Introduction

Overview:

Listening to music is an integral part of music instruction. To provide students with an optimum and enriching experience, the selection of quality music for listening lessons and activities is important. In addition, the examples of music can and should be drawn from diverse style periods, genres, and cultures to expose students to a wide variety of music readily available.

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

Identify and model best practices for teaching a listening lesson.
Examine best practices developing listening skills in young students.
Identify ways in which music can be taught through a guided listening lesson.
Identify age-appropriate music for younger students.
Evaluate and analyze music literature to be used for listening lessons based on standards identified in the text.
Identify ways in which technology can be used as a tool for guiding creative listening lessons.

Teaching Music through Listening

Listening activities in the classroom accomplish a variety of instructional goals. According to the 2014 Music Standards advocated by the National Association for Music Education and the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, students should be able to “select or choose contrasting music to listen to” for varying purposes, and the dispositions expected of elementary students include the abilities “to hear, read, and notate melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, and expressive elements of music . . . expressed through listening (audiating), reading, and notating music.” These skills improve students’ perceptions and can also transfer to other subject areas. Objectives for listening experiences could include:

Listening skills can affect all subject areas

Illustration and reinforcement of the instructional objectives
The fostering of student creativity
The development of aural skills and repertoire
The formation of thoughts and opinions toward music

The teacher’s role in a listening lesson is as an active participant, exhibiting attentiveness and interest in the activity, maintaining frequent eye contact with the students, and using facial expressions and body language that indicate enthusiasm and excitement about the activity. One of the most important instructional tools for influencing student acceptance and approval of a musical selection is the teacher’s interest and approval of the selection. Compare the participation of these teachers in their listening lessons.

Many resources are available for listening experiences

Listening experiences in the general elementary classroom can take many forms, from playing background music as students enter the classroom, to listening to vocal music that the students will eventually learn and sing, to listening to longer selections which will be a springboard for other classroom experiences, or to illustrating and reinforcing concepts of music. Opportunities for combining listening to musical selections and the general elementary curriculum are endless.