Verbal Language, Music and Didactics of Listening

Verbal language is an essential instrument in building knowledge and cognition. In describing with accuracy and pertinence different musical processes, we have to organize with particular attention speeches and discourses that ‘build’ and ‘consolidate’ the knowledge. This paper reports a didactic experience in listening with little groups of children (7-8 years old); the experience is based on a recitative and a duet from the famous intermezzo La serva padrona by Giovan Battista Pergolesi Starting from the common language, used to describe sensory and emotional experiences (bright, sweet, cheerful, melancholy) children are guided in building a verbal speech more and more specialized and directed towards the musical comprehension. Speeches primarily uses concepts, adjectives and circumlocutions related to different spheres (rethoric, litterary, psycologic); then it becomes more specialized, technical and connotative at the same time, pertaining to the musical structure, instrumentation, and other musical characteristics of the work.