The Benefits of Aural Learning in the Development of Elementary Music Education

The Benefits of Aural Learning in the Development of Elementary Music Education

Kathryn E. Morgan

James Madison University

Authors Note: Kathryn E. Morgan James Madison University. Kathryn Morgan is a junior

Vocal Music Education major with a minor in Special Education.

Contact: morga2ke@dukes.jmu.edu
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As a music educator it is imperative that we implement and teach students

notation and aural skills throughout earlier years of music development. The question

becomes rather of when and how do we integrate these important skills into a child’s life

and education. When is it appropriate to introduce these skills and what are different

ways we can slowly develop children’s music knowledge. The research discussed in

this paper goes into further detail about aural versus visual notation learning and

different ideas and methods to introducing these skills and beginning to teach children

music skills and understandings. Are their different benefits that go into beginning a

child’s music education with auditory learning? Throughout my research it has become

highly noticeable that teachers recommend beginning with aural skills before moving

onto reading music and playing one’s instrument. In all forms of language one needs

aural and written forms to communicate, but just like in speaking one must learn to

understand and speak before adding a symbol to it.

In Campbell’s “Orality, Literacy and Musics Creative Potential: A Comparative

Approach” ​ the article discusses how all forms of language are communicated both

orally and in written form. This is important to note because music is exactly the same.

The purpose of this specific article is to “describe the rise of musical notation in the

west, to show the relationship of that development to the origin of musical literacy in one

Asian culture, and to suggest that the balance of oral and literate means of music

learning may foster creative expression in performance.” According to the article Orality

was the primary form of communication of music through the fourteenth century. Due to
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the development of different technologies like the printing press, literacy began to

replace oral forms of transmission. Both of these forms (oral and literate) are used in

communication. According to Campbell American goals are to develop literacy skills.

“The associated aural understanding is often overlooked or reduced to an adjunct

objective”(Campbell). There was also discussion on how when not reading notation,

performers are given less restrictions and allowed for greater creativity and expression.

In this article they discussed by a comparison of Chinese and earlier western traditions

whether music learning is enhanced through the combination of literate and oral means

without sacrificing the creative nature of the art of music in performance. “The point of

the creative process of Da pu is interpreting the score and producing sounds not

indicated by symbols?”(Campbell). Literacy in the west was normally only through an

oral transmission process and before the invention of natation, most music was created

as it was performed. Private instruction was the rule for instrument music, while training

of young voices occurred through the choruses that performed for religious festivals.

Western notation began in the 6th century in order to help with memory and to help

communicate the music. One important thing to note is the importance of musical

notation is that it allows us the preservation of music over a long period of time. It also

allows orchestras and choirs to better coordinate through a written score. It wasn’t until

the classical period that there was large efforts on creating and fixing scores. “Reliance

on one’s visual sense became absolute necessity, a situation that prevails

today.”(Campbell) In American schools music reading and writing notation is essential,

with oral sometimes being used to address problems​. “Music learning in American
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schools is served best when aspects of orality and literacy are both included in the

instructional approach.”

In Hansen and Milligan’s article they talk about exploring research “4 different

areas, examining the significance of aural discrimination skills in language and music

learning, their mutual influence on reading literacy, and current applications at the

primary level for the music classroom” (Hansen and Milligan). Music is an aural form

and we teach children to follow “pitch contour in songs, move to the beat, and respond

artfully to musical stimuli.”(Hansen and Milligan). Our first accounts with music are all

aural. So how we learn music should be similar to those of the english language.

In “An Aural Learning Project: Assimilating Jazz Education Methods for

Traditional Applied Pedagogy” ​This article talked about the Aural Learning Project (ALP)

which was developed to incorporate jazz method components into the author’s classical

practice. There goal of ALP was to focus more on listening and hearing than normally

used in classical applied lessons. The components of ALP studio are 1. Listening to at

least two professional recordings of the works being studied and then analyzing the

performances, 2 recording projects with a written evaluation of the performance 3.

SmartMusic practice 4. Memorizing and transcribing projects 5. Assigned readings and

research on repertoire and 6 composed and improvised warm ups. This is all based

upon a woodwind professor who is comparing her practices of jazz study to those of her

classical studies, and trying to transfer some of the auditory skills of the jazz study to

her classical studies. The article is broken down into a couples sections. One being the

Analysis of Jazz Study, “Jazz emphasized aural learning, memorization, creating new
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music and/or arrangements of standards and improvisation.”(Gamso) Jazz musicians

learn by listening, recognizing tune and chord progressions as well as understanding

inflections, style, expression, improvisatory vocabulary, tone, articulation and technique.

Their practice time is spent working on improvisation and borrowing techniques from

classical techniques.

The implementation of the Aural Learning Project begins with a listening session,

the author mentions an importance of watching their facial affect and whether or not the

students like it or are hesitant. She explains that sometimes students chose to avoid the

work because they are either unfamiliar with modern harmonic language or intimidated

of technical challenges. She will then allow student to select works “students experience

a greater caring investment in the work that lies ahead”(Gamso). Listening Analysis

allows students to be introduced new styler and use them to interpret their own

meaning. The Recording Project is when students record themselves and send these to

the teacher “most effective are those that specify realistic tempos and expressive goals

and have had adequate practice and instruction”(Gamso). Memorization and

Transcription is used to intensify aural learning, understand role of memory in

performance and “to explore the relationship between memorized musical performance

and expression”(Gamso).The intention for assigning readings for the memorization and

transcription projects was to explore the cognitive connection between memorization

and expression”(Gamso). Improvisation and composition component include concerto

cadenza compositions, composed and improvised warm up technical exercises and out

of context practice. This is used to “emphasize student ownership of the physical

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requirements for good tone and technical development”(Gamso). The jazz skills

provide students with more different tools and expands their horizons. If educators tried

to implement more of the ALP program into daily teaching than student’s would have

more creative practice ideas.

When researching different techniques on how to introduce notation into the

classroom I came across research on color coding notation. Roger’s article “Effect of

Colored Rhythmic Notation on Music-Reading Skills of Elementary Students. ​There is

lots of research that states the use of color in instructing can help improve student

performance and retention. However there is little proof that this works in the music

education field. There is talk about the shape note system, which is a system the head

of the note is different depending on the pitch. This system proved in a study that

students taught using that method scored significantly higher. ​According to the article

color increases students attention to the material. “Bornstein found that different groups

of neurons in the visual cortex are excited by different aspects of the visual stimulus:

color, intensity, shape, movement and so forth. The article proceeds to give different

studies where using color benefited their students learning. These studies were not

based around music. In a study were the teacher color coded each pitch, the students

did not score higher or lower than those uncolor coordinated. The students did mention

it was easier to play the scores color coded. It did however improve test scores of those

students with disabilities. In another study it showed by highlighting dynamics, tempos,

key signatures and style provided the a high musical quality than others. The rest of the

article discusses a study about color coding in clapping and vocalizing rhythms. The
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children; first and second graders were of similar backgrounds with little to background

in reading notation. There was a pretest used in order to match size classes for

rhythmic aptitude. There were two groups, Experimental and Control. The Experimental

“subjects participated in vocalizing and clapping rhythms notated with color chalk on the

chalkboard as a regular part of general music classes. Control subjects read, vocalized

and clapped identical rhythms notated in white chalk.” The colors were never consistent

and constantly changing so that students didn’t learn to be dependent on the colors.

Those with the colors scored just slightly higher than those without the colored notation

task. So there isn’t much of a benefit with colored notation over normal notation.

Clauh’s “Beginning Band without a Stand: Fostering Creative Musicianship in

Early Instrumental Programs” discusses the importance of developing comprehensive

musicianship and creative thinking from a young age. She discussed how it is important

to move away from just the notation and pitch reading accuracy and remember to teach

musicianship and aural skills from the beginning of a child’s music making experience.

“Vocalizing in band rehearsal helps students develop aural skills, pitch discrimination,

balance and musical syntax”(Claughs). The article discusses the importance of

teaching audiation in band and prevents them from developing the button-pushing

syndrome this “occurs when students believe they can magically push a key or valve to

play a note in tune”(Claughs). After audiation a teacher should introduce learning songs

by ears. “Students should learn like language skills to listen and speak music before

reading and writing”(Claughs).

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The author after reviewing different literature wrote of her strive to focus on aural skills

an music experiences before even touching notation. She did this by teaching them first

songs on solfege, clapping rhythm patterns, improvising and composing original music

and learning repertoire by rote. She changed her goals for the students from being

about performing a song they were assigned to being able to provide the tools for

students to play any song they want. She had 4 strategies 1. Composing Music First 2.

Provide Building Blocks for Creativity 3. COllaborate 4. Perform Online.

1. Compose Music First:

Encouraging students to explore sound on their instruments before teaching them notes

and fingering. The author discusses some of her creative outlooks for composition such

as being sound effects for a movie. This activity allowed students to think critically and

allow the creative process to be normal instead of fearful.

2. Provide Building Blocks for Creativity

This is when she teaches the students aural skills and vocabulary of tonal and rhythmic

patterns. These are the tools needed to create musical works. Her hope was to give

“building blocks” for future composition and improvisations.

3. Collaborate

Once students could confidently create music on their instruments they could begin

composing larger works. They would work in groups and create original tonal and

rhythm patterns that were inspired by an idea/theme from another subject they were

studying.They would then switch compositions with another group and build upon what

the group has already composed. Collaboration “allows students to better understand
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concepts and ideas, develop a sense of self and recognize how they fit into what a

socially constructed knowledge based community.”

4. Perform Online

Through online streaming school music programs can have a greater outreach. It allows

the parents and families a closer insight to the creative music projects and it allows

them another outlook for celebrating student achievement.

This research has provided us the opportunity to learn about the importance of

aural skills in a musicians education but it can be transferred to elementary schoolers.

By giving them these skills at a younger age they will the the opportunity to further their

skills and have the tools to continue their musical knowledge after classroom instruction.
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Bibliography

Bamberger, J. (2003). The development of intuitive musical understanding: A

natural experiment. ​Psychology of Music,31(​ 1), 7-36. Retrieved September 27, 2018,
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Botstein, L. (1992). Listening through Reading: Musical Literacy and the Concert
Audience. ​19th-Century Music,​ ​16​(2), 129-145. doi:10.2307/746262

Campbell, P. (1989). Orality, Literacy and Music's Creative Potential: A

Comparative Approach. ​Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education,​ (101),
30-40. Retrieved from ​http://www.jstor.org/stable/40318372

Clauhs, M. (2018). Beginning Band without a Stand: Fostering Creative

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Hansen, D., & Milligan, S. A. (2012). Aural skills: At the juncture of research in
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