School children frequently fail to adequately understand terms associated with musical pitch although research shows that even infants with normal hearing can perceptually discriminate fine pitch variations. This study investigated children's perceptions of dimensions of sound by focusing on their choice of musical sounds and relevant verbalization. Subjects were 13 children approximately 5 years of age who attended kindergarten or preschool and were identified by their teachers as having superior verbal skills. Ability to discriminate sounds and to label dimensions that were different were explored by presenting selected melodic percussive instruments, including tubular bells, a xylophone, jingle bell shakers, and beaters. Cognitive ability was assessed with the Enticknap Picture Vocabulary Test and subjects' scores were converted into a "picture age" (PA) and a "picture quotient" (PQ). Correlation coefficients between PA's and PQ's and the raw scores of children verbalizing correctly about perceived differences between paired sounds were not statistically significant. When five children instructed to produce sounds differing in intensity or pitch were retested, their scores on some of the tasks improved significantly. Implications are discussed. (RH)