1. May Kokkidou
Department of Visual and Applied Arts
University of Western Macedonia, Greece

2. How does musical humor
affect children's willingness
to listen to music?
How does musical humor
influence children's attitudes
and activities?

3. Since the time of Aristotle,
philosophers and scholars have tried to
understand and explain the origins and
the functions of humour and laughter.
According to Abraham Maslow (1968)
humour is a supreme manifestation of
the human spirit, a peak experience, a
way of bringing delight to the heart; it
is not driven by other needs but is
linked to the disposition to play.

4. Humour in music is closely
linked to its parodic or comic
elements.

5. A common argument against the
existence of musical humor is
that in most instances which
provoke smiles or laughter, this
does not appear to lie in the
musical sounds themselves but in
the associated ideas, that is in
extra-musical factors.

6. Can pre-school pupils appreciate
humour in music?
If so, how do they perceive and
interpret music as humorous?
Does the understanding of
musical humour depend on
prior experience?

7. About the study
Samble: 25 children of pre-school
age, 4 to 6 years old
Time: April and May 2011
Instrument: Interviews
Procedure: Five pieces of music for
listening. The students were asked
two questions: “Is this music funny?”
and “Why?”

8. Music pieces /passages
the opening of the first movement of
Kodaly's Háry János suite
the first movement of Eine Kleine
Nichtsmusik by P.D.Q.Bach (Peter
Schickele)
People With Long Ears from Camille
Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals
the first part of Richard Strauss's Till
Eugenspiel's Merry Pranks
The third movement of Bizet's Jeux d’
enfants (the Spinning Top)

9. The students did not react with
laughter to any of the pieces on a
first listening. Nevertheless, after
hearing explanatory information
they showed perception of the
humour in the music, laughed
spontaneously and even at such
length as to prevent them from
following the development of the
work

10. Discussion
Laughter is not a spontaneous
response to music: searching
for and discovering the
humorous dimension in music
has to do with searching for and
discovering analogies in real
life

11. The perception of humour or
its implications in music
requires additional cognitive
stimuli

12. Children are able to appreciate
humour in music, which
demonstrates their ability to
use metaphor and comparison
in order to proceed to symbolic
interpretations

13. A humorous element
provides motivation for a
closer relation with a work
of music

14. Existing knowledge and
previous experience have a
supplementary function,
facilitating the perception of
musical humour

15. The findings of our research
showed that children aged 4
to 6 can be aware of musical
humor, though within a
referential context

16. May Kokkidou