In this episode, I focus on bridging to the Generalization level of inference learning from the Verbal Association level of the Skill Learning Sequence.
E01.47: Bridging to Generalization from Verbal Association
In this episode, I share recordings of tunes in varied tonalities composed by participants in the 2022 GIML Professional Development Levels Course at Michigan State University.
“Poor Wayfaring Stranger” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70_3ho_j0yk) **PLEASE NOTE: In the episode, I misspoke and said this song was by Jack Black when it is actually by Jack White. 🙂
There have been a LOT of new listeners in the past few weeks so in the next few off-weeks, I’ll be re-airing some old episodes. These will cover key concepts for those new to MLT!
Support the podcast by becoming a patron on Patreon!
To enter to win a copy of Music Play: Post a photo, image, or graphic on social media with the text “I am a music teacher because…” or “Music is important because…” AND add the hashtags #everydaymusicalitypodcast and #GIApublications. (Either set the post privacy to public so I can see it when I search for the hashtags OR tag the “Everyday Musicality Podcast” page on Facebook OR email a screenshot of your post to everydaymusicality@gmail.com.)
To enter to win a copy of Music Play 2: Rate and review the show on your podcast app of choice, and email a screen-cap of your review to everydaymusicality@gmail.com OR post it to the “Everyday Musicality Podcast” page on Facebook.
Support the podcast by becoming a patron on Patreon!
GIVEAWAY #2: If you would like to enter to win a copy of “The Ways Children Learn Music” by Eric Bluestine, share the podcast on social media and add the hashtags #everydaymusicalitypodcast and #giapublications. You can do this on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Just remember to set the post privacy to “public” or tag Everyday Musicality Podcast on FB so that I’ll be able to see it when I search for the hashtags.
All tunes in this episode were composed by Heather Shouldice and will be published in her forthcoming book.
Support the podcast by becoming a patron on Patreon!
GIVEAWAY #2: If you would like to enter to win a copy of “The Ways Children Learn Music” by Eric Bluestine, share your favorite episode of this podcast so far on social media and add the hashtags #everydaymusicalitypodcast and #giapublications. You can do this on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Just remember to set the post privacy to “public” or tag Everyday Musicality Podcast on FB so that I’ll be able to see it when I search for the hashtags.
All tunes in this episode were composed by Heather Shouldice and will be published in her forthcoming book.
Support the podcast by becoming a patron on Patreon!
If you would like to enter to win a copy of “The Ways Children Learn Music” by Eric Bluestine, share your favorite episode of this podcast so far on social media and add the hashtags #everydaymusicalitypodcast and #giapublications. You can do this on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Just remember to set the post privacy to “public” or tag Everyday Musicality Podcast on FB so that I’ll be able to see it when I search for the hashtags.
Support the podcast by becoming a patron on Patreon!
GIVEAWAY: If you would like to enter to win a copy of “Navigating Music Learning Theory: A Guide for General Music Teachers” by Jill Reese, post a picture on social media with a description of why you love teaching with MLT with the hashtags #everydaymusicalitypodcast and #giapublications on or before February 25. (Be sure to set the post to “public” or tag the “Everyday Musicality Podcast” Facebook page!)
Support the podcast by becoming a patron on Patreon!
ENTER THE GIVEAWAY! If you would like to enter to win a copy of Navigating Music Learning Theory: A Guide for General Music Teachers” by Jill Reese, post a picture on social media with a description of why you love teaching with MLT with the hashtags #everydaymusicalitypodcast and #giapublications.
Support the podcast by becoming a patron on Patreon!
What effect does an improvisation curriculum have on instrumental students’ music achievement?
What did the researcher do?
Azzara (1993) studied 66 fifth grade students from two different schools who were in their second year of instrumental music study. Students at each school were randomly assigned to either the control group or the treatment group. Both groups received instruction using Jump Right In: The Instrumental Music Series, which utilizes a “sound before sight” learning process and includes tonal pattern and rhythm pattern instruction. In addition, the treatment group also regularly engaged in improvisation activities, which included “(a) learning selected repertoire of songs by ear, (b) developing a vocabulary of tonal syllables and rhythm syllables, and (c) improvising with their voices and with their instruments tonic, dominant, and subdominant tonal patterns within the context of major tonality, and (d) improvising with their voices and with their instruments macrobeat, microbeat, division, elongation, and rest rhythm patterns within the context of duple meter” (p. 335).
What did the researcher find?
At the end of the 27-week period, Azzara (1993) recorded each student individually performing three etudes: one prepared without teacher assistance, one prepared with teacher assistance, and one sight-read. Four judges rated each recording for tonal performance, rhythm performance, and expressive performance. Statistical analysis of these ratings revealed that the students in the treatment group (who had experienced improvisation activities) had significantly higher composite etude performance scores than students who had not received instruction incorporating improvisation.
What does this mean for my classroom?
Having experiences with improvisation can help improve students’ performance achievement. Just as speaking and conversing enhance the skills of reading and writing language, improvising music can enhance students’ music reading skills and performance of notated music. “When improvisation was included as a part of elementary instrumental music instruction, students were provided with opportunities to develop an increased understanding of harmonic progression through the mental practice and physical performance of tonal and rhythm patterns with purpose and meaning. Improvisation ability appears to transfer to a student’s clearer comprehension of the tonal, rhythmic, and expressive elements of music in an instrumental performance from notation” (p. 339).
Suggestions for Teaching Improvisation:
(From Azzara’s 1999 MEJ article “An Aural Approach to Improvisation”)
First and foremost, “use your ears. To develop improvisational skill, don’t rely on notation to remember music; rely on your ears” (p. 23).
Provide students with opportunities to listen to music (e.g., performed by the teacher, recorded music) in a wide variety of styles, tonalities (i.e., modes), and meters.
Develop a repertoire of simple tunes that students can sing and play by ear.
Teach students to sing and play basslines of simple tunes by ear.
Chant simple rhythm patterns for students to echo (chant/play) to develop their rhythmic “vocabulary” and sing simple tonal patterns for students to echo (sing/play) to develop their tonal “vocabulary.”
Learn tonal solfege and rhythm syllables by ear. These systems help students organize, comprehend, and read/write music.
“Improvise (1) rhythm patterns with and without rhythm syllables, (2) tonal patterns with and without tonal syllables, (3) rhythm patterns to familiar bass lines, and (4) rhythms on specific harmonic tones from particular harmonic progressions [e.g., to familiar tunes]. Improvise a melody by choosing notes that outline the harmonic functions of the progression (i.e., notes chosen from arpeggios) and perform them on each beat” (p. 23).
Play around with embellishing melodies, harmony parts, chord tones, and basslines.
How might experiencing root melody (bassline) accompaniment to songs affect elementary students’ tonal improvisations?
What did the researcher do?
Guilbault (2009) studied 419 of her own students in grades one through six for almost an entire school year. These students were divided into two groups, with approximately half of the classes (the “treatment” group) experiencing “root melody” accompaniments during music instruction and the other half (the “control” group) experiencing only a cappella singing. Similar to a bassline, “a root melody is the melodic line created by the fundamental pitches of the harmonic functions found in a song” (p. 84). Pitches in a root melody can be played/sung and sustained once per chord change or repeated on each beat. The students in the treatment group experienced root melodies with approximately 80% of the songs included in each class period and during improvisation activities. These root melody accompaniments were either played on a pitched instrument (e.g., xylophone, piano), played by a voice recording, sung by the teacher/researcher as the students sang a song, sung by the students as the teacher/researcher sang a song, or sung by the student(s) as another student(s) sang a song. The students in the control group experienced all the same songs and improvisation activities as the treatment group but without any accompaniment.
What did the researcher find?
At the end of the school year, Guilbault (2009) recorded each student vocally improvising an ending to an unfamiliar song without accompaniment. Three music educators judged the recordings, rating the degree to which each student improvised a melodic ending that used clearly implied harmonic changes and good harmonic rhythm. Statistical analysis of these ratings revealed that the students in the treatment group (who had experienced root melody accompaniments throughout the school year) were able to vocally improvise song endings that made more harmonic sense than students in the control group (who had not experienced root melody accompaniments).
What does this mean for my classroom?
Exposing students to harmonic progressions in familiar songs helps them develop better harmonic understanding, which in turn enables students to vocally improvise with a better sense of harmonic progression. If music teachers wish to help their students develop the ability to vocally improvise with a good sense of harmonic progression, they might consider providing students with many opportunities to experience root melody accompaniments to the songs they learn in music class. Teachers could do this by playing root melody accompaniments on an instrument, singing them while students sing a song, teaching students to sing root melody accompaniments while the teacher sings the song, or having students sing songs and root melody accompaniments in two groups or even as duets.
Examples of Tunes with Simple Chord Root Accompaniments:
Video of first grade students practicing singing a melody and bassline/chord root accompaniment in partners. (View video description on YouTube site for an overview of the teaching process used.)
Video of first grade students singing a duet with me: I sing melody; student sings chord roots in solo. (View video description on YouTube site for an overview of the teaching process used.)
