Laura Lopez

Abstract

In aural dictation, the musician hears sound, decodes it, and writes it according to a symbolic system in place. When musicians read music, they look at a set of symbols, decode them, and perform. Aural dictation, then, is the reverse process of reading music notation. Music has two main components: pitch and rhythm. Melodic dictation focuses only on half of the equation - pitch. This study explores the benefits of teaching the skill of melodic dictation in the elementary general music classroom. It also gives a scope and sequence of melodic dictation and what skills are necessary to master before dictation can occur.… (mais)