Reading 5 1/2

Don Traut, "A Comparative Review of The Complete Musician by Steven G. Laitz, Harmony in Context by Miguel Roig-Francolí, and A Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis by Jane Piper Clendinning and Elizabeth West Marvin"

Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, vol 20 (2006). You can access the hard copy on reserve in the library, or find it online here. To access the article online, you will need to join JMTP if you haven't done so already. Student price is $10.

The books under review are also available on reserve for this course. It will be very helpful if you follow them while reading the review.

The suggested questions for this reading are pretty straightforward: 

• Consider the range of topics addressed by the review, and the differences in pedagogy manifested by the different books. Is there anything that surprised you? For example, "I had no idea there were such different ways to approach [insert topic here] " Or, "I had never thought about approaching [topic] this way before."
• In reading the review AND looking at the textbooks that are on reserve, do you think that the review is fair, balanced, and accurate? Why or why not?

Reading #5

Rogers, Chapter 6, pp. 153-165

Official due date: Friday, Oct. 24 by 11:59 pm.
The truth: Please post your comments before class time on Monday, Oct. 27.

Some questions to consider:

• In this chapter, Rogers outlines some specific teaching techniques in a numbered list. Which of these resonates the most with you, and why? Perhaps there's something on the list that an influential teacher did/does, or something that you aspire to do as a teacher yourself. 
• In point #1, Rogers talks about the "spiral learning" approach. Can you think of a piece of music that might lend itself to this approach? (That is, a piece that you could return to again and again to teach multiple concepts.) 
• In point #5 (starting at the bottom of p. 154), Rogers talks about the different situations that can give rise to student errors. If you were a person who had trouble in theory or aural skills, can you point to any of these reasons for your difficulty?
• The passage on Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) is kind of dated. (For example, substitute "computer lab" for "tape lab"!) Do you think significant progress has been made in the area of computer-assisted drill? If so, how? Which, if any, of Rogers' points still ring true?
• Again, considering that this book was originally written in 1984, consider the passage on 162-3 about general attitudes toward teaching as a profession, an avocation, an art. Do you think attitudes have improved since the 80's? Why or why not?

Reading #4

Comments due Friday, Oct. 10 by 11:59 pm

Rogers, pp. 138-149: Twentieth-Century Ear Training, Rhythm, and Broader Ear-Training Approaches

Twentieth-Century Ear Training:

• Rogers outlines two approaches to hearing/singing/understanding post-tonal and quasi-tonal music. What are they? Do you prefer one over another? Why?

Rhythm:

• What are your thoughts on conducting while sight singing? Is there another (maybe better) way to ensure that a student is articulating the beat as (s)he performs?
• In point #4, Rogers enthusiastically advocates subdivision. In his point #5, he talks about an approach closer to Professor Johnston's "Rhythm Blocks" (i.e., memorize and recall short rhythmic patterns). Do you think that these two points are in conflict? Or can rhythm blocks and subdivision work together? If so, how?

Broader Ear Training Approaches:

• What creative activities can you add to Rogers' list of 10 on p. 148? For any activity that you list, also describe the skill being developed and/or the real-world application.

Reading #3

Rogers, Chapter 5 (pp. 100-138).
Remember, you can always talk about any aspect of the reading, but here are some questions to consider, if you like.

1. Rogers begins the chapter by saying something that I think is probably obvious to us by now: that "dictation and sight singing should be thought of as opposite sides of the same coin." Were you (or are you) markedly better at one than the other? Why do you think that is? Or perhaps you're okay at both skills, but one of them developed more quickly than the other.

2. Rogers goes on to say that "a well-rounded ear training program includes at least two discernible phases: perception and context (or "musical relationships.") He says that this distinction is "between letting sound simply strike the ear drum and and plugging that sound into conceptual frameworks." Can you give an example of this? Perhaps an aural "event" that you learned --such as an interval, triad type, mode, or a certain progression--that you later recognized in a piece of real music? (I'm talking about something you discovered yourself--a "lightbulb" moment--not something the teacher necessarily pointed out.)

3. Other topics as you see fit! There's a lot of good stuff in here. Your responses are due Frida 10.3 by 11:59 pm.