For example, the graph below, excerpted from Volume 4 of Where Does Sound Come From? (Copyright 2013, All Rights Reserved), shows three different notes performed on the trumpet. The first two notes have poor technique for the beginning, and the third note has a good beginning, middle, and end. What are the differences between the three notes on the graph?
Educators whose students struggle with auditory concepts may make a more bold statement with graphs such as the one found above. When auditory processing has not yet been trained, students with graph-reading skills, typically taught beginning in 5th grade, may use visual estimation or a ruler to measure the differences between types of tone.
Several options from Schottenbauer Publishing offer the ability to integrate ear training with visual analysis and graph-reading skills, for a unique and robust approach to music education. These include the following books, which, as a group, contain samples from typical Western strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and keyboard instruments, plus voice and conducting:
- Where Does Sound Come From? A multi-volume series with data on sound
- How Do You Play That Thingamabob? The Science of Music Performance A multi-volume series on the forces and motion required for producing sound
- The Science of Music: An Anthology of Graphs A concise collection of graphs illustrating central concepts
- Bow Science & Exercises for the Violin & Viola A series of books containing practical science, applied directly to exercises
- Ear Training: Tone Quality A series of multimedia containing sound samples labeled with verbal descriptions of tone quality, for training and/or testing
These educational tools can be integrated into music education curricula from late elementary school through high school and college/university. Additional information is available on the Schottenbauer Publishing website, and from the links below. A free pamphlet from the publisher is also available on the website.
