Aural Education: Reconceptualising Ear Training in Higher Music Learning

Description

Aural Education: Reconceptualising Ear Training in Higher Music Learning explores the practice of musical ‘aural training’ from historical, pedagogical, psychological, musicological, and cultural perspectives, and uses these to draw implications for its pedagogy, particularly within the context of higher music education. The multi-perspective approach adopted by the author affords a broader and deeper understanding of this branch of music education, and of how humans relate to music more generally. The book extracts and examines one by one different parameters that appear central to ‘aural training’, proceeding in a gradual and well-organised way, while at the same time constantly highlighting the multiple interconnections and organic unity of the many different operations that take place when we interact with music through any music-related activity. The resulting complex profile of the nature of our relationship with music, combined with an exploration of non-Western cultural perspectives, offer fresh insights on issues relating to musical ‘aural training’. Emerging implications are proposed in the form of broad pedagogical principles, applicable in a variety of different music educational settings. Andrianopoulou propounds a holistic alternative to ‘aural training’, which acknowledges the richness of our relationship to music and is rooted in absorbed aural experience. The book is a key contribution to the existing literature on aural education, designed with researchers and educators in mind. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of figures List of tables Series editors’ preface Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: how it all started Personal beginnings Teaching ‘ear training’ in higher music education in Greece Embarking on research Research aim and research questions Notes 2. Tracing the history of ‘aural skills’: solfège and dictation as facilitators of musical learning Introduction Solmisation as an old and global phenomenon Solmisation in the Western world: Guido d’Arezzo The use of sol-fa syllables in the modern era The practice of dictation Solfège and dictation in tertiary music education Modern developments Notes 3. Current views on ‘aural skills’ teaching: a lively, ongoing discourse Introduction The perceived value of ‘aural training’ for the 21st-century musician Desired aims of ‘aural training’ in the literature Problematic aspects of ‘aural training’ Suggested changes for higher relevance of ‘aural training’ Exploring ‘aural training’ from a different angle Notes 4. Aural perception: the human brain, a fascinating sound-processing machine Introduction How hearing works Notes 5. Musical memory: much more than playing by heart Introduction A short history of memory Characteristics of human memory Memory and music – a short historical outline Musical memory in psychological and pedagogical literature Notes 6. Musical mental imagery: the brain’s inner musical life Introduction Musical mental imagery Types of musical imagery in the literature Uses of mental imagery by musicians for various goals Notes 7. Music notation and literacy: bridge or barrier? Introduction Writing and music How musical reading works A brief history of Western European musical notation Contemporary pedagogical issues Notes 8. Implicit and explicit forms of musical knowing: you can only know what you already know Introduction Implicit (or ‘tacit’) musical knowledge characteristics Explicit musical knowledge characteristics Musical knowledge as a combination of implicit and explicit processes Notes 9. Music theory: music’s changing shadow Introduction A basic history of music theory Music theory today: issues of relevance Theory at the service of musical understanding Theoretical knowledge and musical intuition Theory in contemporary formal music education Notes 10. Embodied musical knowledge: it’s music to my ears – but not only Introduction The role of the body in engaging with music Bodily knowing as a distinct form of knowing Bodily and intellectual musical knowing Bodily musical knowing as socially, culturally, and historically embedded A special case of embodied music perception: deaf musicians Music as embodied experience Notes 11. Musicality: synonymous with giftedness – or is it? Introduction Music and musicality as universal phenomena Characteristics of musicality Different profiles of musicality Musicality as ‘giftedness’ Notes 12. An interview study: exploring non-Western classical views of ‘aural training’ parameters Introduction ‘Aural training’ parameters through the eyes of non-Western classical musicians Notes 13. Moving from ‘aural training’ to aural education: a pedagogy according to the intricate character of the human musical experience Introduction How humans relate to (Western) music Implications for ‘aural training’ Emerging pedagogical and educational/philosophical principles Enhancement of learning transfer Notes 14. Enriching aural education with non-Western classical perspectives: more immersion in musical sound, more creativity Introduction Correlating empirical data with literature findings Implications of the interview study for aural education Correlations summarised Enriched pedagogical principles for aural education Notes 15. Reflections and conclusions: thoughts on the way(s) forward Recapitulation: from ‘aural training’ to aural education Reflections on research choices and processes Implications for education Looking ahead: areas for further research Conclusions Notes Appendix Bibliography Index