No abstract

The cyclic process of self-regulated learning has been identified as a predictor of achievement in musical skill acquisition and musical performance. Meta-cognition, intrinsic to the self-regulation process, develops as the student takes greater responsibility for their own learning. From this perspective we consider music students' responses to a questionnaire exploring the value and purpose of master classes. Overall, students valued the opportunity to perform in master classes, to receive relevant expert advice and to engage with ideas about interpretation and style. Students with prior experience of performing in master classes were more likely than those lacking performing experience to learn by listening to their peers, to regard master classes as motivational and as an opportunity to perform. In addition, significantly more female than male students listened to master classes, used peer-learning strategies while listening and were more likely to report negative perceptions of the content of the master class. Large effect sizes were found for level of study on the extent of experience as a performer, as a listener and for overall experience in master classes. These findings are discussed in terms of making a successful transition from conservatoire music student to young professional musician.Psychology of Music 1-17

It has been said that participation in master classes provides an initiation into a community of practice (Hanken, 2008;Creech et al., 2009) and that contemporary practices in higher music education are strongly informed by those of the past (Froehlich, 2002, cf. Heikinheimo, 2009. This is certainly true of public master classes which provide students with the opportunity to perform in public and to receive feedback on their performance from a high-profile master musician. In terms of expertise, the master musician is perceived to possess an exceptional blend of musical knowledge derived first from rigorous training in the values and methods of a particular tradition (or traditions) of musical performance, and second from their own career as a high-profile performer. In this study we investigated conservatoire students' experiences and perceptions of public master classes as articulated through the instrument they study, their gender and year in college. The findings revealed a significant main effect for the instrument studied and a statistically significant interaction effect between instrument studied, gender and year at college. The findings suggested that perspectives on the concept of musical excellence were articulated through gender. Further, having examined students' performing and listening experiences and perceptions of public master classes, we concluded that these were to some extent determined by Article at Karolinska Institutets Universitetsbibliotek on May 30, 2015 msx.sagepub.com Downloaded from Long et al. 287intrinsically exclusive or inclusive attitudes towards music, originating in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries respectively. We discuss these mechanisms in terms of implicit transmission during years of training in the students' principal instrument of study.

Historically, in the professional training of musicians, the master-apprentice model has played a central role in instilling the methods and values of the discipline, contributing to the rigorous formation of talent. Expert professional musicians advocate that certain thinking skills can be modelled through the master-apprentice model, yet its critics argue that independent learning, interaction and creativity are stifled. We studied responses to a questionnaire detailing students' experiences as performers and listeners in master classes and discovered that principal instrument and level of study usually determined the extent of performing experiences. However, approaches in arranging master classes differed between instrument departments. There were positive perceptions of instrumental master classes, but students' disclosure of negative experiences showed that females were more likely than males to find master classes to be intimidating and unfriendly. In discussing these outcomes, we consider the institution's role in helping students to negotiate social gradients of expertise and socialisation to a professional self-concept.