Listening and Responding to Music

We hear and perform music in many different places each day. We listen and respond to music at home, in our classrooms and music rooms, on the playground, and at concerts and special events. We even hear music in movies, on television and radio, and in stores and shopping malls. In short, music is all around us. While few people will pursue careers as musicians, composers, music teachers, or conductors, we all are appreciators and consumers of music. One way we can understand this art form better is to learn how to listen thoughtfully to the music we hear. Let your ears be the guide; what do you hear? Answer the following questions as you listen. Plan to listen to the selection more than once.

Describing

• Timbre
  What kinds of instruments and/or voices do you hear?
  
  
• Size of the group performing
  Do you hear a large ensemble, a small ensemble, a soloist?

Analyzing

• Tempo
  Keep a beat (patting your leg, tapping a pencil) as you listen to the music.
  
  Describe the pace or speed of the beat. Is it steady? Does it ever change? Does it get faster or slower? When does it change?
  
  
• Rhythm
  Are there any patterns of beats, or rhythms that you hear several times in the piece?
  
  Choose one repeated rhythmic pattern to listen for; tap out this rhythm with your pencil each time you hear it in the music.
  
  Create your own symbols for notating this rhythmic pattern. What different symbols can you combine to accurately represent the rhythm?
  
  
• Melody
  Is there a main theme or melody that you hear more than once? Can you hum it along with the music as you hear it?
  
  Describe the shape of this main melody; how are high, medium and low pitches combined to create this theme?
  
  Make a line drawing which depicts the shape of this theme.
  
  
• Dynamics
  Is the music performed at the same volume level throughout, or does the volume change?
  
  What volume levels do you hear? (loud, medium loud, medium soft, soft) Describe the dynamics of the piece.
  
  
• Words
  What are the words about? What ideas or thoughts do the words suggest?
  
  Do the words tell a story? If so, what is the story?
  
  
• Style
  Do you have an idea about which style of music this piece represents? Is it rock and roll, rap, classical, gospel, jazz, country western, music of culture from another country, etc?

Interpreting

• Mood
  List some adjectives which describe how the mood of this music sounds to you.
  
  What do you hear in the music that suggests this mood?
  
  Does the mood ever change? Describe the changes.
  
  If the music does not have words, skip to the next question. If the music does have words, what does the music contribute to the text? How does the music help tell the story of the text?
  
  What title would you give this piece of music? Why?

Evaluating

There are many ways to respond to music. Sometimes when we hear music we want to hum or tap our toes, and sometimes we may want to cover our ears! Each person's genuine response to a piece of music is important. It is equally important to consider why we respond as we do. After listening thoughtfully to a piece of music, it is possible to respond to it thoughtfully.

• Describe your response to this piece. Be specific; utilize musical terms to discuss your response. Use ideas from the answers to the questions above. Describe anything about this piece that you liked or enjoyed. Describe anything about this piece that you disliked or did not enjoy.
  
  
• Who do you think would appreciate a performance of this piece of music (you, your friends, adults, adolescents, children, dancers, musicians, etc.)? Why?

(Adapted by Stephanie Stickford from Mary Stockrocki's "Learning to Look/Looking to Learn," and Kathy Lindholm Lane's "Deciphering Dance," January 1997.)