SO UN D I N G T H E T E A CH IN G
SONG CHOSEN
Using thematic coding, the frequency of each student’s contributions with respect to the
themes are as follows:
40
L WZ B Total
Harmony, Key, Chords 38 16 4 0 14 72
Structure 10 2 4 5 0 20
Pulse/rhythm/tempo 37 12 14 13 13 89
Pitch/melody 27 22 10 4 10 73
Articulation 2 2 4 1 2 11
Timbre 4 1 4 1 0 10
Dynamics 13 2 6 4 1 26
Style 1 1 3 0 0 5
Terms 4 1 0 0 1 6
Tuning/Playing
Instrument 9 2 0 0 1 12
Making music
decisions 19 1 1 0 0 21
Demonstrating 30 6 2 1 1 40
Playing multiple
instruments at a time 2 1 0 0 0 3
Total
Interesting to note
196
69
52
29
43
389
Student S, who did not have
a formal music background,
contributed most to the
discussion, and demonstrated a
range of musical understandings
across the various elements of
music (harmony, key, chords,
pulse/rhythm/tempo, pitch/
melody, articulation, timbre,
dynamics, style, terms, tuning/
playing of instrument, making
music decisions, demonstrating
for others, and the ability to play
multiple instruments at the
same time). On the other hand,
Student WZ, who also lacked
a formal music background,
contributed very little to the
discussions and demonstrated
only a narrow range of musical
understandings. This might be
due to Student S’ experiences
in a choir and band as well as
his habit of self-exploration of
instruments in his free time.
In contrast, Student YS and
B, who had formal music
backgrounds, contributed much
less compared to Student S. This
might be because their formal
music education did not allow
them the opportunity to learn
to improvise or explore beyond
their exam repertoire, and hence
develop musical understandings.
YS S
SELECTED INSTRUMENT(S)
FOR THIS PROJECT
What Was
Observed
STUDENTS’ MUSICAL UNDERSTANDINGS
Elements
Night Changes by One Direction
Exposition
F I N D I N G S
S (LEADER)
Guitar
Vocals
YS
Keyboard
L
Vocals
Shaker
WZ
Cajon
41
2
EX A MI NI NG MU SI C LEA R NI NG EX P ER I ENC ES
B
Ukelele