Preferences

In this investigation, we compared listeners ' preferential ratings of art music, derived by conventional static ratings taken through 10-point Likert-type scales, and continuous ratings taken throughout the duration of each excerpt with a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI). Music majors ( n = 100) and non-music majors ( n = 100) rated twelve excerpts of Western art music, including three substyles (Baroque, Romantic, and 20th-century) and three performance media (strings, keyboard, and winds). Music majors ' preference ratings were significantly higher than were nonmusic majors'preference ratings. Although no significant effect was found due to using the CRDI or static rating scale, there was a significant inter-action between type of measurement and major. Music majors ' static and continu-ous ratings were similar; however, nonmusic majors ' continuous ratings were notice-ably higher than were static ratings. Nonmusic majors using the CRDI averaged almost one Likert-scale rating higher than those using the static measure