Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nr4z6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-07T07:03:38.666Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Playing by Ear: its Nature and Application to Instrumental Learning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2008

Philip Priest
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Instrumental teaching methods in schools have resulted in a near total reliance on notation. Playing by ear has been undervalued by instrumental teachers, yet it is through such playing that some of the aims of music education can best be achieved.

In this article different ways of playing without notation are distinguished theoretically and exemplified through the experiences of some players who have learned in this way. A case is made for all musical playing to be viewed as ‘by ear’, including when notation is involved, so that the aural basis for musicianship is maintained and a wider view of performance encouraged. A possible model for teachers is offered based on imitation and invention.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , July 1989 , pp. 173 - 191
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bailey, D. (1980) Improvisation: Its Nature and Practice. Ashbourne: Moorland.Google Scholar
Cleave, S. & Dust, K. (1989) A Sound Start. Windsor: National Foundation for Educational Research – Nelson.Google Scholar
Fletcher, P. (1982) An alternative viewpoint. Music Teacher, 01.Google Scholar
Fletcher, P. (1987) Education and Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of Mind. London: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Luce, J. R. (1958) Sight-reading and ear-playing abilities related to the training and background of instrumental music students. Unpublished Ed.D. thesis, University of Nebraska.Google Scholar
McPhee, C. (1955) Children and music in Bali. In Meade & Wolferston (Eds), Childhood and Contemporary Cultures. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Priest, P. (1988) Playing by ear: an investigation of the phenomenon and of its application to instrumental teaching as part of music education. Unpublished M. Phil, thesis, University of London Institute of Education.Google Scholar
Rees, W. (1978) Why do children drop instrumental tuition? Music in Education, 01.Google Scholar
Swanwick, K. (1979) A Basis for Music Education. Slough: NFER/Nelson.Google Scholar