Associationism is the connection of one idea to another through one of three avenues: similarity, contrast, or contiguity. This is the comparison of one idea from another either by using the similar elements within the two ideas and perhaps leading to a new idea or the differences between the two ideas and how they relate to one another. Last of all, two separate ideas could be linked as procedures following a natural sequence of events.
We use associations everyday, whether it be at a yellow light when we slow down, the smell of bacon and a mental picture of a sleepover at grandma’s, or the melody of a jingle and the desire for a bowl of Campbell’s soup. Mmm, good! I use associate in teaching music each and every day. I teach students to associate symbols for rhythms and rests, time signatures, lines and staffs, pitches and scales, instruments and their sounds or timbres. Without associationism, it would be impossible to teach music. It would also be difficult to teach other subjects, such as Mathematics and Chemistry. These subjects are dependent on students’ basic cognitive skills of recollection based on symbolic association. While I use many other theories of cognitive skills, I depend on association for a firm foundation of music skills to build on in the development music appreciation and performance.
