Among his underlying principles are that natural everyday speech is the foundation of the linguistic system; that speech is not a concatenation of discrete segments; that universal characteristics are poorly understood at best; and that ear-training, production, and acoustic analysis should be taught in equal measure without privileging any over any other.

But lacking good ear-training and sight-singing skills, many students find it easier to use repetitive practicing to learn a piece.

where he taught music history, theory, form and analysis, and ear-training skills.