Logan Bloom Active Approach: Edwin E.

Gordon

Biographical Information Edwin Elias Gordon (1925- ) is a contemporary researcher, pedagogue, lecturer, and theorist in the realm of music education. His work is considered to be as influential as that of Dalcroze, Kodaly, Orff, and Suzuki. He focuses on the psychology behind music education on the basis of audiation and aptitude. He has written numerous books, scholarly articles, and 6 highly regarded musical aptitude tests (Gordon Institute for Music Learning). Gordon studied at the Eastman School of Music where he earned his bachelors degree in string bass performance in 1952 and masters degree in 1953 (South Carolina University Libraries). He got a job playing bass in Gene Krupas band and continued on to earn his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1958 (GIML). In the following years, he held positions as a Professor of Music at the State University of New York at Buffalo and the University of Iowa. In 1955 he earned a masters degree in education from The Ohio University (SCUL). Later on, he was made Professor of Research in Music Education at Temple University in Philadelphia from the years 1979 to 1997 where he received both the Lindback Award and Great Teacher Award from the school (GIML). Gordon has been featured on the NBC Today Show, in the New York Times, and in USA Today (GIML). Some of his most prominent works include Learning Sequences in Music: Skill, Content, and Patterns (1997), Study Guide for Learning Sequences in Music: Skill, Content, and Patterns (1997), A Music Learning Theory for Newborn and Young Children (1997), Introduction to Research and the Psychology of Music (1998), Rhythm: Contrasting the Implications of Audiation and Notation (2000), and Preparatory Audiation, Audiation, and Music Learning Theory: A Handbook of a Comprehensive

Music Learning Sequence (2001) (SCUL). Gordon often states in the preface or introduction to his writings that he attempts to avoid using the words the, a, and that. Examples of this can be found in the foreword to Roots of Music Learning Theory and Audiation (Roots of Music Learning Theory and Audiation 2) and the preface of Untying Gordian Knots (Untying Gordian Knots 3). Gordon has an immense appreciation for improvisation, stemming from his experience touring with Gene Krupa. He relates it to language in teaching in that it does not necessarily require notation as an aid. It allows children to make their own music on a more human level (Pinzino 4). Gordon discovered he has a great respect for children by conducting research and doing the teaching himself in order to understand it. He maintains that the most important work he has done throughout his career is working with children. He strives to cultivate an understanding for the way children learn in order for future teachers to be as effective as possible (Pinzino 5). Gordon is known as and considers himself mainly invested in the areas of research and theory and less in philosophy. However, his work reflects a strong philosophy that all humans are capable of valuing music. One of his main focuses in his research and teaching is testing for musical aptitude. Gordon contends in A Music Learning Theory for Newborn and Young Children, because a day does not pass without a child's hearing or participating in some music, it is to a child's advantage to understand music as thoroughly as she can (A Music Learning Theory for Newborn and Young Children 2) (GIML).

Pedagogy

Edwin Gordons work is highly regarded as equal among the likes of Zoltn Kodly, mile Jaques-Dalcroze, and Carl Orff. His research and pedagogical methods are unique among these major figures in the world of music education. Gordons methods reflect the philosophy that all humans should be capable of understanding and performing music to some degree. Gordons pedagogical methods revolve around musical aptitude, audiation, and music learning theory. These concepts work together to build the foundation of Edwin Gordons pedagogical methods. Gordon developed a series of musical aptitude tests to make sure students receive a music education appropriate for their individual ability and interest in music. He uses it to identify what students already know or have learned and what they still need to learn about music. He clarifies that the aptitude tests should not be used to prevent a student from studying music, but rather to put that students natural ability in music into a quantitative figure and to help parents and teachers make unbiased decisions about the depth to which the student participates in music. Gordon contends that there is a difference between music aptitude and music achievement. It is important to distinguish that music aptitude is a form of potential energy, while music achievement is energy that has already been released. In other words, music achievement is any knowledge of music that a student already possesses or musical tasks that he or she has already accomplished. Music aptitude is a students calculated capability of skills in the field of music. It is affected by environmental circumstances (Introduction to Research and the Psychology of Music 4-5). Going beyond the idea of general music aptitude, Gordon categorizes music aptitude into two subcategories: stabilized music aptitude and developmental music aptitude. Gordon contends that between birth and age nine, a students music aptitude can

fluctuate. It can change for a child based on the circumstances of the childs surrounding environment. After age nine, the aptitude becomes stabilized. This is not to say the student stops learning anything more about music after age nine. The only change is that the level of natural ability in the student becomes constant. Developmental music aptitude is the fluctuating stage of music aptitude that occurs before age 9. During the development of The Musical Aptitude Profile, Gordon administered the aptitude tests for meter and phrasing to a group of approximately 150 children between the ages of six and eight in Ottumwa, Iowa. The scores were compared with those of a group of sixth graders who took the same tests, only the six, seven, and eight year olds were allowed a parent to help them understand the directions and fill in the answer sheet in the correct format. The scores were similar, but the circumstances were different. Based on the data from the test results, Gordon determined that using the same tests with children younger than nine as with children older than 9 is inappropriate (The Nature, Description, Measurement, and Evaluation of Music Aptitudes 45). The concept of developmental music aptitude states that there are factors relating to the age and physical development of children that do not affect their musical aptitude, but affect their scores on tests for musical aptitude. With this in mind, Gordon found it necessary to design musical aptitude tests that would be objective and assess students fairly and accurately. After all, these music aptitude tests were intended to compare the aptitudes of students with each other. One of the main purposes of Gordons music aptitude tests is to test for audiation, a term coined by Gordon himself. Gordon defines audiation as the process of hearing music silently, or when sound is not present. He specifies that the term aural imagery is

inappropriate because imagery implies notation. Gordon suggests the term aural perception as a more appropriate synonym for audiation Furthermore, Gordon classifies eight distinct types of audiation and six stages of audiation (The Nature of Music Aptitudes 13): Types of Audiation 1. Listening to familiar or unfamiliar music 2. Reading familiar or unfamiliar music 3. Writing familiar or unfamiliar types of music 4. Recalling and performing familiar music from memory 5. Recalling and writing familiar music from memory or in silence 6. Creating and improvising unfamiliar music while performing 7. Creating and improvising unfamiliar music while reading 8. Creating and improvising unfamiliar music while writing Stages of Audiation 1. Momentary retention 2. Imitating and audiating tonal patterns and rhythm patterns and recognizing and identifying a tonal center and macrobeats 3. Establishing objective or subjective tonality and meter 4. Retaining in audiation tonal patterns and rhythm patters that have been organized 5. Recalling tonal patterns and rhythm patterns organized and audiated in other pieces of music 6. Anticipating and predicting tonal patterns and rhythm patterns

With audiation and aptitude in mind, Gordon created a sequence of teaching music that incorporates both of those elements. This system, which he calls music learning theory, is more concerned with the learning of music (how students learn) than the teaching of it. The order of instruction is arranged progressively based on music aptitude. Each topic becomes more difficult in order to accommodate music students of varying abilities and aptitude. The goal of music learning theory is for students to audiate at every level of the sequence. Music learning theory is arranged in three categories: skill learning sequence, tonal content learning sequence, and rhythm content learning sequence. These are three separate sequences that are meant to be taught in conjunction with one another. Skill learning sequence is meant to be taught with either tonal content either learning sequence or rhythmic content learning sequence. The two content learning sequences are not intended to be combined (Learning Sequences in Music 34). The skill learning sequence is based on two types of learning that Gordon points out: discrimination and inference. Discrimination learning is in essence learning by rote. It is based on aural skills, verbal association, partial synthesis, symbolic association, reading and writing, and composite synthesis. Inference learning is comprised of three parts, each with sublevels. The first part, generalization, is divided into aural, verbal, and symbolic (reading/writing). The second part, creativity/improvisation, contains the aural and symbolic subcategories. The third part, theoretical understanding, contains the aural, verbal and symbolic subcategories. Each of these subcategories requires some degree of audiation (Learning Sequences in Music 37). Tonal content learning sequence as explained by Gordon is based on identifying various modes in music. This can be accomplished with any of the skills in the learning

skills sequence, hence the need for the two to be taught in conjunction. The modal classifications in Gordons tonal content learning sequence are major, minor, Mixolydian, Dorian, Lydian, Phrygian, Aeolian, Polytonal/Polykeyal, and Harmonic. Gordon incorporates a series of categories or functions for each of the modes. These categories include tonic, subtonic, supertonic, dominant, subdominant, modulatory, chromatic, cadential, multiple, expanded, and characteristic tone (Learning Sequences in Music 126). The following are examples of various tonal patterns (Tonal and Rhythm Patterns 11-12):
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Major Tonic:
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Major Dominant:
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Major Chromatic: Rhythm content learning sequence involves breaking down rhythmic concepts into general terms. Meter is considered either usual or unusual. Meters such as 4/4, 2/4, 3/4, 6/8, or 12/8 would be considered usual meter. Meters such as 5/4, 7/8, or 8/8 would be considered unusual meter. Gordon refers to series of beats in which no beat is accented and the beats are of equal length as macro beats. When macro beats are equally divided, the result is micro beats. Meter is also specified as duple, triple, or combined. Paired meter is when macro beats are audiated in groups of two. If macro beats are audiated in groups of more three, it is called unpaired meter (Learning Sequences in Music 129-30). Macro Beats:
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Micro Beats Usual Duple Meter:

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Micro Beats Usual Triple Meter:

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Macro Beats Unusual Paired Meter:

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Macro Beats Unusual Unpaired Meter:

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Gordon suggests that there are three stages of learning: introduction, application, and assimilation (Learning Sequences in Music 211-2). Ideally this three-stage sequence is used when teaching a specific piece of music. In the first stage, introduction, students are introduced to a piece of music in terms of tonality and meter by hearing and performing it in classroom activities. In the second stage, application, students study the tonal patterns and rhythm patterns in the tonality and meter of the piece. It is not required that they be the exact tonal and rhythm patterns found in the piece. In the third stage, application, the music content and skills taught in the previous two stages are reinforced throughout other classroom activities. Students should be able to understand and extract meaning from the piece through audiation and additional classroom activities by this stage. The application stage is the most important because it forces the students to audiate through the reinforcement of the skill and content taught in stages one and two. This allows the students to develop precision in their ability to audiate the piece of music they studied. Additionally, the students should gain a specific understanding of the song from the reinforcement. It will give the song meaning for the students. In the classroom, the aptitude tests serve the purpose of allowing the teacher to

teach according to the individual musical differences of students. Gordon suggests that a music aptitude test be administered to a class of students and for the class to be divided into three groups based on the students scores. The groups should not be labeled, but one group should contain students with lower scores, one with students with average scores, and one with students with higher scores. There are no set criteria for the percentile ranks, or cutoff points. The group of students with average scores should be the largest group with relatively few students in the outside groups. The students in each group will use tonal and rhythmic patterns that are consistent with their aptitudes as determined by the test. The group with the lower scores will use easy tonal and rhythmic patterns while the group with higher scores will progress more quickly to harder tonal and rhythmic patterns (Learning Sequences in Music 232-6). Gordons pedagogy revolves around his research in the topics of audiation, music aptitude, and music learning theory. His three-stage approach to lesson planning incorporates all of these concepts. Gordons goal in teaching music is for students to be able to audiate by understanding the music and making connections between other areas of the music curriculum. He believes in accommodating students of all levels and abilities in the same classroom by testing for music aptitude and using the results to teach to the needs of individual students.

Works Cited Gordon, Edwin E. A Music Learning Theory for Newborn and Young Children. Chicago: GIA Publications, 1990.

Gordon, Edwin E. Introduction to Research and the Psychology of Music. Chicago: GIA Publications, 1998. Gordon, Edwin E. Learning Sequences In Music: Skill, Content, and Patterns. Chicago: GIA Publications, 1989. Gordon, Edwin E. The Nature, Description, Measurement, and Evaluation of Music Aptitudes. Chicago: GIA Publications, 1987. Gordon, Edwin E. [eegordon9997], Roots of Music Learning Theory and Audiation. Scribd. Scribd, 18 May, 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2012. Gordon, Edwin E. Tonal and Rhythm Patterns: An Objective Analysis. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1976. Gordon, Edwin E. Untying Gordian Knots. giml.org. The Gordon Institute for Music Learning, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2012. The Gordon Institute for Music Learning. The Gordon Institute For Music Learning, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2012. South Carolina University Libraries. Edwin E. Gordon Archive. University of South Carolina. n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2012. Pinzino, Mary Ellen. A Conversation With Edwin Gordon. Come Children Sing. Come Children Sing, 1998. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

Three Sequential First Grade Lesson Plans 1. The first lesson should involve students learning the song The Bell Peter. The teacher should first demonstrate the song while having the students actively

respond by clapping quarter notes. After the first demonstration, the teacher should teach the rhythms in the piece and have the students clap the rhythms while he or she demonstrates again. This part should be done phrase by phrase. To conclude the lesson, the students should clap the rhythms throughout the whole piece. 2. The second lesson should incorporate the tonal content found in The Bell Peter. The tonality is Aeolian. The teacher should isolate the intervals, or spots where the notes in the melody change and write them on the board. The teacher should lead the class in singing each tonal pattern on a neutral syllable independently. Once each interval in the melody has been sung, the teacher should progress to teaching the song phrase by phrase. To conclude, the class should sing the whole song. 3. The third lesson should focus on audiation. The same piece, The Bell Peter, can be used to demonstrate this concept. The teacher should begin singing the song, stopping on beat three of the second measure (the word is). The teacher should motion to the class to sing the next word. The teacher should explain that the students knew what to sing because they could hear it in their heads. The teacher should introduce the term audiation. To further demonstrate this concept, the teacher should play a short I IV I V - I progression. The teacher should stop on the V chord and motion for the students to sing the root of the I chord to show they know where the music is headed. To conclude, the teacher should explain that the students can predict certain music.

Additional Sources GIMLPublications. Edwin E. Gordon Music Learning Theory Overview Part 1. Web. Youtube.com, 21 Jan. 2011. 17 Feb. 2011.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRUCZp9uYOM> This is the first in a series of 12 videos on Youtube of a presentation Gordon made at Rhode Island College. He outlines his research and talks about how it can be implemented in the classroom. He lectures and answers questions on the subject of instrumentation, audiation, music aptitude, and components of music learning theory. Gordon, Edwin E. A Factor Analytic Description of Tonal and Rhythm Patterns and Objective Evidence of Pattern Difficulty Level and Growth Rate. Chicago: GIA Publications, 1978. This study analyzes the responses of students to various tonal and rhythm music aptitude tests. The book contains all the tonal and rhythm patterns used in the study organized by tonality and meter. This is a good resource for a teacher to find tonal and rhythm patterns to use in his or her own lessons. Information about students reactions to these patterns is included in the study as well. Gordon, Edwin E., Bolton, Beth M., Taggart, Cynthia C., Reynolds, Alison M., and Valerio, Wendy H. Jump Right In: The Music Curriculum. Book 1. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2000. This textbook series is organized by the four seasons, each with a list of songs and activities for the students to learn. The teachers edition has information about Gordons research and pedagogical approaches. The lesson plans and songs in the teachers edition have the tonal and rhythmic content specified. Gordon, Edwin E. Musical Aptitude Profile. Chicago: The Riverside Publishing Company, 1965. This manual provides instruction and advice for administering music aptitude tests and interpreting the results. Gordon breaks the test down into the different categories of tonal imagery, rhythm imagery, and musical sensitivity and provides suggestions for adapting curriculum to suit the needs of students with higher and lower scores on the various parts of the test. Gordon, Edwin E. Primary Measures of Music Audiation (Kit). Chicago: GIA Publications, 1986. This kit includes copies of answer sheets for a music aptitude test and a CD-Rom with audio for practice exercises, a tonal test, and a rhythm test. There are several booklets with instructions for administering the tests and interpreting the results.

There is also information on Gordons research relating to music aptitude. The purposes of the tests are explained in this material. The test format consists of identifying if two examples are the same or different. Gordon, Edwin E. Study Guide for Learning Sequences In Music: Skill, Content, and Patterns. Chicago: GIA Publications, 1984. This book is unique in that it serves to test the reader on its content. The text is a series of questions, some multiple choice and some fill-in-the-blank. There is a comment for each question with information on the subject. The questions cover all of Gordons research and pedagogical techniques. Classroom techniques are addressed as well as the more theoretical research aspect of Gordons work.