In part I the discussion of talent began with a poetic scene and ended with reflective after-thoughts, befitting the theoretical nature of the subject. The quest to recognize the spark of potential talent in young children brings us into the very real world of the school classroom. Suppose it is your task to observe student behavior in a third grade elementary music class and identify students who show evidence of potential talent. Your attention is drawn to the following students: . . . Student A is playing a melody from her music book on a xylophone. She decides to elaborate by creating a “variation.” Excited, she busily starts notating and revising her ideas on manuscript paper. . . . . . . Observation Notes: Musical training is evident. Performs with ease. Shows curiosity, creativity in musical tasks. An outstanding student. . . . . . . Student B is sitting in a listening center with headphones on, totally absorbed in the activity of circling patterns he hears. He taps his pencil as he listens, quickly working through the ear-training exercise. A quick check shows that his answers are correct. . . . . . . Observation Notes: Fine-tuned listening. Quite perceptive and quick in complex listening tasks. He is rather shy in group activities. . . . . . . Student C volunteers to sing and act out a solo in a cowboy song. He performs with confidence, singing in tune and with expression, obviously enjoying himself. His performance is met with spontaneous applause. . . . . . . Observation Notes: Quite a showman. Comfortable in front of an audience. Clear, clean vocal quality and intonation. Performs with personal flair. Shows leadership skills in group activities. Energy plus enthusiasm. . . . . . . Student D works with a number of Orff instruments, simply “fooling around” with sounds and rhythms. Each repetition shows a bit more development of an imaginative improvisation, which she describes as a “summer storm.” . . . . . . Observation Notes: Sensitive awareness of mood in music. Syncopated rhythms used in improvisation—retained well by ear. Adept at learning by ear. Not comfortable working with notation. . . . . . .
The profiles of musically talented teenagers include the self-taught jazz or pop musicians who easily compose and perform in professional-like settings, as well as the deftly trained classical performers who have experienced numerous competitions and study with a master teacher. Effective identification and programming for these musically talented students presents a healthy challenge to gifted education. The gifted field's renewed focus on artistic talent development will require an examination of differentiated curricular choices that can uniquely serve the needs of musically talented students.
This article presents an overview of the different phases of musical talent development, focusing on the intermediate to advanced phases which usually coincide with secondary school. Aspects of talent development that occur beyond the school walls need to be understood and considered in developing differentiated curriculum for these students. This includes the essential role of parent, private teacher, and practice in the development of musical talent. Dilemmas facing the musical teenager may include competition-oriented instruction that does not allow interpretive exploration; the problem of time management for both advanced musical study and academic achievement; and the difficulty of finding challenging experiences to nurture their talent within the school curriculum. Recommended ways to differentiate curriculum include: student designed independent study contracts connecting the school with community resources such as private music teachers; interdisciplinary options linking music with academics or other arts; and musical coursework that extends beyond performance.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.