Programme Master Research Symposium 20 June 2019

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Table of contents Overview Symposium Programme 2 Abstracts Thursday 20 June Paul Deneer 3 Miro Herak 4 Quirijn van Regteren Altena 5 Bastiaan van der Waals 6 Biographies committee of examiners 7 Assessment Criteria 9

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Paul Deneer

Main Subject

Jazz Guitar

Research Supervisor

Adri de Vugt

Title of Research

Speaking directly in an indirect way

Research Question

If there is a connection between personal and artistic growth from a dialogical perspective,

do they follow the same rules?

Summary of Results

This essay focuses on the connection between personal and artistic growth. The starting

point for this essay is my position as a student counsellor at the University of Arts The Hague

dealing with students that have personal issues that affect their artistic development. First I

take a bigger view by focussing on personal growth in general, from a dialogical perspective.

I also make a connection to mental health. With the concepts derived from this wider

perspective, I investigate how they could play a role in art. I present material I gathered,

about artists who struggle on a personal level with a possible effect on their artistic work.

Also in regard to art, I make a connection to mental health. I look back on the reports from

my conversations with students, and analyse the data of an interview I did with 14 students.

To illustrate my argument, I present cases of students that contacted me during the past

years throughout the essay.

From the perspective presented in this thesis, our ability to grow is closely connected to the

ability to engage in reciprocal relations. Having a script that is based on reciprocity and

dialogue helps to search for a connection to others, that doesn’t take away the connection to

ourselves, to our own feelings, needs and desires. The part of our script that is based on

reciprocity and dialogue also leads to inner dialogue. Artists are in a dialogical position when

they address the viewer, it also helps musicians to connect to fellow-musicians and to the

listener. His artistic talent is one of the opportunities for the artist to express his thoughts and

emotions, giving him a special way to speak directly but from a mature position that requires

inner dialogue, where different perspectives from outside connect to perspectives coming

from within. This is more than just being expressive. Being able to deal with the ambiguity

this creates, it leads to interesting or unexpected creative results. The listener/viewer also

needs to be able to connect to himself and deal with the ambiguity of allowing in different or

conflicting perspectives. This also requires inner dialogue from the listener/viewer.

Biography

Paul Deneer studied Jazz guitar at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and previously

studied clinical psychology at the University of Utrecht. In 1985 he started as a teacher Jazz

guitar and later he taught several pedagogical subjects at the Royal Conservatoire. In 1997

he became a student counsellor at this school and in 2008 at the Royal Academy of Art as

well. He took part in several research projects at the Royal Conservatoire and his research

on stress with musicians was published in 2014. Paul combines his work for the University of

the Arts with an active career as a musician.

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Miro Herak

Main Subject

Jazz Vibraphone

Research Supervisor

Anna Scott

Title of Research

Vibraphone – Piano Duo Performance

Research Question

Drawing from notable vibraphone-piano collaborations of Gary Burton with pianists Chick

Corea and Makoto Ozone and Joe Locke with pianist Kenny Baron, what are the key

parameters specific to their performance and the role of the vibraphone in the comping

context, and how can I test and develop these concepts in my playing for future successful

collaborations, both for myself and later on also for my students?

Summary of Results

After looking closely into the pieces performed by Locke and Burton and having conducted

an analysis of their approach to comping, I found distinctive characteristic to their respective

approaches. Locke and Burton both stay true to the stylistic nature of the pieces, both play

very clearly and mark the harmonic structure very well. Both of them use the harmonic

material of the piece and stay firmly with it, they don't really alter or substitute the harmony

much and work very well with the basics. The focus of the research was to look into the

approach and the elements of the comping side from a technical point of view: what are the

rhythms played, how are the chords constructed, what is the range they are using, how do

they work with the harmony, what is the density of the chords and the sound, what other

elements do they use in their comping? There is a lot to be learned from Burton's approach

to comping and the tools he is using for expression. If we look deeper into his approach to

construct voicings and use of the various density and inversions, we find a lot of variety in

working with both hands independently and complimentary. He is not just playing the four

voices at the same time, but he distributes the voices in fragments and employs a variety of

rhythms. This element in his playing allows it to breathe and gives space to the soloist, but

also supports interplay and interaction. By doing this research I believe I gained an important

insight into their comping approaches and got an inspiration and tools to create a richer

vocabulary.

Biography

An award-winning vibraphonist and composer, Miro Herak was born in the Czech Republic

and then moved with his family to Slovakia at an early age.

Herak’s musical upbringing and studies have included playing the cello since the age of six

and the percussion at fifteen. He studied at the Conservatory of Music in Zilina and

Bratislava (Slovakia). During his studies in Bratislava, Herak became the member of The

Radio Symphony Orchestra of Bratislava. In the year 2000, he made the move to The

Netherlands to study Jazz Vibraphone at The Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where he

currently teaches.

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Quirijn van Regteren Altena Main Subject Double Bass Research Supervisor Martijn Padding Title of Research Hybrid Double Bass Research question

What is the influence of technology in the collaboration between composer and player?

Summary of Results

As a professional double bass player for over 40 years, my research on the Hybrid Double

Bass is a culmination of my history as a player with diverse experiences in varying musical

contexts. An eclectic approach and interest to music and musical practices have always

dominated my life/career. In 1975, I won the Laren Jazz Festival and at the same time

started my conservatory studies. I was principal bass of the Residentie Orchestra for 20

years, a member of the ASKO | Schönberg Ensemble for 25 years and a teacher at the

Royal Conservatory since 1984. Throughout my career, I have always had the desire to

experiment with electronic additions to my instrument. This probably stems from my interest

in pop music, leading to my first electronic acquisition at age 11; a Hohner portable electric

organ. In 2012, I started working on the development of a so-called ‘Hybrid Double Bass’,

and this has inspired me to do my master research on this topic. My challenge is to equip a

traditional double bass with electronics in order to expand the possibilities of the

instrument, and my research is an expedition through uncharted territories where new digital

technologies can be developed and implemented as quickly as you can say ‘Google Maps’.

Biography

Double bassist Quirijn van Regteren Altena enjoys a diverse musical life by combining his

activities as a soloist, chamber music player and orchestral musician. Mr. Altena was

principal double bass of the Residentie Orkest The Hague for 20 years. He currently is a

member of the world renowned Asko-Schönberg Ensemble and professor of double bass at

the Royal Conservatory of Music in the Netherlands. As a soloist, he has commissioned

various compositions for his instrument. Four of these works have been featured on his

critically acclaimed CD’s ‘Characters’ (Olympia Records OCD 467) and ‘Pantomime’ (Aristo

1002). In March 2003, he premiered a new work by Dutch composer Ernst Oosterveld for

electronic bass, the Zeta Bass, entitled SEQ. This new composition was commissioned and

performed by the Schönberg Ensemble and very warmly received by the Dutch press. Along

with pianist Peter Beijersbergen van Henegouwen, Mr. Altena concertized extensively

throughout Europe and the U.S. Quirijn van Regteren Altena plays on a 1720 Giovanni

Baptista Grancino double bas.

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Bastiaan van der Waals Main Subject Classical Piano Research Supervisors Adri de Vugt and Robert Harris Title of Research Intention-based Piano Pedagogy – Bridging the gap between tradition and recent scientific insights Research Question How can I guide the students of piano methodology towards applying effective educational principles for achieving pianistic quality in their internship lessons? Summary of Results This research focuses on the guidance of students of piano methodology (‘piano pedagogy’) in acquiring didactic skills. More specifically, it aims to support them in understanding and applying research-based educational principles in their internship lessons. Recent scientific research on motor control and motor skill learning offers opportunities for evaluating current practices in piano pedagogy and coming up with innovative teaching approaches. Based on an extensive review of research results, I have formulated educational principles for achieving pianistic quality. I argue that mental auditory representations of intended musical outcomes (‘musical intentions’) initiate and steer musical motor control processes. Furthermore, I have summarized several research-supported teaching strategies that promote motor skill learning and presented examples of their practical application in piano pedagogy.I have applied several interventions aimed at enhancing conveyance of these educational principles to students of piano methodology. In the first place, I have created extensive study materials (booklets, videos, slide presentations) that both explain and show practical applications of these principles in piano pedagogy. Furthermore, I have introduced peer-to-peer learning: students observe and evaluate their own and each other's internship lessons. Results of this research show that further improvement of the methodology course is required in order to achieve its goals. Both the study material and the peer-learning opportunities have shown to be valuable additions. However, students still exhibit a lack of creativity in finding relevant teaching strategies within their internship lessons. I have formulated several additional interventions for further improvement. Biography Bastiaan van der Waals is a classical pianist, a piano teacher, and a researcher. Ever since

he started teaching piano, he has been enthusiastic about creating a link between traditional

approaches of piano teaching and recent scientific insights into learning processes. His

particular interest in musical learning processes has led him to collect a substantial amount

of practical applications of various forms of implicit motor learning in instrumental teaching.

He teaches piano pedagogy and keyboard harmony at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in

The Hague (Netherlands), furthermore he maintains an extensive private piano teaching

practice.

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Biographies Committee of Examiners

Matthias Heyman has obtained his Ph.D. in 2018 with a research on Ellington bassist Jimmie Blanton at the University of Antwerp in affiliation with the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, where he acquired his MA in Double Bass Performance. He is the first in Belgium to obtain a Ph.D. with a specialization in jazz, and remains active as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Antwerp. Additionally, Matthias teaches jazz history courses at the Jazz Studio (Antwerp) and the LUCA School of Arts (Leuven). As a bass player, he has worked with Toots Thielemans, Bert Joris, and the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, among others. His work has appeared in numerous international journals, and he has presented at several international conferences, including The Beatles’ White Album Symposium in 2018. Karin Johansson is an organist and a professor of music at Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University, Sweden. Her research interests concern improvisation, choral singing and Higher Music Education (HME). She is part of the Swedish-Norwegian-German research project Discourses of Professionalisation and Academisation in Higher Music Education (DAPHME), which investigates the impact of processes of academisation on European HME. Together with Dr. Phil. Ursula Geisler she headed the international choral research network Choir in Focus 2009-2012 and the transdisciplinary project Artistic Vocal and Choral Orders 2014-2015. Following her PhD on professional organists’ improvisation (2008), she continued the study of improvisation in the project (re)thinking improvisation, funded by the Swedish Research Council 2009-2011. In the recently concluded artistic research project Rituals she investigated relationships between performance praxis in new and older music, and between composers and interpreters. In several studies on HME and one-to-one teaching she has applied the perspective of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), with a particular interest in theoretical and methodological development in the area of artistic education and performance. She is engaged in issues for the future and 2018-2020 is one of the participants in the Lund University academic think tank LU Futura.

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Mary Lennon is a Senior Lecturer in Music at TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama where she teaches Piano and Music Education, and supervises postgraduate research. Mary is a graduate of University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and the University of London Institute of Education. A former Head of Keyboard Studies at the Conservatory, she has wide experience in giving masterclasses and workshops and in adjudicating, and she regularly acts as an external examiner. She is a founder member and former President of EPTA Ireland (European Piano Teachers’ Association), and has played an active role in the association both nationally and internationally. Mary’s research interests include piano pedagogy, instrumental/vocal teacher education and practice-based research, and she was also a member of the AEC (European Association of Conservatoires) Erasmus funded Polifonia project Working Groups on Instrumental/Vocal Teacher Education: European Perspectives 2007-2010 and Assessment and Standards 2011-2014.

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Assessment Criteria master research Royal Conservatoire

The assessment of the research by the examination committee will be guided by the following questions: Relevance - Artistic development Is the research relevant for the artistic development of the student? - Wider context Is the research relevant for others, e.g. other students, musicians, for the professional field or musical life at large? Project design and content - Questions, issues, problems Are the research questions, issues or problems well formulated or articulated? And how do they relate to the student’s main studies? - Contextualization Is it clear how the research relates to the (artistic, historical, cultural, theoretical) state of the art in the field of inquiry and to what others have done in this area? - Methods Are the chosen methods adequate to answer the questions, issues or problems? And how is musical practice as method employed? - New knowledge, insights, experiences, techniques and/or devices Does the research deliver something that we did not know, understand, experience or have? - Process Is the research process sufficiently well described or otherwise communicated? - Outcome Is the balance between the research process and the (artistic) outcome of the research satisfactory? Argumentation, documentation, presentation - Reasoning, writing, documentation Does the research make a clear case or claim and how does the use of text relate to the use of non-textual, e.g. artistic material? And does the form of documentation support the claim of the research? - Information, source material, referencing, language Is the information accurate, is the handling of source material and the referencing correct, and is the use of English acceptable? - Public presentation Is the verbal and public presentation of the research well-structured and convincing? And is the role of the artistic work in the presentation clear? Is the use of English acceptable?

For the assessment the following qualitative descriptions are being used:

□ excellent

□ very good

□ good

□ sufficient plus

□ sufficient

□ insufficient

□ non-appearance

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