developing the listening mind - radford...

Developing the Listening Mind

John Hildreth, M.A., David Zuschin, PhD,Radford University

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

INTRODUCTIONS: Who we are, our roles at RU, and a brief synopsis of the project.

- John Hildreth is an Assistant Director and Instructor in the RU Technology in Learning Center- David Zuschin is a musicologist and an Associate Professor in the RU Department of Music

Contributors to this project also include Dr. Krista Terry, Director of the RU Technology in Learning Center, and Charley Cosmato, M.S., Assistant Director of the Technology in Learning Center. The podcast of this presentation will remain accessible through Summer 2006.

An interview conducted with Dave a few years back summarizing his initial inspiration for having music students use iPods.

For those viewing via podcast, see the accompanying video, ‘David Zuschin’ for this portion of the presentation podcast.

music historydevelopment of musical style

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Prelude 1

Das Wohltemperierte Clavier I

BWV 846

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Public Domain

For those viewing via podcast, see the accompanying slideshow, ‘The Listening Mind’ for this portion of the presentation podcast. The following slides duplicate those in the slideshow.

In Music History, instructors strive to teach students an ability to listen and perceive music on a number of different levels. To begin with, there is an ‘overall context’ of information about a given piece which includes title, composer, date, etc. And while students learn these details, they move on to study additional ‘immediate circumstances’ about a piece such as historic context, geography, religious references and influences, and stylistic trends. Finally, there is the piece of music itself, within which students learn to perceive formal elements such as harmony, rhythm and orchestration, all of which is influenced by the overall context and immediate circumstances.

Overall Context

ImmediateCircumstances

Pieceitself

• modernism, primitivism

• early 20th-c Paris

• Stravinsky

• ballet: The Rite of Spring

• premiere: riot

• bitonal harmony

• ostinato

• layering

• modernism, primitivism

• early 20th-c Paris

• Stravinsky

• ballet: The Rite of Spring

• premiere: riot

• bitonal harmony

• ostinato

• layering

The model applied to Igor Stravinsky’s ballet, ‘The Rite of Spring,’ with examples of the types of information that may be studied at each level.

Paris1913

Rite ofSpring

Bitonalharmony

IgorStravinsky

reality: disconnect

• multiple choice, essay: highest scores

• listening portion: lowest

The listening portion of music history exams involves playing a piece of music that students must provide details about, culled from the different levels of understanding illustrated in the preceding slides. The listening portion is typically the toughest for students, any many who do well on the multiple choice and essay sections do poorly on the listening section.

Students studying music simultaneously refer to class notes and musical scores while listening.

College music texts and anthologies are traditionally bought by students with accompanying recordings on CD. Performances on these CD sets tend to be mixed at best, and the discs themselves can be cumbersome to navigate, as each can contain dozens of tracks, with individual pieces sometimes separated into two or more sections.

Add the manuscript . . .

Modernism

Primitivism

Early 20th-c Paris

Stravinsky

Ballet

The Rite of Spring

Premiere: riot

Bitonal harmony

Ostinato

Layering

. . . and the information . . .

Modernism

Primitivism

Early 20th-c Paris

Stravinsky

Ballet

The Rite of Spring

Premiere: riot

Bitonal harmony

Ostinato

Layering

. . . we often treat music as a soundtrack to whatever it is we are doing, and with students studing in this capacity, the music on CD tends to fall to the background as they pour over notes and study manuscripts.

To make a comparison to the visual arts: in a painting such as ‘The Last Supper,’ details can be seen and discussed at a moment’s notice. However, music unfolds over time and details to be discussed may not occur until 1, 2 or 10 minutes into a work.

Pieceitself ?

the listening mind

development involves:

• connecting sound with sense

• internalization and transference

accessibility

music quiz for iPod

•immersion•integration

•focus on specific examples•reinforcement•immediate feedback

iPod and the listening mind

I. Project Goalsa. Facilitate development of the listening mind using the iPod

i. Increased Accessibility (anytime/anywhere listening (practice, immersion, associations).ii.Breaking down barriers (no CDs, school and personal listening mixed).

b. Music Quiz for iPod (demonstrate)i. Associating terminology and sound.ii.Reinforcement (practice with the quiz anytime, anywhere).

iii. Coherence (superficial versus transferable information).

iPod music quiz

LISTEN

The composer of this piece is:

1 - Hector Berlioz

2 - Clara Schumann

3 - Felix Mendelssohn

Use the controls to playback audio, navigate questions

and choose answers.

A multiple-choice question is displayed, along with a link to begin playback of

related music.

Using the iPod’s Notes feature, users can create multiple-choice quizzes out of plain .txt files and simple text markup.

When connecting the iPod to your computer, use iTunes to ‘Enable Disk Use’ (accessible in the iTunes preferences) so that you can use it a storage drive. This gives the user access to the iPod’s Notes.

Enabling or Disabling ‘Notes’ or (other features such as Games, Voice Narration, etc.) on the iPod’s Main Menu is done in the iPod’s ‘Settings.’

LISTEN


1 - Hector Berlioz

2 - Clara Schumann

3 - Felix Mendelssohn

<title>QUESTION 01</title>

<a href="ipod:music?song=ex05&NowPlaying=false">LISTEN</a>


1 - <a href="_utility/haha.txt">Hector Berlioz</a>2 - <a href="_utility/haha.txt">Clara Schumann</a>3 - <a href="_utility/aha.txt">Felix Mendelssohn</a>

•The text between the <title> tags will appear as a filename on the iPod. •The <a href> tag around ‘LISTEN’ links to an audio file on the iPod, and the ‘false’ attribute enables the user to hear playback without leaving the question page.•The links to ‘haha.txt’ and ‘aha.txt’ display incorrect and correct answer messages, respectively.•While browsing questions and answers, an underscore indicates the currently selected item.

under the hood . . .

implementation

MUSC 322 Site

I. Implementationa. Purchased and distributed iPods.b. Web used as media distribution center for class. (view athttp://www.radford.edu/~dzuschin/322podcast/)

i. Music Quizzes for iPod.ii. Lectures recorded with iRiver MP3 lanyard recorder and podcast.

http://www.radford.edu/~dzuschin/322podcast/

http://www.radford.edu/~dzuschin/322podcast/

assessment | evaluation


• 92%: quiz helped to reinforce musical concepts



• 88%: quiz was easy to navigate




• 80%: podcasts were helpful




• 80%: podcasts were helpful

• 92%: iPod a valuable tool

student interview

For those viewing via podcast, see the accompanying video, ‘Student Interview’ for this portion of the presentation podcast.

future goals

Opus X

iPod Requirement

- Opus X digital music library (iTunes database of entire CD collection of McConnell Library).

- Music students are required to purchase iPods starting Fall 2006.

- Visit www.radford.edu/~dzuschin/opusx to peruse details and information about the Opus X digital music library, as well as the iPod requirement for music students.

resources

podcast of presentationmaterials

http://www.radford.edu/~jhildret/nmc/listeningmind/podcast.xml

John Hildreth, [email protected] David Zuschin, [email protected]

This podcast will remain accessible through Summer 2006.

Contact us at:

John Hildreth, [email protected] Zuschin, [email protected]



mailto:[email protected]




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