The inhibition of musicality: Perspectives of piano teachers in Malaysia and Singapore

Abstract

In South East Asia, a nexus of social conditions influences private music education, creating situations where students’ musical development could be neglected or actively impaired. Such musical inhibition has not been widely researched nor well understood. This basic qualitative research study aims to explore how twelve private studio teachers in Singapore and the Klang Valley of West Malaysia understand the inhibition of musicality in their students. We made use of four factional stories in semi-structured interviews with purposefully sampled piano teachers. The factional stories described sources of inhibition, including parental disinterest, abusive teaching, student personality, and parental pressure. The interviews elicited stories from the participants that contradicted or confirmed elements of the factional stories. Our analysis identified some of the symptoms of musical inhibition: trauma, loss of interest, and loss of confidence. We also identified some causes of musical inhibition, including parental pressure, misuse of examinations, and teaching that is militaristic, threatening, abusive or fierce. Understanding the inhibition process allows teachers to be trained in recognising and circumventing inhibition processes, thereby contributing to the flourishing of the student in question.