Stephanie Pitts

Developing Effective Practise Strategies: Case studies of three young instrumentalists

The importance of practise is self-evident to instrumental teachers and parents, who will put considerable energy into ensuring that pupils work between lessons to maintain progress on their instrument. A longitudinal study at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, has been investigating the cognitive strategies used by young instrumentalists when they practise, relating this and other factors, such as environment, motivation and general ability, to the progress that is made in the first years of learning. In this paper, case studies of three of the pupils involved in that study will be used to demonstrate the range of practise strategies that children devise, and to analyse their efficiency in promoting musical development. The implications for teachers and parents will be considered, and a definition of ‘effective practise’ sought.

Music and mind in everyday life

1. Music in peoples lives MAKING MUSIC 2. Motivations and skills 3. Expression and communication in performance 4. Improvising and composing USING MUSIC 5. Hearing and listening 6. Individuals using music 7. Groups using music ACQUIRING MUSIC 8. Lifelong musical development 9. Contexts for learning 10. The psychology of music - an overview

Changing Tunes: Musical Experience and Self-Perception Amongst School and University Music Students:

Academic research and popular discussion generally assume a common definition of the term “musician”, despite the complex social, cultural and critical meanings that emerge under closer scrutiny. On the one hand, inclusive approaches have recognised the importance of music to all individuals, yet the status afforded to professional performers still leads many active players and attentive listeners to be self-deprecating about their own skills, perpetuating the notion of the “non-musician” in Western culture. This paper considers the changing perceptions of music students undergoing the transition from school to university, using their implicit and explicit understandings of what it means to be a musician to explore the consequences for their self-identity. Qualitative questionnaire and interview data are reported from twenty participants, as a precursor to replicating and extending the study within a wider variety of musical communities. Clear differences between the expectations and experiences of school and university students are revealed, and self-identification as a musician is shown to depend on quantity and level of musical behaviour, as well as being affected by comparisons with peers. The role of school and university music education in shaping perceptions and opportunities is discussed, and conclusions are drawn about the importance of musical participation to these young people.

‘Testing, testing...’ How do students use written feedback?

This article reports on a small-scale study of feedback on music students’ written work, in which staff and students were asked to evaluate existing practice and suggest potential modifications. The value of feedback as a communicative learning tool is illustrated through students’ participation in a range of research tasks, including rating the usefulness of existing feedback comments and attempting to generate their own. The study shows that challenges in developing practice apply even where changes sought are far from radical, and conclusions are drawn which suggest ways forward for practice and research in giving feedback.

Reasons to teach music: establishing a place in the contemporary curriculum

Studies in the history of music education reveal much about the place and purpose of music in the changing curriculum. In this article, the ideas of some significant British music educators of the twentieth century are considered, in an evaluation of the apparent goals of music teaching that have been articulated over the decades. The connections between rationale and practice are discussed, with published ideas placed alongside the views of contemporary teachers in a small-scale questionnaire survey. The conclusion is proposed that school music, as a small part of the childs musical identity, must be modest in its intentions but ambitious in its provision.

Roots and Routes in Adult Musical Participation: Investigating the Impact of Home and School on Lifelong Musical Interest and Involvement.

This paper analyses a collection of musical life histories, drawn from 71 British respondents who have maintained a lifelong interest in music as regular concert-goers, amateur performers and/or music educators. These respondents reflect on the influences and opportunities which have contributed to their lifelong engagement in music, and in doing so illustrate the impact of changes in British music education and culture over the last 50 years. Particular analytical focus is placed here on the relative influence of home and school, on the ideal characteristics of each environment, and the relationship between them. The value of a long-term perspective on music education is debated, and conclusions drawn about the challenges to teachers and researchers that are evident from this study.

Anything goes: a case study of extra-curricular musical participation in an English secondary school

This paper reports on an empirical investigation into secondary school students’ experiences of participating in a school production of the Cole Porter musical, Anything Goes. The study was prompted by the absence in the research literature of any qualitative investigation of the extra-curricular activities that form a vital part of many young peoples musical development. The project therefore focused on individual motivation and experience, exploring the effects of the school show not just on its participants, but also on the broader school community. Questionnaires and audio diaries were used to capture the views of a representative sample of the school population, before focusing in more detail on the experiences of a smaller number of participants. Results showed a widespread awareness of the show amongst non-participants, and a general belief that it made a valuable contribution to school life. Amongst participants, the costs and benefits of participation were evident in descriptions of the intensity and commitment involved in rehearsals, the effects on friendship groups of spending time with like-minded people, and the challenges to participants’ own musical, personal and social development.

Understanding Jazz Audiences: Listening and Learning at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

Abstract This paper considers the ways in which jazz audiences participate in and contribute to musical events, and examines the roles that music plays in their lives and identities. Analysis of a large-scale survey and in-depth interviews, carried out at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival in 2007, reveals a sense of community and atmosphere within which audience members value the opportunity to be amongst like-minded jazz enthusiasts. The jazz festival is shown to be enhanced by the city and the context of the larger Edinburgh Festival, with the size and character of the venues also contributing significantly to the intimacy and success of each event. The findings challenge the prevailing view that jazz audiences tend to be younger than those for classical music (S. Oakes, 2003, Demographic and sponsorship considerations for jazz and classical music festivals, The Service Industries Journal, 23(3), 165–178), and offer points of comparison with recent studies of classical music audiences (S.E. Pitts, 2005, What makes an audience? Investigating the roles and experiences of listeners at a chamber music festival, Music and Letters, 86(2), 257–269; S.E. Pitts, 2005, Valuing Musical Participation. Aldershot: Ashgate; S.E. Pitts & C.P. Spencer, 2008, Loyalty and longevity in audience listening: Investigating experiences of attendance at a chamber music festival, Music and Letters, 89(2), 227–238), showing a stronger sense of individual taste amongst jazz listeners, expressed through loyalty to performers and genres, rather than to the festival itself.

‘Everybody wants to be Pavarotti’: The Experience of Music for Performers and Audience at a Gilbert and Sullivan Festival

This article investigates the contribution that musical participation makes to peoples lives by reporting on a study carried out at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in August 2001 in Buxton, Derbyshire. The audience are shown to have a strong commitment to the musical genre and its preservation through live performance, whilst the performers are more likely to value membership of their society and the personal satisfaction that comes from successful performance. The festival therefore serves diverse purposes for those who attend it, and raises further questions about the interaction between social, personal and musical experience at events of this kind.

Listening to live jazz: an individual or social act?

Purpose – This article seeks to understand how audience members at a live jazz event react to one another, to the listening venue, and to the performance. It considers the extent to which being an audience member is a social experience, as well as a personal and musical one, and investigates the distinctive qualities of listening to live jazz in a range of venues.Design/methodology/approach – The research draws on evidence from nearly 800 jazz listeners, surveyed at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival and in The Spin jazz club, Oxford. Questionnaires, diaries and interviews were used to understand the experiences of listening for a wide range of audience members, and were analysed using NVivo.Findings – The findings illustrate how listening to live jazz has a strongly social element, whereby listeners derive pleasure from attending with others or meeting like‐minded enthusiasts in the audience, and welcome opportunities for conversation and relaxation within venues that help to facilitate this. Within t...