DOI: 10.31811/ojomus.1948403 ISSN: 2536-4421

Encoding pitch sequences through body movements in undergraduate aural training

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This integrative review proposes using body movements to code pitch sequences in undergraduate aural training. Here, a pitch sequence is a short series of tones in an established major key. Coding gives each tone a movement that shows its place in the scale. Movement size does not measure an interval in these tasks. Knowing a tone’s scale degree is not the same as naming the interval between two tones. The same pitches can have different degrees under different tonics. The same degree pair can also form different intervals when direction or octave changes. A targeted public-web search on 20 September 2026 recorded 37 queries and direct source checks. The register lists 38 works, with 19 music sources and one methods source retained. These counts refer to listed works, not all search results or a full database search. English and Turkish theory papers, teaching proposals, studies, reviews and relevant theses were compared. Four set categories guided the AI-assisted review: pitch and tonal context, movement and the learning task, learning demands, and independent use and accessibility. Source findings or views, the review’s interpretations and proposed teaching choices were kept separate. Null and limiting findings were included. The sources identify earlier movement-based teaching but do not show that this model improves learning. Worked tasks and possible student responses explain the proposal; they are not student data or a tested scoring tool. Each musical answer is checked on its own. Teaching links listening and singing with optional movement, explanation and notation. Assessment withholds teacher gestures that give away the answer but keeps needed access supports. Future studies should match practice, feedback and teaching time, and test whether movement adds value beyond the same listening and singing tasks without it. The limited search scope and lack of a second independent human review remain important limits.

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