Contemporary Music Students' Experience of Improvisation in the Classroom
Presentation
Paper/Presentation Title | Contemporary Music Students' Experience of Improvisation in the Classroom |
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Presentation Type | Presentation |
Authors | Russell, Helen (Author) and Woodward, Bruce (Author) |
Journal or Proceedings Title | Accessing Jazz and Improvised Music: Conference Program and Abstracts (AJIRN 4) |
Year | 2021 |
Place of Publication | Sydney, Australia |
Web Address (URL) of Paper | https://www.ajirn.com/past-events |
Conference/Event | 4th Australasian Jazz and Improvisation Research Network 2021 Conference: Accessing Jazz and Improvised Music (AJIRN 4) |
Event Details | 4th Australasian Jazz and Improvisation Research Network 2021 Conference: Accessing Jazz and Improvised Music (AJIRN 4) Event Date 05 to end of 06 Jun 2021 Event Location Sydney, Australia |
Abstract | Improvisation is a central part of many contemporary musicians’ practices – from developing an accompaniment from chord symbols to ‘playing a solo’ in an ensemble. Despite the ubiquity of the practice, improvisation - outside of jazz programs - is rarely addressed in contemporary music curricula. This study took place over three years in a small music department in regional Queensland, Australia, where the researchers interviewed student musicians in an undergraduate contemporary music program. The purpose of this study was to collect participants’ ideas about how a study of improvisation influenced their ideas about musicianship. Data was collected in semi-structured interviews with participants during a semester’s improvisation course, where many were encountering the structured practice of improvisation for the first time. The results capture a wide range of participants’ ideas about the impacts of a study of improvisation – their fears and the challenges to their musicianship, describing changes in listening to and hearing music and how the study changed their understanding of ‘music theory’. For the purposes of the AJIRN conference, I wish to consider this data in the light of the opportunity that this ‘non-jazz’ improvisation study presents to jazz educators in the wider education sphere. |
Keywords | improvisation, music education |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 360303. Music education |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Byline Affiliations | University of Southern Queensland |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q747w/contemporary-music-students-experience-of-improvisation-in-the-classroom
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