Changing trends in preparing students for college level theory

An article published in American Music Teacher approximately twenty years ago addressed the issue of students' preparation to research college level music theory. Fifty-eight music majors at the University of Florida were viewed in an attempt to answer the question, "If a promising high gymnasium music student decides to major in music at corporation where will the necessary background in theory be acquired?" This questionnaire, distributed in March 1981 sought music majors' opinions regarding the greatest in quantity helpful pre-college experiences they had. A follow-up investigation was conducted in the spring of 2001 to learn whether answers to observe questions had changed over the intervening twenty-year period.

The 1981 Study

The article reporting the 1981 research revealed that the private instrumental teacher plays a part that is as important as the theory instructor. The article went upon to support this statement with the writings of Frederic W Homan, Elvina T Pearce and Diane Hardy, and to proffer suggestions for ways in which this responsibility might be carried on the outside with the help of MTNA theory guidelines and cluster lessons. (1)

An analysis of the 1981 take a view of forms revealed that students indicated they felt greatest in quantity prepared in the areas of harmonious flow (77.5 percent), ability to hear major and minor triads (706 percent) and knowledge of scales (689 percent) (Table 1)

Additionally, 344 percent of the music majors believed they had received the greatest in quantity theory preparation from their private teacher of their major instrument. Other experiences were rated for their value in theory preparation: high academy . theory class, 13.7 percent; high gymnasium band program, 10.3 percent; private teacher of the student's secondary instrument, 68 percent; and private theory teacher, 34 percent (Table 2) Although 172 percent of the scholars had participated in a high place of education orchestra program, only one pupil who completed the questionnaire indicated that this experience had been the greatest in quantity helpful. The study did not categorize learners by year or number of years they had been in their four-year step program.

Review of Related Literature

With the exception of the 1981 research none of the extant literature upon theory education deal with students' opinions of their high place of education preparation for college-level theory. Livingston notes that a student's private instrumental teacher (primary performing instrument)has a significant part in preparing high school scholars for freshman music theory. As previously mentioned, her research examines the responses to a questionnaire of fifty-eight music majors at the University of Florida. pupils were asked to indicate which areas of theory research they felt well prepared for on entering college. Results of the close attention show that 39.2 percent of wind instrument majors, 533 percent of keyboard majors and 384 percent of voice majors considered their private task instruction to be the greatest in quantity helpful in preparing for freshman music theory. (2) Livingston cites Pearce (3) in suggesting private task instructors give students three individual and individual group lesson per month, with the assemblage lesson including aural and written theory exercises. (4)

Carole s Harrison notes that many music majors are not able to perform adequately in the major constitutings of freshman theory: written work, sight reading, ear training and keyboard harmony. Musical aptitude, pre-college musical experience, private research and ensemble experience, and inquiry of principal performing instrument all contribute to predicting succes in undergraduate music theory. (5) Her close attention focused on a population of 178 freshman music majors at California State University at Fullerton. The ensues indicate that three of the predictive factors--general musical ability, musical experience and musical aptitude--were significant gauges of succes in freshman theory classes. (6)

Charles W Walton states traditional theory courses repeatedly are rather narrow in tendency with the various skills taught in a discrete manner without regard to practical application, and indicates six target areas in the teaching of collegiate horizontal music theory:

1 Listening. The learner organizes and clarifies what the ear hears.

2 Analysis. The process with which the student discovers the function of chords and representatives within a piece of music.

3 Music reading. The proces of having the one and the other the ear and eye reply to music meaning.

4 Creativity. Making music in a variety of original works.

5 Part writing. Putting upon paper what has been heard or created.

6 Keyboard harmony. Enhancing the understanding of music [i]or[/i] part of to the other the analysis of melodies, score reading and playing by the agency of ear. (7)

Robert C Ehle states that many works purporting to be music theory true copys are de facto harmony volumes and there is significantly more to a music theory curriculum than the research of harmony. He says collegiate music theory should be linked to the practice of music and used for furthering basic musical conceptions and skills. A college freshman theory course also should include sight singing, keyboard harmony, written harmony and dictation, Ehle says. (8)