ABSTRACT

Keyboard Experience is a teaching approach for basic music learning through the piano keyboard, usually in the elementary general music classroom. Music educators has recommended keyboard experience as a desirable means of teaching the music fundamentals and promoting an interest in music. It provides an activity of broad learning scope to facilitates the development comprehensive musicianship. The keyboard has been regarded as a successful instrument in teaching basic concepts of music and musical skills. Because it provides a builtin motivation for students, who can learn through visual, aural, and tactile modes. The purpose of the study is to develop the instructional strategies of keyboard experience for the general music class of the elementary school. The teaching suggestions given in this study were developed to solve same of the problems existion in the traditional music teaching whose emphasis is exclusively given on the singing activities. The study also examined the following aspects : ① the musical characteristics and the educational benefits of the accoustic piano and the digital piano, ② the educational values inherent in keyboayd experience, and ③ the results of the experimental studies which were designed to indentify the relative effectiveness of conventional music teaching and keyboard experience. According to the review of the related literature dealing the with keyboard experience teaching approach, various educational advantagies have been revealed as follows: ① It provides a positive, motivational learning atmosphere. ② It develops a cooperation of students by working together at the keyboard. ③ It enhances the conceptual learning in music. ④ It pomotes discovery learning. ⑤ It improves music reading skills and the understanding of musical knowledge. ⑥ It offers opportunities for creativity by stimulating musical interest with various keyboard instruments which are easy to produce sound. ⑦ It develops desirable attitude toward music. ⑧ It makes a greater improvement in pitch accuracy in singing and aural discrimination. In recent years, an increasing number of music educators have become aware of the value of the MIDI keyboard as a teaching tool as well as a performing medium. The MIDI keyboard instrument such as digital piano, synthesizer, and portable electronic keyboard could be a worthwhile instructional device for keyboard experience music learning since these digital instruments have many musical capabilities and educational applications with their MIDI faction. Futhermore the MIDI keyboard can be connected with computer. Synthesizers and computers are tools of our children`s culture as such they are powerful motivational tools. These electronic musical instruments can be integrated into a school music setting to enhance the musical experience of students. The teaching strategies provided in this study are organized into the following two categories: ① the common element of music including the constituent elements such as rhythm, melody, and harmony, and the expressive elements such as timber, dynamics, tempo, and form, and ② the learning activity including singing, performing, creating, and listening. For each area of the study, the detailed teaching-learning procedures are explored to foster conceptual understanding and creativity in music and to provide various musical experiences to the elementary school student. In this study several keyboard instruments(accoustic piano, digital piano, synthesizer, portable electronic keyboard, mellodion, xylophone, and glockenspiel etc.) were employed and among them especially the digital piano and the synthesizer were given special attention because of their efectiveness in expanding the musical experience of the student. With the insights gaind from various ideas given in this study, the elementary music teachers are encouraged to recognize the educational benefits of the keyboard teaching approach and to improve their teaching ski