Universal Journal of Educational Research 7(10): 2057-2067, 2019 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2019.071003 Improving the Song Notation Reading Comprehension and Skill of Prospective Elementary School Teachers: An Action Research Study in Indonesia J. Julia1,*, I. Isrokatun1, Hikmat Pramajati2, Nunung Siti Sukaesih2, Iis Aisyah2 1Prodi PGSD Sumedang, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia 2Prodi Keperawatan Sumedang, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia Received August 10, 2019; Revised September 4, 2019; Accepted September 16, 2019 Copyright©2019 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract Students in Indonesian elementary school the songs, the teachers are also obliged to teach using teacher education programs tend to have weaker song solmization. This means that, in addition to comprehending notation reading skill. To improve their skill in reading and song notations, the teachers need to be able to transcribe understanding song notations, critical and reflective steps the note symbols into solmization. These obligations are are necessary. Therefore, this research aims at improving explicitly stated in the curriculum on music education for the students’ skills in reading and understanding song elementary school. As a consequence, if teachers are notations, which is necessary for their future teaching unable to read song notations, the materials will not be profession. This research was conducted using an action delivered well to the students. Even worse, if music classes research design, manifested by planning and implementing are not implemented well, the students will not be able to seven critical-reflective action steps. The participants were develop and train their vocal pitch and achieve musical or 44 undergraduate students in an elementary school teacher aesthetic experiences (Elliott, 1995). Furthermore, studies education program in a university in West Java, Indonesia. show that vocal accuracy development is significantly The research found that the prospective elementary school affected by the human voice as the model (Hermanson, teachers were not accustomed to reading the symbols in 1972; Julia, Hakim, & Fadlilah, 2019; D. Persellin, Smith, song notations. Therefore, their musical literacy was low. Klein, & Taguiam, 2002; D. C. Persellin, 2006; Sims, However, this research found that their song notation Moore, & Kuhn, 1982; Yarbrough, Green, Benson, & reading comprehension and skill could be improved by Bowers, 1991). implementing several critical-reflective action steps. Several previous studies conducted as an effort to Additionally, the reports from this research illustrated the develop musical literacy have discovered important results of collaborative teamwork in developing and findings with regards to musical literacy. Lee et al. (2011) finding solutions in each of the learning steps. developed musical literacy using technology by constructing a two-wheeled robot that functions by reading Musical Literacy, Notation Reading Skill, Keywords music and sing songs with a synthesized voice Song Analysis, Song Notation, Students’ Comprehension autonomously. Their research found that the recognition accuracy was over 98%. Second, Penttinen, Huovinen, and Ylitalo (2015) conducted a study on the eye movements of adult music students in temporally controlled performances 1. Introduction of a children’s song. In this study, the participants read and performed two versions of a simple melody, including the Elementary school teachers in Indonesia have an original version and melodically altered versions, in a obligation to teach songs to students from grade one to given tempo. During the process, their eye movements grade six (six years), and the songs in textbooks are written were recorded. An analysis was also conducted for in song notations with note symbols. Therefore, the errorless trials to explore the adjustments of visual teachers are expected to be able to read the song notations processing in successful performances. The results of the to know the song melodies as the learning materials. study manifested the flexibility and limitations of the visual Additionally, besides teaching the lyrics and melodies of processing mechanisms in the reading process of 2058 Improving the Song Notation Reading Comprehension and Skill of Prospective Elementary School Teachers: An Action Research Study in Indonesia temporally controlled music. Third, Puurtinen (2018) distinct skills: reading and mechanical skills (Wolf, 1976). conducted a study by developing a method to read song From a cognitive perspective, a number of simultaneous notations called “looking ahead”. The study used data that processes are needed in music reading, such as visual has been collected for 10 years. It was conducted due to information, motor responses, and visual-motor integration one of the key characteristics of music reading, which is (H. Gudmundsdottir, 2007). According to studies, that the gaze of the music reader moves a little bit ahead of high-level music-reading achievement at a high level is the current point of performance. The study revealed that determined by information processing speed and there are progress and setbacks in eye-tracking studies on psychomotor speed (Kopiez, Weihs, Ligges, & Lee, 2006). reading music. Therefore, it can be concluded that the decoding ability and From observations in different school throughout 2018, the motor response are necessary for music reading, but it has been found that the majority of elementary school their integration may be the key to a successful execution teachers in West Java, Indonesia, did not have satisfactory (H. R. Gudmundsdottir, 2010). ability to read song notations. They could not comprehend The staff notation reading or the musical symbol how to read the notations in various key signature and time decoding is a multiple task in itself. Sloboda believes that signature changes. Although some teachers could read music reading is a construct of processes in music song notations, they could not do it for the song notations perception (Sloboda, 1976, 1978, 1984). Moreover, in the form of note symbols, only those in the form of according to studies on perception, pitch information and numerical symbols—that are the note symbols that have timing information are processed separately (Palmer & been transcribed into the number of one through seven. In Krumhansl, 1987) (Palmer & Krumhansl, 1987). Because addition, observations were also conducted to of this, it can be said that pitch and timing information is undergraduate students in an elementary school teacher coded separately in western staff notation. Furthermore, education program in a university in West Java. Upon studies have confirmed that pitch and timing in the context testing of song notations reading and analysis, it was found of music reading are perceived separately (Schön & Besson, that only 10% of 120 students could read and comprehend 2002; Waters & Underwood, 1999). In addition, studies on song notations. Moreover, they could only read the song musicians with brain injuries have found more evidences of notations in the C major position; when the key signature the separate processing of pitch and timing. One study and time signature were changed, they could not describes how a professional musician was able to read comprehend the changes. From these findings, it can be only pitches but not the rhythm in musical notation after said that there are serious problems in this area that require suffering brain damage (Fasanaro, Spitaleri, Valiani, & to be solved. For instance, when teachers and prospective Grossi, 1990). Therefore, the decoding in music reading teachers do not have the ability to read song notations, it entails the separate processes of pitch reading and timing can be assured that they will face obstacles in reading regardless of the fact that these two must be comprehending and teaching songs provided in the song integrated in the motor output (H. R. Gudmundsdottir, textbook. 2010). Departing from this concern, this research was The benefits of music literacy for musical and academic conducted with the aim of improving the song notation growth have been explored in previous studies (Burton, reading comprehension and skill of prospective elementary 2017; Elkoshi, 2007; Hultberg, 2007; Ilomaki, 2007; Long, school teachers. The research posed a number of questions 2007; Rusinek, 2007). Ilomaki (2007) conducted a study on based on the aforementioned issues, including: (1) Why are the conceptions and understanding of notation among prospective elementary school teachers unable to read song pianists in music conservatories and discovered that the notations?; (2) Are prospective elementary school teachers promotion of professional development in music required a aware of the importance of song notation reading conception of music literacy. Then, a study conducted by comprehension and skill?; (3) Do prospective elementary Rusinek (2007) investigated “good teaching practice” school teachers know how they can improve their song approach characteristics in compulsory secondary music notation reading comprehension and skill?; and (4) Can a education in Spain, which included an efficient sequencing set of steps to read song notations improve the prospective of rhythmic reading and decoding of melodic notation for elementary school teachers’ song notation reading