Performance Teaching as a Science
September 18th 2006 02:02
When looking at professional instrumental teachers carry out their work, it may not at first seem like a particularly scholarly or scientific pursuit. A fair observation could state that much of what is taught is just a continuation of principles centuries old - instrumental faculty is developed, common musical interpretation is passed on along with perhaps an opinion or two on the part of the teacher based on personal reason. But beyond this, the field is anything but static, and while yes, the fingering positions on a violin or clarinet aren’t likely to change in the way they are taught to beginners, at advanced levels there is a wealth of investigative study and research related to modern performing.
To demonstrate this development, examples can be taken from teaching manuals, both historical and modern. While it is understood that a book alone provides not enough information or adaptability to really learn an instrument, many performers have attempted to chronicle some of their discoveries in performance for the profit of future generations. Leopold Mozart and Carl Phillipe Emanuel Bach are two big classical examples, for their works on violin and keyboard technique respectively. What is interesting about works like this at this stage was that much of their development would have to rely on personal investigation on the part of the authors. There were no major conservatoriums during this period that funded these developments, no scholarly bodies whose collected discoveries were focused by these authors. Through trial and error and personal discovery these books were made possible. While most musical knowledge is passed on through teaching, we cannot forget the contribution made by these manuals to the preservation of musical discovery.
In a modern day setting, such writings still exist, but their basis for being formed is completely different. With the huge increases in communication and decreased isolation for musicians that came in the transition from the Classical period to today, modern works can be the focused collection of group’s knowledge. Most instrumentalists will at some point in their lives study overseas and receive influence from numerous teachers. I myself, at the age of 19, have been taught by 4 teachers, each whose individual insights and backgrounds brought me discoveries I wouldn’t pick up from anywhere else. I’ve also read papers by internationally renowned teachers who have attempted to chronicle some of their own discoveries. These writings are however less the product of experimentalism or fresh discovery, but new ways of examining old problems, and a refinement in the understanding of exactly what happens when we play music.
It is in this regard of re-examination and refinement that teaching musical performance is a scholarly and scientific art. In the last hundred years, people haven’t changed the way they blow the clarinet or flute(in the broad general sense, of course there are going to be minute refinements in style according to the fashion of the times). However, we have seen a massive increase in scholarly works which offer new advanced instruction. There is a focus on complete economy of movement, and how to best visualise and achieve this. Much has been written on the establishment(and associated psychology) of productive practice. And in the true sense of performing, areas traditionally related to theatre performance(such as Alexander technique) have been ported over to music in an attempt to create more confident, relaxed and comfortable musicians.
I once thought that teaching seemed slightly like a futile work, as the best achievements(culminating in high quality musicians) would only be able to last a lifetime at most, before new musicians would have to be built from the ground up all over again. But this is akin to saying that modern computer engineers start from scratch every time they try to develop new technology. There is a fundamental understanding of electronics that is taught, and the development path can be walked in education so that engineers emerge at a stage ready to consider problems relevant to modern developments. No time is spent in struggling to re-invent the lightbulb - there is no point. Similarly, by this stage in the history of music, we generally know what makes what work instrumentally, and how to achieve favourable results. Far from the teaching field being a recycling of information that happens every generation, there is now continued re-examination and further development. To continue the analogy, faster chipsets and more efficient circuitry. So while many factors of performance theory will be retaught over the generations, it seems extremely likely that there will always be new additions continually added in the coming years.
A clarinet lesson, taken from the Mount Allison University site (www.mta.ca)
In a modern day setting, such writings still exist, but their basis for being formed is completely different. With the huge increases in communication and decreased isolation for musicians that came in the transition from the Classical period to today, modern works can be the focused collection of group’s knowledge. Most instrumentalists will at some point in their lives study overseas and receive influence from numerous teachers. I myself, at the age of 19, have been taught by 4 teachers, each whose individual insights and backgrounds brought me discoveries I wouldn’t pick up from anywhere else. I’ve also read papers by internationally renowned teachers who have attempted to chronicle some of their own discoveries. These writings are however less the product of experimentalism or fresh discovery, but new ways of examining old problems, and a refinement in the understanding of exactly what happens when we play music.
It is in this regard of re-examination and refinement that teaching musical performance is a scholarly and scientific art. In the last hundred years, people haven’t changed the way they blow the clarinet or flute(in the broad general sense, of course there are going to be minute refinements in style according to the fashion of the times). However, we have seen a massive increase in scholarly works which offer new advanced instruction. There is a focus on complete economy of movement, and how to best visualise and achieve this. Much has been written on the establishment(and associated psychology) of productive practice. And in the true sense of performing, areas traditionally related to theatre performance(such as Alexander technique) have been ported over to music in an attempt to create more confident, relaxed and comfortable musicians.
I once thought that teaching seemed slightly like a futile work, as the best achievements(culminating in high quality musicians) would only be able to last a lifetime at most, before new musicians would have to be built from the ground up all over again. But this is akin to saying that modern computer engineers start from scratch every time they try to develop new technology. There is a fundamental understanding of electronics that is taught, and the development path can be walked in education so that engineers emerge at a stage ready to consider problems relevant to modern developments. No time is spent in struggling to re-invent the lightbulb - there is no point. Similarly, by this stage in the history of music, we generally know what makes what work instrumentally, and how to achieve favourable results. Far from the teaching field being a recycling of information that happens every generation, there is now continued re-examination and further development. To continue the analogy, faster chipsets and more efficient circuitry. So while many factors of performance theory will be retaught over the generations, it seems extremely likely that there will always be new additions continually added in the coming years.
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