Gordon Learning Theory

Gordon Learning Theory is an explanation of music learning, centered around

the elements of audiation, sequencing, patterns, context, and a whole/part/whole
curriculum. Music Learning Theory is focused on the tonal and rhythmic dimensions of
music. This includes musical aspects such as meter, tonal function, tonality, macro and
micro beats, and melodic rhythm. The process of audiation is described as the act of
hearing and comprehending music for which sound is not present. The brain is able to
hear the music without sound being heard. Gordon identified eight different types of
audiation, and six stages of the audiation process.
Types of Audiation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Listening to familiar or unfamiliar music.

Reading familiar or unfamiliar music.
Writing familiar or unfamiliar music from dictation.
Recalling and performing familiar music from memory.
Recalling and writing familiar music from memory.
Creating and improvising unfamiliar music while performing or in silence.
Creating and improvising unfamiliar music while reading.
Creating and improvising unfamiliar music while writing.

Stages of Audiation:
1. Momentary retention.
2. Imitating and audiating tonal patterns and rhythm patterns and recognizing and
identifying a tonal center and macrobeats.
3. Establishing objective or subjective tonality and meter.
4. Retaining in audiation tonal patterns and rhythm patterns that have been
organized.
5. Recalling tonal patterns and rhythm patterns organized and audiated in other
pieces of music.
6. Anticipating and predicting tonal patterns and rhythm processes.
Based on his research, Gordon outlined two categories of learning, discrimination
learning, and inference learning. Discrimination learning is the ability to tell whether two
elements are the same or different. Aural/Oral is the first step; students hear tonal and

rhythmic patterns and imitate them through vocal and physical means. They listen in the
aural stage and then perform in the oral stage; students only use neutral syllables in this
level. The second level is verbal association. Here, students are given terms and names
for the concepts learned and start using solfge syllables. Verbal association puts
aural/oral concepts into context. Level three of discrimination learning is partial
synthesis; students use the concepts and terms learned and apply them in identifying
and imitating patterns. Symbolic association is the fourth level; notation and other
written symbols are introduced and given meaning. The last level of discrimination
learning is composite synthesis. Familiar tonal and rhythmic patterns are put into
context through reading and writing. Identifying meter and tonality is also a part of this
level.
Inference learning is having students interact with unfamiliar patterns through
identifying, creating, and improvising. There is not a sequence within inference learning,
but instead three separate categories: generalization, creativity/improvisation, and
theoretical understanding. Generalization is where students utilize the first four levels of
discrimination learning to recognize whether or not unfamiliar and familiar patterns are
the same. Creativity/improvisation has as aural/oral level where students respond to a
familiar or unfamiliar pattern with their own, first on a neutral syllable, then with verbal
association. There is also a symbolic level where students can recognize and sing
patterns with chord symbols, and also write responses using symbols. The third
category is theoretical understanding where students gain a larger understanding of
music theory concepts, such as intervals and cadences, then use these concepts to
recognize and perform similar patterns. This category is meant to further the aural/oral,

verbal, and symbolic contexts. Through both processes, students are taught written
musical notation after they have developed the skill to audiate notes and rhythms
written on the page.
The Whole/Part/Whole curriculum is a method of teaching that can be
implemented in a variety of music classrooms. The first Whole is designed to give
students a broad overview of a song or topic. Then, parts of the song or topic are
studied in detail. By studying smaller parts in detail, the students will have a better
understanding of the song or topic at whole. The idea is to give students a broad
overview, have students study smaller sections, and then the students will see how the
parts fit together to create the whole.
How can teachers use Gordon Music Learning Theory in their classrooms?

Teaching tunes (melodies and basslines) by ear.

o Make sure tunes are varied in meter, tonality, and style.
o Tunes should be modeled, either on instruments or voice, by the teacher.
o While teaching by ear, continue to establish tonality throughout the lesson.
o Apply singing to instruments.
Sight-singing from a book to develop good notational audiation skills (Hiatt
& Cross, 2006, p.46-47).
Improvisation
o Improvise rhythms to the melody of a song.
o Playing an etude, or a short phrase and allowing students to predict and/or
rewrite the ending tests their abilities to reference the tonality of the piece
as well as melodic ideas.
Composition
Rhythmic and melodic dictation - using familiar and unfamiliar patterns.
Students must use kinesthetic movement to learn rhythmic audiation
(Conway, Marshall & Hartz, p.2014, 61).
o Having students mirror conducting as the conductor slows down or speeds
up can help students get a kinesthetic understanding of tempo changes.
o Any activity that involves tempo changes must be silent so weaker
students dont rely on the stronger students for the sound of their ritard/
accelerando.
o Students can study Macro and Micro Beats when sitting down by tapping
their heels on the ground and patting their hands on their laps.

One hand can represent notes on the beat and the other hand can
represent the and beat.
Utilize different syllables for rhythm and tonal patterns (rhythmic solfege
and tonal solfege)
Gordon recommends using movable-do tonal syllables with a labased minor, re-based Dorian, mi-based Phrygian, fa-based
Lydian, sol-based Mixolydian, and ti-based Locrian (Valerio).
This tonal system allows students to recognize and audiate the
characteristic patterns of each tonality without prematurely resorting
to notation and theoretical understanding.

Supplemental Sources
1. Conway, C., Marshall, H., & Hartz, B. (2014). Movement Instruction to Facilitate
Beat Competency in Instrumental Music. Music Educators Journal, 100(3), 6166.
2. Gordon, Edwin E. The Effects of Instruction Based upon Music Learning Theory
on Developmental Music Aptitudes. Retrieved from
http://library.sc.edu/music/gordon/371.pdf
3. Hiatt, J., Cross, S. (2006). Teaching and Using Audiation in Classroom Instruction
and Applied Lessons with Advanced Students. Music Educators Journal, 92(5),
46-47.
4. Taggart, Cynthia Crump. (2016). Music Learning Theory. Teaching General
Music: Approaches, Issues and Viewpoints (183-208). New York: Oxford
University Press.
5. Valerio, Wendy. (2013) The Gordon Approach: Music Learning Theory. The
Alliance for Active Music Making. Retrieved from
http://www.allianceamm.org/resources/gordon/