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Success in music theory studies appears to be simply a matter of learning the rules and applying them. This is not the case with aural skills, which include labelling a scale played on piano, or writing a rhythm heard on a drum. Student success in aural tasks is not always consistent, and the student skill seems to fade over time if there is no practice on a regular basis. Final music examinations, such as Victorian Certificate of Education and tertiary entrance exams, don't allow students to reproduce the sound during the examination. The reason for this is obvious--students cannot share results in an exam situation--but this also makes for a much more difficult task. So what is the key to steady and lasting improvement in aural skills? The following literature review explores various approaches which could be of use in the Australian classroom.

The metronome is a frequently used time-keeping tool in music instrument practice. However, if its speed is set beyond a comfortable level for the performer, their eye movement (EM) patterns can betray pressure that might have been placed on the visual processing system. The patterns of the eyes moving forward or back, (saccades); when the eye stops between saccades to take in visual information, (fixations) and/or the time taken to programme a saccade (saccadic latency), are indicative of processing ability and differ with expertise. What is not known is how various levels of speed demand might affect the EM patterns of musicians with differing sight-reading abilities. This study measured the EM patterns of expert and non-expert music sight-readers. Musical excerpts were played on a keyboard--initially at the individual's fastest speed ensuring accuracy and then at a metronome setting of 120MM. The study showed that imposing excessive relative speed demands on less skilled sight-readers resulted in an inability to sustain performance. While this result might be expected, examination of the EM patterns of the experts indicated that smaller speed increments relative to their fastest accurate speed, resulted in less processing stress.

This article explores the perceived disconnect between informal and formal musical knowledge, through a focused case study which aligned students' informal knowledge with aspects of the formal curriculum. The upper high school or senior secondary student participants had a background in the creation and performance of popular and contemporary music, and already possessed well-developed informal and aural-based learning skills. Using a latter phase of Green's (2008) informal learning research as a starting point, the students completed two written tasks: a scoring or transcription exercise, and an analysis report using the music "elements" or "concepts" framework of the syllabus. Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), was utilised in the theoretical appraisal of themes emerging from the study. Employing one LCT dimension known as "Semantics," which explores the context-dependence and complexity of knowledge, a range of knowledge types were observed. These made visible points of connection and disconnection between the students' informal knowledge and the formal knowledge required to complete the tasks. The study highlights the limitations of informal knowledge as a sole basis for formal knowledge construction, but equally unveils points of connection between the two, important in informing teacher facilitation, and, much needed in curriculum reform.

Music sight-reading is a valuable skill that eludes and frustrates many musicians. Techniques for teaching sight-reading are varied, with teachers mostly falling back on personal experience or simply hoping that, somehow, the penny will drop for the student. This study reports on a survey of the music learning and playing habits of expert and non-expert piano sight-readers. Pianists were categorised as 'experts' according to their ability to perfectly perform a 6th Grade AMEB (Australian Music Examinations Board) sight-reading assessment piece. This grouping was determined by the analysis of eye movement patterns as pianists performed various sight-reading tasks (Arthur 2017). The data show significant differences in musical training and performance experiences between the two groups.

The nature of skill acquisition has long been of interest to music educators. This study considers the research context for relationships between aural dictation, sight singing, performance and composition skills. Then, relationships between these skill areas are quantitatively investigated using data from the Australian New South Wales Music 2 2010 and 2011 HSC examination tasks, which take place in the final year of secondary schooling. The results from the HSC data were analysed in three ways: raw results for each isolated skill, correlation analysis for each skill combination and comparative analysis of only top-achieving students. The study found that the highest correlations were between aural dictation and sight singing. Further analysis of top achieving students found that high achievement in multi-part aural dictation was the best predictor of high achievement in the other skill areas.

Informal learning practices, based on Lucy Green's research into how popular musicians learn, offer students in the music classroom the opportunity to explore collaborative, aural-based learning that is guided, rather than directed, by the teacher. Over a period of five years, informal learning projects were included in the music curricula of two secondary schools in which I was working. While there has been commentary on the impact of informal learning practices from the student engagement and achievement perspective, little consideration has been given to the role and influence of the teacher. Here, aspects of student learning and the role of the teacher are discussed from a personal perspective.

This paper evaluates three teaching approaches to improving sight-reading skills against a control in a large-scale study of advanced pianists. One hundred pianists in four equal groups participated in newly developed training programmes (accompanying, rhythm, musical style and control), with pre- and post-sight-reading tests analysed using custom-made software that provided four scores on accuracy: two on pitch and two on rhythm. Mixed-design ANCOVAs were used to analyse the performance data, showing improvement in one rhythm and one pitch variable for each of the training groups and progress in pitch for the control group. The results suggest that training does develop various aspects of sight-reading and that additional sight-reading activities enhance post-test performance. The curriculum combining all three teaching strategies is being currently trialled. Future research needs to focus on instruments other than piano to formulate generic approaches to teaching of sight-reading skills.