introduction
The subject Aural Skills and Improvisation (ASI) has been newly introduced into the theory curriculum of the Royal Conservatoire of Den Haag during the academic year 2014-2015. As an essential part of a radical overhaul of the existing theory curriculum, it recognized and honored the central role of aural skills. One could say there was a shift from a theory curriculum centered around analysis and scores, to one focused on aural skills, awareness and imagination. This change of the curriculum did not come out of the blue. There had been a gradual understanding that teaching theory to conservatory students is little effective if it does not manage to make a convincing connection to the repertoire and the aural experience. At the same time, there were clear signs that improvisation, even on a very basic level, can greatly enhance the understanding of the inner workings of music. And here, improvisation is not meant as just doing anything you like, but rather as a spontaneous expression of musical ideas, resembling the way one improvises when having a conversation. This touches upon a major disadvantage in the usual training of classical musicians: meticulous practice and perfecting by rigorous repetition comes with a high risk of not connecting aurally, and not necessarily understanding what one plays. One can speak a language by the correct pronunciation, and yet have no vocabulary or active grammatical command. Following from this, the methodology of the Aural Skills and Improvisation lessons is directed toward achieving an active inner aural imagination, and an immediate application of this imagination in performance along with the development of agility, creativity, originality and a strong sense of tonality.
Improvisation is a highly effective learning catalyst for both the process of internalizing pitch relations in tonal music and the immediate connection with the instrument or voice. The comparison to speaking a language is a good one, since it stresses the need to have an active command of a language, as well as the collaborative aspect of communicating in that language. For music, this goes hand in hand with the development of vocabulary, a rigorous acquaintance with scales, harmony and the idiomatic use of musical materials.
teaching and learning guide
At the heart of this guide is a series of teaching and learning videos. They are designed to address the following areas:
Note that they all need each other in order to be developed fully. During practice, there should be a continuous feedback loop of playing, listening and correcting oneself. The intimate knowledge of materials makes fast execution of those same materials much easier, and creates a higher level of knowledge, which is less cerebral and more connected to bodily knowledge and practice. In turn, this knowledge fortifies the aural imagination. One can speak here of internalization of musical materials. Improvisation is the catalyst for learning, and the ultimate measure for mastery of aural skills and the creation of musical ideas.
- Aural imagination and awareness, developing through playing and listening
- Knowledge of materials and concepts (learning the grammar and
vocabulary)
- General skills: memorization, transposition, development and variation of musical materials
- Relation of the ear and instrument/voice: the ability to execute on the instrument/voice what one imagines; immediately, effortlessly and in time
- Interplay: to collaborate, lead and follow, initiate and respond while making music together
- Improvisation: developing the ability to create musical ideas on the spot, with quality, imagination and a high level of expressivity. Developing collaborative improvisational skills
- Playing on a timeline with a clear rhythmical expression, both when improvising alone, or collaboratively. Getting grip on the rhythmic relationship between musical elements, and the relationship between rhythmic activity of players in an ensemble
- Connection to the repertoire: various exercises and games related to pieces of the repertoire
video categories and collections
The videos in this guide have been roughly arranged by type of activity, and in order of complexity and difficulty. There are 4 main categories: Materials and Vocabulary, Interplay, Repertoire Connection and Improvisation. For each category there are videos grouped in collections, with a suggested methodological order. Besides following this order, one can also move more freely through the materials, depending on the needs of a specific group of students or individual. For this reason, each collection page contains various suggested links, providing a variety of associative paths through the material. Next to each video is a description of the exercise and further explanation of the activity and methodical goals.
CATEGORIES:
- 1/ Materials and Vocabulary - scales, modes, intervals, chords, melodies, embellishments
- 2/ Interplay - call and response, canonic exercises, games and processes, collaborative improvisation, rhythmic exercises
- 3/ Repertoire Connection - exercises related to specific repertoire, developing ideas in relation to specific repertoire, playing around
- 4/ Improvisation - exercises to develop improvisational skills, solo and in collaboration
methodology
Aiming to create an effective methodology, we should keep in mind that developing aural skills is a complicated matter. There are many factors contributing to this complexity, and it is important to find a right order and pace addressing them, while taking account of the individual difficulties the students in the class are experiencing. Even though many basic skills are universal, hearing and the perception and processing of what one hears is highly personal, so inevitably, there is no straightforward and single right way to develop the ears. Adding to that, there is the context of repertoire, instrument and musical styles. There are many areas that need to be developed, and most of these areas need to be addressed over a larger period of time. This means that many things will be repeated in a series of lessons, while new things will be gradually introduced.
One choice made for the methodology in this guide is the use of simplified hand signs (as explained in the first video). It helps the brain to internalize relative pitch relations, much in the same way as the Curwen system of hand signs used in the Kodaly method. It provides a physical way to connect inner hearing and performance. The creation of an inner model of tonal relations, in turn, is an important input for the development of a seamless interface with one’s instrument or voice. Fast inner aural imagination supports fast thinking and accurate action, which is one of the important goals to be achieved by the ASI approach.
Alternatively one may choose to use sol-fa instead of a number system, but when doing so conflicts may occur between students raised with fixed-do and the ones who have been taught moveable do. Using simplified hand signs combined with numbers is a relatively easy way to get students on the same page, with the additional advantage that it connects nicely to the use of scale degrees and Roman numerals used in analysis of harmony in tonal music.
