Applying Learning Theory to Traditional Instrumental Learning: Grunow, Azzara and Martin

Applying Learning Theory to Traditional Instrumental Learning

Richard Grunow, Michael Martin, Chris Azzara

 

1. For the teacher: Learn to sing melodies and bass lines for 30-40 songs found in beginning instrumental method books. Sing them at a musical tempo, with characteristic rhythms. Teach students to sing and then play these tunes by ear—no notation at first.
2. Establish tonality and meter before students play or sing.
3. Have students sing everything before they play.
4. Have students move to the music they are learning.
5. Teach students to audiate the harmonic context of the music( resting tone, bass line, harmonic functions).
6. Teach students to audiate the rhythmic structure of the music (macro and micro beats).
7. Remind students to audiate what they are about to play before they play it. If you are not sure they are in fact audiating, then ask them to sing and move to the music.
8. Teach students to take the prep beat in the tempo of the music.
9.  Develop musical independence from the beginning. Make it each student’s responsibility to play in tune and time.
10. Avoid placing tapes or dots on fingerboards—they may assist in hand placement. They do not assist in audiation.
11. Sing and play for students, not with them.
12. Hear each student sing or play something alone in each lesson, sectional or rehearsal if possible.
13. Teach major and minor concurrently. Add Dorian and Mixolydian as soon as possible.
14. Teach duple and triple concurrently. Add unusual meter and combined meter songs as soon as possible.
15. Help each student develop a vocabulary of tonal and rhythm patterns that he or she can recognize and perform.
16. Teach students the proper names of tonalities (major, Dorian) and meters (duple, unusual) and how to recognize them aurally.
17. Develop proper posture and instrument position.
18. Spend the first few months—or longer if possible—playing by ear, before introducing notation.
19. After introducing notation, spend the first portion of each class playing by ear.
20. Play the same song in different tonalities and keys.
21. Encourage your students to improvise.
22. Perform your first concert without notation.
23.  Perform your first concert with mostly small ensembles.
24. Have students sing, move and improvise as well as play on each concert.
25. Use tonal and rhythm syllables based on function, not note names or note values.
26. Sing while placing your fingers when demonstrating the correct pitches.
27. Play recordings that demonstrate characteristic tone quality, articulation styles and musical style.