How do the skills of intermediate/advanced musicians differ based on how they were taught as a

beginning student?

In my research, I hope to find some examples of older students who learned in varying

different ways, mainly by notation and by ear. From this, I can compile the different skills that

everyone has and see if they match up with my initial hypothesis. I am expecting that younger

students who learned by ear have better ear training and improvisational skills, while students

who learned by notation are better at written theory and sight-reading. This is clearly related to

beginning instrumental music and the way we want to teach it. I believe the standard public-

school classroom may be leaning one way or the other, which may limit the skills and abilities of

students as they progress through their musical lives.

In addition to my online research, I was considering conducting my own research around

the JMU school of music and possibly the community. Comparing grades and experiences in

various classes to the way students were taught music may give some helpful insight to the

question I am trying to answer.

Reference List:

Kraus, N., & Chandrasekaran, B. (2010). Music training for the development of auditory skills. Nature

Reviews Neuroscience,11(8), 599-605. doi:10.1038/nrn2882

Liperote, K. A. (2006). Audiation for Beginning Instrumentalists: Listen, Speak, Read, Write. Music

Educators Journal,93(1), 46. doi:10.2307/3693430

Wright, R., & Kanellopoulos, P. (2010). Informal music learning, improvisation and teacher

education. British Journal of Music Education,27(01), 71. doi:10.1017/s0265051709990210