Directed Listening (p.33)
Enjoyment , benefit , aural discrimination
Purposeful Listening to Recorded Music (p.33)
Perception and identification Skills ;
Student participation
Examples of musical features
General Listening Skills (p.36)
Approach to musical features
Music - communicating its meaning
Self discovery - its importance for students
Records of music studied;
Examples of format
Summary of requirements
Set Songs/Works and Chosen Songs/Works (p.40)
Three cycles - A, B, c
Studying set and chosen music
Chosen items - advantages
Syllabus requirements - 20 songs, nine works
Chosen songs/works - category lists in syllabus/other sources
Set songs/works - useas choice material
Background information
Chosen General Study (p.41)
Requirement
Approach - organisation , presentation
Less usual topics ; general knowledge Integration of activities
Plans - Medieval music , Rock music
Irish Music (p.44)
Experiential learning
Features of performances and instruments - ancient and modern
Musical Literacy and Aural Perception (p.44)
Sound and symbol
Levels of difficulty - performing , composing
4. LISTENING SKILLS
Listening is central to all musical activities. Students also use their listening skills in a variety of musical situations other than the obvious one of listening to recorded or live music e.g. when performing and composing. There is a distinction, however, between undirected listening and the kind of listening being discussed here. Directed purposeful listening - listening for something - helps pupils to enjoy knowingly, benefit musically and discriminate aurally.
4.1 Purposeful Listening to Recorded Music
The new syllabus emphasises purposeful listening, the perception of common trends and the identification of actual musical features as opposed to a knowledge of musical history, its periods and composers.
PURPOSEFUL LISTENING PRESUMES ABILITY IN THE FOLLOWING RANGE OF SKILLS:
(I) Tuning into (i.e. focusing attention on) what is being listened to;
(2) Identifying and describing a variety of different musical facets and features;
(3) Analysing and comparing these features;
(4) Forming judgments about (i.e. interpreting and evaluating) the music in the light of experience already attained.
At first, students will need guidance in the acquisition of all four skills. The active participation of the students is fundamental if listening skills appropriate to all forms of music are to be learnt and practised with understanding and meaning. Skills (I) and (2) are best acquired by focusing attention on specific musical features. Having students fill out a checklist of observations focuses immediate attention on the music itself and aids in the identification of general musical features. Guided discussion, giving related knowledge and making musical comparisons will help develop listening skills (3) and (4).
Consider the following progression as it applies to the wellknown Farandole from Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suite No.2.
Musical Features: To be discovered and identified by the students in response to each part of the music.
WHICH WORDS BEST DESCRIBE THE MUSIC ?
MOOD: Happy Sad Angry
Energetic Decisive Uneasy
SPEED: Slow Fast A moderate speed
TEMPO: March Waltz Jig time time time
DYNAMICS: Soft Moderately loud Very loud
PERFORMING MEDIUM:
String quartet
Military band
Symphony orchestra
String orchestra
Dance band
Woodwind group
METRE: Duple Triple
RHYTHM: Dance-like Long sustained Smooth with slow notes similar note values
GENRE/STYLE: Pop Music Classical Ethnic/Folk Music Music
TONALITY: Major Minor
LOCATION Up high In the middle In the bass OF MELODY: register
MELODIC By step By leap Mixed stepwise MOVEMENT: and leapwise movement
TEXTURE: Rich in notes Sparse in notes
Musical Features: To be identified with teacher help through discussion and information-giving.
MOOD: Decisive !first part)
Dance-like (second part)
SPEED/ TEMPO:
Like a march (first part)
Allegro vivo (second part)
DYNAMICS: f_~_ DDDp and crescendo (first part) (second part)
ffff (ending)
INSTRUMENT-ATION-
The march is played on full orchestra. The dance tune is always accompanied by a tambourine.
TIME SIGNATURE:
4/42/4 (first part) (second part)
RHYTHM: The march contains dotted note values which give more emphasis to the rhythm. The dance tune is in the mood of a farandole.
GENRE: A movement from a classical orchestral suite.
TONALITY: March in a minor key; Farandole in a major key; Canon in a major key.
MELODY: The march tune is a borrowed tune. It is a French Christmas carol from the region of Provence. The Farandole dance tune is newly-composed and has two parts. Note the amount of smooth stepwise movement in this tune.
TEXTURE: Mostly homophonic. The march tune is also presented in canon· Towards the end both the march and the dance tune are combined in counterpoint.
OTHER GENERAL KNOWLEDGE:
Background information on the music and its composer may also be included to support and add further interest to the listening.
[It is not envisaged that technical words like dynamics, tonality and texture should necessarily form part of a Junior Certificate student's descriptive musical vocabulary. They are used here for teacher reference only. Non-technical descriptive words may be used if these are more appropriate.]
Experience shows that young peoples" musical needs and preferences change continually as they experience new music. Such changes also occur with experience of music from different cultures. The objectives and content of the Junior Certificate ~isic Syllabus encourage a widening in scone of the music suitable for educational use. Changes in attitude to different forms of music are accommodated as much as possible. What matters is the development of listening skills and this does not necessarily depend on a preference for one particular musical genre. It is important to encourage pupils to have identifiable musical reasons for their tastes and to be open to all forms of music and not just their own.
4.2 General Listening Skills
The new syllabus emphasises general perceptions and understanding of musical features regardless of musical style and genre. This is a more appropriate approach for the Junior Certificate cycle age group. The new syllabus does not require any understanding of historical style; neither does it preclude this. In broadening the scope of the syllabus, the historical perspective is too limited and may not be appropriate to the study of some musical genres. Having an ability to perceive and describe general musical features is a more experiential basis for understanding musical style in its historical perspective later on.
Music is not a precise language and it does not communicate as clearly as spoken language. Yet to share its meaning, we need to communicate its features and their effects in spoken language. The general listening skills section of the syllabus should provide an opportunity for the students to practise this skill in a purposeful and intelligent way.
General listening sessions should not be totally informationgiving sessions, where the teacher explains the meaning of the music and the relevant stylistic features. Students should initially have an opportunity to discover and describe, within their own understanding, their perceptions of what they hear. However, all such opportunities should be teacher-guided if meaningful progress is to be achieved.
Students should keep records of all the music they study in this way. Both the pupils" own discoveries and early responses to the music, together with the information given by the teacher, need to be included. In the early stages, only very general and obvious features should be recorded. At the later stages over the three years study to Junior Certificate, pupils should be encouraged to include more detailed musical observations. These will serve as a basis for making musical comparisons and the perception of common trends as the students" listening experiences expand. A typical format might be as follows:
Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.5 In D Major - Second Movement
TYPICAL STUDENT LISTENING RECORD
MOOD: Tender and religious in feeling; affettuoso.
TEMPO: Slow.
DYNAMICS : Mostly forte.
INSTRUMENTS: Flute, violin and harpsichord.
RHYTHM: Gentle rhythms; not energetic.
MELODY: Very tuneful.
HARMONY: Minor key and harmonies.
FORM: Free form although you can hear some repeats of melodic motifs.
OTHER FEATURES: Contrapuntal; a lot of imitation chamber music texture; a trio.
THE MAIN TUNE :
Theme music to the film The Biq Country by Jerome Moross
TYPICAL STUDENT LISTENING RECORD
MOOD: Extrovert and joyful.
TEMPO: Moderately fast; moderato.
DYNAMICS: Very loud especially at the beginning.
INSTRUMENTS: A brass fanfare accompanied with swirling strings followed by a main tune played on full orchestra.
RHYTHM: Very strong rhythms with some syncopation.
MELODY: The opening of the main tune is based on the doh chord.
HARMONY: Mostly major key; very rich harmonies.
FORM: Two main parts, a fanfare (A) and a main tune (B) played in the order A B A B Coda.
OTHER FEATURES: Full orchestral sound; mostly tutti.
THE MAIN TUNE:
A summary of the listening requirements:
Focusing attention on and observing the composer's intentions i.e. the expressive features of the music, its moods, speeds, dynamics and other interpretive markings.
Identifying and describing melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, textural and simple structural features in music as well as vocal and/or instrumental identification.
Comparing similarities and differences in the musical features of comparable works (or extracts from comparable works). The perceptidn of common trends and musical features from different movements with a similar purpose e.g. dance music, music for the stage, illustrative and film music.
Evaluating and forming judgments about music using informal but non-technical descriptive language (giving a personal response to music) e.g. energetic, busy, restful, dance-like, gentle like night music or a lullaby.
AND/OR
Understanding and applying formal descriptive language to music (evaluating using technical terminology) e.g. programme/absolute music, contrapuntal/homophonic, tone colour, jazz style, tutti, sparse/rich texture.
4.3 Set Songs/Works and Chosen Songs/Works
The set items are laid out in three groups (see pages 70 and 71 of the syllabus). Each group is prescribed for a complete cycle of students i.e. Group A is for examination in 1994, Group B in 1995: Group C in 1996, Group A in 1997 and so on, in rotation.
Set songs/works should be studied at greater depth than choice songs/works. Both are useful in determining different levels of response to music. Choice material, because of the limited common matter between different choices, should be studied, and therefore examined, in a general way. In the listening skills section of the new syllabus, only 40% of the songs and recorded works are prescribed for set study. The remainder may be chosen from lists of prescribed categories.
The chosen items allow the teacher to put the emphasis on study material as may be appropriate to his/her musical interests and to suit the particular musical needs of the students. This helps pupil/teacher motivation. The syllabus caters for all students from a variety of musical backgrounds and interests. The programme is more open and attractive and will, hopefully, aid the development of the subject as it becomes more relevant to a variety of different schools and their students.
SYLLABUS REQUIREMENTS:
20 songs to be studied; eight set songs for detailed study and 12 other songs chosen from the categories listed on page 12 of the syllabus. At least one of the chosen songs must be taken from each of the prescribed categories. To make up the remainder, more than one may be chosen in any category.
Nine recorded works to be studied; three are set works for detailed study and a further six (single movements only) for general study must be chosen, one from each of the prescribed categories listed on page 15 of the syllabus.
Appendix A (pages 18ff. of the syllabus) and Appendix H (pages 72ff. of the syllabus) give catalogues of suitable choice songs and recordings listed by category. Teachers and students should feel free to choose songs and recorded works not on the recommended lists provided that their choice satisfies the requirements of the stated category. However, some songs and recordings will fit equally well into a number of categories e.g. many folk songs are also ballads, songs from musicals are also popular or jazz songs, some symphonic movements are also dances, music for films can illustrate a variety of the given categories etc. The required number of songs and works must be studied. The same song and recorded work cannot be used to illustrate the musical features of more than one prescribed category.
Works listed under Appendix F (page 70 of the syllabus i.e. set songs) and Appendix G (page 71 of the syllabus i.e. set works) can be used as choice material provided that such chosen songs and recorded works are not set for the current cycle e.g. if Group B are the current set songs and recorded works, the songs and recorded works listed under Groups A and C may be used as chosen songs and chosen recorded works, if required.
The syllabus also requires the students to be given general background information on the set songs, set works as well as the choice songs, choice recordings and the s o n g and listening categories.
4.4 Chosen General Study
The syllabus requires students to undertake a v e r v aener~l and musically-illustrated study of ONE topic chosen from a list of five (see page 14 of the syllabus). The key words here are very Qeneral and musically-illustra~@d. These words give some idea as to the expected scope and the direction such a study should take.
It does not necessarily imply an historical approach though, in some cases, e.g. a study of rock music or jazz, an historical approach might provide a good method for organising the presentation of the music heard/played. In other cases, e.g. medieval music, regularly-heard functional music, or ethnic music, the scope may be too vast. In these instances, it might be more appropriate to listen to the main genres of music which highlight these areas. No definite guidelines can be given here beyond very general ones. The very essence of such work is that there is tremendous freedom to plan and direct the content as best seems appropriate.
The main idea behind this area of the course is to provide an opportunity to listen to and learn something about a kind of music not generally included in the rest of the syllabus e.g. music which is very distant in time or geographical location, avant-aarde art music or various genres of popular music. The titles given are not intended to be dealt with comprehensively. Teachers should be aware that, whereas precise topics are given, it is not intended that they be interpreted strictly. They are intended only to give a general idea of the area of study involved. The demands of different topics vary greatly and some may be perceived as being too wide to be of use in certain circumstances. In these cases and where appropriate, it would be quite acceptable to undertake a general study of one aspect of a title e.g. medieval dances or madrigals, popular music of the '60s or French folk music.
This section of the course should be studied in a general way i.e. pupils should have a general knowledge of the topic and will be expected to be able to demonstrate that they have listened to a representative body of music within their chosen area of study.
It is possible to ingegrate music from the chosen general study with the general listening skills. Also, project work might be an appropriate method of approach for this section of the syllabus. As the choice is very wide and because of the esoteric nature of many of the topics, teacher involvement and some direct information-giving may be necessary.
A reasonable plan in two such instances might be as follows:
(I) A direct approach utilising information-giving techniques accompanied by musical experience.
Topic: MEDIEVAL MUSIC
Teacher outlines some kind of historical context e.g. How musicians earned their living in early times, for instance, as wandering minstrels, as church musicians.
Pupils listen to some music (or learn to sing or play pieces) which illustrates each example.
General discussion/identification of the main musical features of the music experienced.
One example of a pupil-centred project approacGh is illustrated in the following preparatory grid. In each area, the teacher directs a group of students towards the resources necessary to find out the required information and the means of recording their findings. Each group will then present its findings, accompanied by adequate recorded examples, to the class as a whole.
Topic: ROCK MUSIC DURING THE 1980s
What is Rock Music?
Punk Rock I Heavy Metal
Best 10 International Artist(e)s/ Bands
ROCK MUSIC DURING THE 1980s
Best Irish Artist (e) s/ Bands
Rap Reggae
How does this music compare with early rock music?
4.5 Irish Music
A major emphasis, in previous syllabuses, has always been based largely on a knowledge of Irish music. In view of its special importance as our national music, this still remains. However, in keeping with the remainder of the syllabus, teachers are urged to provide experiential learning where possible. It is undesirable that students be introduced to the history of the Irish harp and the early harpers without hearing examples of the harp music as currently played today e.g. Gr~inne Yeats" F~ile na qCruitirl (a Gael Linn recording of harp music from the Bunting collection). Similarly, the music of the ancient war pipes, although extinct, has been realised in modern-day performances e.g. M~irse~l Ri Laoise and Marcshlua Ul N~ill from the record CeQi na nUasal by Se~n 6 Riada and Ceolt6irl Cualann.
Purposeful listening is a good approach to familiarise students with an outline of the general history of Irish music, the features of different forms of Irish music, the characteristics of different types of performances and the recognition of different traditional instruments. The new syllabus also requires the students to be introduced to modern-day group performance practice and to account for the growth in popularity of Irish music today. The recordings of The Chieftains, D~ Danann, The Bothy Band etc. will be helpful in this regard.
4.6 Musical Literacy and Aural Perception
The realisation of the link between sound and symbol, the ability to notate musically what is aurally perceived and conceived, is a central feature in all balanced music education programmes. The aural imagination can only be useful if the results can be transmitted to others either through performance or in notational format. Similarly, the ability to aurally perceive notated music provides access to a greater wealth of music. The more attuned this skill is, the greater will be the students" confidence in performing, composing and listening. Its relevance can be further enhanced by drawing attention to the use of notational skills in music which the students experience in all three main musical activities. Its importance in establishing accuracy and good musical judgement is thereby established.
The levels of musical literacy (Ordinary Level and Higher Level) have been clearly set out on page 16 of the syllabus. These broadly define the levels of difficulty acceptable under performing and composing skills. However, this does not preclude those who are capable of demonstrating higher achievement from doing so.