Abstract:
Most studies have used the element of listening response to musical stimuli to determine
music preferences of the various groups studied. In this study however, the term
preference is used to mean the art of choosing one type of music (vocal or instrumental)
over another without necessarily using a musical stimulus as the benchmark. This study
investigated candidates’ perceived reasons for choosing to perform certain items in the
African and Western sections of music practical performance to determine the factors
influencing their preference choices in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE)
examination. Questionnaires were administered to 33 music candidates from three girls
and three boy’s schools from 6 districts in Nyanza province in Kenya who sat for their
KCSE music practical examinations in 2009. Oral interview was used to collect data from
11 teachers. Content analysis of the secondary school music syllabus, Kenya National
Examinations Council (KNEC) Syllabus 20062007
and the Kenya National Examinations
Council 20052007
KCSE Examination Report was done to establish the syllabus
requirement and categories of choices outlined for candidates in paper 511/1. Musical
analysis of 8 vocal pieces was done to explore the intrinsic characteristics of the pieces.
The results showed that students do not make their own choices, instead, teachers use
forced choice approach to select pieces for students based on the teachers’ specialization,
inclination and competency.