The aim of the study was to measure the performance reached by students (N = 138) when aurally identifying musical harmonic intervals (from m2 to P8) after having experienced a teaching innovation proposal for the Music Conservatories of Catalonia (Spain) based on observational methodology. Its design took into account several issues, which had been detected previously as being conflictive. The teaching innovation proposal was tested during an academic year in six Catalan Music conservatories, specifically in Music Theory classes in the first year of a 6-year professional course. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design was used. The existence of a control group gave a reference point for the measured results before and after an intervention period. By the end of the teaching-learning process, it was established that the performance of the participants had improved, resulting in statistically significant differences in favour of the experimental group.

This study evaluated the design of a teaching method to improve aural identification of harmonic intervals (m2–P8). Three groups of first-year professional-grade music theory students aged 11–13 ( N = 25) at the Girona Music Conservatory (Catalonia, Spain) were given 20 lessons. All groups were taught using the same method. Observational methodology was used, with teachers acting as participant observers who systematically registered their observations in field diaries and were then interviewed at the end of the experiment. Assessments confirmed that the proposal was generally effective, as the design allowed students to improve. However, the experiment highlighted the fact that difficulties lie mainly in the aural identification of the TT, m6, M6, m7 and M7 intervals. The relationship between this general difficulty and other, more specific patterns observed during this study suggests that the design of the teaching method requires more flexibility to be adaptable to the different nature of each interval and the way in which the intervals tend to be perceived and processed. Knowledge of the most difficult aspects of the teaching proposal that was tested may guide us in designing what, how and when to teach.

El dictado melódico es considerado como una de las actividades fundamentales en la educación auditiva del alumnado que cursa lenguaje musical en las escuelas y conservatorios profesionales de música de Cataluña. El objetivo del presente estudio fue llevar a cabo un análisis exploratorio del rendimiento de los estudiantes al realizar el dictado melódico correspondiente a la prueba de acceso al primer curso de grado profesional en un conservatorio profesional de música de Cataluña. La muestra de estudio estaba compuesta por 50 estudiantes, cuya media de edad era de 12,2 años (DE = 1,6 años). Se analizaron las duraciones, las alturas y los intervalos de las transcripciones realizadas. Entre otros resultados, por un lado se constató principalmente la existencia de diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre (1) las duraciones, las alturas y los intervalos, a favor de las duraciones; (2) los intervalos ascendentes y descendentes, a favor de los ascendentes; (3) los intervalos por grados conjuntos y disjuntos, a favor de los conjuntos; y (4) el primer y segundo fragmento de la melodía, a favor del segundo en los tres parámetros analizados. Por otro lado, no se detectaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre las alturas y los intervalos. Conocer el rendimiento alcanzado en el dictado melódico en relación a las duraciones, las alturas y los intervalos puede incentivar y ayudar al profesorado a comprender la percepción melódica de sus alumnos. Gracias a ello, posteriormente se podrá mejorar la práctica docente mediante la elaboración de propuestas pedagógicas que permitan desarrollar más eficazmente el oído relativo del alumnado.