Research to Practice: Bring Vernacular Musicianship into Your Classroom

Robert H. Woody University of Nebraska – Lincoln

rwoody2@unl.edu

http://BeingMusicalBeingHuman.com @Bob_Woody on Twitter

Setting the Stage

•  Tanglewood: include “popular teenage music…avant-garde …American folk…music of other cultures.”

•  Popular music as motivational ploy

•  Bait and switch

•  The native music of students – reason not teach it? Or reason for special attention?

Session Overview

1.  Disconnect: school music vs. “real music”

2.  Skill development naturally advanced by vernacular music making

3.  Independent musicianship for participation beyond high school

4.  Strategies for bring vernacular musicianship into school settings

School Music vs. “Real Music”

•  School music – classical, to please parents/teachers, difficult, analytical, passive

•  “Real music” – popular, social/peer relationships, intrinsically motivating, emotional

(Boal-Palheiros & Hargreaves, 2001; Lamont et al., 2003)

•  Need for more popular music performance, electronic instruments, songwriting, computer-based composing

(Campbell et al., 2007)

Study: Listening of Music Majors (Woody, 2011)

•  118 undergrads, 45% music education majors •  Survey re: listening for studies vs. for leisure,

styles of music in recordings owned •  Music majors are “normal” (taste for popular

styles, behaviors & motives for listening) •  Different regard for listening by subcultures: •  band-focused = high for leisure, low for studies •  keyboard-focused = low all around •  orchestra- & jazz-focused = high all around

Skills of Vernacular Musicianship •  Musical skills – aural skills, composing/arranging,

improvisation, expressive performance (Campbell, 1995; Davis, 2005; Green, 2002, 2008) •  “Meta-musical” skills – independence, collaboration,

versatility, historical/cultural/artistic connection (Allsup, 2003; Jaffurs, 2004; Kamin et al., 2007; McGillen & McMillan, 2005; Miell & Littleton, 2008)

•  Musician identity development – musical-artistic, personal, social-cultural

(Kokotsaki & Hallam, 2007; North & Hargreaves, 2008)

•  24 music majors – 12 with vernacular music experience, 12 exclusively formal instruction

•  Two 8-measure melodies – one learned and sung, one learned and played on instrument

•  Tracked times through listen-then-perform cycle (trials) required to perform correctly

Study: Vernacular Musicians’ Ears (Woody & Lehmann, 2010)

•  Vernacular musicians learned more quickly, played more readily, thought more sophisticatedly

Study: Vernacular Musicians’ Ears (Woody & Lehmann, 2010)

Study: Vernacular Musicians’ Ears (Woody & Lehmann, 2010)

Independence for Lifelong Participation •  Skills developed in conductor-led large ensembles

have limited application beyond high school (Arasi, 2008; Gates, 1991; Coffman, 2002; Regelski, 2006) •  Music educators’ calls to better prepare graduates for a

lives of active music participation (Myers, 2008; Regelski, 2008; Robinson, 2008) •  Individual empowerment leads to motivation invest in

musical growth as an adult (Kamin et al., 2007; Taylor & Hallam, 2008)

Study: Participatory Musicianship (Woody & Parker, in press)

•  86 high ability freshmen (non-music majors) •  88% had played instrument (70% band/orch.) •  Out-of-class performance, documented in

series of essays, analyzed qualitatively •  Support and strategies came from peers,

technology, past teachers and role models •  “Re-engagement” introduces new themes of

autonomy, informal settings, and enjoyment

Strategies for Instruction and Learning

•  Teacher training – more breadth (less specialization) of musicianship: songwriting, improv, chamber music

•  Bridge the divide – have students perform what they listen to, listen to what they perform

•  Upgrade the ear – Echo Sing/Play, 10 Tune Challenge, Blast From the Past, Eyes Closed Warm-Up

•  Pursue authenticity – small groups, student-directed, experiment (mistakes), learn with students

References Allsup, R. E. (2003). Mutual learning and democratic action in instrumental music education.

Journal of Research in Music Education, 51, 24-37. Arasi, M. (2008) The lifelong impact of the choral experience: Philosophy and teaching styles. In

M. Holt & J. Jordan (Eds.), The school choral program: Philosophy, planning, organizing, and teaching (pp. 1-42). Chicago: GIA.

Boal-Palheiros, G. M., & Hargreaves, D. J. (2001). Listening to music at home and at school. British Journal of Music Education, 18(2), 103-118.

Campbell, P. S. (1995). Of garage bands and song-getting: The musical development of young rock musicians. Research Studies in Music Education, 4, 12-20.

Campbell, P. S., Connell, C., & Beegle, A. (2007). Adolescents’ expressed meanings of music in and out of school. Journal of Research in Music Education, 55, 220-236.

Coffman, D. D. (2002). Adult education. In R. Colwell & C. Richardson (Eds.), New handbook of research on music teaching and learning (pp. 199-209). New York: Oxford University Press.

Davis, S. G. (2005). “That Thing You Do!” Compositional processes of a rock band. International Journal of Education & the Arts(6)16. Retrieved from http://ijea.asu.edu/v6n16/.

Gates, J. T. (1991). Music participation: Theory, research, and policy. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 109, 1-35.

References, continued Green, L. (2002). How popular musicians learn: A way ahead for music education. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. Green, L. (2008). Music, informal learning and the school: A new classroom pedagogy. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. Jaffurs, S. E. (2004). The impact of informal music learning practices in the classroom, or how I

learned to teach from a garage band. International Journal of Music Education, 22(3), 189-200. Kamin, S, Richards, H., & Collins, D. (2007). Influences on the talent development process of

non-classical musicians: Psychological, social and environmental influences. Music Education Research, 9(3), 449-468.

Kokotsaki, D., & Hallam, S. (2007). Higher education music students’ perception of the benefits of participative music making. Music Education Research, 9, 93-109.

Lamont, A., Hargreaves, D. J., Marshall, N. A., & Tarrant, M. (2003). Young people’s music in and out of school. British Journal of Music Education, 20(3), 229-241.

McGillen, C., & McMillan, R. (2005). Engaging with adolescent musicians: Lessons in song writing, cooperation and the power of original music. Research Studies in Music Education, 25, 36-54.

Meill, D., & Littleton, K. (2008). Musical collaboration outside school: Processes of negotiation in band rehearsals. International Journal of Educational Research, 47, 41-49.

Myers, D. E. (2008). Lifespan engagement and the question of relevance: Challenges for music education research in the twenty-first century. Music Education Research, 10, 1-14.

References, continued North, A. C., & Hargreaves, D. J. (2008). The social and applied psychology of music. Oxford,

UK: Oxford University Press. Regelski, T. A. (2006). Reconnecting music education with society. Action, Criticism and Theory

for Music Education, 5(2). Retrieved from http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Regelski5_2.pdf

Regelski, T. A. (2008). Amateuring in music and its rivals. Action, Criticism and Theory for Music Education, 6(3). Retrieved from http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Regelski6_3.pdf

Robinson, M. (2008). From competition to collaboration: Lessons from the Second Chair. Research Studies in Music Education, 30(2), 205-211.

Taylor, A., & Hallam, S. (2008). Understanding what it means for older students to learn basic musical skills on a keyboard instrument. Music Education Research, 10, 285-306.

Woody, R. H. (2011, June). Music listening in the lives of college music majors: Implications for music education. Paper presentation at the Summer Research Symposium of the Society for Research in Music Education, Washington, DC.

Woody, R. H., & Lehmann, A. C. (2010). Student musicians’ ear playing ability as a function of vernacular music experiences. Journal of Research in Music Education, 58, 101-115.

Woody, R. H., & Parker, E. C. (in press). Encouraging participatory musicianship among university students. Research Studies in Music Education.

Robert H. Woody University of Nebraska – Lincoln

rwoody2@unl.edu

http://BeingMusicalBeingHuman.com @Bob_Woody on Twitter