Abstract
Abstract It is common to learn to play an orchestral musical instrument through regular one-to-one lessons with an experienced musician as a tutor. Students may work with the same tutor for many years, meeting regularly to receive real-time, iterative feedback on their performance. However, musicians travel regularly to audition, teach and perform and this can sometimes make it difficult to maintain regular contact. In addition, an experienced tutor for a specific instrument or musical style may not be available locally. General instrumental tuition may not be available at all in geographically distributed communities. One solution is to use technology such as videoconference to facilitate a remote lesson; however, this fundamentally changes the teaching interaction. For example, as a result of the change in communication medium, the availability of non-verbal cues and perception of relative spatiality is reduced. We describe a study using video-ethnography, qualitative video analysis and conversation analysis to make a fine-grained examination of student–tutor interaction during five co-present and one video-mediated woodwind lesson. Our findings are used to propose an alternative technological solution – an interactive digital score. Rather than the face-to-face configuration enforced by videoconference, interacting through a shared digital score, augmented by visual representation of the social cues found to be commonly used in co-present lessons, will better support naturalistic student–tutor interaction during the remote lesson experience. Our findings may also be applicable to other fields where knowledge and practice of a physical skill sometimes need to be taught remotely, such as surgery or dentistry.
Highlights
There are many ways to learn to play a musical instrument
Others may learn for the first time as adults perhaps through adult education colleges or private tutors, not having had the opportunity or motivation to play an instrument previously, or returning to learning after a lapse of some years (Taylor and Hallam 2008; Creech et al 2013; Welch and Ockelford 2009)
The choice of medium depends on the availability of resources locally and the motivation for learning, whether it be to play for personal enjoyment, to join an ensemble or to make music a professional career choice
Summary
There are many ways to learn to play a musical instrument. Some individuals learn at a young age, encouraged by parents or group music making in school. Others may learn for the first time as adults perhaps through adult education colleges or private tutors, not having had the opportunity or motivation to play an instrument previously, or returning to learning after a lapse of some years (Taylor and Hallam 2008; Creech et al 2013; Welch and Ockelford 2009). There is a large body of work concerned with one-to-one instrumental teaching techniques and effectiveness (Siebenaler 1997; Creech 2012; Kurkul 2007; Gaunt and Hallam 2009; Nishizaka 2006; West and Rostvall 2003). We are concerned with unpacking how the teaching interaction between a student and tutor unfolds, moment by moment in situ, rather than evaluating lesson effectiveness or teaching methods or determining the factors that influence learning. Our aim is to understand how this interaction might be changed when it is mediated by technology such as videoconference, as is necessary for a remote lesson
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