VMEA 2019

Teaching to the Way Students Perceive Music

Dr. Kimberly L. Ankney, Christopher Newport University
Alice Boyars, Fairfax County Public Schools

I. Students perceive many features of music, and it is important to capture these

perceptions in order to foster musical understanding!

II. Invented Notation may reveal

a. Iconic understanding- symbols associated with music, musical action, topic
b. As students mature, they represent music with either:
i. Figural understanding- focus is on musical motifs
1. Students with figural understandings can become very frustrated
by standard notation
ii. Formal understanding- focus is on metrical division over time

III. Factors Leading to Misconceptions about Standard Notation

a. Loss of Feeling of Beat Level
b. Loss of Home Pitch
c. Music as singular events- Music as Math
d. Consistent Large Group Experiences

IV. Large group performance achievement does not mean everyone has conceptual
understanding
a. Focus on perceptual acuity first—in order to integrate performance achievement
and with the conceptual understanding of music notation

V. How do we develop perceptual acuity?

a. Observing Perceptions
i. Have students write down familiar and unfamiliar music. Small patterns,
but also build to larger melodies. Have them COMPOSE!!!
ii. Allow students to write with invented notations
iii. Have students perform their notation for you and others
iv. Ask students questions about their notation
b. Connecting to Students’ Perceptions
i. Connect to what they perceive! Give them credit for what they hear, and
what they hear well!
ii. MOVE to music to help with beat level understanding (horizontal plane),
and tonal understanding (vertical plane).
iii. Have students use consistent language when explaining musical concepts
iv. Have them perform their music notation and music notation of peers
v. Use alternate representation systems in software programs—discuss these
representations
vi. Certainly connect to standard notation based on students perceptions!
 References and Resources

Ankney, K. L. (2012). Alternative representations for music composition. Visions of Research in Music
Education, Special Edition: A Tribute Honoring Jeanne Bamberger, 20(1). Retrieved from
http://www-usr.rider.edu/~vrme/v20n1/index.htm

Bamberger, J. (1995). The mind behind the musical ear: How children develop musical intelligence.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Bamberger, J. (2000). Developing musical intuitions: A project-based introduction to making and
understanding music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Davidson, L., Scripp, L., & Welsh, P. (1988). “Happy birthday”: Evidence for conflicts of perceptual
knowledge and understanding. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 22(1), 65-74.

Hickey, M. (2012). Music outside the lines: Ideas for composing in K-12 music classrooms. New York:
NY: Oxford University Press.

Upitis, R. U. (1992). Can I play you my song: The compositions and invented notations of children.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Contact info:

Kimberly L. Ankney: Kimberly.ankney@cnu.edu

Alice Boyars: Aeboyars@fcps.edu