An Ethnography of Improvisation Training in a Music Methods Course

Abstract

In the belief that the strengthening of secondary school music programs is at least partially linked to the training of prospective teachers in the techniques of improvisation, me have examined the process by which music education students reveal an understanding of improvisation, its relationship to analytical listening, the musical and social interactions that can result from its study and practice in a group setting, and ways to integrate it into the curriculum. A 5-week improvisation training segment was included in a secondary music methods course. Five 90-minute sessions were focused on listening and analyzing model pieces and consequent small-group improvisations “in the style of the model.” Data were analyzed using ethnographic techniques. The profiles of two students were developed to trace emerging thoughts and behaviors regarding improvisation training. Although the profiled students differed as to prior experiences and personal perspectives on music-making and teaching, both showed evidence of an evolving sensitivity to the process of improvisation due to instruction—for themselves and for their students.