MUSICAL "PHONICS VS. WHOLE-LANGUAGE"


As a response to low reading scores, many school systems are abandoning an exclusively "whole-language" approach in favor of one with a strong phonemic-awareness component. As music teachers, there may be a lesson in this for us.

To many people, the need for this change seemed obvious. After all, how could students figure out words they did not know if they couldn't "sound them out." Whole-language proponents might point to people who were taught using a whole-language approach and did learn to read, while claiming that the whole-language approach would leave students with more of a love for literature. Unfortunately, while some students were able to figure out how to read even though they were taught primarily whole-language, a substantial number of students instead developed bad habits or did not learn to read. They had not been taught the skills for "sounding out" words and did not figure out how to read on their own. The current thinking appears to combine the two practices: to teach students how to spell the sounds of the language (phonemic-awareness) and decipher the language code, but to do this in a meaningful literature-based way.

Likewise, many wonderful musicians were able to figure out how to read rhythms even though they were not taught to "sound them out" through subdivision, the rhythmic equivalent of phonemic-awareness. They intuitively understood the rhythmic relationships and were able to generalize their knowledge to other rhythms from rhythmic patterns they heard or knew. Unfortunately, not all students are able to do this, as is evidenced by many who:
"play or sing along" with other students who can figure out the rhythms (much like singing along with a song that one does not really know);
gauge note lengths based on the notational (not musical) spaces between the notes;
play patterns that they already know which resemble what is written in the music.

Even students who know how to subdivide sometimes fall into these traps, especially until they subdivide habitually. Because many students have good rhythmic memories, the prevalence of this problem is probably underestimated. To see how your students are doing, ask them individually to:
sight-read rhythms they have not seen before
play, sing, or clap rhythms which are incorrectly spaced notationally
play, sing, or clap rhythms which are similar but more complex than rhythms they have performed before.

If, due to these results or to a belief that giving your students the tool of subdivision makes sense, you decide to teach rhythmic subdivision, you eventually will be rewarded with students who sight-read better and learn new music more quickly and accurately. You will also be able to teach them to analyze rhythms using a relatively concrete and systematic approach. Your students will additionally be rewarded for their efforts with an increased ability to learn music independently; that is, without having to rely on imitating or playing along with other students or a director. It is important, though, to be aware of the commitment involved. Rhythmic subdivision is a skill that requires development, whether one is a beginner or has been using another method to decipher rhythms.

The first skill needed is the ability to feel a beat. The understanding of rhythms is merely theoretical unless the rhythms are applied to a beat; otherwise, the result, as well as the absence of a steady beat, is generally less than desirable. This is because the beat is felt, not intellectualized. A corollary to this is the ability to feel offbeats, which is much more of a challenge to most students. Without the ability to feel beats and offbeats, the placement of notes when performing will be left to musical approximation. By definition, the ability to play offbeats accurately is a prerequisite to accurate performance of syncopated rhythms. Tapping one's foot can be a significant aid in developing the ability to feel a beat. A steady beat will tend to perpetuate itself, as walking unsteadily requires more effort than walking steadily. An added benefit is that unsteadiness in tapping serves to alert the musician that something is wrong. Students who tap unsteadily and don't realize it should be encouraged to tap on something which makes noise. The use of a metronome can be very helpful, especially for the development of offbeats. It is important not to use a metronome all of the time, though, so students do not become dependent on it. Tape-recording and listening to oneself can also be a valuable tool for self-assessment.

The next skill needed for the development of rhythmic subdivision is the mathematical understanding of the relationships between the lengths of different note values. A student that does not understand that there are four eighth notes in a half note will not be able to read rhythms accurately by subdividing. It is helpful if students understand these relationships in both directions, e.g., there are four eighth notes in a half note and a half note can be divided into four eighth notes. Especially at earlier levels, though, the knowledge that there are four eighth notes in a half note is sufficient. It is often surprising how many older students, though quite bright, have difficulty with these basic mathematical relationships. The use of manipulatives can be helpful, as can the comparison between the division of a whole note into smaller notes and that of a pizza into slices. A "note tree" or "note pyramid" can also be a helpful visual aid.

Once it is ascertained that these skills have been developed, they can now be applied to measure the lengths of notes by subdividing. A sample procedure follows:

STEP 1: CHECK THE TIME SIGNATURE --
The top number tells the number of beats in a measure.
The bottom number tells the kind of note that gets 1 beat.. (Turn the bottom number into a fraction by putting a "/" over it. This will indicate the type of note. For example, if the bottom number is a 4, put a "/" over it, making it "1/4", otherwise known as a "quarter", thus indicating that a quarter note will get 1 beat. Usually, the indicated note is the type of note that will be tapped.)

STEP 2: DETERMINE THE COUNTING SYLLABLES--
Count the "way of the shortest note" in the music, since the shortest note will fit into itself as well as into the longer notes. (For a general example, if there are sixteenth notes or rests in a piece, count all notes and rests using sixteenth-note subdivided syllables).

STEP 3: USE THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE--
a) What kind of note is it?
b) How many syllables will it get?
c) What are they (the syllables the note will get)? [Using the example in Step 2, if a note being counted in 4/4 is a quarter note (Step 3a), it will receive 4 sixteenth-note syllables (Step 3b), which could be "1 e & a" (Step 3c).]

The skills involved in this type of counting require some time to develop, and they will come more easily to some students than to others, but almost all students can learn rhythms by using rhythmic subdivision. Once students catch on to the framework of steady foot-tapping along with subdivided counting to that tapping, they tend to progress more rapidly. Students should also be reminded to start slowly and gradually speed up, and to work out challenging sections separately. Having students count out loud while tapping their feet and then clap a written rhythm to the clapping and tapping framework is a very useful diagnostic tool for the teacher as well as the student.

Rhythmic subdivision could help us have a more musically literate society. C'mon, try it now...before the legislature mandates it!