Conceptions of woodwind students regarding the process of learning a piece of music

Abstract

The way in which students and teachers conceive the nature of knowledge and its acquisition has been deeply investigated in recent decades since these conceptions underlie teaching and learning processes themselves. In this study, we analysed how woodwind students from different levels of expertise conceive the process of learning a musical piece. As in previous studies about learning processes in music, we divide it into three stages: the beginning (first sessions of study of the new piece), the middle of the process (the student continues practising) and the end (the sessions before the performance). Sixty-eight Spanish woodwind students from three different levels of instruction completed an open-ended questionnaire. A statistical analysis of textual data was applied to the responses, in order to identify lexical differences among groups of participants about their learning conceptions. Statistically significant lexical differences were found for the variable ‘Level’, and three lexical groups were identified for each stage of learning, corresponding to the three levels. Elementary students held a conception of learning in which there is a linear relationship between conditions (amount of practice time, repetition) and outcomes (mainly related to notational elements), giving a small presence to the learner’s agency. Intermediate students began to consider the internal structure of the piece and its expressive function, and they particularly emphasised mental processes involved in learning. Advanced students suggested activities requiring a greater degree of autonomy and reflection, considering the piece as an element for the performer’s expression. Changes in goals and activities mentioned for the different stages of learning were also identified for each level. Results suggest that as level of instruction progress, it becomes more probable to find more sophisticated conceptions, which is consistent with previous research in several knowledge domains. Implications for education are discussed.