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Clara Schumann’s legacy as a teacher
No full textClara Schumann’s pedagogical significance has long been acknowledged. Her influence transcended her pupils, shaping not only piano performance, but concert culture and, indeed, the understanding of music’s aesthetic role, for over a century. From a music-historiographical perspective, scholars have argued for a more nuanced understanding of Schumann’s overlapping identities as pianist, composer, teacher, wife and mother. This arises from the belief that to understand a musician holistically is to understand all their activities, and the relationships these engender with families, colleagues, friends, teachers, students, audiences and critics (what Beatrix Borchard conceives as ‘constellations’ or networks), while acknowledging that no single account can fill all the gaps. Adopting Borchard’s ‘constellation’ approach to history, which reveals much about the structures of power conveyed by the teacher–pupil relationship, this chapter explores the perception of Schumann’s teaching legacy in the British reception of two famous pupils: Fanny Davies and Leonard Borwick. It examines how these pianists’ reputations overlapped with that of Schumann, according to their gender, nationality, repertoire and image. In doing so, it shows how these teacher–pupil relationships were simultaneously compressed (by the forces of critical writing) and stretched (by the individuality of each musician)
Public military music and the promotion of patriotism in the British provinces c.1780-c.1850
Get PDFThe role and importance of military musicians changed and intensified in the late eighteenth century through two important processes. The first was the culture of display that took root in both the home-based army and units in the colonies. The second was the result of successive militia acts which effectively ensured that military units with bands would be systematically placed in every corner of the British Isles.
It became evident that music as a component of military display served an important diplomatic purpose. Music performed in public spaces was heard by a population deeply sceptical of the army and with an essentially local sense of identity. The experience of the sight and sound of military music raised entirely new perceptions of nation and of the state as a benign power.
Two important and related themes emerge here. The first is the historical process that led, almost accidentally, to a realization that music as part of military display had potential to influence populations across the country and in the colonies. The second, more challenging, theme concerns the nature of the evidence for this idea and how it is to be treated. It is an idea that is totally convincing if the experience of hearing and seeing military spectacle by the mass of the people can be shown to have had impact. What is the evidence of listening to music by those people at whom it was targeted, how robust is it and what can be made of it
Arts engagement supports social connectedness in adulthood: findings from the HEartS survey
Get PDFBackground: Loneliness is a public health challenge, associated with premature mortality and poorer health outcomes. Social connections can mitigate against loneliness, and there is evidence that the arts can support social connectedness. However, existing research on the arts and social connectedness is limited by focus on particular age groups and arts activities, as well as a reliance on typically small-scale studies.
Methods: This study reports survey data from 5892 adults in the United Kingdom, closely matched to the national profile in terms of sociodemographic and economic characteristics. It investigates the extent to which arts engagement is perceived to be linked with feelings of social connectedness, which forms of arts engagement are reported as most connecting, and how. Data were collected via the HEartS Survey, a newly designed tool to capture arts engagement in the United Kingdom and its associations with social and mental health outcomes. Demographic and quantitative data, pertaining to the extent to which arts engagement is perceived to be linked with social connectedness, were analysed descriptively. Qualitative data pertaining to respondents’ perceptions of how arts engagement is linked with feelings of social connectedness were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results: Results demonstrated that the majority of respondents (82%) perceive their arts engagement to be linked with feelings of social connectedness at least some of the time. The forms of arts engagement most linked with feelings of social connectedness were attending a live music performance, watching a live theatre performance, and watching a film or drama at the cinema or other venue. Four overarching themes characterise how arts engagement is perceived to facilitate feelings of social connectedness: social opportunities, sharing, commonality and belonging, and collective understanding.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that arts engagement can support social connectedness among adults in the UK through multiple pathways, providing large-scale evidence of the important role that the arts can play in supporting social public health
What do we do with the musical theater canon?
No full textIn this multi-voiced essay, eight authors answer, “What do we do with the musical theatre canon?” Each assesses the traditional canon and suggests ways to diversify it. From their positions as educators and artists across gender, race, and class, they offer ways to navigate the challenge of this theatrical genre
An investigation of musicians' goals as motivators and regulators
Get PDFResearch into self-regulated learning has demonstrated that goal directed practice is more effective in producing improvement than non-goal directed practice; however, the substance of the goals is rarely examined in detail. When categorised, generally the dichotomous view of intrinsic or extrinsic goals is used. To elaborate on this research and examine how the content of goals may affect their achievement, this thesis uses the theory that goals can be used as a motivational technique to inform self-regulated learning research into the practice of musicians. The goal theory examines the specificity, measurability, deadline, hierarchy, difficulty, and importance of goals. Research has demonstrated that challenging, achievable goals produce a better improvement than “do your best” goals, and participation in goal setting leads to higher increases in productivity. This provides a detailed understanding of the goals being set by musicians, and whether they are likely to be effective within self-regulated learning.
The final theory examined in this thesis links to the motivation for completing actions: self-determination theory. This was chosen as it provides a more detailed insight into the internalisation of motivation for certain behaviours, beyond that outlined in self- regulated learning and goal setting theory. Examining the quality of a goal, the motivation to achieve it, and the approach to doing so will provide information about self-regulatory processes in musicians’ practice that have not been considered in this way previously. A model of predicted relationships between the three theories is tendered based on findings of previous literature, and this is then examined for its suitability in the studies conducted for this thesis.
Three research questions are examined: 1. What goals and self-regulation strategies do musicians use during their practice? 2. How effective are the goals and self-regulation strategies used by musicians during their practice for improving performance skills? 3. Do goals and self-regulation strategies change at different times during individual practice sessions and over the course of the learning process required to take on a new piece of music? And if so how? To address these questions, an online survey was distributed to performance students at UK conservatoires and two micro-analytic studies focusing on the practice sessions of violinists were conducted. The questionnaire contained questions relating to the self- regulation, self-determination, and goals of musicians to develop greater understanding of the connections between these components. The micro-analytic studies involved completion of a self-regulation practice diary, observation of practice sessions, a video recall procedure, and interviews with the participants, providing an in-depth view of their practice and ambitions.
Results of the studies showed that a variety of practice strategies were adopted by participants, but that these tended to be habitual and based on individual preference. Goals were not specific and rarely used effectively, often changing during practice sessions in favour of reactive aims and behaviours. Longer-term goals tended to be intrinsic in nature, and more intrinsic goals were associated with higher perceived likelihood of their attainment. Self-regulation strategies were exhibited by all participants whose practice was observed, but the act of goal setting and attainment was limited in quality, indicating that this is an area that could be improved to benefit the effective practice of the conservatoire students. Overall, results indicate many positive self-regulatory traits are evident in the practice of the violinists examined, but greater improvement could be made by using goals in a more effectual way and planning their practice in advance
A day in the life of a classical record producer
No full textOnline discussion given as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival on 21 June 2021.
Grammy winning producer Stephen Johns discusses a career recording the world’s great musicians and orchestras.
From EMI’s Abbey Road to recording studios and concert halls around the world, the Royal College of Music’s Artistic Director, Stephen Johns’ work as a producer have seen recordings that he has made win four Grammy Awards, four Gramophone Awards, four Classical Brits, and awards around the world. For this Great Exhibition Road Festival Explore at Home event Stephen sits down with the Royal College of Music’s Director, Professor Colin Lawson, for a lunchtime exploration of the art of recording classical music.
During a wide-ranging chat Stephen and Colin discuss the challenge of capturing a performance that ‘bears repeat listening’, how classical musical production differs technically and philosophically from what goes on inside a contemporary pop, rock or hip hop studio, and how advances in technology fundamentally change how classical records are made. A video of this discussion is available on YouTube at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw-FR582Pmo
Specialist support for performers: physiotherapist
No full textLearn how a physiotherapist can help performers make sure their musculoskeletal system is prepared for the rigours of performance
Hearing conservation guidance for the performing arts
No full textSix guidelines to help organisations protect performers’ hearing, developed as a collaboration of the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine and Healthy Conservatoires
The legacy of Peter Gellhorn
No full textIn 2014, Geraldine Auerbach, founder of the Jewish Music Institute in London, presented the RCM Collections with a number of video tapes. Among them were two interviews with the émigré musician Peter Gellhorn in which he spoke about his life and, surprising to many who knew him, about his compositions, which had by then been deposited in the collection of music manuscripts at the British Library.
By then we had undertaken a great deal of research into the lives and contribution to British culture of émigré musicians like Gellhorn, and this unknown body of works written before and after Gellhorn’s emigration to Britain offered a great opportunity to engage RCM students, colleagues and audiences in a journey of discovery. The purpose of this research project was not to find extraordinary undiscovered masterpieces, but to engage with Gellhorn’s experience as a migrant musician through his music.
A short version of Gellhorn’s biography by Terence Curran is available in this article, together with a text about his compositions by Eric Levi, who was a partner in this project as a member of the International Centre for Suppressed Music, which was then associated with Royal Holloway, University of London. **** This article is available as part of the Music, Migration and Mobility online resource at the Official URL given below. ***
Music teachers’ perspectives and experiences of ensemble and learning skills
Get PDFIn this article, we report data from two survey studies administered to expert music teachers. Both questionnaires aimed to explore teachers’ pedagogical and performative practice and included open questions elucidating musical skills emerging in groups. The first study focuses on collective teaching settings offered to amateurs, jazz musicians, and university students with various levels of musical expertise. The second reports data from teachers based at the Royal College of Music, London, where the main emphasis is on Western classical repertoire. We integrate both studies and discuss overlapping findings. Despite intrinsic differences concerning the general goals of their teaching and the educational systems in which they operate, our data indicate the ability to “listen and respond to others” as the most important ensemble skill, whereas “time management,” “comparing yourself to the class,” and the “development of responsible ways of learning” emerged as main learning skills. We discuss results and suggestions for future research in teaching and learning music in different contexts in the light of recent theoretical research in the cognitive sciences, considering implications for educators interested in diverse skill levels