The Application of Gordon's Empirical Model - Spring13

7/30/2019 The Application of Gordon's Empirical Model - Spring13

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Title:TheApplicationofGordonsEmpiricalModelofLearning

SequencetoTeachingtheRecorder

Author(s):JuneC.McDonald

Source:McDonald,J.C.(1991,Spring&Summer).TheapplicationofGordonsempiricalmodeloflearningsequencetoteachingthe

recorder.TheQuarterly,2(1-2),pp.110-117.(ReprintedwithpermissioninVisionsofResearchinMusicEducation,16(2),

Autumn,2010).Retrievedfromhttp://www-usr.rider.edu/~vrme

Visions of Research in Music Education is a fully refereed critical journal appearing

exclusivelyontheInternet.Itspublicationisofferedasapublicservicetotheprofession

bytheNewJerseyMusicEducatorsAssociation,thestateaffiliateofMENC:TheNational

Association for MusicEducation.Thepublicationof VRMEismadepossible throughthe

facilities ofWestminster ChoirCollege ofRiderUniversity Princeton, NewJersey. Frank

Abrahamsisthesenioreditor.JasonD.VodickaiseditoroftheQuarterlyhistoricalreprint

series. Chad Keilman is the production coordinator. The Quarterly Journal of Music

TeachingandLearning isreprintedwithpermissionofRichard Colwell,whowassenior

consultingeditoroftheoriginalseries.


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The Application of Gordon'sEmpirical Model of LearningSequence to Teaching the Recorder

By June C.McDonaldNorthwest Missouri State University

The recorder is widely used in the ele-mentary school music curriculum. Acommon pedagogical approach in

recorder method books is to begin with thereading of notational symbols (Burakoff &Burakoff, 1970; Duschenses, 1957; Kulbach &Nitka, 1965; Newman, 1970; Sevush, 1973;Weber, 1984). This approach tends to stressmusic reading or symbolic association withless attention to auditory and psychomotorskills, or to the establishment of a relation-ship between hearing a particular tonal orrhythmic pattern and executing it accurately.Leonhard and House state, in their discussionof principles of method, that "rich tonalexperience gained through singing andplaying ... should precede and accompanythe study of notation. The best sequencemoves from aural experience with tonal andrhythmic patterns to the notation whichrepresents those patterns" (1972, p. 305).It is this idea of sound before symbol thatis so valuable in teaching music to children.The concept, which reinforces a basicprecept of learning theory, moving from theknown to the unknown, has been advocatedby Edwin Gordon. His empirical model oflearning sequence (Learning Sequence inMusic: Skill, Content and Patterns, 1984) is amusic learning theory rooted in the auralaspect of music and based upon a definitivesequential learning process.The purposes of this study were (a) to

develop a method for elementary recorderinstruction in which the sequential objectivesare logically ordered by Gordon's empiricalmodel of learning sequence; and (b) tocompare the effectiveness of this methodwith a traditional method which stresses note

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reading. The dependent variables wereperformance achievement on the recorderand change in the level of developmentalmusic aptitude.

ProcedureThe subjects of the study were third grade

children attending a laboratory school at a

"The experimental methodwhich emphasizes the conceptof sound before symbol andsupports the principles of themethod outlined by Gordon, isa more effective approach toteaching beginning recorderthan a traditional note-read-ing approach."

regional midwestern university. All 27students were in the same class, had thesame supervising teacher, and had partici-pated for two years in a classroom generalmusic program. The children were dividedinto two groups by the use of a randomnumber table. The choice of a group toreceive the experimental treatment wasdetermined by the toss of a coin.During the first week of the semester, the

Primary Measures of Music Audiation(PMMA) (Gordon, 1979) was administered asa pretest to students in both groups. The testserved as the measure of developmentalmusic aptitude.The two groups were compared using age,

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sex, previous and concurrent musical experi-ence, and raw scores on Gordon's PMMA(see Table 1). The groups were treated asequal because they were comparable withrespect to the following variables: schoolenvironment, musical experiences both inand out of school, mean age of group, andmean raw score of PMMA. The "unmatched"variable was sex. The control group hadeight boys and six girls, while the experi-mental group had six boys and seven girls.

MethodThe groups were instructed separately by

the investigator. Each group received fourlessons of 15minutes duration each week fora period of 12 weeks.Introducing the RecorderThe introductory activities were designed

to give the children a background in thehistory of the recorder, information about themembers of a recorder consort, examinationof the parts of a recorder, procedures for thecare of the recorder, and basic executiveskills involved in playing the pitches B, A,and G (mi, re, do). These were similar forboth groups and included listening torecorded examples of Renaissance recordermusic and rote activities in playing the firstpitches on the recorder, including echoing

the teacher and playing names and rhymeson one or two pitches.The Control GroupConcurrent with learning to play the first

three pitches, B, A, and G, the control groupwas introduced to the visual symbols forthese notes as well as some basic rhythmicnotation using The Classroom Recorder(Burakoff &Burakoff, 1970). Treatment forthe control group involved a teaching-learning procedure in which individualfingerings, pitches, and rhythm symbols werepresented one at a time and then assembledin the playing of songs from notation.The basic techniques used by the investiga-tor in introducing pitches included having

the children look up the fingerings in thebook, echo the teacher playing the pitch, andlocate and discuss the staff position of thenew pitch. The basic techniques used inteaching a song were:1. Having the children find the phrases of thesong and mark the phrases in the music.2. Having the children determine the form ofthe song.3. Having the children chant the rhythm of thesong, phrase by phrase, with Cheve rhythmduration syllables. (The children were alreadyfamiliar with these.)4. Having the children clap the rhythm of thesong, phrase by phrase.

Table 1. Equality of GroupsControl Experimental

Number of students 14 13Age in months 109.14 108.84Sex:Female 6 7Male 8 6PMMA(pretest raw score):Tonal 36.35 37.00Rhythm 32.92 32.69Composite 69.28 69.69Music experiences out of school:Plano or violin 5 5Church choir 2 2

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5. Having the children say the pitch names inrhythm while fingering the notes of a phrase;having the children play the phrase.6. Havin g the chil dre n play th e entire song.7. Having the children sing the song.In addition to learning songs, a portion of

each period was devoted to drilling onrhythm and pitch patterns with flash cards.The Experimental Group

Principles for the experimental methodwere determined by the five skill levels ofdiscrimination learning outlined in Gordon'sempirical model of music learning sequence(1984, p. 22):1. Before learning to playa song on therecorder, the song must first be learned as awhole, by rote, vocally.2. The individual melodic and rhythmicpatterns of the song must be learned also, byrote, by singing, and by chanting.3. Verbal association systems must be attachedto melodic and rhythmic patterns of the song.4. The melodic content of a phrase must betaught without rhythm, and the rhythmiccontent without melody. Only after each islearned independently are they combined.5. Symbolic association (notation) can beintroduced only after the children have aurallydeveloped a vocabulary of tonal and rhythmicpatterns through learning several simple songson the recorder.Treatment of the experimental group

involved a teaching-learning procedure inwhich the children first learned to sing thesong by rote. In learning to play it on therecorder, each melodic and rhythmic patternwas isolated and initially sung or chanted. Averbal association system was then associ-ated with the pattern, and the syllables wereassociated with the finger pattern.The basic techniques used by the investiga-

tor in teaching a song included:1. Having the children learn a song, vocallywith words, by rote, and sing it in its entirety.2. Having the children, one phrase at a time:

a) echo sing the pitches on a neutralsyllable without rhythm;b) echo sing the pitches with sol-fa syl-lables, still without rhythm, whilefingering; andc) echo play the pitches of the phrase,still without rhythm.

3. Having the children echo chant the rhythmicpatterns of the phrase, with a neutral syllableand with Gordon rhythm duration syllables.4. Having the children echo the teacher playing

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the combined tonal and rhythmic patterns ofphrase 1.5. Repeating the process for each phrase of theso ng.6. Having the children play the entire song.After the children had learned five songs

by this rote process, symbolic association(notation) was introduced. The childrenwere given the notation for a known songand asked to play the song while looking atthe notation. The purpose of having themplay known songs with notation was to havethem associate the notational symbols for themelodic and rhythmic patterns learned in thesong with the syllable names and then toassociate the syllables with the audiation ofthe patterns (Gordon, 1984, p. 46).In addition to learning songs on the

recorder, the experimental group spent fiveminutes at the beginning of each periodperforming tonal and rhythm patternsthrough "singing, chanting, and kinetics(movement)." The purpose of these activi-ties, which Gordon calls learning sequenceactivities (LSA),is to develop a sense oftonality and meter and to develop a vocabu-lary of tonal and rhythm patterns. Theordering of skills and content in learningsequence activities is based on Gordon'staxonomies (1984, p. 199).

The PosttestsDuring week 14 of the semester, the

PMMAwas administered again under thesame conditions as the pretest. In addition,an investigator-designed rating scale perform-ance test was given. Each child was asked toindividually perform five of the songs whichhad been learned during the semester (seeFigure 1). Each song was rated in threedimensions: melodic accuracy, rhythmicaccuracy, and executive skills accuracy(posture, hand position, fingering, tonequality, and articulation). A score sheet withthe specific criteria for each dimension foreach song was devised by the investigator(see Figure 2). One point was given for eachcriteria item performed correctly. There wasa possible combined total of 25 points for therhythmic dimension, 24 points for themelodic dimension, and 25 points in theexecutive skills dimension, for a total pos-sible composite score of 74 points. Guide-

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lines for the evaluation were:Rhythmic Dimension

1. Begins with a consistent tempo-plays onemeasure with a consistent tempo.2. Sense of meter-plays with accuratesubdivisions of the macro beat.3. Macro beat patterns-plays all j patternsaccurately.4. Macro and micro beat patterns-plays allcombinations of j and J1accurately.5. Maintains consistent tempo-plays entiresong in a consistent tempo.6. Elongations-plays all j accurately.

Melodic Dimension1. Begins on correct pitch.2. Sense of tonality-plays with a sense ofeither do (G) or la (E) as being the tonalcenter.3, 4, 5, and 6. Each of the specific patternsmust be played accurately each time it occursin the song.

Executive Skills Dimensionl. Posture-sitting up straight with back awayfrom the chair and with arms away from therib cage.2. Hand position-both hands on the re-corder, left hand on top, and fingers posi-tioned in such a way that the holes arecovered. If children fingered a note correctly,but did not get a true pitch due to faultycoverage, points were deducted for handposition.3. Articulation-use of the tongue rather thanpuffs of air to attack each tone.4. Tone quality-primarily judged on intona-tion. Air speed was not so fast as to causesharpness, nor so weak as to cause flatness.5. Fingering-use of correct fingering for eachpitch in the song.The performances were videotaped

individually by the investigator. After thetesting, the performances were viewed and

evaluated by the investigator using theguidelines previously outlined. At a latertime, the performances were independentlyevaluated by another college music educator.The scores of the researcher and the othereducator were similar. This was expectedsince the evaluation guidelines provided bythe investigator were very specific.

Results and ConclusionsTo compare mean increases in PMMA

scores, a t-test procedure for testing equalityof means for independent samples wasimplemented (see Table 2).At the 0.05 level, the mean increase in

composite scores was significantly greater forthe students taught by the investigator-designed method than for the students taughtby the traditional method. In fact, with p =0.021, the most significant mean increaseabove was with the composite score. At the0.05 level, the mean increase in tonal scoreswas not significantly greater for the experi-mental group; however, it should be notedthat the mean increase for the experimentalgroup was significantly greater at the 0.071level.At the 0.05 level, the mean increase in

rhythm scores was significantly greater forthe students taught by the investigator-designed method than for the students taughtby the traditional method. Given the declinein mean rhythm score for the control group,it is concluded that the delay of symbolicassociation, the extensive emphasis on rotelearning, and the time devoted to the rhythmlearning sequence activities seemed to havebenefitted the experimental group in thedevelopment of rhythm audiation.

Table 2. Comparison of Mean Increases in PMMAScoresControl Experimental

Variable n Mean S.D. n Mean S.D. t PComposite 14 0.35 4.55 13 3.53 2.93 2.14 .021Tonal 14 0.57 1.50 13 1.38 1.26 1.52 .071Rhythm 14 -0.21 4.25 13 2.15 2.67 1.72 .049

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Table 3. Comparison of Mean Recorder Performance ScoresControl Experimental

Variable n Mean S.D. N Mean S.D. t PComposite 14 39.75 14.89 13 56.96 14.93 2.99 .003Melodic 14 15.61 5.53 13 19.85 5.06 2.07 .024Rhythmic 14 13.11 5.34 13 20.69 4.43 4.00 .000Ex. Skills 14 11.04 5.03 13 16.42 6.23 2.48 .010

Table 4. Analysis of Songs Used for the Performance Achievement TestCONTROL EXPERIMENTAL

Variable Mean S.D. Mean S.D. t PSong 1

Rhythm 3.18 1.71 4.62 0.51 3.01 .004Melody 3.07 1.28 3.54 0.97 1.06 .149Ex. Skills 2.61 1.24 3.54 1.33 1.88 .036Composite 2.95 1.22 3.90 0.82 2.38 .033

Song 2Rhythm 3.00 1.97 4.03 1.48 1.54 .068Melody 3.00 1.47 3.08 1.46 0.14 .446Ex. Skills 2.46 1.41 3.54 1.46 1.94 .032Composite 2.82 1.52 3.55 1.28 1.34 .096




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It is also interesting to note that for theaggregate group, the mean increase in themelodic dimension was significant at the .001level, and the mean increase in the rhythmicdimension was significant at the .10 level. Itis concluded that recorder instruction isvaluable ,regardless of type of instruction, inincreasing developmental music aptitudescores for third-grade children. The fact thatthe most Significant increase occurred in thetonal dimension suggests that playing therecorder is a valuable aid in the developmentof tonal audiation.Rating Scale Performance TestAgain, a t-test procedure for testing equal-

ity of means for independent samples wasimplemented. The results are presented inTable 3. In each dimension of the ratingscale performance achievement test (melodic,rhythmic, and executive skills) and in thecomposite score, the experimental groupscored significantly higher than the controlgroup at the .05 level of significance (p =.024, .000, .010, and .003 respectively).As with the PMMAscores, the most

Significant difference in performance scoresoccurred in the rhythmic dimension. Bothgroups used rhythm duration syllables; thecontrol group used the Cheve system and theexperimental group the Gordon system.Palmer (976) investigated the relativeeffectiveness of the two systems and foundno significant difference in achievementbetween the groups using the two systems.Based on this single study, rhythm learningsequence activities, which emphasize akinesthetic reaction to the basic beat and thesubdivided beat, and the delay of symbolicassociation, led to a more secure perform-ance for those in the experimental group.Another consideration when comparing the

effectiveness of the two methods involves thedegree of isolation of rhythmic and tonalpatterns in the two teaching processes. Inthe control group, rhythmic patterns wereisolated and chanted, and then chanted inthe context of the song from notation. Thenthe pitches were added.This process demanded that the children

coordinate the fingering with visual recogni-tion of pitch and a specific rhythm pattern inone step. In the experimental group, the

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tonal patterns of a phrase were learnedwithout rhythm and subsequently associatedwith the finger patterns. The rhythm patternsfor the phrase were learned (through echochanting) and then coordinated with themelodic pattern of the phrase. The successof this technique of teaching the melodiccontent of the phrase, independent of therhythmic content, supports Gordon (984) inhis recommendation to teach the two com-ponents separately, combining them onlyafter the students are able to audiate thecontent of each pattern.In the dimension of executive skills, the

experimental group again scored Significantlyhigher Cp=.010) than the control group. It isconcluded that in the early stages of instruc-tion the children could more readily concen-trate on forming good executive skill habitsbecause they were not required to cope withan encoding process in addition to thephysical demands of playing an instrument.

Analysis of Individual SongsAn analysis of the individual songs used

for testing leads to other insights. Theseresults are presented in Table 4. The songswith the most significant differences of meancomposite scores were "Scotland's Burning"and "Cricket in the ight," the last two songslearned. "Scotland's Burning" was moredifficult (with respect to executive skills) than"[uba," "Worship Time," or "Four in a Boat,"due to the presence of both high and low D."Cricket in the Night" was the most difficult

of all the songs for several reasons. It con-tained all seven diatonic pitches learnedduring the semester, it was the longest song,and it was the only song which did not usemelodic repetition in the phrase structure.Considering that the song was relativelymore complex than the others, and thatproportionately less lesson time was spentlearning the song, the superior performance(p =.000) is of special note. As the songsbecame longer and more difficult, theexperimental group learned them morequickly and easily than the control group.A final factor which must be considered in

the discussion of the comparative achieve-ment of the two groups is that of the motiva-tion and the enthusiasm of the children. Atthe onset of the experiment, the level of

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Juba

Worship Time

[u-ba this and [u-ba that, ju-basaw a yel-low cat. Ju-ba up and [u-badown, [u-ba run-ning all a-round!

Cricket in the TimeHear the tern-pIe bells as they soft-Iy chime; Call-ing the peo-ple.c.L. "Come for worship time."

~ l ~I nm I FJ I n rnJ All thru the night, Moon - light sil- ver bright, Cric - ket sings his ti- ny song,

1 & j J J J j ) j I r C3 I 5 1@. Jsings it through the whole night long, All through the night.

Scotland's Burning

1 & ; i j J J i j J i J 1 r r.J Scot land's burn ing. Scot land's burn mg. Look out! Look out!

1 r r r r i j J J i j J@ ! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Pour on wat - er pour on wat - er.Four in a Boat1 & 1 j j ~ j J j I ~ r JU 0 U 0.J

Four in a boat and the tide rolls high, Four in a boat and the tide rolls high,

Four in a boat and the tide rolls high, Wait - ing for a pret- ty girl to come by and by.

Figure 1. Songs used in the research project.enthusiasm in both groups was very high. Asthe semester progressed, the level of enthusi-asm remained higher for the experimentalgroup. Based on subjective impressions fromworking with the children, the investigatorhas concluded that the experimental methodwas a more interesting way for the childrento learn because:1. The children learned the songs more easilyand more quickly.2. The teaching process was more personal inthat during the initial rote-learning stages, thesource of the material was the teacher, not theprinted page.3.The addition of notation later in the semesterwas exciting for the children because it was

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"real music" and "something new," and it wasintroduced at a time when the initial excitementof playing an instrument had subsided.Recognizing the limitations of this study,

the investigator believes, based upon empiri-cal data as well as subjective impression, thatthe experimental method which emphasizesthe concept of sound before symbol andsupports the principles of the method out-lined by Gordon (984) is a more effectiveapproach in teaching beginning recorder thana traditional note-reading approach.

ReferencesBurakoff, G. & S. Burakoff. (1970) The classroom

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Student's NameRHYTHMIC DIME SIO MELODIC DIME SIO EXECUTIVE SKILLSDIMENSION1. Begins with consistent tempo 1. Begins on correct pitch 1. Posture2. Sense of meter 2, Sense of tonality 2. Hand position

"Four in a 3. Macro beat patterns 3 G-B-G-B-E-D patterns 3. ArticulationBoat" 4. Macro and micro beat patterns 4, G-B-G-B-D'-D'-A patterns 4. Tone quality5 Maintains consistent tempo 5, B-A-G-B-G pattern 5, Fingering

elongation patterns

1. Begins with consistent tempo 1, Begins on correct pitch 1, Posture2, Sense of meter 2, Sense of tonality 2, Hand position

"Scotland's 3, Macro beat patterns 3, D-G patterns 3, ArticulationBurning" 4, Macro and micro beat patterns 4, A-B patterns 4, Tone quality

5. Maintains consistent tempo 5, D'-D' pattern 5. Fingering1. Begins with consistent tempo 1. Begins on correct pitch 1. Posture2, Sense of meter 2, Sense of tonality 2, Hand position

"Cricket in 3, Macro beat patterns 3, A-G-A patterns 3, Articulationthe Night" 4. Macro and micro beat patterns 4. G-A-B-A-G patterns 4. Tone quality

5. Maintains consistent tempo 5. D'-B-A-G pattern 5. Fingeringelongation patterns

1. Begins with consistent tempo 1. Begins on correct pitch 1. Posture2. Sense of meter 2. Sense of tonality 2, Hand position

"Worship 3. Macro beat parterns 3, E-D-A-G-E patterns 3, ArticulationTime" 4. Macro and micro beat parterns 4, B-A-G pattern 4. Tone quality

5, Maintains consistent tempo 5 Fingering

1, Begins with consistent tempo 1, Begins on correct pitch 1, Posture2, Sense of meter 2, Sense of tonality 2, Hand position

"Juba" 3. Macro beat patterns 3. B-C-B-A patterns 3. Articulation4, Macro and micro beat patterns 4, C-B-A-G patterns 4, Tone quality5, Maintains consistent tempo 5, Fingering

Figure 2, Score sheet used in the research project.recorder: Soprano book 1, Sharon, CT:Consort Music.

Duschenes, M, (957) School recorder method.Toronto: Berandol.

Gordon, E, E, (1979) Primary measures of musicaudiation. Chicago: G, I. A.

Gordon, E, E, (1984) Learning sequences inmusic: Skill, content, and patterns, Chicago:G.I.A.

Gordon, E. E" &D, G, Woods, (986) Referencehandhookfor using learning sequenceactivities, Chicago: G,I.A,

Kulbach, J. E, &Nitka, A, (1965) The recorderguide. An instruction method for soprano andalto recorder, including fo lle melodies from

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around the world. New York: Oak Publica-tions,

Leonhard, C. &R. House. (1972) Foundationsand principles of music education. (2nd ed.)New York: McGraw-HilI.

Palmer, M. H, (1976) Relative effectiveness of twoapproaches to rhythm reading for fourthgrade students. Journal of Res earch in MusicEducation, 24, 110-118.

Sevush, L. (1973) Let'splay recorder, Winona,MN: Hal Leonard.

Weber, R. B. &B. Margolis. (1985) Sopranorecorder songbook fo r children, Brooklyn:Manhattan Beach Music.

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The Application of Gordon's Empirical Model - Spring13