Contemporary Music Students' Experience of Improvisation in the Classroom

Presentation


Russell, Helen and Woodward, Bruce. 2021. "Contemporary Music Students' Experience of Improvisation in the Classroom." 4th Australasian Jazz and Improvisation Research Network 2021 Conference: Accessing Jazz and Improvised Music (AJIRN 4). Sydney, Australia 05 - 06 Jun 2021 Sydney, Australia.
Paper/Presentation Title

Contemporary Music Students' Experience of Improvisation in the Classroom

Presentation TypePresentation
AuthorsRussell, Helen (Author) and Woodward, Bruce (Author)
Journal or Proceedings TitleAccessing Jazz and Improvised Music: Conference Program and Abstracts (AJIRN 4)
Year2021
Place of PublicationSydney, Australia
Web Address (URL) of Paperhttps://www.ajirn.com/past-events
Conference/Event4th 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.

Keywordsimprovisation, music education
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020360303. Music education
Public Notes

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Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Southern Queensland
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q747w/contemporary-music-students-experience-of-improvisation-in-the-classroom

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