NSS Music Teaching & Learning

Listening

22 May 2008 Mrs. Ruth YU

Part I

Thinking About

Teaching & Learning

of Listening

Thinking About

Teaching & Learning

of Listening

What happens when we listen to Music?

Sounds

from performance, recordings or anywhere

Are received

by ear drum that is sensitive to sound vibration

Mind perceives

Qualities of sound movements

Feelings react

To all things the music is doing, each person reacts differently

Judgment is made

About how musical qualities are used and if pleasure is derived

Some Psychological Aspects of Music Listening

A Model of Aural Perception

(Regelski, 1981)

About Music Listening

Listening is the foundation of music learning. (NSS Music C & A Guide, p.31)

Audition (responsive listening as an audience) is the central reason for the existence of music and the ultimate and constant goal in music education (Swanwick, 1996)

Time and temporal relations

Attending to music involves time and temporal relations.

As the music unfolds, it is possible for a listener to attend to the local details of note-to-note changes (happen in short time span) but at times miss some large aspects of form (happen in long time span).

The listener’s achievement in different temporal perspectives may be partly controlled by the composer, via the score, and partly modulated by artistic devices of the performer.

Music, then, may be indeterminate, affording multiple interpretations. (Jones, 1992)

Patterns & repetition

Music listening involves the recognition of patterns and relationships, with repetition being the most important.

Listening is largely a matter of finding and organizing structural relationships that is given rise by musical repetition in order to construct an “explanation” of the music in terms of how each part relates to some other part. (Dannenberg, 2002)

Sensitivity to sound and memory facilitate perceptions and concept formation

On pitch and timbre

Listeners seem to be able to form patterned groupings of tones on several bases such as pitch proximity (registral and/or melodic coherence)

The perception of timbre is much more complex than recognizing just a catalogue of instrumental and vocal sounds

(Butler, 1992)

Multi-dimensions of musical work

There is no one way to listen for all music everywhere.

D. J. Elliot summarizes (i) a multilayered concept of what to listen for in

musical works,

(ii) a concept of musical understanding recommendations for developing students’ abilities with regard to musical expressions of emotion.

Multi-dimensions of musical work

On musical works:1. The performance- Interpretation Dimension

2. The Design Dimension

3. Stylistic traditions and Standards

4. Musical expressions of Emotion

5. Musical Representations and characterizations

6. The Cultural-Ideological Dimension

7. The Narrative Dimension

Musical understanding

On musical understanding:1. Five kinds of knowing in both “music making

ability” & “music listening ability”:a) Procedural knowing

b) Verbal knowing

c) Experiential knowing

d) Intuitive knowing

e) Meta-cognition (or supervisory knowing)

Musical understanding

Music listening – convert form of procedural understanding

Other four forms of knowing inform and enrich the convert action of listening, especially in learning-to and knowing-how to hear musical patterns as expressive of emotions.

Fine musicians, over time, learn the know how to hear and create the many dimensions of meaning that a musical work can present for our listening enjoyment.

Listeners hear (or construct?) musical expressions as part of their listening process and they can feel these emotions at various times, depending on a wide range of variables (cognitive, affective, cultural and so forth.)

Teaching for expressions of emotion

Music teachers ought to make a central place for engaging students in listening for, interpreting, performing and creating musical works that are expressive of emotions.

Learning to make and hear musical expressions of emotions is not automatic in all students, teachers need to teach-for this kind of awareness, ability and sensitivity.

Teachers to use ‘emotion words’ and emotional analogies to focus students’ attention on the expressive features of musical patterns.(Elliott, 2005)

Reference

Butler, D. (1992). The Musician’s guide to perception and cognition. NY: Schirmer Books.

Curriculum Development Council (2007). Arts Education Key Learning Area Music Curriculum and Assessment Guide (Secondary 4-6). Hong Kong: Curriculum Development Council.

Dannenberg, R. B. (2002). “Listening to ‘Naima’: An automated analysis of music fro recorded audio.” In Proceedings of the International computer Music conference. San Francisco, CA: International Computer Music Association.

Elliott, D. J. (2005). Musical understanding, musical works, and emotional expression: Implications for music education. IN D.K. Lines (Ed.). Music education for the new millennium. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Jones, M. R. (1992). “Attending to musical events.” In M. R. Jones and S. Holleran (Eds.) Cognitive bases of musical communication, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Regelski, T. (1981). Teaching general music. NY: Schirmer Books.

Swanwick, K. (1996). A basis for music education. London: Routledge.

Part II

Practicing

Teaching & Learning

Of Listening

Practicing

Teaching & Learning

Of Listening

Listening for music understanding

Getting to appreciate the elements and formal structure of music rhythm, pitch, (melody), harmony, timbre, form, dynamics

etc. Use short musical excerpts to help focus on the elements

(from simple to complex) Developing the ability to focus the hearing of the lower parts

(inner parts) Bear in mind the temporal nature of music and the path for

perception to happen Directed listening may be helpful Examples: use teacher designed material or refer to music text

books

Listening for style identification

1. Musical form is shaped by the cohesion of a number of musical elements and factors.

2. Bear in mind the listener’s ability to attain perception in short time and long time spans.

3. Tactfully using ‘repetitions’ to help build concepts.

Design teaching plan with regard to the above parameters

Listening for style identification

Examples:a) Mozart: Symphony No. 36 “Linz”, iii

Minuet & TrioClassical music - symphony

b) 春江花月夜Chinese instrumental ensemble – 江南絲竹Principle of variationHistorical development from 夕陽簫豉

c) 紫釵記 – 劍合釵圓Cantonese Opera

Excerpt set singing to the music of 春江花月夜 Listen with/without the aid of a score Identify elements shaping the music Compare adaptation of the same melody to suit stylistic purposes

Listening for cultivation of critical appreciation Listening to music to experience the multi-

dimensions of a musical work Listening with different forms of knowing Listening to understand the shaping of music

contributed by the composer, the performer and the listener

Listening for feeling-response Listening to complement performing and

creating

Example 1

Vivildi, Four Seasons, “Autumn”, iii Get acquainted with the music Appreciate how the composer keeps to the

Baroque style while aiming at portrait the narrative description of the sonnet in the music

Noting the expressivity of the music Compare five different performances by

different performers Noting the different interpretations presented by

each performing group the listeners share their own feeling about the

music heard

Example 2

Amazing Grace Listen to performances of Amazing Grace by

1. Judy Collins and choir2. Elvis Presley3. Wintley Phipps (also the history of Amazing Grace)Noting the stylistic difference in the treatment of the music and performance styles (spiritual and pop music)

Listen to a performance on the bagpipe, noting the effect of using folk idiom

Listening to performance of 明日恩典 , noting the transformation of amazing Grace into cantopop

The listeners share their own feeling of the different styles of the music

N. B. While recorded life performances are used, the priority for the cultivation of aural ability should be observed.

Possible extended activities

Develop a class project on Amazing Grace, finding information about its history and performances

Students compose music based on Amazing Grace

Students may arrange to perform Amazing Grace in a style of their preference

Students may further investigate the different genres of music such as spiritual, pop song, cantopop etc.

More information on reference material

The following books contain many music examples, information and/or teaching suggestions.

Musical Form: Listening Scores by Roy Bennett Musicianship by Roy Bennett Enjoying Music. Books 1-3 (Longmans) Sound Matters (Schott) Aural Matters (Schott) 民族器樂賞析 ( 張靜波編著、雲南大學出版社 ) 民族器樂 ( 袁靜芳編著 )

Web-sites: http://www.musiclistenrevision.co.uk

(National Qualifications for Scotland Music Listening Revision) http://www.m4t.org

(Music for teachers)

See also the reference list in the NSS Music C & A Guide

These books may be helpful in preparing teaching plans for listening.

Q & A Session

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