Council for Research in Music Education

Orality, Literacy and Music's Creative Potential: A Comparative Approach

Author(s): Patricia Shehan Campbell
Source: Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, No. 101 (Summer, 1989), pp.
30-40
Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Council for Research in Music Education
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 MKgfLH
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Orality,Literacy and Music's Creative Potential:

A Comparative Approach

PatriciaShehan Campbell
ButlerUniversity
Indianapolis

In all corners of the world, ideas are communicated both orally and
in written form. Following the development of a spoken language of
communication, pictographic systems were devised for the recording
of human thought and the exchange of ideas across time and dis-
tance. The cave paintings of Cro-Magnon man, the hieroglyphic forms
of the Egyptians, and the alphabetic script of the ancient Greeks pro-
vided visual means of exchanging and preserving ideas. From the time
of the Han dynasty in China and the rise of the Roman Empire in
Europe, oral communication has given way to the literacy of a printed
language.

Like words in printed language, notation is a mnemonic device to

exchange and preserve ideas of a musical nature, in particular its
melodic and rhythmic components. In the early Middle Ages, the
church used neumes to depict the rise and fall of pitches in chant.
Monks spread these markings horizontally across graphs to represent
their sequence in time. As the elements of melody and rhythmwere
furtherrefined and standardized through the fourteenthcentury, other
musical features were notated more freely, especially dynamics and
tempo. Music was transformed to a two-way medium: an aural art
form that could be made visual.1

The purposes of this article are to describe the rise of musical nota-
tion in the west, to show the relationship of that development to the
origin of musical literacy in one Asian culture, and to suggest that the
balance of oral and literate means of music learning may foster crea-
tive expression in performance. Orality and literacy have coexisted in
many cultures for centuries. Orality, the process by which ideas are

1lnrare cases, the writingof notationbecame an art formin itself,includingworkslike

Bach's Kunst der Fuge, and the graphic notationof certain post-1950's works like
Busotti'sFive Pieces forDavid Tudorand Earle Brown's Folio,where geometricdesigns
stretchedacross pages are suitable forframing.
Campbell 31

transmitted aurallyacross timeand distance [Ong, 1982], was the pri-

maryavenue forthe communicationof westernart music throughthe
fourteenthcentury,and remains so in isolated communitiesthrough-
out the world. Cultural mores, historical facts and traditions,
geneaology, and news items of local importwere traditionally con-
veyed orallythroughextemporaneous speech and poetic verse. With
the inventionofvarious formsofscriptand the technologyofthe print-
ing press, literacygraduallyreplaced oralityas the principalchannel
throughwhich informationis exchanged and preserved. Still, oral
transmissioncontinuesto serve its purpose of passing ideas and atti-
tudes fromparentto child,and insome regions,fromvillageto village.
The media revolutionofthe twentiethcenturyhas de-emphasized liter-
acy in some arenas, shiftingthe focus fromprintto aurally-conveyed
ideas and visual images. Bothoral and literatetechniques oftransmis-
sion are today evidentthroughradio,television,films,videotapes, as
well as books, magazines and newspapers.

Writtenmusical notationtends to be a phenomenon of literate

societies and social classes. Language can be conveyed aurally
(speech) and visually(print);the message ratherthan the medium is
the essence of verbal communication,whether spoken or written.
Music, however, cannot successfully be removed fromthe sound
medium,forits principalfunctionis the communicationof nonverbal
ideas in a sonic systemof pitches,durations,timbres,and intensities.
Yet in some European and Euro-Americansocieties which regard
music has come to be viewed
literateindividualsas superiorto illiterate,
as an exercise forboth the eye and the ear.

The music learningprocess in Americanschools, likeits European

model, has had as one of itsprimarygoals the developmentof literacy
skills. In ensemble settings, general music classes, and private
studios,studentsare led throughtranscription procedures, learningto
relate notes to physical responses. A single printedsymbolmay sig-
nify,forexample, the use ofthe righthand's thirdfingeron the second
key of a clarinet.The associated aural understandingis oftenover-
looked or reduced to an adjunct objective. Music educators who rec-
ognize music as primarily an aural art may findthemselves focusing
on notationenroute to teaching performanceskills.

The relationshipoforalityto visual literacyinthe education ofyoung

performersmightbe clarifiedby inspectingmusic learningin other
cultures.Merriam(1964) suggested thatmusic learningoccurs partly
throughenculturation,and partlythroughformaland informalpro-
cesses which rarelyuse notationalsystems. The higharttraditionsof
Asia are knownfortheiroral (and aural) avenues of transmissionof
musical ideas (Shehan, 1987). Strategies likestudentobservationand
32 Literacyand Music
Orality,

imitationof the teacher emphasize aural ratherthan literatemeans of

learning.The development of aural perception skills, musicianship,
and creative improvisationis possible when the learning stresses
listeningmore than lookingat a score.

When oralityis operationallydefinedas the transmissionof music

throughthe aural/oralmode, this definitiondoes not always imply
precise imitationof the transmitterby the receiver. Rather, the
absence of notationreleases the performerfromstrictadherence to
every detail of performance.Freedom fromreading notationeases
restrictionsin performanceand allows forgreatercreativeexpression
throughimprovisation.Notationalliteracy,as it is currently
definedin
the west, accepts littlevariationfromone musician to the next.The
contrastwithorality,where the expectations range fromimitativeper-
formance to highlyindividualinterpretations withina framework,is
marked.

Despite the emphasis on oralitythroughoutAsia, there are occa-

sions when notationhas entered intothe mainstreamof music learn-
ing.The transmissionof music inChina,and inthe historicaltraditions
in western art music priorto the fifteenth century,can provide ex-
amples ofthe balance oforalityand literacyinthe developmentofper-
formingmusicians. A comparisonofChinese and earlierwesterntradi-
tions will address the underlyingissue: whether music learning is
enhanced throughthe combinationof literateand oral means, without
sacrificingthe creative natureof the art of music in performance.

Chinese music: Creating the sounds beyond the symbols

Music and learninghave long and continuous traditionsin China.

Althoughperformancewas occasionally accepted as entertainment,
the principalpurpose of music was to lead people toward more vir-
tuous living.The ancient phrase "yu jiao yu yue," meaningthatmusic
in education should be emphasized, impliedthatmusic learningmight
serve also as moral education. The functionof music in China is
historicallythe cultivationof the people, and that moral cultivationis
adhered to even today.

The notationof Chinese music is a complex system which began

approximately2,000 years ago. An art catalogue dated 92 A.D. offers
informationon notated music, in that "tone movements" of sung
poems are graphicallydescribed (Kaufman,1967). LikeearlyChristian
chant, strokes of various lengthsand directionsindicatedthe intona-
tion of syllables and words. Music scrolls from the Tang period
(618-907) have been uncoveredand theirpitchesdeciphered,offering
melodies but no indicationof the accompanying rhythms.
Campbell 33

The ancient qin is an example of the mannerinwhich notationwas

used in the traditionalmusic lesson. The qin is a long thinzitherof
seven silk strings.As a symbolof scholarship, literarylife,and a cer-
tain mysticismwhich blended Confucianistprincipleswith Daoism,
the qin symbolized wisdom and the achievement of harmonywith
nature.

Handbooks were the source of information on the performanceof

the qin. While notated melodies formthe main part of the handbook,
othersections providedthe author's biography,a historyof the zither,
a discussion of how to build,store,and repairthe instrument, a theory
of modes and pitch,and a key to decoding the notation.From these
handbookswe knowthatmelodies were presented ina tablaturenota-
tion called "gongchi" (Figure 1). It was set in vertical columns that
read fromrightto left,withcommentaryadded in smaller characters.
Note symbolsindicatedpositionsalong the stringto be plucked bythe
righthand, the stringpositionto be stopped by the lefthand, and the
mannerof execution. There were occasional circles to show the end
of a phrase, and instructionson tempo ("slow", "pause", "ac-
celerate"), but again no signs forthe timevalues of individualnotes.

Imp:-/J I
i !
I^J.jinj

;^r ^ S3. .
iA^C ja ' ft

mi % -\n

Figure 1. Chinese gongchi notation,fromthe Wu-chih-chaihandbook for qin, about

1300.
34 Literacyand Music
Orality,

Schematic drawingsofthe correctpostureofthe rightand lefthand

are presented in the qin handbooks, withcaptions that suggest im-
agery such as a flyingdragon graspingthe clouds (pluckingwiththe
thumbor middlefinger)or threeclouds sailingtogether(pluckingwith
the middlethreefingers).The fingernotationforqin is in thisway not
unlikethe numberingof pitches forappropriatefingersin editionsof
keyboardmusic. The fingerand hand techniques are oftenquite spe-
cific;Van Gulik(1969) reportsno fewerthan 26 kindsof vibrato.

A studentof the qin becomes skilledonlythroughthe combination

oforal transmissionand writtennotation.The performer
who attempts
to performfrommanuscriptalone would be hinderedby the elusive
natureof rhythm in qin notation,as Pian observes:

... .by reading the tablaturealone a player who is familiarwith

general style of chyn (qin) music can renderan unfamiliarworkinto
somethingplausible to our present-dayears (although)thereis still
the question of the rhythm of a whole phrase (p. 81).

The aural componentof the music lesson providesanswers to mat-

tersof rhythm,interpretation,and thespiritualessence ofmusic. Yung
(1987) describes the oral transmissionof the student:

... .he learns a composition phrase by phrase by imitatinghis

teacher's performance.A common formof learningis forthe teacher
and studentto play the same compositiontogetherin unison,thereby
insuringthatthe studentinheritsthe nuances of the music, especially
its rhythmand phrasing,fromthe teacher. The notation,whichthe stu-
dent copies fromhis teacher and keeps, plays a secondary role in the
learningprocess; itserves mainlyas a memoryaid forfingerpositions
and pluckingmethods.When a studenthas achieved a certainlevel of
proficiency-particularlyifhe is recognized as an accomplished per-
formerin his own right - he may consciously modifythe composition
according to his own likingby changingthe rhythm and phrase struc-
tures of the music, aspects not specified in the notation(p. 85).

Master teachers of the qin providethe studentwithdemonstrations

of the appropriaterhythms, phrasing,posture and hand position,and
kinestheticelements not clearly indicated in the handbooks. The im-
portance of a choreographyis notexpressed inwords or symbols,but
can be observed and imitatedby the student.The aesthetics of qin
performanceis a combinationof visual and aural elements, and the
traditionadheres to an unwrittenchoreographyof the hands (Yung,
1984).

Beyondthe observationand imitationofthe teacher, a creative pro-

Campbell 35

cess knownas da pu is practiced to reconstructqin workspreserved

onlypartiallyinwriting.
Forthestudentwho has been thoroughly trained
content
inthe performanceofthe qin,the tablatureis read, the literary
ofthe compositionis researched (since manyworksare based on pro-
grammaticthemes),and personal decisions (da pu) are made regard-
ing the expression of the mood and spiritof the composition(Yung,
1985).

Throughpartialnotationand da pu two musicians mayplayfromthe

same notation,but arrive at differentinterpretations of rhythmand
phrasing in their Da
performance. pu is exercised onlyby the profes-
sional musician who, followingyears of trainingwitha teacher, has
reached the stage of independentmusicianship.This ultimatestage is
the score and ofproducingsounds
the creativeprocess of interpreting
not indicatedby symbols.

An historical perspective of literacy in the west

Music in the west was originallypreserved only throughan oral

transmission process, and before the inventionof notation,most
music was created as itwas performed.While therewere supposed
systems of music writingand solmizationamong the Greeks before
the 6thcenturyB.C., no clear evidence of its logic or practicalapplica-
tionremains.Musicians learned to performthroughthe techniques of
imitationand repetitionso characteristicof education in the Hellenic
age. Privateinstructionwas the ruleforinstrumental music, whilethe
of
training young voices occurred through the choruses that per-
formedforreligiousfestivals.The Greek model was continuedduring
the period of the Roman Republic,althoughin the Republic,perform-
ing abilitybecame subordinateto music theoryand rhetoric.

The developmentof westernnotationbegan in the 6thcenturyA.D.

throughthe workof Pope Gregorythe Great and extended fornearlya
millenium.Two motivationsbroughtabout its use, bothofwhichwere
didactic in nature:the need fora memoryaid, and the need to com-
municate the music. In Charlemagne's driveforthe politicalunifica-
tionof Europe, a conditionimposed by the pope was the standardiza-
tionof chant music, a task whichwas possible onlythrougha system
of notation.Variantperformanceswere suppressed when melodies
became codifiedthroughnotation.

The progress of notationin the west can be traced fromaccent

markingsindicativeof pitchor stress, to the systemof neumes, to the
settingof textat differentheights,and to the developmentof graphs
on whichneumes were placed (Figure2). This notationwas enthusias-
ticallyaccepted, foritaided the retentionof a greatermusical reper-
36 Orality,Literacyand Music

Figure 2. Examples of early European notation:(a) accent markingsover text, (b)

Greek daseia lettersas clefs or heightednotation,(c) neumes.

toryand facilitatedperformanceby studentsnot in contact withthose

who evolved the style.The preservationof music over manycenturies
is possible onlythroughnotation,and the complex interactionof musi-
cians in orchestras and choirs is best coordinatedthroughthe written
score (Rastell 1983).

In a real sense, the earliest notationsserved as mnemonics in that

the singers had already learned the melodies by ear. The early
"score" of textwithaccent markingstriggeredthe memory,so thata
melodycould be reconstructedwithinthe constrictionsof the text,as
a resultof the singer's experience withthe genre or style.The evolu-
tionof notationfromless to more specific in designingpitchinforma-
tionwas motivated"by the need to representnontraditionalmatter,
and also by the need to representeven traditionalmatterforsingers
who were not as well-versedin the tradition"(Treitler,1982, p. 261).

Despite the enthusiastic acceptance and use of notation, the

relatedness of oralityand improvisationwere not abandoned. Since
the Medieval period,notationprovideda frameworkforimprovisation.
Organum,descants, and motetswere created by adding one line at a
timeto the notatedmelody.Aspiringyoungminstrelslearned the artof
theirtrade througha seven-year apprenticeship,and only small por-
tionsof theirrepertorywere notated. Mostlythroughosmosis, appren-
Campbell 37

tices learned byexample fromthe master minstrels,committing

tunes
to memory,and improvisingupon them(van der Werf,1984).

Beginningwiththe renaissance, musical skillswere increasinglyat-

tained throughformalinstruction, but an informalconditioningof the
ear also contributedto the trainingof the youngmusicians.Systematic
goals of makingstudentsmusicallyliterate,includingan emphasis on
solmizationas an aural and oral foundationforall musicians regard-
less of their eventual specialization, were established. The typical
trainingof singers in the baroque period illustrates the growing
balance of practical and theoreticalissues: provideddailywere exer-
cises in scales, trills,and other ornamentation,theoryand counter-
point,and the analysis of the style and practice of famous contem-
porarysingers.

Improvisationremainedan importantpartofthe musician's training

and subsequent performanceactivity.Renaissance instrumentalists
learned to improvisevocallyon a cantus firmusbeforeshifting
initially
to theirinstruments.The ornamentationof plainlynotated melodies
was an importantpractice throughthe baroque period,withspecific
procedures outlinedin manuals. The realizationof figuredbass was
yet anotherblend of notationand improvisation, withthe expectation
thatthe performer to knowthe style
be bothliterateand aurally-trained
conventions.The cadenza was a prominentformattached to arias and
concertos which requiredthe spontaneous inventionof the performer
withinthe characteristicstyle of the preceding composed music.

Throughoutthe earliereras ofwesternmusic history, displays ofvir-

tuosity and improvisatoryskills were rampant, attesting to the
culture's earlyheritageof oralityand creativity.Not untilthe Viennese
classical periodwas therea concentratedeffortbycomposers to fixin
the score musical elements with great care and finality.For the
amateur performer, everythingthatcould be writtenout was done so.
Subsequently, the great masterworksof the romanticperiod were
notated with less freedomforthe performer'sinterpretation and in-
dividual expression. Reliance on one's visual sense became an ab-
solute necessity, a situationthatprevails today.

Oralityinthe west was eventuallysuperceded by literacyas the pri-

marymeans oftransmissionof music fromperson to person over time
and distance. Withthefadingoftheoral tradition
ofmusic learningwent
also the emphasis on improvisation.Music became a recreative
ratherthana creative venture,and the performer was seen as a com-
municatorofthe composer's- ratherthanhis own- ideas. Inthewest,
music learningand performancewere revolutionized by notation.
38 Literacyand Music
Orality,

Comparisons: Towards music's creative core

A reviewof the blend of oralityand literacyin China underscores
one issue: thatthe attainmentof literacyskillsshould notbe regarded
as the single goal of music education. The trainingof musicians in
American schools is bound to the writtensymbol,and perhaps this
should be so in a culture which has evolved into one of the most
literatein the world.Western music of the last few centuries is pre-
served in symbols,and performersmustlearnthe code forconverting
signs to sounds. The paradox, however,is thatthe aural essence of
music is diminished,and itsfunctionas a creative artformis reduced
when literacybecomes the onlygoal of music instruction. The deem-
on oralityin the education of youngmusicians may resultin an
phasis
impoverishedaural abilityand the stuntingof creativity.

In two differentcultures,the use of notationappears to be a matter

of degree. BothChina and the West have historicallyused notationin
the preservationand transmissionof theirart music. The contempo-
raryuse of Western notationallows less opportunity forthe creative
impulse; instead, the music is frozen in time,to be performed as the
composer intended.The potentialforcreative expression is limitedto
small variances in dynamics and tempo, since neitheris objectively
communicated throughsymbols. The absence of notationforrhythm
and phrasingin Chinese notationrequiresthe involvementof the per-
formerin realizingthe music. A masteryof music's grammarthrough
extensive listeningand practice, and a talentforinventionare com-
bined in the process of da pu, thus allowingthe Chinese musician a
freedomof expression withina given melodic framework.

There is a beautyinspontaneity,as well as inaccurate recreationof

music fromprecise notation.Chinese musicians continuethe melody,
but have the freedomto modifyrhythm and phrasing.Presentlythere
is tremendousconservatism in the musical performanceof western
art music, such that onlythe established masters are allowed to in-
troduce deviation(in cadenzas, forexample) and then only over an
extended period. The greaterthe precision of notationor the conser-
vatism of the culture,the less possibilitythere is for spontaneous
creativity.

Orality has its greatest flowering in societies where neither

language nor music are symbolicallyrepresented. Notation-prone
cultures like China and the West developed theirsystems onlyafter
the formationof a scriptforlanguage. Much of the MiddleEast, South
and Southeast Asia delayed in devising script and notationuntilthe
last century.A consequence of this later trendtoward literacyis a
strongerinterestin improvisedmusic.
Campbell 39

Ifmusic is to be viewed as an expressive art inthe same vein as the

plastic arts, dance, and theatre,thenthe matterof oralityis a means
to thatend. Concentratedlisteningcan be directedtowardthe gather-
ing of musical ideas that serve as a basis formore creative perfor-
mances and for occasional experiences in improvisation.While
scores should continueto be studiedand theirideas transferred to an
instrument, that process is indirectand does not stimulatethe aural
capacity so critical to style interpretation,expressive performance,
and spontaneous creativity.Music must not lose its identification as a
creative art, which mightoccur when literacy leads - rather than
supports- performance.

In Americanschools, the readingand writingof musical notationis

a necessary functionof the music program.Ensembles performthe
literatureof European and Euro-Americancomposers bydecoding the
score. Occasionally, problemphrases may be orallydeliveredby the
teacher-conductor,butitis generallyassumed thatbythetimethe stu-
dent enters the secondary school, an understandingof notationhas
been acquired. Students are dependent upon theirvisual sense, and
oralityis minimizedby the teacher.

Music learninginAmericanschools is served best when aspects of

approach. As
oralityand literacyare bothincludedin the instructional
processes which have coexisted forcenturies,theyshould be viewed
as separate but equal channels throughwhich the development of
musicianshipcan proceed. Justas an understandingof notationcan
unlock the secrets of historicaland contemporarymasterworks,so
can orality instillthe aural essence of music withinthe deeper
recesses of the mind.

The studentmusician should be encouraged to listento expertper-

formers,to learnthe nuances ofperformancestylebydirectlyimitating
the teacher or model musician,and to develop the essence of the art
throughoccasional experiences in improvisation. Total attachmentto
the score can resultin a lazy ear and mechanical renderingsof music
thatmay delivernone of the personalityof the performer. By lookingat
music learningin otherculturesand duringearlierstages in western
music, the practice of orality - and its resultantcreativity- can be
studied forits potentialin the of
training young musicians. The blend of
literacyand oralityin the music instruction
process may best serve to
restoremusic to its role as a creative art form.

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Psychologyof
MusiC Vol.16,No.2, 1988
CONTENTS
YokoOura and GiyooHatauo
Memory inage and experi-
ofmelodiesamongsubjectsdiffering
ence in music.
WendyL. Sims
Movement responsesofpre-schoolchildren, gradechil-
primary
drenand pre-serviceclassroomteachersto characteris-
tics ofmusicalphrases.
BarbaraE. Lewis
The effectof movement-based instruction
on first-
and third-
graders'achievementinselected musiclisteningskills.
Chares P. Schmidtand BarbaraE. Lewis
A validationstudyofthe instrument
timbrepreference
test.
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