‘Just notes’: Young musicians’ perspectives on learning expressive performance

Abstract

Expressiveness is an important aspect of an excellent music performance as it adds quality and interest to the playing and listening experience. Although several studies have investigated tertiary students’ learning of expressiveness, little is known about effective approaches for teaching children to perform expressively. In the present project, 16 young musicians (aged 9–16, with performance levels at Pre-Grade 1 – Grade 8) took part in a video-stimulated recall interview after an experimental investigation which had featured methods for teaching and facilitating expressiveness. The interviews explored pupils’ perspectives on that instruction, which included practice of difficult sections, scales practice, improvisation, and questions and dialogue regarding musical character. Participants who had been taught via dialogic teaching indicated that the questions relating to musical character and expressive tools had been helpful for their understanding of the ‘musicality’ of their pieces and thus for their learning of performance expression. The questions regarding musical character were seen as helpful, as this had facilitated pupils’ reflection on, and understanding of the interpretation, thus contributing to their learning of expressiveness. This demonstrates the importance of teachers’ enquiry and pupils’ reflection for young musicians’ learning of expressive performance.

Theoretical Framework for Facilitating Young Musicians’ Learning of Expressive Performance

“…The questions regarding musical character had facilitated their reflection on, and understanding of the interpretation, thus contributing to their learning of expressiveness. Findings from the experimental and the VSRI study demonstrate the usefulness of teachers’ enquiry and learners’ reflection for young musicians’ learning of EMP ( Meissner, 2018 , 2020 ; Meissner et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Recent studies have revealed that dialogic teaching consisting of enquiry and discussion is effective for enhancing children’s expressiveness as this can raise students’ awareness of and stimulate thinking about the musical character and how to convey this in performance. Young musicians reported that their teachers’ questions regarding the musical character were “eye-openers” as these served to shift their focus from the “technicality” to the “musicality” of pieces ( Meissner and Timmers, 2019 ; Meissner et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Research findings suggest that it is possible to work on EMP at all stages of learning and all ages. Even when children are in the early stages of learning a piece it is possible to work on expressiveness via basic questions about the musical character as this helps the learner to place the piece into a meaningful context (cf., Meissner et al, 2019 ; Meissner and Timmers, 2020 ). Beginners can be encouraged to consider the musical character of their pieces and they can be invited to improvise tunes conveying basic emotions or sound effects.…”

“…Various aspects of instrumental performance, including music reading, motor control and matters of interpretation, may contribute to cognitive load (cf., Owens and Sweller, 2008 ; Stambaugh, 2013 ). However, on the other hand, some studies suggest that it is possible to work on expressive performance at every level of learning and that focusing on the musical character may even benefit young musicians’ accuracy and technical fluency in some instances ( Meissner and Timmers, 2019 , 2020 ; Meissner et al, 2019 ). This is in line with research that demonstrates that an external focus of attention, directed at movement effect, enhances motor performance and learning ( Wulf et al, 2010 , 2016 ; Wulf, 2013 ).…”

“…Questions can help children to make a connection between the music they are playing and the emotions, movement, or stories that they may perceive in the music. By asking open questions about the musical character and the use of expressive cues, teachers can shift young musicians’ attention from a focus on the “technicality” to an increased awareness of the “musicality” of their pieces ( Meissner et al, 2020 ) which may enhance expressiveness. Furthermore, teacher modeling or listening to a recording can provide an “aural picture” of the music which can be helpful for developing several aspects of music performance, including accuracy, technical fluency, phrasing and overall expressiveness ( Meissner and Timmers, 2020 ).…”