LESSON 3: LISTENING

MU101
 What is the difference between
hearing and listening?

Hearing is mostly passive-we, humans, hear a lot of sounds

simultaneously without paying attention to them. On the other
hand, listening is a process which actively engages our brains as
well as our ears. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines listening
as: "to pay attention to someone or something in order to hear
what is being said, sung, played, etc." Together with reading,
writing, and speaking, listening is considered to be one of the four
language skills, and music is a language.
 What is the difference between
hearing and listening?

Most of the time, we tend to hear but not listen. In

educating our students through music, we are to train
them to be active listeners and not just mere hearers of
music. The goal is to enable our students to connect what
they listen to in the music to more far-reaching concepts
and ideas
 What is the difference between
hearing and listening?

For example, we are listening to a march. How can a

drumbeat pattern depict a march? How does the
drumbeat relate to the movement of the feet? Does the
tempo reflect a military march or a funeral march?
 What is the difference between
hearing and listening?

For example, we are listening to a march. How can a

drumbeat pattern depict a march? How does the
drumbeat relate to the movement of the feet? Does the
tempo reflect a military march or a funeral march?
 What is the difference between
hearing and listening?

When playing a track of music for the class, teachers must

guide their students to identify music elements, find the
meaning and relationship between the sounds, silence,
notes, phrases, sections, and lyrics (if present), and if
possible, relate these to other concepts or subjects, such
as color, texture, art, mathematics, an event, or a story.
 Sample Questions:

1. What musical instruments am I hearing? How many are there? Are these stringed
instruments? brass instruments? wind instruments? Percussion instruments?
2. Is it a solo or a group performance?
3. What do the lyrics say? Do the lyrics fit the music?
4. What key is the music written?
5. What is the tempo (speed) of the music? How does it affect the character of the
piece? If it was played or sung slower or faster, how would the character change?
6. How does the music make me feel? What is its general mood?
7. Are there chords used in the piece? Are they in major or minor?
8. Are the lyrics based on a literary work, such as a pom?
 Techniques to remember when
giving out listening examples:

1. Be a good listening model - When listening, the teacher must show

that she is engaged while doing so. Avoid using this time to look at
your notes or your lesson plan, or else the students would notice that
you yourself are not listening attentively. React to what you hear in
the recording. Smile, frown, laugh, and show facial expressions.
Students copy what they see and observe in their teachers.
2. Be a good listening model - When listening, the teacher must show
that she is engaged while doing so. Avoid using this time to look at
your notes or your lesson plan, or else the students would notice that
you yourself are not listening attentively. React to what you hear in
the recording. Smile, frown, laugh, and show facial expressions.
Students copy what they see and observe in their teachers.
 Techniques to remember when
giving out listening examples:

3. Repetition is key - It is important to give the students ample time to

hear details within the music clearly, and this sometimes requires
several repeats in playing the recording. Also, you need not play an
entire musical piece-you may opt to cut it in places, selecting only
important or specific parts for study. This also ensures that children
will not get bored listening to a long selection, or get tired of waiting
for these parts to be heard.
LESSON 4: SINGING
MU101
Singing may be considered to be the most important phase of music
learning in elementary school. A wide range of musical concepts and
experiences can be attained through singing, such as reading notation,
dynamics, forms, rhythms, and tempo among many others. The voice is
the instrument that all human beings have-and it is readily accessible.
Singing can also be a way for students to experience for themselves the
emotions of other people.
 Ideas to consider when teaching
singing activities:

1.Choosing children's songs. This requires most careful consideration, for we

would not want to damage our students' vocal faculties.
a. Teach songs that have simple rhythmic patterns. The difficulty can increase as
they progress.
b. Teach songs that are appropriate for their level of understanding. Basically,
what this means is that do not teach Grade 6 songs to Grade 3 students.
c. Teach songs that have words or lyrics that are not provocative/suggest double
meanings, which may cause confusion and/or embarrassment, especially to
upper grade levels (Grades 4-6).
d. Consider the breathing lengths of children. Do not expect them to sing long
phrases if their physique cannot allow them to.
 Ideas to consider when teaching
singing activities:

e. Consider the range of the songs you are teaching. It is important to evaluate the vocal
range of your students, as the songs you choose might be either too high or too low for
them to sing. Also, take note that their voices change (students' voice ranges in Grades 1-
3 will eventually change as their bodies grow and enter Grades 4-6). You may listen to
recordings to hear for yourself whether or not the voice ranges of your chosen song/s are
applicable to your students.
f. Consider which vocal registers are to be used (either head tone or chest tone).
g. As much as possible, teach a wide range of music from different cultures, but also
emphasize our own traditional and folk Filipino songs, which are sadly falling into neglect.
This will teach our students to learn and preserve their national heritage and identity.
h. Select songs that are realistic (based on real life) and also imaginative(fiction), for variety.
 Ideas to consider when teaching
singing activities:

2. Aim for good singing attributes. Here are some goals that teachers should constantly aim
for when teaching songs :
a. Good tone quality
b. Correct speed or tempo
C. Right posture
d. Correct breathing
e. Proper pronunciation of Iyrics
f. Correct performance of notated musical symbols
g. Appropriate emotional response
 Ideas to consider when teaching
singing activities:

3. Identify which method of learning should be used: by rote or by note. There are two ways
of teaching songs to elementary students, either by rote (that is, by listening repeatedly
without the use of musical notation) or by note (learning how to read musical symbols, such
as notes and rests). Ideally, we should aim to balance between developing the aural and the
visual capabilities of our students. Usually, rote singing is used for teaching songs that are
hard to read. Students are then left with no choice but to learn them by ear, thus developing
their ability to create and recreate music. There are two ways of teaching by rote:

A. Whole song approach - This can be used to teach songs which can be easily imitated by
children. These are usually short, repetitive, and easy to remember.
B. Phrase-by-phrase approach - This approach is used to teach songs which are more
difficult to learn and have to be divided into smaller sections or phrases.
 Ideas to consider when teaching
singing activities:

On the other hand, learning by note incorporates activities such as using sol-fa syllables,
which are more easily associated and assimilated into the aural experience, as these syllables
seem to perfectly "match" the tones they represent. When teaching pitches, it is important
that students not only learn the pitch letters (A, B, C, up to G), but also "experience" them -
that is, to sing them using sol-fa syllables. There is a certain disconnect when singing letters
since they do not correspond that naturally to the pitches as compared tosol-fa syllables. Also,
solfeggio exercises usually do not require children to sing pitches using letters, but in sol-fa
syllables.
 Ideas to consider when teaching
singing activities:

Another effective method in note singing is the use of body parts to associate with pitches.
Such is the case when using Curwen Hand Signals, where each hand symbol represents a
pitch.
Ideas to consider when teaching
singing activities:
 Ideas to consider when teaching
singing activities:
4. Identify the marks of a poor singer. In some of our music classes, there will be always
some children who are musically inept, who are unable to "carry a tune." It is our duty as
teachers to quickly identify them, so that we may devise strategies to help them improve. We
are not to segregate them from class, for this might affect them adversely. Here are some
marks of a poor singer:
A. Oral problems. These refer to speech problems that impede speaking or correct
pronunciation.
B. Aural problems. These refer to the difficulty in pitch perception, this is what happens
when a student cannot sing correctly in tune, or the inability to identify which pitches are
high, low, and their relation to other pitches. These require much ear training and
listening exercises.
 Ideas to consider when teaching
singing activities:

c. Lack of confidence. This is characterized by stage fright, extreme

anxiety, and lack of voice projection or volume.
d. Memory problems. These refer to the inability to properly commit the
lyrics and/or the music to memory, both cognitively and also in terms
of muscle memory.
 Ideas to consider when teaching
singing activities:

In the four problems previously stated, the most troublesome to solve would be aural
problems. Here are a few suggestions that may help:
A. Listening exercises that identify between high and low pitches
B. Tone matching exercises - where a student should reproduce correctly a given
pitch. These may take a lot of time and repetition. Start with one pitch, then
gradually increase the number of pitches to be matched. Using sol-fa syllables is
highly recommended.
C. Singing a short phrase, composed of a few pitches only. The number of pitches
may be increased gradually.
THE K-12 ELEMENTARY
ART EDUCATION
CURRICULUM
ART101
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Both the Music and the Arts curricula focus on the learner as
recipient of the knowledge, skills, and values necessary for
artistic expression and cultural literacy. The design of the
curricula is student-centered, based on spiral progression of
processes, concepts and skills and grounded in performance-
based learning. Thus, the learner is empowered, through
active involvement and participation, to effectively correlate
music and art to the development of his/her own cultural
identity and the expansion of his/her vision of the world.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

As Music and Arts are performance-based disciplines,

effective learning occurs through active experience,
participation, and performance, creative expression, aesthetic
evaluation, critical response, and interpretation. The skills
that are developed include reading/analyzing,
listening/observing, performing, singing, using musical
instruments, movement, acting, and playing, using different
art materials, techniques and processes, responding,
composing, and creating.
PHILOSOPHY AND RATIONALE

As Music and Arts are performance-based disciplines,

effective learning occurs through active experience,
participation, and performance, creative expression, aesthetic
evaluation, critical response, and interpretation. The skills
that are developed include reading/analyzing,
listening/observing, performing, singing, using musical
instruments, movement, acting, and playing, using different
art materials, techniques and processes, responding,
composing, and creating.
Elements, Principles, and Processes of Art
Education
Art Elements and Principles Art Processes
Listening Seeing/Observing
Reading Reading
Imitating (Recreating) Imitating (Recreating)
Responding Responding
Creating Creating (Original works)
Performing (including Performing (different art
movement) processes)
Evaluating Evaluating
Analyzing Critically Analyzing Critically
Applying (Transference) Applying (Transference)
Standards

Learning Area Standards

The learner demonstrates an understanding of
basic concepts and processes in music and art
through appreciation, analysis and performance
for his/her self-development, celebration of
his/her Filipino cultural identity and diversity,
and expansion of his/her world vision.
Standards

Key Stage Standards for K-3 and 4-6

The learner demonstrates understanding of
fundamental processes through performing,
creating, and responding, aimed towards the
development of appreciation of music and art,
and
The Grade Level Standards for 1-3, although worded differently, are
identical in purpose.

The Grade Level Standards for 4-6 are all aimed at "a deeper
understanding of basic knowledge and skills in music and art, towards
self-development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identity and
diversity, and expansion of one’s world vision." However, they differ in
their delivery and degree:

Grade 4; "Through the formal introduction of elements, the learner can

identify the basic knowledge and skills in music and art.
Grade 5: "Through exploration, the learner demonstrates a deeper
understanding of basic knowledge and skills in music and art..
-Grade 6: *Through application, the learner demonstrates understanding
of the basic concepts of and processes in music and art..
The Curriculum and the Classroom
To navigate these confusing and sometimes contradictory
statements within the curriculum guide, the student teacher is
advised to keep in mind that the curriculum guide is a guide-_-it
was never intended as the be-all and end-all of what takes place in
the classroom. A teacher trained in the arts can and is expected to
interpret the standards and competencies according to what is
most appropriate for his or her learners and his or her school and
classroom contexts and environments. The competencies listed
merely serve as a kind of life saver for the teacher who somehow
does not know what to do-an all too common occurrence in the
Philippines where teachers trained in one particular discipline find
themselves having to teach another.
Remember this fundamental truth: The curriculum guide is useful
and important, but it is not the teacher--you are.
Activity:
1. (ART101)
In the light of the content standards for Grades 1-3, create a lesson
plan for a Grade 1 class using the curriculum guide. Pay particular
attention to ensure that the lesson is taught intergratively (that is,
the different parts are integrated rather than separated).
2. (MU101)
Select a portion of a song that you really like. Sing this and record
yourself either acapella or with a recording or an instrumental
accompaniment. Say a little description about your chosen song.
After singing, draw a melodic contour of the song you’ve chosen on
paper.

Submission is on September 17 (Saturday). We will not meet on

next Friday to finish these activities.