LISTENING

• Active mental process; attempt to

make meaning of what we hear.

• The first school experience with

music is listening.
Levels of Listening

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.
Levels of Listening
Analytical Listening

Focused more on the

interpretation and meaning of the
actual sound.
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

• What to Listen for in Music

• Three Planes of Listening
 Three Planes of Listening
The Sensuous Plane
It is the plane on which we hear music without
thinking, without considering it in any way.
The Expressive Plane
Attending to a meaning behind the sound, how it
makes us feel.
The Sheerly Musical Plane
This is the plane in which the rhythm, melody,
harmony and all the technical aspects of music
reside.
 Practical Techniques
These techniques are designed to help students engage
productively with what they hear, to engender active rather than
passive listening.

Model good listening

Your students look to you as the model for how to listen well.
Repeat
Sometimes it takes multiple hearings to grasp a musical
selection.
Give listening directives
Students should always know what to listen for.