Origlns(p.2) Request for opinions Implementation of syllabus
Rationale for Change (p.2) Need to provide opportunity for all Integrity - musical, educational Access to performing Development of musicality New ideas in the teaching of music
Three Musical Activities (p.3) Development through experience - performing, composlng, listening Complementary nature of the activities Levels of achievement; importance of experience Change of title
Higher and Ordinary Levels (p.5) Differentiation Group performances Composing skills
Methodologies (p.6) Integrated approach of the three activities Examples - Musical balance - Major and minor keys and chords
Time Allocation and Length of Course (P.10) Periods per week Allowance for flexibility
Classroom Organisation (p.10) Teaching a mixed-ability class Example - Points of rest in music (cadences) Reinforcing activities, both levels
1. INTRODUCTION
The NCCA requested opinions from representative bodies before beginning the revision of the Intermediate Certificate music and Musicianship Syllabus. The aim was to obtain the best possible music syllabus for the new Junior Certificate and consequently expert opinions, including some international ones, were sought. Similar syllabuses from other countries were also studied so as to make the new syllabus compatible with recent developments in music education.
With the completion of the initial task of review and reform, it is now important to support its implementation by all means possible. Inservice provision plays, and will continue to play, an important role in this regard. These Guidelines, which may be updated at a future time, will also assist the teacher.
1.1 The Rationale for Change
It was clear from submissions obtained, that the varied expectations required of both Music and Musicianship (Syllabuses A and B) presented many difficulties. Obviously it was necessary to provide a syllabus suited to the needs of the entire range of student aptitude and ability (i.e. Ordinary and Higher Levels). In the new Junior Certificate Music Syllabus, all students are engaged in the same or comparable musical activities and have full and open access to all the main musical activities. The syllabus itself is designed so as not to contain any inequity or bias, particularly for those students whose experience of music is not primarily in classical or traditional Irish music.
The educational integrity of the new syllabus is based primarily on two facts:
(I) It is musical rather than academic in its approach;
(2) It has an educational logic based on the general experience and potential of students in the age group 12 to 15 years.
The new syllabus will allow all students wider access to performing skills. For this, it was necessary to incorporate a variety of options which would allow teachers and students to explore music using different musical materials and styles. In broadening the scope of the syllabus and in allowing for greater teacher/student choice, the particular musical and educational needs of different learning environments can best be promoted.
As the aim of the syllabus iS tO develop musicality, the means through which this is achieved cannot be confined to one particular musical culture. An inflexible and fully prescriptive syllabus for the age group 12 to 15 is no longer feasible if this aim is to be achieved. The starting point has to be a matter of choice. The quality of the contact with music is not compromised if, in the end, students acquire some appreciation of musical tastes other than their own. It is not desirable at this stage to impose mature musical judgments on students because they learn to value and accept all musical sounds as their interests in varied musical genres develop. A rational approach to musical education will accommodate this development. This will not prejudice the level of musicality available to students. The function of the syllabus is to extend this experience in a purposeful manner.
During the past decade there have been many new developments in curriculum design and in the understanding of music teaching in the classroom. A new syllabus provides an opportunity to incorporate new thinking and it acts as a catalyst in teacher development.
1.2 The Three Main Musical Activities
In compliance with the rationale mentioned above, the main focus of the syllabus is the development of musicality through PERFORMING, COMPOSING and LISTENING. These three activities provide the full range of experience in the development of musical skills, as illustrated in Fiqure One.
Performing, composing and listening complement one another and deepen the pupils" understanding of the creative processes of music. They promote active rather than passive learning. Theoretical approaches which emphasise music as a body of knowledge, the study of notational theory, the practice of dictation, analysis, formal history and appreciation classes etc., though good in themselves, are not musical approaches. They supplement and support musicality, provided that a reasonable experiential basis for its acquisition exists in the first instance. The teaching of music, then, is best organised, especially in the school-going years, through direct experience of the three main musical activities themselves.
It is natural that pupils will excel in one rather than another, and teachers should not expect all pupils to have an equally high degree of talent in all three musical activities. The wording of the syllabus stresses the experience of performing, composing and listening rather than any quality of performance, composition and aural discrimination.
The title of the syllabus has been changed from Music and Musicianship to Music in recognition of the fact that all Junior Certificate Music students will be involved in all three main musical activities. Syllabuses A and B no longer exist. There is now one syllabus for all.
FIGURE ONE
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSICALITY THROUGH EXPERIENCE OF THE THREE MAIN MUSICAL ACTIVITIES.
1.3 Differentiation Between Higher and Ordinary Levels
Differentiation between both levels is specified clearly in the syllabus. This is the case in the standards of musical literacy required for the various aural perception and composing skills, and in the precise requirements for presenting performing skills. All students will be expected to offer composing skills at either Ordinary or Higher Level. Where content and skills are common to both levels, differentiation will be made in the level of expectation and in the manner and depth of examination questioning.
Some performing skills, e.g. group performances under categories 2 and 3, have been designated as Ordinary Level only. However, where the membership of a performing group is of a higher standard, it can be entered at the Higher Level under category 7. Similarly, there are many students who can demonstrate versatility in performing skills rather than a single Higher Level skill in one performing medium. To facilitate these students, and in recognition of the value of their involvement in practical music-making, two Ordinary Level performing skiils may be offered for assessment at the Higher Level. In these cases, only one aural memory or sight reading test will be given.
Ordinary Level students must study melody writing and triads as laid down in the syllabus. At Higher Level, students may choose to present composing skills separately (i.e. the individual skills of melody writing, the recognition and use of major/minor triads and chord progression) or simultaneously in the context of a freely-composed piece.
1.4 Methodologies
Performing, composing and listening are the media through which learning is best presented and accomplished. The unity and relationship which exists between all three main musical activities should be encouraged. It may not always be possible to maintain a fully integrated approach. However, an integrated manner of organising the learning has many advantages. The following examples will illustrate the usefulness of this approach.
EXAMPLE ONE Topic: MUSICAL BALANCE
The aural perception of this musical feature and the cultivation of a musical response to it draws attention to a range of different skills. Examples in performing, composing and listening include an awareness of the effects of repetition and sequence in composing melody; the importance of regular phrase lengths and rhythmic consistency in dance music and popular music of all kinds; cadence points and the analysis of simple musical forms. The choice and extent of the content will depend on experience and the precise requirements of the lesson. Consider the relationship between musical activities such as the following:
Performing songs and/or dance music e.g. Click Go The Shears, My Father's Garden, The Little Sandman by Brahms, The Streets Of Laredo, various hymns and dance tunes;
Using different interpretative techniques in song singing e.g. changes in dynamics, voice colour/tone quality etc. to distinguish between different phrases;
Punctuating the music correctly by drawing attention to cadence points, breathing in a manner which makes sense of the words and/or the musical phrase;
Responding sensitively and knowingly to balancing phrases and sequences in performing;
Employing new answering rhytms or melodic phrases to well-known song phrases; varying given phrases rhythmically and/or melodically, inventing rhythmic ostinatos to well-known tunes.
Composing and notating a rhythmic passage to balance a phrase of a known song;
Composing different melodic ending notes to a given song phrase;
Practising rhythmic consistency in a musical manner;
Using rhythmic and melodic sequence in melody writing;
Listening and identifying musical balance in a variety o f musical examples e.g. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik b y Mozart (the opening section), Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor b y Beethoven (the opening section), I Got Rhythm b y George Gershwin (the refrain), various dances and popular tunes;
Dictating rhythmic patterns and/or short melodic phrases.
EXAMPLE TWO
Topic: MAJOR AND MINOR KEYS AND CHORDS
The following activities illustrate a similar integrated approach.
Performing songs (or other music) pitched in both diatonic keys e.g. By the Waters of Babylon, Icemen In etc.;
Performing or improvising triadically-based themes e.g.
Suggesting the use of major and minor chords at specific points in a well-known song;
Noting the use of the doh chord in the melodic outline and in the harmony of simple songs like Michael, Row The Boat Ashore, Early One Morning etc.; composing triadically-based tunes to given rhythms (i.e. using the notes of the major or minor doh chord to create melodic outlines) e.g.
Composing cadences or "backing" chords in both diatonic keys;
Listening to examples of triadically-based motifs e.g. Morninq-Mood from the Peer Gynt Suite by Grieg, the opening theme of Schubert's Strina Ouartet in A minor, Brahms" Lullaby, the opening theme of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, the theme music to the film The Biq Country etc.;
Listening to and describing the musical features of major and minor versions of the same tune e.g the variations from Haydn's Surprise Symphony, variations from Schubert's Trout Quintet etc.;
Listening to musical examples and discussing how both major and minor tonalities affect the music.
1.5 Time Allocation and Length of Course
The recommendation in the syllabus that three 40-minute periods per week be allocated to music in each of the three years of the Junior Cycle is necessary to ensure that adequate provision is made for ~he subject in all schools. It is not unusual for some schools to offer two or even one period per week only in first year and make up the difference in subsequent years. This may be especially so where all students are exposed to a broad range of subjects in first year prior to choosing a reduced number of examination subjects in subsequent years. Music teachers should be aware that this flexibility has to be allowed for, since there are many educational arguments which support such an approach. Schools have to be allowed to organise their timetables to suit their overall aims and needs. The recommendation is, therefore, to be viewed as a general requirement and guideline. It is not mandatory on schools to organise the Junior Certificate Music course precisely in that way, provided music is being catered for within the general spirit of the recommendation. It is important that the number of contact periods average out at three per week if the subject is to be catered for effectively within the schools.
1.6 Classroom Organisation
Teaching Higher and Ordinary Level students in a mixed-ability class is not easy. However, careful and detailed planning of graded musical activities can help. Ordinary Level students will need to reinforce the basic skills and concepts learnt, while Higher Level students will progress more rapidly through the basics and will need greater challenges. It is recommended that group activities be employed once the elementary common material has been dealt with. The following example may help.
Topic: POINTS OF REST IN MUSIC/CADENCES
Performing selective songs and drawing attention to the fact that the musical phrase follows the sense and rhythm of the words;
Comparing points of rest in music to punctuation in language;
Listening to the rhythmic features of cadence points;
Listening to the melodic features of cadences heard in song singing;
improvising melodic ending~s following a given opening e.g.
Emphasising and dictating cadential rhythmic patterns;
Listening to the effects of music with regularly-heard phrase endings e.g. an extract from a classicallybalanced, popular or dance piece and contrasting this with an extract from a work which illustrates the principle of continuous music e.g. Renaissance church polyphony or a suitable late romantic or modern work.
Ordinary Level Reinforcing Activities
Listening to and marking the melodic endings/ cadences in a known song;
Writing in the solfa/ staff notation names for the last three notes of musical phrases;
Composing suitable ending-notes for given phrase-beginnings.
Additional Higher Level Requirements
Listening to, identifying melodically and naming the different melodic endings/cadences in known songs;
Composing compatible bass notes to melodic endings;
Listening to and distinguishing the usual cadence chords in a musical context;
Linking the various melodic and bass cadential patterns with specific chords;
Practising and applying four-part vocal or piano layout as necessary.