quality video material.

During the first few months, the researcher used two video cameras: (a) Samsung VP-L630 PAL Hi 8 (b) Mini DV Cannon MV700. The Samsung video camera is an analogical one and as such, produces lesser quality video material. Therefore, after a few months, another mini DV video camera- Panasonic NV-GS250 was purchased.

This camera also allowed for faster and easier downloading of the video material to the computer.

All video material was downloaded from the video cameras to the computer by using the computer software WinDVD Creator 2, and then, burned to DVD’s. Prior to doing the video analysis, the researcher watched the DVD’s and selected the best quality material from the cameras. The video analysis was subsequently carried out by using the computer software ASUS DVD XP (ASUSTek Computer Inc., 2002)

3.5.3.2 Audio equipment

The parent interviews were recorded by using a Sony Cassette-Corder TCM-200DV.

The main advantage of this cassette recorder is the fact that it can double the recording time without the need to turn the cassette over; thus, if the interview lasts more time than a typical cassette (30 or 45 minutes per side), the interviewer can continue the interview without any interruptions.