SAINT JOSEPH COLLEGE OF SINDANGAN INCORPORATED

Poblacion, Sindangan, Zamboangadel Norte,

7112 Philippines
Email add: stjoseph_68@yahoo.com.ph/ Website: sjcsi.edu.ph
Telefax No.(065) 224-2710 or Tel. No. (065) 224-2110/ (065) 224-2602
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Teaching Music in the

Elementary Schools

Module 3
Lesson 3
Introduction

Can you imagine life without sound? Without the ability to hear? Would it be possible for us to live
without sound? If you live in outer space, then that would be the case, since no sound vibrations can
travel in there, for there is no air.

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Every day given to us is an opportunity to encounter a vast array of sounds-some are pleasing music;
some are noise; and sometimes, we hear nothing but silence. Have you ever experienced how
“deafening” silence can be? In our present hustle and bustle world, we rarely have time to “hear”
silence. In this lesson, we will talk about listening as a concept and see how we can manipulate it in our
music lessons. Later, in Lesson 16 of Chapter 3, we will find specific strategies and suggestions in
employing listening in class.

Objectives

In this lesson, the student will be able to:

1. Keep in mind that listening is central and indispensable in teaching music;

2. Learn the difference between hearing and listening; and
3. Identify some practical techniques when giving out listening activities.

THINK: Listening as a Refine Aural Skill

We hear music in an almost day-to-day basis-from our personalized phone playlists, radio, television,
social media, advertisements, church services, flag ceremonies, birthdays, and other special occasions.
Some might even consider the chirping of birds a form of therapeutic music. The most direct way of
“consuming” and appreciating music is to hear and listen to it, since it is an aural phenomenon.
However, it is important to know the difference between hearing and listening.

Hearing is mostly passive-we, humans, hear a lot of sounds simultaneously without paying attention to
them. On the other hand, listening is a process which actively engages our brains as well as our ears.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines listening as: “to pay attention to someone or something in order
to what is being said, sung, played, etc.” Together with reading, writing, and speaking, listening is
considered to be one of the four language skills, and music is a language.

Most of the time, we tend to hear but not listen. In educating our students through music, we are to
train them to be active listeners and not just mere hearers of music. The goal is to enable our students
to connect what they listen to in the music to more far-reaching concepts and ideas. For example, we
are listening to a march. How can a drumbeat pattern depict a march? How does the drumbeat relate to
the movement of the feet? Does the tempo reflect a military march or a funeral march? These are some
sample questions that we, teachers, should be prepared to formulate and ask our students in the course
of their music listening sessions. When playing a track of music for the class, teachers must guide their
students to identify music elements, find the meaning and relationship between the sounds, silence,
notes, phrases, sections, and lyrics (if present), and if possible, relate these to other concepts or
subjects, such as color, texture, art, mathematics, an event, or a story. This does not require a lot of time
and builds more interest than a typical classroom lecture. It also trains learners to keep focus and pay
attention. As they continue developing their active listening skills, they may transfer this skill in other
subjects, such as grammar or literature.

When actively listening, it is good to ask some questions to further deepen the learner’s knowledge,
understanding, and appreciation of a certain piece of music. Here are some sample questions:

1. What musical instruments am I hearing? How many are there? Are these stringed instruments?
Brass instruments? Wind instruments? Percussion instruments?
2. Is it a solo or a group performance?

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 3. What do the lyrics say? Do the lyrics fit the music?
4. What key is the music written?
5. What is the tempo (speed) of the music? How does it affect the character of the piece? If it was
played or sung slower or faster, how would the character change?
6. How does the music make me feel? What is its general mood?
7. Are there chords used in the piece? Are they in major or minor?
8. Are the lyrics based on a literary work, such as a poem?
9. How does the melody move? In steps, skips, or leaps? Does it stay in one place?
10. Are there places where the tonality modulates to a different key? What effect does it give to the
listener?
11. What is the form or structure of the piece?
12. What is the music’s message? Can I relate it to an idea, thing, animal, person, place, or event?

Depending on the nature of the piece of music listened to, these questions may or may not be
applicable. What other listening questions can you think of?

Using recordings for students to listen to is not an easy task, for students minds’ are prone to
wander and cease to listen attentively. When playing a musical example in class, students may
suddenly lose attention. Here are a few techniques to remember when giving out listening
examples:
1. Be a good listening model-When listening, the teacher must show that he/she is engaged
while doing so. Avoid using this time to look at your notes or your lesson plan, or else the
students would notice that you yourself are not listening attentively. React to what you hear
in the recording. Smile, frown, laugh, and show facial expressions. Students copy what they
see and observe in their teachers.
2. Ask questions and give comments-in the midst of listening to a piece of music, you may
pause sometimes to emphasize certain parts of the piece. There are highlights and
important parts in a song or a piece of music, and it is in these places where the teacher can
ask questions or give a commentary. For example, if a song repeats a line of lyrics such as
shown below in the two stanzas:
Alaala ka maging gabi’t araw Alaala ka maging gabi’t araw
Alipinin mo’y walang kailangan Alipinin mo’y walang kailangan
Marinig ko lang sa labi mo hirang Marinig ko lang sa labi mo hirang
Na ako’y iibigin lagi habang buhay. Na ako’y iibigin lagi habang buhay.

Note: Partial lyrics from the Tagalog folk song “Katakataka”

Before the song continues on to the next line, you may pause the recording and ask the class
why they think the same stanza was repeated. What is its purpose in the music? Is it to
emphasize a point, or was it done to create an echo effect? Questions like these stimulate
student’s critical thinking and subjective reasoning.
3. Repetition is key-It is important to give the students ample time to hear details within the
music clearly, and this sometimes requires several repeats in playing the recording. Also,
you need not play an entire musical piece-you may opt to cut it in places, selecting only

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 important or specific parts for study. This also ensures that children will not get bored
listening to a long selection, or get tired of waiting for these parts to be heard.

EXPERIENCE: Listening

Select any Filipino folk song or piece of your choice. Listen to it attentively several times, analysing its
details. Afterward, write down and describe what you heard according to what is being asked below.

Title of chosen song:____________________________________________________________________

Say something about the following musical elements after listening to your chosen song or piece:

1. Melodic Contour:
2. Tempo (Speed):
3. Time Signature/s:
4. What instrument/s was/were used?
5. What is the overall mood of the piece? Is there a message it wants to convey? What would it
be?

ASSESS: Comparing Melodic Maps

Find two people who can be your “test students.” They can be a classmate, a friend, or a relative. Look
for a recording of “Leron, Leron Sinta” that you can listen to. Ask your “test students” to draw a map of
the melodic contour of the song on paper. They should do this separately, so as to avoid copying or
sharing of ideas. Afterward, compare and contrast their melodic contour maps. This is to assess
individual listening skills.

Note: Please use separate sheets of paper for the melodic contour maps. A melodic contour map shows
how pitches on a piece move, either up, down, statically, in leaps, or steps.

Example:

CHALLENGE: Alternative Solutions

What strategies or alternative activities can be done for classrooms that do not have any
access to the Internet or available gadgets that can play music recordings?
Please write your answer below:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

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 ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

HARNESS: Linking Ideas

Look at the pictures below. Can you think of any Filipino folk, traditional, or pop songs
appropriate to teach and associate ideas behind these pictures?

Song Title: _________________________________________

Song Title: __________________________________________

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 Song Title: ______________________________________

Reference: A Course Module for Teaching Music in Elementary Schools book

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https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/jose-rizal-monuments-markers-a00297-
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https://jeongchoi.home.blog/2018/12/03/melodraw-a-system-for-melodic-contour-search-
from-embedded-space-using-line-drawings/

Prepared by:

Chad P. Redulla

6 | Chapter 1 EXPERIENTIAL ASPECTS OF MUSIC