Teaching Melodic Dictation in Advanced Placement Music Theory

Abstract

This study approaches to teaching melodic dictation skills of Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory were examined. Twelve high school teachers from four states were interviewed. Four themes emerged from the interview transcripts: cognitive frameworks, processing strategies, rhythm, and course design. Participants generally confirmed established understandings of aural skills pedagogy, particularly in areas of pattern instruction, connecting aural and written theory, connecting sight-singing and dictation, incorporating scale degree function, targeting melodic "bookends," focusing on the big picture, sequencing curricula, and incorporating familiar melodies. Unique to the findings of this study were participants' positive attitudes toward a standardized test and their concern for the students' psychological barriers inherent in learning aural skills. A general indifference to rhythm counting systems and a common acknowledgment of students' difficulties with rhythmic notation also was found. Recommendations for further research include a largescale survey of melodic dictation strategies taught by AP Music Theory teachers, empirical investigation of the efficacy of specific counting systems, comparison of students' reported dictation strategies and their success with dictation on the AP exam, and exploration of the influence of psychological fortitude on the dictation process.

Effects of Two Listening Strategies for Melodic Dictation

“…One common reason for requiring dictation students to listen fully first is to help them avoid the distractions of identifying and writing and instead focus on the "big picture" of the melody (Paney & Buonviri, 2013). This strategy presumably helps students invest their time and attention in improving their melodic memory skills and recognizing relationships within the target.…”

Effects of a Preparatory Singing Pattern on Melodic Dictation Success

“…Some instructors teach these strategies to boost students' learning and to assist them in dictation tests (Karpinski, 2000;Paney & Buonviri, 2013).…”

“…Greater understanding of these skills and their relationships may have implications for both music students and teachers in a variety of applications, including performance (Duke & Simmons, 2006;Morrison, Treviño, & Sielert, 2008), critical listening (Cassidy, 2001;Gromko & Russell, 2002), composition (Younker & Smith, 1996), and conducting (Sheldon, 1998). Paney and Buonviri (2013) found that many aural skills teachers strive to maintain parallel progress between dictation and singing materials in curriculum development and practice. One of the primary objectives of singing in aural skills course work is to help students develop internal context for musical elements such as pitch and rhythm, typically through syllable, number, or letter systems (Karpinski, 2000).…”

The interaction of repetition and difficulty for working memory in melodic dictation tasks

“…More recently, attention has turned to the application of these cognitive findings to inform methods that can aid in melodic dictation exercises in the ear-training classroom. This recent research has compiled useful qualitative studies examining the strategies of successful students in taking dictation (Buonviri, 2014) and of instructors in teaching dictation (Klonoski, 2006;Paney & Buonviri, 2014). Some commonly used pedagogical techniques have been found to be counterproductive: for example, Paney (2007Paney ( , 2016 found that instructing participants on what to listen for in between hearings of a melody actually reduced accuracy rates in taking dictation.…”