EMERGENCEOF

LISTENING

SA UL FEINBERG

Creative PI·obIem-SoIvingand the Music Listening Experience(Ideas For an Approach)*

The one learning experience that best reflects the significantchanges that have occurred in music education over the pastdecade is listening. Taken out of the passive, rather perfunctoryrole it played in former days, listening has been elevated to aposition where its true function in music and general educationcan at last be realized. This function, essentially, is to serve as ameans by which all individuals can respond aesthetically to whatis expressive in music.

Conferences have consistently emphasized the importance oflistening courses in helping both the performer and the non­performer deal more perceptively and affectively with music.They have also called for approaches that can make these learn­ing experiences more dynamic and more creative. Paradoxically,however, while the purposes and values of aesthetically-orientedcourses in music have been dealt with in deep and penetratingways, the means by which these goals can actually be realizedin the classroom have been given only minimal attention by theprofession.

The reasons for this gap between the philosophy and thepractices of aesthetic education become clear when we realizethat many music educators are still using rather limited strategiesand activities to deal with one of man's most complex: andrevealing phenomenons--thc aesthetic experience. These ap­proaches include those that emphasize the programmatic, non­musical aspects of music and those that concentrate too muchon the factual content of music. What is needed is an approach

*Copyright © 1974 by the Music Educators National Conference. Reprintedfrom Music Educators Journal, September 1974. Used with permission.

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CREATIVEAPPROACH

STRUCTUREOF

INTELLECT

The Journal of Creative Behavior

to aesthetic listening that not only enables the student to learnabout music, but also encourages ·him to respond intellectuallyand affectively to the creative process that produced it. Such amultifaceted approach-an approach that is close to both thecreative process and thecreated product (the music)-ean beproperly called a "creative problem-solving approach."

Essentially, a creative approach to perceptive listening involvesthe setting up of problem-solving situations in which the listenercan function as both a thinker (a problem-solver) and a learner(a gainer of knowledge). In such a setting the student is nottold what is significant in a piece of music, nor is he informedas to what is happening in the work. Rather, he is given oppor­tunities to explore these possibilities for himself through theworking out of various problems and hypotheses. Such an ana­lytical approach enables the student to think in the manner of acomposer as well as a listener. In such a role, he is able to sharesome of the problems faced by the composer and to respond tothe work's aesthetic qualities in a deep and penetrating way. Acreative problem-solving approach can do more than merelyteach "content." While a student is learning fundamental ideasahout music, he can also cultivate those behaviors of thinkingand listening that will promote a pattern of continuous aestheticand creative growth. Certainly, such a "product" as this repre­sents the ultimate goal of all aesthetic music education programs.

If this creative approach is based on the belief that studentscan develop intellectual abilities at the same time they are acquir­ing knowledge, the question can be asked, "What abilities?"Fortunately, answers to this question have come out of the exten­sive research that has taken place over the past two decades inthe area of creative behavior. So revealing have the results ofthis research been that they have implications not only fordisciplines naturally linked with the creative process-such asthose in art education-but for all the subject areas in generaleducation.

Of central importance have been the changing beliefs about thenature and nurturing of creative potential. In sharp contrast tothe earlier viewpoint that creativeness is a quality reserved onlyfor the gifted few, today it is seen as a quality that all individualspossess in some degree-a quality that each person has the demo­cratic right and the psychological need to develop. Through thepioneering efforts of such creative psychologists as J. P. Guilford,P. R. Merrifield, and E. Paul Torrance, specific behaviors ofproblem-solving and creative thinking have been delineated thatcan be significantly improved when appropriate conditions for

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DIVERGENTTHINKING

Fluency

Creative Problem-Solving and the Music Listening Experience

their development are made available. Most of these creative­thinking abilities have been identified from the extensive studieswith Guilford's extraordinary model of human intelligence-theStructure of Intellect. In this model, Guilford and his associateshave been able to hypothesize one hundred twenty intellectualabilities, each of which has its own distinctive quality. Ninety­eight of these abilities have already been demonstrated througha complex system of factor analysis (Guilford, 1967; Guilford &Hoepfner, 1971).

While it is conceivable that all of the intellectual abilities the­orized in the Structure-of-Intellect model could be dealt with insome way in a creative listening approach, the abilities mostcompatible with such an approach are those classified under theoperation labeled "divergent production." In contrast to the other"thinking" processes in the model, this operation is concernedwith generating solutions to a problem that are both useful andinnovative. Since divergent production involves the bringingtogether of previously unrelated ideas to arrive at a solution, it isthe cognitive process most identified with creative thinking. The"divergent thinking" abilities most important for a creative ap­proach to perceptive music listening are fluency, flexibility, andelaboration.

In terms of general intellectual functioning, fluency is con­cerned with the ability to generate a quantity of adaptable (butnot necessarily original) solutions to a problem within a certainamount of time. In many tests for fluent thinking, the individualis asked to describe as many uses as possible for a particularobject-for example, a hammer. The more solutions the indi­vidual is able to produce, the higher the fluency score would be.This ability can be related to perceptive music listening by askingthe listener to tell how many different ways a particular musicidea is used in a piece of music. The more "uses" perceived~ themore fluent is the listening. Here is an .example of a listeningtask that requires fluent thinking abilities (suggestions for specificcompositions or ideas that can be used are enclosed in brackets):

Before listening to the following music example [the openingsection from Schubert's Symphony No.5 in B flat], describethe different ways you think the main motif could be usedin the music.

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Flexibility

Elaboration

IMPLEMENTA­TION OF AN

APPROACH

The Journal of Creative Behavior

Flexibility, as a. divergent thinking behavior, is concerned withgenerating many different .kinds of logical solutions to a problem.Although this behavior is closely linked with fluency, it is in­volved more with how many changes or alternative means wereused to solve the problem than with the quantity of responses.Flexibility implies openness and originality. In terms of percep­tive music listening, flexibility involves tasks that ask the listenerto indicate the different ways in which music ideas are changedand combined in a piece of music.The more "fixated" the listeneris on anyone element in the music, such as rhythm, the less heis able to respond as a flexible listener. Here are -two examplesof listening tasks that call for flexible thinking:

1. After listening to the following composition ["Chester" fromSchuman's New England Triptych], make up a series ofquestions that you think relate to what you heard. Remember,the more areas you touch on in your questions, the moreflexibly you are thinking.

2. After listening to two different recordings of the same com­position [the finale from Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra],describe what you think the second conductor did that wasdifferent from what the first conductor did. Which versiondid you find more satisfying?Why?

Elaboration is the creative thinking behavior concerned withgenerating step-by-step procedures to solve a particular problem.Again, the more useful and original the solution, the more crea­tive is the thinking expressed. Relating elaborative thinking toperceptive music listening involves tasks in which the listenerindicates procedures needed to carry out various ideas throughmusic. Here is an example:

Listen to the music up to ... [the gong at.the end of Tchai­kovsky's Symphony No. 2 in C minor ("Little Russian")].Keeping in mind what you have heard,' describe how youwould bring this work to an end.!

Considering the complexity of creative thinking and the multi­plicity of ways to approach creative teaching, you could easily

IFor more detailed suggestions and lessons relating to creative listening,see: Reimer, B., Development and Trial in a Junior and Senior High Schoolof a Two-Year Curriculum in General Music, Project No. T-1l6 (Washing­ton, DC: U.S. Office of Education, 1967); Wendrick, K. A. and Palisca,C. V., An Approach to Musical Understanding for Secondary School Students,Report of the Yale Music Curriculum Project, Project No. 221, U.S. Officeof Education (New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1970); Feinberg, S., Blue­prints for Musical Understanding, Four Series (NYC: Warner BrothersPublications, 1964, 1971).

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Creative Problem-Solving and the Music listening Experience

wonder how it is possible to translate all these factors into aprogram of meaningful teaching- learning experiences. Onceagain, however, a solution to ,the problem can be found in theresults of research into creative behavior. A model for structuringa creative problem-solving approach can be identified in the veryprocess of creative thinking itself. This process has been describedin many different ways by many different scholars. All of thesediversified descriptions, however, tend to hypothesize the creative­thinking process as consisting of three interrelated stages-apreparational stage in which a problem is perceived, identified,and prepared for some kind of solution (problem-solving activitycannot occur until a gap in information is sensed by the indi­vidual); an exploratory-transformative stage in which possibleanswers to the problem are explored and gradually transformedinto some kind of solution (the longer the search is sustained,the richer and more creative the solution is likely to be); and asynthetic stage in which the solution is evaluated and internalizedfor future learning tasks (the ultimate result being further learn­ing and growth for the individual).

This preparational- exploratory - transformative - synthetic se,­quence of problem-solving can serve as a model for many differ­ent experiences in a music listening course. It can be used tostructure individual lessons, to unify several different lessons, orto organize a series of interrelated lessons made up of "listeningepisodes." What is basically involved in all of these structuresis a series of preparational activities in which specific problemsrelating to a music idea or a specific work of music can be Iden­tified; a series of exploratory-transformative activities in whichmany different kinds of solutions can be generated throughcreative problem-solving experiences with the elements and theprocesses of the music being explored (it is in this stage that allof the divergent thinking abilities described earlier could beutilized), and a series of synthetic activities in which under­standings and skills learned from the problem-solving experiencecan become internalized and applied to new listening tasks.

It is interesting to realize not only that the tripartite design ofcreative thinking is an appropriate model for organizing thelessons of a listening episode but also that it can serve as a meansby which the entire listening course can be structured. Such aplan would consist of, three developmental phases-a prepara­tional phase, an exploratory transformative phase, and a syntheticphase.

Preperetlonel In the preparational phase of the course, the prime objectiveis to establish a level of openness and flexibility on the part ofstudents that will enable them to cope with increasingly more

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Synthetic

The Journal of Creative Behavior

complex and sophisticated kinds of listening tasks. This phase ofthe course is particularly important because its purpose is toformulate an attitudinal frame of reference that is sufficientlydivergent to sustain a pattern of continuous learning throughout,the course (and perhaps, beyond). From the various lessons inthe preparational phase, it is hoped that the students will cometo realize and accept the following basic guidelines for becominga more perceptive music listener:

• Try to give your full attention to the music being heard.• Focus on the various elements that make up the music.• Be open to new listening experiences, not "blinded" by past

listening habits.• Postpone your judgment of the music until it has been fully

experienced.• Listen to the music many times.

In the exploratory-transformative phase of the course, the be­haviors of perceptive music listening and creative problem-solvinggradually merge into a totally integrated process. The primaryobjective of the listening episodes in this phase is to provideopportunities for students to develop their listening abilities Iandunderstandings through direct and prolonged encounters withcomplete works of music. Although survey lessons can be usedto develop various music concepts and skills, the approach mostcompatible with the highly integrated nature of creative thinkingis one that encourages the listener to become involved with themusic elements and processes of complete pieces of music. Whensuch an approach is taken, it is possible for the listener not onlyto share some of the creative problems that the composer facedwhen writing the work but also to experience the work' as acomplete, integrated whole. It is through this bringing togetherof the various 'parts previously explored that a type of 'musicalgestalt can occur. And a more revealing aesthetic experience cantake place. The dynamics of such an "aesthetic-whole" approachhas been described eloquently by Edmund Feldman (1965):

The final meaning and the entire funding of meaningdoes not take place until the work of art has been ex­perienced in its fullness and entirety. Until then, theperceptions are separate and the meanings provisional.Not until the whole work is experienced can the inter­actions among the parts take place, the sense of whole­ness be achieved, and the heightening and intensificationof perception be felt [italics in original].

In the culminating phase of the course, the synthetic phase,the student is given opportunities to integrate his listening be-

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Creative Problem-Solving and the Music Listening Experience

haviors and understandings by applying them to tasks that callfor responses that involve synthesizing. In this stage of perceptivemusic listening development, the student is encouraged to makeaesthetic judgments when verbalizing about creative processes inmusic, when offering criticisms about specific works and per­formance interpretations, when distinguishing works that arebanal from those that demonstrate creativity, and whcn formu­lating original listening guides and analyses of works of music.From these final, evaluative experiences, the student should cometo realize that the listening experience symbolizes a unique en­counter with the human condition, an experience that grows anddeepens as the individual himself also grows and deepens.

Although the main objective of this article has been to describean approach to music listening that can bring a greater com­patibility between the goals and practices of aesthetic education.there has been a larger intent as well. This is to emphasize onceagain that music is not just an entertaining "thing" to havearound when "important" things are finished. It can also makea unique and significant contribution to one of general educa­tion's most valued goals-helping each person become all that heor she can be, a fully thinking, knowing, and feeling individual.

REFERENCES FELDMAN, E. B. The nature of the aesthetic experience. In Hausman, J. J.(ed.) Report of the commission on art education. Washington: NationalArt Education Association, 1965.

GUILFORD, J. P. The nature of human intelligence. NYC: McGraw-Hill,1967.

GUILFORD, J. P. & HOEPFNER, R. The analysis of intelligence. NYC:McGraw-Hili, 1971.

Saul Feinberg.Address: 8810 Blue Grass Road, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19152.

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