Sample exercise: Learning music by ear

Irish context: This exercise was used by the Irish art educator to teach pieces of music to participants in the group. This method was chosen as it is part of the musical tradition in Ireland — until relatively recently most musicians did not have formal music education and did not read and write music. Much of the music they played was learned aurally, through listening to other musicians, singers and lilters (a method of singing a melody without words). This method gave participants the opportunity to try learning by ear — giving them a direct insight into how musicians learned in the past.

Other contexts: This exercise could be useful for any programme which involves learning pieces of music, particularly folk and traditional music. 

The name of the exercise: Learning a piece of music by ear.

The purpose and aim(s) of this exercise: To teach a traditional tune to participants who play a musical instrument. Learning by ear is an important musical skill, and is how Irish music was traditionally taught.

How/why does this exercise enable transformative learning? Some participants were beginners on their instrument while others were experienced. By learning one tune to play together, those less experienced grew in confidence.

The ideal number of participants: 3–5.

Duration: 30 minutes.

Materials required: Musical instruments, video camera.

Description of the exercise step by step:            

1. Play the tune over several times so that participants can hear it and become familiar with it.
2. Break the tune into short phrases of about 1–2 bars.
3. Play the first phrase and ask participants to repeat. Practise until the phrase is familiar.
4. Repeat this for each phrase, building them together until participants can play the whole piece.

Other essential things: After the session, make an audio or video recording, demonstrating each phrase, and then playing the whole piece. Share with the group. Participants can use this to practice at home.

Tips to the instructor (what must be taken into account in doing this exercise): When teaching to a group of varying abilities it can be challenging to balance more and less experienced students. One way of doing this is by choosing the tune carefully. I chose a piece that is repetitive and easy to play and learn by ear, but is also a beautiful piece of music, not a ‘beginner tune’. It is worth spending some time on this in advance.