Give Them a Reason to Listen

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I recently had the opportunity, with funding support from the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism and Culture, to present music workshops to teachers in several school boards in southern Ontario. I was able to speak to educators who are responsible for delivering the music component of the curriculum to their elementary students. The teachers were responsive, excited to receive new music and activities for their students and showed an enthusiasm for teaching that translates into positive and meaningful learning opportunities for the students. As I prepared my presentation, several main themes emerged. Over the next few columns, I will expand on some of the ideas that served as the foundation for my workshop.

Music is a great tool for teaching children to listen. In my daily contact with my students, I used to find myself constantly reminding the children entering my classroom not to talk. Of course, such a request would result in a few students complying and remembering to enter quietly, but what was their motivation for keeping quiet as requested? Why should they be quiet? Because I asked them to. This was totally based on external motivation and not something that had a very lasting influence, as I soon discovered.

I decided I needed a reason for them to enter quietly, which I linked to my objective to create an atmosphere where the desire to listen was internally motivated. I began searching for musical excerpts to play as the students entered my room. The next day as students entered to the sound of music, I was at the door quietly telling them that when they were all seated I would be asking them what they were hearing in the music.

Now my plan developed a secondary focus. I would use this listening exercise to focus on the singing voices of children, boys, girls, older children’s choirs, adult choirs, a capella groups, men’s voices and women’s voices. As my students learned the routine of listening as they entered, and then having the chance to tell me what they were hearing, their focus changed. Instead of talking as they entered, they were listening. Some even raised their hands to answer as soon as they heard the music and before they got to their seats. Discussion was lively as we discovered some of the “rules” that helped us determine who was singing and those exceptions that inevitably showed up (try explaining falsetto voices when the expectation is that men’s voices will be singing the low parts).
With the availability of excellent recordings, listening selections can be varied and are very accessible. With this listening exercise in place, my students are learning about different sounds, they are learning to focus and listen to the music, and our class begins the moment they step into my classroom. This five-minute exercise takes less class time than the old “entering and getting seated routine,” and a listening objective is met within the first five minutes of each class. This is a win-win situation!

This listening technique also works using instrumental selections. Asking students, even the youngest ones, to listen for a particular instrument, or a dynamic change (e.g. put your hand up when you hear the music suddenly get louder) or when a section ends or begins, gives them some basic music vocabulary and...a reason to listen.

In addition to using music for the students to enter and exit my classroom, I have also used music for entering and exiting school assemblies. This has amazing benefits. I have taught a song to the entire student population and then as they enter/exit I play that song and the students will sing along. The one we have used most is “We are the Children of the World” (from my Computer Cat CD). This particular song is available on the CD both with full performance track (so the children need only to join in with the voices already present) or the instrumental accompaniment track for which they supply their own vocals. Either way, the students are focused and they have a reason to listen. As they sing along, talking is eliminated and they don’t bother others in the line as they leave the auditorium. As an added bonus, it is very pleasant for the audience members to hear children singing as they are leaving rather than listening to them chatting.

When presenting a new piece of music, I will ask students to listen for something specific. If they are told, “Listen to this piece of music” and no other directive is given, they have no focus and no internal reason to listen. I often tell them I will be asking them three questions, all of which can be answered if they listen to the excerpt of the music that I present.

There are many songs that tell stories and giving the children a listening focus can bring the meaning of those stories alive. The listening activities also help prepare the students to sing the song. They are already starting to internalize the words and, when the story makes sense to them, it is easier for the students to learn the words and eventually sing along. The children are engaged in the listening, they listen more carefully to the words, and...they have a reason to listen.

Giving children a reason to listen is a good basic premise to apply to many of the activities we present during the school day. When children learn to listen and assimilate information through music it can have lasting positive effects on their educational efforts. The “Alphabet Song” is a great example of the lasting effect of memorizing information using music. There are other advantages as well. Music is enjoyable, it can be felt as well as heard, and the kinesthetic connection helps create a stronger learning experience for many students. Students who are hesitant to volunteer answers individually may be willing to join their classmates to sing a song. The actual effort of participation is a positive step in the process of taking risks, trying new things and thus facilitating learning.

We need to teach our students the art of listening. We are surrounded by sound and music not meant to be listened to: elevator music, music in the mall, video games and movies, to mention a few. The music is used to enhance or “shape” a moment, but only in the background—the music is not the focus. We need to refocus our students’ attention to appreciate the music they are hearing. In learning the elements of the music we open the pathways for the students to appreciate it and to eventually create music of their own.
I want my students to focus and I accomplish that by getting them to listen. This listening skill can be transferred to every other subject area, and indeed, is a foundational principle in all educational activities. Instructions are given in the educational setting over and over during the course of the school day. Students who have learned to focus and to listen will be better able to achieve the tasks expected and asked of them. Students need to listen in order to hear the instructions for a task. Students need to listen as new material is presented, as that material is reviewed and when receiving additional instruction and help as they practise using the material. All subject areas can benefit from students who have learned to be listeners. It is an area worth developing, and using music as the tool to accomplish the goal makes it an enjoyable activity as well as providing your students with at least a part of their music education. Give them a reason to listen.

Donna Rhodenizer is a composer, professional performer, recording artist, publisher and music educator in a public school in Kentville, NS.