Can researchers help artists? Music performance research for music students Richard Parncutt University of Graz, Austria Teaching, Learning and Performing Music Royal Northern College of Music, 1-2 July 2006

Character of this talk explorative not conclusive questioning not answering progressive not conservative applied not theoretical political not academic

Academic courses at music academies? Music history, music theory/analysis Introduction to music psychology Introduction to music performance research Physics, physiology, psychology of own instrument Efficient practice Structural and emotional expression Improvisation Performance anxiety Music medicine Educational and developmental psychology Psychology of theory/analysis/composition

What for? Who benefits? What do they get? What do they want?

What performance students want Interesting, useful information –Enjoyable, meaningful participation Plausible, authoritative presentation –Teachers who also perform Employment prospects –Transferable skills

What administrators want Success indicators  reputation  funding e.g. Successful graduates  (inter-) national performers Good entry students –based on academy’s reputation

What the general public wants (taxpayers  politicians) A rich cultural life –across social groups and stata –age, sex, income… A stable, bright future –excellent, forward-looking institutions –active, capable, caring young people

Success indicators of music academies Visible: –(inter-) nationally known performers Concealed: –indirect contributions to cultural life

Aims of music academies Visible: –Produce excellent performers Concealed: –Contribute to musical and cultural life …applies also to academic courses

Changing contexts of music academies Academic context pressure  degrees, research parallel development of performance research Political context transparent „mission“ cost efficiency Social/career context changing demands on musicians/educators flexibility of job markets

A „neo-liberal“ aim: Improve „efficiency“ of music academy? efficiency = output / input Input = time, effort, costs –invested by teachers, students, state Output = graduate achievement –enjoyed by society (pays the taxes) –enjoyed by country (international status)

Planning students‘ time Performance skill depends primarily on practice time Common knowledge Expertise research  Academic work should take relatively little time

Curricular balance: Ratio of performance to academic work …depends on the institution history orientation culture …depends on the individual student career aims personality and approach to learning

Remainder of this talk Course content –What is interesting and useful for students? Practical and political issues –Why not currently taught? –Anticipated effect –Strategies

Piano: physics, physiology, psychology Timbre: mechanics and psychology –key velocity, noise, pedals, balance, onset timing Fingering: physiology and psychology –constraints: physical, anatomic, motor, cognitive –dependencies: expertise, interpretation Expression of structure and emotion –with limited expressive possibilities

Voice: Physics, physiology, psychology VoceVista: Visual feedback for instruction in singing

Efficient practice Diversity of approaches study and analysis of scores mental versus physical practice listening to recordings / concerts Metacognition organization, goal orientation intrinsic motivation Timing and concentration short morning sessions with breaks duration depends on task, alertness

Expression I: Structural communication Structure –phrasing, meter, melody, harmony Accentuation –Performed accents reinforce immanent accents Analysis for performance –simple, clear –supports performance of own repertoire

Expression II: Emotional communication Emotional cues by size & variation of: tempo, dynamic, articulation (attack / duration), timbre, durational contrast, intonation/vibrato Redundancy and ambiguity of message Relation to structural analysis Effectiveness of feedback training (Patrik Juslin)

Performance anxiety High incidence, low awareness, little treatment Main causes: –personality, mastery, situation Further issues: –perfectionism and control –optimal arousal versus panic Prevention and cure –physical (relaxation) –cognitive (realism, desensitization, restructuring) –combined (Yoga, hypnotherapy, Alexander technique) –self-efficacy

Music medicine High incidence, low awareness, little treatment Common problems –muscular chronic tension, reduced elasticity pelvis, lower spine, back of neck –instrumental technique, repertoire, physique Student musicians need: –knowledge relevant anatomy, physiology –strategies exercises, sport, nutrition; avoiding overload –treatments active interventions

Student-teacher interaction Theory –Metacognition and attribution –child’s, teacher’s, parent’s explanations of success and failure Results –teachers don’t discuss failures or feel responsible –girls attribute more than boys to uncontrollable factors Strategies –attribution training, self-efficacy, stress management, motivational feedback (Margit Painsi)

Learning notation: „Sound before sign” Psychology of language acquisition –hear, understand, imitate, improvise, write, read Historical and pedagogical context –improvisation died out in 19th century –modern music teachers feel inadequate / don’t improvise Strategies –start early (plasticity), one skill at a time, improv. against accomp., notate improvs., multiple representations… (Gary McPherson)

Improvisation Stepwise approach to skill acquisition –set limits (dynamics, articulations, pitches, durations) –expression first: syntax through semantics –work on individidual structural elements Psychological theory of creativity –knowledge, risk, evaluation, motivation, flow –balance group and individual work

Frequent objections Source of objections successful teacher-performers pedagogical tradition Content of objections course content pedagogical tradition

Objections to course content Foreign ideas and teachers interfere with teaching! Ideas, not “truth” Eminent performers had many teachers Students learn to evaluate ideas Students have rights and freedoms Analytic thinking inhibits spontaneity! Analytic thinking is confined to practising Analytic thinking is promoted by eminent performer/teachers We never learned or needed this material! Music and music performance is constantly changing No specialist keeps track of all relevant developments Students may become better than their teachers.

Objections based on pedagogical tradition Why change a successful pedagogical tradition? Improve procedural-episodic-semantic balance Every student generation has new influences and expectations A strong teacher-student relationship is important! Contact time can include applied research and co-teaching Students respect teachers who are open to outside influences Practice time is important! Optimal amount is clearly less than 100% of curriculum Practice time is physiologically and cognitively constrained We cannot foresee the benefits! Evaluate a trial course Trust other experts

Strategies to promote teaching of performance research Engage with administration Understand democracy Maintain excellence through innovation Support students‘ analytic thinking Promote interdisciplinarity Optimize course content Be flexible about course content Inform and involve teachers Empower students Vary presentation formats Introduce new courses gradually Expand and diversify teaching staff

Engage with administration … to build understanding and support for  academic courses in general  music performance research specifically

Understand democracy: Entrenched majorities & minority rights Music academies –performers vs academics, theorists, composers performance as primary aim of music academies idea of genius performer Cf. musicology –historical vs systematic & ethnological 19th-century position of musicology within humanities idea of art/music historians as aesthetic arbiters

Excellence, tradition and innovation Past: preserve tradition and continuity –Solid basis, no sudden changes –If it’s not broke, don’t fix it Future: be pro-active –anticipate new developments –take advantage of currently available means  new balance?

Support students‘ analytic thinking Musicians and artists holistic, intuitive, qualitative, „right brain“? Nonmusicians and researchers analytic, logical, quantitative, „left brain“? Everyone needs both!

Promote interdisciplinarity Difficult boundaries: humanities sciences practice Necessary: specialism openness, respect, curiosity Unnecessary: specialist knowledge outside specialism  mission statement?

Optimize course content  illustrate all theory with examples  balance lecture and workshop styles  monitor student priorities and thinking  adapt research to teaching

Inform and involve performance staff Information  posters  events  literature Involvement  research  teaching  advice  Ownership  identification  promotion

Empower students  Student evaluations  individual courses  whole programme  Student recommendations  mentor’s reports  elective design

Vary presentation formats Occasional guest lectures Electives for all students Compulsory courses

Be flexible about course content research literature individual teacher’s activities –research –performance

Introduce new courses gradually Year 1 or 2 (or later): –general introduction music psychology music performance research Year 2 or 3 (or later): –specialized options primarily directed at non-researching performers may be prerequisite for doctorate

Expand and diversify teaching staff Scenario 1 director applies for new position find suitable person Scenario 2 change curriculum temporary staff teach new units evaluate apply for permanent staff

Patience, politeness, persistence the tortoise and the hare…

Acknowledgements Graduate students in Graz: –Gasenzer, Goebl, Holming, Lassnig-Waldner, Jost, Painsi London: –Aaron Williamon, RCM Manchester: –Jane Ginsborg, Gunter Kreutz, Antonia Ivaldi UK music psychology –John Sloboda, Jane Davidson, Eric Clarke Melbourne: –Diana Weekes, pianist

Enriching the curriculum Possible academic courses: Music history, music theory/analysis General intro: music psychology / music performance Physics, physiology, psychology of own instrument Efficient practice Expression Improvisation Performance anxiety Music medicine Educational / developmental psychology Psychology of theory/analysis/composition

Strategies Engage with administration Understand democracy Maintain excellence through innovation Support students‘ analytic thinking Promote interdisciplinarity Optimize course content Inform and involve teachers Empower students Vary presentation formats Introduce new courses gradually Expand and diversify teaching staff

Abstract How might music performance research best be introduced into music performance teaching? Many music students could benefit from more theory in areas such as emotional communication, performance anxiety, music medicine, general health (including fitness and nutrition), educational psychology, psychology of music theory and composition, and the physics, physiology and psychology of performance on specific instruments; and such material can be presented in a wide variety of different educational and musical contexts. If the main goal of an institution is to generate the best performers - or perhaps the largest number of professional performers - the content and proportion of academic work in the curriculum should adjusted to achieve this goal. Since musical skill depends primarily on the amount and quality of practice, students should spend relatively little time on academic work and regard it as an interesting and useful diversion that in turn motivates their practice and gives it meaning, gives them ideas on how best to practice, and prevents them from adopting counterproductive practice strategies. But given that only a minority of music students go on to earn their living primarily from performance, academic aspects of music curricula should also enrich the educational experience and help students to transfer and multiply their knowledge and experience, both during and after their studies. This can happen in the context of a diversity of musical activities, including teaching, planning and support of musical events, composition, musicology and so on. An additional argument is that the excellence of an educational institution can be threatened by cultural changes such as the diversity of new influences and experiences to which every new generation of music students is exposed. Excellent educational institutions should therefore welcome and implement new research and educational developments.