We may well feel the need to develop aural

discriminations of pitches during these processes and to initiate a

discussion about notes that
match
and notes that
collide
with the
drone. But let us not underestimate the musical ability and
responsiveness of most students. They are often able to recognize
and perform from a substantial and changing repertoire of pop songs
without apparent effort, merely because they are motivated to repeat
and repeat again exposure to the musical items. So it is in these
strategies. By composing, attentively listening, and performing; by
working at relevant skills and assimilating relevant knowledge,
aesthetic appraisals can be developed and the doors opened a little
wider to the possibility of aesthetic response.
We might consider just one more example from the school
classroom. This involves the development of some traditional notation
skills, though not the theory of notation divorced from its use. In this
example we shall not be starting something new but moving forward
from previously achieved objectives. We assume that most of the group
can distinguish between
me
and
doh,
the third degree and the degree
of the tonic of a major scale. By distinguish we mean that when one
is sung or played after the other, the students can recognize the order
in which they appear. In order to be sure of this we must have some
kind of labels;
sol-fa,
note names, numbers 3 and 1. Or we might be
asking which one of these patterns they hear.\
he following notational vocabulary is displayed.
Strategy
The teacher might ask if the first fragment can be sung at
sight and what is new about patterns 2, 3 and 4. These will then be
sung to the students to establish the sound of the second degree of
the scale in relation to the others. The students may then be asked to
recognize the order in which the patterns are sung and played to
them, for example, 1,2,3,4. The students can then practice each unit
and sing them in various combinations as indicated by a conductor .
To give a stronger sense of phrase and line, in other words to move
from mere skill acquisition to performance, words such as the
following may be sung to any four patterns in combination.
Over the quiet fields
Ring out the sound of bells
Students will have suggestions about the possibilities of different
orders (composition) and especially concerning the effect of
repeating
a pattern, for example, 4,4,3,4. Once again, we are handling the
essentials of norm and deviation, of repetition and contrast, but on a
small scale. We can also explore the (limited) possibilities for different
kinds of gesture by playing with the variables of speed and loudness.
For example, 1,1,1,1, sung fast and loud will be quite different in
expressiveness from 3,3,3,3, performed slowly and quietly. This may
require the invention of new words. In the first instance the effect
may be felt as jerky, angular, mechanical: in the second it could be
smooth, flowing (if sung
legato

) and gentle. Can we invent suitable

words for these? Now, taking pattern 3 in the key of E Major, we
can become auditors to Bizet s
Carillon
from
L Arlesienne
. The figure
is repeated over and over again, against another melody, disappearing
in the middle section but returning by stealth before the return of the
opening idea. The teacher might help arouse expectations here by
saying that it may come back, but when and how could be a surprise.