Computer-aided Ear-training E-Book

Susanna Király

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 364

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

My doctoral thesis has involved two related tasks. The first was to analyse Zoltán Kodály’s philosophy of music education and, on this basis, to develop a computer-assisted instruction method (CAI) for teaching music theory and solfège (ear-training). The second task was to experiment with the effectiveness of this method and compare it with traditional approaches to teaching. Many student find music theory and ear training difficult. During the 1990s, in connection with my licentiate thesis “Solfège in the Computer Classroom” (2000), I initiated this research project, and developed a CAI method for teaching music theory and solfège. I wanted to see just how useful Kodály’s approach could be in computer-aided teaching and learning. The results show that the Kodály approach can be successfully applied to the development of a computer-aided solfège programme and the Kodály system is applicable to new learning environments and teaching practices. In music education CAI is an area with great potential for development. It offers multiple learning options and can enhance students’ motivation to study music theory and ear-training; some of the learning outcomes were even better than with the traditional ways of learning. The results also show, however, that the teacher-pupil interaction is essential in a computer-aided learning programme.

Leseprobe

Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed by due permission of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki, in Auditorium 2 Metsätalo - Building, Unioninkatu 40 on May 25th 2012.

SUPERVISORS:

Magdolna Kovács, PhD

Adjunct Professor, Department of Finnish, Finno-Ugrian and Scandinavian Studies

University of Helsinki, Finland

Inkeri Ruokonen, PhD

Adjunct Professor, Department of Teacher Education

University of Helsinki, Finland

PRE-INSPECTORS:

Maija Fredrikson, PhD

Professor of Music Education

University of Oulu, Finland

Caroline van Niekerk, PhD

Professor of Music Education

University of Pretoria, South Africa

OPPONENT:

László Norbert Nemes, DMus

Associate Professor, Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, Hungary

Director, Zoltán Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music, Kecskemét, Hungary

UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI

FACULTY OF ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF FINNISH, FINNO-UGRIAN AND SCANDINAVIAN STUDIES

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Susanna Király:

Computer-aided Ear-training

A Contemporary Approach to Kodály’s Music Educational Philosophy

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Abstract

My doctoral thesis has involved two related tasks. The first was to analyse Zoltán Kodály’s philosophy of music education and, on this basis, to develop a computer-assisted instructional method (CAI) for teaching music theory and solfège (ear-training). The second task was to experiment with the effectiveness of this method and compare it with traditional approaches to teaching. Many students find music theory and ear training difficult. During the 1990s, in connection with my licentiate thesis "Solfège in the Computer Classroom" (2000), I initiated this research project and, developed a CAI method for teaching music theory and solfège. I wanted to see just how useful Kodály's approach could be in computer-aided teaching and learning.

Kodály's philosophy of music education includes the idea that every child has the right to learn his musical mother tongue. This learning should take place in a child-centred, natural and easy way. In the present study, I particularly focused on the opportunities for developing and testing the new, computer-aided teaching method, especially for ear-training, using Kodály’s concept. My purpose was to create a learning tool that could be used in music schools to facilitate the teaching of music theory and solfège.

The second objective of my study was to examine the effectiveness of this new tool. Did these newly-developed CAI materials and methods cause differences in students' learning outcomes in different environments? Three different groups tested the music theory and solfège instruction with CAI: the PIT group, in which there was a computer-aided tutorial, but only the teacher used a computer, not the students; the FIT group, in which each student had a computer, and each could interact with the curriculum independently; and a control group, TRAD, to whom music theory and solfège were taught using a traditional method, that is, without any computer-aided programme. The study was conducted in the West Regional Music Institute (LUMO) in Lohja, Finland, during the school year 2004–05. The study included a total of 125 music students, ages10 to 16.

This is an empirical and pedagogical developmental study. The testing phase also included quantitative analyses. The paramount objective was to develop and test a Kodály-based CAI solfège pedagogy. The results show that the Kodály approach can be successfully applied to the development of a computer-aided solfège programme: the Kodály-based computer-aided music theory and solfège material in fact produced the best results in most areas of learning, especially in the PIT group, in which a teacher worked with a computer-aided tutorial. The results also show that the Kodály system is applicable to new learning environments and teaching practices. It suggests that the computer-aided tutorial works well to support music theory and ear-training in individual lessons and indicates that pupils are eager to learn by using the computer. In music education CAI is an area with great potential for development. It offers multiple learning options and can enhance students’ motivation to study music theory and ear-training; some of the learning outcomes were even better than with the traditional ways of learning. The results also show, however, that the teacher–pupil interaction is essential in a computer-aided learning programme.

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Keywords: basic education in the arts, CAI, digital network equipment, ear-training, Kodály, music education, music education technology, music theory, solfège

HELSINGIN YLIOPISTON SUOMEN KIELEN, SUOMALAIS-UGRILAISTEN JA

POHJOISMAISTEN KIELTEN JA KIRJALLISUUKSIEN LAITOS

UNKARIN KIELI JA KULTTUURI

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Susanna Király:

Tietokoneavusteinen säveltapailu

Uusi lähestymistapa Kodályn musiikkikasvatusfilosofiaan

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Tiivistelmä

Väitöstutkimukseni sisältää kaksi toisiinsa liittyvää osaa. Ensimmäisenä tutkimustehtävänä on ollut perehtyä Kodályn ajatuksiin ja periaatteisiin musiikkikasvatuksesta sekä kehittää tietokoneavusteinen ohjelma Kodály-filosofian periaatteisiin pohjautuvan säveltapailun opettamista varten. Toisena tutkimustehtävänä on ollut kokeilla tietokoneavusteisen opetusmenetelmän toimivuutta ja verrata sitä perinteiseen opetusmenetelmään. Monet oppilaat kokevat musiikin teorian ja säveltapailun oppimisen vaikeiksi. 1990-luvulla tekemässäni lisensiaatin tutkimuksessa ”Solfège in the computer classroom”(2000) aloitin perehtymisen tutkimusaiheeseeni ja tietokoneavusteisen opetusmenetelmän kehittämiseen.

Väitöstutkimukseni ensimmäisenä tutkimusongelmana oli selvittää kuinka Kodályn periaatteita voidaan käyttää tietokoneavusteisen säveltapailun opetusohjelman kehittämisessä ja toisaalta millainen on Kodályin periaatteiden käyttökelpoisuus tietokoneavusteisessa oppimisessa. Kodályn musiikkikasvatusfilosofian keskeisiin periaatteisiin kuului ajatus siitä, että jokaisella lapsella tulisi olla oikeus ja mahdollisuus musiikin kielen oppimiseen ja tämän oppimisen tulisi tapahtua lapselle luonnollisella ja helpolla tavalla. Tutkimuksessani olen syventynyt Kodály-konseptin mahdollisuuksiin erityisesti säveltapailun tietokoneavusteisen opetusmenetelmäni kehittämisessä ja sen toimivuuden testaamisessa. Nyt kehitetyn opetusohjelman tarkoituksena on ollut luoda uusi Kodály-pohjainen, säveltapailun oppimista helpottava väline musiikkioppilaitosten käyttöön.

Väitöstutkimuksen toisena tavoitteena on ollut tutkia nyt kehitetyn tietokoneavusteisen Kodály-ajatuksiin pohjautuvan opetusmenetelmän toimivuutta musiikin teorian ja säveltapailun perustason oppimisprosessissa. Tutkimusongelmana oli selvittää, onko nyt kehitetyllä tietokoneavusteisella opetusmateriaalilla ja menetelmällä eroavuuksia oppilaiden säveltapailun oppimistuloksiin erilaisissa oppimisympäristöissä. Säveltapailun opiskelua tapahtui kolmessa erilaisessa ryhmässä. Ensinnäkin PIT-ryhmässä, jossa tietokoneavusteinen opetusohjelma oli opettajan kautta ja ohjaamana luokan oppilaiden käytössä, kun taas TIT-ryhmässä jokaisella oppilaalla oli oma tietokone ja he käyttivät säveltapailun opetusohjelmaa itsenäisesti. Vertailussa oli mukana myös TRAD-ryhmä, jossa säveltapailua opetettiin perinteisellä menetelmällä ilman tietokoneavusteista ohjelmaa. Tutkimus on tehty Länsi-Uudenmaan musiikkiopistossa (Lumo) vuosina 2004–2005. Tutkimuksessa oli mukana yhteensä 125, 10–16–vuotiasta, musiikkiopiston oppilasta. Tutkimus on luonteeltaan kehittävä ja empiirinen, opetusmenetelmän testausvaiheessa myös kvantitatiivisia analyyseja sisältävä. Keskeisimpänä tutkimustavoitteena on ollut Kodályin musiikkikasvatuksen periaatteisiin pohjautuvan säveltapailun pedagogiikan kehittäminen uutta tietokoneteknologiaa hyödyntäen sekä tämän tietokoneavusteisen pedagogiikan toiminnan testaaminen.

Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että Kodályin periaatteita voidaan soveltaa tietokoneavusteisen säveltapailuohjelman kehittämisessä. Tutkimustulosten mukaan nyt kehitetty Kodály-pohjainen tietokoneavusteinen säveltapailun opetusohjelma antaa parhaimmat oppimistulokset PIT-ryhmässä, jossa opettaja ja tietokoneavusteinen opetusohjelma toimivat yhdessä säveltapailun oppimisen edistäjinä. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että Kodályn musiikkikasvatuksen periaatteet ovat sovellettavissa uusiin oppimisympäristöihin ja opetusmuotoihin. Tulosten mukaan tietokoneavusteinen opetusohjelma toimii hyvin opettajan tukena säveltapailun oppitunneilla ja oppilaat ovat innokkaita oppimaan tietokoneen avulla. Musiikin opetuksessa tietokoneavusteisten opetusmenetelmien kehittäminen on uusi ja kehittyvä alue. Se tarjoaa uusia oppimisen tapoja erilaisille oppijoille ja voi parantaa motivaatiota opiskella musiikin teoriaa ja säveltapailua. Osalla oppilaista oppimistulokset voivat olla jopa paremmat kuin perinteisellä tavalla opiskeltaessa. Tulokset osoittavat kuitenkin sen, että opettaja-oppilas – vuorovaikutussuhde on keskeinen myös tietokoneavusteista opetusohjelmaa käytettäessä.

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Avainsanat: digitaaliset verkko-materiaalit, Kodály, musiikin teoria, musiikkikasvatus, musiikkikasvatusteknologia, säveltapailu, taiteen perusopetus

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUD

2.1. The origin of music

2.2. Language learning

2.2.1. Piaget’s Theory

2.2.2. Vygotsky’s Theory

2.2.3. Comparing the ideas of Piaget and Vygotsky

2.3. Gordon’s audiation theory

2.4. Báthory’s differential theories

2.5. Solfège developers

3. KODÁLY: INNOVATOR IN MUSIC EDUCATION

3.1. Zoltán Kodály and his era

3.2. Kodály Principles

3.2.1. The Importance of Music

3.2.2. The Role of Singing

3.2.3. The Folksong in Pedagogy

3.2.4. The Development of Inner Hearing

3.2.5. The Relative Solmization

3.3. The history of the Kodály pedagogy

3.3.1. The antecedents of the Kodály Method

3.3.2. ‘

A Hundred Year Plan

’ (1947)

3.3.3. The development of the Kodály pedagogy

3.4. Music as a language

3.4.1. Difficulties in reading music

3.4.2. Cultural-specific factors

3.5. The Kodály strategy

3.6. Kodály-research and its adaptations in Finland

3.6.1. Finnish singing teaching methods in 1800s

3.6.2. Finnish singing teaching methods in 1900s

3.6.3. Kodály’s influence on Finnish music education

4. MUSIC EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

4.1. Computer-assisted instruction (CAI)

4.2. Computers and music education research

4.3. Music education technology in Finland

4.4. The MOVE project

4.5. EU pupils managing ICT in 2003

4.6. PISA research

4.7. The strategy in Finland

5. THE STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY

5.1. The background of the study design

5.2. The aims and research problems of the study

5.3. Research groups and teaching methods

5.4. The performance of the study

6. DEVELOPING WEB MATERIAL FOR A CAI ENVIRONMENT

6.1. The strategy of CAI

6.2. EU projects for developing Web material

6.3. Preparing the Web material

6.3.1. Preliminary CAI material

6.3.2. The

Prima Vista Web material

6.4. CAI principles as the mirror of the Kodály principles

6.4.1. Kodály ideas in the CAI principles

6.4.2. Ideas for developing the Hungarian model

6.5. Materials for the CAI-learning environment

7. LEARNING SOLFÈGE AND MUSIC THEORY WITH THREE DIFFERENT METHODS

7.1. Learning results and correlations at the 1/3 level

7.1.1. Solfège test results at the 1/3 level

7.1.2. Music theory test results at the 1/3 level

7.1.3. Learning result correlations at the 1/3 level

7.2. Learning results and correlations at the 2/3 level

7.2.1. Solfège test results at the 2/3 level

7.2.2. Music theory test results at the 2/3 level

7.2.3. Learning result correlations at the 2/3 level

7.3. Learning results and correlations at the 3/3 level

7.3.1. Solfège test results at the 3/3 level

7.3.2. Music theory test results at the 3/3 level

7.3.3. Learning result correlations at the 3/3 level

7.4. Comparison of all the learning results of the study

7.5. Reliability and validity of the study

8. CONCLUSION AND GENERAL DISCUSSION

8.1. Theoretical frameworks

8.2. Study outcomes

8.2.1. Developing the preliminary material

8.2.2. Developing basic-level material

8.2.3. Developing middle-level material

8.3. Comparing three different instructional methods

8.4. The future

REFERENCES

INSERTS

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Zone of Proximal Development (Silvonen 2004: 53)

Figure 2. Báthory’s hypothesis of teaching styles (Báthory 1992: 57)

Figure 3. Báthory's differentiated model of teaching-learning (Báthory 1992: 20)

Figure 4. Pestalozzi’s child-centred method (Linnankivi 1981: 37)

Figure 5. Kodály principles (adapted by Király from Dobszay 1991: 10)

Figure 6. The attributes of a good musician (adapted by Király from Kodály 1953)

Figure 7. Kodály’s five most important ideas (adapted by Király from Choksy 1981: 11)

Figure 8. Statement of the Kodály principles (adapted by Király from Campbell 1994: 50)

Figure 9. Nineteenth-century solfège in Finland (adapted by Király from Koskinen 2008)

Figure 10. Twentieth-century solfège in Finland (adapted by Király from Rautiainen 2003)

Figure 11. Törnudd principles (adapted by Király from Kemppinen 2005)

Figure 12. Räikkönen principles (adapted by Király from Törmälä 2005)

Figure 13. Roots of Kodály’s adaptations in Finland (adapted from Erdélyi-Rauhala 1984: 34)

Figure 14. Tapiola Choir principles (adapted by Király from Pohjola 1993a)

Figure 15. The Finnish music class activity (adapted by Király from Kiiski & Törmälä 2009)

Figure 16. Frequencies of the birth years in the research groups (N=125)

Figure 17. Didactically and methodologically developed research for education by Király

Figure 18. Example of a melodic dictation exercise page at the preliminary level

Figure 19. Melodic dictation in the FIT preliminary research group using pencil

Figure 20. Melodic dictation in the FIT preliminary research group using pencil

Figure 21. Melodic dictation in the PIT preliminary research group using pencil

Figure 22. Melodic dictation in the PIT preliminary group using pencil

Figure 23. Answer page with game at the preliminary level

Figure 24. Transposition notation

Figure 25. Staff notation exercise page at the preliminary level

Figure 26. Staff notation answer page at the preliminary level

Figure 27. Prima Vista exercise pages at the 1/3A level

Figure 28. Prima Vista exercise pages at the 1/3B level

Figure 29. Prima Vista exercise pages at the 2/3A level

Figure 30. Prima Vista answer pages at the 2/3B level

Figure 31. Prima Vista exercise pages at the 3/3A level

Figure 32. Prima Vista exercise pages at the 3/3B level

Figure 33. Principles of computer-aided music instruction by Király

Figure 34. Characters in the Prima Vista books by Claudia Hidvégi

Figure 35. Body signs (adapted by Király from Smid 2009:27)

Figure 36. Harmonization exercise page with functional solmization at the 2/3A level

Figure 37. Harmonization answer page with functional solmization at the 2/3A level

Figure 38. Solfège pre-test results at the 1/3 level in percentages

Figure 39. Solfège post-test results at the 1/3 level in percentages

Figure 40. Differences in the solfège pre- and post-test results at the 1/3 level

Figure 41. Music theory pre-test results at the 1/3 level in percentages

Figure 42. Music theory post-test results at the 1/3 level in percentages

Figure 43. Differences in the music theory pre- and post-test results at the 1/3 level

Figure 44. Solfège pre-test results at the 2/3 level in percentages

Figure 45. Solfège post-test results at the 2/3 level in percentages

Figure 46. Differences in the solfège pre- and post-test results at the 2/3 level

Figure 47. Music theory pre-test results at the 2/3 level in percentages

Figure 48. Music theory post-test results at the 2/3 level in percentages

Figure 49. Differences in the music theory pre- and post-test results at the 2/3 level

Figure 50. Solfège pre-test results at the 3/3 level in percentages

Figure 51. Solfège post-test results at the 3/3 level in percentages

Figure 52. Differences in the solfège pre- and post-test results at the 3I3 level

Figure 53. Music theory pre-test results at the 3/3 level in percentages

Figure 54. Music theory post-test results at the 3/3 level in percentages

Figure 55. Differences in the music theory pre- and post-test results at the 3/3 level

Figure 56. All research results at the 1/3 level in percentages

Figure 57. All research results at the 2/3 level in percentages

Figure 58. All research results at the 3/3 level in percentages

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Gordon’s communication-model (Gordon 1994: 30) as adapted by Király

Table 2. Gordon’s music notation theory (Gordon 1994: 31) as adapted by Király

Table 3. CAI Music notation theory by Király

Table 4. Types of Audiation (Gordon 1994: 33)

Table 5. Stages of Audiation (Gordon 1994: 34)

Table 6. Connections between the method and the level of pupils' activity (Báthory 1992: 65)

Table 7. The process of different note-realisation methods by Király

Table 8. Publications of the Finnish Kodály Center (1989–2002)

Table 9. Kodály-related doctoral dissertations at Jyväskylä (1996–2009)

Table 10. Methods for computer-aided instruction (CAI)

Table 11. Gender differences in the research groups (N=125)

Table 12. Higher-level students’ observations about melodic dictation (Király 2000: 25)

Table 13. Chordal Analysis in CAI Music Theory by Király

Table 14. Chordal Analysis in CAI Solfège by Király

Table 15. Means of solfège test results at the 1/3 level

Table 16. Means of music theory test results at the 1/3 level

Table 17. Solfège test result correlations at the 1/3 level

Table 18. Music theory test result correlations at the 1/3 level

Table 19. Means of solfège test results at the 2/3 level

Table 20. Means of music theory test results at the 2/3 level

Table 21. Solfège test result correlations at the 2/3 level

Table 22. Music theory test result correlations at the 2/3 level

Table 23. Means of solfège test results at the 3/3 level

Table 24. Means of music theory test results at the 3/3 level

Table 25. Solfège test result correlations at the 3/3 level

Table 26. Music theory test result correlations at the 3/3 level

Table 27. Reliability scale: all variables of 1/3 outcomes

Table 28. Reliability scale: all variables of 2/3 outcomes

Table 29. Reliability scale: all variables of 3/3 outcomes

Table 30. Sample typology of this study

Table 31. One-way analysis of variance: Test of the homogeneity of variances (Levene)

Table 32. Post-hoc tests: Means for groups in homogeneous subsets

Table 33. Comparing the total Mean Plot results in the music theory tests (N=125)

Table 34. Comparing the total Mean Plot results in the solfège tests (N=125)

LIST OF APPENDIXES

Appendix 1. Contents of the preliminary 1/3 A games in 2006

Appendix 2. Contents of the preliminary 1/3 A games in 2008

Appendix 3. Solfège pre-tests at the 1/3 level

Appendix 4. Solfège post-tests at the 1/3 level

Appendix 5. Solfège pre-tests at the 2/3 level

Appendix 6. Solfège post-tests at the 2/3 level

Appendix 7. Solfège pre-tests at the 3/3 level

Appendix 8. Solfège post-tests at the 3/3 level

Appendix 9. Music theory pre-tests at the 1/3 level

Appendix 10. Music theory post-tests at the 1/3 level

Appendix 11. Music theory pre-tests at the 2/3 level

Appendix 12. Music theory post-tests at the 2/3 level

Appendix 13. Music theory pre-tests at the 3/3 level

Appendix 14. Music theory post-tests at the 3/3 level

Appendix 15. Data 1/3 (N=42)

Appendix 16. Data 2/3 (N=46)

Appendix 17. Data 3/3 (N=37)

Appendix 18. Statistical significant limits (p-values)

Appendix 19. One-way analysis of variance: ANOVA

Appendix 20. One-way analysis of variance: Descriptive

Appendix 21. Multiple Comparisons with the Tukey HSD Test

Appendix 22. One-way analysis of variance: Mean Plot Tests (N=125)

Appendix 23. Original Quotations

Appendix 24. Example for a CAI Music Theory I Chordal Analysis (Renaissance)

Appendix 25. Example for a CAI Solfège I Chordal Analysis (Renaissance)

Appendix 26. Example for a CAI Music Theory I Chordal analysis (Baroque)

Appendix 27. Example for a CAI Solfège I Chordal Analysis (Baroque)

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

CHAPTER 1

CAIComputer-aided InstructionLUMOWest Regional Music Institute in Lohja, Finland

CHAPTER 2

AVAudio-visualE-bookelectronic (digital) bookIKSInternational Kodály SocietyEMFElementary Mental FunctionsMIMultiple IntelligencesMKOthe More Knowledgeable OtherPDAPersonal Digital AssistantZPDZone of Proximal Development

CHAPTER 3

FKCFinnish Kodály CenterSuomen Kodály-keskusFKSFinnish Kodály SocietySuomen Kodály-seuraIKSInternational Kodály SocietyNemzetközi Kodály Társaság

CHAPTER 4

ATMIthe Association for Technology in Music InstructionEFTAthe European Free Trade AssociationEUEuropean UnionEurydiceInformation on Education Systems and Policies in EuropeFMEthe Finnish Ministry of EducationICTInformation and Communication TechnologyISMEInternational Society for Music EducationITInformation technologyMOVEMusic Education and Research OnlineOPMthe Ministry of EducationPLATOProgrammed Logic for Automated Teaching OperationsPISAthe Programme for International Student AssessmentRIMEResearch in Music EducationPLATOProgrammed Logic for Automated Teaching OperationsPISAthe Programme for International Student AssessmentRIMEResearch in Music EducationTVTelevision [telecommunication medium]UNESCOUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

CHAPTER 5

FITFull Information Technologypersonal instruction, computer for everyonePITPart Information Technologygroup teaching, computer used by the teacherTRADTraditional Teachingwithout computer

CHAPTER 6

CDCompact DiscDOMFunctional syllable for the dominantEACEAThe Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive AgencyFNBEFinnish National Board of EducationMIDIMusical Instrument Digital InterfaceSUBFunctional syllable for the subdominantTONFunctional syllable for the tonicVCRVideo Cassette Recorder

CHAPTER 7

UCLAUniversity of California, Los Angeles

Data Codes / Inserts Nos 15–17

V1_1Pre-octavesmusic theory taskV1_2Post-octavesmusic theory taskV2_1Pre-barlinesmusic theory taskV2_2Post-barlinesmusic theory taskV3_1Pre-scalesmusic theory taskV3_2Post-scalesmusic theory taskV4_1Pre-intervalsmusic theory taskV4_2Post-intervalsmusic theory taskV5_1Pre-musical termsmusic theory taskV5_2Post-musical termsmusic theory taskV6_1Pre-melodic dictationsolfège taskV6_2Post-melodic dictationsolfège taskV7_1Pre-rhythmic dictationsolfège taskV7_2Post-rhythmic dictationsolfège taskV8_1Pre-chordic dictationsolfège taskV8_2Post-chordic dictationsolfège taskV9_1Pre-chordsmusic theory taskV9_2Post-chordsmusic theory taskV10_1Pre-interval dictationsolfège taskV10_2Post-interval dictationsolfège taskV11_1Pre-cadence dictationsolfège taskV11_2Post-cadence dictationsolfège task

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

In 1991 I began postgraduate studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. At the same time I was a music theory and solfège lecturer in Lohja, also in Finland.

My favourite memory of the Sibelius Academy is following Seija-Sisko Raitio’s solfège instruction. At that time, teachers had begun to use music software. Aarre Joutsevirta suggested Encore notation software (2010), for which I am very grateful, because it is the only music software that is simple enough to use without any special technical training, and it is the only program that is suitable for small children from the very first lesson. (About Encore notation software, see, for example, Encore 2010=www.gvox.com)

In the autumn of 1992 Computer-Aided Instruction or CAI was begun in the Länsi-Uudenmaan musiikkiopisto (the West Regional Music Institute or LUMO in Lohja). At the time the principals of LUMO and the Anttila School had agreed that the computer classroom in the comprehensive school could be used for solfège instruction in the afternoons. Primary school teachers used the computer lab in the mornings, and the music schoolteachers used it in the afternoons. The principal of the music school, Jorma Mäenpää, invested in sound cards, synthesizers and Encore notation software (2010) for each computer. (Király 2000.)

In 1993 the Kuopio Department of the Sibelius Academy invited me to teach solfège with the aid of a computer. Because I was unable to find any readymade computer-aided instructional materials for solfège, I began to develop such materials myself (Király 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997).

My licentiate study, Solfège in the computer classroom (2000), focused on learning outcomes in middle-grade and higher-level classes. A study was done on the students’ attitudes, motivation and opinions about computer-based music theory and solfège learning. The results of the licentiate research suggested that notions of learning and teaching in the computer classroom have changed in quality. Learning has come to the fore more sharply than the process of teaching, and computers have become a useful aid to independent learning. (Király 2000.)

My licentiate research was connected with computer-aided teaching and learning experiences and focused on middle-grade and higher-level students’ attitudes, motivation, opinions and learning outcomes with computer-based solfège instruction. I wanted to develop CAI materials in order to provide a more agreeable and effective method of learning than was available with traditional methods. I also wanted to find suitable didactic instruction for teaching music theory and solfège and combine it with the methods I had learned in my original music studies, which were done in Hungary. Learning in a computer classroom requires efficient computers, and kindergarten is the ideal place and age to begin CAI. (Király 2000.)

The results of my licentiate research demonstrated that solfège instruction needed rejuvenation, especially in its aims. The teacher’s role has become more challenging. I have learned from experience that computer-aided teaching cannot be done effectively by teachers who are untrained in computer-teaching technology. A music teacher who uses a computer for music teaching requires special technological education, digital materials, a well-equipped virtual environment and a special IT assistant who is always ready to help. (Király 2000.)

Solfa.Net project

The purpose of the Solfa.Net project (2002–2006) was to understand the pedagogical models for E-learning and the virtual learning space and to investigate how the models might be implemented in a practical environment.

The research programmes of the Solfa.Net project were Solfa.Net Teacher Education, Solfa.Net Learning Space and Solfa.Net Materials.

The research programme of the EU project concentrated on preparing music teachers for Web education and developing Web learning spaces and materials. Lasse Aumala and Pirkko Juntunen prepared Web material for instrumental instruction on the Finnish kantele (a type of zither) and violin. My role was to develop Web material for music theory and solfège instruction and for tutoring other teachers (Király 2004a-h, 2005a-h).

Together with Minna Viitala and Teuvo Ryynänen, teachers of music theory and solfège at the Kyrkslätt musikinstitut (Music Institute in Kirkkonummi, Finland) and at the Borgånejdens musikinstitut (the Music Institute in Porvoo, Finland), I developed a pedagogical approach to the technological problems in music education.

In my dissertation I continue exploring the theme of my licentiate work by focusing on the basic level of CAI and the new possibilities it offers for music pedagogy. The aim of this research is mainly to develop Kodály-based Web material and to determine how such material can be used in music education. Music theory and solfège are taught using three different methods on three basic learning levels. The groups are compared in order to determine pupils’ learning outcomes and how the CAI materials function.

CHAPTER 2

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1. The origin of music

Speech is basic to the development of human culture and differentiates us from all other species. The major transition from hominid to human development (2.5 million years ago) took place when the human species began to make and use tools. To do this it was necessary to formulate and follow a plan and to think in advance. The basis of intelligent behaviour requires a sense of the past and the future, as well as a concept of time.

Musicologists and anthropologists of music around the world believe that music was adapted from cultural behaviour and religious ceremonies, and this explains its origin. Acoustic and musical signs were significant and understood among the human species as important factors in communication and for behaviour. It is more than likely that we were a creative, singing, dancing, clapping, music-making species long before we became verbal and talking Homo sapiens. Ancient Greek philosophers believed that music originated from language. However, Maria B. Spychiger’s hypothesis (2001: 36) suggests that the ability to organise sound was evolutionary and was established much earlier than speech.

Donald Hodges (1989) put music in primary place among the functions of music in human development. Hodges (1989) introduced music in the ‘third function’, as an individual mode of knowledge. He suggested that important concepts in human behaviour are represented and conveyed through music, and mentions expressions of truth, beauty, justice, love, care, faithfulness, triumph, grief, gladness, lightness, growing, diminishing as specific concepts in human experience. According to Spychiger (2001: 37), recognition of nonverbal knowledge is important because the belief persists that human thinking and intelligent behaviour are based on language.

Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) (1983, 1999, 2005) reflects a concept of music as a ‘mode of knowledge’. According to this theory, all human beings possess a minimum of eight forms of intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal and intrapersonal. These multiple intelligences identify us as human beings. Gardner’s multiple intelligences are based on individual sign systems, such as verbal (language), numerical (mathematics), sonic (music), visual-spatial (objects and pictures) and kinaesthetic (gesture, mime, movement). Multiple intelligences correspond to modes of knowledge, and this comprehension, which is Hodge’s third function of music, can be linked to Gardner’s definition of musical intelligence. (Spychiger 2001: 38.)

According to Gardner (2000: 32), schools have the benefit of one or two forms of human intelligence involving language and logic as well as additional effective techniques through which we become acquainted with the world. Teachers need to modify their instructional techniques in order to give equal learning opportunities to all students, not just to those talented in linquistics or mathematics.

The following quotation comes from an article about Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences presented on the 25th anniversary of its publication (Gardner 2008):

The most important steps taken by Gardner (1983) involved arriving at a working definition of ‘an intelligence’ and devising a set of criteria of what counts as ‘an intelligence’. Gardner described ‘an intelligence’ as: ‘a biological and psychological potential to solve problems and / or create products that are valued in one or more cultural contexts’. Armed with this definition and these criteria, Gardner identified seven relatively autonomous capacities that he called the multiple intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, kinaesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal. In more recent writings, Gardner added an eighth (naturalist) intelligence and has continued to speculate about a possible ninth (existential) intelligence. The two most important scientific implications of the theory are complementary. On the one hand, all human beings possess the eight or nine types of intelligence that make us human; on the other hand, no two human beings – not even identical twins – exhibit precisely the same profile of intelligence. (Gardner 2008: 1.)

2.2. Language learning

When Charles Darwin published Origin of Species in 1859, he had considerable interest in the origin and evolution of language. He consistently observed his son’s progress and language-learning process. (Darwin 1859.) In 1877 Darwin published his Biographical Sketch of an Infant, which reflected his evolutionary theory. Child development is a contemplation on the evolution of the species. For a long time language was considered the essential factor in the evolution of children. (Darwin 1877.)

Of the numerous books on theories of language learning, two appear to be closest to my study. They are the cognitive constructivism of Jean Piaget and the social constructivism of Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky. The main focus of Piaget’s cognitive constructivism theory is on the cognitive development of children (1963 [1936], 1971, 1993).

In Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory (1993 [1936], 1987) the primary concern is the affiliation between thought and language. Vygotsky was interested in the ways different languages could affect the way a person thinks. Vygotsky’s theory views language first as social communication, which gradually promotes both language and cognition. He proposed that what Piaget observed as the egocentric speech of children was in fact personal speech. This is the child’s way of exploiting words to think about something or other, which is a step from common speech to thinking in words. Therefore, Vygotsky’s concept of language as common communication promotes the gradual development of both language and psychology. (David 2004: 12–13.)

2.2.1. Piaget’s Theory

The child psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980) demonstrated the means through which the mind transforms new information. The basic inclination applied in thinking is towards organising – the compounding, arranging, decompounding and rearranging of information and concepts into a comprehensible system. Human beings are born with an inclination to organise their reasoning techniques into psychological constructions. Piaget identified these structures as schemes. In this theory schemes are the basic fabrication barriers to thinking. (Woolfolk 2007: 28.)

Children can understand only what they have experienced. A child believes that everyone sees the world in exactly the same way he does. According to Piaget, adaptation is the most important principle of human functioning. Adaptation is the continuous process of using the environment to learn and adjust to changes in the environment. It is a process of adjustment consisting of two complementary processes, assimilation and accommodation. (Piaget 1952: 357–419; Singer & Revenson 1978: 12–13.)

In scientific thinking, for instance, accommodation to reality is purely experimental, but assimilation is deductive, incorporating objects into logical or mathematical schemas (Piaget 1962: 161).

Assimilation is the process of taking in new information and fitting it into a preconceived notion about objects or the world. Accommodation means adjusting to new experiences or objects by revising the old plan to fit new information. This dual process, assimilation-accommodation, which leads to adaptation, enables the child to form what Piaget calls a schema. A schema is a simple mental image or pattern of action, a form of organising information that a person uses to interpret the things he sees, hears, smells and touches. Adaptation is a process of seeking equilibrium between the self and the environment: It is a balance between the processes of assimilation and accommodation. (Piaget 1952: 357–419; Singer & Revenson 1978: 15–16.)

According to Piaget (1971, 1993), coordinating, assimilating and accommodating can be viewed as a sophisticated balancing process of behaviour. In his concept, actual modification in thinking occurs through utilising equilibration – the ability of enquiring to make adjustments. Equilibrium exists when a distinct scheme is applied to an event or situation and the scheme is carried out. If the scheme does not produce gratifying results, then disequilibrium will be ensue, and a person becomes uncomfortable. This prompts us to continue further enquiry to find a solution by way of assimilation and accommodation, and thus our thinking makes adjustments and moves ahead. (Woolfolk 2007: 29.)

According to Piaget (1993 [1947]: 172), after the appearance of language, or more precisely, the symbolic function that makes its acquisition possible (at age 1½ to 2), there begins a period lasting almost four years and involving the development of symbolic and pre-conceptual thought. From 4 to about 7 or 8 years of age, a closely linked continuation of the previous stage is developed – intuitive thought whereby progressive articulation leads to the threshold of the operation. Children from 7–8 to 11–12 years, are able to organise ‘concrete operations’. These are operational thought groupings about objects that can be manipulated or known through the senses. Finally, from age 11 to 12 and during adolescence, formal thought is perfected, and its groupings characterise the completion of reflective intelligence. (Piaget 1960 [1947]: 123.)

Emőke Marosi (1996: 42) presented Piaget’s Mental Development of the Child in the International Kodály Society Bulletin. Piaget (1971) presented the cognitive Mental Development of the Child in four stages and compared the stages to a person’s ability to comprehend and assimilate new data.

The first cognitive stage, Sensorimotor, appears between the time of birth up to age 2 when the child learns about himself / herself and his / her environment through motor and reflex actions derived from sensation and movement. Teaching something to a child requires being in accordance with the sensorimotor system by using conception.

The second cognitive stage, Preoperational Thought, arises between the ages of 2 and 7. When the child begins to talk by employing new his knowledge of language, the child begins to use symbols to personify objects. The teacher has to take into consideration that children’s active imaginations influence their thinking. Using simple words, body outlines and tools is a good way to initiate and enhance a child’s learning abilities.

The third cognitive stage, Concrete Operational Thought, occurs from ages 7 to 12 and promotes new competencies, such as thinking abstractly and making rational decisions about specific or obvious phenomena. The teacher has to present opportunities that prompt questions and provide chances for the children to explain things to the teacher. This permits the child to manipulate the new information mentally. In order to visualise rules and facts, rational explanation and intelligence appear as operative intelligence.

The fourth cognitive stage is the Formal Hypothetical-Deductive Operational, which moves from concrete to ‘formal or ‘hypothetical-deductive’ thought and develops until the child reaches 11 to14 years of age, at which point cognition reaches its final form. The pupil is capable of hypothetical and deductive reasoning. With this theory, teaching achieves a wide range because the student is able to consider many possibilities from several perspectives. Formal thought is therefore hypothetical-deductive, whereby we are able to draw conclusions from pure hypotheses and not simply from concrete observation. (Marosi 1996: 42.)

Early in his career Piaget observed important cultural variations in ways of thinking and maintained that there was a distinct ‘mentality’ connected with each type of social variance. He claimed that the “mentality called primitive to the conformist or seminary societies, is the rational mentality in our distinguished societies”. (Piaget 1995 [1928]: 191.)

In the mid-1960s Piaget returned to the issue of cultural variations in cognitive development. He divided the potential influences on cognitive development [according to Cole’s collection] into the following main categories. (Piaget 1988 [1964]: 168–172, 1974 [1966]: 302, Cole 2003: 87.)

According to Michael Cole (2003), Piaget’s potential influences on cognitive development are:

biological factors

coordination of individual actions

the social factor of interpersonal coordination

educational and cultural transmission.

Piaget disagreed with the idea that cultural variations play an important role in the manner in which we think. The main problem with the Piagetian theory is that children express themselves simply and in words that are familiar to them, and language does not influence the development of thinking. (David 2004: 12–13.)

Piaget (1952) believed that children learn by doing and experiencing on their own more effectively than by listening to explanations. This theory underlines the role that the teacher should take – a facilitator rather than a dispenser of knowledge. Understanding that there are some areas of knowledge that cannot be taught in the traditional sense, but must be learned through the child’s own integration means that parents and teachers should be creative and observant and provide a wide variety of experiences and materials for the child to explore and act upon. (Piaget 1952, Peterson & Felton-Collins: 1986: 59.)

Learning is supported when theory is put into practice through action. Children need actively to experiment with materials and to experience things in the real world in order to develop thought. Piaget’s (1952) interest was primarily in how children learn as opposed to what or when they might learn it. (Piaget 1952; Pound 2005: 36.)

According to Cole (2003: 87), Piaget was sceptical of enhancing learning development. He argued that the irregular power-relations between teacher and student created instability, because the pressure for the learner to adapt to the teacher’s view far outweighs the pressure of adjusting the instructions to the child’s existing schemes.

At a later stage Piaget (1972) confronted the evidence of cultural variation in performance on his operational tasks. He offered three possible reasons for the variability in the rates of change and the degree of mastering operational thinking that were observed.

1. It may be that some cultures offer more intellectual stimulation than others.

2. Conventional behaviour might have a psychological effect on an individual’s level of intelligence, which permits some individuals to explore certain areas of knowledge more deeply than others.

3. All individuals reach an international level of behaviour in thinking, but these formal behaviours occur in fields of adult specialisation. This perspective offers an obvious line of reconciliation between the Piagetian theory and cultural variability. (Piaget 1972; Cole 2003: 89.)

2.2.2. Vygotsky’s Theory

Vygotsky’s theory (1987) points out the importance of culture and language in the personal cognitive development of human beings. Vygotsky (1987, 1993 [1936]) refers to Elementary Mental Functions: 1. attention, 2. sensation, 3. perception, 4. memory.

According to Anita Woolfolk (2004), to gain an understanding of Vygotsky’s theories on cognitive development, one must understand two of the main principles of Vygotsky’s achievements:

the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)

the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) is self-explanatory. It refers to someone who has a better understanding or a higher level of learning than oneself. The MKO need not be a person; it can also be an electronic performance support system. Electronic tutors have been used to advantage in educational settings to facilitate and guide learners through the learning process. The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), the other well-known Vygotsky principle of tutoring, involves the area of proximal development in which some problems occur that relate to the extent of a child’s range of understanding. This area is the sphere in which a child can perform a challenging task when given advantageous help. (Woolfolk 2004.)

Vygotsky (1978) originally developed the concept of the ‘zone’ in a critique on the use of individual IQ tests to assess a student’s learning potential. (Vygotsky 1978, 1986; Moll 1990.) It was just as crucial to measure the level of potential development, Vygotsky argued, if not more so, as to measure the level of actual development (Vygotsky 1956: 446).

In his view, however, existing practices were such that “in determining the mental age of a child with the help of tests, we almost always are concerned with the actual level of development”. Vygotsky ([1956]: 446) also claimed that “what the child can do in cooperation today he can do alone tomorrow”. [Vygotsky 1962:104.]

Figure 1. Zone of Proximal Development (Silvonen 2004: 53)

Interest in the problem of how a child can become ‘what he not yet is’ can be traced in part to Vygotsky’s analysis of the zone of proximal development (Wertsch 1985: 67).

Jerome S. Bruner (1989) elaborates on Vygotsky’s ideas about the ZPD by identifying two important conditions that have to be present for successful learning: the teacher must provide scaffolding for the learner, and the learner must be willing to try to work with the teacher. Scaffolding means that the teacher structures a learning task and provides directives and clues using dialogue to guide the learner’s participation. (Dixon-Krauss 1996: 61.)

Figure 1 is adapted from Jussi Silvonen’s (2004: 53) presentation of the Zone of Proximal Development. The development of language is considered the major principle of Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory. Vygotsky demonstrated the role of the collaborative work in child development as follows:

As research has shown, collaborative work is one of the central factors in the children’s cultural development. The collective, according to new studies, emerges as the primary factor in the development of higher psychological functions. (Vygotsky 1993 [1936]: 256.)

Vygotsky’s concept of internalisation is the progressive transfer from external social activity mediated by signs to internal control. Vygotsky stated this concept of internalisation in his general law of cultural development. He claimed that:

Any function in the child’s cultural development appears twice or on two planes. First it appears on the social plane, and then on the psychological plane. First it appears between two people as an inter-psychological category, and then within the child as an intra-psychological category. (Vygotsky 1981: 163.)

Vygotsky (1987) elaborates by suggesting that in mastering nature, we master ourselves. For it is the internalisation of overt action that makes thought, and particularly the internalisation of external dialogue, which brings the powerful tool of language to bear on the stream of thought. Speech and thought come from different roots. He plunges directly into the task of exploring the behaviour of young children where there is a pre-linguistic phase in the use of thought and a pre-intellectual phase in the use of speech. (Bruner 1974 [1961].)

Vygotsky (1993 [1936]) believed that cultural tools, including printing presses, rulers, the abacus, and so on, facilitate learning. Today we could add PDAs, computers, the Internet) and psychological tools (signs and symbol systems such as numbers and mathematical systems, Braille and sign language, maps, works of art, codes, and language) that play important roles in cognitive development. Psychological tools can help students advance their own development (Karpov & Haywood 1998). The concrete tools (computers, scales, etc.) and symbol systems (numbers, language, graphs) allow people in society to communicate, think, solve problems and create knowledge. (Woolfolk 2007: 41.)

The technology today and in the future will be student-centred and designed to facilitate instruction through interactive mediation processes. The use of these technologies promotes social processes that are considered necessary in student development. The computer becomes a mediation tool and acts as a more competent peer, allowing internalisation of information and development of tools for the future. (Dixon-Krauss 1996: 188.)

2.2.3. Comparing the ideas of Piaget and Vygotsky

Piaget (1952) believed that children's thinking means moving from automatic speech towards socialised speech, towards the intimate, internal, personal issues that are gradually replaced by socialisation. However, Vygotsky (1987) asserted that the primary function of speech is the communication and social connection (for adults and children alike) and that a child's speech is reliant on social interaction from the beginning. (Balogh 1982: 34.)