Implication of Aural Learning in Korean Traditional and Jazz Music

Implication of Aural Learning in Korean Traditional and Jazz Music

The present study seeks to examine aural learning in Korean traditional and jazz music. The main purpose of the present study is to examine the characteristics of the aural learning and methods used in Korean traditional music and to compare and contrast with jazz aural learning in order to evaluate their usefulness in promotion of students’ understanding and accomplishment in teaching methods. In Korean traditional music, students would first memorize the words followed by the rhythms. Master would then lead and the students would follow to recite the song. Learning through notations was not allowed and students would have to memorize the complete song based on master’s demonstration. This Korean traditional aural learning, somewhat similar to those of jazz music, would pass through generations via aural tradition rather than through detailed musical scores like most Western music. In recent decades, the Korean aural learning (known in Korean as, Gujeonsimsu, which literally means “pass though words and teach through heart”) has been overshadowed by the spread of Western music and has only recently been gaining an attention in Korean music education. The present study analyzes the following characteristics of the Korean aural learning, which are: (1) students would first listen and then recite words and sounds, (2) students would memorize words and sounds followed by detailed and comprehensive instructions by master, (3) learning is reinforced through practicum, and (4) students are encouraged for their own creativity and re-creation when students have reached a point of accomplishment. Our analysis of aural learning in Korean traditional and jazz music shows that both aural learning strongly emphasize learning by listening, learning by memorization (via repeating/repetition), and promote individual creativity. Korean aural learning is based on re-creation of oral sounds, while jazz facilitate improvisation. With regard to aural learning methods, both have limited systematic instructional methods as further studies and researches are needed to develop a structural guidance.