INFORMATION LITERACY : MUSIC LITERACY : MUSIC: READING: SKILLS : MUSIC: WRITING AND NOTATION: Developing Music Literacy: An Aural Approach for an Aural Art

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David P. Dillard

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Jan 16, 2012, 3:05:05 PM1/16/12
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INFORMATION LITERACY :

MUSIC LITERACY :

MUSIC: READING: SKILLS :

MUSIC: WRITING AND NOTATION:

Developing Music Literacy: An Aural Approach for an Aural Art

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Developing Music Literacy: An Aural Approach for an Aural Art

by John Feierabend

From: Early Childhood Connections, Fall 1997

GIA Publications

http://www.giamusic.com/music_education/feier_developingmusicliteracy.cfm

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Topics Covered in This Article:

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WHAT IS "TRUE MUSIC LITERACY"?

READINESS FOR LITERACY

CONVERSATIONAL SOLFEGE: A LITERATURE-BASED CURRICULUM

MUSIC LITERACY "NATURALLY"

THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING MUSIC LITERACY SKILLS

DEVELOPING LITERACY SKILLS WITH "MUSIC ART"

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Excerpts

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Jason, a young undergraduate music student, answered an ad for part-time
employment at the Russian Embassy. Besides the telephone number, the only
other information in the ad read: "Better than average pay; some computer
keyboard skill preferred." When he arrived for the interview, he was among
30 other hopefuls who had been told to arrive at the same time. After a
short wait, the entire group was brought into a large room where they were
each seated at a computer terminal with a document on one side. The group
was instructed that as part of the interview they were to type the first
five pages of the document into the computer and hit the "control" button
as they finished each page. They would be given 10 minutes. The typing
commenced, and to Jason's dismay, he discovered the document to be typed
was in Russian. He decided to do his best, but his hope for the job
quickly faded. Sideways "E"...he searched the keyboard. Eventually finding
the letter, he touched the key. Circle with a line through it ... another
hunt resulted in an eventual press of the key. Backwards "R"...hunt...
hit. And so it went, with Jason's occasionally remembering the location of
one of the foreign letters.

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"Time! Please stop typing and return to the waiting area. You will be
called back in for a short interview one at a time." Jason exited with the
rest of the group. When Jason's name was called, he came back into the
computer room and was asked to sit at the same terminal as before. The
interviewer reviewed his work and commented that he had not entered very
much of the text and in fact had not completed even one page; however, he
had not made very many mistakes either. "Do you read Russian?" asked the
interviewer. Jason responded with a simple "No." "Can you be in on
Monday?" was the interviewer's unexpected next question. Jason responded
with a surprised "Yes!"

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Jason finished his first day at work a little fatigued from the grueling
hunt-and-peck exercise. But by the end of the week he was beginning to
know the keyboard location for most of the letters. At the end of two
months Jason was employee of the week, typing faster and more accurately
than any other who had started when he did. In speaking to several of the
other students who also worked in the computer room, he learned that none
of them spoke or read Russian but were hired because of their typing
accuracy during the interview. The following fall he transferred to a new
school and resigned from his job. He was told his talents would be missed.
Not long after that he learned from one of his friends that the Russian
agency had been closed down upon discovery that it had been set up to
dispatch confidential political documents to Russia. Jason had "played"
the Russian typewriter better than average all the while remaining Russian
illiterate.

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How does this compare to the way many of us were taught to read music
through playing an instrument? When you see this dot in this space, press
this key. This dot...this key. Slowly at first and with practice you gain
familiarity with the location of the keys for each symbol. In time,
reading and playing proficiency progresses. Does this mean you have become
musically literate? When looking at a printed piece of music, can you tell
what the music sounds like without the instrument to interpret? Why do so
many choral directors spend their summer months at a keyboard "playing
through" prospective choral literature? Could it be because they aren't
able to read and hear the music without the aid of a keyboard interpreter?

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True music literacy is often misunderstood.

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snip

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DEVELOPING LITERACY SKILLS WITH "MUSIC ART"

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An individual is considered literate when he/she can read new material
with expression and can write his/her thoughts Likewise, an individual is
considered musically literate when he/she can expressively read new
musical material without the aid of an instrument and can write his/her
own musical thoughts. Using quality literature to develop music literacy
skills enables students to hear, read, and write music while introducing
them to the rich repertoire of great composed pieces as well as their
culture's expressive music. With these skills and musical influences, we
may just develop a new generation of citizens who will not only be able to
read and write music but will be able to understand and appreciate the
subtle expressions of music that are embodied below its surface as art.

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The complete article may be read at the URL above.

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Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jw...@temple.edu
http://workface.com/e/daviddillard

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