Which concept is associated with Edwin Gordon?

• A. Music is innate and must be nurtured by the age of 9.
• B. Gordon's Music Learning Theory.
• C. Spiral Curriculum.
• D. Frames of Mind: seven intelligences.

Answer: (B)

Edwin Gordon is best known for Gordon's Music Learning Theory, a framework that treats music learning much like language. The central idea is audiation—the ability to hear and understand music in the mind even when no sound is present. According to this theory, students first listen to and internalize patterns of sound—tonal patterns and rhythmic patterns—before they are asked to read notation or play an instrument. Learning progresses from listening, singing, and pattern work to reading notation, with instruction organized in a sequence from simple to more complex. This emphasis on learning by ear and on internalizing structured musical patterns distinguishes Gordon's approach from others.

The other options point to different theorists or ideas: the notion that music is innate and must be nurtured by a specific age aligns with ideas not tied to Gordon; the spiral curriculum is Jerome Bruner’s concept, and Frames of Mind: seven intelligences comes from Howard Gardner.