Gary E. McPherson

Self-Efficacy and Music Performance.

This study is the second in a series of investigations attempting to clarify relationships between variables that impact on a young musicians ability to perform music (as assessed on a graded music examination). Consistent with studies on school academic subjects, our previous investigation demonstrated the importance of self-efficacy in predicting young musicians’ performance examination results. In the current study, structural equation modelling allowed us to compare two different types of graded music performance examinations. Although differences emerged between the two sets of data, self-efficacy was again found to be the most important predictor of achievement in the examinations. Implications arising from this finding are discussed in the final section of the article.

The Role of Self-Efficacy in a Musical Performance Examination: An Exploratory Structural Equation Analysis

The study reported here investigated cognitive mediational processes in the context of a music performance examination. The prime purpose was to focus on an aspect of musical learning - graded music examinations - that has hitherto received little research attention. The sample consisted of 332 instrumentalists who were completing Trinity College, London, graded, externally assessed performance examinations. Analysis of survey data was carried out using structural equation modelling. The analysis suggested that, in motivational terms, and consistent with research carried out in other academic contexts, self-efficacy was the best predictor of actual performance. The authors conclude that whilst practice plays a vital part in the development of a musician’s capacity to perform well, it should not be considered in isolation from motivational and related variables.

From Child to Musician: Skill Development during the Beginning Stages of Learning an Instrument.

This article reports on a three-year longitudinal study with 157 children in school grades 3 and 4 (aged between 7 and 9 years), who commenced learning an instrument in one of eight school music programmes. The children were administered tests at the end of each school year to assess their abilities to perform rehearsed music, sight-read, play from memory, play by ear and improvise, and interviews were completed with the children’s mothers in order to calculate how much practice they had accumulated on their instrument. Data were also obtained to help clarify the quality of mental strategies the children adopted when performing. Findings extend previous research on skill acquisition by proposing that conceptions based on the amount of practice undertaken or that focus exclusively on children’s ability to reproduce rehearsed literature from notation are inadequate to understanding the early stages of instrumental development. It is proposed that a more coherent explanation comes from understanding the range of strategies children employ when performing and that the sophistication of children’s mental strategies provides an important means for understanding why some progress effortlessly in contrast to others who struggle and fail. Conclusions highlight the importance of helping students to develop a repertoire of task-appropriate strategies that will enable them to think musically when performing challenging tasks on their instrument.

Interest and choice: student-selected repertoire and its effect on practising behaviour

Motivational research in academic subjects has demonstrated that when students are interested in an activity and feel free to choose whether or not to do it, they are more likely to engage in higher-level cognitive functioning, find it easier to concentrate, persevere, and enjoy their learning. This case study of a young beginning clarinettist named Clarissa consisted of interviews and computer analysis of videotaped practice sessions. Clarissas practice behaviour in teacher-assigned repertoire was compared with her work on a piece she chose to learn herself. Results show that when practising self-selected repertoire, Clarissa was more likely to engage in strategies that are typical at more advanced stages of development, such as silent fingering, silent thinking and singing. She also spent more time practising the piece, and persevered when faced with difficulties. Implications for instrumental pedagogy are discussed.

The role of parents in children's musical development

A framework for studying parent—child interactions is proposed, based on evidence that parents play a pivotal role in their childrens musical development. It is suggested that the goals and aspirations that parents hold impact on the styles and practices they adopt during interactions with their children. Importantly, the model proposes a feedback loop in which child and socio-contextual characteristics interact with parenting goals, styles and practices to help shape childrens musical competence and achievement, their sense of musical identity and accomplishment, and their continuing desire to participate, exert effort, overcome obstacles and succeed musically.

Musical Practice: Mother and child interactions during the first year of learning an instrument

Mother and child interviews were analysed for a group of 157 beginning instrumentalists aged 7-9 during the first year of their learning. The purpose was to study interactions in terms of the quantity and content of the childrens practice, the mothers support and supervision of home practice, the relationship of previous exposure to learning an instrument and consistency of practice, and differences in expectations and practice habits of children who ceased instruction compared to those who continued learning. The childrens mothers were able to make accurate assessments of how much support they would need to provide for their child even before instruction began. Mothers who reported that they were worried about practice before their child commenced lessons were more likely to have children who ceased instruction. Children who ceased learning typically had unrealistically high expectations about how much practice they would undertake even before commencing lessons. After they started, and the reality of learning set in, they also consistently undertook less practice than their peers who chose to continue. Implications for future research are discussed based on the results of the study.

Assessing Music Performance: Issues and Influences

Assessing musical performance is common across many types of music education practice, yet research clarifying the range of factors which impact on a judges assessment is relatively scarce. This article attempts to provide focus to the current literature, by proposing a process model of assessing musical performance that identifies some of the main elements that affect a judges assessment in formal performance settings such as competitions, auditions, recitals, Eisteddfods and graded examinations. The article includes a review of the literature according to the categories defined in the model and suggestions which are intended to form the basis for further research in the area.

Factors and Abilities Influencing Sightreading Skill in Music

This study was designed to replicate and extend existing literature by seeking to determine important factors and abilities that influence sightreading skill in music. The Watkins-Farnum Performance Scale (WFPS) was administered to 101 high school clarinet and trumpet students who were completing Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) performance examinations. Findings show that, in the beginning stages of training, sightreading skill is not significantly correlated with the ability to perform a repertoire of rehearsed music for a comprehensive performance examination as assessed on the AMEB examination. As instrumentalists mature, however, correlations between these two aspects of performance seem to strengthen markedly. Consistent with other studies, results show that rhythmic errors far outweigh all other types of errors. Differing strategies used by high-scoring and low-scoring subjects on the WFPS and by two groups of high school subjects in school years 7-9 and 10-12 were observed and discussed.

Students’ motivation to study music as compared to other school subjects: A comparison of eight countries

This study draws on an expectancy-value theoretical framework to examine the motivation (competence beliefs, values and task difficulty) of 24,143 students (11,909 females and 10,066 males, aged 9 to 21 years) from eight countries (Brazil n = 1848; China n = 3049; Finland n = 1654; Hong Kong n = 6179; Israel n = 2257; Korea n = 2671; Mexico n = 3613; USA n = 3072). Music was studied in comparison to five other school subjects (art, mother tongue, physical education, mathematics, science) across three school grade levels that included the key transition from elementary to secondary school. Results indicated that music as a school subject was valued less and received lower task difficulty ratings than other school subjects with the exception of art. Students reported higher competence beliefs for physical education and mother tongue compared to music and lower competence beliefs for mathematics and art. There was an overall decline in students’ competence beliefs and values across the school grade levels for all countries except Brazil. Females reported higher competence beliefs and values and lower task difficulty ratings for music, art and mother tongue than males. Males reported higher competence beliefs and lower task difficulty ratings for physical education and mathematics. There were no gender differences for values in mathematics. Music learners reported higher competence beliefs and values and lower task difficulty across school subjects than non-music learners. Secondary analyses were used to further explore differences within each of the eight countries. Findings suggest that once students have experienced learning to play an instrument or voice, they become more motivated towards other school subjects. Implications of the findings suggest that advocacy aimed at increasing the values that students attach to music as a school subject may encourage more students to become music learners across a wide range of countries.

The role of psychological needs in ceasing music and music learning activities

This article addresses individuals’ decisions to continue or cease playing a musical instrument from a basic psychological needs perspective. Participants began learning music 10 years prior to the study and were the subject of previous longitudinal research. They completed a survey investigating the three psychological needs of competence, relatedness, and autonomy in the contexts of when they were most engaged in playing their instrument during high school, and in the time leading up to when they ceased playing. Decisions to cease music instruction or playing an instrument were associated with diminished feelings of competence, relatedness, and autonomy, compared to when they were most engaged. Open-ended responses to a question about why they ceased playing supported this finding and showed that participants refer to reasons directly related to feelings of psychological needs being thwarted. This article therefore proposes that motivations to cease or continue playing a musical instrument demonstrate a natural propensity to more vital, healthy forms of behaviour. The study offers preliminary evidence for a framework that may help to unify previous research in music and supports motivational research in other areas.