Learning pre-played solos: Self-regulated learning strategies in jazz/improvised music

Abstract

This article reports on the self-regulated learning strategies of two advanced students in jazz/improvised music education when learning pre-played solos over well-known jazz tunes. The students were enrolled in a well-established performance degree programme in a music conservatoire, and videotaped their own individual practice sessions. In addition, stimulus-recall interviews were conducted. The findings indicated that the students used a range of cognitive strategies rather than only one particular type. They selected strategies designed to attain their goals, such as to select relevant problem areas in the pre-played solo, to join sections of the pre-played solo together to form a whole, and to facilitate memorising by developing auditory images of the solo and by relating the music to their existing knowledge. The students also made use of metacognitive strategies during the recorded practice sessions. They engaged in strategic planning, and mainly monitored and self-evaluated their strategic efforts and their performances of the solo during practice. However, the students did not always adapt their strategic activities based on their self-evaluations during practice. Further, the students’ use of learning strategies found during the first learning period appears to resemble the self-regulated learning of advanced classical students. In terms of education, developing and increasing students’ skills in instrumental practice is an important aim within higher music education, and approaching individual practice through the lens of self-regulated learning emphasises that students learn through experience and self-reflection.