Christina Fackler MUSE 258 Sound Connections: A Comprehensive Approach to Teaching Music Literacy 2010 Chapter 6: Developing Tonal

Literacy Don P. Ester Working With the Staff Do clef o Allows for essential concepts but is flexible in initial reading o Eliminates association of a certain pitch with a certain spot on the staff o Easy to add clefs and signatures without confusion Using Visual Media Visual Skill is critical in music reading Focus students eyes on specific notation matching the pattern being performed The tonal wand o Used to direct students attention to a notation with corresponding pitch o Note head onlyno value o Move up and down, left and right Overhead Projector and Overlay Transparencies o The Blank Staff o The Tonic-Triad Guide Overlays o The Tonal-Pattern Overlays o The Do-clef Overlays o Transparency Guide Box to keep all sheets aligned o All lay over each other to create exercises Reading Tonal Patterns Integrate focus patterns into opening with echoing and/or hand-sign activities Use tonal wand with overlay Add the tonal pattern overlay, have students read at two different pitches Do-clef overlay read at least two different pitches Always remind students of the triad by modeling either minor or major Lessons Introductory Tonal-Reading Lesson Reading Tonal Patterns in Minor Typical Tonal-Reading Lessons Introducing New Patterns Progressing Through the Tonal Content Sequence Recommended sequence for introducing all of the tonal patterns Cumulative exercises Applying Tonal Reading Skills to Performance Literature Students can recognize target patterns

Notating Tonal Patterns Once students are reading easily at Level 1, they are ready for notating 3 stages o Direct presentation by teacher o Audible echo-translation o Audiated echo-translation o Tonal notation worksheet o Lesson over each of the 3 stages Composing Tonal Patterns Writing down what we audiate for the purpose of saving it Introduction of new concepts through composition projects This chapter was very detailed about the actual sequence of teaching tonal literacy. It even explained how to teach the more complicated concepts like chromaticism. The sample lessons are great to get me started and see what works well and hopefully I will be able to embellish upon them.