Ear-Tudes - An Ear Training Method For The Collegiate Tubist

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Ear-tudes: an ear training method for the

collegiate tubist.
Wohlman, Katharine Jane
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Wohlman, K. J. (2013). Ear-tudes: an ear training method for the collegiate tubist [University of Iowa].
https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.u4pzoy77
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Copyright 2013 Katharine Jane Wohlman
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EAR-TUDES: AN EAR TRAINING METHOD FOR THE COLLEGIATE TUBIST
by
Katharine Jane Wohlman
An abstract
Of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the
Doctor of Musical Arts degree
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
May 2013
Thesis Supervisor: Professor John Manning

ABSTRACT
Traditionally, collegiate ear training classes in the United States are comprised largely of
notation-based exercises and assignments, administered to small groups by a single
teacher. Aside from the piano, instruments generally are not used during ear training
classes, de-emphasizing the perceived correlation between students’ aural skills
development and their progress as instrumentalists.
By studying the history of music education, and examining current aural skills pedagogy,
the author has found that common practice often relies on notation-based tasks as a
measurement of success, despite the fact that research supports the effectiveness of aural-
based learning.
In order to encourage a better understanding of pitches and rhythms, the author composed
fifteen original etudes (“Ear-tudes”) for tuba with accompanying drills. Before revealing
each Ear-tude, the instructor leads the student through related drills. Each of the Ear-
tudes focuses on a particular interval, scale-type, rhythmic, or tonal challenge, within a
variety of meters, tempi, and styles, all of which are suitable for the typical first year tuba
student. This method provides an innovative way for tuba teachers to integrate ear
training into their instruction, alongside a new collection of etudes designed specifically
for freshman students.
Abstract Approved: __________________________________________

Thesis Supervisor
__________________________________________
Title and Department
____________________________________
Date
EAR-TUDES: AN EAR TRAINING METHOD FOR THE COLLEGIATE TUBIST
by
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree
in the Graduate College of
May 2013
Thesis Supervisor: Professor John Manning

Copyright by
KATHARINE JANE WOHLMAN
2013
All Rights Reserved

Graduate College
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
_________________________
D.M.A. THESIS
_____________
This is to certify that the D.M.A. thesis of
has been approved by the Examining Committee

for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree
at the May 2013 graduation.
Thesis Committee: __________________________________________

John Manning, Thesis Supervisor
__________________________________________
David Gier
__________________________________________
Jeffrey Agrell
__________________________________________
Jennifer Iverson
__________________________________________
David Gompper
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES iii
LIST OF FIGURES iv
PREFACE v
CHAPTER 1 EAR TRAINING: DEFINITIONS AND PURPOSES 1
Ear Training Defined 1
Aural perception 4
The language of music 7
The Importance of Ear Training 9
The oral tradition 11
The synergy of ear training and sight reading 14
Types of aural skills 17
Long-term benefits 22
Theoretical vs. Practical 22
Ear Training Research 25
CHAPTER 2 A BRIEF HISTORY, AND EVALUATION OF CURRENT 27

PRACTICES
Pre-college Preparation 29
A Concise History of Music Education in the United States 36
Notation 42
Dictation 43
Voice and Instrument 45
Suitability of Faculty 48
Grading and Motivation 52
Stress 54
Group Learning 56
CHAPTER 3 A NEW APPROACH 60

ABRSM Influence 61
Real World Application 62
Modeling 63
Explanation of Method 66
The Ear-tudes 72
Delivery of the Method - The Drills 74
Supplemental Activities 107
CHAPTER 4 ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS 112
BIBLIOGRAPHY 115
ii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. The Ear-tudes: musical concepts and features 76
iii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Unit 1 Ear-tude: Chromatics 77
Figure 2. Unit 2 Ear-tude: The Whole Tone 79
Figure 3. Unit 3 Ear-tude: Theme and Variation 81
Figure 4. Unit 4 Ear-tude: Thirds and Sixths 83
Figure 5. Unit 5 Ear-tude: Perfect Fourths and Perfect Fifths 85
Figure 6. Unit 6 Ear-tude: The Tritone 87
Figure 7. Unit 7 Ear-tude: Octave Intonation 89
Figure 8. Unit 8 Ear-tude: The Natural Minor Scale 91
Figure 9. Unit 9 Ear-tude: Pentatonicism 93
Figure 10. Unit 10 Ear-tude: Dominant Sevenths 95
Figure 11. Unit 11 Ear-tude: Syncopation 97
Figure 12. Unit 12 Ear-tude: All Intervals 99
Figure 13. Unit 13 Ear-tude: Diminished Patterns 101
Figure 14. Unit 14 Ear-tude: [untitled] 103
Figure 15. Unit 15 Ear-tude: Lip Slurs 105
iv
PREFACE
As a graduate teaching assistant at two major universities, I have been fortunate to
witness a good portion of the education, both theoretical and in the instrumental studio, of
first-year music majors. What struck me a teaching assistant in both theory and the brass
area, was the apparent lack of cohesiveness between the two disciplines. The studio
instructor (and to a degree, the ensemble directors) assume responsibility of the
development of instrumental technique and musicality, while the theory and musicology
professors advance students’ understanding of music theory and music history.
Occasionally repertoire provides an overlap; perhaps when the student is encouraged to
learn more about a genre or form of a certain work they study in their instrumental
lesson, or conversely, a certain topic in music theory/history leads the student to discover
more about their instrument and its historical and musical background. But one area
where there is commonality between fields is the matter of aural skills. Since listening
and analysis are crucial to the understanding and performance of music, greater emphasis
should be placed on the development of the student’s musical ear both with, and without,
the instrument in hand. I have proposed a new method that seeks to solve the problems
found in training a student’s musical ear. This method seeks to build on the concepts of
the aural skills classroom, in a practical and relevant manner to the aspiring performer. It
extends the educational relationship between the pupil and their primary pedagogue,
allowing room for experimentation and exploration as the student develops their
musicianship skills.
v
1
CHAPTER ONE
EAR TRAINING: DEFINITIONS AND PURPOSE
The musician must learn to ‘hear with the eye, and see with the ear’
Melville Smith, Solfège: An Essential In Musicianship
To a musician, the term “ear training” may conjure multifarious observations,
practical implications and possible definitions. “Aural skills”, “ear training”, “aural
training”, and “musicianship” are all names given to essentially the same set of musical
priorities. All of these terms suggest the welding of aural experience to intangible
musical concepts.1 There are numerous related tasks and skills which determine the
processes and goals involved in musically training one’s ear. In order to demonstrate
what skills this author’s method seeks to address and develop, it is necessary to identify
terms and labels.
Ear Training Defined
Definitions of “ear training” range from the concise, “the establishment of
mental relationships between sounds and symbols,”2 to the more conceptual, “the activity
of thinking in or with sound.”3 The idea of “thinking in music” was expanded by Harold
Best in 1992, who stated that musicians either “think up music, think in music or think
about music.” He said, “If I can truly think in music, I may well depend less on verbal
1
Paula Telesco, “Contextual Ear Training,” Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, 5/2 (1991), 179.
2
Leo Horacek and Gerald Lefkoff, Programmed Ear Training (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1992),
1.
3
Mary Louise Serafine, “Music as Cognition: The Development of Thought in Sound” (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1998), 69.
2
and visual languages as proxies for this primary responsibility. Thinking in music should
thus precede and direct whatever else I do musically.”4 A similar distinction is made by
Charles Elliott in 1996 who reasons that it is possible to “think about music, discuss
music, and express ideas about music without ‘understanding’ music.”5 Understanding
music is not the same as simply using one’s own musical memory. Understanding music
accounts for the comprehension of relationships of material – rhythmic material,
expression, melodic lines, and tonal function. It is the awareness of similarities and
differences. A most important part of ear training is the inculcation of patterns,6 and
training in this area enables a listener to recognize with increased ease the presence of
sequences and imitation, which can be useful in analyzing both function and structure. In
order to recognize the more expansive features of musical form and key relationships, a
musician must be able to recall important musical components within a piece and
recognize them when they return.7 Repetition and imitation are basic compositional
features, and as such, one that performers should be able to aurally identify.8
Gary Karpinski affirms that “aural skills” are usually divided into two broad
categories, ear training and sight-singing. But in writing his seminal text, Aural Skills
Acquisition, Karpinski chose to focus on a slightly different approach, dividing the tasks
4
Harold Best, “Music Curricula in the Future,” Arts Education Policy Review, 94/2 (1992), 4. Thinking up
music would refer to composing or improvising original music, while thinking about music describes the
analytical, historical or aesthetical study of a work.
5
Charles Elliott, “Music as intelligence: Some implications for the public schools,” In Ithaca conference
’96: Music as intelligence, (Ithaca, NY: Ithaca College, 1996), 71.
6
Gary Karpinski, Aural Skills Acquisition: The Development of Listening, Reading and Performing Skills in
College-Level Musicians (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 78-79.
7
Ibid., 135-140.
8
Ibid., 139.
3
into “listening skills”, and “reading and performing skills”. Karpinski states that music
“exists fundamentally in the aural domain” and therefore listening skills are absolutely
essential to the performing musician. This taxonomy reflects his stance that reading and
performing are two intertwined “sets of skills that involve code interpretation”, decoding
signs and symbols towards a musical result.9 William Marvin agrees, defining musical
literacy as “the ability to translate symbol into sound.”10 True musical literacy suggests
that the performer is able to function independently of notation in the three major artistic
processes: creating, performing and responding to music.11 If ear training / aural skills
classes aim to encompass this then the act of aural training might be defined as such:
... a general term given to that part of formal musical training which aims to
increase the listening skills of trained musicians. These skills are multi-
dimensional, encompassing various musical elements such as pitch, rhythm, and
timbre.12
Whatever the wording of a definition, the overriding principal is that the aural recognition
of distinct elements will not detract from aesthetic enjoyment, but rather enhance it
considerably.13
9
Ibid., 6.
10
William Marvin, “A Comparison of Four Sight-Singing and Aural-Skills Textbooks: Two New Approaches
and Two Classic Texts in New Editions,” Journal for Music Theory Pedagogy 22 (2008), 131.
11
Scott Schuler, “Music Education for Life: Five Guiding Principles for Music Education,” Music Educators
Journal 97/3 (2011), 7-8.
12
Gerard Fogarty, Louise Buttsworth, and Phillip Gearing, “Assessing intonation skills in a tertiary music
training programme,” Psychology of Music 24 (1996) 157.
13
Bruce Benward, Advanced Ear Training, (Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown, 1985), xi.
4
Aural perception
A key concept associated with ear training is the idea of aural perception. Aural
perception is, George Pratt suggests, “self-evidently indispensable in musical activity.”14
Simply, to take any active part in music, “we have to perceive it.”15 This statement
simply means hearing. The human ear is constantly receiving information; it is what the
brain is able to do with that aural data that determines musical aptitude.16 According to
Joyce Eastland Gromko:
Perception of musical sound should be a primary purpose of music teaching...

without the ability to perceive music’s melodies, rhythms and harmonies and to
note their development through time, the listener is necessarily left with highs and
lows, louds and softs, and the general character of the sound. With training,
listeners can evaluate the music’s artistic shape based on the structure of its
musical sounds.17
The suggestion is that ear training may enable a student to move from a basic
understanding of sound to a higher level of musical comprehension of “artistic shape”
(character) and an understanding of structure. Basic skills involve fundamental elements
of music – scales, intervals and chords.18 But there are many more essential parts of
music performance that deserve acknowledgement in the development of aural skills –
aural recognition of texture, timbre, tempo, dynamics, and articulation are all musical
elements that should be included in the pedagogy of ear training. They are all aspects of
14
George Pratt, Aural Awareness: Principles and Practice, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990) 1.
15
Ibid., 9.
16
Inger Elise Reitan, “Students’ Attitudes to Aural Training in an Academy of Music,” Nordic Research in
Music Education 11 (2009), 215.
17
Joyce Eastlund Gromko, “Perceptual Differences Between Expert and Novice Music Listeners: a
Multidimensional Scaling Analysis,” Psychology of Music 18 (1993), 46.
18
Karpinski, Aural Skills Acquisition, 19.
5
performance and composition that an educated musician should be able to identify and
discriminate amongst aurally.19
Modern definitions of ear training frequently emphasize the training of specific,
concrete skills. The Harvard Dictionary of Music defines ear training as “an important
field of elementary instruction to teach the student to recognize and write down musical
intervals and rhythms.”20 Other definitions feature more abstract descriptions, referring
to overall musicianship, musical perception and musical awareness. It is important to
note that there are differences between musicality and musicianship. Although no sharp
line can be drawn since no definitive definition exists, musicality is usually evidenced
when a performance can draw an aesthetic response, frequently but not exclusively, one
of pleasure.21 A musical musician is one who, through their musicality, is able to convey
the intentions of the composer to the audience.
Many definitions of ear training are found in the prefaces of the very manuals
from which ear training classes are delivered. For example, in their 1986 text
Musicianship, Henry and Mobberly refer to the “development of aural perception through
the study of intervals, triads, and scales, and their combination into motives, chord
progressions, and complete melodies.”22 A later description, similar but somewhat
expanded, by Norwegian music educationalist Frede Nielsen describes ear training as
such:
19
Ibid., 18.
20
Willy Apel (ed.), Ear Training, Harvard Dictionary of Music, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1970), 250.
21
Melville Smith, “Solfège: An Essential in Musicianship,” Music Supervisors Journal 20/5 (1934), 16.
22
Earl Henry and James Mobberly, Musicianship (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1987), 1.
6
... an old discipline in music training. Its aim is the training of aural awareness,
especially concerning musical structures – first and foremost those connected
to melody, rhythm, harmony – perhaps also to musical form. According to the
development of aural awareness the aim is to establish verbal categories, a
fundamental music language of musical terminology. This means that the aural
training discipline becomes an integrated part of the musical craftsmanship.23
Prominent in this definition are the keywords “awareness”, “structures”, “musical
language” – all of which help emphasize the connectedness of specific skills and their
practical application.
Some definitions go further, and refer to the long-range goals of aural skills
training. One description that seems to verbalize these aims most suitably comes from
the curriculum of an aural skills course in Norway, which suggests that the student’s goal
in taking the class is to “develop and strengthen the aptitude for inner conceptualization
of sound and further to be able to use one’s inner imagination actively in all kinds of
musical work.”24 What is most pertinent about that statement is the obvious desire to
instill internal skills that may enable a student’s overall musical ability to expand, thus
freeing them to more actively engage their imagination and external musical voice,
vocally or with an instrument. One author writes that the purpose of aural training is “to
contribute to a variety of aspects of the musician’s craftsmanship: to instrumental
practice, to general skills as a musician, and to theoretical and analytical skills, in order to
achieve better understanding of the musical elements of structures.”25 The inclusion of
23
From Reitan, “Students’ Attitudes to Aural Skills Training”, 210
24
Norges musikkhøgskole Studieplan: Kandidatstudiet I utøving klassick, 2009. From Reitan, “Students
Attitudes to Aural Skills Training”.
25
Inger Elise Reitan, “Stress and Well-Being in the Aural Training Cass – the Psychological Aspect of
Training for Enhanced Musician’s Skills”, Proceedings of the 17th International Seminar of the Commission
for the Education of the Professional Musician, 85.
7
the word “craftsmanship” demonstrates the artistic possibilities enhanced by the
application of ear training.
The language of music
Many allusions are made linking the acquisition of aural skills to the acquisition
of a language. The music-as-a-language analogy follows the same natural learning
processes as language development.26 First we listen, then we begin to associate patterns
(establishing whether or not has been heard before, and if so, in what context) and then
we imitate. Slowly but surely, fluency is acquired. In the case of one’s native language,
all of this is achieved prior to the introduction of symbols (letters or words). If we
transfer this developmental sequence to music learning, it becomes apparent that students
should have as much aural exposure as possible to musical models that they can imitate
on their instruments. Consequentially students may associate symbols of notation to
those sounds.
Gromko makes an effective analogy demonstrating similarities between
perception in music and perception in language: “Just as the message of poetry relies on
vocabulary and the images its metaphors seek to construct, so the message of music relies
upon knowledge of the vocabulary of music.”27 Pratt says similarly, “No one could be a
student of literature without being able to read and interpret language from its written
symbols.”28 The reading of music involves the comprehension of the fine details
26
Robert Woody, “Playing by Ear: Foundation or Frill?” Music Educators Journal , 99/2 (2012), 84.
27
Gromko, “Perceptual differences between expert and novice music listeners”, 46.
28
Pratt, Aural Awareness, 108.
8
(individual notes) within larger structures; “we do not read single letters, but conceive
meaning through the words as an entity.”29 As Louis Chosky implies, to be a “literate
musician” one must have the ability to look at a musical score, and think the sounds on
the page.30 For after all, in language, a literate person is one that can not only read and
write, but is able to understand.31 Another useful analogy between music and language
focuses on musical understanding, and applies a comparison of singers performing in
foreign languages. As a necessity, the singer must be able to correctly pronounce the
phonemes of the text, in order to convey the text precisely to the listener. But also
critical is their ability to understand the meaning of the texts. They must know the literal
translation of each word, along with its grammatical and syntactical functions. As
Karpinski eloquently puts it, the singer must comprehend the text “for the information it
carries, not just for its sounds.”32 Instrumental performance is similar. Once at a high
level, it is not enough to play the notes without being able to carry or convey their
meaning. Musical aptitude is recognizable from one’s facility for reading music, but
musicality is perceived as the player’s ability to inflect understanding upon their
performance:
Musical aptitude is a complex set of independent variables, including, for

example, response to pulse, perception and recall of rhythmic figures and of
melody, perception of pitch differences, a musical imagination, aesthetic
sensitivity, interpretative capacity, pleasure in musical experience, general
intelligence, and so on.”33
29
Reitan, “Students’ Attitude to Aural Training”, 215.
30
Louis Chosky and others. Teaching Music in the Twentieth Century (New York, NY: Pearson, 2000), 89.
31
32
9
The Importance of Ear Training
Gary Karpinski states that the ultimate goal of aural-skills training is to enable
hearing, memory, understanding, and notational ability to become an integrated single
process, one that can occur instantaneously – even as music is sounding.34 Improving
aural skills through ear training can aid a student’s musical attention, extractive listening
skills, short-term musical memory, musical understanding, and sight-reading abilities.35
This improves aural acuity in the classroom, rehearsal room, and the concert hall, with
better focus and attention ability to process information while listening, performing,
studying, conducting, composing, and teaching.36 Covington recognized the specific
aural skills needed by different types of musicians, dividing them into three broad
categories, which she admitted are neither exclusive nor conclusive:
1) musicians who recreate music (performers and conductors)

2) musicians who create music (composers and studio musicians)
3) musicians who respond in active listening (scholars, critics, or those simply
reacting to aesthetic experience)37
There is clearly overlap between the designations; teachers, for example, would probably
represent all three actions. In fact, most musicians (performers and educators) rely on the
33
James Mainwaring, Teaching Music in Schools (London: W. Paxton, 1951), 50.
34
Gary Karpinski, “A Model for Music Perception and its Implications in Melodic Dictation,” Journal of
Music Theory Pedagogy 6 (1990) 207.
35
36
37
Kate Covington, “An Alternate Approach to Aural Training,” Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 6 (1992)
8.
10
ability to recognize and interpret music on a daily basis.38 All three of these types have
obvious needs for employing aural skills in their activities.
Ear training should enable a musician to process sound at a higher level, towards
expert perception and away from novice perception. Novice perceptions focus on louder-
softer, slower-faster, higher-lower distinctions. Expert perception moves towards George
Pratt’s definitions of aural awareness.39 Bruce Benward, author Advanced Ear Training
states:
Intelligent listening is the most important thing that a musician does. No matter
what high level of dexterity and accuracy is achieved with an instrument or voice,
success is inevitably limited and regulated by the ability of the ear to discriminate
and guide the musical performance.40
As Robert Woody suggests, “In music, it is the ear that defines great musicianship.
Sound is the material of music and what the ear is designed for. For understanding,
creating, and expressively organizing sound as music, the ear is the musician’s ultimate
asset.”41 To have a “good ear” is one of the most indispensable musical skills a
performer can possess. And a good ear, according to Richard Byrd, can be defined as
“the ability to internalize and produce the sounds that are desired.”42 While this assertion
that the trained ear is crucial for a musician’s progress is strongly held, there is surprising
ambiguity in defining the educational objectives of aural training courses.43 The broadly
38
Richard Byrd, “Applications of Aural skills to Practicing, Auditioning, and Performance,” International
Trumpet Guild Journal (2009) 71.
39
Pratt, Aural Awareness.
40
Benward, Advanced Ear Training, xiii.
41
Woody, “Playing by Ear”, 82.
42
Byrd, “Applications of Aural Theory Skills”, 71.
11
stated primary goal is to “develop the inner ear”, obtaining good relative pitch and a solid
sense of tonality – usually attempted through sight-singing and dictation exercises. The
secondary goal is typically an “amalgam” of aural mastery and performance skill.44 It is
the secondary goal that this author seeks to elevate to greater importance, by utilizing the
skills and expertise of the applied lesson instructor, and the regular opportunity for one-
to-one interaction with their student.
The oral tradition
Around the world, the majority of musical traditions are passed from generation
to generation through oral/aural transmission; they are performed (played or sung), and
heard and stored in individuals’ memories until the cycle repeats.45 Universally the most
common approach to learning music is by ear, rather than through notation. But the
mostly-Western music tradition of classical music is an anomaly to that commonality.
With the development of printed music in the mid-fifteenth century (followed by
widespread publishing improvements in the eighteenth century) opportunities arose for
the spread of repertoire without the need for both a performer and a listener.46 New
pieces were disseminated relatively quickly across Europe and later, across the world.
Amateur musicians gained access to the works of great masters, without necessarily
possessing the immediate technical and musical facility required for their understanding
43
David Butler, “Why the Gulf Between Music Perception Research and Aural Training,” Bulletin of the
Council of Research in Music Education, 132 (1997), 40.
44
Butler, “Why the Gulf?”, 40.
45
46
Boorman, et al. "Printing and publishing of music." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford
University Press. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/40101pg1>.
12
and performance. Within a relatively short time printed music, perhaps with the
exception of the nineteenth-century Suzuki method, became the primary way in which
classical music was both taught and presented.47 Today, classical works are almost never
taught or learned aurally.48 In this author’s opinion, this has resulted in an over-reliance
on the visual comprehension of music as opposed to the aural comprehension of music.
In 2010 Robert Woody and Andreas Lehmann published the results of a study that
explored musicians’ abilities to perform ‘ear-playing’ (playing-by-ear) tasks, and
compared their results against participants’ previous experiences of learning music in
vernacular settings - garage bands, worship bands, jazz groups etc.49 Vernacular
musicians typically rely heavily on listening and imitation to reproduce songs and/or
styles. For their research study Woody and Lehmann asked participants to listen to
melodies and sing or play them back, and then tracked the number of repetitions required
for each participant to complete an accurate performance. What they discovered was that
musicians with more vernacular musical experiences were able to produce accurate
responses in fewer attempts than their counterparts.50 Both groups took significantly less
attempts to correctly sing back the melody (versus play), but again the vernacular
musicians outperformed the formally-trained musicians in this task. Woody and
47
Spencer, Piers. "Suzuki method." The Oxford Companion to Music. Ed. Alison Latham. Oxford Music
Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e6570>.
48
The author acknowledges that there exceptions to this statement, by-in-large in less formal
performance settings – the learning of songs and nursery rhymes by young children, the singing of hymns
at church by largely notation-illiterate congregations, the singing of chants by sports fans.
49
Robert Woody and Andreas Lehmann. “Student musicians’ ear-playing ability as a function of vernacular
music experiences.” Journal of Research in Music Education 58, 101-115.
50
On average, vernacular-experienced musicians took 3.83 attempts for an accurate performance, as
opposed to 10.58 attempts by the formally-trained musicians.
13
Lehmann suggest that this increased competency (for both groups) when responding by
voice is due to the fact singing seems more closely related to our “goal image” ideal,
while transferring the “goal image” to an instrument increases the opportunity for error.
When Woody and Lehmann delved further into exactly what processes the musicians
thought they were applying to the task, the vernacular performer’s descriptions leaned
heavily towards “thinking about chords/harmonic structure” and the
“predictability/typical nature” of the melody. In contrast, formally-trained musicians
reported “thinking about fingers/instrument action” and “hearing
problematic/unpredictable” elements of the melody.51 To recognize the presence of
patterns one must be able to separate the stimulus material into smaller parts, succinctly
evaluating similarities and differences. The remembering process (sometimes referred to
as encoding) and its reproduction internally or externally, are equal aptitudes required to
complete a playback task. The ability to accurately playback melodies by ear is
important to the classical musician, despite the fact that much music will be studied and
performed from sheet music. When performing with any other instrumentalist, be it in a
small chamber group, large ensemble, or simply with piano accompaniment, a musician
must be able to respond to the aural stimulus provided by the other player. This refers
not only to the pitches and rhythms (which are no doubt provided on the page) but to the
subtle inflections and nuances demonstrated by the fellow performer. By becoming less
reliant on written notation, a player is able to absorb all the attributes of phrasing
concurrently: tone, intonation, slight dynamic contrast, emphasis, etc. The more
consistently players are able to interact by aural collaboration, rather than strict visual
accuracy to the part, the more musical cohesiveness their performance will portray.
51
Woody and Lehmann. “Student Musicians’ Ear-Playing Ability”, 108.
14
Music is, after all, a communicative art form. Communication relies on the interchange
of thoughts and ideas, the comprehension of another voice’s statement. This is a primary
example of the employment of aural skills in a performance setting. It should be a goal
of the aural skills class to foster a student’s ability to transfer aural skills techniques into
all areas of their musical activity. One of the most sought-after skills of students in the
undergraduate music curriculum is the ability to sort, relate and evaluate musical
structures and processes, both aurally and visually.52 When a player is able to
demonstrate their understanding of form and structure by making musically authentic
performance decisions, the audience will enjoy a more comprehensible representation of
the music.
The synergy of ear training and sight reading
The ability to imagine sound is the most crucial principle of “the musical ear.”53
According to Edwin Gordon, “Well trained musicians can hear music mentally in the
total absence of audible sound”54 and aural training can and should help develop this
ability. The concept of auralization is primary to the pedagogy of ear training. Reitan
says that “what we should be aiming at” in teaching ear training “is contributing to the
development of the literary musician through the strengthening of the ability to audiate,
to think in music in a way that is relevant to the musical practice.”55 Nielsen also has a
52
John Buccheri, “Musicianship at Northwestern,” Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 4/2 (1990) 136-138.
53
54
Auralization is referred to as audiation by Edwin Gordon in Learning Sequences in Music: Skill, Content,
and Patterns, 7-18.
55
15
strongly worded opinion on the matter, saying “If the written music is not ‘sounding in
your ear’, you will not be able to sing it. If there is no inner conceptualization of what
you hear, you will not be able to write it down or verbalize it in any terminology.”56
Internalization is an “essential kind of musical thinking,” agrees Karpinski.57 Levin and
Martin in Sight Singing and Ear Training Through Literature also state:
Your ability to play, sing, and enjoy music will be improved immeasurably as
you learn to hear music internally, before it is played. Just as you can read a
newspaper without having to pronounce the words, you will learn to read a
musical score and hear the sounds come alive inside your head.58
Sight-reading is best defined as “the ability to read and perform music at first
sight, i.e., without preparatory study of the piece.”59 But it is also, according to Telesco,
“how one begins to hear music analytically.”60 The goal of sightsinging within an ear
training class is not, or should not, be just accuracy. As well as improving one’s ability
to audiate, sight-singing teaches us about “context sensitivity”, and the “enculturation of
tonal bearings.”61 In their text Musicianship, Henry and Mobberly argue that:
Sight singing is one of the most important skills any professional musician can
possess. No matter what instrument they play, performers can improve their
reading ability by studying sight singing. For composers, performers, teachers,
and researchers, sight-singing proficiency is crucial; the ability to read a musical
56
Nielsen, Almen musikdidatik, trans. in Reitan, “Students’ Attitude to Aural Training”, 217.
57
Karpinski, “A Model for Music Perception”, 209.
58
Robert Levin and Louis Martin, Sight Singing and Ear Training Through Literature, (Englewood Cliffs,
N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1998) xvii.
59
Apel, Harvard Dictionary of Music, 679.
60
Telesco, “Contextual ear training”, 181.
61
Michael Rogers, “The Jersild Approach: a Sightsinging Method from Denmark,” College Music
Symposium, 36 (1996), 149.
16
pattern and mentally ‘hear’ it as it would sound if played is an indispensable

tool.62
Lehmann and Ericsson discovered that “the ability to sight-read does not increase
with higher general instrumental skill;” it will not simply improve as technique does.63
Therefore it is important that sight-reading applicable skills are worked on systematically
and progressively. Notably, sight-reading remains one of the most important criteria used
for the purpose of auditioning musicians.64 For many decades it was widely assumed that
the only way to improve one’s sight reading ability was by “extensive reading; i.e., by
reading large amounts of music.”65 While this may be somewhat accurate, it has been
suggested by several studies that a student’s sight-reading skills will most rapidly
improve not through repetition, but as their ear-training experience (and most notably,
their facility to play-by-ear proficiently) increases.66 By improving one’s ability to
auralize and sing basic tonal structures, a noted improvement in sight-reading may be
observed.67 One of the most important proficiencies for sight-reading is the ability to
recognize and interpret intervals successfully. Proficient sight-readers scan ahead,
observing musically meaningful groups of notes and hearing them internally (by
62
Henry and Mobberley, Musicianship, p. 245.
63
Lehmann and Ericsson, “Sight-reading ability of expert pianists in the context of piano accompanying.”
Psychomusicology, 192.
64
Byrd, “Applications of aural theory skills to practicing, auditioning and performance”, 71.
65
James Mursell, Music Education Principles and Problems, (New York, NY: Silver Burdett, 1956) 183.
66
see Luce “Sight-Reading and Ear Playing Abilities as Related to Instrumental Music Students”,
McPherson “Five Aspects of Musical Performance and Their Correlates”, and Bernhard “The Effects of
Tonal Training on the Melodic Ear Playing”.
67
17
auralization) before producing their sound.68 This ability is a tremendous asset both in
sight-reading and in all performance.69 In a study of students in 2006, Reitan learned that
only 55% felt they had used elements of aural training in the learning of new repertoire,
while 42% said they seldom did.70 These figures are alarming considering how relevant
aural skills are to the sight-reading process.71
Types of aural skills
Most of what we learn about the justification for aural-skills training comes from
the prefaces of textbooks designed specifically for the purpose of teaching the classes.72
Much of this, Karpinski says, is based on “comparatively vague aphorisms about mental
relationships and intelligent listening.73 Historically, many of the most commonly used
texts for sightsinging classes (for example by Sol Berkowitz or Robert Ottman) were
anthologies of music with little or no instructional commentary.74 Without a definitive
pedagogy emerging, aural training curricula in the United States has effectively been
formed by a patchwork of ideals.75
68
69
Byrd, “Applications of Aural Theory Skills”, 71.
70
71
Some students did comment verbally that they used the skill unconsciously in every thing that they do.
72
73
Ibid., 192.
74
Rogers, “The Jersild approach”, 149.
75
18
An “ear training” course is typically split into two main elements – ear training
and sight-singing. There are many ways in which the skills implicated under the heading
of “ear training” are categorized. An instinctive response is to name “elements” that are
perceived to make up the fabric of music. Bruce Benward states that the “most basic
elements of music” are “intervals, simple melodies, simple triads, scales, and simple
rhythms.”76 But perhaps an even more straightforward classification comes from Gary
Karpinski in his text, Aural Skills Acquisition. He advises that classes should be “geared
towards a kind of fine, detailed listening with attention to the smallest items of pitch and
rhythm.”77 He summarily provides six subdivisions of the key components of ear
training, which are as follows:
1) Pulse / Meter
2) Rhythm
3) Inference of Tonic
4) Tonal Function
5) Interval Identification
6) Harmonic Implication
This categorization is important because it demonstrates the six key aptitudes
Karpinski suggests are to be developed in the aural skills class. These become the
primary proficiencies explored in the author’s method, laid out in Chapter Three. A brief
summary of Karpinski’s taxonomy, alongside input from other sources, is provided
below.
Pulse and Meter: One of the most basic perceptual skills in music is the ability to infer
pulse.78 Karpinski is adamant that providing the student with both pulse and meter prior
76
Benward, Advanced Ear Training, xi.
77
19
to a rhythmic dictation exercise is to give up too much information. He argues that
students should be able to infer both of those elements, as well as the rhythmic material
performed.79
Rhythm: Henry and Mobberley suggest that “whether practicing exercises, performing
rehearsed works, analyzing, or composing, musicians benefit from increased proficiency
in the recognition of [rhythmic] patterns.”80 There is a difference between what a student
is able to rhythmically hear, and what a student is able to aptly notate. We need to be
able to separate the student’s ability to imitate rhythmic material from their ability to
write it down.
Inference of Tonic: Karpinski suggests that an “important and basic skill (more basic than
identifying intervals or triad quality) is the ability to infer tonic (and scale structure or
mode) from the context of a heard musical passage.”81 Many dictation exercises in
musicianship texts will instruct the teacher to provide a sense of tonic (through a simple
chord progression, or a single pitch) prior to performing the exercise. This, Karpinski
argues, provides noncontextual clues of the tonic, and leaves some students without the
ability to develop this crucial basic skill for themselves.82
78
Karpinski, “Reviews of Recent Textbooks”, 245.
79
80
Henry and Mobberley, Musicianship, 167.
81
Gary Karpinski, “Ear training and integrated aural skills: three recent texts”, Journal of Music Theory
Pedagogy 3 (1989), 130.
82
Karpinski, “Reviews of Recent Textbooks”, 246.
20
Tonal function: Tonal function refers to the musical meaning inferred by a pitch’s
position within the tonal system.83 Most typically, listeners will remember and
understand tonal music in terms of scale degree function,84 mapping heard pitches onto
an “internalized musical scale.”85 It is highly preferable for a student to understand the
tonal function of pitches in a tonal melody prior to notating them.86
Interval Identification: Various studies have been critical of noncontextual interval
training.87 Intervals change their function and consequently their effect, affect, and
meaning in different contexts.88 Yet noncontextual drills often form a significant portion
of the start of ear training texts and is largely how intervals are approached in ear training
classes.89 Michael Rogers observes that many schools and ear training manuals spend
“enormous” amounts of time on interval identification,90 even though a “preponderance
of experimental evidence” shows little connection between noncontextual interval
identification and the ability to perform the same task in musical context.91 One reason
83
Jay Dowling, “Context effects on melody recognition: scale-step versus interval representations”, Music
Perception 3 (1986), 294.
84
85
Roger Shepard and Daniel Jordan, “Auditory Illusions Demonstrating That Tones are Assimilated to an
Internalized Music Scale,” Science 226 (1984), 1333.
86
87
See Telesco, “Contextual Ear Training”, 179-190.
88
89
Gary Karpinski, “Reviews of Recent Textbooks in Theory and Musicianship. 3. Aural skills”, Music Theory
Spectrum 15 (1993),243.
90
Michael Rogers, Teaching Approaches in Music Theory: An Overview of Pedagogical Philosophies,
(Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University press, 1984), 104-5.
91
21
this form of interval identification appears so regularly in curriculum is because this
practice is straightforward both to administer and to grade.
Harmonic implication: The ability to recognize and comprehend harmonic implications
of music is important to performers in two main ways: one, the player can use that
recognition to aid accuracy (to play the correct pitches) and two, taking harmonic
implications into account can induce a more musically meaningful performance.
Karpinski goes as far to say that “musically convincing and satisfying performances of
tonal music depend heavily on performers’ abilities to think and act harmonically.” Even
single-line music contains inherent implications for more than one voice. To demonstrate
this skill, performers must employ both their theoretical knowledge, and their ability to
read and interpret harmonic implications in real time. The performer must be able to hear
and read structural pitches as points of reference, using these to discern how to play the
pitches on either side. In this way, more musical readings are formed.92
The last four subdivisions (inference of tonic, tonal function, interval
identification, and harmonic implication) could be labeled under a subheading of “sense
of pitch”. This would refer to the performer’s ability to: discern differences in pitches
that sound consecutively; recall short melodic passages; convert aurally perceived sounds
into musical notation; and convert musical notation into musical sounds.93
92
Karpinski, Aural Skills Acquisition, 180-186
93
Charles Elliott, “Effect of vocalization on the sense of pitch of beginning band class students,” Journal of
Research in Music Education 22/2 (1974), 122.
22
Long-term benefits
The irrelevancy with which some students view aural training in relation to their
overall musical needs, rather than seeing the connectivity to everything musically that
they do, is frustrating to the experienced musicians that teach them.94 But a problem with
over-emphasizing relevance is the fear that it will alienate those students experiencing a
lack of confidence. There are very few students that feel an abundance of confidence in
aural skills. In fact, most of us are far less capable of “thinking in music” than we care to
admit.95 But students should be dissuaded from viewing their ear training progress in a
class-by-class agenda. Kate Covington argues that no two-year program, or even a four-
year degree, can accurately accomplish a complete ear training agenda.96 The higher
education instructor should seek to inspire students to view the development of skills as
part of a lifelong endeavor, alongside the development of instrumental technique.
Theoretical vs. Practical
There is general agreement that aural training needs to be “more active, musically
satisfying and supportive of related skills” (such as performance and rehearsal
technique).97 Aural training has been considered a theoretical discipline, in spite of its
obvious practical characteristics.98 There are several problems caused by this
94
Covington, “An alternate approach to aural training”, 5.
95
Best, “Music curricula in the Future”, 4.
96
97
Bannan, “New Pedagogy for Creative and Aural Development”, 199.
98
Reitan, “Students’ Attitudes to Aural Training”, 207-212. Reitan actually polled students in her study
and asked them if they view the class as theoretical or practical. 57% said it was mostly practical, and 31%
it was equal.
23
classification. Theoretical study typically refers to the seeing of intervals, inversions,
forms; being told about scale formations and harmonic progressions, and reporting on
musical process.99 Performance activities, such as instrumental practice, require a high
degree of skill in both theoretical technique and applied technique. Students typically
associate the analytical study of rudiments, harmony, counterpoint, form and other sub-
disciplines of music theory as the base of their theoretical training. Without previous or
at least suitable concurrent training in appropriate aural skills, this theoretical knowledge
results in a student thinking about music, rather than thinking in music.100 It is
performance that facilitates the transfer of theoretical knowledge and skills into real-life
situations through an active environment.101 By quickly immersing freshman students in
a music theory curriculum that deals simultaneously with both written music theory and
aural skills (ear training) there is risk of overwhelming those for whom this is their first
academic-music environment.102 Bruce Campbell notes that, “unlike an English major,
who enters college with many years of technical study of language behind him, the
freshman who enrolls in a theory class quite possibly has had no exposure to even the
descriptive vocabulary of music.”103 In one class students are taught rudiments:
rhythmic and pitch notation, clefs, keys, intervals, modes, scales etc., while
simultaneously they are expected, in a separate class, to sing and notate by ear the very
99
Best, “Music Curricula in the Future”, 3.
100
101
Covington, “Improvisation in the aural curriculum”, 49.
102
Jones and Bergee suggest that it may be advantageous to begin the ear-training sequence one
semester after the first-semester written course, giving students time to familiarize themselves with the
written concepts of notation. (“Elements associated with success in the first-year music theory and aural-
skills curriculum”, 93.)
103
Bruce Campbell, review of Guidelines for College Teaching, by John D White, 356.
24
same concepts to which they are just being introduced. To expand an analogy that Gary
Karpinski presents, this approach pushes students to decipher and disseminate
information prior to giving them the tools with which they can build the necessary
decoding device.104 For the disproportionate number of students who seem to struggle
with early tasks in either discipline, there is a true risk of them abandoning music studies
for fear they will never find their own Enigma machine.105 To put it another way,
traditional approaches to ear training tend to treat knowledge as an end, rather than as a
means to an end.106 Concepts learned in a out-of-context manner are less likely to be a
“serviceable” in a more complex, real-world environment.107
There are also cognitive reasons why an individual’s deficiencies occur. Prior to
beginning a music degree program, students typically have been enjoying “right-brain”
experiences– performing, listening and responding to music. In the theory classroom we
ask them to use more “left-brain” approaches – analysis, logic, and the determining of
sequences. For students who struggle to make this switch, there is a distinct risk they will
become disenchanted and disengaged from the art form they have previously cherished.
Without a strong emphasis on the importance of aural comprehension of rudiments, these
students fail to see the connection with all their ensuing performance skills, and thus view
104
Karpinski states that “music-reading skills are those involved in code interpretation. Performing skills
are those necessary to produce the sounds indicated by that code.” Aural Skills Acquisition, 6.
105
Rusty Jones and M. Burgee, “Elements Associated with Success in the First-Year Music Theory and
Aural-Skills Curriculum”, Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 22 (2008), 94.
106
107
Ibid..
25
their musicianship training as a fearsome and irrelevant task they must simply endure for
four full semesters.108
It could also be argued that those fundamental skills (scales, intervals, and chords)
are not the most suitable musical proficiencies to begin with, particularly in the aural
realm. Karpinski lays out different priorities in his separation of aural skills into
“Listening,” and “Reading and Performing.” In this division perception of the pulse
becomes the focus of temporal aspects, and inference of tonic is the priority in relation to
pitch. From these starting points pulse and meter can be easily explored, as can pitch
collections and tonal function.109 Most importantly, nothing that is learned in either
written theory or ear training should exist in a vacuum, independent of anything else.110
To train students as musical experts during performances demands that we should train
them as aural skills experts in the aural skill classroom; the cognitive demands of both
environments need to be consistent.111
Ear Training Research
Although a growing amount of research exists regarding aural training, there is
little to demonstrate success or failure of new techniques. The majority of research can
be categorized quite succinctly into one of five categories:
a) studies of teaching methods or specific skills

b) the use of technology in the classroom
108
Covington, “An Alternate Approach to Aural Training”, 12.
109
Karpinski, Aural Skills Acquisition, 20-38.
110
Telesco, “Contextual aural training”, 180.
111
26
c) studies of aural perception and discrimination

d) different approaches taken by the listener during listening tasks
e) the transfer of skills to instrumental practice.112
It is the last of these that is the most relevant to the creation of the methodology presented
in this text, and also offers the opportunity to most closely evaluate the role of aural
training in the wider development of a musician. What becomes clear, as one delves into
results of experiential studies in this field, is that aural training research often falls into a
gap between two separate research fields – that of music education, and the psychology
of music.113 Couple this academic ambiguity with the traditional practice of music
theorists and largely inexperienced teaching assistants delivering much of the content of
these courses and it becomes evident that there is a disparity between the intentions and
the consequences of much aural training pedagogy and delivery.
It is this author’s belief that, through efficient ear training, you can help a student
quickly discover tangible benefits of equipping oneself with stronger aural skills, and that
this promotion will itself plant a seed of self-motivation towards continual development
in this area.
112
Harald Jørgensen, “Research into Higher Music Education: An Overview from a Quality Improvement
Perspective,” (Oslo: Novus Press, 2009), 118-120.
113
Reitan, “Students’ attitudes to aural training”, 209.
27
CHAPTER TWO
A BRIEF HISTORY, AND EVALUATION
OF CURRENT PRACTICES
Happy are the individuals who have so painlessly acquired their musicianship,
and skillful the teacher who has been able to present a subject which is ordinarily
expected to be so formidable as the subject of solfège, without the pupils aware of
the fact.
Melville Smith, Solfège: An Essential in Musicianship
A brief survey of recent journal articles suggests that the pedagogy of ear training
is fraught with frustrations, for students and teachers alike.114 Pratt states that “most
conventional aural training is quite inadequate”115 while Covington and Lord suggest that
“the time has come for considering a significant paradigm shift as regards aural
training.”116 Covington also asserts that “for centuries, music teachers and conductors
have bemoaned the inadequate listening skills of performing musicians.”117 In the
preface to Ear Training: A Technique for Listening, Bruce Benward writes
Intelligent listening is the most important thing a musician does. No matter

what high level of dexterity and accuracy is achieved with an instrument or
voice, success is inevitably limited and regulated by the ability of the ear to
discriminate and guide the musical performance.118
114
Although direct empirical evidence does not exist, the body of anecdotal experience finds a general
dissatisfaction with the level of ear training competence of incoming freshman at the college level. The
closest statistical survey would be that of Randall Pembrook and H. Lee Riggins in 1990, entitled “ ‘Send
Help!’: Aural Skills Instruction in U.S. Colleges and Universities,” Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 4
(1990).
115
Pratt, Aural Awareness, vii.
116
Kate Covington and Charles Lord, “Epistemology and Procedure in Aural Training”, Music Theory
Spectrum 16/2 (1994), 169.
117
Covington, “An Alternate Approach to Aural Training”, 5.
28
A significant issue, and one that is “commonly lamented,” is that “ear-training skills
develop more slowly than other kinds of musical knowledge.”119 Despite this, they are
not usually addressed in any great detail in the pre-college music curriculum. Gary
Karpinski echoes these sentiments saying “most aural skills instructors report that many
of their students are ill-prepared and that this level of preparedness has been falling in
recent decades.”120 The National Standards for Music Education, published by the
National Association of Music Education, ask students to sing, perform, improvise,
compose, arrange, read, notate, listen to, analyze, describe, evaluate and understand
music.121 The accompanying Achievement Standards state that “performing, creating,
and responding to music” are “fundamental music processes in which humans engage,”
stating that “listening to, analyzing, and evaluating music are important building blocks
of musical learning.” In the fine print, one can find evidence of important ear training
activities in the standards. At the grades K-4 these include: “students will:
- echo short rhythms and melodic patterns

- improvise “answers” in the same style to given rhythmic and melodic phrases
- identify simple music forms when presented aurally.”
While at grades 5-8 they are elevated to, “students will:
- play by ear simple melodies on a melodic instrument and simple
accompaniments on a harmonic instrument
- improvise simple harmonic accompaniments
118
Bruce Benward, Ear Training: A Technique for Listening, (Dubuque, Iowa: W. C. Brown, 1978), xiii.
119
Deborah Rifkin and Philip Stoecker, “A Revised Taxonomy for Music Learning”, Journal for Music Theory
Pedagogy 25 (2011) 155.
120
Karpinski, “Reviews of Recent Textbooks in Theory and Musicianship. 3. Aural Skills.”, 241.
121
National Standards for Music Education website, 14 Mar 2013.
http://www.rhythmandmoves.com/pdf/National%20Standards%20for%20Music%20Education.pdf
29
- improvise melodic embellishments and simple rhythmic and melodic

variations on given pentatonic melodies and melodies in major keys
- improvise short melodies, unaccompanied and over given rhythmic
accompaniments, each in a consistent style, meter, and tonality
- read at sight simple melodies in both the treble and bass clefs
- describe specific music events in a given aural example, using appropriate
terminology.”
It is this author’s opinion that many of these suggested “achievements” are not routinely
met.122 College freshmen simply have not been trained, or required on a regular basis, to
perform such tasks. In their 2010 study Woody and Lehmann found that, of twenty-four
collegiate musicians asked about their learning experiences prior to college, only eight
had experimented with playing familiar melodies by ear, only three had improvised a
melody, and only three had improvised harmony to a heard melody. Several musicians
even commented that they had not been “made to use their ears” until college. Although
all the musicians were now music majors and performance colleagues at college, their
unique performance backgrounds had led them to have had extremely different
competencies.123
Pre-college Preparation
Due to the way in which music is approached in the U.S. K-12 education system
there has for many years been a heavy emphasis on producing musically literate
performers, perhaps devoid of many of the skills required to make and understand music
without notation.124 As a result, music departments in tertiary education institutions
122
based on the abilities and anecdotes of students the author encountered while teaching
freshman/theory musicianship classes at a Big Ten university.
123
Woody and Lehmann, “Student musician’s ear-playing ability”, 110-1.
124
These assumptions refer primarily with regard to practices of instrumental music, as presented during
the band curriculum. General education music is a separate matter, where the author acknowledges that
30
frequently welcome a student whose aural and musicianship development fails to match
their performing abilities and musicological knowledge.125 Indeed Karpinski, writing in
2001, states that “many universities, colleges, and conservatories report that entering
students often suffer from deficiencies in aural skills.”126 Since, unlike in the United
Kingdom, Australia and various other countries around the world, there are no definitive
standardized tests for entrance to a music program, professors in the United States must
often adopt an inclusive approach to freshman ear training.127 It was as early as the 1830s
that Lowell Mason strongly advocated the attainment of aural fluency prior to introducing
music notation to students. Mason’s approach was based largely on the teachings of
Swiss pedagogue Johann Pestalozzi, who in turn recommended the experience of active
concepts such as creating and performing sounds before introducing “passive
knowledge”, e.g. symbols representing the said sounds.128 These principles were further
developed in the mid-twentieth century by British music educator James Mainwaring
who studied the cognition behind music learning. He explicitly stated that students
should “proceed from sound to symbol, not from symbol to sound.”129 Around the same
time sound to symbol ordering was also emphasized by Frenchman Lavignac who said
a larger emphasis is placed on learning by ear, using techniques such as those influenced by Carl Orff and
Shinichi Suzuki.
125
Nicholas Bannan, “Embodied Music Theory: New Pedagogy for Creative and Aural Development”,
Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy,24 (2010), 197.
126
127
In the UK all music conservatories and many universities request a Grade 8 ABRSM examination
standard on the instrument, and universities require an A2 level in music, prior to acceptance to music
programs. ABRSM examinations will be discussed in further detail in the next chapter. A2-levels are
national exams taken by students during their final year of high school.
128
129
Mainwaring, Teaching Music in Schools, 12.
31
“To teach music to a very young child by means of principles, no matter how simple they
may be, is about as judicious as trying to teach him to talk by grammar.”130 Melville
Smith goes as far as to say that an attempt to teach theory in a solely theoretical way
would be a “discouraging and almost useless procedure.”131 All of these opinions were
echoed by Gary Karpinski sixty years later, who states “teach students first to hear
functionally and contextually, and then the process of applying labels to what they
already can hear will be nearly trivial.”132 It would seem that, despite the forewarnings of
Pestalozzi, Mainwaring, Karpinski et al, it is the sight-then-sound approach that still
occurs in many K-12 classrooms today. Young instrumentalists are frequently given
elementary band method books in hand with their new instrument and taught to play
straight from the pages, beginning both fingerings and notation together.133 The problem
is, when students are taught music reading as a symbol-action skill, emphasizing visual
learning and neglecting aural learning, they fail to realize the importance of aural
perception on music making.134 Requiring students to read musical notation when first
learning to play an instrument places a visual emphasis on performance and response,
instead of the aural emphasis that is required for a truer understanding.135 And while
130
Albert Lavignac, Musical Education, (Paris: C. Delagrave, 1902) 18.
131
Melville Smith, “Solfège: An Essential in Musicianship”, Music Supervisors Journal 20/5 (1934), 58.
132
Karpinski, “Reviews of Recent Textbooks", 244.
133
Woody, “Playing by Ear”, 84. One easy suggestion for addressing some form of aural training within
this text is to have students sight-sing each melody in the book either before playing a new exercise, or
between playing the exercise for the first or second time, (an idea suggested by Charles Elliott in 1974).
Woody goes on to state “the most important thing is simply to do something. There are almost no ear
training activities that will harm musicianship.”
134
Ann Marie Musco, “Effects of Learning Melodies by Ear on Performance Skills and Students Attitudes”,
Contributions to Music Education 36/2 (2006), 92.
32
music-reading skills are continually reinforced by the fingering of valves and pressing of
keys, these visual and kinesthetic associations are further strengthened in relation to
notation, away from the aural implications behind the very same tasks.136 In the best of
cases, we can hope that a pre-existing aural fluency will allow musicians to understand
the symbols of music notation just like the reading of written language, but in this
scenario the aural acquisition takes place as a by-product rather than the goal.137
Just as with language acquisition, many of the skills a child needs to begin to
develop their musical ear are engrained from birth.138 There was some discussion in the
earlier portion of this text about the connections between musical fluency and linguistic
development. A failure to exercise the innate aural skills possessed by elementary and
secondary school students results in the culpable atrophication of these skills.139
Expressed in another way, Mainwaring reminds us that we are all born with innate skills
that can become complicated by the introduction of terminology to those instinctive
practices:
A simple pulse could be reproduced by an infant, but an adult musician would

have to know its nature in order to write a notation which would express it. A
melody could be reproduced vocally and even, instrumentally “by ear” by a child
who knew nothing whatever of its rhythmic structure or the pitch relations which
make up the tune; but to write it, mental analysis would be necessary.140
135
Haston, “Beginning wind instrument instruction”, 9.
136
Kyle Brown, “An Alternative Approach to Developing Music Literacy Skills in a Transient Society,” Music
Educators Journal 90/2, 47.
137
Woody & Lehmann, “Student musicians’ ear-playing ability” 103.
138
139
Ibid., 87.
140
33
When, at college, the students are called upon to repeat these once innate tasks many
students become overwhelmed by the apparent difficulty.
Woody states that while music educators generally “endorse the importance of the
ear in music-making” most would “appreciate if their students had stronger aural skills.”
If this is the case, the question should therefore be asked, why are the aforementioned
theories (of sound-before-sight) not better reflected in mainstream practices?141
According to a variety of sources, sound-before-sight methodologies are largely
dependent upon the modeling abilities of the teacher.142 It seems that putting this
approach into circulation in the classroom is no easy task. Curricular problems and
temporal limitations can make it extremely difficult for the average music instructor to
achieve more than limited goals, which inevitably become goal orientated, performance-
based scenarios.143 For example, most elementary wind instrument instruction takes
place in classes, usually quite large, forcing the teacher to concentrate instruction on the
more procedural aspects of performing - fingerings, embouchures etc.144 It makes sense
that these would become the focal points when we consider the mechanics of playing a
brass instrument. But to facilitate the right pitch (partial/harmonic) the player must set
not only the correct embouchure and valve combination, but also the appropriate speed of
141
Woody, “Playing by Ear”, 83-84.
142
See Dickey “A Comparison of Verbal Instruction and Nonverbal Teach-Student Modeling in
Instrumental Ensembles”, Linklater “Effects of audio-and videotape models on performance achievement
of beginning clarinettsits”, Rosenthal “The Relative Effects of Guided Model, Model Only, Guide Only and
Practice Only Treatments on the Accuracy of Advanced Instrumentalists.” Sang “A Study of the
Relationship Between Instrumental Music Teachers’ Modeling Skills and Pupil Performance Behaviors.”
143
Bobbitt, “The Development of Music Reading Skills”, 143.
144
Elliott, “Effect of Vocalization on the Sense of Pitch”, 121.
34
air. In order to gauge the correct air speed for each distinct pitch the player must develop
a technique of associating particular muscle memory with the aural or visual cues
presented. Linking the goal (an absolute pitch) to the motor production (embouchure
position and air speed) is key, and the aspiration is to build these as automatic
connections rather than those which have to be carefully considered prior to each pitch.
Unfortunately there can actually be a varying degree of accuracy between the pitch the
player audiates and buzzes, and the tone the instrument produces. The physical design of
brass instruments features peak-points at which the instrument resonates, in accordance
with the harmonic series. If the player is inaccurate the instrument will, by-and-large,
compensate for the mistake and sound the closest partial (albeit with poor accuracy and
an imprecise attack). These discrepancies in mechanics are in contrast with say, a
stringed instrument, where only exact positioning on the fingerboard guarantees the right
pitch will sound. Typically once initial pitch accuracy is addressed the next priority
becomes the accurate movement from one pitch to the next in accordance with the
notation presented. Missed or “chipped” notes are a common inaccuracy in brass
playing. It is a misnomer to think that all such mistakes are caused simply by physical
inaccuracies (incorrect embouchure placement, or incorrectly paced air speed).
Frequently the error comes from inaccurate interval recognition, or its execution.145 If
the right arrival pitch cannot be audiated correctly, it is unlikely the player’s physical
positioning will be exact, resulting in a missed or “chipped” note.
While ensemble directors may be constantly imploring students to listen (to
recordings, during rehearsals, and during individual practice) it is not apparent that many
145
Byrd, “Applications of aural theory skills”, 72.
35
of the ear training skills discussed in the first chapter have been well enough established
to make that listening a truly worthwhile endeavor.146 Used in repetition the word
“listen” can quickly become synonymous with “focus”, and “pay attention here”, but is
ambiguous as to the specifics of where and how this act of listening should be employed.
It could apply to pitch, rhythm, timbre, dynamic, articulation, etc. but unless the action is
guided in some way, it is unlikely that the multiple opportunities for aural awareness will
be exploited. Aural awareness can in fact be addressed anytime, anywhere – since aural
“opportunity” exists around us at all times.147
A particularly troubling scenario that ear training teachers face are students that
exhibit all the keenness of one with ambitions of a professional playing career, but with a
naivety towards the whole realm of aural skills. Once in college, there is no quick-fix
remedy for such students – aural skills must be developed thoughtfully and methodically,
until they match a performer’s technical abilities. Although ear training is an “essential”
part of every musician’s undergraduate experience it takes a determined individual effort
for weaker students (those with less prior experience or less natural affinity for aural
skills) to catch up with their peers.148
Despite many assertions that everything taught in ear training should be related
immediately to real musical experience and thus be applicable by students to their
everyday musical life, over and over theorists and pedagogues have argued about best
practices for course delivery. There are two key problems. One, it is probable that no
146
Woody, “Playing by ear”, 82.
147
148
Rifkin and Stoecker, “A Revised Taxonomy for Music Learning”, 156.
36
agreement will ever be reached to establish the “best” way of developing hearing faculty
so that students are quickly able to perceive, as an example, the structural organization of
melodic and harmonic progression.149 Two, and perhaps most unfortunately, it is
possible and not unusual to be able play an instrument quite well without understanding
the said structural nature of the music. And yet, almost all performers would agree that
there is a direct relationship between the understanding of musical structure and degree of
personal involvement experienced by the performer.150 This disparity in ideals and
practicalities has resulted in a “kind of pedagogical hodge-podge”151 wherein students are
on the one hand strongly encouraged to develop their ear training skills to a certain
degree but, on the other, find that they are realistically able to survive without doing so.
As demonstrated in Chapter One, there are many varying definitions and concepts of the
aural training / ear training / sight-singing / musicianship disciplines. It is imperative that
within each institution clear decisions are made as to the particular goals they are seeking
to pursue, and that these are clearly communicated to the students.152
A Concise History of Music Education

in the United States
Through research into the early music education systems it becomes apparent that
current practices have developed at odds with the early intentions of educationalists. By
149
Bobbitt, “The Development of Music Reading Skills”, Journal of Research in Music Education, 18/2
(1970), 143. James Mainwaring noted a similar dilemma, stating “It is unfortunate that a very great
proportion of theoretical knowledge, elementary and advanced, can be acquired without any correlated
auditory experience whatever,” Teaching Music in Schools, 46.
150
Bobbitt, “The Development of Music Reading Skills,” 154-5.
151
Rogers, “The Jersild Approach”, 149.
152
Telesco, “Contextual Ear Training”, 179.
37
looking at the development of music education, and the position of ear training within
various music education pedagogies, one can determine the changes in perceived
relevance of ear training, and then seek to address its position in today’s educational
system. As early as ancient Greece, music was included in education to enhance
community participation in both cultural and spiritual events. 153 Alongside instrumental
music played on the lyre and the aulos, singing was strongly emphasized as an important
component of the development of a musician. Singing was expected at most societal
events, from formal ceremonies to intertribal singing competitions. As competitive
attitudes towards these competitions grew so too did the standard of the singers, and by
the fifth century performed music at such events had become an elitist field. Populist
music education in Greece entered a decline. In ancient Rome, music was regarded as a
mathematical science (of the seven liberal arts, it was one of the upper level quadrivium)
and was largely taught from Boethius’s De institutione musica treatise.154 Boethius
followed principles of musica mundana (music as an all-pervading universal force),
musica humana (the harmony of the human body), and musica instrumentalis (music
“found” in instruments). He used mathematical principles to define intervals as
consonant or dissonant, and discussed basic elements of earlier Greek modal theory.155
During the Middle Ages music education also largely focused on singing, particularly
153
Michael Mark, A Concise History of American Music Education, (Lantham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield
Education, 2008), 1-3.
154
Ibid.
155
Calvin Bower. "Boethius." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 11
Mar. 2013.
<http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/03386>.
Boethius’s treatise fell out of favor for several centuries but was revived in the ninth century during a
revival of interest in liberal arts.
38
until the invention of music notation. As notation developed a shift in music education
began, heading towards a greater emphasis on music reading, particularly following the
introduction of letter names around the turn of the ninth century. Written notation, along
with the introduction of a solfège system by Guido d’Arezzo in the eleventh century,
revolutionized the study of music. Music could be written as it was expected to be
performed, and alongside the existing tradition of rote learning, sight-singing became
both possible and practical. Notation quickly aided major enhancements in music
education, enabling the study of polyphony and composition, and was a major factor in
the intellectual developments of the Renaissance.156
The history of music education in the United States demonstrates influences of
English and mainland European groups that came to America in the early Colonial
period.157 The early settlers brought with them a wide collection of both sacred and
secular musical traditions – for example, congregational singing was found to be
important to the Amish, the Mennonites, and the Moravians. It was two groups of
English colonists, the Pilgrims and the Puritans, who had the biggest influence on
American music education as we know it today, largely through their use of music in
worship.158 Both groups employed no professional musicians in their churches, using
instead congregational psalmody as musical material for worship. Initially their Calvinist
texts included no printed music, but by the ninth edition (1698) The Bay Psalm Book
contained thirteen tunes. The untraditional diamond-shaped notes and solmization letters
156
Mark, A Concise History of American Music Education, 4-5.
157
Ibid., 9.
158
Ibid.
39
later became a widespread teaching device in the form of shape note singing.159 The
varied note heads indicate where half steps occur in the scale. Shape note notation,
although originating in New England, also became popular in church music of the
American South.160
Nineteenth-century music educator and church musician Lowell Mason was an
early advocate for establishing curricular music in American public schools. Mason was
instrumental in re-envisioning practices of the popular evening singing schools,
incorporating cultivated European traditions of music education.161 Along with his
extensive musical work in the Presbyterian Church, Mason and colleague George James
Webb established a music academy (arguably the first of its kind) in Boston,
Massachusetts, in 1833. 162 Centered largely on the principles of vocal instruction the
school quickly enrolled several thousand students and in 1834 the Manual of the Boston
Academy of Music, for instruction in the elements of vocal music, on the system of
Pestalozzi was first published. Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a Swiss educator who
believed that education was the only means to elevate the lower classes, and sought to
improve aspects of national morality and citizenship through an effort of education
159
Ibid., 10.
160
Pryer, Anthony. "shape note." The Oxford Companion to Music. Ed. Alison Latham. Oxford Music
Online. Oxford University Press. 11 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e6138>.
161
His choices of repertoire later came under criticism for replacing too much of the indigenous music
with less prominent European composers. Michael Mark, A Concise History of American Music Education,
25, 52.
162
Harry Eskew, et al. "Mason." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web.
11 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/17984pg1>.
40
reform.163 When modified to suit music instruction, Pestalozzian principles were
reasoned by Mason to be:
1. To teach sounds before signs – to make a child sing before he learns written notes
or their names.
2. To lead the child to observe, by hearing and imitating sounds, their resemblances
and differences, their agreeable and disagreeable effects, rather than explaining
these things to him. By this principle, the child was to be an active, rather than
passive learner.
3. To teach but one thing at a time – rhythm, melody, expression are taught and
practiced separately before the child is called to the difficult task of attending to
all at once.
4. To make children practice each step of each of these divisions, until they master
it, before passing to the next.
5. To give the principles and theory after practice, and as an induction from it.
6. To analyze and practice the elements of articulate sound in order to apply them to
music.
7. To have the names of the notes correspond to those used in instrumental music.164
These seven principles demonstrate a desire for a systematic, progressive approach to
education founded on the establishment of incremental competencies, encouraging and
allowing time for the absorption of knowledge prior to the introduction of more complex
material. It relies on the assumption that when students truly learn a skill or musical
concept, they will be able to apply knowledge of that concept when it is encountered in a
new musical context.165 An over-arching goal of the Pestalozzian approach is that the
student should learn to cultivate a thirst for information and a desire to seek out and teach
163
Pestalozzi himself did not teach music, but his pedagogical principles were quickly absorbed by
colleague Hans Georg Nägeli, who adopted his practices into his pedagogy at the Zürich Singinstitut. It was
American William Channing Woodbridge that observed Nägeli in Europe, and passed on his observations
to one Elam Ives Jr., the first American to apply Pestalozzian principles to music teaching in the United
States. Mark, A Concise History of American Music Education, 31-34.
164
Lowell Mason, Manual of the Boston Academy of Music: for instruction in the vocal music, on the
system of Pestalozzi. Boston, MA: Carter, Hendee, 1834.
165
Warren Haston, “Teacher modeling as an effective teaching strategy,” Music Educators Journal 93/4
(2007) 29.
41
themselves further knowledge. Lowell Mason’s text was quickly adopted by many
singing school masters across the country.166 It was a goal of the treatise, stated in the
preface, to give music the same stature in education as “arithmetics and geographies.”167
The preface also states that “examples of training the ear and the voice, if duly attended
to, can hardly fail to bring those organs to a good state of improvement.” Mason fully
believed that the formation and cultivation of a musical ear would enable a child to
distinguish, appreciate, and imitate musical sounds. He also considered that, just as with
the spoken voice, the musical ear could be refined by experience, enabling improved
discriminatory ability, and achieving musical excellence.168 It was through Mason’s
work that the initial introduction of music education in schools occurred in Boston, and
gained interest from across the country.169
In terms of rapid developments in music education, James Mainwaring was the
British mid-twentieth century equivalent of Lowell Mason. He offered tremendous
insight into the cognition behind music learning.170 Like Mason, Mainwaring argued that
the musical progression of learning should run from sound to sight, rather than from sight
to sound. Mainwaring stated that beginning with notation “is like beginning with
definitions, and is contrary to the natural process of learning.” Mainwaring believed that
166
Mark, A Concise History of American Music Education, 42.
167
Geo. Wm Gordon in preface to Manual of the Boston Academy of Music, iii.
168
Mason, Manual of the Boston Academy of Music, 16.
169
Mason actually had to teach music for a year for no salary in order to convince the Boston Common
Council that funds were indeed necessary and appropriate in order to fund a music teacher. Although
previously taught, music was approved as a subject for the public school curriculum, equal to others, for
the first time in 1838. Mark, A Concise History of American Music Education, 45.
170
42
verbal descriptions and definitions are suitable only once there is a fund of recallable
experiences to give meaning to the content of the words.171 On both sides of the Atlantic
these two men were promoting the same ideals of sound-before-sight, and yet the notion
appears to have struggled to take hold.
Notation
Today, formal music education is largely centered on the production of
“musically literate performers,” capable of transforming sight to sound.172 Notation-
based ear training activities appear on the surface to be a good way to combine elements
of both aural perception and symbol-based competency, be it through dictation, sight-
singing or other disciplines. Although notation-guided activities do provide opportunities
for aural skill development, there are limitations to their potential if only addressed as a
by-product and not as the original focus. Examples of ear-based activities fall more
frequently in jazz, popular and world idioms than that of the Western classical tradition,
because these genres generally have less reliance on printed music. And yet it is still the
classical canon in which most young performers are schooled from the moment begin
instrumental music. Our reliance on notation-based ear training is in direct contrast with
previous discussions about the necessity to think in musical language, the comparison
between the development of musical fluency and linguistics, and the idea of aural acuity.
The journey to a finished performance product could be dramatically shortened when
students have the ear skills to more rapidly decode notation into precise (goal) images of
171
172
43
sound.173 It has been proven that playing-by-ear development can be a critical ingredient
in facilitating the development of other musical skills (such as composing, arranging,
group collaboration, individual artistic expression) not to mention increased fluency of
reading notation. While reading music, internal aural processes must still be emphasized
- the necessity to “hear the sounds come alive inside your head” and not simply respond
with physical representations of pitch (positions and fingerings).174
Dictation
The “typical” aural training course includes both linear activities (such as
rhythmic dictation, melodic dictation, and sight-singing, and vertical activities (sonority
identification and chord progressions), however often there is little to connect the two
elements. Based on the amount of experience gained from traditional ear training
courses, musicians are often ill-equipped to perceive chord quality by ear, due to the habit
of focusing on the “left-to-right” understanding of Western music. It is imperative for a
musician to be able to perceive vertical structures as quickly as he or she reads linear
lines.175 Harmonic dictation frequently involves the notation of outer voices with little
focus on the contrapuntal aspects of each line, but rather the analytical implications of
each pitch. This methodology fosters a separatist approach to the students’ musical
knowledge.176 An emphasis on notation-based learning can lead to an over-dependence
of attention only to pitch and rhythm, at the detriment of other aspects of performance,
173
Ibid., 85.
174
Levin and Martin, Sight Singing, p. xvii.
175
Wayne Bailey, Aural skills for conductors, (Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 1992), 32-34.
176
Kate Covington, “Improvisation in the Aural Curriculum: an imperative”, College Music Symposium 37
(1997), 43.
44
such as intonation, articulation, nuance, dynamic contrast and intensity. Indeed some ear
training courses focus entirely on the fine, detailed listening of pitch and rhythm, leaving
matters of form, texture, style and compositional devices to the more generalized written
theory courses.177 Notation-based dictation allows the crucial step of scale degree
function to be disregarded from the students understanding of aural material. For
example, students with a poor sense of tonic who are given a starting pitch to begin a
melodic dictation exercise are able to essentially follow their noses from one pitch to the
next, making educated guesses about interval size until their selected final pitch fits with
their perceived melodic resolution (most commonly a return to tonic). This requires no
true internalization of pitches and their relation to tonic.178 More beneficial would be to
aurally recreate the melody, convert it to solfège or a number-based system, and move to
notation only as the final step. An over-dependence on dictation within the ear training
curriculum is perhaps a disservice to the students receiving the education. Karpinski
suggests that “if all a student learns is to write down what he hears, there are few
applications for this skill in the musical world.” He continues, “We shouldn’t train a
world of dictation-takers; we should educate a world of musicians who can think with
their ears.”179 While the practice of dictation is “well-ensconced” in higher education
music programs, there are few written examples of the justification for this focus.180
177
178
Ibid., 205. Karpinski is adamant in most of his writing that there this is an overreliance in most texts on
providing too much information to the student, resulting in the prevention of students learning certain
skills such as inference of tonic (since the key signature is provided) and inference of meter. An
internalized inference of tonic is the biggest aid to understanding the tonal function of every other pitch
presented.
179
Karpinski, “Ear training and integrated aural skills: three recent texts”, 136.
45
Another concern about over-reliance on notation in ear training is that it can be
impossible to tell from a written melodic/harmonic dictation response, at what point a
student’s ear training has failed – their understanding of the aural stimulus, their memory,
or their ability to transfer it into written notation.181 An instructor simply grades an
incorrect pitch, with little ability to ascertain its cause, or the type of error that occurred.
An ear training instructor’s task is often (just as with applied instructor) to diagnose and
remedy students’ deficiencies, but it will take several examinations of incorrect dictation
answers to make an accurate diagnosis. Simply prescribing more and more drills will
leave the deficiency buried in a very complex set of processes.182 Skills don’t necessarily
develop by simply taking more dictation. Dictation can also create, for students that
appear to struggle with the task, a “debilitating anxiety that impedes learning.”183
Voice and Instrument
For students for which this is the first time they are being requested to use their
voice, the pedagogy is sometimes flawed. Singing is basic to all music.184 Although the
singing voice is a tool that all musicians should be asked to learn to use, some individuals
will need some introductory instruction on the basics of vocal production. With
appropriate attention to the principles of posture, abdominal support, breathing, and
range, ear training students can learn to use their voices without difficulty and any such
180
Karpinski, “A model for music perception” 191.
181
Ibid., 217.
182
Ibid., 220.
183
Deborah Rifkin and Diane Urista, “Developing Aural Skills: It’s Not Just a Game” Journal of Music Theory
Pedagogy, 20 (2006), 57-78.
184
White, Guidelines for College Teaching of Music Theory, 25.
46
obstacle.185 It should be acknowledged that for some, exposing one’s voice will be a
deeply personal experience and one which, coupled with the excessive “demands of
achievement” (attainment goals) in the classroom can cause significant stress.186 But
approached in the right way, the voice becomes a powerful force in a student’s aural
skills arsenal, a vital assistant in (what Edwin Gordon terms as) aural/oral perception.
Gordon’s premise was that the development of a student’s sense of tonality using
improved aural/oral discrimination techniques, will transfer into enhanced pitch
discrimination and pitch accuracy (both intonation and literal pitch accuracy) in the
performance of instrumentalists. He believed that “audiation is to music what thought is
to language.”187 The ability to “hear it before one can sing it”188 continues into brass
pedagogy in the popular “sing, buzz, play” approach to playing.189 Several studies took
place in the 1970s and 1980s that corroborate this technique.190 A more recent
experiment by Woody and Lehmann suggested extremely similar findings. Their
particular intention was to discover the differences in abilities between “formally-trained”
musicians, and those well-versed in vernacular music, in relation to the accuracy of

185
186
Reitan, “Stress and well-being in the aural skills classroom”, 86.
187
Gordon, Rhythm: Contrasting the Implications of Audiation and Notation, (Chicago: G.I.A. Publications,
2000), 4.
188
Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music, 7.
189
Believed to have been championed by Arnold Jacobs and Charles Herseth (former Chicago Symphony
Orchestra brass players) this technique has brass players sing a melody, buzz it at pitch on their
mouthpiece, and then perform it on the instrument.
190
For more, see Elliott: “Effect of Vocalization on the sense of pitch of beginning band class students”;
Davis: ‘The effect of structured singing activities and self-evaluation practice on elementary band
students’ instrumental music performance, melodic tonal imagery, self-evaluation and attitude’; Schlaks:
‘The effect of vocalization through an interval training program upon the pitch accuracy of high school
band students.’; and MacKnight, “Music reading ability of beginning wind instrumentalists after melodic
instruction.”
47
performing melodies by ear. Woody and Lehmann’s results showed that singing by ear
required far fewer incorrect trials than playing on one’s instrument, regardless of the
performer’s musical background. This suggests that use of the voice connects more
closely to a musician’s “goal image” (the internal representation of what the music
should sound like) than when attempting to use motor production representation.191 The
use of internal representation, the process of internal imaging, is often referred to as ‘the
inner ear’ and using the voice is the easiest way to connect the inner ear to the external
creation of the sound.192 This externalization doesn’t have to be taught; children use it
instinctively to learn nursery rhymes and simple songs, prior to developing a fear of using
their singing voices in public.193 Although some ear training texts (such as Benward and
Carr’s Sightsinging Complete) invite students to bring their instruments to ear training
classes for certain activities, the infrequent inclusion of such requests does little to move
the overall concepts of the course from theoretical to practical. Instead those classes are
sometimes seen as novelty days, breaking up the monotony of the sight-singing/dictation
exercises. Ear training that largely focuses on rhythm and pitch can appear to be
separated by a “wide abyss” from the actualities of musical performance. Without the
integration of tempo, dynamics, articulation, and phrasing, it can be challenging to
convince students of the musical properties of these individualized tasks. The best type
of ear training instructors will never let a musically flat performance go by without
191
Woody and Lehmann, “Student musicians’ ear-playing ability”, 112. The study went on to prove that
the difference between singing accuracy and instrumental playback accuracy was far less in vernacular
musicians than it was in those with more formal training, indicating that the goal-image to motor
production was more immediate for vernacular musicians.
192
ABRSM, “Aural Tests: included in the practical exams for all students”, 20. Even silent singing, to some
degree, brings this internal imaging to reality.
193
48
suggestion for improved shaping. Equally, musically well-executed interpretations
should be praised for such, just as they would be in the instrumental lesson.194
Performing should be at the core of any musicianship course, and every resource possible
should be used to demonstrate the interrelationship of performance with every other
musical aspect.195
Suitability of Faculty
Most commonly the task of teaching aural skills classes is bestowed exclusively
upon music theory faculty and their graduate teaching assistants.196 While faculty may
find an advantage of having taught the same class for many years, teaching assistants are
frequently encountering classroom and undergraduate teaching simultaneously for the
first time.197 Sometimes separated by only a few years from the students in front of them,
it is not uncommon for a teaching assistant to be presented with a syllabus and textbook
by the supervising faculty member, and essentially let loose on their own section of the
course.198 With little other than their own experiences as a student to draw upon, it seems
an inadequate pedagogical approach to one of the most crucial classes in the music
curriculum. A result of these sorts of staffing decisions leads to several issues with the
194
195
Buccheri, “Musicianship at Northwestern”, 127.
196
This has historically been the case but it is not apparent why it should remain this way. In fact, three of
music education’s all-star practitioners (Dalcroze, Orff, and Kodàly) started out as
composer/teacher/frustrated aural training instructors. (Butler, “Gulf between music perception research
and aural training”, 42).
197
It is a contentious issue of some critics that ear training is a “musical catechism” handed down virtually
intact from generation to generation (Butler, “Gulf between music perception and aural training”, 42).
198
The author refers anecdotally to her own experiences as an aural skills instructor, and to insights
shared by participants of the Graduate Student Workshop at the Society of Music Theory International
Conference, Montreal 2009.
49
curriculum, and that is, the propensity to choose material that is most comfortable with
the instructor, easiest to “teach” and easiest to assess.199 But as teachers we should
always aspire to bring a fully comprehensive musical world to our students, rather than
simply the segments that are most easy to deliver.200
In the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy article relating to their 1990 study of
aural skills programs in U.S. colleges and universities, Randall Pembrook and Lee
Riggins start by stating the “two most critical issues in teaching aural skills are methods
and materials.”201 They sought to determine which were the most frequent texts
referenced and specific methods in use (e.g., duration of classes and focus of subject
matter). While this study provided valid statistical data (e.g. the average class time spent
in freshman aural skills each week was 177 minutes) there was no attempt to correlate
their findings with the actual attainment standards of the students. From her experience
as a researcher of aural skills pedagogy, Inger Elise Reitan found that aural skills teachers
do not normally involve themselves in the research of perceptual and cognitive-based
studies related to aural training – an argument supported by David Butler, who states that
“many leaders in the aural training field don’t have the training or the experience to be
able to wade through an article in Psychomusicology or the Journal of Music
Education.”202 Despite the work of Gary Karpinski and Steve Larson, college-level ear
training programs have been slow to pick up on new information as it is presented. The
199
200
201
Pembrook and Riggins, “ 'Send help!': Aural skills instruction in U.S. colleges and universities”, 231.
202
Butler is adamant that the number of music educators leading ear training instruction must increase.
“Why the Gulf”, 42-43.
50
more research that is done to explain the way in which we perceive musical information,
the further this needs to be applied to ear training pedagogy and delivery.203
The implications for music education based on ear training research are abundant.
While theory faculty are, on the surface at least, concerned in the development and
execution of ear training classes, methods, and textbooks, these teachers are not
commonly the same people concerned in the psychology behind the practice. Similarly,
music psychologists rarely focus on the pedagogical implications behind their studies.204
The discipline of aural skills training has therefore found itself trapped between two
fields of research, that of music theory and the psychology of music. However, there is
evidence that change is beginning to emerge, with the emphasis on research and
development that many faculty are required to demonstrate as part of the tenure process.
The uniting personnel that may well bring these disciplines together, and begin its
application earlier in the developmental process, are music education specialists.
In her 2008 study of well-being in the aural skills classroom Reitan found that the
qualities recognized in a good aural skills teacher are: the ability to be sympathetic, to be
a good pedagogue, and to present well-organized lessons.205 These are all applicable
attributes of the studio teacher also. In order to be viewed this way by students, the
teacher must find a manner of communicating which garners value and trust from the
students. In a group of mixed-ability students this involves great skill in evaluating the
correct pacing of the course. Somehow the more competent students must be kept
203
204
Reitan, “Students’ attitudes to aural training”, 208.
205
Reitan, “Stress and Well-Being in the Aural Training Class”, 89.
51
engaged while the less competent are helped. Several lab studies have demonstrated that
the interpersonal style a person uses to administer events greatly influences the events’
effects.206
A major problem to have developed in ear training programs is a culture where
the symptoms to ear training problems become treated as causes. For example, if a
student struggles to sing an ascending major sixth (Re – Ti) in a simple sight-singing
melody we might assume the issue is an inability to sing ascending major sixths, rather
than examining the fact that the student has failed to recognize the significance of ‘Ti’ in
relation to its resolution to the upcoming ‘Do’. Endless drilling of intervals in isolation
will fail to correct this problem. A skill that can separate a good ear training teacher from
their counterparts is the ability to diagnose a problem in class and instantly improvise an
exercise to address it.207 This is a talent that instrumental teachers utilize frequently in
their teaching, habitually diagnosing technical and musical issues and suggesting
solutions to be implemented at the moment, and also in the practice room. This is most
suitable for one-on-one interaction, and can be more challenging in the open classroom
than in the private lesson. The risk of further exacerbating a problem and failing to
making obvious progress, causing embarrassment for an individual student, or simply
getting away from the lesson plan, are reasons enough for the aural skills teacher to shy
away from the improvisation of new material and problem-solving techniques.
206
Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier and Ryan, “Motivation and education: the self-determination perspective,
educational psychologist”, The Educational Psychologist 26 (1991), 336.
207
Rifkin and Stoecker, “A Revised Taxonomy for Music Learning”, 155.
52
Further communication and collaboration between aural training teachers and
instrumental teachers would greatly benefit both disciplines. Discussions should focus on
both the aims and content of courses, and the opportunity for practical and contextual
development. Although the outcomes of these discussions might at first seem difficult to
implement, the author hopes this document will show that it is a worthy and necessary
undertaking.
Grading and Motivation
Pratt recognizes the disadvantages of using an education system in which
assessment becomes an unnecessary focus. He says, “Much aural training is directed
towards testing of what is right or wrong.” The skills to be addressed are selected based
on their suitability for providing identifiable measures of achievement; and yet art is, by
its very nature, frequently a subjective matter that defies measurement. The testing of
right and wrong quickly overshadows the discovery of what and why.208 The most
convenient material for this is pitch and duration of notes, at the neglect for other salient
musical features. As Michael Rogers describes it, “a sightsinging teacher should be more
than a burglar alarm for wrong notes.”209 A student’s awareness that their answers will
be either right or wrong increases the probability of stress in the classroom.210
The perception of correctness impacts what type of motivation students
experience. An intrinsically motivated student seeks to do well to satisfy their own sense
of volition in activities that engage them. Extrinsically motivated students perform not
208
209
Rogers, “The Jersild Approach:”, 160.
210
Reitan, "Stress and well-being in the aural training class”, 86.
53
out of interest, but because they believe there is a separable consequence – e.g. a good
grade in this class results in a better overall grade point average.211 Extrinsically
motivated students learn material because they know they will be tested, rather than for
the benefit of self-improvement and a greater sense of understanding.212 For a musician,
intrinsic motivation is demonstrable by the internal joy gained from performing music
with peers, to an audience, or alone in the bath tub; while extrinsic motivation is seen in
the desire to pass a jury, win an audition, or impress a teacher. College music students
are typically intrinsically motivated; they have already spent years of their lives devoting
their time to the pursuit of music excellence.213 But collegiate music study is different to
the performance based activities they have previously enjoyed. When evaluations and
assessments are emphasized, intrinsic motivation is undermined, along with the
opportunity for conceptual learning and creativity. It is a challenge to create intrinsic
motivation in the theory classroom, since assignments, grades and tests are frequently
utilized. Conceptual learning and creativity are key elements of ear training pedagogy
that have been discussed earlier in this work for their significance. Intrinsically
motivated behaviors emanate from the self and are fully endorsed, supporting the
prototype for self-determination.214 In self-determination theory support for competence
(gained from performance feedback) and relatedness (such as peer acceptance) facilitate
intrinsic motivation.
211
Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behaviour. (New
York: Plenum, 1985).
212
Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier and Ryan, “Motivation and Education”, 331.
213
Marvin, “Intrinsic Motivation: the Relation of Analysis to Performance in Undergraduate Music Theory
Instruction,” Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 8 (1994), 48.
214
Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier and Ryan, “Motivation and Education: 328-35.
54
Primarily the goal is to promote a genuine enthusiasm in the student for learning
and accomplishment, and to help instill a sense of volitional involvement in the process
of education.215
Stress
Since ear training classes are almost exclusively presented as a compulsory course
of study within the music curriculum it may well, from some quarters, immediately
receive the negative categorization as a “necessary, but unpleasant” subject.216
Occupying a similar place in the curriculum as underclassmen music theory and music
history classes, these classes are frequently mistakenly approached by students as a
necessary but separate entity to their development as a performing musician. There are
aspects of these courses that can challenge a student’s self-esteem.217 As with other
strands of theoretical music theory, inconsistencies and inexperience with certain
concepts can cause anxiety in a student in what Buccheri calls the “All of a sudden, it
seems like I know nothing about music” condition.218 When this occurs there is a
significant risk that stress and a poorer sense of well-being will impede a student’s ability
to learn and succeed. In a 2008 study completed at the Norwegian Academy of Music
Reitan discovered that 27% of students evaluated their stress to be high in the ear training
classroom.219 This stress manifested itself as nervousness, anxiety, feelings of
215
Ibid., 325.
216
Reitan, “Stress and well-being in the aural training class”, 85.
217
Ibid., 86.
218
Buccheri, “Musicianship at Northwestern”, 131.
55
shortcoming and continuous frustration.220 Gary Karpinski suggests that nervousness in
the aural-skills classroom frequently correlates with nervousness in other musical
activities, particularly performance (since there is an element of performance in being
called upon in class).221 Throughout education, stress in the classroom is closely
associated with other important self-evaluative concepts, self-esteem and self-efficacy.
Students instinctively connect the performance aspect of completing ear training tasks
with their performing ego, and similarly demonstrate that making a mistake causes
damage to their self-esteem.222 Self-esteem and self-efficacy are crucial in any learning
context, but particularly in relation to performance based tasks. Almost in recognition of
this significance, students sometimes approach ear training with the fear that certain
musical weaknesses or ineptitudes will be exposed, crucially, in front of their peers.223 In
order to be in the optimum state of learning, a person must be able to feel confident about
oneself within the social environment.224 Any fear of failure can have a profound effect
on the student’s ability to perform as a critical and analytical listener.225 To create an
219
For the purpose of the study, stress is defined as “a state of tension in a person, and causes unwieldy
pressure or conflicts which might lead to reactions like anxiety, anger, depression, continuous frustration
and or/psychosomatic sufferance.” (Reitan, “Stress and well-being in the aural training class: The
psychological aspect of training for enhanced musician’s skills”, 86-87).
220
Reitan, “Stress and well-being in the aural training class: The psychological aspect of training for
enhanced musician’s skills”, 87. Rifkin and Urista refer to the “debilitating anxiety that impedes learning”
(“Developing aural skills: it’s not just a game”, 57) while Karpinski states that he has witnessed the
correlation between nervousness in the aural-skills classroom and other musical activities, such as
performance (Aural Skills Acquisition, 209).
221
222
Reitan, “Stress and well-being in the aural training class”, 88.
223
224
Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier and Ryan, “Motivation and education”, 326.
225
56
environment that promotes success, the ear training classroom must be seen to
demonstrate a low degree of threat.226 A classroom of new friends and colleagues of
mixed ability is not necessarily conducive to this said low threat level. In order to be
motivated to learn, a student must sense the nature of the challenge and feel the
expectation that mastery is attainable. Previous attainment and academic experience has
consequences on the expectation of future learning and mastery. In this way having
previous experience of mastering a task, having an expectation of mastering a future task,
and actually mastering a current task form a cyclical process, one that can prove to be
either positive or negative to a student.227 In order for a positive pattern to develop, long-
term relevance of the activities should be emphasized, so that any progress can be
evaluated in the context of overall musicianship, rather than simply attainment in a self-
contained class. Students must be actively dissuaded from compartmentalizing ear
training.228
Group Learning
The ear training classes offered in higher education tend to exist in a one-size-fits-
all format regardless of the diversity of previous experience, or the future career
aspirations, of individual students. Classes usually range in size from a dozen to twenty
students, with limited opportunity for individual teaching. And yet, it has been
recognized that aural skills acquisition develops at different rates in different
226
Discussion of levels of threat takes place in Carl Rogers’ Freedom to Learn.
227
A concept developed by Einar and Sidsel Skaalvik’s in Selvoppfatning, motivasjon og læringsmiljø (Self
perception, motivation and learning) - referenced by Reitan, in “Stress and well-being in the aural training
class: The psychological aspect of training for enhanced musician’s skills”, 88.
228
57
individuals.229 In addition to their individual ear training history, each student presents a
unique combination of personality traits, intellectual aptitude, and cognitive
tendencies.230 With a small class it is even more important to attempt to understand
students’ cognitive abilities. The unique cognitive makeup of each student and their level
of formal training actually lends the delivery of ear training towards one-on-one
instruction, or at least smaller groups (six to ten), in preference over the small classroom
setting (around twenty students).
It has been well documented in educational research that students learn in
different ways, and have individual learning styles.231 In his article for the Journal of
Music Theory Pedagogy, Michael Lively breaks down educational theorist David Kolb’s
experiential learning classification system of the four types of learning styles, as the basis
of a discussion about developing new instructional theory materials.232 The four learning
style groups can be summarily defined as follows: 1) Accommodators: learners that learn
best from specific examples and experimentation, using experience to grasp and process
information; 2) Divergers: who also learn best from specific examples but need to
cogitate new information, transforming it through reflective observation. 3) Convergers:
learners that prefer an environment of systematic analysis (abstract conceptualization)
229
Marvin, “A comparison of four sight-singing and aural-skills textbooks”, 139.
230
Michael Lively, “D. A. Kolb’s Theory of Experiential Learning: Implications for the Development of
Music Theory Instructional Material”, Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 19 (2005), 77.
231
Learning styles refer to a variety of theoretical constructs and cognitive models, essentially a
predisposition to a particular learning strategy regardless of the specific demands of the task. For more
see Fox’s “Learning Styles and Instructional Preferences in Continuing Education for Health Professionals”,
72-85.
232
Lively, “D. A. Kolb’s Theory of Experiential Learning”, 82-83. Lively goes on to demonstrate how to
teach a specific topic, secondary dominant function, in accordance with the various learning styles.
58
and experimentation; and 4) Assimilators: who also use systematic analysis, but
transform it through reflective observation. From this summary of Kolb’s learning styles
it is apparent that these four types of students would need information presented in
various ways, and would have different methods for managing this information for future
recall. Learners who prefer abstract conceptualization may be able to audiate a melody
quite successfully, while other students require the process of performance for the
information to sink in.233 With a more homogenized approach to ear training, students
have to determine what is most relevant and most important for them.234
Another type of learning theory that has been explored in the quest for
improvements in the delivery of ear training are the principles of objectivist and
constructivist models for teaching, championed primarily by Kate Covington.235 The
most prevalent learning method, along with teaching strategies, follows the objectivist
model – where a distinct set of facts are combined with declarative and procedural
knowledge, best assessed through the process of retrieval. Facts are learned, stored
cognitively in well-organized schematic networks, and recounted in an easily quantifiable
manner.236 The most common way to teach in this model is to isolate elements from their
natural context, such as in the repetitive drilling of intervals. But research has shown that
233
Lively, “D. A. Kolb’s Theory of Experiential Learning”, 88.
234
Reitan, “Students’ attitude to aural training”, 214.
235
Covington and Lord, “Epistemology and procedure in aural training”, 162-170.
236
The term schemata refers to the structures that represent concepts, and are the building blocks of
cognition that typically reflect the context in which they were learned. A specific example of schematic
isolation might be the predilection of some methods to regard all major sixths in the context of the NBC
show tune. In this instance there is a strong sense of tonality connected to the sixth, confirmed with its
resolution to ‘do’. However, when the major sixth occurs in other tonal settings, such as ‘Re-Ti’ or ‘Fa-Re’
those parameters are shifted and the changed tonal implications can cause uncertainty.
59
such training can actually cause the development of barriers between schema types,
instead of highlighting interconnectedness. An alternative to this is the constructivist
approach, where schematic networks are more loosely defined, allowing elements to be
disconnected from their original locations and reassembled in new contexts. When
teaching with constructivist methods, extended exercises on a single task are still
beneficial, but should be combined with similar activities in a variety of contexts.237 In
practice, this could be learning an interval: by singing, by playing the interval
melodically, as a basis of improvisation, by sounding the interval harmonically etc..
Covington and Lord argue that the further that a skill can be demonstrated through a
variety of contexts, the better the students will be able to understand the essential role of
the specific concept. When constructionist learning is successfully executed, the focus
becomes learning process rather than production; explanation of rationale rather than the
result of conclusion; schema assembly rather than schema selection. In short, this idea of
cognitive flexibility enables students to learn the theoretical tools that facilitate their
ability to teach themselves towards practical solutions. This is precisely the type of
learning that is most suitable for the study of music, and becomes utilized in the
following proposed method.
237
This technique is referred to by educational psychologist Rand Spiro as “criss-crossing the contextual
landscape.” It builds the ability to cope with every scenarios of ever increasing complexity, and thus is so
well suited to a discipline which encourages ever-increasing progression towards expert status.
60
CHAPTER THREE
A NEW APPROACH
In his much-quoted text, Aural Skills Acquisition, Karpinski states that a way to
promote the use of skills developed during aural skills classes is to “encourage [their]
incorporation into studio instruction and instrumental practice”238 By generating a
method that focuses on some of the specific skills championed by Karpinski, and taught
in aural skill classes across the nation, the author hopes to establish a practical method of
integrating ear training into the private lesson. Building on opportunities presented by
enjoying one-on-one contact between tutor and pupil, the method seeks to demonstrate
performance-applicable techniques for training one’s musical ear. This methodology
removes some of the limitations brought about by teaching ear training to large classes of
students, and allows for a personalized, instrument-specific pedagogical approach to
some of the most necessary and useful skills of musical performance.
As Lowell Mason stated in 1834 “All elements of instruction... will produce no
favorable result, if the teacher is wanting in the necessary ability and disposition.”239 The
success of this method depends on the degree to which the instructor values this approach
and its perceived benefits for their student’s musical development. Ear-driven activities
can facilitate the development of arranging and composing skills, improvisation, musical
collaboration in groups, more fluent notation-reading, accuracy in sight-reading, not to
238
239
Mason, Manual of the Boston Academy of Music”, 35.
61
mention individual artistic expression.240 With that broad a range of potential benefits, it
would seem well worth attempting to find a solution in the private lesson for some of the
gaps left in standard ear training classes.
ABRSM Influence
The main influence behind the author’s perceived need for a new approach is
centered on her experiences of the examinations administered by the Associated Board of
the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). The ABRSM is the examination board of the
Royal Schools of Music.241 It was founded in 1889 to create an examining body
“inspired by disinterested motives for the benefit of music education... which would
genuinely provide a stimulus and an objective for a high standard of achievement.”242 To
date, over 650,000 examinations have been delivered, in over ninety countries across the
globe.243 An important facet of these practical assessments, focusing on three contrasting
pieces of repertoire, scales and arpeggios, and sight-reading, is an additional element
during each examination – the aural test. These were introduced to the examinations in
1920.244 The ABRSM aural tests aim to establish the link between “listening to music
and playing music,”245 the same aptitude hoped to be reinforced by the Ear-tudes. The
240
241
The Royal Schools of Music comprise of four British music conservatories: The Royal Academy of Music,
The Royal College of Music, The Royal Northern College of Music, and the Royal Conservatoire of
Scotland.
242
‘The beginning’, website of the ABRSM. 14 Mar 2013. http://us.abrsm.org/en/about-us/abrsm-history/
243
‘About Us’, website of the ABRSM. 14 Mar 2013. http://us.abrsm.org/en/about-us/
244
‘The beginning’, website of the ABRSM. 14 Mar 2013. http://us.abrsm.org/en/about-us/abrsm-history/
245
Clara Taylor, These music exams: a guide to ABRSM exams for candidates, teachers and parents.
(London: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, 2001) 16.
62
ARBSM aural test syllabus is progressive, developed in conjunction with the student’s
development of practical instrumental skills, and as such expands from the abilities of a
low level beginner to the competency of a student of pre-conservatory standard.246 Since
the method contained within this document specifically targets the collegiate freshman
tuba player, certain assumptions are made about the technical proficiencies of the
player.247
ABRSM aural tests are administered by the examiner from the piano; however
this method requires the instructor to take that role, instructing the drills from their own
instrument. This connects with the student’s ability to identify pitch and rhythm on the
very medium on which they themselves perform. The proposed application requires the
drills to take place one lesson prior to the Ear-tude being assigned to the student. The
student should then prepare the full Ear-tude for the following lesson, bearing in mind the
ear training concepts that have been addressed.
In addition to skills assessed in ABRSM aural tests, there are other activities
included in these drills, including intonation work, mouthpiece buzzing call-and-response
exercises, and opportunities for guided improvisations.
Real-world Application
In their ear training manual Sight Singing and Ear Training Through Literature,
Levin and Martin seek to demonstrate their belief “that the best way to stimulate the ear
246
Full information, including syllabuses is available from the ‘Aural Test’ portion of the ABRSM website.
http://us.abrsm.org/en/our-exams/aural-tests/
247
The assumptions are made based on the author’s experience as a college student, and studio teaching
assistant at a Big Ten university.
63
is with real music and the actual difficulties encountered in performance and
listening.”248 It is most beneficial to involve a student’s primary instrument in the
process of ear training. Listeners’ familiarity with the timbre of a sound source has a
direct effect on their ability to determine registral placement.249 Female instrumentalists
that play in the bass/contrabass range have reported difficulty with distinctly hearing
pitches several octaves from their vocal range.250 By increasing the frequency with
which a player alternates between singing in a comfortable range and playing their
instrument in its regular range, one can reduce the level of discomfort and uncertainty
towards this practice.
Modeling
Lehmann and Woody state that “a musician’s goal image guides performance”
regardless of whether this image is based on visual cues (e.g. notation in sight-reading) or
musical memory (e.g. playing by ear). The clearest way for a student to have a high
quality goal image is for them to physically hear a tone or a melody prior to their
attempting its replication. (Another highly effective method is for the student to be able
to internally auralize their projected goal image, but this will not become instinctive until
they are trained to first physically hear the sound). Teacher modeling is a very effective
manner to introduce new musical concepts and performance skills, without the need for
students to see printed music. With modeling, students “learn the application before they
248
Levin and Martin, Sight Singing and Ear Training Through Literature, xvii.
249
250
Statement based on the author’s teaching experience at a Big Ten university.
64
learn the theory”251 and this is precisely what Mason was seeking to achieve in 1834 with
his Manual based on Pestalozzian principles. In music, just as with speech and physical
motion, people learn naturally by imitating models.252 For music, Bruce Torff describes
the principle as “the wordless world of music learning.”253 Music learning lends itself to
aural modeling, particularly in the private lesson.254 Researchers have found that
ensemble directors use modeling only between 10 and 25 percent of the time in
rehearsals, presumably because they usually don’t have an instrument to hand with which
to demonstrate.255 Instrumentalists, in contrast to singers, are learning to couple
psychomotor tasks to an aurally perceived sound, as opposed to a visual cue.256 Learning
by imitation results in learning “about the structure of a fairly complex stimulus
environment, without necessarily intending to do so, and in such a way the resulting
knowledge is difficult to express.”257 It is for this reason that some of the best performers
struggle to be the become the best teachers; when complex processes and techniques have
been arrived at so naturally that there is limited knowledge of exactly how a result is
251
Haston, “Teacher modeling as an effective teaching strategy”, 26.
252
Suzuki called this “the Mother Tongue” in Nurtured by Love, 7-17. Kohut referred to it as the “Natural
Learning Process” in Instrumental Music Pedagogy, 4.
253
Torff, “Into the Wordless World: Implicit Learning and Instructor Modeling in Music,” 79.
254
255
Tait, “Teaching strategies and Styles” in Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning, 525-
34.
256
Woody and Lehmann, “Student musicians’ ear-playing ability as a function of vernacular music
experiences”, 103.
257
Berry and Dienes, Implicit Learning: Theoretical and Empirical Issues. 2.
65
achieved. True competence occurs when the execution of those psychomotor programs
occur automatically.258
Variety of articulation lends itself particularly to imitation. The teacher provides
an aural example, and the student can use that as the basis to make physical adjustments
to their technique. Human beings learn naturally by imitation, and relying on implicit
knowledge to shape the result until it matches that of the model.259 This can be
completed aurally, without the need for verbose definitions. Experienced listeners are
able to discriminate among various types of articulation, and should become well versed
on the most frequent articulations pertaining to their instrument and most performed
genres. For the same reason that conductors vocally demonstrate articulations during
rehearsals, the applied teacher can succinctly demonstrate style in the private lesson,
without the need for interpretation of musical symbology. Notated accents often take on
different meanings in different styles of music; it can be a far quicker process to simply
demonstrate an articulation than to find the appropriate way of interpreting the
composer/arrangers chosen notation.
Modeling differences in style can also be a quick and effective method of
demonstration. Haston states that “the most efficient way to teach new concepts and
skills is through call-and-response.” It is not always necessary to explain to a student
258
Baily refers to the connection between goal image and motor production representation as
“automotor coordination”, allowing the immediate production of musical patterns (such as in call and
response activities). See more in ‘Music structure and human movement. In P. Howell, I Cross, & R West
(Eds.), Musical structure and cognition (pp. 237-258). London, England: Academic Press.
259
Haston, “Teacher modelling as an effective teaching strategy”, 29.
66
what they are playing, or what it would look like in print.260 By hearing the same
melodic material in various different styles back-to-back a student utilizes their ear
training skills in discerning both what differences occurred and, where suitable, their
personal preference. By asking the student certain questions following playing such as
“What did you hear?”, “How did the two versions compare?”, “Which style seemed to
you more suitable to the surrounding material?” the teacher is requiring the student to
verbalize their aural perceptions, as well as to express their own musical preference. As a
student’s listening and evaluative skills improve, so too do the opportunities for students
to make independent creative decisions increase.261 Challenging the student to validate
their responses using appropriate musical terminology is also an effective means of
learning about their unique cognitive approaches to listening.262 Some students might be
instantly drawn to noticing differences in note lengths or articulations, others may focus
on dynamic variety, others intonation. Learning a student’s tendencies and being able to
steer them towards aural areas they would usually not focus on is one aspect of a tailored
one-to-one approach of ear training, advocated by the implementation of this method.
Explanation of Method
The crux of this approach is the student’s comprehension of the musical features
of the Ear-tude prior to seeing the notation; sound-before-sight. In order to achieve this
260
This refers to exact imitation, where the student replicates exactly what the instructor has played –
rather than jazz-orientated call-and-response, where the teacher produces an antecedent phrase and the
student responds with a consequent phrase. Haston, “Teacher modelling as an effective teaching
strategy”, 27.
261
262
The ABRSM aural tests were designed to encourage examinees to verbalize their aural perceptions,
and in so doing, to build an ever-expanding vocabulary of musical terms in synergy with aural examples.
67
the instructor works with the student on aural exercises based on material of the
following Ear-tude. Almost all the tasks involve the teacher playing for the student –
enabling the student to model their sound on their instructor, for both timbre and pitch.
Identifying pulse and meter: The perception of pulse is a fundamental rhythmical skill.
Pulse can be defined as a regularly recurring feeling of musical stress. From it derives
the sensation of meter, the notion of beat, and the measurement of rhythmic durations.263
Asking a student to clap or tap (since they are metrically neutral disciplines) in time with
music is a highly effective method of discerning their perception of pulse. Conducting
and counting tasks are meter-orientated and can be attempted once pulse has been
established. Conducting can be used either concurrently while listening; or
retrospectively, while singing back or remembering.264 Conducting brings with it the
benefits of being able to establish and communicate “a sense of pulse, tempo, and meter”
within a single activity.265 Poor metric perception can be difficult to remedy, and the
teacher may need to over-emphasize downbeats until the meter has been identified by the
student.266 Changing the meter can also be demonstrated by the teacher or required of by
the student. This will help to show the contrast of correct or incorrect meter, and will
also provide another way to hear or perform a melody.
Perception of Tonic: At its most facile, the process of perceiving tonic should be simply
intuitive. If a student finds identifying tonic pitch from a short passage of music too
263
264
Karpinski, “A Model of Music Perception”, 213-214.
265
266
Karpinski, “A Model of Music Perception”, 214.
68
challenging, then the decision must be made to address this skill with some sense of
urgency. A good starting point is to play the first and last pitches of an extract, and
discuss whether one has the sense of tonic about it, based on the other pitches heard in the
melody.267 An approach that Karpinski advocates is one which requires the student to
identify the diatonic collection of pitches present in a melody.268 To do this the student
can pick any pitch they recognize from the melody and play adjacent pitches in a scalar
fashion, determining whether or not they were present in the performed melody. By
creating the scale in this way, most students are able to sense which of the pitches from
the collection is the tonic.
Pitch Matching: The most basic form of pitch memory is the recall of single pitches.
Pitch matching, as it is called, involves producing a sound to match a stimulus while that
stimulus is still sounding.269 Rather than verbally telling a student the starting pitch of an
exercise, the author suggests that it is the student would find it aurally more beneficial to
match the pitch as the instructor plays it. The student may need to be encouraged not to
look at the instructors valves, as that will provide them with a visual aid. While initially
the skill of pitch matching may be challenging to acquire, students will be surprised at
how quickly they will improve as they force themselves to translate the aural image their
own production of a pitch. An additional step of singing the pitch before playing it may
be beneficial to really connect the ear to the instrument. Pitch matching is a fundamental
267
It should be reinforced to students that not all melodies will begin and/or end on tonic pitch, but there
are certain scale degrees that will likely never be the final pitch of a single line melody, and thus by
processes of elimination a student may be able to work towards perceiving the correct tonic pitch.
268
269
69
musical skill, yet one that many young musicians have difficulty with, since they are so
seldom asked to practice it.270
Playing by Ear: Playing by ear involves a “complete spectrum” of skills in the aural
domain: listening, memory, understanding and performance.271 Some students will have
never experienced playing by ear prior to college if they have learned their instrument
through the standard band method books (e.g. Standards of Excellence, Accent On...,
Essential Elements etc.) with little expansion from the text.272 Even students that have
taken private lessons may never have been asked to respond to an aural-only musical
stimulus. There is a suggestion that perhaps the reason playing by ear is not frequently
advocated by teachers, is because they too were not exposed to the task as they were
learning.273 However, studies show that levels of sight-reading and ear-playing ability
are generally comparable,274 so by working on the needs of one, students are likely to
improve the other. Woody and Lehmann believe that playing by ear “has been
historically undervalued in formal education.”275
One can’t expect to jump straight in to playing extended melodies by ear. It is
suggested that the instructor follow the ABRSM example and begin with small, non-
contextual strains of three pitches, gradually increasing in number until a short phrase can
270
Karpinski, “A model of music perception and its implications”, 209. ABRSM aural tests include this
exercise right from the lowest examination grade.
271
272
There are two exceptions to this statement, Jump Right In (Grunow, Gordon, Azzara and Martin) and
Do it! Play in band (Froseth) are two method book series that do address learning by ear.
273
Woody, “Playing by ear: foundation or frill?”, 84.
274
see Luce, “Sight-reading and ear-playing abilities as related to instrumental music students”.
275
Woody and Lehmann, “Student musicians’ ear-playing ability”, 113.
70
be performed. It is also advised to provide small known parameters on which tasks can
be based. Pitches, if restricted in number, need not be neighbors – drills can take place
using harmonic collections (triads, sevenths), tetrachords or modes, or truly any
collection of the instructors choosing. Beginning with just three pitches can allow the
student to build confidence in the task, as they find themselves easily able to repeat back
the instructor’s examples.
By always performing, with immediate playing, the same duration of examples,
the student quickly learns the cognitive skills required to switch from listening to
performing in rapid succession. This is a crucial skill required in any sort of
collaborative performance. Length of examples, number of unique pitches, complexity of
rhythm etc., can all be increased incrementally.
Solfège can become a student’s advocate in this setting, even if usually regarded
by the student as a tiresome or problematic activity. As pitch memory and tonal function
are emphasized, solfège can be employed as a stepping stone to achieving accurate
playback. A purpose for using solfège in ear training is to help students develop an
automatic sense of syllable for any given pitch, Do sounds like Do, Sol like Sol, Ti like
Ti etc..276 Understanding tonal function is just as pertinent performing on an instrument
as it is with the voice. For some instrumentalists it becomes a matter for discussion early
on, given their harmonic role in large ensembles; middle range instruments are used to
having to adjust their pitch regularly to fulfill their position as the third or fifth of the
chord. By understanding aurally the tonal function of individual pitches harmonically, or
276
71
each pitch within a melodic line, the performer is more able to commit to suitable
inflections and musical sensitivities, producing an overall more musical performance.
Although dictation is not a part of this method, it forms a close relation to solfège.
Students can be asked to sing on letter names melodies that they have already discerned
with solfège. For this skill to develop, reinforcement is needed, particularly in the early
stages, and students should be persuaded not to feel discouraged by early shortcomings,
but to allow the learning process to develop. Eventually a gestalt process will occur;
students will begin to hear patterns such as triads and their inversions, and more quickly
recognize sequences etc. This gestalt process will only occur after a student has
assimilated enough physical experience at completing such tasks.277 This particular skill
is well worth persevering, as students can begin to gain confidence in their ear once they
are able to complete these sorts of tasks. This can be used as a basis for transposition
exercises.
Although this method places an emphasis on playing by ear, this skill, and the
opportunity to practice it in the private lesson, is intended as an extension of the skills
developed in aural skills classroom.
Error Detection: Error detection enables a student to work at the very important skill of
perceptual listening, that is, listening – remembering – comparing all within a short
amount of time. The importance of error detection (and consequently, correction) skills
are, to musicians, indisputable.278 The conductor and private lesson instructor use these
skills continuously. For monitoring one’s own playing, the practice is crucial. Every
277
Karpinski, “A Model of Music Perception”, 216-7.
278
72
time a musician plays there is, or should be, a constant process of self-correction between
the eyes and the ears. The more adept the performer becomes at this task, the more such
errors may be avoided.279 Even though this is the case, Pembrook and Riggins (when
surveying aural skills instruction in the United States) found that error detection was the
“least practiced activity” in the aural skills classroom. They argued, and this author
agrees, that given its propensity in musical tasks, error detection should be given a greater
focus in the aural skills curriculum. The student should be asked to respond with not
only where the error occurred, but the nature of the error. This provides ample
opportunities to practice using the language with which musicians communicate musical
ideas.
Describing musical features by ear: In line with an idea found in the ABRSM aural test,
the instructor should encourage the student to verbalize the notable musical features of
the work they hear. These can include perception of dynamics, articulation, tempo,
tonality, character, style, structure. The instructor should promote the use of appropriate
terminology, including, where appropriate use of Italian terms.
The Ear-tudes
The term “Ear-tude” reflects the melding of the two concepts, ear training and
melodic etudes. The Ear-tudes were composed under the principle that “the aesthetic
experience of music requires more than simply an objective recognition of its constituent
parts.” That is, they should be enjoyable to both performer and listener, despite focusing
on a distinct ear training model. Although each Ear-tude addresses a particular concept,
279
Ibid,.
73
the purpose of the Ear-tude is to reinforce that these are familiar musical features and
should be mastered so that they can be performed with ease and understanding, aiding the
overall musicality of performance. As Pratt puts it, “Musical character depends not on
individual elements alone but on the ways in which they interact.”280
The Ear-tudes range from sixty seconds to two minutes in length. They are
purposely short, and should be easily learned within a week of practice – particularly
since the more challenging aural features will have been addressed by the instructor
during the drills.
The Ear-tudes have been arranged in a progressive manner, based on technical
and ear training competency. The current ordering of the Ear-tudes has also been
designed such that the intervals involved grew incrementally wider as the Unit’s
progress. That being said, the Ear-tudes and corresponding drills are defined as “Units,”
with the encouragement that instructor’s can choose their own ordering – either based on
the student’s individual needs, or to correspond directly with an institution’s written
theory or aural skills syllabus.281 Interspersed in the expanding interval Ear-tudes are a
small handful of non-interval based Ear-tudes (theme and variation, natural minor,
pentatonic etc.). The four diatonic intervals that occur most commonly in both melodic
(horizontal) and harmonic (vertical) forms during music of “common practice” harmony,
(the major third, the perfect fourth, the perfect fifth and the major sixth)282 are addressed
280
281
The author strongly encourages that the instrumental instructor should be aware of the progression of
skills in both written and aural theory courses. Where possible, attempts should be made to relate skills
across those disciplines and the applied lesson.
282
Duke, “Wind instrumentalists’ intonational performance of selected musical intervals”, 104.
74
within just two Ear-tudes. Thirds and sixths are introduced concurrently to demonstrate
how together they make up the octave. The interval of the minor seventh is incorporated
into an Ear-tude based on dominants, while the major seventh appears in focus for the
first time in the all-interval Ear-tude.
The composer uses a variety of musical styles in their approach, including
calypso, guitar bass line, folk-song, swing, Classical theme and variation, twelve tone etc.
This is intended to provide diversity to the collection and to demonstrate the applicability
of ear training concepts in an assortment of styles. The student should be encouraged to
commit to the intended style, and where necessary, researching other music of that idiom.
The Ear-tudes were composed with the BBb tuba in mind, since that is the
equipment that most incoming freshmen arrive playing. If the student has already
switched to CC tuba, the instructor may consider giving transposed music to the student
(particularly for the Unit Fifteen, where the marked fingerings will be incorrect). Table 1
shows the design of the Ear-tudes, stating which concepts are focused on and what other
aspects of musicianship will be challenged. The table shows the diversity of keys, meters
and tempos, present in the set. Then follows (Figures 1 through 15) each Ear-tude
comprising the weekly assignment, and the corresponding aural skills drills.
Delivery of the Method – The Drills
The drills are to be completed without the student having access to the printed
music. The instructor hands over the Ear-tude only after working through the drills and
performing the Ear-tude once for the student. The student then sightreads the Ear-tude,
with the instructor also playing. The assignment to perform the Ear-tude in the next
75
lesson is then set. The student should be strongly encouraged to begin practicing the Ear-
tude that same day, or as soon after as possible, so they have a chance to remember the
work completed with the instructor.
Initially it was intended that this method should be completed within a single
semester (fifteen weeks) with one Ear-tude being performed, and the drills for the next
being taught, within the same lesson time. It became apparent that this would take too
much time away from other material needing to be covered in a single hour-long lesson.
Instead, it is suggested that the completed assignment and the drills should take place on
alternate weeks. For example, Week 1 would include Unit One drills and the Unit One
Ear-tude would be performed in Week 2. Week 3 would include Unit Two drills etc..
With this approach, the entire fifteen Ear-tudes would take a full year to complete.
Table 1. The Ear-tudes: musical concepts and features
Length
Unit Focus: Also challenges: Key Meter Tempo
(in secs)
One Chromatic Rhythm, articulation Dm 3/4 120 70
Two Whole Tone Meter n/a 5/4 154 70
Three Theme and Variation Articulation A 2/4 66 75
Four Thirds and Sixths Melodic line G 6/4 82 120
Five Perfect Fourths and Fifths Lip slurs Ab and Bb 3/4 100 80
Six Tritones Range n/a 3/4 and 2/2 116 90
Seven Octave Intonation Slurs, octave pitching F#m 3/4 66 110
Eight Natural Minor Legato style Bm 4/4 80 115
Nine Pentatonic Compound rhythms Gb 9/8 72 105
Ten Dominant Sevenths Mixed meter, style Cm 4/4 and 7/8 144 60
Eleven Syncopation Rhythm Bb 2/2 82 60
Twelve All Intervals Slurs, range F 3/4 96 80
Thirteen Diminished Patterns Rhythm, style C and C# 4/4 136 80
Fourteen Twelve Tone Melodic line n/a 3/4 69 80
Fifteen Lip Slurs Range, articulation Bb 2/2 42 110
76
77
Figure 1: Unit 1Ear-tude:

tude: Chromatics
78
Unit One Drills
Basic preparation: Play any one octave chromatic scale, ascending and descending, and
ask the student to identify what type of scale it is. Ask the student to play a one octave
chromatic scale (ascending and descending) of their choice. In unison, on the pitch, both
play a two octave chromatic scale, using a different articulation than the student chose.
Now play a scale one half step either side of the starting pitch you have been using.
Demonstrate opening through A. Ask the student to identify the pulse, and tap/clap
along. Once they have found the large impulse (downbeat), ask them whether it is 2/4,
3/4/, 4/4 meter.
Demonstrate measure 33 to the downbeat of measure 39. Ask the student to describe
what they heard (dynamics, articulations, contour). Can they identify the opening
interval? Play it again. If having difficulty, play the two pitches separately, and ask the
student to sing each pitch along with the scale between. Ask the student to find those two
pitches on their tuba. Once they have identified the D and A, demonstrate the passage
again, asking them to clap the down beats. Work systematically, by ear, with the student
until they are able to perform the passage on their instrument. (NB: to work out the
starting pitch in measure 38, suggest the student work backwards from the last pitch).
Perform the whole Ear-tude for the student, asking them to signal when the above
passage is played. Sit alongside the student, and play the Ear-tude together. Assign the
Ear-tude for next lesson.

79
Figure 2: Unit 2 Ear-tude

tude:: The Whole Tone
80
Unit Two Drills
Basic preparation: Discuss with the student the interval make-up of scales (whole steps
and half steps). Ask them to name the whole-steps / half-steps of a major scale (e.g.
whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half) and, if known to them, minor scales. Based
on a starting pitch of their choice, ask them to name the pitches if every interval is a
whole step. How does this affect the number of pitches in the scale? Ask the student to
play, one octave (ascending and descending) the scale they just named. Now ask them to
play the whole tone scale a half step lower. Discuss that there are just two whole-tone
pitch collections possible.
Demonstrate measures 18 through 33. Ask the student to identify the pulse and meter,
and conduct downbeats while you play it again. Explain that both phrases have the same
rhythmic make-up. Ask them to listen once more to the whole phrase, and then verbalize
that rhythm (by speaking “da”).
Play the starting pitch at m. 18 and ask the student to match the pitch - first by singing it,
buzzing it, and finding it on their instrument. Once they have done so, ask them to play a
descending whole tone scale from the E and then tell you what the note names are. Work
methodically from measure 18 to 25, until the student is able to play it by ear.
Demonstrate measure 26 through 33 and ask them what, in terms of melodic contour, is
the difference between that and the phrase they have just learned.
Perform the whole Ear-tude for the student and ask them to comment on the overall form.
Read the Ear-tude together and assign it for the following lesson.
81

tude:: Theme and Variation
82
Unit Three Drills
Basic Preparation: Discuss with the student if they have any previous experience with
theme and variation form (students may be familiar with the pieces at the back of the
Arban book, or have been come across the concept in a previous environment). Explain
that this ear-tude is a theme and variation, where each passage is just eight measures in
length.
Perform measures 1 through 8, followed by 9-16 and ask them to identify how the theme
is “varied” at letter A. Do the same with the opening and letter B, the opening and letter
C, and the opening and letter D.
By this time the student will have heard the opening eight measures at least four times.
Ask them to sing the opening two measures, giving the starting pitch if necessary.
Continue to demonstrate (by playing) as many times as it takes the student to accurately
sing those two measures. Do the same for the next two measures, and then ask them to
sing all four.
Jump to rehearsal letter C. Play for the student the first seven beats of material. Telling
them we are in 2/4 time, ask them to identify the rhythm of m. 25 and m. 27.
Jump to rehearsal letter D. Play the rhythm of D through the end on a single pitch, two
measures at a time, asking the student to tap/clap back the same rhythm in a call-and-
response fashion. Then repeat, with them also playing on a single pitch.
Play the full Ear-tude for the student, and then play it together. Assign for the next
lesson.
83

tude:: Thirds and Sixths
84
Unit Four Drills
Basic Preparation: Discuss with the student if they have already learned any methods for
identifying thirds and sixths aurally. (Some students may have been told to use the NBC
motif to identify the major sixth, or the melody ‘My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean’). Test
the student on naming major/minor sixths from random starting pitches. Do the same
with the instrument, naming your starting pitch and holding it while the student finds a
major/minor sixth above, and then below.
Play the opening four measures, and ask the student to try and sing the tonic, then to find
that note on the instrument. Ask them to hold a drone while you play the phrase again.
What do they notice about the mid-point (the F#)? Play just the opening measure. Ask
the student to identify each how many pitches are used (the correct answer is two, but if
they initially name three ask them to compare the first and third). Ask the student to play
the opening measure. Once successful, play the third measure. Ask the student to repeat
it. Add the fourth measure (you may need to discuss the rhythm of the dotted-eight,
sixteenth). Once the student is comfortable with the third and fourth measures, perform
the phrase together, the instructor playing measures one and two, and the student
responding with measures three and four.
Play the whole Ear-tude for the student, asking them to focus on the form. Discuss the
melodic material and ask how a change in mood is brought about in the middle section.
How do the dynamic changes demonstrate this also? (Repeat passages if necessary).
Play the Ear-tude together and assign for the following lesson.
85

tude:: Perfect Fourths and Perfect Fifths
86
Unit Five Drills
Basic Preparation: Following on from the previous unit’s discussion about how various
types of thirds and sixths can create an octave span, ask the student what other divisions
of the octave are possible. When they mention the fourth or the fifth ask them to
demonstrate this by playing on their instrument, using first an ascending fifth followed by
an ascending fourth, and then vice versa. Play the opening six measures, and ask them to
identify which is the ordering in the opening motif.
These two intervals are commonly confused aurally. Play a variety of examples of
fourths and fifths (ascending and descending) and ask the student to sing the two pitches,
then from one to the other (in a scalar fashion) before telling you whether it is a fourth or
a fifth. Repeat the same exercise but with them buzzing on their mouthpiece.
Look at the pick-up to measure 42. Without discussing meter, play from there (as
written) to the end and ask the student to repeat back the rhythm solely on a concert Bb.
Repeat until accurate. Then ask the student to identify the first interval of that phrase
(Bb-F). Work from that starting point, until they can play the complete phrase by ear.
Make sure they are aware of the F-C, perfect fifth, interval.
Play the entire Ear-tude, asking the student to signal at what point the opening theme
returns, and how is it different from the opening. Play the Ear-tude with the student and
assign for the following lesson.

87

tude:: The Tritone
88
Unit Six Drills
Basic Preparation: Again, introduce this interval under the auspices of ‘splitting the
octave’. Although the tritone isn’t very common (discuss the uneasy aural quality of the
interval) it becomes very useful to be able to aurally and visually recognize it. Ask the
student to recognize where the tritone naturally occurs in the major scale (answer, Fa-Ti).
Discuss the difference/sameness of augmented fourths and diminished fifths, and ask the
student to name the different designations from randomized starting pitches. Move from
this to the same exercise on the tuba. The instructor plays and names a starting pitch, and
asks the student to play either an augmented fourth, diminished fifth, or a tritone away,
playing first the starting pitch also. (Obviously these intervals are enharmonically the
same, but the student should become familiar with the different terminology pertaining to
the same sound).
Introduce the idea of a “crabwise” tritone scale – C, F#, Db, G, D, G# etc. Ask the
student to work through one octave of one (ascending) on their instrument. Pick a higher
pitch, and ask for a descending version. Play the opening seven measures and ask the
student what they heard. Play the first seven measures of letter C. Ask the student what
the similarities and differences were.
Play the full Ear-tude, asking the student afterwards to comment on form. Ask them to
describe the melodic material in the middle section. Play the Ear-tude again, with the
student, and it for the following lesson.

89

tude:: Octave Intonation
90
Unit Seven Drills
Basic Preparation: Now is a good time, if not already covered, for the instructor to
discuss the importance of drone work and intonation consistency throughout the partials.
Set a drone, based on a fundamental pitch, and ask the student to play various partials
against the drone, noting which fall naturally sharp or flat on their instrument. Move
from addressing all partials to focusing on in the tonic in different octaves. Vary the
drone pitch frequently.
Ask the student to play ascending octaves, one pitch at a time, C-C, C#-C#, D-D etc.,
paying very close attention to pitch. Use a tuner if necessary, but don’t let the student
become reliant upon it (ask them to close their eyes and use only it as a reference when
they hear a significant problem they can’t fix, eventually weaning themselves away from
it all together).
Look at rehearsal letter B. Play only the downbeats of each measure (until measure 34)
and, after the student has matched pitch to find the first note is a D, ask them to join you
on the downbeat exercise (they will need to be able to identify the half-step/whole-step
relationships between the pitches). Then play the full notation, and work gradually by
ear, until the student is able to play the entire phrase. Once the student has learned he
passage by ear, play it again, deliberately entering an incorrect pitch, and ask the student
to identify where it was. Repeat.
Perform the full Ear-tude once alone, and once with the student. Assign for the following
lesson.
91

tude:: The Natural Minor Scale
92
Unit Eight Drills
Basic Preparation: Discuss with the student their knowledge of all types of minor scales,
natural, harmonic and melodic. See if the student has any prior knowledge of modes, and
if so, build on that by discussing the Aeolian mode. If not, briefly demonstrate using a
piano keyboard (real or drawn), the concept of using the white keys only to determine
mode, and the significance of the white note scale beginning on A. Ask the student to
play a one octave natural minor scale in three different keys, the last of which you should
be B natural minor. Ask them to name the pitches used in a B natural minor scale.
Beginning with the last two measures of the Ear-tude, ask the student to play by ear what
you perform. After learning measures 37-38, move to measures 22-24, followed by
measures 7-9.
Look at the opening two measures. Play the first two measures and ask the student to
identify the first and last pitches, naming their tonal functions (tonic and dominant).
Work slowly through the first two measures until the student is able to play them by ear.
Ask the student to name the pitches they have played, in ascending order (B, E, F# A, B).
Explain that the following phrase has two new pitches added. Play the opening four
measures and ask the student to identify the additional pitches. Work with the student
until they can perform all four measures by ear.
Play the full Ear-tude asking the student what they notice about the first and third
sections they hear. Play the Ear-tude again, with the student sight reading. Assign the
Ear-tude for the next lesson.

93

Ear tude: Pentatonicism
94
Unit Nine Drills
Basic preparation: Using a keyboard instrument, ask the student to improvise a melody
using only the black keys. They need no keyboard proficiency whatsoever to do this, and
should be encouraged that “anything works”. Suggest they begin initially with stepwise
motion until they become familiar with the distinct sound of the pentatonic scale.
Introduce the terminology (if not already known to the student), and discuss which genres
of music we most typically associate with pentatonicism. Ask the student to play those
“black note” pitches on their instrument (Db, Eb, Gb, Ab, Bb). Ask them to try a similar
improvisation exercise, based loosely on a scale of those five pitches. The teacher can
demonstrate several examples, or work with the student in a call-and-response manner, to
aid their confidence as necessary.
Beginning at letter A, work by ear until letter B. Emphasize that almost all the motion is
stepwise (within the pentatonic scale). Work slowly if the student is misremembering
ascending/descending motion. Without discussing the notation of the rhythm, make sure
the student is accurately performing the dotted-eight, sixteenth-eighth rhythms. Ask the
student to identify pulse and possible meter (you may need to emphasize downbeats
unmusically for them to reach the conclusion of 9/8).
Look at rehearsal C. On one pitch play the rhythm of the pitches. Ask them to identify
what rhythmic technique is being employed. Ask them to conduct a three pattern, first
speaking triplets on each beat, and then eighth-note duple. Play along with the student
doing each exercise. Perform the full Ear-tude alone, and with the student sight reading,
and assign for the next lesson.

95

tude:: The Dominant Seventh
96
Unit Ten Drills
Basic Preparation: Ask the student if they are aware of the 12-bar blues pattern. Discuss
its place as one of the most frequently used chord progressions in popular music. Make
sure the student is aware of the terms tonic, subdominant and dominant. After explaining
the form, ask the student to name the changes as they would appear in a variety of keys,
ending with C. Explain that this Ear-tude is based on a minor blues pattern, and will use
i7 instead of I7. The form is laid out below:
i7 i7 i7 i7 IV7 IV7 i7 i7 V7 IV7 i7 V
Play the opening until A (with heavy emphasis on the down beats) and ask the students if
they can identify the rhythmic anomaly. If they can’t, have them try and count 4/4 time
against you playing. Once they discover a problem see if they can identify what meter
occurs every other measure. They may need to try to conduct and sing the rhythm. Let
them explore the issue. Once they mention 7/8 metre, talk about the division of the beat
into 2+2+3 pattern. Ask them to conduct again and count aloud, alternating 4/4 and 7/8
(as a three with an elongated third beat), as you play the whole Ear-tude. Continuing to
conduct, ask them now to name the chord changes instead of counting the beats. (I-2-3-4,
I-2-123, I-2-3-4, I-2-123, IV-2-3-4, IV-2-123, etc.)
Look at the opening measure, and play the first three pitches. Ask them to match the first
pitch on their instrument and to name the second and third. Do the same with measure 5
and measure 9.
Play the full Ear-tude alone, and with the student sight reading. Assign for the following
lesson.
97

tude:: Syncopation
98
Unit Eleven Drills
Basic Preparation: Begin by asking the student if they have any experience with calypso
or if they could demonstrate a calypso beat. If possible, use recordings of the following
two popular tunes, Harry Belafonte’s “The Banana Boat Song” and “Jump in the Line.”
Discuss the importance of syncopation and being able to accurately ‘move off the tie’ in
order to keep time.
Without the instrument in hand, establish a 2/2 pulse by clapping. Ask the student to clap
also. Using call and response, teach the rhythm of the melody to the student using air
sounds (“tOH tOH tOH etc.”). This will emphasize the articulation and importance of air
more clearly than a straight Da. The first four measures may need to be split into two,
but should be ultimately performed as four measures. Measures 13 through 15 may
present some difficulties and the student should be made aware of where rests occur.
These measures, along with measures 29 through 33, can be taught on the instrument,
since the melodic material is simple.
Play for the student measures 17 through 24 and ask them to verbally describe how the
melody fits with the pulse. (They should be able to describe the rhythmic effects of the
opening two measure, and where downbeats are emphasized in 19 and 23).
Once the student has a good grasp of the style, perform the whole Ear-tude for them,
asking them to conduct in a two pattern – taking note of where strong downbeats occur.
Repeat the Ear-tude, this time with the student sight reading alongside you. Assign the
Ear-tude for the following lesson.

99

tude:: All Intervals
100
Unit Twelve Drills
Basic Preparation: To introduce the minor 7th, ask the student to play Do-low Ti-high Do-
high, in a variety of keys. In suitable ranges, ask the student to buzz the same exercise,
slurring between the pitches.
To begin work on this Ear-tude simply pick out consecutive intervals, play the first and
ask the student to match pitch, and then play the second. (Strong examples would be the
pick-up to measure 24 into the downbeat, the pick-up to measures 28 into the downbeat,
the tritones in measures 31 and 32 etc.). The student should sing, verbally name the
interval and play the pitch – in that order.
Teach the last four pitches of the Ear-tude to the student by ear, using only pitch
matching. Try initially in the written octave, but transpose an octave higher as suitable.
Only respond with short instructions, such as “no” or “second pitch is incorrect”; try not
to enter into discussion, but to allow the student to find the result by trial and error.
(When using this style of correction, be sure to use plenty of praise when the result is
achieved, so that the overall interaction is positive).
Play the full Ear-tude for the student. Ask them to listen for, and comment on, melodic
repetition (they should recognize the reappearance of the six eighth-notes followed be a
large interval) that permeates the Ear-tude. Repeat the Ear-tude with the student also
playing. Assign it for the following lesson.

101

tude:: Diminished Patterns
102
Unit Thirteen Drills
Basic Preparation: Ask the student if they are aware of diminished and augmented triads.
If not, explain the principles of stacked minor or major thirds. This Ear-tude focuses
solely on the diminished third and its arpeggiation. Ask the student to perform
diminished arpeggios in a variety of keys, ending with C diminished minor. Discuss that,
just as there were two different whole tone pitch collections, there are only three
diminished third collections. Ask the student to name the pitches involved in the other
two.
Perform the opening two measures of the Ear-tude. Ask the student to match the first
pitch. Perform it once more and ask the student to play it back by ear. Then ask the
student to improvise their own short melodic answer to that phrase. Continue with call-
and-response type exercises, increasing in difficulty, and encourage the student to follow
suit.
Play measures 5 through 8 significantly under tempo. Ask the student to play back the
rhythm on a concert C. Repeat until correct. Remind them that the melody is based only
on notes from the diminished triad, play it once more and ask them to play back the
complete phrase. Do the same with the phrase beginning at measure 9 (pick-ups not
required), measure 13 and measure 17.
Ask the student to improvise a bass line in the same style, on the same pitches.
Play the full etude and ask them to explain what happens when the material from measure
five returns. With the student also playing, play it again. Assign for the following
lesson.
103

tude [untitled]
104
Unit Fourteen Drills
Basic Preparation: Although this Ear-tude is strictly in the twelve tone system, don’t
initially tell the student that that is the premise.
Begin by playing the start through to letter B. Ask the student what they heard. If
nothing, ask them to listen again, paying attention to the rhythmic pattern and contours of
each phrase. After a few listenings they should notice that the rhythm is identical for
each four measures and, perhaps, that the contour is inverted (although they won’t
necessarily know the term). Ask them about the tonality of the melody.
Ask the student whether they have any knowledge of atonal / twelve tone music. If (as
can be expected) they have none, then use your best judgment to explain a little of the
historical background of the technique. Explain the principles of the twelve note row,
that each pitch is used only once, and talk about inversion (the mirror image of a melody,
where intervals descend instead of ascend, and vice versa), and retrograde (the succession
of the same pitches in reverse), and how they can be combined.
Tell them you will play the first phrase (opening four measures) and the last phrase (last
four measures) and ask them to comment on similarities and differences. Discuss
symmetry / retrograde ideas. Pick one of the phrases, and work through it systematically
using a variety of pitch-matching (holding one note until they find it) and short phrase (2-
3 notes at a time) until they are able to play the complete phrase, by ear.
Play the whole etude alone, and with the student, and assign it for the next lesson. Make
sure to ask them to work out how each four measures are related to each other (retrograde
or inversion).
105

tude:: Lip Slurs
106
Unit Fifteen Drills
Basic preparation: By this point in their studies the student is probably familiar with the
concept of lip slurs, and may well be involving lip slurs in their daily warm-up or routine.
The goal of this etude is to gain fluency over the partials, and to demonstrate that fluency
with a variety of different of articulations. There are also frequent dynamic shifts that
should be adhered too.
Begin asking the student to name and play the pitches heard on each combination of their
valves over a two octave range (e.g. Bb-F-Bb-D-F-Ab-Bb, A-E-A-C#-E-G-A etc.). They
should play the two octaves ascending and descending where possible.
Work on the first eight measures of the Ear-tude. If also playing on a BBb tuba, ask the
student to close their eyes while you play, listening to the pitch relations between each
measure, rather than assisting themselves by viewing your valves. Work through each
measure systematically, using call-and-response techniques. (You may have to explain
the anomaly in measure two, beat three – but they should be able to recognize the half
step interval that causes the change in fingers). Ask them to comment on any rhythmic
similarities they notice in those opening eight measures.
Play it once more and deliberately enter a wrong note at some point. Ask the student to
identify it, and whether it was too high or too low. Repeat.
Play the full etude, asking them to listen for how many times the initial motive returns.
Perform it again, with the student sight reading it alongside you. Assign the Ear-tude for
the following lesson.

107
Supplementary activities
In addition to the drills provided, the instructor is welcomed to incorporate other
methods of their choosing to facilitate the learning of the Ear-tudes, provided it comes
from an ear training perspective. This can include the learning of other material by
familiar tunes by ear, further work on intonation, improvisation, transposition,
transcription and performing music from memory. Some empirical evidence and
opinions about these additional techniques are provided below, demonstrating their value
in the wide area of ear training.
Learning by ear: Many musicians become less confident when performing any music
away from a notated part.283 Mason discussed singing by rote in his 1834 Manual,
arguing that it “absolutely necessary to bring forward the ear and the voice.”284
Mainwaring also summarily describes the practice, of instrumental ear-playing:
The only rational method is to help the child first to reproduce on the instrument
simple known tunes, that is, to learn to play the instrument “by ear.” This once
derided process is comparable to that of learning to speak. Learning to read and
learning to write are separate processes from learning to talk, and they come later
in the general process of acquiring linguistic efficiency.285
By encouraging the students to work out popular melodies, such as nursery rhymes,
hymn tunes etc., on their instrument you allow them to explore known repertoire in a new
and enlightening manner.
283
284
Mason, Manual of the Boston Academy of Music, 30.
285
108
Transcription: Transcription is a useful tool to show real-world application for many of
the skills practiced in ear training. Transcription of repertoire from the player’s primary
instrument exposes the listener to performance aspects of timbre and style, while serving
the very practical purpose of notating an aural stimulus. It connects aural skills more
directly to a musician’s personal musical experiences.286 It can also be used to engage a
student in other genres of music, allowing them to demonstrate their personal interests
and bring those into the private lesson.
Transposition: Transposition is often neglected in the content of ear training manuals.
By encouraging a student to transpose music at sight, particular those instrumentalists
that will never be required to do so in their music, you empower them to think more
about intervallic and tonal relationships between pitches. An increased fluency in this
practice may bring about a renewed confidence in regular sight-reading exercises.
Playing by memory: There is a strong argument for memorized performance. If a piece is
studied deeply enough for committed performance, it should have ideally reached the
point where it can be performed by memory.287 There are four forms of memory that can
be helpful for improving aural skills.288 The first, an extension of playing-by-ear
involves remembering music just from an aural stimulus. The second, visual memory
can be achieved in two ways: either to memorize the sight of the page on which the music
is written, or to memorize the movement of the fingers on the instrument. The third is
similar to the latter suggestion, instead using kinesthetic memory to recall the sensation
286
287
288
Ibid., 139-143.
109
of movement by memory. And finally, and perhaps the least used technique, is memory
by analysis – thinking and learning about the music away from the instrument.
Intonation: Researchers have discovered that intonation is one of the first dimensions of
performance to which listeners respond.289 For that reason, performing in tune is an
“essential aspect of musical performance.”290 Because of this, audiences tend to make
some immediate assumptions about a student’s overall proficiency based on any obvious
intonation deficiencies.291 The majority of musicians have an innate sense of what
“sounds right”, particularly on their own instrument.292 But players sometimes have a
better ability to perceive correct intonation than their skills to produce it. When poor
intonation occurs it is often a sign that something is being lost in the transfer from
perception to performance. In the 1992 study that Mark Ely undertook on collegiate
woodwind players he found that students’ abilities to play in tune were not necessarily
indicative of their ability to detect poor intonation, or vice versa.293 For a brass player it
is likely that the natural tendencies of certain pitches (as they appear in the harmonic
series) cause this inaccuracy, and the player may be unable to make sufficient
embouchure or tuning slide adjustments in order to correct the failing. Good intonation
289
See Geringer and Madsen “Pitch and tempo discrimination in recorded orchestral music among
musicians and nonmusicians”, and Madsen and Flowers, “The effect of tuning in an attempt to
compensate for pitch/quality errors in the flute/oboe duets.”
290
Mark Ely, “Effects of timbre on college woodwind players’ intonational performance and perception”,
Journal of Research in Music Education 40/2 (1992), 158-167.
291
Fogarty, Buttsworth, and Gearing, “Assessing intonation skills”, 167.
292
Ibid., 157.
293
Ely, “Effects of timbre on college woodwind players’”, 164. This supports previous studies by Geringer
that suggest performance and perception of intonation have a limited association.
110
depends on the ability to auralize pitches first; without the specific pitch in mind, the
performer cannot hope for proper intonation. Karpinski pithily terms this, “No target, no
bull’s eye.”294 Ely’s study indicated that college training did not notably affect subjects’
abilities to either play in tune or detect intonation deviations. The results were not
significantly changed between students in different years of study.295 They suggest that
“much of the ‘steep’ part of the learning curve [related to intonation] has already been
covered by the time these students commence the study of music at a university level.”296
Karpinski offers a similar opinion, stating that “musicians who have reached the
university, college, or conservatory level demonstrate only small improvements in
intonation skill.”297 The assumption that intonational inaccuracies will simply improve
over time should be dispelled. A distinct plan should be employed to address the issue.
A study completed by Robert Douglas Greer in 1970 found that subjects performed best
at intonation tasks that involved their own instrument timbres. It indicated that
familiarity with the sound source plays an important role in pitch-matching tasks.298
Using the applied teacher as the sound source from which intonation drills can take place
not only supports Greer’s findings, but it also provides the student with the opportunity to
attempt to match the timbre of their instructor.
294
295
Ely, “Effects of Timbre on College Woodwind Players’”, 166.
296
Fogarty, Buttsworth, and Gearing, “Assessing Intonation Skills”, 169.
297
298
Robert Douglas Greer, “The Effect of Timbre on Brass-Wind Intonation.” In Edwin Gordon (Ed.)
Experiential Research in the Psychology of Music, 65-94. Iowa City: University of Iowa, (1970).
111
Improvisation: Improvising is a “high-order learning stage” when facility is built by
spontaneously creating musical choices that reflect new knowledge.299 While many
young children will invent musical sounds quite spontaneously, the development of
reading skills frequently inhibits improvisation.300 Covington offers that improvisation
can only “suggested, guided and allowed.”301 A student will evaluate their successes and
eventually teach themselves, and in that sense, complete the goal of all instruction.
Improvisation can also improve self-belief, that “discovering that control of [the]
instrument or voice need not depend on having a printed page to rely upon, often
increases our self-confidence.”302
299
Rifkin and Urista, “A revised taxonomy for music learning”, 175.
300
301
Covington “Improvisation in the Aural Curriculum”, 61.
302
112
CHAPTER FOUR
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
Just over a decade ago Kate Covington wrote about finding an alternate approach
for aural skills training in an article for the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy. In it she
made three assumptions about the purposes of aural training:
1) a sharp sense of aural acuity is necessary for a musician

2) this aural acuity can be developed and refined, increasing aural awareness and
therefore enabling a heightened sense of musical perception
3) a separate course for aural training is necessary.303
In regards to the third statement, Covington noted that while aural training should be
addressed “in every component of the music curriculum: applied lessons; small and large
ensembles; conducting; written theory; music history; etc.” the limited time often allotted
towards aural training activities in these other settings dictates that an additional separate
course should also be necessary. It is this author’s opinion that the “additional separate
course” (the usual four semesters of classes) has become for many students the sole
experience of ear training pedagogy. Butler supports this, suggesting that “many of the
faculty outside the theory/composition areas ... politely avoid getting actively engaged in
aural training.”304
The author is aware that the method proposed in this document is really a band-
aid affixed to a pre-existing wound. To prevent the injury occurring in the first place, one
would need to look at the way ear training is approached much earlier in a musician’s
303
Covington, “An alternate approach to aural training”, Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 6 (1992).
304
Butler, “Gulf between music perception research and aural training”, 42.
113
development, from their innate singing voice to the first time they lay their hands on an
instrument. Within a D.M.A. essay one cannot seek to argue against the public school
system of music education, but one can hope to show that therapies can be utilized to aid
recovery at the college level. Butler suggests that there needs to be a more collective
evaluation of ear training practices, saying “If music educators don’t take part ownership
of college-level aural training, how is this situation ever going to change?”305 This author
strongly advocates the involvement of the private-lesson tutor in the solution. They are
the individual closely responsible for the student’s mastery of their instrument, and the
presented evidence would suggest that this is improbable, if not impossible, to achieve
without strong aural acuity.
The instrumental teacher must continually evaluate the careers that their students
are following, and the expectations of these trends. What skills must be instilled in a
freshman instrumentalist so that in four or five years time they are the best candidate for a
job? Butler states his expectation that the substratum of any competence will have at its
core an “intrinsic and unbreakable link between music performance skill and music
listening skill.”306
One of the areas the private lesson teacher spends most time instructing their
student is in providing models of effective practice techniques. Effective practice
depends on the performer having sufficient metacognitive and musical knowledge to
process what they hear.307 As such, appropriate aural schemata must have been
305
306
114
established in order to enable effective monitoring.308 Hallam goes as far as to say that it
is a “role of teachers” to ensure that their students acquire that relevant aural schemata.
One of the definite purposes of this method is to help the students establish life-long
practices with which they can approach new repertoire. By modeling and working
through ear training drills in the private lesson, it is hoped that the student will begin to
make standard the procedures, using them initially in the private practice, and eventually
one-day, to instruct other musicians. Ideally, this method and its approach will make
demonstrable that the reward for extensive training in aural skills is the enhanced control
of technique, and musicianship, during performance.309
307
Susan Hallam, “The development of expertise of in young musicians: strategy use, knowledge
acquisition, and individual diversity”, Music Education Research 3/1 (2001), 15.
308
Hallam, “The development of expertise of in young musicians: strategy use, knowledge acquisition, and
individual diversity”, 20.
309
115
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Ear-tudes: an ear training method for the

Of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

Thesis Supervisor: Professor John Manning

notation-based exercises and assignments, administered to small groups by a single

classes, de-emphasizing the perceived correlation between students’ aural skills

development and their progress as instrumentalists.

tudes focuses on a particular interval, scale-type, rhythmic, or tonal challenge, within a

for freshman students.

Abstract Approved: __________________________________________

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

Thesis Supervisor: Professor John Manning

KATHARINE JANE WOHLMAN

All Rights Reserved

This is to certify that the D.M.A. thesis of

Katharine Jane Wohlman

has been approved by the Examining Committee

Thesis Committee: __________________________________________

CHAPTER 2 A BRIEF HISTORY, AND EVALUATION OF CURRENT 27

CHAPTER 3 A NEW APPROACH 60

CHAPTER 4 ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS 112

Table 1. The Ear-tudes: musical concepts and features 76

Figure 1. Unit 1 Ear-tude: Chromatics 77

Figure 2. Unit 2 Ear-tude: The Whole Tone 79

Figure 3. Unit 3 Ear-tude: Theme and Variation 81

Figure 4. Unit 4 Ear-tude: Thirds and Sixths 83

Figure 5. Unit 5 Ear-tude: Perfect Fourths and Perfect Fifths 85

Figure 6. Unit 6 Ear-tude: The Tritone 87

Figure 7. Unit 7 Ear-tude: Octave Intonation 89

Figure 8. Unit 8 Ear-tude: The Natural Minor Scale 91

Figure 9. Unit 9 Ear-tude: Pentatonicism 93

Figure 10. Unit 10 Ear-tude: Dominant Sevenths 95

Figure 11. Unit 11 Ear-tude: Syncopation 97

Figure 12. Unit 12 Ear-tude: All Intervals 99

Figure 13. Unit 13 Ear-tude: Diminished Patterns 101

Figure 14. Unit 14 Ear-tude: [untitled] 103

Figure 15. Unit 15 Ear-tude: Lip Slurs 105

As a graduate teaching assistant at two major universities, I have been fortunate to

instructor (and to a degree, the ensemble directors) assume responsibility of the

professors advance students’ understanding of music theory and music history.

Occasionally repertoire provides an overlap; perhaps when the student is encouraged to

Melville Smith, Solfège: An Essential In Musicianship

To a musician, the term “ear training” may conjure multifarious observations,

terms and labels.

Ear Training Defined

Definitions of “ear training” range from the concise, “the establishment of

accounts for the comprehension of relationships of material – rhythmic material,

perception is, George Pratt suggests, “self-evidently indispensable in musical activity.”14

Joyce Eastland Gromko:

Perception of musical sound should be a primary purpose of music teaching...

understanding of sound to a higher level of musical comprehension of “artistic shape”

(character) and an understanding of structure. Basic skills involve fundamental elements

music performance that deserve acknowledgement in the development of aural skills –

discriminate amongst aurally.19

Modern definitions of ear training frequently emphasize the training of specific,

to overall musicianship, musical perception and musical awareness. It is important to

the intentions of the composer to the audience.

progressions, and complete melodies.”22 A later description, similar but somewhat