Tonal Discrimination Activities place two tonalities “next to each other” in sound, so that children can hear consecutively and repeatedly two tonalities in contrast to each other, without the interruption of language. Tonal Discrimination Activities are designed for the musical mind to compare examples in sound and syllables, without the interference of the thinking mind’s well-meaning verbal explanations or tips of what to listen for. At this point, the children know the tonalities in sound and syllables, and they have successfully engaged in Rhythm Discrimination Activities. Now the goal is to give them the opportunity to discover that the tonalities are different from each other, and to provide multiple chances for the musical mind to confirm those differences, with varying content. Tonalities are delivered on syllables for all Tonal Discrimination Activities, and several phrases of each of two contrasting tonalities are sung successively, so that children can hear change repeatedly. Tonality segments are sung with rhythm, generally eight macro beat phrases, with both examples in the same meter, tempo, and keyality. As children become adept at hearing the difference between two tonalities, four macro beats of each tonality may be all they need to hear.

Placing tonalities “side by side” for aural discrimination, just as with meters, sets up an “aural game” that compels audiation. The requirements for the “game” are simply that children hear repeatedly, successive examples of two different tonalities, offering numerous opportunities for children to discover for themselves that they are different and what makes them different, without verbalizations or well-meaning teacher instructions. Children might be invited to indicate non-verbally which tonality they think they are hearing, (without explanations, praise, cheering, or negative sound effects for their selection with each change). There might then occasionally be some kind of non-verbal indication of which tonality they are hearing. The purpose of the “game” is not so that children get the “right answers,” but rather, that they become more aware of tonalities that they know in audiation, and that they are different, through ongoing opportunities to compare and contrast the tonalities “next to each other” in sound with syllables.

The thinking mind will want to take control and “figure out” the “game.” For example, your consistently alternating four bars of singing in Dorian tonality with four bars of singing in Mixolydian tonality will lead children's thinking minds to “get” the tonality by predicting the alternating pattern of Dorian, Mixolydian, Dorian, Mixolydian. The less predictable Dorian, Mixolydian, Mixolydian, Dorian, forces the thinking mind out of the way and invites the musical mind to compare sound. Once the musical mind takes over, the thinking mind realizes it cannot “outsmart” the musical mind and quits trying.

Explanations deemed necessary of how to play the game are done before the series of examples of tonalities. The “game’ can be strictly aural, with children listening to examples of Dorian and Mixolydian tonality repeatedly. For example, “Dorian tonality is going to sing, ‘rim re rim ra ri ro ru rum.’ Mixolydian tonality is going to sing, ‘sim se sim sa si so su sum.’ I wonder who's singing! ’Rum ri rim rim, re ra rim, rim ra ri ro, rum ru rum. Sim si sum sum, su so sum, sum so si sa, sim sim sum. Rim ri rum ro, ri ro rum, ru rum ro ru, rum rum. Sim si sum, su so sum, sum so si sa, sim sim sum.” Musical examples are always sung rather than spoken, sung with syllables, and with simple rhythm—macro and micro beats in Duple meter.

The game can be done with children indicating by a raised hand, pointed finger, or other gesture which tonality they think they are hearing. Minimal gestures, without verbalizations, give each individual a chance to determine same and different for himself, rather than being influenced by group response.  After providing multiple chances for the children to discriminate same and different, the teacher might join in with the chosen gesture, indicating the appropriate selections.

Four phrases of contrasting tonalities are strung together in this example, which could include six or eight phrases. The role of the teacher is not in providing answers, but in providing the aural examples, giving the musical mind the opportunity to compare and contrast tonalities “next to each other” in sound. Audiation will compare and contrast the two tonalities, create hypotheses about the relationship between pitches and the difference between the two tonalities, test and recreate hypotheses as needed until it is able to distinguish between the two tonalities in sound, much as a young child might discover properties of color while playing with blocks of different colors.

Contrasting tonalities are introduced with the tonal prep for each. Tonal phrases are all sung with rhythm, using just macro and micro beats. [Examples above are in Duple meter, with measures separated by commas. Rhythm for each measure is either four micro beats, two micros and a macro, or two macros.] Tonalities selected for discrimination should include one with a minor third (Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian, or Minor,) and one with a major third (Mixolydian, Lydian, Major) to provide the greatest contrast. Tonal examples should be sung in the beginning singing range, with rhythm, and should sound much the same as the melodic segments children have heard in earlier activities (tonic and dominant anchors, melodies spinning around and to tonic and dominant pitches, with rhythm reinforcing tonic and dominant pitches through weight.) The sameness and familiarity focuses audiation on the differences between the two tonalities, which is voiced through syllables. Tonal examples in contrasting tonalities need not be identical. Tonal Discrimination Activities are introduced in Duple meter. Successive Tonal Discrimination Activities contrast different tonalities, still in Duple meter, with Triple being the choice of meter after children have had success with discrimination of tonalities in Duple meter.

The presentation of tonalities “next to each other” in sound should be in the same keyality and tempo, to maximize distinguishing characteristics between tonalities in flight. A pause or breath before each tonality helps separate the examples for discrimination. Sequence Tonal Discrimination Activities in accordance with the suggested order of tonalities. [Rhythm and Tonal Sequencing]

A most effective way to deliver Discrimination Activities is with two puppets. “Today this puppet is going to sing in Dorian tonality, ‘rim re rim ra ri ro ru rum.’ This one is going to sing in Mixolydian tonality, ‘sim se sim sa si so su sum.’ I wonder who’s singing!” The teacher puts both puppets to her ears, as if listening to them sing, while singing a series of phrases in the two different tonalities. Each child silently points to the puppet he thinks is singing. After two or four bars of singing in the teacher’s ear, depending upon the level of the children to discriminate tonalities, the puppet reveals itself by facing the children while completing the phrase or phrases in the tonality. Without any subsequent talking, the puppets again sing into the teacher’s ear, with the teacher singing contrasting tonalities, the children pointing, and then the puppet revealing itself by facing the children while completing the phrase. The ongoing challenge of “Who’s singing?” can carry on for 10-12 minutes, without interruption of language, with the musical mind comparing and contrasting the tonalities time after time, with varying tonal segments. You will know by your children’s’ response when they are discriminating between tonalities. 

The visual dimension of the puppets, with children’s pointing throughout the ongoing tonality segments makes audiation seem transparent, as children indicate non-verbally when they hear the tonality change, and which tonality they think they are hearing. Tonal Discrimination Activities with a group gives all the opportunity to “practice” discriminating one tonality from another repeatedly. Subsequent examples to each child provide for monitoring individual growth. Four year olds with appropriate background play this game enthusiastically, with surprising accuracy. Young, older, and even college students will engage with puppets or hands used as puppets for Discrimination Activities, as audiation loves to command its own power.

Providing multiple opportunities for children to discriminate between tonalities “in flight” is not for the sake of identifying individual tonalities, getting the “answers” right, learning labels for tonalities, or discriminating one tonality from another without syllables. Rather, it is to lead audiation to reflect on itself, to become aware of what it knows in sound—same and different in tonality, amidst various tonal segments in each of two tonalities. Same is harder to discriminate than different, as same requires audiating the first example more precisely.

A toddler sorting blocks by color manipulates the blocks, comparing and contrasting, creating hypotheses about relationships, validating or challenging those hypotheses with each try, adjusting hypotheses as needed to relate and sort colors rather than similar shapes, never tiring in the process. Similarly, children play the discrimination game over and over and over, comparing and contrasting tonalities in audiation, creating hypotheses about relationships, validating or challenging those hypotheses with each try, adjusting hypotheses as needed to command relationships in tonal and sort musical examples by tonality, never tiring in the process. As with rhythm, we just have to create opportunities for children to compare and contrast tonalities aurally, with tonal syllables to voice audiation’s sorting.