Abstract
The study had three objectives. The primary focus of the study was to develop an appropriate child-sized instrument by designing and constructing a half-sized qanun. A description of the instrument and the process of development were delineated. The secondary objective of the study was to develop and select instructionally appropriate educational music materials by using both traditional Eastern and Western folk music. Various beginning instrumental method books and series were consulted and reviewed for the selection of appropriate materials, including those written for piano and harp. Of primary importance was the harp repertory because of the shared history and the similar performance characteristics of the qanun and the harp. The third objective of this study was to develop and organize sequential pedagogical materials to teach both musical and performance skills for the qanun to elementary school children. Because children have not been physically able to play a full-sized qanun, the need for children's materials has not arisen until now. In general, the thrust of this study, then, was to present a new instrument to children that they were previously unable to play by making it accessible in terms of size, pedagogical materials, and music selections.