Gordon music-learning theory is a model for music education based on Edwin Gordon's research on musical aptitude and achievement in the greater field of music learning theory.Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007) 3. Richard F. Grunow, Music Learning Theory: A Catalyst for Change in Beginning Instrumental Music Instruction (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2005): 195. The theory is an explanation of music learning, based on audiation (see below) and students' individual musical differences. The theory takes into account the concepts of discrimination and inference learning in terms of tonal, rhythmic, and harmonic patterns.R.C. Gerhardstein: A Biographical and Historical Account of an American Music Educator and Researcher (diss., Temple U., 2001), 200–259
Audiation "Audiation" is a term Gordon coined in 1975 to refer to comprehension and internal realization of music, or the sensation of an individual hearing or feeling sound when it is not physically present.Gerhardstein, R. C. (2002). The historical roots and development of audiation: A process for musical understanding. In Hanley, B. & Goolsby, T.W. (Eds.) Musical understanding: Perspectives in theory and practice. [Canada] : Canadian Music Educators Association. Musicians previously used terms such as "aural perception" or "aural imagery" to describe this concept, though "aural imagery" would imply a notational component while audiation does not necessarily do so. Gordon suggests that "audiation is to music what thought is to language".Christopher Azzara, Audiation, Improvisation, and Music Learning Theory. (1991, The Quarterly, 2(1–2), 106–109. His research is based on similarities between how individuals learn a language and how they learn to make and understand music.Edwin Gordon, Rhythm: Contrasting the Implications of Audiation and Notation (Chicago: GIA Publications, 2000): 111. . Gordon specifies that audiation potential is an element of music aptitude, arguing that to demonstrate music aptitude one must use audiation.Edwin Gordon, All About Audiation and Music Aptitudes (September 1999, Music Educators Journal)
Audiation and language Gordon says that audiation occurs when an individual is "listening to, recalling, performing, interpreting, creating, improvising, reading, or writing music". While listening to music, audiation is analogous to the simultaneous translation of languages, giving meaning to sound and music based on individual knowledge and experience.Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007) 4–5.
Gordon emphasizes that music itself is not a language as it has no words or grammar, but rather has syntax, an "orderly arrangement of sounds, and context".Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007) 5.
Types of audiation Gordon differentiates varieties of audiation and categorizes them into 8 types and 6 stages.Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007) 15.
Type 1, listening to familiar or unfamiliar music Type 2, reading familiar or unfamiliar music Type 3, writing familiar or unfamiliar music from dictation Type 4, recalling and performing familiar music from memory Type 5, recalling and writing familiar music from memory Type 6, creating and improvising unfamiliar music while performing or in silence Type 7, creating and improvising unfamiliar music while reading Type 8, creating and improvising unfamiliar music while writing
Stages of audiation In addition to outlining types of audiation, Gordon differentiates between stages of audiation.Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007) 20.
Stage 1, momentary retention Stage 2, imitating and audiating tonal patterns and rhythm patterns and recognizing and identifying a tonal center and macrobeats Stage 3, establishing objective or subjective tonality and meter Stage 4, retaining in audiation tonal patterns and rhythm patterns that have been organized Stage 5, recalling tonal patterns and rhythm patterns organized and audiated in other pieces of music Stage 6, anticipating and predicting tonal patterns and rhythm processes
Learning sequences To describe how students learn music, Gordon outlines two main categories of learning based on his research on audiation: discrimination learning and inference learning.Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007): 101. Discrimination learning Discrimination learning is defined as the ability to determine whether two elements are same or not the same. Gordon describes five sequential levels of discrimination: aural/oral, verbal association, partial synthesis, symbolic association, and composite synthesis. Aural/oral Gordon describes that the most basic type of discrimination being aural/oral, where students hear tonal and rhythm patterns and imitate by singing, moving, and chanting patterns back to the instructor. Students listen in the aural portion of discrimination learning, while performing represents the oral portion. At this stage, students use neutral syllables to perform tonal and rhythm patterns. Verbal association After students are more able to audiate and perform basic rhythm and tonal patterns and become comfortable with imitating songs and chants in introduced tonalities and meters, Gordon explains the next step is verbal association, where contextual meaning is given to what the students are audiating and imitating through tonal or rhythm syllables (such as solfege or the names of concepts students may be audiating through tonal patterns such as tonic and dominant).Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007): 106–107.
Partial synthesis At both aural/oral and the verbal association level, students identify familiar tonal and rhythm patterns performed on neutral syllables by their verbal association. Symbolic association Symbolic association is the point at which students are introduced to notation, learning to associate written symbols and notation describing familiar tonal and rhythm patterns that had been introduced in the aural/oral and verbal association level of the skill learning sequence.Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007): 122–130. Composite synthesis At the composite synthesis level, students give context to familiar tonal or rhythm patterns by reading and writing them and identifying their tonality or meter as introduced in the symbolic association stage.Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007): 130–133. Inference learning At the inference learning level, students take an active role in their own education and learn to identify, create, and improvise unfamiliar patterns. Similar to discrimination learning, Gordon delineates separate categories of inference learning that students logically follow in the course of music learning: generalization, creativity/improvisation, and theoretical understanding. Generalization As aural/oral learning is the most basic element of discrimination learning, generalization is the basic element of inference learning. Generalization consists of aural/oral learning, verbal learning, symbolic reading, and writing. At the generalization level of learning, students may listen to sets of familiar and unfamiliar tonal or rhythmic patterns and determine whether the patterns are the same or different, ultimately reading familiar and unfamiliar patterns, as well. Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007): 137–140.
Creativity/improvisation The creativity/improvisation level of the above learning sequences has aural/oral and symbolic levels. At the aural/oral level, teachers present familiar or unfamiliar patterns and have students respond with patterns of their own, first on neutral syllables and later with the verbal association. At the symbolic level, students learn to recognize and sing patterns within written chord symbols, as well as learn to write their own responses to tonal patterns and rhythm patterns.Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007): 141–145. Theoretical understanding The final level of inference learning is theoretical understanding, in which students gain further understanding of music theory concepts in aural/oral, verbal, and symbolic contexts. Students may learn concepts such as pitch letter-names, intervals, key-signature names, or concepts such as cadences and learn to recognize and perform patterns that apply such concepts.Edwin Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Learning Theory (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc, 2007): 145–150.
Oral-Kinesic Etudé (noun) Term coined by Kyra Gaunt in facilitating the learning ideals of black musical style.
a non-written form of communication or performance (may include oral or spoken expression as well as language of the body). An everyday even like a hand-clapping game or street rhyme that is a medium through which black musical style is orally communicated or learned. A mnemonic device that engenders a black way of Musicking
Jump Right In Jump Right In is an instrumental methods book with accompanying teacher editions that applies Gordon's music learning theory, co-written by Eastman School of Music music education faculty Richard F. Grunow and Christopher D Azzara alongside Gordon. The series of Winds and Percussion was first published in 1989–90, three years after the recorder edition.Christopher D. Azzara, Edwin E, and Gordon, Richard F. Grunow. Jump Right In: the instrumental series teacher's guide book one and two, revised edition. (Chicago, IL: GIA Publications, Inc., 2001) 3. The collection also includes a strings methods edition. There is also a Jump Right In general music curriculum available for kindergarten through 4th grade, also published by GIA.
Gordon music learning theory and music aptitude Gordon's music learning theory is based on his research on music aptitude in line with cognitive theories regarding the organization of incoming stimuli.Robert A. Cutietta, Edwin Gordon's Impact on the Field of Music Aptitude (Fall 1991: Philosophy in Music Education, Volume II, Number 1 & 2): 73 Gordon's research suggests that music aptitude is normally distributed in the general population similar to intellectual aptitude.Robert A. Cutietta, Edwin Gordon's Impact on the Field of Music Aptitude (Fall 1991: Philosophy in Music Education, Volume II, Number 1 & 2): 74 His research also suggests that music aptitude that a child is born with can only be maintained with repeated positive exposure to musical experiences soon after (or even before) birth, up until approximately age 9 where a child reaches "stabilized" music aptitude.