Music & Ideas:
Practice as Research: case study
Practice-based
research
Incorporating
research
into postCentre for the Study of
Composition for Screen
secondary performance teaching
Richard Parncutt
University of Graz, Austria
Video conference from Graz to Royal College of Music, London on 24 October 2007
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Possible academic
units at music
academies
(post-secondary music institutions)
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Music history, music theory/analysis
Introduction to music psychology and performance research
Physics, physiology, psychology of own instrument
Efficient practice
Expression: Structural and emotional communication
Sight reading and improvisation
Performance anxiety and music medicine
Educational and developmental psychology
Psychology of theory/analysis/composition
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Why?
• Who benefits?
• What do they get?
• What do they want?
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
What performance
students want
• Interesting, useful information
– enjoyable, meaningful participation
• Plausible, authoritative presentation
– teachers who also perform
• Employment prospects
– transferable skills
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
What
administrators
want
Success indicators
 reputation of academy
 future funding
• good entry students
– based on academy’s reputation
• successful graduates
 (inter-) national performers
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
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
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Success indicators
of music academies
visible:
• (inter-) nationally known performers
concealed:
• indirect contributions to cultural life
 aims of academy
 aims of artistic and academic teaching
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Changing contexts
of music academies
Academic context
• pressure to give degrees and do research
• explosion of performance research
Political & economic context
• transparent „mission“
• cost efficiency
Social & market context
• changing musical technologies and functions
• flexibility of musicians/educators
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Improving
educational
„efficiency“
efficiency = output / input
• input = time, effort, cost
– invested by teachers, students, state
• output = graduate achievement
– graduates (career, personal development)
– society (cultural activities)
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Planning
students‘ time
Performance skill depends primarily
on practice time
• common knowledge
• expertise research
 Little time left for academic work
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Curricular
balance
The optimal ratio of performance
to academic work depends on…
• the institution
– history, orientation, culture
• the individual student
– career aims, personality, learning style
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
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
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Voice:
physics, physiology,
psychology
www.vocevista.com
VoceVista: Visual feedback for instruction in singing
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Efficient practice
Diversity of approaches
• analysis of scores, recordings, concerts
• mental versus physical practice
Metacognition
• organization, goal orientation
• intrinsic motivation
Timing and concentration
• short morning sessions with breaks
• duration depends on task, alertness
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Expression:
structural
communication
Structural analysis
• phrasing, meter, melody, harmony
Accentuation in performance
• performed accents reinforce immanent accents
Analysis for performance
• direct link between the two
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Expression:
emotional
communication
Emotional cues: 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)
Music & Ideas:
Performance anxiety
Practice-based
research
High incidence, low awareness,
little treatment
Causes
• personality, mastery, situation
• perfectionism and control
• optimal arousal versus panic
Prevention and cure
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physical relaxation
cognition (realism, desensitization, restructuring)
combinations (Yoga, hypnotherapy, Alexander)
self-efficacy
Music medicine
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
High incidence, low awareness,
little treatment
Common problems
– chronic tension, reduced elasticity
– pelvis, lower spine, back of neck
Student musicians need
– knowledge
– strategies
– treatments
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Improvisation
Psychological theory of creativity
• roles of knowledge, risk, evaluation, motivation, flow
• group versus individual creativity
Stepwise approach to skill acquisition
• set limits: dynamics, articulations, pitches, durations
• expression first: syntax through semantics
(Johann Lassnig-Walder)
Music & Ideas:
Practice-based
research
Strategies
to promote teaching of
performance research
Administration
– interact to build support
– maintain excellence by innovation, interdisciplinarity
Students
– involve in research, empower
– incorporate repertoire, issues
Staff
– inform, involve in research
– expand, diversify