The Effects of Peer Tutoring on the Aural Skills Performance of Undergraduate Music Majors

Abstract

As workloads of faculty and staff increase in higher education, it seems important for new learning opportunities to be devised to improve individual progress through basic musicianship courses. Many university music departments rely on in-class instruction and individual work sessions with the instructors of these courses to enhance student understanding. The purpose of this project was to determine the effect of peer tutoring on the aural skills performance of undergraduate music majors. Success within the aural skills classroom was determined through evaluation of performances of sight-singing examples and melodic and rhythmic dictation exercises. While no significant differences were found between the control and treatment groups, informal positive benefits of peer tutoring were noted.