Instrumental pedagogyMetropolia, Ruoholahti, Helsinki

19.01.15

Guro Gravem JohansenAssociate Professor

Norwegian Academy of Music

Gehör (”inner ear”): at the centre of music making

A (auditive)

M (motoric)V (visual)

A (is overrun by V)

MV

A

MV

12

3

Three modes of inner hearing (or three gehör-former)

Intellectual /analytic gehör Analytic understanding Music theory Verbal concepts Detail oriented Right/wrong Ways of expressing IG: name/analyse musical

phenomenon, transcribe, read music

Oral gehör Gained through imitationCommon in oral traditionsIntuitiveNon-verbal transition/learningDependant on the musical whole, musical context, larger entities, flow in the situation

Ways of expressing OG: singing/playing the learned material (NOT depentant on ability to name/understand theoretically)

Ways of

transmission

Created, transmitted and learned by earNo copyright,The music changes over time

Characteristic

skills

Ability to learn by ear

Properties

of the

music

Formular based(more or less) fixed, clear frames:Symmetrical rhythmic periods, typical chord progressionsgrooves

”The oral language

”

Stylistic nuances, (intonation, swing feel)Non-verbal, implicit ”codes”Periodic time feel, II-V-I, blues tonalityetc

Oral music traditions are characterized by…

Oral gehör is characterized by…

”Productive gehör” – or creative inner hearing• Internal musical ideas, emerge spontaneously• from

• Already internalized music (auditive representations)

• Inspired by the music heard in the situation (the others)

• Closely connected to the specific instrument• A+M

• ”Battle”:• Listen ”inwards” and ”outwards” – simultaneously

• Ways of expressing PG: improvise

PG (improvisation)

OG (imitation)IG(analysis)

Why teach improvisation?

• It challenges and develops the inner ear

• It builds an auditive connection to the instrument

• It bulilds aural confidence: trust your ears

• It creates a sense of ownership: my expression is my own

• It´s fun to create music

What is the content in improvisation teaching?

Personal expressi

on

Craft Process/action

•Musical structures•Musical material•Genre-/stylerelatedformulars•Technique

•Creative flow of ideas•Communication•Listening•Responsivity•Spontaneity•Mental flow

How do we teach improvisation? Method• No recipe-book!• General principles:

• Too much freedom can hamper creativity• Frames and rules can release creativity

• But no rule for it´s own sake• Isolated focuses: one parameter at a time• Maintain both ”craft” and ”process/action” continuously• Gain control release control (letting go)• Constantly applying the material in different ways

Practising – various perspectivesDeliberate practice: ”Time spent on structured activities with the purpose to improve performance”

(Harald Jørgensen og Andreas Lehmann 1997:1)- Structured and goal-directed- Not too difficult, not too easy- Demands effort and concentration- Not inherently enjoyable- Motivation: to improve performance- Awareness of learning strategies: the right one for the right problem

- Avoid mistakes, constant evaluation

-”Formal” vs. ”informal” practising:- Formal => deliberate, goal-directed, efficient

- Informal => playful, improvisational- (Sloboda et.al 1996)

Doctoral thesis: To practice improvisation – interviews with jazz students (Johansen 2013)

Deliberate practice: •Technicalities (chords, scales, rhythmic time feel, motor technique, etc)

•Gain control over material•Expand improvisatory repertoir•Planned, limited, clear goals, structured, efficient, controlled

•Does not have to be fun: ”going to the office”

• However - contradiction: technical controll vs improvisatory liberation

Explorational practiceOpen-ended, improvisation without specified goals

• Important not to plan• Important not to control or evaluate: accept mistakes• Important to be open, listen, associate, practice flow and stream of ideas

• To break up something rehearsed• To identify problems• To put the structured practising into ”real” use • Both individually and collectively• Because it´s fun

•However – explorational practice is depentant on structured practising routines and experience to lean on