Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c4f8m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T15:55:55.480Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Using the musical score to perform: A study with Spanish flute students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2012

Cristina Marín ,
Ma Puy Pérez Echeverría  and
Susan Hallam
Cristina Marín*
Affiliation:
Aula PIF, Módulo 2, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Iván Pavlov, 6, E-28049, Madrid, Spaincristina.marin@uam.es
Ma Puy Pérez Echeverría
Affiliation:
Vicedecanato Grado y Calidad, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Iván Pavlov, 6, E-28049, Madrid, Spainmdelpuy.perez@uam.es
Susan Hallam
Affiliation:
Lifelong and Comparative Education, Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, UKS.Hallam@ioe.ac.uk
*
Correspondence to: Cristina Marín
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Musical scores constitute a key element in the development of expertise in musicians from western tonal traditions, since they act as a mediator between the performer and the music itself. Our aim was to study the role of musical scores in instrumental performance practice by analysing the process of learning a new piece of music, as well as the frequency of activities related to that score, taking account of situations when studying alone and with a teacher. Sixteen flute students at two different education levels from conservatoires in Madrid participated in an individual semi-structured interview and completed a rating-scale questionnaire. Categorical analysis from interview data revealed differences between levels in relation to the activities they stated that they engaged in when learning new pieces. Results from the questionnaires showed that although students at both levels worked on playing the musical score correctly, higher-level students seemed to pay special attention to artistic issues. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research, as well as their implications for education.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , July 2012 , pp. 193 - 212
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

BARRY, N. & HALLAM, S. (2002) Practising. In Parncutt, R., & McPherson, G. (Eds), Science and Psychology of Music Performance (pp. 151–166). Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BAUTISTA, A., PÉREZ ECHEVERRÍA, M. P., POZO, J. I. & BRIZUELA, B. M. (2009) Piano students’ conceptions of musical scores as external representations: a cross-sectional study. Journal of Research in Music Education, 57, 181–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CANTWELL, R. H. & MILLARD, Y. (1994) The relationship between approach to learning and learning strategies in learning music. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 64, 45–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CASAS, A. & POZO, J. I. (2008) ¿Cómo se utilizan las partituras en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la música? Cultura y Educación, 20, 49–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CHAFFIN, R. & IMREH, G. (2001) A comparison of practice and self-report as sources of information about the goals of expert practice. Psychology of Music, 29, 39–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CHAFFIN, R., IMREH, G., LEMIEUX, A. & CHEN, C. (2003) Seeing the big picture: piano practice as expert problem solving. Music Perception, 20, 465–490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DAVIDSON, J. W. & COIMBRA, D. C. C. (2001) Investigating performance evaluation by assessors of singers in a music college setting. Musicae Scientiae, 5, 33–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DAVIDSON, J. W., PITTS, S. E. & SALGADO CORREIA, J. (2001) Reconciling technical and expressive elements in musical instrument teaching: working with children. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 35 (3), 51–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DUKE, R. A., SIMMONS, A. L. & CASH, C. D. (2009) It's not how much; it's how: characteristics of practice behaviour and retention of performance skills. Journal of Research in Music Education, 56, 310–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ENTWISTLE, N. (1987) Understanding Classroom Learning. London: Hodder and Stoughton.Google Scholar
FRIEL, S. N., CURCIO, F. R. & BRIGHT, G. W. (2001) Making sense of graphs: critical factors influencing comprehension and instructional implications. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 32, 124–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GRUSON, L. M. (1988) Rehearsal skill and musical competence: does practice make perfect? In Sloboda, J. A. (Ed.), Generative Processes in Music: The Psychology of Performance, Improvisation, and Composition (pp. 91–112). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
HALLAM, S. (1995 a) Professional musicians’ orientations to practice: implications for teaching. British Journal of Music Education, 12, 3–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HALLAM, S. (1995 b) Professional musicians’ approaches to the learning and interpretation of music. Psychology of Music, 23, 111–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HALLAM, S. (2001 a) The development of metacognition in musicians: implications for education. British Journal of Music Education, 18, 27–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HALLAM, S. (2001 b) The development of expertise in young musicians: strategy use, knowledge acquisition and individual diversity. Music Education Research, 3, 7–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HULTBERG, C. (2002) Approaches to music notation: the printed score as a mediator of meaning in western tonal tradition. Music Education Research, 4, 185–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HULTBERG, C. (2008) Instrumental students’ strategies for finding interpretations: complexity and individual variation. Psychology of Music, 36, 7–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JØRGENSEN, H. (2004) Strategies for individual practice. In Williamon, A. (Ed.), Musical Excellence (pp. 85–104). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
JØRGENSEN, H. & HALLAM, S. (2009) Practising. In Hallam, S., Cross, I. & Thaut, M. (Eds), Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology (pp. 265–273). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
JUSLIN, P. N. (2001) Communicating emotion in music performance: a review and a theoretical framework. In Juslin, P. N. & Sloboda, J. A. (Eds), Music and Emotion: Theory and Research (pp. 309–340). New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KARMILOFF-SMITH, A. (1992) Beyond Modularity: A Developmental Perspective on Cognitive Science. Boston, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Google Scholar
KINTSCH, W. & VAN DIJK, T. A. (1978) Toward a model of text comprehension and production. Psychological Review, 85, 363–394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LANE, J. S. (2006) Undergraduate instrumental music education majors’ approaches to score study in various musical contexts. Journal of Research in Music Education, 54, 215–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LAUKKA, P. (2004) Instrumental music teachers’ views on expressivity: a report from music conservatoires. Music Education Research, 6, 45–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LINDSTROM, E., JUSLIN, P. N., BRESIN, R. & WILLIAMON, A. (2003) Expressivity comes from within your soul: a questionnaire study of music students’ perspectives on expressivity. Research Studies in Music Education, 20, 23–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LISBOA, T., WILLIAMON, A., ZICARI, M. & EIHOLZER, H. (2005) Mastery through imitation: a preliminary study. Musicae Scientiae, 19, 75–110.Google Scholar
MARTÍ, E. (2003) Representar el mundo externamente. Madrid: Antonio Machado.Google Scholar
MARTÍ, E. & POZO, J. I. (2000) Más allá de las representaciones mentales: la adquisición de los sistemas externos de representación. Infancia y Aprendizaje, 90, 11–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MCPHERSON, G. E. (2005) From child to musician: skill development during the beginning stages of learning an instrument. Psychology of Music, 33, 5–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MCPHERSON, G. E. & ZIMMERMAN, B. J. (2002) Self-regulation of musical learning. In Colwell, R. & Richardson, C. (Eds), The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning (pp. 348–372). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
MIKLASZEWSKI, K. (1989) A case study of a pianist preparing a musical performance. Psychology of Music, 17, 95–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NELSON, K. (2009) External representations critical to human intelligence. In Andersen, C., Scheuer, N., Pérez Echeverría, M. P. & Teubal, E. (Eds), Representational Systems and Practices as Learning Tools in Different Fields of Knowledge (pp. 297–313). London: Sense.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NIELSEN, S. G. (1999) Regulation of learning strategies during practice: a case study of a single church organ student preparing a particular work for a concert performance. Psychology of Music, 27, 218–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NIELSEN, S. G. (2001) Self-regulating learning strategies in instrumental music practice. Music Education Research, 3, 155–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PÉREZ ECHEVERRÍA, M. P., POSTIGO, Y. & MARÍN, C. (2009) Las habilidades gráficas de los estudiantes universitarios: ¿cómo comprenden las gráficas los estudiantes de psicología? Cultura y Educación, 22, 215–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PÉREZ ECHEVERRÍA, M. P. & SCHEUER, N. (2009) External representations as learning tools. In Andersen, C., Scheuer, N., Pérez Echeverría, M. P. & Teubal, E. (Eds), Representational Systems and Practices as Learning Tools in Different Fields of Knowledge (pp. 1–19). London: Sense.Google Scholar
POSTIGO, Y. & POZO, J. I. (2000) Cuando una gráfica vale más que 1.000 datos: la interpretación de gráficas por alumnos adolescentes. Infancia y Aprendizaje, 90, 89–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
POSTIGO, Y. & POZO, J. I. (2004) La representación mental de los mapas geográficos: niveles de procesamiento. Cognitiva, 16, 13–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRINCE, V. & HALLAM, S. (1996) Cognitive, technical and expressive music skills: pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of the relative emphasis given to each in instrumental music lessons. Reading: BPS Education Section Conference, 15–17 November.Google Scholar
SULLIVAN, I. & CANTWELL, R. H. (1999) The planning behaviours of musicians engaging traditional and non-traditional scores. Psychology of Music, 27, 245–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TESCH, R. (1990) Qualitative Research: Analysis Types and Software Tools. Hampshire: The Falmer Press.Google Scholar
WILLIAMON, A. & VALENTINE, E. (2000) Quantity and quality of musical practice as predictors of performance quality. British Journal of Psychology, 91, 353–376.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WOODY, R. H. (2000) Learning expressivity in music: an exploratory study. Research Studies in Music Education, 14, 14–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar