Creating Meaningful Music Listening Experiences with Active Music Making

49 Creating Meaningful Music Listening Experiences with Active Music Making DANIEL JOHNSON Abstract Music Listening Of all musical activities, music listening is the People throughout the world listen to music. In most ubiquitous and essential to all other fact, music itself is one of the universal human musical endeavors. In practice, however, pursuits in all known cultures, past and present music listening is often over-looked as a (Etzkorn, 1989). As such, it plays powerful passive and prescribed activity. This article and meaningful roles in our lives (VanderArk has a three-fold purpose: (1) to describe music & Ely, 1991). How is music meaningful? In a listening as a thoughtful, creative, and host of ways, as people the world over find purposeful activity; (2) to explore the meaning in music as it, “defines, represents, connections among the four active music- symbolizes, expresses, constructs, mobilizes, making approaches in terms of music listening; incites, controls, transforms, unites…” their and (3) to suggest ways teachers can lives (Wade, 2004, p. 15). In particular, incorporate meaningful and active music listening to music is fundamental to all other listening activities into their teaching practice. musical activities because music is an auditory Topics in the first section include foundations experience (Kerchner, 2009; Reimer, 2003). of music listening as an activity and what Perhaps, those who “just listen” are the most research in related literature offers. The important audience members because they second section contains an exploration of links represent most of the world’s musically among the four active music-making involved people (Wade, 2004). In other pedagogies and their relationship to music words, they constitute the largest audience for listening as instruction, with an emphasis on music educators on the planet. From jazz Orff-Schulwerk and its connections to other aficionados, to amateur trumpeters, to active music-making pedagogies. Finally, the community choir singers, this group buys the third section presents two practical bulk of concert tickets, downloads the most applications of music listening instruction music files, and demonstrates the greatest use paired with active music-making tasks. of listening skills through their passionate and Because the National Cultural Policy now lifelong involvement with music. In many links with the Australian Curriculum, pedagogical practices, however, teaching implications for the Australian music and music listening skills is often not as prominent general classroom educators concludes this as performance or other demonstrable article. activities (Haack, 1992). Teachers encourage and enable students to Although overlooked in many pedagogical respond to music in many ways – some traditions as a form of music-making, music prescribed and predictable, others creative and listening is the one way in which all listeners interpretive. In keeping with the Orff (trained or untrained) can participate in approach, this article addresses the latter set of musical experiences and create their own responses to music and, in particular, music interpretations. Often listener responses focus listening. This article also addresses other on the traditional musical elements (such as active music-making pedagogies and ways melody, harmony, timbre, and form), while they overlap with regard to incorporating other responses highlight the emotional or music listening activities and teaching music affective experiences. Still other responses listening skills. The purpose of this article is express extra-musical connections, as three-fold: first to describe music listening as a associated with their musical experience thoughtful, creative, and purposeful activity; (Johnson, 2003). In any event, students are second, to explore the connections among the naturally inclined to create meaning and four active music-making approaches in terms construct concepts from their experiences of music listening; and third to suggest ways (Hunt, 1982). In music listening, for example, teachers can incorporate meaningful and active students grapple with unfamiliar sounds of a music listening activities into their teaching gamelan ensemble, struggle with the practice. complexities of Romantic symphony orchestra, or reflect on the simplicity of Gregorian chant. Musicworks 18, 2013 50 Even though their proclivity to understand Edwin Gordon) has a primary focus on high these experiences is natural, how they make student engagement through active sense of these and other music listening is involvement in music-making activities learned (Meyers, 1986,). (Moore, n.d). Those musical behaviors include singing, playing, improvising, Music listening is a difficult activity to assess and…yes…listening. – in part because it is a covert activity, requiring an overt action for true assessment (Boyle & Radocy, 1987). In addition, music listening demands a particular type of listening, often termed critical, perceptive, or active listening. In other words, instead of passively or simply hearing sound, both auditory attention and cognitive processing are required from the listener (Gromko & Poorman, 1998). Hearing disabilities notwithstanding, all students can hear music but they do not necessarily listen to it attentively or creatively. Part of our role as music teachers is to develop students’ music Figure 1. Students moving in response to listening skills so that they listen in more music listening. educated and engaged ways (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2013). All the active music-making approaches promote direct experiences with various In their review of literature, Todd and Mishra musical elements (e.g. melody, rhythm, timbre, (2013) reported that passive music listening texture, and form). The Orff approach in was not as effective as listening with some particular is directly related to active kinesthetic or verbal component. Having involvement through: its basis in speech play, students move to music (Fung & Gromko, its use of the special barred percussion 2001) or listen with a visual aide such as a instruments designed for children (known as listening map (Dunn, 2008) resulted in more Orff instruments), and its emphasis on effective instruction in terms of greater improvisation that permeates the whole retention and comprehension. Although these process. Students sing and play melody; they are important outcomes, it is equally (or clap, play, and move to rhythm; they explore perhaps more) important to study what creative texture and timbre by playing interwoven interpretations students might make during the contrapuntal lines on instruments, and listening experience. As Johnson (2003) experience other elements in a variety of reported, when listeners describe unfamiliar carefully designed activities. While those music, they naturally use extra-musical hallmarks distinguish the Schulwerk from associations and affective responses in addition Music Learning Theory, and the pedagogies of to the more common musical terminology. In Dalcroze and Kodály, some characteristics are this study, listeners grouped unfamiliar shared. For example, other significant features musical examples creatively, using any system of the Orff approach draw on aspects of other or method they devised. Creative listening in approaches: the vital importance of movement this fashion results in original interpretations in music education which owes its origins to and may yield more meaningful listening the teachings of Dalcroze; Orff’s own experiences. historically-based elemental style found both in the Schulwerk volumes and in his major Connections with Active Music-Making works; and the use of indigenous folk material Approaches as the basic repertoire for speech and song, an Active music-making and active listening essential element of the Kodály method. In naturally fit together. A survey of the existing particular, the Orff approach has these literature on this topic suggests that active characteristics: it is participatory, it is a means involvement of students during music listening instead of an end, and it encourages personal results in more effective listening instruction as well as musical development (Frazee & (Todd & Mishra, 2013). As described by the Kreuter, 1987). Alliance for Active Music Making (Bond, n.d.), each of the four active music-making Orff-Schulwerk is more accurately an pedagogies (those developed by Carl Orff, approach to music education, rather than a Zoltan Kodály, Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, and method of music education (Choksy, Musicworks 18, 2013 51 Abramson, Gillespie, Woods, & York, 2001). demonstrate or introduce material and ask the That approach centers on elemental music and students to observe carefully, listening or emphasizes creativity on the part of both watching for a particular element or aspect. teachers and students. While the Orff The teacher would then activate the listening approach does not follow a prescribed format, by having the students learn actions or there are some distinct priorities in lesson responses by rote. To engage the students’ planning. Four common steps found in many imagination, the teacher would allow the Orff lessons are: preparation, synthesis, students to experiment and explore as they integration, and transfer. The preparation addressed an open-ended question or task. provides students with the necessary skills Finally, the teacher would conclude this before they can synthesize or make sense of activity with sharing the products or solutions their experiences

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