Post on 22-Dec-2015
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
THANK YOUTHANK YOU