The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of harmonic accompaniment on the tonal improvisations of elementary school students. Specifically, this study was designed to (a) determine if the addition of a root melody accompaniment to song instruction affects the implied harmonic changes and harmonic rhythm in the tonal improvisations of students in first through sixth grade and (b) determine whether age affects the tonal improvisation scores of students in first through sixth grade. Results indicated that students who received song instruction with root melody accompaniment received significantly higher tonal improvisation rating scores than those students who did not have such instruction. No statistical difference was found for the main effect of grade level. (Contains 2 tables and 1 note.)