ABSTRACT

The aesthetic experience is the core of music education. It consists of aesthetic perception and response. A significant aesthetic experience can be achieved only through the application musical thinking to ordinary musical experience. In other words, musical thinking is essential to the aesthetic music education. The purpose of this study is to explore the instructional strategies for fostering musical thinking. As a background study, I surveyed Dewey and Bruner`s educational viewpoint on `learning and thinking`. They agreed on the point that `learning is thinking`. Dewey stressed the balance between reflective thinking and affection, while Bruner used terms analytic thinking and intuitive thinking. From their opinions, many implications that can be applied music education may be extracted. After that, I examined the contemporary music educators` views on aesthetic music education with emphasis on musical thinking. One of the most effective method of developing students` thinking is to question them. Therefore, I studied the concept, significance, types, and procedures of questioning. On the theoretical background, I devised specific questions for development of musical thinking. These questions are intended for the level of the first graders of middle school (7th graders in U. S. A.). Priority is given to teachers` questions over students` answers. According to the sixth curriculum, there are three types of class : musical concepts-oriented ; expression-oriented ; listening-oriented. A concepts-oriented music class includes areas concerning rhythm, melody, harmony, form, tempo, dynamics and timbre. A expression-oriented music class includes areas concerning singing, performing instruments and composing. A listening-oriented music class doesn`t include subareas. I devised the teachers` questions for each of these areas.