The study's purpose is to investigate whether children and parents know the instrument trumpet and the beliefs they have about this instrument.
My questions are:
To find out about these questions, I have conducted a survey study in Arvika with children in first grade and their parents. 33 adults and 34 children from three schools took part in the survey.
The results showed that knowledge of the trumpet are quite good among 6 and 7-year-olds and their parents. All the respondents in this survey know what the trumpet is, and over one-third of the 67 respondents know about someone who plays the trumpet. Among the children exist no big "celebrity" trumpet player. Instead they mention friends or acquaintances that play the instrument. There were some well-known musicians among adults but it was often aging jazz trumpeters. 6 and 7-year-olds are pretty open-minded about trumpet. They seem to consider both that young, old, men and women could be playing the trumpet. The parents, however, think that men dominate playing the trumpet. Otherwise are the parents also pretty open-minded. The music school appears to have a strong name in Arvika. Many respondents stated that it´s possible to contact the music school if you want to start playing the trumpet. The results also showed that the trumpet is not considered as boring. Most people put it midway between boring and fun to play.
Based on the findings in this study, the trumpet seems to be a well-known and somewhat appreciated instrument among the respondents. At the same time it seems to be a bit out of range from a satisfying reputation.
The purpose of this study is to examine how individual singing lessons for high school students differ depending on to which extent the vocal coach is driven by their own interests concerning genre. The study is based on four semi-structured interviews where two vocal coaches have their home turf in classical music, and two vocal coaches have their home turf within the african american genres. The study is of comparative nature where the focus is on eventual similarities and differences between vocal coaches’ viewpoints within the two genres. The theoretical perspective of the study takes its stand in the socio cultural perspective and how cultural tools and surroundings affect teaching and learning.The result of the study shows that the vocal coaches have more conformed opinions than they have conflicting ones when it concerns informed choices in genre, how their own interests affect their teaching and the views on the curriculum in relation to the lesson and its content. The interviewees differ when it comes to how they plan lessons for beginners and how they themselves listen to music. In the discussion the themes that surface in the result are discussed from a socio cultural perspective. These themes are: informed and uninformed choices concerning genre, the curriculum as a tool in teaching and the teachers’ own personal interests concerning genre. The conclusion is that the different tools the vocal coaches use affect how they work in and surrounding their teaching of high school students.
The purpose of the study is to get a deeper insight of what it means to develop a new singing technique. To study this I have practiced edge ten minutes per day during a period of four weeks, five times a week. Three of these exercices have been videotaped. I have also used a logbook to document new experiences during the process. I have a socio-cultural perspective as a theoretical base in this study. In the result the different tools that were selected show how these were handled and how the process in learning has developed. The results show that the most central tools that were used were the body, the method book, the piano chair, the wall and a song. In the discussion I describe, from a socio-cultural perspective, what the conditions have been, and which tools I have used.
Research on chorus singing has shown results that prove singing in chorus has positive effects on the well-being of participants in various ways. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of chorus singing where participation is obligatory. The method chosen for this study is qualitative interviews of three music students with chorus singing as an obligatory subject in their education. To reach this goal the following research questions are chosen: What are the respondent’s experiences and feelings before, during and after chorus rehearsal? Does the respondent experience any effects from singing in chorus during the remaining hours of school time? Does the respondent experience any effects of chorus singing in their daily life? The result of the study is divided into four main categories of experienced effects. The first tree are physical, mental and social effects. The fourth category are effects connected to singing in an obligatory chorus in one's education such as musical effects, ambition and performance in the daily school life of the individual as well as attitudes and ambitions of the peers. In the section for discussion these headings are used and comparisons and parallels are drawn between previous research. The discussion also brings up the important role of the chorus leader, reflections on how the concept of KASAM (sense of belonging) and the social cultural perspective can cooperate and connect to chorus singing, the differences in the experienced effects of singing in obligatory chorus compared to previous research on voluntary chorus singing and the pedagogical thoughts about chorus singing in school with a foundation in the social cultural perspective.
The purpose of this study is to, from a gender perspectice, explore how the drum kit lessons in three music and culture schools are performed. To investigate this, three qualitative interviews and six participant video observations have been implemented. Previous studies show that music teachers expect a feminine and masculine style of their students, that it is difficult as a girl to position themselves in a way that challenges the local gender regime while it is difficult to be traditionally feminine - moderate and controlled – when playing instruments such as electric bass and drum kit. In the present studies results, drum teachers’ views on drum teaching are shown but also how they conduct their teaching, and how boy- and girl students are handled in teaching. It emerges that teachers largely adapt teaching to students’ personalities and individual circumstances and not to gender, but the drum teachers express certain prejudices which may indicate that they expect to see a feminine and masculine style of their students. There is a discussion about the problems of instruments and professions being gender-coded, which can affect students’ learning conditions, and teacher prejudices and that teachers have to adapt to the students and not vice versa.
The aim of the present study is to explore teachers' and pupils' views regarding creative music production and composition within individual instrumental and vocal tuition in arts program at upper secondary school. The research questions is: How describes teachers and students the use of composition and arrangement in instrument and song tuition? How do they look upon on creativity in these activities? How do they look upon creativeness? The study is based sociocultural perspective and the method is qualitative interviews. The results show three themes: The creative instrument, Creativity and Attitudes about composition. In the last chapter, improvisation as a creative tool in the moment is discussed, as well as the presence of composition and creation and the approach to composition and creation in upper secondary school.
Med detta examensarbete vill jag redogöra för hur Funktionsinriktad MusikTerapi kom till, och vad dess metod (den s.k. FMT-metoden) går ut på. Med två fallbeskrivningar vill jag redovisa hur jag arbetat med metoden med två personer. Utifrån de två fallbeskrivningarna ska jag försöka svara på om, och hur FMT kan skapa förutsättningar för utveckling av stabilitet.
Min slutsats är att jag, med hjälp av olika sätt att ställa upp instrument, användning av attribut och sätt att utforma en session, kunnat stärka och utveckla de två personernas stabilitet.
The purpose of this study is to examine music teachers’ views on the work for inclusion and increased diversity in Swedish Community School of Music. The study’s research question concern how music teachers’ construct and legitimate their views on the work for inclusion and increased diversity in Swedish Community School of Music. To examine this three focus group interviews were held at three different schools. The theoretical framework of the study is discourse theory and the data generated from the focus group interviews has been processed and analyzed with discourse analytical tools. In the result the six discourses found are presented based on the teachers’ constructions about the work for inclusion and increased diver- sity in Swedish Community School of Music. These discourses is about how the work for inclusion and increased diversity is seen as given, as contradictive, as social developing, as ex- ternal activity, as difficult and as mutual responsibility. The result also shows parents and school as two contextual factors which affects the discourses in different ways. In the discussion two more general contrarious discourses, about the work for inclusion and increased diversity as obvious and non-obvious, are discussed in relation to previous presented literature.
I detta examensarbete beskriver jag Funktionsinriktad MusikTerapi (FMT) och mitt terapiarbete med två vuxna adepter med multifunktionshinder i ett sydfranskt boende.
Med utgångspunkt från min frågeställning ”Hur mycket har rörelsemönstren, uthålligheten och beteenden hos dessa adepter ändrat sig positivt genom den strukturerande FMT-metoden?” kommer jag fram till följande resultat: Med hjälp av FMT har mina adepter fått ökad uthållighet och förbättrade rörelsemönster. I ett fall har även beteendet förbättrats tydligt.
How can I – as a teacher student at a college of music – study an opera role? I have examined this question by observing the process of studying the opera role as Adele from The Bat by Johann Strauss. My theoretical perspective is partly based on Design for Learning combined with examining the artistic procedure itself. The results is systemazied under the headers Reasources and tools and The Process. The result chapter shows the komplexitity in studying and learning an opera role. Laughter as a tool in opera was one of the most interseting results. This investigation could be seen as a preparation for a possible future career at the same time as the pedagogical aspects are examined.
This study is about the soprano timbre, how university teachers defines the term and how the work with it in teaching. Previous research presented different answers about the meaning of the term timbre. It’s a qualitative study and based on the theoretical perspective design theory and social semiotic. The method used is stimulated recall interviews, which in the present case is both a video observation of a singing lesson and an interview occasion where the teachers are interviewed one by one. The interview is semi-structured and the teachers got to tell about their opinion about a beautiful sound, and the work with timbre. The video is used as a basis for the interview. The result is divided into the categories "The opinion of" and "the work with" timbre.The opinion of timbre is also divided into the headings: sound as innate, developable and communicative ability and also the term timbre being not useful. The work with the timbre is based on verbal, singable, physical and emotional representations. In the discussion, the aspect is further discussed if a beautiful sound can seem to be innate or developable, as well as the multimodality and its resources. The discussion also discusses aspects of the work with the sound as direct or indirect or as a physical phenomenon versus an abstract phenomenon. In addition, the beautiful timbre of the multimodality is discussed.
Det övergripande syftet med denna studie är att utforska hur jag, med hjälp av olika metoder, kan instudera en operaroll som ger möjlighet till konstnärlig fördjupning. Ambitionen är att få en inblick i hur en instuderingsprocess av en operaroll kan se ut och därtill lära mig en hel operaroll. Rollen som instuderas är sopranrollen Susanna ur Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts opera Le Nozze di Figaro.
Rollen instuderades scen för scen i kronologisk ordning. Processen dokumenterades med hjälp av videoinspelningar och loggbok. En litteraturstudie användes som grund för bakgrun- den om operan samt tidigare forskning om ämnet. Hela rollen instuderades och processen ana- lyserades parallellt. Instuderingsprocessen resulterade i ett fördjupat utforskande av karaktä- ren Susanna, ett utvidgat perspektiv på mig själv som sångerska och en förståelse för det krä- vande arbetet som krävs för att instudera och förbereda en operaroll.
The purpose of this study is to examine how flute and oboe teachers experience the phenomenon of methodology. To achieve this goal, the study is based on the following research questions: What are the oboe teachers view on methodology as tools in their instrumental education? What are the flute teachers view on methodology as a tool in their instrumental education? Which similarities and / or differences are there in the methodology as a tool for music instrument education on flute and oboe? The study is presented in a qualitative case study at music schools in Sweden with three flute teachers and three oboe teachers and is based on the theoretical perspective phenomenology. The research method for the study is based on semi structured interviews which have then been transcribed and analyzed with thematic analysis. The result is presented in four themes. These four themes are: General music didactics, (wood)wind methodology, flute methodology and oboe methodology. The first theme is characterized by general lesson structures, exercises but also the teachers approach to methodology. The overall conclusion regarding the phenomenon of general music didactics is the meaning of the relationship work with the student but also external conditions that color the methodology. The second theme highlights the common areas of woodwind musicians and what it means to play a wind instrument. The teachers experience the phenomenon of breathing as a common and fundamental starting point, but also a common set of repertoires. The third and fourth themes highlights the differences between the flute and the oboe and the conditions for play. Some examples of the differences between the instruments are the double reed of the oboe which is something that flute does not have. Although flute and oboe are both wind instruments the result shows two different visions on blowing techniques. Flute playing is about the ability to release a lot of air while oboe playing is about holding back with air and resisting the high pressure that is created. In the following discussion chapter, the result is set in relation to previous literature and research.
Three musical instruments – One voice. A study of the conversion process between a woodwind instrument to another. This area includes the flute, oboe and the alto saxophone. This study is based on observations of a six-week rehearsal process in relation to a sample of previous research and academic papers in the field. The study is aimed to explore the conversion process when I switch from one wind instrument to the other. This is to provide a deeper insight into a multiinstrumentalists everyday life and highlight all the phenomena that form the basis of the play for each instrument and then be included in the conversion process. This qualitative study is based on a life-world perspective and method logbook writing and video documentation. The result is supported by two themes: Inner voice and change of instrument-muscle change representing mental and physical actions. After the result is a discussion that is related to the literature and previous research in the area. The work concludes with thoughts about its importance as well as opportunities for future research.
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there are fundamental differences in methodologies and pedagogical approach between violin pedagogues of the genre of Swedish folk music. The comparison focuses on teachers with and without formal music teacher education in the genre. Four qualitative telephone interviews were the basis for the study, where two people each represented those with and without a degree. The theoretical starting point for the study has been the socio-cultural perspective. The results demonstrate that there is more connecting than separating the four teachers ate. Here is an emphasis on ear training teaching, joy and musical function, which belongs to the tradition of the Swedish folk music genre. This way of working is connected to the socio-cultural perspective, where tradition, social context, and physical artefacts are in focus. However, it is possible to see a clearer part of institutionalized knowledge among the teachers with formal teaching qualification. These teachers have a greater use of notes and a slightly more pronounced progression in education. They also have a greater openness to all music, while those without a music teacher education more purely focuses on Swedish folk music and what the genre's history is based on.
The aim of the work has been to gain advanced knowledge in vocal production by investigating different methods to raise the quality of the vocal parts in a music production. An important question has been whether the focus, to achieve a good result, mainly has to be the recording of the song or whether much can be done through post-processing in order to achieve a good result. During this project I have chosen to work with three productions where I sing the vocal parts myself. These have slightly different styles on the song and I have chosen just these to challenge myself and how to edit and produce the vocal part for at good result in the final production. For the production I have used Logic Pro X as DAW. The result is three productions where the production methods used, from my view, clearly has contributed to a better result compared with productions that I previously have performed. The methods and techniques that I have applied include the Melodyne software, which I have used to improve the quality of the song by making the song tighter and cleaner. Also equalizer and compressor have been used to improve the sound quality. However, it is important to conclude that the vocal parts in the productions, despite extensive processing with efficient editing tools, would need to be re-recorded before the songs can be published.
During my third year as a music teacher student on Musikhögskolan Ingesund I am the only one who studies classical saxophone as my major subject. My interest of playing saxophone quartet have always been great but when there is no opportunity for quartet playing, the interest and the desire to play quartet has grown even more. Therefore, this work is about saxophone quartet. The purpose has been to find out the challenges I experience when I play the four different saxophones in the quartet and when I study the respective saxophone's part in a quartet piece. In order to complete the study, I have mainly used a logbook where I have written about my experiences and then divided them into different categories; physical challenges, the challenges of the parts and the challenges of the instruments. The results show, among other things, differences in the studying of each saxophone´s part and the saxophones role in the quartet. It also shows differences in how I use my body to get an optimal sound on each saxophone. In the discussion of the work, my experiences are compared with research and information from literature mainly written by other saxophonists.
The purpose of this study is to examine instrument teachers’ views on and work with improvisation in the individual instrumental education in upper secondary school and Swedish Community School of Music. The theoretical framework of the study is discourse psychology. To examine this, focus groups were used as method for data collection in which teachers from upper secondary school and music school talked about their views on improvisation. The conversations were recorded with both audio and image to later be transcribed and analyzed with discourse analysis to distinguish various discourses, in this study also referred to as interpretative repertoires. The result shows certain conflicting interpretative repertoires as the teachers describe their views on improvisation, such as Improvisation as something liberating and Improvisation as something inhibitory. The result shows that these conflicting interpretative repertoires can be spoken for by the same teacher. However, all the teachers in the study agrees that improvisation isn’t bound to a specific genre, although they admit that it is more focused on in certain contexts. Moreover, the effects and functions that different interpretative repertoires have on teachers’ work also appear. Mimicry exercises are a recurring way to teach improvisation without a specific context of genre, as described by the teachers. In the discussion the most prominent interpretative repertoires from the result are discussed in relation to the theoretical framework as well as previously presented literature and research within the subject matter.
The purpose of this study is to examine my own learning process and how my playing is affected when practicing guitar technique. I documented one practice session every week during the appointed practice period, using the help of video documentation. I also used a logbook as a compliment to document what happened during the learning process. A design theoretical perspective was used as a basis for the study. In the result section, I describe how I designed my practicing and what consequences this had for my playing. The use of many different types of resources for learning turned out to provide positive results. Over time I developed structure and accuracy in my practice. In the last section I discuss how my orchestration of resources created opportunities to practice guitar technique, and how this orchestration changed over time. I also discuss the importance to begin all practice in a pleasant tempo as well as the importance to practice with structure and accuracy.
In this independent project three kinds of strategies for learning with focus on learning lyrics is described and explored. For every new strategy a new song is used. The purpose is to explore and identify different kinds of resources when learning. The study is based on observations of myself in form of a logbook and video recordings over three weeks with a total of 15 practicing sessions in the fall of 2015. The starting point is a multimodal and design theoretical perspective. The result show how I use different resources when learning different lyrics by using three kinds of strategies for learning lyrics. Finally I discuss, in relation to the design theoretical perspective and earlier research.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the conductors' perceptions of and work with non-verbal communication with choir performance. The background chapter describes previous research and literature on nonverbal communication. The results of the study came through three unstructured interviews, where three choir conductors reflected over the term non-verbal communication and how they apprehend the concept. The theoretical perspective underlying this study is the interpretative hermeneutic perspective. The results show that conductors use different non-verbal communication methods in their work with choir. The non-verbal communications that the choir leaders, among other things use are the piano, the voice, but they also how reflect over hos sheet music can be interpreted. It is also apparent that the three conductors have different views on conducting. The conductor’s thoughts rang from that conducting is a bad thing and should be used sparingly. Whilst other say that conducting is the most important tool and should not be neglected. In the conclusion, the results are discussed in relation to previous research and literature.
The purpose of this essay is to examine how singing-teachers, within the Swedish folk music-genre, use trall when they teach and if they eventually use it as a tool to improve singing technique. The foundation of the research is three qualitative interviews. The socio-cultural perspective has served as the study´s theoretical basis. The result of the study shows that all of the interviewees use trall a lot in their teaching and that they also use it as a tool. The interviewees think that trall has a lot of qualities that makes it a practical tool for practicing singing-technique. Examples of areas where trall can be used as practise is rhythm and pulse, breathing, articulation and movability within the voice. The interviewees also think that trall has social parameters which makes it a good tool for becoming a part of the folk-music discourse.
This study aims to create deeper insight in what kind of equipment electric guitar teachers use in their teaching, how they motivate it and also if it is inspiring.
The background chapter presents previous research and other literature in the field and also the theoretical basis for the study, the socio-cultural perspective on learning and communication.
The data consists of qualitative interviews with three electric guitar teachers who teaches at the school of music and art.
The results chapter show the teacher’s view on the subject, - teaching material in electric guitar teaching and how they motivate it´s use and also if it is inspiring.
Their teaching materials may be equal but how they utilize them is different What they mean is that an inspirational teaching material also motivates their choice of the same. But the opinion - what is inspiring may also be of a different view. The teaching material doesn´t need to be inspiring. Most important is the inner inspiration that motivates to immerse in electric guitar playing. In the concluding discussion the results are discussed in relation to the previous research and to the socio-cultural perspective on learning. It appears that in spite of the tuition of electric guitar playing the tuition shape depends on the teacher. Sometimes the teacher uses same tools, but they may use them differently.
The purpose of this study is to explore the ways in which music college students experience the phenomenon of nervousness at concerts. To achieve this purpose, the following questions of research are used: In what ways do music students experience nervousness before, during and after concerts? What differences do the music students experience between different music genres concerning performance anxiety? What are the positive factors of performance anxiety according to the music students? The background chapter describes previous research on nervousness such as: experience of nervousness, differences between music genres and if there are any positive aspects of nervousness. Phenomenology and the psychology of music are the theoretical basis for this study. To answer the questions of this research study qualitative semi-structured interviews are used. The interviews were transcribed and analysed with a thematic analysis. The result shows that the phenomenon nervousness at concerts consists of the themes: Affective loaded nervousness before and during the concert, and Feelings after the concert. The themes related to affective loaded nervousness before and during concerts consists of: Bodily reactions, To be more or less exposed, Expectations, The environment is important, Preparation, Shaking and sweating, Analytical thoughts, The audience affects on nervousness, Joy, disappointment and getting a distance the to performance and Feelings of fatigue. In the result it was shown that the informants perceived differences in stage fright depending on music genre and environment. The results also showed the positive aspect of nervousness that prevails into focus and energy. The informants experience that classical musicians have more pressure on themselves than other musicians and that the environment of the concert halls are not a relaxed setting. The discussion set these themes in relation to previous research, literature, music psychology and phenomenology.
The purpose of this study is to observe and understand my learning process in
sight-reading from a socio-cultural perspective. The second chapter is about the
methods and strategies which can improve sight-reading and about the
thoughts of sight-reading by musicians of today. Video recordings and a logbook were used to observe my practice in sight-reading. In this practice pedagogic sight-reading materials and songbooks with a wide repertoire also were used. The result showed that the use of tools like; metronome, work of material, the body, and notes of music improved my practice. For a good result a good posture and technique also proved to be important. In the last chapter my theme results, metronome, material, posture, retakes and notes of music were compared with previous research and literature.
This study is based on the unwillingness to practice on instruments and the purpose of the study is to examine the thoughts and feelings that arise during practice. In this case, the intonation practice on the flute is the focus. The work presents previous research and literature on practicing, motivation, intonation and intonation on the flute. The material used for the study has been collected through logbook. The result presents how different aids, the room in which the practice takes place and how the wellbeing affects the practice. The result is also about the emotions that arise during practice and how these feelings change over a long period of continuous practice.
The purpose of this study is to find out what oboe teachers in the community school of music and art have for experiences around their students' motivation to play oboe. The background chapter presents a description of the instrument oboe followed by a description of the growth the community school of music and art in Sweden during the 20th century and a brief description of motivation theories throughout history. Previous research that is presented concerns studies on students' motivation to play musical instruments and the student's social relations' significance for motivation. Motivation theories used are Maslow's ladder of needs as well as external and internal motivation. The study has an interpretivist theory of knowledge and through the phenomenological perspective the concepts of life world and intersubjectivity are used. The research method is semi-structured interviews with four oboe teachers who work at the community school of music and art in Sweden. The interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis method. The results present four different areas that the oboe teachers experience affect their students' motivation; why students are motivated to play oboe and why students lose motivation, the oboe's specific conditions, materials and elements used in teaching and the importance of social relations for the student's motivation. Finally, a discussion is presented between the results and the previously mentioned research, theories and literature.
The aim of this project has been to develop my ear to be more sensitive to 19-tone temperament and the intervals contained in it, in order to interpret a piece by Krzysztof Penderecki – the Cadenza for viola solo. The motivation for choosing 19-tone temperament comes from a recording of a Bulgarian folk song, and I have used 19-tone temperament as a method to approach the sound of the choir. Interpreting the notation in this way required an alternate interpretation of the notated sharps and flats, so I had to construct my own way of interpreting the sharps and flats as they relate to expressive intonation, an intonation technique associated with Pablo Casals. Six fragments, or short snippets, were chosen from the Cadenza to practice the 19-tone temperament, and I also attempted to synthesise them with the help of digital tools. The project was carried through in a single studio session, where I recorded the six fragments one by one. In the discussion chapter I attempt to analyse whether I am playing in temperament or in a form of just intonation (“septimal” intonation) and which performance choices may indicate either. I found that I – despite some progress – am not yet confident in performing the style that I’m trying to emulate but learned a lot about microtonal theory and how to effectively record myself in this process.
The purpose of the present study is to, from the phenomenological perspective and the life world perspective, interview trombone teachers to take part in their approach to embouchure in their teaching. The background chapter presents literature and previous research that is linked to the embouchure. The qualitative interview form is used as a method of collecting information with interpretivism and constructionism as epistemology and ontology. The results present the respondents' own experiences, methodology and approach to embouchure. There is a common view of which parts are included in an embouchure and methods and points that can be related to in their own teaching. In the discussion, the results are discussed with the presented research where attention is drawn to a difference in methodology and exercises where the research presents exercises aimed at older students. The respondents present, among other things, exercises that can be performed without the instrument, which can make specific steps better aimed at younger students. There is also a somewhat common view of what an embouchure is. However, there is no doubt from either the research or the respondents that the embouchure and the air are closely linked as neither of them works without the other, however, they are not the same phenomenon.
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether mental training can be helpful in reducing nervousness in musical performances as well as raising awareness about the body and the mental. The background chapter explains what mental training is, relevant concepts, previous research in the field and the chosen perspective for the study. Then the selected documentation, logbook and audio recording are explained, the specific mental training program is described as well as when and where it has been performed. The analysis shows that stress and anxiety are experienced, at the beginning of the study it is about surface factors such as time, local, environment. Later in the study, anxiety and stress decreases, however, it is shifted to performance in school and instrumental games. Specific experiences and reactions are described, both bodily and mental. Finally, it is demonstrated about the influence of mental training on music making. In the discussion section, audio recording and the selected logbook structure are problematic. Then we also discuss the shifting of the anxiety and stress that occurs during the study, solo compared to the orchestra as well as awareness of the body and the mental.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate different methods for learning new pianistic re- pertoire. Traditionally, a pianist’s practice is always conducted in front of the instrument. Here, practicing without the instrument is compared to practicing in front of the instrument. How efficient each method is and if different levels of the choosen repertoire will affect the result is examined. I conduct 4 experiments with sections of music of various difficulty. In each experiment practicing with and without instrument is compared. When practicing with instrument I practice with piano until I know the section by heart. When practicing without instrument I use visualization. In experiments 1–3 I allow myself to use tools when practicing without instrument such as playing on a table and the usage of a virtual keyboard to hear the pitch of the notes. In experiment 4 I examine pure mental practice where no tools are allowed. The result of the study shows that it is possible to memorize music without instrument. Regar- ding the efficiency the results were somewhat conflicting. In some experiments it was more efficient to memorize music without instrument and in some it was more efficient to memorize in front of the instrument. In future studies I would like to see why that is.
The purpose of this study is to examine how I practice vocal improvisation within the jazz genre with a focus on which resources are being used, how they are being used and in what way they might contribute to learning improvisation. To execute this I documented my practice sessions through video filming and the keeping of a log book. The theoretical perspective in this essay has been design theory. The result shows which resources have been used, and how they have been used. The resources in question are apps, gesticulation, imitation, piano, speech and text as well as music theory. In the discussion the significance of social context is discussed, as well as the conditions for learning vocal improvisation through the resources shown in the result. Also discussed is the multi modality of the resources.
The purpose of this study is to examine voice teachers’ views on and work with music theory in singing lessons. The study’s research questions concern how voice teachers construct their views on the subject music theory within the framework of the singing lesson and how voice teachers construct their work with music theory within the framework of the singing lesson. To examine this semi structured interviews were held with four singing teachers working in high school. The theoretical framework of the study is discourse theory with some inspiration from discourse psychology. The interviews were recorded via audio recording and were then transcribed and analyzed. The analysis was conducted with tools from the chosen theoretical framework. In the result the six discourses found are presented, also presented is the fact that they conflict with each other in pairs of two: music theory as a necessary tool for singing versus music theory as an unnecessary tool for singing, music theory as the voice teacher’s responsibility versus music theory as other teacher’s responsibility and music theory as not dependent on another instrument versus music theory as dependent on another instrument. The result also shows that different discourses can exist collaterally within the same conversation with a singing teacher. Furthermore, the result shows how the respondents, on the basis of the discourses, work with music theory during their lessons and how they give home assignments in music theory. In the discussion the discoursive battles presented in the result are discussed in relation to the theoretical framework as well as previous literature and research.
The purpose of this study is to follow my learning process of Serge Koussevitzky's Double Bass Concerto op. 3. Through the study, I have come up with different practice methods that can be applied to the Koussevitzky bass concerto as intonation problems as well as technical difficulties encountered during the learning process. With the help of video analytics and logbook, the process is documented. Several areas for improvement are identified, such as practice structure, fingering, position shifts and stringing. The study presents different practice strategies in musical performance and solutions to specific technical obstacles.
The goal of this thesis is to describe the creative process of making a song from an idea to a complete production and discuss the upcoming of challenges and successes that occurred during this process. This process started off by breaking down the objective of the project into six bigger chunks in order to lay down the basis of the song in place to later work them with more and more refined details into the finished product. The result of this process is a finished song that was sketched, written, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered within a period of forty days. The most prioritized goal of this project has been to capture the message and the feeling of the initial idea rather than aiming to produce a track that lives up to quality standards of commercial releases and can be categorized as a well-defined music genre.
This study aims to enhance the music teacher’s understanding of student's perception of the advantages of today's conventional teaching methods. In my study I have assumed elements that I have found in previous studies that have shown to be important for music education quality. Through interviews, a number of students had described their understanding of specific tasks, like learning his/her first chord on the guitar. The difference between learning to play new chords on the guitar now and in the beginning. The results of the interviews were then compared with what was previously highlighted as important elements in achieving good quality music teaching. The results of this comparison show a consistent with previous research. A lot of elements mentioned in previous research were already implemented in the school studied, which was reflected in the results of the interviews. The conclusion of this is that with a well prepared plan for music education students are given good opportunities to succeed, which can make the difference between high achieving and low achieving students decreases. A didactic dilemma highlighted in my research is how the music teacher should deal with individual help.
The purpose of this study is to describe procedures of teaching persons who sing “out of tune” to sing more “in tune”. In the background chapter different theories from research and literature for reasons behind tone deafness and poor pitch singing is presented, along with methods that are recommended for the practical work with it. Furthermore the didactic perspective that the study has as its theoretical basis is described. In the method chapter the qualitative interview method, which has been used to carry out the result, is presented. The result summarises four interviewed persons´ descriptions of their theories around the reasons behind tone deafness and poor pitch singing, along with their methods for working with persons who are tone deaf/sing out of tune. The result is discussed in relation to the background chapter in the discussion chapter, where the interviewing persons’ views on the subject, along with their methods are compared to the researchers' and authors’ views and methods.
The aim of this study is to explore how some selected approaches of learning, mediated by leading percussionist and percussion teachers, is used by and works for one students rehearsal of a musical work. These three approaches were used when practicing the Concerto for Marimba and Strings of Emanuel Sejourné. Audio recordings and log book was the basis for the analysis of what worked well for me in my own practice and how I experienced the different methods during exercise. The result shows that above all enjoyment factor is a contributor to a successful practicing. Other important factors reported are the importance of knowledge and the music before you start to practice and the importance of preventively practicing as a real concert. At the end, the results of the study is discussed in relation to the presented literature and previous research in the subject.
The purpose of this study is to explore how music profiled institutions can contribute to the musical education of classical music in elementary school. To achieve the purpose, five qualitative interviews were conducted with people who work on music profiled institutions. The theoretical starting points for this work is interpretativism, an inductive approach and pragmatism. The result shows two main themes: Experiencesand Training elements. The first main theme shows how music profiled institutions can offer experiences to contribute to the music during the display. The second main theme shows how music profiled institutions can be involved in, or responsible for, certain training elements in order to contribute to music education. The last chapter discusses the results in relation to the theoretical points and previous research.
The purpose of this study is to explore which individualization methods music teacher working in high school and culture- and music schools and what their purpose is with using the individualizations. Former research refers to individualization and differentiation. The study is based on individualization and differentiation models. The study is qualitative and semi-structured interviews were used to gather the data. Thematic analysis was used to code and analyse the data. In the result following themes occur. Individualization to affect students motivation, individualization to make the students feel safe in the music class and with the teacher, individualizations to make the students feel more involved in the education, individualization to meet the students’ knowledge and skills and to give them meaningful challenges and lastly individualizations to increase students’ autonomy. Afterwards there is a discussion about the chosen method of the study, the study’s meaning and worth for the profession and the need for future research.
The purpose of this study is to watch how planning affects the efficiency of the studying of new repertoire. This study has a design theoretical perspective and is based on ideas from persons as Robert Schenck, Gunnar Lif, Harald Jørgensen, Johannes L. Hatfield and Roger Säljö. I have used video observation and a logbook to document and analyze the learning process. In the results, it is described which modes and resources that have been used as well as which didactic methods that have been used. Also, which of the two structures that was compared got the best results.Some of the modes and resources that were used was the body, voice, piano, iPhone and the app iReal, sheet music book, music stand and a mirror. The differences in modes and resources between the two structures was primarily how the time was disposed and the tools needed to keep the time. The didactic methods used were a singing warm-up, repetition, scaffolding, an increasing difficulty and studying of the harmony. The differences that existed were among other things, how the time were distributed and the way the melody was learnt. The planned practice made the studying of the song faster and made the end result better. In the discussion, the results are problematized to understand the pros and cons of the two structures.
The aim of this study is to develop my timbre when I’m singing classical music. To do this I conducted an experiment where I tried different singing ideals as well as techniques most commonly used when singing musical theatre and pop/rock music. The study was carried out during a two-week period with practice sessions á 40 minutes per day. The first week I focused on singing with musical theatre techniques and the second week was focused on pop/rock music. I used an opera aria that I knew very well. That way I could identify what happened with my timbre during the study of the singing ideals and different techniques. The practice sessions were documented with nine log entries and 13 videos.
The result shows that my timbre is affected a lot when I’m singing with the different singing ideals and techniques. A few important aspects in the analysis of my timbre were the placement of the sound, articulation and flow as well as the placement of the larynx.
This study is about musical expression and how to develop in musical expression. In this study the two methods inner images and visualize a feeling are used and the purpose whit this study is to investigate how theese methods affect the musical expression by studying how the musical parameters dynamic, articulation, tempo and tone are affected. This study has been performed on recorder and the music that has been used is Swedish traditional music. As a basis for this study information about musical expression, connections between music and emotions and information about the recorder is presented. Then previous research about musical expression is presented and after that a description of the phenomenological perspective. In the method chapter the methods logbook, audio recording and thematic analysis is presented. Answers for the questions of this study are given in the result chapter and after that the information in the result are discussed.
The aim of this study is to investigate how music teachers states that they work with creativity in music teaching, which requirements who are needed for working with music creation and how they believe that music creation can contribute to pupil’s development. Method literature and previous research shows that music creation can imply many different meanings and that it is possible to work with music creativity in many different ways. Creation in music also proves to be important both for students' knowledge development and for development in a personal and emotional way. This study is based on a sociocultural perspective, it is qualitative and based on semi-structured interviews with four music teachers. Thematic analysis has been applied to analyze the data from the interviews. The results of the study present different ways to teach in music creation, for example music creation based on pictures and stories, digital music making and music making with rhythms. Requirements needed for working with music creation is also something that is presented. Both material conditions such as access to instruments and social conditions such as the classroom climate prove to be important to be able to work with music creation in school. What music creation can contribute to pupil’s development is also something that is presented in the results and aspects that are presented is for example that pupil´s creativity develops, and they are able to express their thoughts and ideas. In the chapter for discussion the results are compared with previous research. The study can be linked to previous research and it is clear that music creation can mean many different things, be performed in many different ways and that it can have positive consequences for students' development.
The aim of the present study is that through self-observation gain a deeper insight into how the process of learning a new instrument might look like, and how the process is influenced by an exisiting social and cultural context. The process of learning has consisted of studies on tuba, where the social and cultural context in this case has consisted of individual instrumental lessons and participation in an orchestra at an academy of music in Sweden. The study is based on a socio-cultural perspective, which means that learning is understood as something that is achived through social interaction and the use of exsisting cultural tools. The data consists of video documentation and log book notes of the musical creative project. The results are presented in four diffrent themes headlined curiosity, resignation, acceptance and resolution. These topics describe how learning occurs in various stages of emotional experiences and approaches to learning. The result also shows a significant connection between musical learning and its social and cultural context. Established social and cultural conventions shape the musicians musical identity and approach to the instrument in the social context where it occurs.
Denna studies syfte belyser de uppfattningar som brasslärare har gällande instrumentalundervisning i grupp och dess möjligheter och utmaningar. Detta studeras genom att ta del av brasslärares skildringar av sin egen undervisningspraxis och då specifikt brasslärare som verkar inom El Sistema och Suzukimetoden. Som underlag för studien presenteras perspektiv och tidigare forskning relaterade till valt ämnesområde. Studiens vetenskapsteoretiska ansats karaktäriseras som en kvalitativ studie och utgår ifrån ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv. Använd metod för insamling av data utgörs av semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra brasslärare. Intervjuerna har dokumenterats via ljudinspelningar och sedan transkriberats, bearbetats och analyserats med tematisk analys som tillvägagångssätt. I resultatet framgår det att brasslärarna uppfattar gruppundervisning med ett relationellt samband till musikaliskt lärande. Det sociala sammanhanget inverkar på elevens intresse för att delta och engagera sig, och möjliggör således musikaliskt lärande. Hur individuella behov av extra stöd eller extra utmaning bör hanteras anser brasslärarna att de främst bemöter genom att förebygga att ingen elev hamnar efter gruppens genomsnittliga musikaliska progression. Detta förebygger de genom att variera gruppens storlek eftersom de uppfattar att det skapar utrymme att upptäcka och bemöta elevens individuella behov. En ytterligare förebyggande åtgärd brasslärarna använder sig av är att variera undervisningens olika tillvägagångssätt för att alla ska kunna få ta till sig undervisningen efter sina individuella förutsättningar. I händelse av att en elev presterar mer än gruppens genomsnittliga progression ger brasslärarna eleven möjlighet till att spela solo som extra utmaning. De ramfaktorer som brasslärarna uppfattar påverkar undervisningen är möjliga att kategorisera som praktiska och sociala faktorer. I arbetets avslutande kapitel diskuteras dessa framkomna teman i relation till studiens angivna perspektiv gällande ämnesorientering och tidigare forskning.
The study aims to explore how three double bassists have reached their own ways of technical take on the instrument as well as what function these double bass players believe that their technique has. The study's theoretical premises consist of the hermeneutic interpretation. The study's data set consists of qualitative interviews with three professional double bass players with distribution across multiple genres. The results section describes each respondent's technical attitude to the double bass on three thematic metaphors. It reveals that the respondents in varying degrees have been studying various double bass methods and use different methods for fingerings. In the concluding discussion the results of the study is discussed in relation to literature and previous research. The methodological discussion is my pre-understanding from a hermeneutic perspective.
The purpose of this study is based on a design theoretic perspective, exploring what resources I use when transposing jazz tunes to different keys. The research questions are: What resources do I use to transpose a selected jazz tune to different keys? In what ways interact the resources? To study my learning process, I have used the logbook and video documentation, and the study's theoretical perspective is the design theory. The result shows that my learning process can be described in two different transformation cycles. These cycles, I have chosen to call the transformation cycle 1a and 1b. Transformation cycle 1a describes the resources used for transcription, and Transformation cycle 1b describes the resources used for transposing. The first transformation cycle 1a is presented by means of three themes: Staging, From the PC to the ear and From ear to hand. The other cycle, 1b, is presented by means of four themes: Transposing from A-flat major to C major, Problems during the transposing, Transposing to other keys and Transformation of previous knowledge. The discussion chapter discusses the results from a design theoretic perspective. The discussion also touches questions of strategy about transposing, which these being compared with the previous literature and research in the area. Finally, an account is given of my own reflections on the work, the importance of work and further research and development work.
The purpose of this study is to investigate music theory teachers approach to music theory as a teaching subject. This has been investigated with focus groups as a method in which music teachers in two groups are talking about their approach to music theory as a teaching subject. The theoretical framework for this study consists of discourse analysis as theory and method. The transcribed interviews have been analysed and processed using discourse analysis as an analysis method to make different discourses visible. The results show four major discourses about teachers approaches to music theory. There are also several minor discourses in several of the major discourses. The results show that music theory should be integrated with other music subjects where theoretical knowledge should be practical and personality based knowledge. The results also show that music theory is a useful tool for many different purposes. The discussion shows four major discourses: Music theory as an interactive subject, music theory as a tool for various purposes, music theory as common language and music theory as different forms of knowledge which is related to earlier studies.