A dear child has many names: an investigation of ‘aural training’ as a subject in specialist higher music education

Abstract

In this article, I argue that there may be a dichotomy between the conception of a ‘separate aural training subject’ and the conception of a ‘complementary aural training subject’ in classical specialist higher music education. By ‘separate aural training subject’ I mean an independent – and perhaps isolated – educational subject, specifically addressing the development of aural skills and aural awareness. By ‘complementary aural training subject’ I mean an independent – but perhaps integrated – educational subject supporting musicianship. In such an understanding, the separate subject is meaningful in itself, and the complementary subject is meaningful beyond itself. This distinction may be understood as a dichotomy between ‘intrinsic value’ and ‘utility value’, and this dichotomy may be present within the same aural training subject.