Ma. Sofia M.

Gutierrez
BEEd-3F

B. Listening
 Active mental process; attempt to make meaning of what we hear.
 The first school experience with music is listening.

Levels of Listening
a. Passive Listening
In passive listening, the listener may appear to be listening to the speaker and her
words but makes no effort to understand the message.
b. Analytical Listening
Analytical Listening is focused more on the interpretation and meaning of the actual
sound. The message of the song and even the way a vocal line has been delivered, these
share common traits of analytical listening. Understanding the mood that the song is
setting out to portray is another analytical listening trait.
For instance, an up-tempo rock song is going to give off a particular feel to the audience,
whereas a softer acoustic ballad will portray a different feeling all together.

Aaron Copland
(1900-1990)
"The selections by Copland, taken from his 1957 book What to Listen for in Music, express his
belief that one listens to music on several planes-the sensuous, the expressive, and the sheerly
musical. After a brief discussion of what constitutes each of these planes, he admits that rarely
does one listen on only one plane, but rather the astute listener is constantly moving from one
plane to another as the musical work unfolds," (Pitman)

The Three Planes of Listening

1. The Sensuous Plane
The simplest way of listening to music is to listen for the sheer pleasure of the
musical sound itself (Copland, 7).
2. The Expressive Plane
 Copland argues that all music conveys meaning behind the notes and that the
meaning behind the notes constitutes what the piece says, what the piece is about. Of
course, we cannot put this meaning into so many words. At different moments, he
observes, music expresses serenity or exuberance, regret or triumph, fury or delight.
Music expresses these moods, and many others, in a variety of subtle shadings and
differences. I
3. The Sheerly Musical Plane
At this level, the listener attends to matters of form and structure. In order to
follow the line of a composer's thought, the listener attends to such matters as melody,
rhythm, harmony, and tone color in a conscious fashion.

Practical Techniques:
These techniques are designed to help students engage productively with what they hear, to
engender active rather than passive listening.
a. Model good listening
Your students look to you as the model for how to listen well.
b. Repeat
Sometimes it takes multiple hearings to grasp a musical selection.
c. Give listening directives
Students should always know what to listen for.