Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T04:54:53.105Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Integrating theory and practice in conservatoires: formulating holistic models for teaching and learning improvisation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2007

Catherine Parsonage ,
Petter Frost Fadnes  and
James Taylor
Catherine Parsonage
Affiliation:
Leeds College of Music, 3 Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7PD, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Petter Frost Fadnes
Affiliation:
Leeds College of Music, 3 Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7PD, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
James Taylor
Affiliation:
Leeds College of Music, 3 Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7PD, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Academic study has become a more significant part of a conservatoire education in recent times, but it has not always informed performance as effectively as it might. There is a need for further development of an academic curriculum that is specifically relevant to performers, in which the links between theory and practice are made explicit rather than expecting students to construct these for themselves. This article reports on research into the integration of theory and practice at Leeds College of Music, UK, using jazz improvisation as a case study. Pilot teaching sessions within two modules explored ways in which students can be encouraged to engage actively with an appropriate academic curriculum that is embedded within a holistic learning experience.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , November 2007 , pp. 295 - 312
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bailey, D. (1993) Improvisation: Its Nature and Practice in Music. New York: Da Capo.Google Scholar
Barratt, E. (2005) ‘The research and implementation of group assessment, within a Conservatoire's programmes of study’. [www.musiceducation.rcm.ac.uk/gmp.htm]Google Scholar
Barratt, E. & Moore, H. (2005) ‘Researching group assessment: jazz in the conservatoire’, British Journal of Music Education, 22, 3, 299–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barthes, R. (1989) ‘To the Seminar’, in Howard, R. (trans.), The Rustle of Language (pp. 332–42). Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Berliner, P. (1994) Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Griffith, F. (2003) Teaching Improvisation in UK Music Higher Education. [http://www.palatine.ac.uk/sitefiles/griffith-report.pdf].Google Scholar
Jackson, P. (1999) Teaching Tomorrow's Teachers: Preparing Music Undergraduates for Employment in Education. (Professional Integration Project Strategy Study) [http://pipdbs.rcm.ac.uk/].Google Scholar
Lewis, G. E. (2000) ‘Teaching improvised music’ in Zorn, J. (Ed.), Arcana – Musicians on Music. New York: Granary Books/Hips Road.Google Scholar
Mills, J. (2003) Researching Teaching and Learning at the Royal College of Music. [http://www.musiceducation.rcm.ac.uk/NAME.doc].Google Scholar
Mills, J. (2004) ‘Working in Music: becoming a performer-teacher’, Music Education Research, 6, 3, 245–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monson, I. (1996) Saying Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Odam, G. & Bannan, N. (2005) The Reflective Conservatoire: Studies in Music Education (Research Studies 4). Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Paynter, J. & Aston, P. (1970) Sound and and Silence: Classroom Projects in Creative Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Prouty, K. (2004) ‘Canons in harmony, or canons in conflict: a cultural perspective on the curriculum and pedagogy of jazz improvization’, Research and Issues in Music Education, 2, 1. [http://www.stthomas.edu/rimeonline/vol2/prouty1.htm]Google Scholar
Purcell, S. (2002) Musical Patchwork: The Threads of Teaching and Learning in the Conservatoire. Unpublished.Google Scholar
Rogers, R. (2002) Creating a land with music: the work, education and training of professional musicians. London: HEFCE.Google Scholar
Tooley, Sir J./HEFCE Conservatoires Advisory Group (1998) Review of Music Conservatoires. Higher Education Funding Council for England.Google Scholar
Weber, W. et al. (n.d.) ‘Conservatories’, in Macy, L. (Ed.), Grove Music Online. [www.grovemusic.com]Google Scholar
Whyton, T. (2006) ‘Birth of the school: discursive methodologies in jazz education’, Music Education Research, 8, 1, 65–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armstrong, Louis, The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings. Sony, 2000, 82876828502.Google Scholar
Brecker, Michael (et al.), Directions in Music: live at Massey Hall: Celebrating Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Verve, 2002, 589 654–2.Google Scholar
Coltrane, John, Giant Steps. Atlantic, 1975, R2 75203.Google Scholar
Coltrane, John, Portrait (10 CD Set, Vol. 3 ‘Spiral’). Nota Blu Musica, 1994, 8014264942176.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, John, After the Rain. Verve, 1995, X4672.Google Scholar
O'Higgins, Dave, The Secret Ingredient. EFZ Records, 1996, X1020.Google Scholar
Smith, Tommy, Into Silence. Lanark, Spartacus Records, 2001, STS003.Google Scholar
Tyner, McCoy, McCoy Tyner Plays John Coltrane. Verve, 2001, 589 183–2.Google Scholar