Praxis and poiesis in piano repertoire preparation

Abstract

The piano repertoire preparation of three undergraduate students at three different academic levels – the first, fifth and eighth semesters – was followed during an academic semester. A phenomenological approach was used to collect data in three stages: an introductory interview, observations of the repertoire under preparation and a final observation of the student's recall about his/her study process. In these steps, four complementary research techniques were employed: a semi-structured interview, observation of video recordings of repertoire performances, an unstructured interview about the repertoire under preparation and a recall-stimulated interview in which the student reflected on audio and video recordings of his/her performance. Data were analysed from an Aristotelian perspective with the concepts of theoretical knowledge (theoria), productive knowledge (poiesis and/or techné) and practical knowledge (praxis). During the piano repertoire preparation, the students were found to use strategies that differed in purpose and nature. In terms of purpose, strategies aimed to survey and self-regulate the quality of their piano practice. In terms of nature, strategies could be classified as creative (poiesis) or learned actions (praxis) within Aristotelian philosophy. The study of these three cases showed that students’ actions were related to previous experiences including academic history. On the other hand, some activities emerged independently of academic background and seemed to reflect individual predispositions for solving the problems faced during repertoire preparation.