Levels of Musical Understanding

Artistic Parallel to Bloom’s Taxonomy

Joanne Haroutounian

Cognitive Understanding Musical Understanding

1. Knowledge – Ability to acquire and 1. Basics – Ability to play the notes correctly,
remember information. Recall, define, identify, identify rhythmic values, musical symbols.
or recognize specific facts or terminology. Fingers in position, posture in place.

2. Comprehension – Ability to grasp the 2. Comprehension – Ability to demonstrate

meaning of materials. Illustrate, demonstrate, understanding of basics in a new piece or
differentiate, explain or restate. musical activity. Can demonstrate and
differentiate concepts learned.

3. Application – Can use learned material 3. Dimensional Shift – Ability to musically

in new situations. Apply, generalize, relate realize musical concepts across reading,
or use ideas. performance, movement, listening, writing.

4. Analysis – Ability to break down material 4. Analysis – Ability to understand structural

into its component parts so its organizational ideas, dynamic nuances, phrasing, musical
structure may be understood. Contrast, details aurally and visually.
distinguish, and categorize ideas learned.

5. Synthesis – Ability to put parts together 5. Interpretation – Ability to incorporate

to form a new whole. Creatively working with personal ideas meshed with stylistic
ideas to develop something new and unique. understanding. Ability to develop creative
interpretation across dimensions of learning –
metaperceptive reasoning.

6. Evaluation – Ability to judge the value 6. Performance, Product, Critique – Ability

of material for a given purpose Judging, to develop a personal interpretation through
comparing, deciding, and validating one’s performance or creative work in music. Seek to
work or the work of others. refine, critique, and rework artistically.