Page 45 - CJJuneJuly25

thoughts as they consider the music so they remember negatives, but we spend an abundant amount of time
what they want to contribute to the discussion. Listen- working on how to phrase statements. For example, the
ing expectations might also include minimizing distrac- statement “this sucks” is not acceptable, but something
tions outside of talking such as other class work, people like, “I disliked this piece because it is unaccompanied
entering/exiting the classroom, announcements, or and I think it would sound better with instrumental
phone usage. accompaniment,” is specific and insightful. Students
Scaffolding shorter aural activities early in the year learn they can disagree about the piece if they can re-
helps to build stamina and provides the opportunity for spectfully express that opinion with supporting evidence
students to practice finding a sense of calm while they and thoughtfulness.
listen. To help students process aural input, consider
guiding the listening process and encourage them to
attend to specific musical facets. For example, I might A Four-Step Model
ask them to focus on different types of instruments they for Intentional Listening
hear, identify the form of the piece, describe the sing- After establishing a valued and respectful listening
er’s tone quality, or listen for key reoccurring musical culture in the classroom, the real fun of discussing text
material. Providing students with a specific task to iden- can happen. The four-part sequence below has been
tify is a great way to encourage them to attend carefully effective in my program. The sessions can be separate
while giving explicit directives about what careful lis- or combined and are flexible for the amount of time
tening entails. Once students have learned how to lis- available to dedicate to the lesson.
ten beyond surface level musical material, they can use
those skills to make more informed judgements about Part 1: Expose students to the music on a surface level
the music and further their own musical interpretation. In session one, start the listening activity with a less
Additionally, practice providing appropriate feed- familiar version of the song to capture the students’ at-
back. Students may have wonderful musical ideas; tention. Presenting a less common arrangement helps
however, if they cannot appropriately communicate avoid any preconceived notions about the music. It is
their thoughts, the meaning is lost. An honest discus- also a fantastic opportunity for students to hear and
sion about providing feedback is important before experience something they may not seek out on their
asking students to contribute freely. A teacher might own. Allow students to experience the music without
model their vision of appropriate and thoughtful feed- any other directive. Instead of asking specific guiding
back early in the process. Teachers may also offer ex- questions, it is valuable to simply let students embrace
plicit instruction about expectations for providing feed- the music and come to their initial conclusions inde-
back, which might be necessary to help guide students pendently.
through crafting their comments. Incorporating listen- Listen to the audio alone several times to increase
ing lessons at the beginning of the year focused specifi- familiarity. Audio recordings provide fewer distractions
cally on appropriately responding to music provides the and stimulating input so students can focus on the act
foundation for future listening activities. The majority of listening. The first time through, ask students only
of time in early listening lessons might be spent dis- to listen with no other directives. Before the second
cussing how answers such as “this is horrible” or “it’s listening, approach students with prompts like: What
good” are personal judgment responses that don’t pro- instruments do you hear? How does the music make
vide much information for discussion. you feel? Do you recognize the music or does anything
Begin with positive comments only, asking students to seem familiar about it? What is the form? Does any-
respond to things they appreciate about the music. Too thing repeat or capture your attention? What story is
often, students’ natural response is negative, so by insist- the music telling? What is it about? Does it remind you
ing on positive comments to start, hopefully they learn to of anything?
focus on different aspects of the music beyond superficial After the second listening, ask students to get into
judgment. Eventually, the conversation can incorporate small groups and share their experiences. For the sake

CHORAL JOURNAL June/July 2025 Volume 65 Number 9 43