Music Teachers' Perspectives and Experiences of Ensemble and Learning Skills.

Andrea Schiavio,Mats B Küssner,Aaron Williamon

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00291

Abstract

In this article, we report data from two survey studies administered to expert music teachers. Both questionnaires aimed to explore teachers’ pedagogical and performative practice and included open questions elucidating musical skills emerging in groups. The first study focuses on collective teaching settings offered to amateurs, jazz musicians, and university students with various levels of musical expertise. The second reports data from teachers based at the Royal College of Music, London, where the main emphasis is on Western classical repertoire. We integrate both studies and discuss overlapping findings. Despite intrinsic differences concerning the general goals of their teaching and the educational systems in which they operate, our data indicate the ability to “listen and respond to others” as the most important ensemble skill, whereas “time management,” “comparing yourself to the class,” and the “development of responsible ways of learning” emerged as main learning skills. We discuss results and suggestions for future research in teaching and learning music in different contexts in the light of recent theoretical research in the cognitive sciences, considering implications for educators interested in diverse skill levels.

Highlights

In Western classical musical contexts, the process of learning to play an instrument is often framed within a combination of individual practice and one-to-one lessons with a music teacher (Creech and Gaunt, 2018)
Ensemble skills A way to explore the complex phenomenology of collaborative musical learning involves identifying those music-related skills that develop collectively and that serve a beneficial function to improve the pedagogical setting from which they emerge
Keeping the group interested and within a safe environment is no easy task, and strategies to maintain the lesson as pleasant and appealing can play an important role. This can favor the emergence of Learning skills such as “comparing yourself to the class” and the “development of responsible ways of learning,” When the group feels safe, mutual learning can unfold as students make meaningful comparisons between themselves and engage in constructive exchanges, leading to what one teacher defines as “healthy competition.”

Summary

Introduction

In Western classical musical contexts, the process of learning to play an instrument is often framed within a combination of individual practice and one-to-one lessons with a music teacher (Creech and Gaunt, 2018). This master-apprentice model has a long tradition and continues to play an important role in current pedagogical systems in music, and beyond. 3), such a learning format is usually implemented in musical settings through adaptable rules negotiated by a learner and an educator This can facilitate skill development in the former and help the latter monitor the student’s progress over time (see Sosniak, 1990). For example, how a classical guitar student can contribute to designing a curriculum with his or her teacher where the planned repertoire involves flamenco, jazz, or folk music, and where transcriptions from non-classical

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Conclusion