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7/23/2019 Colloquium - Can Analysis Be Taught Question
1/13
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Colloquium: Can Analysis Be Taught?Author(s): Jonathan CrossSource: Music Analysis, Vol. 4, No. 1/2, Special Issue: King's College London Music AnalysisConference 1984 (Mar. - Jul., 1985), pp. 183-194Published by: Wiley
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7/23/2019 Colloquium - Can Analysis Be Taught Question
2/13
COLLOQUIUM:
CAN
ANALYSIS
BE
TAUGHT?
REPORTED BY
JONATHAN
ROSS
The
focaleventof
KCLMAC 84 was a
colloquium
n
the
teaching
f music
analysis:
whethert
could
e
taught
nd,
f
o,
howthiswas to
be achieved.The
teaching
f
nalysis
t an
undergraduate
evel nd the
elationship
f
nalysis
o
the
differentlements f a
first-degree
ourse
were
discussed
n
detail.
How
analysis
s
taught
oth
n
schools
nd
at
postgraduate
evel
nd
the
mportance
of
nalysis
or
erformers
ere
mong
ther ssues
raised.
The
colloquium
was
divided nto wo
parts.
The first
onsisted f tatements
from
hree
istinguished
nalysts:
Arnold
Whittall
utlined
is
ideal'
under-
graduateoursesee below),Derrick uffettiscussed ow nalysissactually
taught
n British
niversities
II)
and
Richmond
rowne
urveyed
he ituation
in
America
III).
The
second
part
was devoted o an
open
discussion f more
general
ature,
haired
y
Professor
Whittall.
I
Arnold
Whittall
egan by
stating
hat
division xists
mong
researchersn
music
theory
nd
analysis
n
their
ttitudes
owards
eaching:
hose
who see
teaching
s a
necessary
vil to
be
'endured
imply
n
order o
buy
time or
hat
research', nd thosewhoactually refer eaching o research.Bothtypesdo
agree
hat
he
ubject
an be
taught
ut see
ittle
oint
n
attempting
o
explain
the
general
rinciples
n which
heir
eaching
s
based.
A
far
more
ignificant
division
xists,
however,
between hose who
believe
analysis
an be
taught
using
principles
nd
techniques
f
analysis
xpounded
n
textbooks r their
equivalents,
nd those
who
prefer
o work
primarily
rom he
core.
Certain
minimum
onditions
ave to be met f
analysis
s to be
taught
s a
distinct
ubject,
ssuming
here
re
people
able
and
willing
o teach t.
The
subject,
he
erm
analysis',
mustbe
clearly
efined. his
might
mply
hat t
s
also
necessary
o make
clear
definitionf
what s meant
y
the
other lements
of a syllabussuch as 'history' r 'stylistic omposition'.The relationship
between
nalysis
nd
all
other
spects
f
syllabus
mustbe
clearly
nderstood.
The
contributionf
analysis
o
the aims of the
nstitution ith
espect
o the
education
f ts
pupils
must
lso be
explicit.
n
summary,
Musical
education s
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
4:1/2,
985
183
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7/23/2019 Colloquium - Can Analysis Be Taught Question
3/13
JONATHAN
CROSS
aboutthe
tudy
f
compositions
n order o enable he tudent o
deepen
his
or
herunderstandingfthosecompositionss expressed hrough xperience f
those
ompositions'. nalysis
lays
central ole n
achieving
his
im.
Education,
even
musical
education,
s
concerned
with a
training
f
the
intellect
nd,
through
he
ntellect,
f
sensibility,
ven
though
music's
basic
materials
isplay logic
which s
significantly
ifferentrom
onceptual ogic.
The tensionsbetween he
two,
between
xpounding
rinciples
nd
testing
practices,
mustbe
exploited.
he British
iew hat
practice
s
respectable
nd
theory
ot'
results,
he
speaker
laimed,
from oo narrow
conception
f
the
nature f rules'.
Only
f
he
omplementary
elationship
etween
anguage
s
a
'set of
rules to be
defined
nd the
nfinite
ariety
f
theiruse'
is
understood
would situationrisewhereconceptual ogic nd musical ogic re notplaced
in a
mutually
estructive
onfrontation'.
A
critical reaof
oncern
s that
f
musical ducation n the
econdary
chool.
Whittall
xpressed
his
disquiet
at
the
general
evel of musical
literacy
n
candidates or
niversity
r
college
ntrance. he small
lassesor evenone-to-
one
contact ound
t
pre-undergraduate
evel hould
present
n
deal
opportun-
ity
for
heoretical
nd technical
raining.
or most
tudents, owever,
music
study
means lass
study:
. .
.
education nvolves he
development
f
ollective
ways
of
thinking
o interactwith
nd affect hose
ways
of
feeling
which re
inborn,
personal,
private,
but which still
benefit rom ritical
esting
nd
conscious xploration'. hiscollectivityhouldbepositivelyxploited.
The
teaching
f
principles
n
the
early tages
houldnotbe
avoided,
but the
student
must be
guided
to make
the
right
progression
rom
principle
o
practice.
The
role of textbooks
mustbe
considered
arefully.
rom
the
start,
such
teaching
materials
might
e
drawn
from ctual
compositions,
lthough
complete
nalyses
re not the
main concern t
the
principle-acquiring'
evel.
The
gradual
acquisition
f
techniques,
however,
might
ventually
ead to
a
complete
analysis.
The
advantage
of
this
approach
is
that,
since these
techniques
erive rom
heories bout
the
nature
f
such
elements s
tonality,
modality,tonality,
motivic
rganisation
nd form
rather
hanfrom
heories
aboutthenature f
compositional
tyle
nd the
workings
f
nspiration),
t will
lead
the
student
owards
n
understanding
f
those
heories.Whittall
nsisted
that
both
student nd
teacher
need to be
critically
wareof
which
nalytical
techniques
re
destructively
echanical
nd
whichhave
systematic
ualities
not
rendered
meaningless
y
actual
pplication'.
There
re twomain
ypes
f
undergraduate
nalysis
ourse
aught
n
Britain.
One takes
ccount f he
odifiedmethods f
particular
heorists;
he
ther
akes
certain
et
works s
tsbasic
material.
he
degree
f
differenceetween
hese wo
courses
depends
on
the
extent o
which
student
xamines score s a
work
which asalready een nalysed. here s agreat ifferenceetweentudyingn
analysis
f score nd
combining
his
pproach
with
n
opportunity
ouse
that
analyst's
echniques
nthe
work. articular
nalytical
rinciples
anbe
acquired
without
osing ight
f
real
music';
the
trict
pplication
f such
principles
n
response
othe
musicneed
not
betray
musical
ogic.
184
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
4:1/2,
1985
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7/23/2019 Colloquium - Can Analysis Be Taught Question
4/13
COLLOQUIUM:
CAN ANALYSIS
BE
TAUGHT?
To considerome f
he
ractical
roblems
hich
might
rise n
teaching
analysis,hittallent n oprovidesketchfhow heubjectstaughtthis
own
nstitution,
ing's
ollege
ondon. he
first
ear
f he
ndergraduate
course
s
deemed
preliminary'
nd
s conducted
s
lectures,
eminarsnd
tutorials
n
weekly,
wo-hour
ession.
hefirstwo ermsntroducetudents
to elements
f onal
nalysis
ith xercises
n
simple
inear
echniques
nd
voice-leading
otation;
n
the hird
erm,
he lementsf
welve-note
heory
and
hemotivic
nalysis
f
welve-note
usic
re
xamined.
hefourthnd
fiftherms
ead
oMinor evel orwhich
he tudent
roduces
portfolio
f
three
ifferent
rojects:
here
s little
ime o buildon
thefirst
ear's
foundations,
o
teaching
s
mostlyy
utorial.
he
portfolio
ontains
nalyses
of mall ieces usuallywohort,onalmovementsnd ne tonaltema
'classic'
welve-note
iece).
tudents
re
ncouraged
o
discuss
heirhosen
analyticalechniques
n
a
commentary,
long
with
eneral
attersuch s
form,exture,
hythm
nd
hrase-structure.
nthe ixtho
nintherms
Major
Level)
nalysis
ecomesn
option
nwhichtudentsre
nstructed,
y
eminar
and
utorial,
n
formal,
otivic
ndharmonic
nalysis
s well
s
simple
oice-
leadingnalysis.
ossibilitiesor he
nalysis
fnon-twelve-note
tonal orks
are
contemplated,
nd ometimesectures
re
given
n
the
heoreticalnd
historical
ackground
o
certain
echniques.
uch
course
rovides
ood
preparation
or
ostgraduate
tudy
n
heory
nd
nalysis.
Whittallrieflyaised numberf otherssues: he ackofadequate
background
aterial
or tudents'
heoretical
nd
analytical
tudy;
he
problems
f
xamining
usicf transitional'
ature,
nd
arly
usic;
nd
he
question
f
whetherhe sort f course
e outlined as too
blatantly
preparation
or
ostgraduate
pecialization.
owever,
he
major
roblem
s
the
relationship
etweenuch
n
analysis
ourse nd theother
spects
f an
undergraduateyllabus. nalysis
annot
e
taught
t
undergraduate
evel
'unlesshewholeourse
f
whicht
forms
art
ecognises
ts alue nd
ccepts
the
remises
nwhicht s
ntroduced'.
armony
nd
ounterpoint
xercises,
for
xample,
houldontainlements
f
trict
ounterpoint
nd
igured
ass o
enable n nteractionith he nalysisourse. heteachingfhistory ight
alsoneed o
change,
ince here
s a
stronguspicion
hat
ndergraduate
history
ourses
re
till
eing
aught
in
ome,
f
ot
ll,
British
nstitutions
which ubstitute
nadequate
echnical
ommentary
or
proper,
istorical
account
f he ocial ontextfmusic
nd
he ife
nd
work f
omposers
nd
interpreters
..
I can see ess and ess
need
for he
old kind
f
music
appreciation
ourses
asquerading
s
history
n
n
ge
when oth he istorical
and
analytical
ranches
f
musicology
xist o
complement
nd
not to
contradictne nother'.ntellectatherhan
motions
ust e
placed
t
the
centre f education.
student's
riticalacultiesanbestberefinednd
sharpenedndegreeourses heremore istoriographicpproachohistory
complements
more echnical
pproach
o
analysis.
n an deal urriculum
there ould e need or
Analysispplied istorically',
here orksentral
to
period
r
opic
'SetWorks')
ould econsideredn he
ight
fhow
hey
MUSIC
ANALYSIS 4:1/2,
1985
185
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7/23/2019 Colloquium - Can Analysis Be Taught Question
5/13
JONATHAN
CROSS
have
been
analysedby
critics,
historians
nd theorists.
nly
time
and
staff
availability ightimit hepossibilitiesf uch course.
In
conclusion,
Whittall tated: British cademicmusic
tudy
eeds
nalysis
as a
strong, ssentially
heory-basediscipline,
oncernedwith
fundamental
techniques
s
they
ave
developed
argely
n
ourown
century.
nalysts
eed
to
affirmhat
heir
ubject
s
not
ust
research ool
but fundamental
ducational
element;
nd even when
the results
f their esearch
eem
mostremote
rom
what
pre-research
tudents
might
be
expected
o
enjoy
or
even
understand)
they
should never
forget
hat
their status as
musicians
requires
them
to
contribute
s
positively
s
circumstances
ermit
o that
constant,
oncerned
reshaping
f
pedagogical
rinciples
which s
musical
ducation.The
greatest
danger oday, s I see it, s notthat here s a widespread elief hat nalysis
cannot e
taught;
ut
that ven
hose
who,
n
principle,
cknowledge
hat
t
can
be
taught
re
not
prepared
o
think
hrough
he
mplications
f
llowing
t o be
taught.
Here,
above
all,
s
the
present
ause
for oncern
and the
mmediate,
exciting
hallenge'.
II
Derrick
Puffett
ade
the
following
tatement:
'Mypaperhasthe title On theTeachingofMusicalAnalysis", titlewhich
seems
o
assume hat
nalysis
can" be
taught.
ndeed,
my
first
eaction o
the
general
itle f
this
Colloquium
s
to ask:
"If it
can't
be
taught,
what re we all
doing
here?
Why
hold a
colloquium
on a
topic
so
elusive that
t cannot
be
communicated?" ut
these worries
re
misplaced.
Analysis
unlike,
say,
composition
is a
truly
cademic
subject,
nasmuch
s
it
has no
existence
outside of
an
academic,
or
at least a
pedagogical,
ontext.
The
person
who
analyses
music
for is or
herown
pleasure
oes so for
elf-instruction.
his was
always
rue,
ut t
has become
more
o now hat
nalysis
s
recognised
o
nvolve
not
only
he
study
f
music but
also
the
study
f
analyticalechniques.
uch
techniques whether hoseofSchenker,
choenberg
r
pc-set
heory
are
so
many
killsto
be
learned;
nd if
teaching
s
defined
s
the
"imparting
f
skills",
hen
eaching
as a
necessary
ole
o
play
n the
tudy
f
nalysis.
his s
perhaps
specially
rue
n the
Schenkerian
phere,
whereoral
traditions
so
important.
As
Edward Laufer
has
pointed
out,
although
Schenker,
n his
writings,
lucidates
lassical
works nd
ndeed
the
very
nature
ftonal
music,
he
"nowhere
ays
howto
go
about
making
uch
nalyses.
One
had to
study
with
himor
with
pupil.
t
is
certain
ven
now,
especially
ow,
with
Schenker'
o
wildly
n
the
ir,
that ne
cannot
hope
to
arrive t an
adequate
understanding
f
Schenker'sthoughtunless one has studied withsomeonesomehow nthe ine of
descent. A
study
on one's own
of
...
[Free
Composition]
r of
Salzer's
and
Schachter'sbooks
cannot
replace
personal
nstruction".*
So the
esson
seems to
*
Review
fFree
Composition,TS,
Vol.
3, 1981,
p.
158.
186
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
4:1/2,
985
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7/23/2019 Colloquium - Can Analysis Be Taught Question
6/13
COLLOQUIUM:
CAN ANALYSIS
BE
TAUGHT?
be:
even
if
certain
ubjects
perhaps
composition?)
annot
be
taught,
nly
learned, nalysismust e taught.
'But fthe
question
s:
"Can
analysis
e
taught
n British
niversities,
iven
the
imitations
f our standard
hree-year
ourses,
he imitations
f students
and
the imitations
f heir
eachers?",
hen think he
nswer
must
e:
hardly.
To takethese
points
eparately:
nyone
who has
taught ndergraduate
usic
in this
ountry
ill
urely
now he
feeling
hat hree
ears
s not
ong nough.
Perhaps
t seems
ongenough
t
the
time,
but afterwards
ne
thinks
f
all
the
interestinghings
ne could
have
done,
given
bit
onger;
nd
the
nteresting
things,
n
my experience,
usually
have to
do
with
analysis.
For all the
breathtaking
dealismof
ArnoldWhittall's
alk,
with
ts vision
of an under-
graduate oursewhere nalysis, istory,ndharmonyndcounterpointre n
correct
alance,
knowofno
course
n
this
ountry, xceptpossibly
is
own,
where uch
balance
s
actually
chieved.
Atanother
niversity,
here
taught
for
manyyears,
nalysis
neverheld
more han he
most
marginal
lace
n the
syllabus,
with
single
inal
aper
where
student
might
e asked
o
nalyse
wo
movements
f
Schumann
ymphony.
n
practice
his
aper
was never
ctually
"taught", except perhaps
n
a tutorial r two
in which
past papers
were
discussed.
The
only
way analysis
tself ould
be
taught
was
surreptitiously,
whether
n
harmony
utorials r under
the coverof "music
history".
f
one
taught
t n
place
of
one orthe
ther,
he tudents
aturally
elt
ggrieved;
nd
f
onearrangedxtra essions hecollegesdidn't iketopayfor hem.Eitherway
one
had an
unsatisfactory
ituation
or
else,
of
course,
one
simply
had
to
acquiesce
and
pretend
hat
nalysis
idn't
exist).
mention
hisbecause t is
part
of
my
own
teaching xperience,
but I
suspect
that
many
from ther
universities ill
have
experienced
he same. Short
of
changing
he
entire
structure
fthe ourse
a
desire
not
universally
hared
y
one's
colleagues
therewas not he
emotest
ossibility
f
eaching
nalysis
n
the
way
utlined
y
Arnold
Whittall,
r
by
Forte-Gilbert
Introduction
o
chenkerian
nalysis]
ome
to that.To broaden he
discussion
gain,
the
teaching
f
analysis ccording
o
"principles",
nd
the
steady,
methodical
workthiswould
nvolve,
would n
manymusicdepartments eana wholesale eductionntheamount f other
subjects
a
proposition
imply
ot
cceptable
o a
largeproportion
fBritish
music cademics.And
whenAmerican ritersuch s
John othgeb
nd David
Beach
set
outtheir ideal
curricula",
esigned
o
prepare
tudents
or dvanced
analysis,
deas
emerge
which
eem
positively
urreal ftransferred
o a British
context.
othgeb,
or
xample,
isualises at
east
ne full
year
f
tudy
f trict
counterpoint
nd
figured
ass,
with
ittle f
ny
reference
o
nversion
heory
r
Romannumerals.
uring
he econd
year,
harmony
an be
introduced,
hiefly
as
an
analytical
oncept.
The
first
tep
would
be to
direct he tudent's
ttention
to certainfeatures f the figured-bassxerciseswith which he is already
familiar.
.
. In this
way
the student s first ntroduced o the
unfolding
f
sonorities;
nly
fterwards the
progression
f
so-unfolded
onorities ddres-
sed.
The
irrelevant
nd nonsensical ndiscriminate
pplication
of Roman
numerals o vertical tructures
s not
allowed
to rear ts
ugly
head,
and the
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
4:1/2,
1985
187
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7/23/2019 Colloquium - Can Analysis Be Taught Question
7/13
JONATHAN
CROSS
students not
sked
t
the
beginning
f
tudy
omake
ubtle
discrimninations
f
whichhe is incapable".* n principle agreewith verywordofthis; tseems
wholly
dmirable. ut when consider
henature
fmostBritish
music
ourses
-
as
they
re
and
not s I
might
ike hem o
be
-
I
am forced o the
onclusion
that
nalysis,
n
all its
difficulty,
s
most
properly subject
for
postgraduate
work,
r at
eastfor
pecial ptions
mong hird-year
tudents.
'How
can
undergraduates
in
courses ther han
he ideal" ones
of
which
we have
heard so much
-
be
expected
to
understand
he
complexities
f
present-day
nalysis,
omplexities
hichhave
taxed omeof hemost
powerful
minds f
this
entury?
find
t
easy
to
get
students o
read
Schoenberg;
can
interest
hem n
Dahlhaus,
Rudolph
R6ti
nd Hans
Keller;
can
even
get
hem
thinkingboutSchenker.But I do notdeceivemyselfhat here s muchreal
understanding
here. How can
therebe? The
students
imply
do
not have
enough
ime.As for
not
etting
oman
numeral
armony
rear ts
ugly
head",
it s
too atefor
hat:
most
f
them ome o me
talking
f
hord
a,
Ib
and so
on,
though hey
on't
usually
do
so
after he
first eek. How
can
we forestall
his
when
he
damage
has
already
een
done? don't
blame
he chools
though
t
is
noticeable
how
little
preparation
n
analysis
most
university
ntrance
candidateshave
been
given
here,
surely,
s a
place
wherethe
study
of
Set
Works
might
ncourage
more
detailed,
nalytical
pproach
han
ften
eems
to be the
case).
I
blame
the
pigeonhole
mentality
nforced n
children f 16 to
18bythepressuref tudyingor oomany xams. t s the amementalityhat
leads them o
think f
musicalforms
s so
many
moulds
nto
which
music
s
poured
and
this n a
country
whichhas
neverhad a
Formenlehre
radition ).
Another
roblem
s
lack of
ear-training.
ut the
biggest
bstacle
where he
teaching
f
analysis
s
concerned
s
simple
ack of
knowledge.
How can
one
teach
voice-leading
echniques
o
students
who know
very
ittle
music,
who
perhaps
know
nly
ne
Beethoven
tring uartet,
r no
more han
half
dozen
of
his
piano
sonatas?
urely
his s
to
get
hings
he
wrongway
round.
t's
not
wish
to
enforce
senseof
the
normative a
case of
upplying
ew
moulds
o
replace
the
old
-
that
makes
me
want
students o
get
to
know
more
music.
Perhaps t ssimply convictionhat
etting
oknow
music,
ven
uperficially,
is as
important
s
analysing
t.
But
also I think
hat
nalytical
udgements,
however
igorously
hey
may
be
argued,
re
ikely
o
come
out
wrong
f
hey
re
not
upported y
wide
knowledge.
very
nalyst
must
be an
historians
well.
'This
brings
me to
the
hird
nd
thorniestf
my
hree
oints:
he
ompetence
of
our
university
eachers.
hope
offend o
one f
suggest
hat
he
omplexity
of
nalysis
s
a
discipline
and
also
our
growing
wareness,
n
this ide
of he
Atlantic,
f
that
omplexity
finds
ewer nd
fewer
eachers
who
are able to
cope
with
t. Thisis
not uch
a
great
roblem
where
ndergraduate
eaching
s
concerned, hough fby someaccidentJohnRothgeb's"ideal curriculum"
were
mposed
on
every
niversity
epartment
vernight
e
might
ll have to
brush
up
onour
species
ounterpoint.
ut t
s
a
real and
growing
roblem
n
the
supervision
f
postgraduate
tudents.
Whatdoesa
department
owhen
t
*
'Schenkerian
heory:
ts
mplications
or he
Undergraduate urriculum',
TS,
Vol.
3, 1981,
p.
149.
188
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
4:1/2,
1985
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7/23/2019 Colloquium - Can Analysis Be Taught Question
8/13
COLLOQUIUM:
CAN
ANALYSIS
BE
TAUGHT?
receives an
application
from
someone
who
wants
to
study
an
advanced
analytical r theoretical opic?Not everydepartment as a fullypaid-up
Schenkerian
n
ts
taff,
n which
ase
somebody
s bound
to
suffer,
sually
he
student.What
do we
do with uch candidates?
We
can't send
them ll
to the
United
tates.
'I
hope
I have
painted
sufficientlyepressing
icture
or
veryone
o be
feeling
bit
worried.
or
only
by
recognising
he eriousness
f he
problem
the fact hat
nalysis,
lthough
t can be
taught,
ften s
not
taught
or
else
s
taught nadequately)
can we
begin
to
move towards
he situation
where
analysis
lays
healthy
nd
significantart
n
undergraduate
ourses
hrough-
out the
country.
Those of
us
who
are
university
eachers
have a
clear
responsibilityere:wemust ll dowhatwecan,within ur owndepartments,
to
bring
boutthe
enlightened,
integrated" ype
f
music
ourse
hatArnold
Whittall
as described.
We
can also
help
tocreate he
limate
or
uch
change
by eeing
o
t
that
ur
Faculty
ibraries
ake he
major
nalytical
nd theoretical
journals,
nd that
urstudents
ead
them.)
Analysis
as been
the
poor
relation
of
music
history
or
too
long.
If
every nalyst
must be a
historian,
istory
without
nalysis
s
hollow,
a
subject
for
Reader's
Digest
rather
han
for
a
university
ducation.
hope
that
n thediscussion
erewe
may
onsider
what
the
specific
ontent f
an
analysis
ourse
should
be; for,
f we are to have
analysis
ourses,
we mustbe
clear that
t is
analysis
we are
teaching
nd
not
musichistoryndisguise.Then, and only hen,willwe be able to affordhe
luxury
f
teaching nalytical principles"
nd
"techniques".
'In
the
meantime,
n "ad hoc"
method
of
teaching
nalysis
need
not
necessarily
e
an
unintelligent
ne. We can select
pieces
thatwill lead
to a
general
broadening
of the student's
knowledge,
so
far as
repertoire
s
concerned,
s
well
as
being
nalytically
nteresting:
e all have
our favourite
pieces
for
uch
purposes
one of
mine
s the
MozartG minor
Quintet
I
find
that
relatively
ew
undergraduates
now
the
Mozart
quintets),
work
which
challenges
he student's
ssumptions
n almost
very
direction.
eethoven's
piano
variationsre lso
good
teaching
material.
makeno
apology
or
hoosing
wholepiecesrather hanfragments,ndmasterpiecest that.What nalysis t
this evel s
designed
o
develop
s the tudent's
owers
f
observation,
otthe
mastery
f
ny
given nalytical echnique.
Analytical
echniques
an be
taught,
but
usually
hrough
he
medium
of
harmony
nd
counterpoint:
ne
can
say
quite
lot bout
Schenker,
ithout ven
mentioning
is
name,
while
orrecting
a
piece
of
pastiche
Mozart.
f this s
analysis
without
ears,
t least
t is not
analysis
without
music. nterestedtudents an
always
ead
up
on Schenker
n
their wntime
or
go
on to do a
postgraduate
ourse).
'The
responsibility
hat
we,
as
teachers,
ave to our students
quite apart
from ur
responsibility
o
Higher
Education
n
general
nd to
analysis
is to
keep
abreast
withthe
development
of
analysis
as a
subject (no
small
demand)
and
constantly
to review
our
teaching
in the
light
of
that
development. Any
teacher,
after few
years,
findshim- or herself
etting
tale,
always falling
back
on the same
examples.
Analysis
s the
perfect
ntidote
tothis. It is a
painful
and
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
4:1/2,
1985
189
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7/23/2019 Colloquium - Can Analysis Be Taught Question
9/13
JONATHAN
CROSS
difficult
usiness,
keepingup
witha
complex,rapidly
growing
ubject
and
seeing ne's most herishedllusions allingway;but t ssomething eshould
all
go
through
or he ake
ofour
tudents,
ho
rely
n us for
uidance.
For
our
own
sakes,
oo;
for nce
we
stop eaching
urselveswe areno
onger apable
of
teaching
nybody.
That is
why
analysis
if
you
will
pardon
the
double
negative
cannot
not e
taught'.
III
Richmond
rowne
ave
n account fthe
position
f
theory
nd
analysis
n
the
USA
today.
Theviewof henature f nalysis, ow t shouldbetaughtnd how trelates
to the
teaching
f
performance
nd
history
as
changed
adically
ver he ast
quarter-century.
wenty-five ears
ago
there
was no serious
training
f
theorists:
oday's
theorists
tudied as
composers
and
taught
themselves
analysis.
lowly
he
discipline
merged
more
learly
nder
he
guidance
f
uch
leaders s AllenForte.
The
typical ndergraduate
ourse
t an American choolofmusic
astsfour
years.
A
large
number f
students
pend
a furtherwo
years tudying
or
master's
egree
nd
many
f these
proceed
o doctorates.
hus,
there s more
time available than n Britain.
The
standard
f
training
f students t
pre-
undergraduateevel selementary,othefirst woyears f course re devoted
to
rudiments
not,
n
any
ense,
analysis'.
The nature
f
undergraduate
heory rogrammes
n American niversitiess
not set
by
theorists;
he
goals
of
the
course
re aid
down
by
the school.
Any
theory
ourse annot
reach he unwrittenaws'
of
what s and s not elevant o
themain imsof
the chool. Yet for
eachers
f
theory
n a
large
music chool
there s
little nteraction ith eachers
f
other
isciplines.Opportunities,
or
example,
or theoristo
teach
n
analytical ractice
n
relation
o
performance
are seldom
provided.
The USA
produces
large
number
f
up-to-date nalytical
extbooks f
a
highstandard.The best teachers n the bestschools do not use textbooks,
according
o
Browne,
lthough
ood
textbooks re a
useful
eaching
id. He
went
n: 'A
student s 90% what
he's
going
o be when
you get
him and 92%
whathe's
going
obe when
you're
hrough
ith im
and that
% is
a
lot f
you
do it
right'.
The aim of
teaching nalysis
o most
students s
not
to
produce
analysts
s
such but to
enable students o
change
their
outlook on
their
performances,
heir
eaching
f
performance
r their
valuation
f
performan-
ces
in
theform
fcriticism.
Browne
xpressed
is
doubts
thatwhat
s
generally
lassed
as
ear-training,
that s, the isolated work on intervals nd patterns,s of anyvalue at all.
However,
he did affirm is belief n musicas an auralart. The score s an
inadequateway
of
notating
musical
ctivity,
nd the
studentmustbe
weaned
away
from
he score to
perform
nalysis urally.
n the courses hat
Browne
teaches,
ven n
twentieth-centurynalysis
ourses,
hort
ieces
are
initially
190
MUSIC
ANALYSIS 4:1/2,
1985
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10/13
COLLOQUIUM:
CAN ANALYSIS BE TAUGHT?
addressed
urally
nd
the student s
expected
o define he
processesbeing
heard. Such elements s pitchesand intervals re never discussed. If the
student
begins
mmediately
ith
the
score,
he or she receives
distorted
image
of the
music
as,
for the most
part, pitch-interval
nformations
strikingly
bvious.
At the ime fthe
formationfthe
Society
orMusic
Theory,
when
many
n
the
USA
were
trying
o set
the
climatefor
theory
o
emerge
s a
separate
discipline,
rowne
ublished paper,
whose itle e
adopted
s his
concluding
remark
ere:
If we're all
theorists,
hy
ren'twe
all Theorists?'
To
this
he
provided
he
Cageian
reply:
If
you
want
to
be
a
Theorist,
o
ahead:
I'm not
going
o
stop
you '
IV
During
he
discussion
which
ollowed
number f
key
ssuesweredebated.
1: Communication
Jean-Jacques
attiez
University
f
Montreal)
aised
he
problem
f ommuni-
cating
certain
esoteric' kinds
of
analysis. Analyses
uch as his
own were
difficulto understand
hen
poken
oa class
or
conference
nd
yet
were
quallydifficult o read. He wondered whetherProfessorForte shared similar
difficulties.
llen orte
Yale)
replied
hat t
was a matter f
etting
he
nalysis
in
some
meaningful
ay.
He
questioned
heextent o
which
graphic
otation
for
chenkerian
nalyses
r
pitch-class
et nomenclature
ere
totally
ccurate
or sufficient
n themselves ut
acknowledged
herewas
room or
evelopment.
From he
Chair,
ArnoldWhittall
King's College
London)
pointed
ut
that,
n
a
class,
communication etween
teacherand students
n
the basis
of their
musical
understanding
as
fundamentally
ural;
any
other
approach
was
always econdary.
2:
'Techniques'
ersus
Intuition'
A
first-yearndergraduateCambridge)
utlined he
analysis
ourse
he had
followed.He
appreciated einggiven
he
opportunitynitially
o write
bout,
play
and discuss
music,
before
ny
formal
echniques
were
mposed
upon
it.
The Chair tated hat
ne shouldnotassumethat
herewas
a
conflict etween
the intuitive nd technical
pproaches
to music: the
two elements om-
plemented
ne another.
A number
f
peakers
xpressed
oncern hat tudents
might
ail o be able to
apply
certain
nalytical
rinciples
utside he
specific
works heyhadbeenstudying. he Chairreiteratedhat hecentral ssue was
one of a balance between
rigorousness
nd
comprehensiveness,
etween
strictness nd
generality.
tudents
were
always
free to
accept
or
reject
techniques:
what was
obligatory
as
a
knowledge
f what was involved n
making
ucha decision.
MUSIC
ANALYSIS 4:1/2,
1985 191
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11/13
JONATHAN
CROSS
3: TheRoleofHarmonyndCounterpoint
Robert ascall
(University
f
Nottingham)
tated hat he
eaching
f
harmony
and
counterpoint
n
universities as an outdated
ractice.
ts
only
ustification
was
that herewere
eachers
xperienced
n
teaching
twho
gained nsights
nto
music
hrough eaching
t
and who were ble to communicate
hose
nsights
o
students.
However,
he believed
t
to
be a more
mpoverished ay
of
finding
insights
ntothe
masterpieces
f musicthan
nalysis.
errick
uffett
Univer-
sity
f
Cambridge) greed
hat
omposition
nd
analysis
were
ntirely
ifferent
activities,
nd that
oingpastiche
omposition
ould
not
get
ne to theheart
f
a composer' s well s analysis ould;buthe nsisted hatnothingouldreplace
the
xperience
f
pushing
otes
round n
paper'.
Pascall
said that
harmony
nd
counterpoint
ere irst
ntroducedn
England
as a
means of
teaching
omposition. omposition,
e
felt,
hould be
taught
structurally.
ore
recently, armony
nd
counterpoint
ad become
tylistic-
ally
oriented nd had been used to
gain insights
nto
history.
He not
only
abhorred he
synthetic
ature f such an exercise
ut felt
hat t
provided
no
concept
f
ong-term
tructuralssues.
Nattiez
tated hat n
ntuitive
bility
o
write
ood stylistic astiche
was
very
ifferentrom n
explicit
heoreticalnd
analytical
nderstanding
f
how the music
worked.
Pascall
suggested
hat
analysiswas practised ythinkingwhereasharmonynd counterpoint ere
practised
yguessing.
ulian
Rushton
University
f
Leeds)
mentioned
hat,
t
his
university,
pecies
counterpoint
as
taught
o enable
students o
'push
notes roundon
paper'
without
nterference
y
the
style
f
composers
whose
quality
he tudents ould
never
hope
to
match.
4:
The
Teaching
f
Music
n
Schools
A
number f
peakers
xpressed
heview hat herewas
ittle
oint
n
changing
undergraduate
urricula o
take
more ccount f
nalysis
nless he
way
music
is
taught
nschools ouldalso be re-examined.ebastian orbes
University
f
Surrey),
who had
been
responsible
or
evising
ertain
A-level
pre-matricula-
tion]
music
yllabuses,
aid he
was
disturbed
y
many spects
fmusic
eaching
in
secondary
chools.The
amount
ftime
vailable o devote
o
any
one
aspect
of
the
syllabus
was
extremely
imited nd made
it
difficult o
implement
changes.
tudentswere
narrowly
ather han
broadly
rained,
working
owards
specific
killsor
examination
rades.
Also
the
problem
f
choices
at
A
level
meant
that
candidates for
university
ntrance
might
be
unable
even to
harmonize
single
note.
To overcome
his
difficulty,
ttempts
ad been made
to ntroduceomeconcept fharmonicnalysis tA level.
A
polytechnic
ecturer
uggested
hat
dvances
n
the
teaching
f
creative
music in schools
were
deologically pposed
to
taking onceptual
hinking
about
music
eriously.
enny
ughes
Leeds), however,
id not
see thetwoas
being necessarily otally
ivorced.
Michael Russ
(Ulster
Polytechnic)
igh-
192
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
4:1/2,
1985
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COLLOQUIUM:
CAN
ANALYSIS
BE
TAUGHT?
lighted
he
increasing
ivision between
cademic
musicians
nd academic
educationalists. e suggested hat nalysts houlddo moreto attract chool
teachers
o their niversitiesor in-service'
raining
ourses.
5:
Analysis
nd
Performance
Pascall
urveyed
he
growing
rend ver he ast
uarter-century
or
erformers
to attend niversitiesather hanmusic
olleges.
He
felt he
universitiesad a
special
role
to
play,
not
only
n thematter f
performanceractice,
utalso in
encouraging erformers
o
study nalysis
o
provide nsights
nto
the inner
substance nd
significance
fmusic'.The Chair
uggested
hat
difficultyay
n
transformingnalytical nsights
nto an actual
performance. olin
Beeson
(Royal
Northern
ollege
of
Music)
commented hatthe conservatoiresad
recently
een
tailoring
heir ourses
o
take
more
ccount
f cademic ontent.
A
student
erformer
eeded to be able to think bout music
ntelligently
or
himself. oderickwanston
Royal
College
of
Music)
pointed
utan irreconcil-
able division etween
he
nalyst's
ationalisticiew
ofhow musicfunctioned
and
the
performer's
nstinctive
pproach.
6:
Analysis
nd
Experience
Eric Clarke
City
University)
aid that tudents
ad
tobe
shown hat n
analysis
couldnotreproduceheir xperiencef themusic, hat ooking ta Schenker
graph
was different
rom
ctually
istening
o
a
piece.
However,
herewas
a
positive elationship
etween
he wo: student's
xperience
f hemusic ould
be
changedby analysing
t
or
by studying
n
analysis
f
t.
David
Fanning
(University
f
Manchester)
poke
ofthe
rreconcilability
etween
nalysis
nd
experience
hen hemusical vidence ad been lanted
owards hedemonstra-
tionof a
particular heory.
he Chairnotedthat heteacher ad
to
approach
this
ssue
n
themost
positive pirit.
V
At
the nd of he
discussion,
ans Kellermade
series f
points
which erved
o
recapitulate
omeofthe
mportant
ssuesraised
during
he
olloquium.
'The
question
whether
analysis]
s teachable
r
not
depends
obviously
n
two
extreme ariables:
one,
the
teacher;
wo,
the
student. 've come
across
many
ituations,
specially
owthat teach
nstitutionally,
here thas
proved
not
teachablebecause one of thosetwo
variables,
r
both of
them,
werenot
suitable or he
purpose.
...
'Unfortunately,
he
contemporary
usic
tudent,
specially
he
ontempor-
ary nstrumentalist,
oes notknow
ny
music.As soon as
you
don'tknow
nymusic,
you
can't be
taught
nalysis.
Why
not? Because the
only
music that
exists smusicthat s
part
f
your
profound
musical
xperience.
ou can
only
analyse
music hat
xists,
ence
you
can
only nalyse
music hat s
part
f
your
profound
musical
experience.
...
MUSIC
ANALYSIS 4:1/2,
1985 193
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7/23/2019 Colloquium - Can Analysis Be Taught Question
13/13
JONATHAN
CROSS
'The
question
of class
teaching
s,
in
my
opinion,
to
be
responded
to
negativelyecause, ince ne hasto teach nalysisn terms f he tudent's wn
instinctive
nsight
nto
piece
of
music,
t
follows
nevitably
hat
lass
teaching
of
nalysis
s
impossible.
'I
would
..
like o
add
that
ou
hould
not,
please,
onfuse
escription
ith
analysis,
specially
o far s the elements f sonata
form re
concerned.
his
morning
vinced his
ype
fconfusion'.
194 MUSIC
ANALYSIS
4:1/2,
1985