A SUGGESTED KEYBOARD APPROACH FOR MUSIC
LEARNINGS FOR PRESCHOOL C^ilLDREIJ
by
CECILIA CHU WANG, B.M.Ed.
A THESIS
IN
MUSIC EDUCATION
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
of Texas Tech Univer&lcy in
Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for
the Degree of
MASTER OF MUSIC EDUCATION
Approved
Accepted
' ir
ACKNO^^^LEDGMENTS
I wish to express my sincere gratefulness to Dr. Hugo Marple
for his direction of this thesis and to Miss Georgette Gettel and
Miss Mary Ann Vaughan for their helpful criticism.
11
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I.
II.
III.
ii
INTRODUCTION
1
BACKGROUND
3
History and Recent Trends in Preschool
Education
3
History of Keyboard Class Instruction
5
The Development and Psychology of the
Five-year-old Child
7
MUSIC LEARNINGS
9
Description
IV.
9
The First Experiment
12
The Second Experiment
20
OBSERVATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Observations
Implications
V.
34
34
37
SUMMARY
40
BIBLIOGRAPHY
41
APPENDIX
45
A.
STATISTICS IN PRESCHOOL ENROLLMENT
46
B.
DAILY ACTIVITY RECOPJ) OF THE FIRST EXPERIMENT
48
C.
DAILY ACTIVITY RECORD OF THE SECOND EXPERIMENT
52
111
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The importance of early childhood education must no longer be
overlooked.
Although man had been trying to understand human behavior
for ages, only recently have psychologists and educators realized the
importance of development in the preschool child.
In the first few years of life, the child grows physically at
a most rapid rate along with growth of selected characteristics.
This
growth in early years, due to the sequential nature of human development, is crucial for all that follows.
Furthermore, a learning theory
has pointed out that it is much easier to learn something new than to
replace an old set of behaviors by a new one.(4:215)
Thus, it is only
logical to recognize the tremendous power of early learning and its
resistance to later alteration or extinction.
On one hand it is fortunate that educators and scientists,
realizing the importance of early childhood education and development,
have been studying and experimenting with the young child.
On the
other hand, it is unfortunate that so little has been related to music
learnings in early years.
Hence, there exists a need for research and experiments in
music learnings for preschool children.
such an attempt.
This paper is the result of
The keyboard approach is selected because it is
I
liM—(Jl^Ufc
Ii
profitable to arouse a child's interest and enrich his experience
through activities.
Singing and motor activities must not be neg-
lected, and they can be learned in the nursery schools and at home.
The piano has great advantages in developing children's musical
sensitivities such as pitch, intensity, melodic direction and harmony.
It is popular and easily available; it is attractive to
children and provides an easier accommodation than other instruments.
Considering Bruner's idea of spiral learning in which he
believes that any subject can be taught to any age provided the correct level of approach is used,(6) the experiments included in this
paper test the feasibility for preschool children to benefit from
the opportunities of class piano, an area which college and publicschool children have enjoyed for many years.
CHAPTER II
BACKGROUND
History and recent Trends in Preschool Education
During the past decade, accumulation of scientific evidence
has strengthened educational conviction that the first years of life
are a crucial time for learning.
Consequently the focus of attention
has shifted from the physical well-being of the baby to the cognitive
development in infancy and to the role of early stimulation in intellectual development.(13:316)
Today, numerous institutions are oper-
ating in support of efficient early childhood education.
These
include kindergartens, nurseries, nursery schools, infant schools or
classes, Montessori Schools, pre-primary schools, nursery play centers,
preschool centers and child-care centers.(41:3)
As a normal rule, the
kindergartens are for five-year-olds while nursery schools include
younger children as well.
Historically, the kindergarten is rooted in the thinking of
Comenius (17th century), Pestolozzi (18th century), Rousseau and
Herbart (19th century) by their emphasizing the importance of early
childhood development.
In 1837, Friedrich Froebel established the
first kindergarten in Blankenburg, Germany.(13:323)
Contemporary
with the Froebel Kindergarten but independent of it were the infant
'"•'-*•'it W f l r
schools originated in England under Robert Owen, the French salles
d'asiles which became les ecoles maternelles and the German Kleinkinderbewahrdnstalten.(41:3)
In 1855, Mrs. Carl Schurz brought the kindergarten idea to
the United States.
It was a Froebel school for the German children
in Watertown, Wisconsin.
In 1860, another kindergarten was opened
to Americans by Elizabeth Peabody of Boston, and in 1873, William T.
Harris invited Susan Blow to open one as part of the public school
system in St. Louis, Missouri.(13:323)
root in America.
Thus, the kindergarten took
The nursery schools, on the other hand, did not
begin in America until the 1920's.(20:283)
Of those who influenced
American nursery schools, Margaret and Rachel McMillan, Hunt and
Robert Watson, Charles Darwin and Stanley Hall, and Maria Montessori
probably have been the most influential.
Working with preschool
children in the slums of Rome at the beginning of this century,
Montessori is best known for her designs in sensory training and the
utilization of synthetic intellectual functions.
In the Montessori
School, the child pursues his own interest—is free to solve his
problems without interference. (13:319)
Within two decades Montessori-
style schools spread over the states.(13:322)
In regard to pre-primary school enrollment, statistics have
indicated a rising curve with the growth particularly significant in
the past five years.(Appendix A)
According to the United States
Census Bureau, in 1965 one out of ten children ages three to four
years were in some type of formal preschool program; by 1970 the
ratio increased to one in five. (22:vii)
In 1966, between 54 per
cent and 60 per cent of the five-year-olds were enrolled in kindergartens (15:29); by 1969, 76.2 per cent" were reported. (33:29)
Before the 1960's, the purpose of nursery schools was
mainly to provide day care for children of the working class and
to foster the socio-emotional growth of middle-class children.
By the middle 1960's, focus shifted to the disadvantaged class.
(20:283)
Of paramount importance many preschools had broadened
their objectives to include socio-emotional development, perceptualmotor development, cognitive development, and language development.
(20:286)
Little or no emphasis has been given to musical develop-
ment during the preschool period.
History of Keyboard Class Instruction
"I hold that the piano is the most complete of all instruments, as well as most useful, since it gives an idea of harmony,
of polyphony, and even of orchestral tone," Jaques-Dalcroze, a
well-known music educator, once declared.(19:56)
larity of the piano cannot be disputed.
Indeed the popu-
It has a reputation for
music learnings so that most American colleges and universities
require piano proficiency tests of their music majors.
Class piano
also serves this educational purpose in an effective and economic
manner.
^«*
Piano classes originated in Europe.
As early as 1815 Johann
Berhard Logier (1780-1846) instituted classes in piano in Dublin,
Ireland.
Before the Civil War privately conducted group piano
instruction began in the southern states of Mississippi, Tennessee,
and Virginia.
In spite of attacks from private teachers against
group teaching, music leaders stressed the advantages of the group
approach in developing musicianship.(34:39)
With Thaddeus P.
Giddings' inauguration of class lessons in the public schools in
Minneapolis in 1915, and Hazel Gertrude Kinscella following four
years later in Lincoln, Nebraska, piano classes soon flourished.
Both of thftm devised their original teaching methods which were
published into books.
The Gidding's Public School Class Method
for the Piano, Kinscella's Steps for the Young Pianist, the Melodic
Way, and the Oxford Piano Course were used most extensively.(24:37,
162)
The years of 1926 to 1931 marked the explosion of piano
classes.
In 1930, as many as 880 communities operated piano
classes in schools. (25) Throughout the United States, not only
elementary schools, but also junior and senior schools incorporated
beginning piano classes.
Furthermore, the beginners' courses were
usually followed by two years of piano study concentrating on notereading, ear-training, technique, and harmonization.
Class size
ranged from a few students to more than fifty, but the majority of
classes contained ten to twenty students.(39,26)
Several social factors were responsible for the decrease in
piano classes for the next twenty years—the depression, the shift
of emphasis from skills to social conformity, and the Second Wcrld
War;
music teachers and school officials encountered administra-
tive problems including lack of funds, lack of qualified teachers,
lack of space, difficulty in scheduling, and poor or inadequate
equipment.(35:8)
Many students brought their own portable key-
boards while others used cardboards, dummy keyboards, or toneproducing keyboards which neither felt nor sounded like a piano.
(24:76-80)
In recent years, the piano class movement has been supported by professional organizations including the Music Educators
National Conference, the Music Teachers National Association, and
the American Music Conference.
Thus, more teachers have dedicated
themselves to this field, and improvements in teacher training,
methods, and materials have been developed.(35:9)
One can easily
realize how much piano classes have improved by comparing modern
audio-visual-aided electronic piano laboratories to the silent or
portable keyboard classes of the 1920's.
The Development and Psychology of
the Five-year-old Child
The age of five, a nodal age, denotes the end of the period
of a child's most rapid growth.
During these years the child becomes
aware of himself and his potentialities.
Being self-content, serious,
sociable, stable, and relatively independent, he impresses one with
his unique individuality.(16:57)
8
Physically, an average five-year-old is slightly over forty
inches tall, weighs about thirty-nine pounds, while his brain has
attained eight-ninths of its adult weight.
gain in control over his muscles.
Most striking is the
His movements are now character-
ized by better coordination, gracefulness, economy, and accuracy.
(15:7) Although lacking finesse, the child's eye-hand performance
appears as capable as an adult's.(17:72)
Meanwhile, about ninety
per cent of the five-year-olds have become right-handed.(15:7)
Apart from this, five is also the age when maximum development in visual discrimination skills is achieved.(23)
It is the age
when the task of rhythm tapping, a form of auditory imitation involving temporal and perceptual organization, is mastered.(43:31)
More-
over, when only one leap from stimulus to hypothesis is required,
he can reason well, though more factors will confuse him.(31:32)
The child of five knows more than two thousand words but
ninety per cent of his questions refer to immediate situations,
revealing his engrossment in his own here-and-now world.(15:8-10)
Competition and group play do not appeal to him; in contrast he
loves the school routine, and seeks affection and applause.(17:65)
In other words, the five-year-old child is physically and
psychologically mature enough for serious learning activities.
Furthermore, he is ready to enjoy a meaningful music program with
understanding.
CHAPTER III
MUSIC LEARNINGS
Description
Two teaching experiments were conducted by the author in
the electronic piano laboratory of Texas Tech University.
The sub-
jects for each session were eight five-year-old preschoolers from
the Lubbock Day Nursery sponsored by the United Fund and supervised
by Mrs. Donald Ashdown.
The piano classes met twenty-five minutes
every day, Monday through Friday, for four weeks each.
The first
session was conducted from April 12 to May 7, 1971; the second
session fron February 7 to March 3, 1972.
The first group met at
8:30 in the morning each day whereas the second group, in adjustment
to the piano laboratory schedule, met at 2:30 p.m. on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays, at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The
equipment \JL the laboratory included twelve electronic pianos, an
electronic teacher's console, two regular studio pianos, two dummy
keyboards, D-^elve chair desks, and a blackboard.
The average age of
group I was five years, seven months; of group II, five years, two
months or five months younger than the first group.
Each group con-
tained Caucasion, Negro, and Mexican-American children.
They were
normal children in intelligence but from disadvantaged homes.
The
following short description provides the reader with some background
information on each child at the time of the experiment.
10
First session
Sharon
Negro
5 years, 8 months
father—factory worker
income—$500.00 per month
Ruby
Negro
5 years, 10 months
father—in school
mother—clerk
income—$360.00 per month
Matthew
Caucasian
5 years, 11 months
parents divorced
mother—hospital receptionist
income—$350.00 per month
Tony
Negro
4 years, 5 months
mother—house maid
income—$200.00 per month
S. C.
Negro
5 years , 6 months
mother (not married)—house maid
income—$150.00 per month
Becky
Caucasian
5 years, 9 months
mother (separated)-- •w 3r!v-ir in cafeteria
income—unknown
Harold
Negro
5 years, 10 months
father—auto worker
mother—house maid
income—$200.00 per month
Brenda
Caucasian
5 years, 8 months
father—highway repairman
mother—vocational nurse
income—$900.00 per month
11
Second session
Terry
Caucasian
5 years, 6 months
parents divorced
mother—secretary
income—$200.00 per month
Raymond
Mexican-American
5 years, 4 months
father—sanitation department employee
mother—beautician
income—$400.00 per month
Donald
Negro
5 years, 0 montn
father—in school
mother—clerk
income—$360.00 per month
Dana
Caucasian
5 years, 2 months
parents divorced
mother in school under Texas Rehabilitation
income—$200.00 per month
Don
Negro
5 y e a r s , 3 moiichs
parents divorced
parent in school under Texas Rehabilitation
income—$200.00 per month
Chris
Mexican-American
4 years, 11 months
father—barber
mother—barber
income—$500.00 per month
Mark
Caucasian
5 years, 1 month
parents divorced
mother in school under Texas Rehabilitation
income—$129.00 per month
Kevin
Caucasian
5 years, 1 month
father—in school
mother—in school
income—$200.00 per month
12
The First Experiment
Since little has been written about a five-year-olds' learning in music, the content of this experiment focused upon the types
of music learnings rather than a strict day-to-day plan established
beforehand.
A variety of original methods were used to detect the
possible level of achievement of understanding in each area based
on observations of student reaction, acceptability, and other
noticeable behaviors.
All class activities were conducted in the
Texas Tech University electronic piano laboratory.
included:
These activities
a) ear-phone communication at the electronic pianos, one
to one or one to a group; b) each child at an electronic piano in
open communication; c) all children around the regular piano or in
front of the blackboard.
The teaching involved group interaction,
individual demonstration, rote learning, and discovery, through
visual, aural, and muscular means.
The experiment itself is
described below under each music learning.
(See Appendix B for the
daily activity'' record.)
Highness and Lowness
Only one child was successful in finding the highest note on
the piano without teacher clues. After demonstration, all except
Brenda could find the highest note and the lowest note on his own
piano.
After the highest and lowest notes were reinforced, students
were asked to play from the highest to the lowest note and vice versa
13
Thi« was accomplished with steps by most children but with skips by
the less patient ones.
The principle of highness and lowness was
secured with a distinction based upon single high notes as compared
to single low notes but unrecognized if" chords were used.
Besides
being asked to say "high" or "low" after a sound, the children were
expected to match a tone on their keyboard in the same register.
This task, along with the idea that high pitches are located on the
right of the keyboard, was clear to them so long as no other factor
intruded.
On April 28, different melodic patterns were presented, composed of steps or skips moving consistently in one direction.
children stated whether each pattern moved higher or lower.
The
Results
indicated that they could tell the direction if the pattern ranged
two octaves or more; no one could tell the direction of notes within
a five-finger pattern.
On April 29, students were asked to play a short, melodic
pattern from notation while they pointed to the symbols stating "up"
or "down."
The pointing and verbalization also were used in reading
the music alphabet.
In summary, their behaviors suggested that each could classify
correctly tones as high or low if two octaves apart, could identify
with ease notes moving up or down from symbols, but could not remember
consistently which keys of the piano represented higher notes if no
hint were given or no trial allowed.
14
Pitch
The first day each child was administered a voice pitchmatching tes'i.
By the third day, every student confirmed the
ability of each to match pitch correctly.
Thereafter, pitch-
matching at the keyboard became an experiment almost every day
during the first three weeks.
Different means were employed,
including electronic communication, regular pianos, one regular
piano with the children taking turns with closed eyes, the teacher
matching and the child responding yes or no, or the children matching each other's pitch.
In spite of the varieties of approach,
their ability to match keyboard tones was discouraging.
Guessing
predominated and achievement level fluctuated from day to day
depending on mood and attentiveness.
became obvious:
Throughout, several tendencies
despite the location of the stimulus, they attempted
to match by playing high tones or low ones avoiding the middle register; intensity differences caused a failure to recognize the same
pitch; tonal memory was limited to three tones; tones both an octave
or a fifth apart sounded identical.
In summary, the efficiency of
pitch-learning or matching by means of the keyboard for five-yearolds is low, thus definite pitch recognition and harmony skills
should be deferred until later ages.
Rhythm
Ensemble work was difficult though not impossible.
Aural
imitation of simple patterns, either through clapping or playing on
15
the piano, was secure and greatly enjoyed.
sented as long and short dashes.
Visual rhythms were pre-
Within two lessons, the children
learned to read and verbalize or clap dashes.
For a long dash, two
vocalized syllables equated the feel of two beats, thus,
was recited as "Lo-ong, short, short, lo-ong."
Finally they could
play the rhythm of the dashes correctly on the piano without assistance if requested to verbalize them first.
One interesting phenomenon
was that every child except S. C. could clap in an ascending movement
this pattern
, and clap in the opposite direction this
one
meant.
, but no one could perceive what
Although the concept of meter was not introduced, the dashes
were arranged in such a way that the children could feel different
groupings.
It was natural for the children to feel a steady pulse.
Notation
Notation was presented on the eighth day, April 21, in the
form of dashes in rhythmic learning.
zontal dasa^is
On the following day, the hori-
were arranged into rising steps
—
A simple notation, two or three lines of the staff and strokes / as
notes, was quickly understood.
Along" appeared as
' I t
The first line of "Merrily We Roll
/ ' ^ '
. Cards containing a five-
note pattern were circulated to and played by each child.
To do this,
they pointed to each "note" with the left hand, and played on the
piano with the right hand, starting on different pitches.
tions included steps and third skips up or down.
The nota-
On May 5, the
16
complete song "Merrily We Roll Along" was represented in the above
notation and the children were asked to play it with no assistance
except a starting note of a'.
Matt could play the entire piece
correctly except the downward skip occurring between the two phrases.
The following day. Ruby could play it also, except the same interval where the downward skip occurred.
Music Alphabet
The first seven letters were stressed as the musical alphabet.
In order to facilitate the transfer from notational alphabet to the
keyboard, eight or more parallel lines were used as a staff so that
more than two octaves could be written without using leger lines.
Along with this, the concept of skips and steps were reinforced.
. J3 ^
^ £
^^r^
^ ({
a^
' ^
To do this, the children read the alphabet as the teacher pointed to
it.
Later, some letters were erased.
This time, the children said
step and skip instead of naming the missing letters.
Furthermore,
the children learned to relate going up when the alphabet went forward, going down when the alphabet went backward.
Skips and Steps
Skips and steps were taught through notation on April 30, the
fifteenth lesson.
Since two lines were used at first, the skip was
17
taught as the two strokes which crossed the two lines
' / j Hi
'
The drill was completed by the teacher adding a new stroke and the
children responding with either "step" or "skip."
were introduced as well as larger skips.
cards followed.
Then space skips
Playing of the notation
On May 5, the eighteenth day, after introduction
of the musical alphabet, they played steps and skips on the piano
while saying the alphabet.
For the playing of skips, the children
placed the finger on the piano key, said the letter name which was
skipped without depressing that key.
In other words, they recited
the entire music alphabet but played only every other key.
Later,
they were asked to identify the skips and steps from written notation by pointing, saying skip or step and playing accordingly.
The
concept of f^tep and skip seemed to be well learned.
Playing the Piano
The electronic piano was described in detail for the
children.
They played the keys, pointed to the racks, turned the
knobs, and stepped on the pedals.
On the third day, they were shown
the inside of the regular piano.
The hammering action on the strings
was explained.
Immediately the children were asked to play the keys
so that the hammers would strike in order; that is, to see and hear
the chromatic scale.
Most children could play three or four chro-
matic steps before becoming confused, usually at the black key gaps.
Playing only white keys or only black keys in steps in one direction
18
was skillfully done with one finger, most often the right hand,
second finger.
In a few days, they learned to play the chromatic
scale correctly when they played on the irner part of the keyboard.
Interestingly enough, during the learning process, they exhibited a
tendency to play the sharp before its natural; the pattern F//-F-G#A//-A-B-C//-C resulted.
Although the playing of the chromatic scale
was mastered, they seemed to enjoy its manipulation rather than its
tonal properties.
Furthermore, they found it difficult to play just the twoblack-key groups and skipping the three-black-key groups or vice
versa.
Their perception of the keyboard was crude, and the group-
ings of black keys not well defined.
During the final week, with
the help of a big picture of the keyboard drawn on the blackboard,
the teacher succeeded in drawing their attention to the two black
keys in the middle of the piano.
find D, and from there E and C.
taneously by every one.
Consequently, they were able to
C-D-E was played and chanted simul-
Although playing the order A-B-C-D-E-F-G
was experienced, D was the only note they learned to relate to the
keyboard within the last week.
Improvisation was attempted occasionally.
At such times
they had a tendency to play with alternate hands, used one finger
at a time, played with different fingers, played notes with no
definite melodic patterns but with a noticeable steady beat,
relaxed the left hand usually more than the right, activated both
19
hands equally, and remained mostly near the middle of the piano with
occasional skips to higher or lower notes.
S. C. and Becky played
with one hand only.
An air of seriousness pervaded when anyone was asked to perform.
Nobody banged on the piano and everybody clapped after each
performance.
The time required for eight children to demonstrate
their creative efforts was beyond a five-year-old's attention span
as loss of interest was observed at times.
Despite that, each child
loved to play the piano creatively.
Song Learning
The children had learned a few songs by rote in the daily
nursery.
In this experiment, they added "Merrily We Roll Along" to
their repertoire.
The singing was mastered in two days and was kept
under constant review in the hope that they could eventually read
the song from "notation" while relating it to the keyboard through
tonal memory.
Although the children were able to read line notation
during the last week, it became evident that most children found the
song too long to play.
Even the two who played the entire song—
Ruby and Matt—could not play it fast enough to convey the tonal
meaning.
Nevertheless, rote playing on the piano still seemed
attainable if more time were available for drills and repetition.
20
Music Vocabulary
At the end of this experiment the children had learned
several words relating to music.
Their vocabulary included:
high
and low, up and down, long and short, skip and step, lines and
spaces, notes and keys, and the musical alphabet.
The Second Experiment
Profiting from the results of the first experiment, the
second employed an improved and refined process.
Although retain-
ing the general outline, some changes in pedagogical approach were
deemed advantageous:
for example, the discard of the chromatic
scale, and the reduction in time spent pitch-matching at the keyboard.
On the other hand, more areas of avasic learnings were
included, such as games utilizing musical stimuli, drawing of conventional notation, and aural exposure to more and varied piano
sound textures.
In addition, the second experiment served as a
check upon results, acceptability, and behavior predictability.
The following description of the second experiment is organized
in a similar manner as the first to aid ccmparison.
(See Appendix
C for the daily activity record.)
Highness and Lowness
High and low notes, introduced on the second day of the
experiment, related directly to the keyboard.
First, the teacher
21
ask^d the students to raise their right hand, the hand for high
pitches.
Although they were all right-handed, two left hands were
up, indicating that a minority could not yet distinguish right from
left.
d
Next, they were asked to listen to two notes—d
and B.
When
was played again and the question, "Is this high or low?" was
posed, everyone was quiet except Christine, who said very softly,
'High."
When B was played and the question was asked again, two shy
voices said "Low" and two said "High."
With everybody around the
standard piano, the teacher showed them how to play a high note with
the right hand, and a low note with the left hand.
The children being
eager to play, the teacher held each child's hands and played this
song:
^
J-
2"
XL.
ill
/
:1
•
v:^-4o
?^^ d
X^-r-
. 1 —
- # —
Then they were asked to play high notes on their respective electronic
pianos.
When asked for a high note, Terry, Mark, Kevin, and Dana pro-
duced the exact tone d
2
whereas others played both hands simultaneously
near the two demonstrated tones.
Later in the same lesson through closed channels, each child
was asked to tell whether the second note of each of the three pairs
22
of tones was higher or lower.
The ratio of wrong to right answers
being five to sixteen pointed to positive learning even during the
first lesson.
For at least one week highness and lowness was
drilled and afterwards reviewed along with other learnings.
The next day, the teacher placed some notes at random on the
top and bottom of three music staves.
—^
o
After writing each note, the
,
~t>-
/-)
*
v.-
' • '
IT
children were asked to say simply "high" or "low."
The responses to
these visual stimuli were perfect. The activity that followed
required them to say "high" or "low" to each piano tone. All tones
played were higher than c
2
or lower than C, as were all other notes
>ii
used in this area.
For the first two notes, only five children
responded correctly, thereafter no mistake occurred.
Although the children now seemed to grasp the concept of highness and lowness aurally and visually, some reinforcement would be
helpful to strengthen this concept.
A devised game involved aural
discrimination with bodily movement.
Each child stood or remained
standing if he heard some high sound and stooped or remained stooping
for low sounds.
High and low trills were played because of their
exciting sound effect.
it.
The children loved the game and were good at
This game became a good method of obtaining their attention.
For individual work, ear-phones were again used.
six different notes were played to each.
This time,
The almost perfect score
23
suggested that a definite learning had occurred.
No guessing was
involved and some could even say "high, higher," to tones within a
perfect fifth while others replied "high, high."
On February 10, notes were again written on the staves as
the day before except this time the patterns showed high notes
going up and low notes going down in steps.
discovered by Terry.
The directions were
Hence, the words "up" and "down" were intro-
duced in the musical context.
The trill game was then modified to
the scale game, that is, the child was to gradually stand up if an
ascending scale was heard and gradually stoop down for a descending
scale.
This game was not as successful as the trill interval game
which required extreme movements.
-o-<^-h-
IgZZCI
"Up" and "down" was also requested in connection with scales
through the ear-phones.
One-half of the class showed understanding
whereas the remainder insisted on using the words "higher" or "lower"
or even just "high" and "low."
The next day, the children were asked
to play steps on white keys "going up" or "going down."
With some
prodding and allowing some skips, the upward movement was executed
by every child.
On February 14, the children were reminded of "up," "down,"
"high," and "low" through a story.
In the later part of the session
24
with visual and aural stimuli con«_erning highness and lowness evoking correct responses, retention of this learning was proved.
Pitch
Parallel to the first experiment, the sense of pitch was
tested through voice matching, and as before, results indicated
that each child could match pitches vocally if time were allowed
for overcoming shyness.
Again consistent errors in piano pitch-
matching confirmed that single piano pitches were quite meaningless
to them.
Although this was attempted at least five additional times
using different approaches and with effort on the part of the children, the results were poor and guessing predominated.
Thus, the
author again was convinced that piano-tone matching should be
deferred until a later period.
A.L the first lesson the children displayed a sense of pulse
through tlielr piano improvisation.
The first experiment revealed,
the child's natural affinity for rhythm and therefore, in this
second experiment, rhythmic activities were not introduced until
the teacher wrote
on the blackboard.
one set.
1)
On February 24, without any explanation,
—
—
2)
3)
The children were asked to listen and then choose
Number two was then played and only Terry answered correctly
while others were puzzled.
jj!
"i
Rhythm
the end of the third week.
^H
In truth, this type of problem which
-•-'-'"•"
25
involved visual, aural, temporal, as well as numeral concepts was
too complicated for most five-year-olds at the first presentation.
The teacher then explained that longer dashes were for longer sounds.
The game was tried again with moderate success.
The children, being
impatient with such long listening, tended to guess or follow other
answers.
The following day, in spite of only two patterns being
listed, the children still did not do well in listening to rhythms.
However, when asked to repeat a rhythmic pattern on the piano, all
did well.
Mark and Dana added more notes at the end.
As before,
individual work in rhythm activities was more satisfactory than
team work.
Identifying familiar rhythmic patterns from songs they
already knew was easy for them.
To make rhythm learning interesting, the teacher devised a
telegram.
The game consisted of a question in steady beats and an
answer with combination beats and the syllable "doot" was used for
the message.
Thus a child would ask ( ZZ ZI ZI ZI ) and another
would answer ( ZZZZ ZI ZZ
) . The game was repeated successfully
with other syllables such as "yum" and "good" without any distortion
of rhythm.
From there, the game was transrerred to the piano and the
telegrams were written on cards ( HI ZI ZZ ~
, Z Z ZZ. HZHl
4
These suggested , time with the last one using syncopation.
children were able to play rhythm patterns from notations.
)
Now the
Except for
26
Ray and Kevin, who tended to reply in a faster tempo, the telegram
game was well done.
Later, the game was repeated and correctly exe-
cuted in other meters.
A rest was introduced.
To do this, the teacher erased some
dashes after the children had just read a telegram on the board.
They were asked to say those dashes silently.
They grasped the idea
well although drill was needed for precise release and attack.
On
the whole, as expected, the children felt at home with rhythmic
activities.
Notation
As early as the third lesson the children were reading high
and low notes on staves.
rhythm.
Again, dashes were used in connection with
The use of notation in this experiment differed from the
first one in that the conventional instead of simplified version was
used.
Thus the children learned to read from and write on a five-
line staff using whole notes.
They could identify steps and skips
as well as the directions from the notation and were able to play
simple examples.
Although they were not taught the names, almost
all of them learned the order of lines and spaces.
notation was greatly reinforced by writing.
The concept of
This will be described
later.
Skips and Steps
Skips and steps were introduced by evoking their sense of
mus ic imagery.
In short, they were told a story about a frog and
27
an elephant exploring a castle with a long staircase.
The children
had no trouble connecting the frog with arpeggio skips and elephant
with scale steps.
Music learning through story telling was one of
the efficient methods in teaching the five-year-old.
Along with the
story, the concept of high, low, up, and down were happily refreshed.
The frog skips and elephant steps impressed them so much that an immediate test through the ear-phones gave satisfactory results.
facts became noticeable:
Two
1) downward skips were harder to identify
than upward skips; and 2) the direction became less obvious if
staccato touch was used, especially in the lower register.
Later,
they were asked to identify skips and steps from notation and were
asked to play them on the piano.
After a few lessons, the descriptive words "elephant" and
.11
"frog" were discarded and the simple "steps" and "skips" were used.
In playing the steps and skips, most children managed one hand better
than alternate hands.
Furthermore, for the younger children in this
class, bigger skips were played better while others easily could
manage skips of a third.
The older ones responded correctly after a
demonstration whereas the younger ones needed the teacher to guide
their hands for the first time.
Finally, they were asked to play from these notations:
J2,
-&-
1L
H
1L
-e-
-^-
--o
ZZZZ
-e^
-o-^
I.
tltm
«-*it**
28
All of the children could play the first two notations; some needed
a little help.
The third example was correctly played only with
great concentration and Ray could not execute it.
At the end of the
four weeks they had no problem reading mixed steps and skips in different directions aloud from notations and the more agile ones could
play them steadily.
Playing the Piano and Song Learning
The playing of the chromatic scale during the first experiment did not lead to any meaningful music learning and was discarded.
Consequently, more time could be devoted to rote playing and sight
reading.
Rote playing was begun as soon as they could sing the song
"Three Black Keys" and consistently were ?ble to locate the group of
three black keys.
^y--^-^-
-/-^
t
^_u
a
d
t?)^A
k^ijs.j h l ^ c k
k€(j<, u-ve int
p^^''H
f'\^ I ^ - -Uj
In order to clarify the order of black keys, they were asked
to chant 1-2, 1-2-3, etc., as the teacher pointed to the keys.
groupings became clear only after some repetition.
The
On February 11,
the teacher demonstrated to each child alone how to play the song
without discussing fingering.
Terry could repeat the whole song
using the exact four-finger pattern.
Christine used the fingers
i;
ill
29
1-2-3 well, but used the second finger on the d
. Kevin used the
1-2-3 fingering on the three neighboring keys and repeated the third
finger on tha d
.
Interestingly, Donald used the second, third, and
fourth fingers in a mixed order.
Ra5rmond and Dana could not repeat
the song after some demonstration, so the teacher guided their hands.
Raymond used only the right hand second finger and did not skip to
the d
whereas Dana became confused when the teacher used a four-
finger pattern—at first, she thought the teacher played with the
palm!
In such a case, to play with only one finger would clarify the
exact notes to be played.
ticed the song.
After the demonstration, each one prac-
Later that day, although no one remembered the com-
plete song, all employed the correct keys.
Raymond forgot the entire
song, but others remembered either the first or second half of it.
The rote song was attempted again the following day and much review
was necessary.
Two ideas came from these lessons:
the children
thought that if one used three different fingers, 'they should play
notes harmonically rather than melodically.
Also, there was a strong
tendency to go stepwise back and forth on the four black keys used in
the song.
This song was not perfectly learned; all but Terry could play
a resemblance but not the perfect form of the song.
Terry always man-
aged to produce the desired response and being the oldest in the class
by two months could have been a factor.
Piano improvisation was requested at the first and last lessons
Behavior during the two performances were compared and recorded.
30
No noticeable effort to form a phrase, to stop on resting tones, or
to form equal-pulse measures could be detected.
Both playings, but
more clearly the second, indicated a feeling for a steady beat.
In the first playing six children used both hands and of
these, Mark, Kevin, and Donald played exclusively with second fingers in an alternating manner.
Dana used all except the little
fingers to produce thick harmonic sounds.
Strangely enough, she
used only the right hand second finger in her second playing.
Don
and Terry used the second and third fingers of both hands, alternatingly.
On the whole, the second playing revealed a more careful
manipulation of the keys and except for Mark, everybody had changed
his fingering pattern the second time.
As to range, during the first performance only two children
:i
.1!
made use of the complete keyboard, one remained in the low register,
while others played in the middle register within one or two octaves.
The second performance showed a definite expansion of the range, with
the extreme registers well liked.
No trace of carefully constructed
melody revealed itself during either performance.
Tone clusters were
heard in the first playing but not in the second.
On the first day,
all children seemed to press keys at random while on the last day, a
few outlined a definite direction with patterns using skips or steps
or both.
No one but Mark used pedals.
In sum, then, no specific form
of music was taught nor could be expected from a five-year-old's improvisation.
However, a sense of pulse could be detected with a
conscientious attitude toward piano playing obviously fostered.
31
Intensity, Tempo, and Sound Textures
The children already knew the meaning of loud and soft from
past experiences.
Again, action instead of speech was used in test-
ing their loud-soft sensitivity.
The children were required to hold
up their hands to cover their ears if they heard something loud or
to bend down and pretend to be asleep for soft sounds.
fun and were expert in this.
They had much
Oftentimes, when soft music was played,
snoring sounds could be heard.
This proved to be another method of
calming down excitement.
In order to provide a wider scope of aural perception, a
variety of sound textures were played.
Songs of different moods
such as hymns, folk songs, lullabies, and marches were used as well
as consonant and dissonant patterns, solid or broken chords, trills,
different scale patterns and different piano touches.
In addition,
reactions were observed concerning a sense of tempo.
A fast passage
usually evoked a fast response and vice \"ersa, indicating that the
children had a good sense of tempo toward rural stimuli.
Hence,
intensity, sound textures, and tempo could be introduced through
purely aural means, while movement or a favorite activity of the
children contributed the motivational force.
Music Writing
Music writing proved a valuable area in music learning providing a feedback or reinforcement on previous learnings and an agent
;^c?»^
32
in developing small muscle coordination.
At the same time it
increased the perception of music notation.
Moreover, the children
regarded the script as a form of accomplishment which in turn became
a reward.
Understandably, they constantly requested more writing
once it was introduced.
In this experiment, the unlined paper was a standard 8 1/2
by 11 with three music staves printed on it.
staff was 0.4 of an inch wide.
writing ability.
Each space of the
This size was appropriate for their
Whole notes were used exclusively.
began music writing during the ninth lesson.
The children
They were asked to
continue vrriting stepwise as indicated on the first staff by four
, on the second staff by two
given notes in steps j ~
, and the third, one given note only
given notes
Each completed staff would look like this
-eTo clarify the sequence of alternating lines and
--O.^-
spaces, they were asked to point and say "line-space-line-space,"
the first time, but "step-step-step" the sc^cond time.
result was satisfactory.
complete circles.
The general
The whole notes appeared as well rounded,
Occasionally, skips occurred.
The contour
tended to be vertical with the last few notes showing some irregular
shapes.
Everyone except Dana confined their notes to the staves.
The next day, in place of sequential notes, individual iso-
lated notes were placed on the blackboard and the children were
asked to copy them.
The original appeared like this:
IL
-e-
555
33
Thifa task required great concentration and accurate perception.
Only
Terry and Ray produced perfect copies; others found it difficult.
In
another lesson, on February 21, the children were asked to add notes
to fill up spaces between some given notes as follows:
a)
"^
ZE
b) =^=2^
-C-f
and c)
Once more Terry and Ray displayed better work.
easier than c.
Items a and b were
Christine, Don, Dana, Mark, and Kevin all wrote many
more notes than required in c.
Other writings included drawing line-
note skips and space-note skips.
Some of the writings also were
played by the students.
In summary, music writing was accepted seriously by all; Ray
cried one day when too anxious to write correctly.
This serious atti-
tude also demanded greater teacher attention and affection to each
child.
The writing task was better managed if the children were
seated at the chair desks than at the pianos.
Finally, the efficiency
in music writing seemed to correlate with their ages, even though se^-arated by only a few months.
Vocabulary
In this experiment, the children were exposed to a wider scope
of music learnings and consequently acquired more vocabulary in music.
They learned the following terms:
high and low; up, down, and same;
black keys; white keys; notes; rests; lines and spaces; fast and slow;
loud and soft; skips and steps; melody; long and short.
CHAPTER IV
OBSERVATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Observations
The children were eager to learn music and enjoyed the
process.
All were attracted to the piano.
They were not awkward
in the laboratory nor with the procedures.
Putting on ear-phones
was their favorite activity.
Egocentric traits were witnessed.
satisfied to occupy a piano by themselves.
The children seemed more
Although they would not
practice an assigned pattern alone more than two times, they would
not disturb others but remain content to explore their own keyboard.
The teacher's attention and affection was much appreciated, resulting in a positive motivational force.
Because of their egocentrism
as well as their moderate span of attention cooperative work was
less liked than individual work.
In rhythmic drills, strong and
deliberate commands were necessary for unified execution.
When
asked to perform in turns, they listened carefully and politely,
remaining quiet through at least six performances.
At the beginning most of the children were shy but changed
quickly.
Occasionally, if a child were afraid to make mistakes, he
would refrain from playing.
At such times, the teacher's personal
34
35
encouragement could always influence the child.
On the contrary,
should misbehavior occur, it would most probably be due to a lack
of teacher attention.
In spite of their willingness to participate, their minds
remained one-tracked and their memory spans short.
Especially in
introducing new facts, they would become confused if too many questions were asked or questions required detailed answers.
The use
of concrete and explicit statements became an important aspect in
teaching, and only questions requiring simple, short answers could
be employed.
Through games using musical stimuli learning seemed most
effective.
New games were always welcome while old games were
enjoyed as much as ever.
Indeed, they liked to sing well known
songs or perform activities where a good performance could be
insured.
In the experiments, the children learned to handle iso-
lated music elements but exhibited difficulty and confusion if two
elements, for example, pitch and rhythm, were combined.
Furthermore,
in tasks requiring any discrimination, large differences should be
used.
For example, the children could classify high and low pitches
if two octaves apart.
These notes strengthened the concept of "high
and low" while tones within a smaller range minimized the understanding
Pitch learning through the piano proved to be much less effective than with the voice.
Playing intervals and harmony should be
deferred definitely since the children are still struggling with an
understanding of single pitches.
While the children could be exposed
36
to different sound textures, single pitches should be used when the
piano is employed as a rhythmic instrument.
Rhythmic activities
were successful provided simple rather than complicated patterns
were involved.
In this area, much time could be saved if the
teacher helped the children initiate a steady pulse before focusing
upon any sort of exercise.
The author believes the teaching of letter names and rhythmicnote names ineffective at this age.
Rather, the children should learn
the feeling of music through inactive and iconic means without the
hindrance of nomenclature.
Nevertheless, simple terms such as high-
low, soft-loud, step-skip, fast-slow, up-down, long-short could be
mastered without difficulty.
The actual writing and playing of
music aided in clarifying the learning material.
Since the piano
served only as an agent for music learning, fingering or other piano
technique was overlooked; the child's most natural way of playing
was acceptable.
If children could learn well in four weeks, their
achievement in a semester would be more impressive.
The electronic pianos served the child and the experiment
excellently.
As with the standard piano they permit easy accommoda-
tion, provide an orderly key arrangement so that steps and directions
can be perceived logically, and offer easily depressed keys for young
fingers; in addition, electronic pianos may be used individually,
openly, or in private communication with the teacher.
The electronic
piano could well be the five-year-olds' most logical instrument.
37
Implications
The following implications may be made, based upon the
results of the two experiments.
1.
The five-year-old can learn music through keyboard
activities.
2.
Materials must fit the child's maturity and perspective.
3.
Activities should be interesting, varied, and well within
the child's attention span.
4.
For best results the class size should not exceed six
students unless an assistant is available.
5.
The teacher should use mild emotions, be affectionate, and
realistic.
6.
The teacher should know the personality of each individual
child.
7.
The teacher should give clear, directive statements and
avoid asking for suggestions.
8.
Teaching materials should emphasize one musical element
at any given time.
9.
10.
Musical games should be employed.
Since the child's first impression is the strongest, teaching materials should be carefully planned and clearly
presented for secure and economic learning.
11.
Many rhythmic activities should be incorporated in the
preschool music program.
38
12.
Tasks involving big muscular movement must be mastered
before those involving finer muscular movement.
13.
Single pitch development should be promoted mainly through
singing rather than the keyboard.
The learning of intervals
and harmony should be delayed.
14.
Music writing experiences are valuable.
15.
The keyboard permits a clear perception in learning about
steps and skips, up and down, and later, scales, intervals,
and harmony.
16.
While the four-year-old may present physical and mental
development problems, the five-year-old can definitely
achieve valuable music learnings through daily keyboard
lessons.
17.
Conventional notations should be used unless a simplified
form is necessary for understanding.
18.
Although descriptive terms are helpful in developing the
children's music sensitivities, they should learn to use
simple terms such as high-low, soft-loud, up-down, slowfast, and step-skip.
19.
The piano enhances general music learnings.
20.
Singing and motor activities must be utilized to provide
preschool children with rich and well-rounded musical
experiences.
39
Parallel to other childhood developments, music sensitivities should first be developed at home.
When the child is ready for
the routine of kindergarten, ready for regular music lessons, the
piano approach should be adopted.
Considering all levels of education, the nursery schools and
kindergartens enjoy the greatest freedom in planning their curriculum; hence, they should be the first to incorporate keyboard learnings
with already existing preschool programs.
Other educational institu-
tions as well as privately owned piano studios equipped with either
standard or electronic pianos are encouraged to initiate music programs for the preschool child.
Daily meetings of about twenty-five
minutes create the best learning environment.
Less effective but
possible would be two lessons weekly with each child accompanied by
his mother who would then review what was learned and assist with
music writing assignments.at home.
Lastly and sincerely, the author hopes that educators will
dedicate their attention to music learning in the preschool period
so that more children will grow to enjoy music intelligently,
creatively, and aesthetically.
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY
Investigations by scientists and educators of the child's
physical and mental growth conclude the importance of early childhood education.
This should include music learning.
In the United States, both kindergarten and piano class
instruction began in the middle cf the nineteenth century.
Both
institutions have gained tremendous public support only during
recent yearc.
The author hypothesized that five-year-old children
are mature enough to find pleasure and meaning in keyboard music.
Two class experiments in teaching five-year-old children
were conducted.
The children were normal in intelligence but from
disadvantaged homes.
The expariments took place in the Texas Tech
University electronic piano laboratory using original teaching
methods.
Each experiment operated daily for four weeks during
which difierent music learnings were introduced with different procedures and sequencing.
The keyboard was used continuously.
Results show that the keyboard approach for music learnings
for preschool children contains definite advantages and should be
enthusiastically promoted.
40
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.
A m o f f , Frances Webber. Music and Young Children.
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1969.
New York:
2.
Beadle, Muriel. A Child's Mind. Garden City, New York:
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3.
Black, Kathryn Norcross; Williams, Tannis M.; and Brown, D. R.
"A Developmental Study of Preschool Children's Preference
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4.
Bloom, Benjamin S. Stability and Change in Human Characteristics. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1964.
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Brearley, Molly, et^ al^. The Teaching of Young Children.
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Bruner, Jerome S. The Process of Education.
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Brust, Ethel Lilian. "A Survey of Class Piano Instruction in the
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9.
Bullard, Bobby Gerald. "Principles and Practices of Class Piano
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New
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10.
Calfee, Robert C. "Short-Term Recognition Memory in Children."
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Carey, Russell L., and Steffe, Leslie P. "An Investigation in
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Five-year-old Children." University of Georgia, December,
1968.
(Microfiche)
12.
Dickey, George. "Development of an Enlarged Music Repertory for
Kindergarten Through Grade Six." Julliard School of Music,
December, 1967. (Microfiche)
41
42
13. Ebel, Robert L., et al., eds. Encyclopedia of Educational
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25. Monsour, Sally Alicia. "Piano Classes Are Not New."
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44
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T^r^^aai» .n
'' «^^
i i•
APPENDIX
A. Statistics in Preschool Enrollment
B. Daily Activity Record of the First Experiment
C. Daily Activity Record of the Second Experiment
45
B3S
is^ni
46
APPENDIX A:
STATISTICS IN PRESCHOOL ENROLLMENT
Statistics given in the Standard Education Almanac:
I. Kindergarten enrollment in the United States, 1899-1900 to fall
1965:
225,394
346,189
510,949
786,463
660,909
1,175,312
2,293,492
2,554,576
2,493,296
1899-1900
1909-1910
1919-1920
1929-1930
1939-1940
1949-1950
,1959-1960
Fall 1963
Fall 1965
II. Kindergarten enrollment in full-time public elementary and
secondary day schools, U. S. A. 1958-59 to 1969-70:
1,834,000
1,923,000
2,000,000
2,065,000
2,162,000
2,177,000
2,250,000
2,328,000
2,411,000
2,432,000
2,577,000
2,653,000
1958-59
1959-60
1960-61
1961-62
1962-63
1963-64
1964-65
1965-66
1966-67
1967-68
1968-69
1969-70
III. Percentage of five-year-old population enrolled in school,
U. S. A. October, 1947 to October, 1969
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
53.4%
55.0%
55.1%
51.8%
53.8%
57.8%
58.4%
57.7%
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
58.1%
58.9%
60.2%
63.8%
62.9%
63.7%
66.3%
66.8%
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
67.8%
68.5%
70.1%
72.8%
75.0%
74.9%
76.2%
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47
IV. Percentage of children 3-5 enrolled in school, October,
1969:
3-year old
%
4-year-old
5-year old
%
%
Negro
11.9
30.4
70.3
White
8.1
21.8
79.6
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48
APPENDIX B:
DAILY ACTIVITY RECORD OF THE FIRST EXPERIMENT
April 12, Monday
a)
b)
c)
d)
match pitches with the voicefind the highest and lowest notes on the piano
tell the lower note from two given notes
explore the electronic pianos
April 13, Tuesday
a) show the highest and lowest notes
b) play from the highest to the lowest note,
i) using white keys only
ii) using black keys only
c) play from the lowest to the highest note,
i) using white keys only
ii) using black keys only
d) match pitches through the voice
e) match pitches through internal channels, using earphones
April 14, Wednesday
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
review a ) , b ) , and c) of the previous lesson
explore the standard piano and its mechanism
discover the chromatic scale
match pitches through the voice
match keyboard pitches through ear-phones
April 15, Thursday
a) practice playing the chromatic scale
b) match keyboard pitches through ear-phones
c) take turns playing the chromatic scale on the
standard piano
d) take turns repeating the rhythmic pattern on the
lowest key
April li6, Friday
a) play some high notes and tell the right or left side
of the piano
b) tell the higher of two notes
c) tell the higher of two chords
d) judge whether the teacher matched a pitch correctly
e) repeat clapping rhythm patterns
f) play a clapped rhythm pattern on the piano
g) improvise a piano piece
-.^..ii^ftli
49
April ] ^ , Monday
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
match pitches through the voice
match piano notes high to high, low to low
take turns matching a pitch on the standard piano
review playing the chromatic scale
try to play just the three black keys, from high to
low
April 20, Tuesday
a) continue to play the three black keys
b) play a simple three-note pattern in steps, or
repeat when given the initial tone
c) repeat a rhythmic pattern from a given pitch
•d) repeat a two-pitch rhythm pattern on a given pitch
e) sing a song learned before, using a single note
piano accompaniment
April 21, Wednesday
a)
b)
c)
d)
match keyboard tones
review playing the chromatic scale
clap several sets of dashes written on the blackboard
sing a few songs, accompanying on the silent keyboards
with a good feeling of pulsation
April 22, Thursday
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
learn to sing "Merrily We Roll Along" by rote
clap horizontal dash patterns
clap ascending and descending dash patterns
play ascending and descending dash patterns
match piano pitches
April 23, Friday
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
improvise a song using black keys
match piano pitches
review singing the new song
play rhythm patterns using a few pitches
review playing from the lowest note up and highest note
down, using either white or black keys only
April 26, Monday
a) match piano pitches
b) say short or lo-ong to dashes in the blackboard
c) try to clap rhythm patterns in ensemble
50
April 27, Tuesday
a) match piano pitches
b) clap then play in relation to high and low dashes
c) sing then clap "Merrily We Rol.T Along"
April 28, Wednesday
a) clap and say rhythm patterns
b) play the same patterns on the piano
c) tell whether each of the several melodic patterns
go higher or lower
d) sing and clap "Merrily We Roll Along"
April ^ , Thursday
a) find the teacher's note (A440') on a different piano
b) play motives starting on A440' after seeing the
patterns Li-f— if'
and ' / , I '
or down
d) sing "Merrily We Roll Along"
, also saying up
April ^ , Friday
a) learn about steps and skips on a two-line staff
b) play notation cards containing steps and skips
c) sing "Merrily We Roll Along"
May _3^, Monday
a)
b)
c)
d)
continue reading and playing from notation cards
learn the music alphabet
find the middle two black keys and tuen note d'
find e' and play d'-d'-e'
May 4_, Tuesday
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
sing "^-lerrily We Roll Along"
review music alphabet
read alphabet in steps written on eight lines
read the alphabet with skips
find D' and play C'-D'-E'
play and chant ascending alphabet on the keyboard
learn to play the first seven notes of "Merrily We
Roll Along"
May 5^, Wednesday
a) review c ) , d ) , and f) of the previous day
b) play alphabet in steps, then skips on the piano
c) read and play from notation "Merrily We Roll Along"
'"'W
51
May 6^, Thursday
a) sing and then continue to read and play the same song
from notation
May 7_, Friday
a) review reading alphabet in steps and skips as well
as going backward or down
b) clap and say rhythmic dashes in different meters
c) perform own composition
Notation cards (reduced in size):
1. for steps and skips
T-^-
zriy
-f—
f
2. other tonal patterns
i l l ' !
! ' I ^I
T^n^n
1 , 1 ,
^J=p=rT znj—L
•Mih—
w11 '
'-f—
I
3. "Merrily We Roll Along"
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ill
''
f I . i^'f
//
^
I
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52
APPENDIX C:
DAILY ACTIVITY RECORD OF THE SECOND EXPERIMENT
February ^, Monday
a
b
c
d
sing a few songs learned in the nursery
improvise at the piano
match pitch with the voice
learn to sing "Three Black Keys"
February 8^, Tuesday
match pitch with the voice
learn about high notes and low notes on the keyboard
identify high notes and low notes through ear-phone
communication
sing "Three Black Keys"
February
, Wednesday
identify high and low notes written on staves on the
blackboard
identify high and low tones on the standard piano
play the "high-low" game
identify high and low tones through ear-phone
communication
match keyboard pitches
count black keys as 1-2, 1-2-3, 1-2, 1-2-3, etc.
sing "Three Black Keys"
February
0, Thursday
review high and low notes on the staves
repeat the "high-low" game
identify "up or down" from ascending or descending
count the black keys
February 11, Friday
a) play white key steps going up and then going down
b) learn to play "Three Black Keys"
c) match piano pitches
February 14, Monday
a) tell the story about the elephant and the frog in relation to skips, steps, high, low, up and down
b) identify elephant steps or frog skips in different
direction and registers
perform playing "Three Black Keys" on the piano
53
February 15, Tuesday
a) identify skip and steps as played
b) match piano pitches
February 16, Wednesday
a) point and say skips then steps as written on the
blackboard
b) try to play steps on white keys, going up
c) try to play skips on white keys, going up
d) review playing "Three Black Keys"
February 17, Thursday
a) identify descending or ascending steps
b) point to the steps and say "line-space, line-etc."
c) write ascending steps
February 18, Friday
a) copy notes from the blackboard onto papers
b) play the "loud-soft" game, using chords and a
lullaby
February 21, Monday
a) repeat the "loud-soft" game, using solid and broken
chords in extreme registers and with two hymns
b) draw notes of
i) the same pitch
ii) ascending steps
iii) descending steps
February 22, Tuesday
a) aurally identify ascending or descending steps and
skips
b) play the repeated notes and steps written the previous day
c) play the "loud-soft" game using folk songs
d) play the "high-low" game using repeated notes or
chords instead of trills
e) match piano pitches
f) sing three favorite songs
February 23, Wednesday
a) sing "Three Black Keys"
b) learn a new song "Merrily We Roll Along"
c) draw notes in skips
jam
54
February 24, Thursday
a) sing "Merrily We Roll Along"
b) play ascending and descending skips in thirds, and
ascending skips in fourths
c) relate a rhythmic single-pitch pattern to one of
the three given rhythmic dash patterns
February 25, Friday
a) relate a rhythmic single-pitch pattern to one of
the two given rhythmic dash patterns
b) say short and long according to the dash patterns
c) repeat a rhythmic pattern on the keyboard using
one pitch only
d) identify and play ascending and descending steps
and skips written during the last few lessons
February 28, Monday
a) sing the songs "Three Black Keys," "Merrily We Roll
Along," and "Jingle Bells"
b) aurally identify the song from clappings
c) play the telegram game, using "doo-oot" for long
dashes and "doot" for short dashes
d) play the same game using different rhythmic
patterns as well as syllables
e) play the telegram game on the pianos
f) say "up" or "down" to each note written on the
blackboard
g) say "skip" or "step" to the same set of notes
February 29, Tuesday
a) review all the games
A short lesson due to over-excitement.
March 1_, Wednesday
The children were not allowed to come today due to
their misbehavior yesterday.
March 2^, Thursday
a) play the telegram game using rhythms of different
meters
b) play the telegram game involving rests
^SSBBtB^KKBt^
55
c) identify- then play a mixed step-skip-up-anddown melodic notes
d) write in dictation according to the commands,
"Put a note on the second space"; "Put another
note one step lower than the first one"; "Put
another note another step lower" etc.
March 3_^ Friday
a) review all the games
b) perform a self-composed piece on the piano
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