Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T00:56:28.648Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘Leaders,’ ‘followers’ and collective group support in learning ‘art music’ in an amateur composer-oriented Bach Choir

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2014

Sigrun Lilja Einarsdottir
Sigrun Lilja Einarsdottir*
Affiliation:
Bifröst University, Icelandsigrunlilja@bifrost.is
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how amateur choral singers experience collective group support as a method of learning ‘art music’ choral work. Findings are derived from a grounded-theory based, socio-musical case study of an amateur ‘art music’ Bach Choir, in the process of rehearsing and performing the Mass in B Minor by J.S. Bach. Data collection consisted of participant observation, qualitative interviews and a paper-based survey. Findings indicate that in the process of learning a challenging choral work, participants use peer-learning as support and form supportive groups within each voice part, with ‘informal leaders’ supporting others (‘followers’) who are performing the work for the first time. On the other hand, performing a challenging work can also seem ‘intimidating’ for those less experienced singers. Findings also indicate that whereas followers (and the conductor) benefit from this group support, ‘leaders’ may experience a certain lack of musical challenge.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , November 2014 , pp. 281 - 296
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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

ANSHEL, A. & KIPPER, D. A. (1988) The influence of group singing on trust and cooperation. Journal of Music Therapy, 25, 145–155.Google Scholar
APFELSTADT, H. (1997) Applying leadership models in teaching choral conductors. Choral Journal, 37 (8), 23–30.Google Scholar
ARASI, M. (2006) Adult reflections on a high school choral music program: perceptions of meaning and lifelong influence. Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations, 8. Retrieved from http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/msit_diss/8.Google Scholar
BAILEY, B. A. & DAVIDSON, J. W. (2005). Effects of group singing and performance for marginalized and middle-class singers. Psychology of Music, 33, 269–303. doi: 10.1177/0305735605053734.Google Scholar
BALSNES, A. H. (2011) Songs of Sogne – Aspects of Place, Identity and Belonging. In Geisler, U. & Johansson, K. (Eds.), Choir in Focus 2011 (pp. 33–47). Lund: Choir in Focus.Google Scholar
BATT-RAWDEN, K. & DENORA, T. (2005) Music and informal learning in everyday life. Music Education Research, 7, 289–304.Google Scholar
BELBIN, R. M. (2010) Team Roles at Work. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
BELL, C. L. (2008) Toward a definition of a community choir. International Journal of Community Music, 1, 229–241.Google Scholar
BJORNAVOLD, J. (2002) Assessment of non-formal learning: a link to strategies of lifelong music. In Colardyn, D. (Ed.), Lifelong Learning: which ways Forward? (pp. 1–15) Utrecht: Lemma.Google Scholar
BOEKAERTS, M. & MINNAERT, A. (1999) Self-regulation with respect to informal learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 31, 533–544. doi: 10.1016/S0883–0355(99)00020–8.Google Scholar
BRUHN, H. (2002) Musical development of elderly people. Psychomusicology: Music, Mind and Brain, 18 (1–2), 59–75. doi: 10.5084/pmmb.v18i1–2.391.Google Scholar
BUTT, J. (Ed.). (1997) The Cambridge Companion to Bach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CHARMAZ, K. (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage.Google Scholar
CHORUS AMERICA (2003) America's Performing Art: A Study of Choruses, Choral Singers, and Their Impact: Chorus Impact Study Report on Findings. Chorus America.Google Scholar
CLIFT, S., HANCOX, G., MORRISSON, I., HESS, B., KREUTZ, G. & STEWART, D. (2010) Choral singing and psychological wellbeing: quantitative and qualitative findings from English choirs in a cross-national survey. Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 1 (1), 19–34.Google Scholar
COLLEY, H., HODKINSON, P. & MALCOLM, J. (2002) Non-formal learning: mapping the conceptual terrain. Consultation report. Leeds: University of Leeds Lifelong Learning Institute. Also available in the informal education archives: http://www.infed.org/archives/etexts/colley_informal_learning.htm. Retrieved from http://youth-partnership-eu.coe.int/export/sites/default/youth-partnership/TALE-Documentation/Documents/Phase_3/ELU_5/Tale_ELU5_NFL_Mapping_the_conceptual_terrain.pdf Google Scholar
DAVIDSON, J. W., HOWE, M. J. A. & SLOBODA, J. A. (1997) Environmental factors in the development of musical performance skill over the life span. In Hargreaves, D. J. & North, A. C. (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Music (pp. 188–206). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
DURRANT, C. (2005) Shaping identity through choral activity: singers’ and conductors’ perceptions. Research Studies in Music Education, 24, 88–98.Google Scholar
DURRANT, C. (2009) Communicating and accentuating the aesthetic and expressive dimension in choral conducting. International Journal of Music Education, 27, 326–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EINARSDOTTIR, S. L. (2012) J.S. Bach in everyday life: the choral identity of an amateur ‘art music’ Bach Choir and the concept of ‘choral capital. PhD thesis, University of Exeter.Google Scholar
FOLKESTAD, G. (2006) Formal and informal learning situations or practices vs formal and informal ways of learning. British Journal of Music Education, 23, 135–145.Google Scholar
FRENCH, T. & MACDONALD, R. A. R. (2011) ‘Sing for life’: an investigation of the effects of choir participation on health and wellbeing. In Shipton, M. & Himonides, E. (Eds.), Proceedings SEMPRE Conference (pp. 52–53). Presented at ‘Striking a Chord’: Music, Health and Wellbeing: a conference exploring current developments in research and practice, University Centre Folkestone: Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health.Google Scholar
GLASER, B. G. & STRAUSS, A. L. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
GREEN, L. (2002) How Popular Musicians Learn: A Way Ahead for Music Education. Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
GREEN, L. (2005) Meaning, Autonomy and Authenticity in the Music Classroom. London: Institute of Education.Google Scholar
HARGREAVES, D. J., MIELL, D. & MACDONALD, R. A. R. (2002) What are musical identities and why are they important? In MacDonald, R. A. R., Hargreaves, D. J. & Miell, D. (Eds.), Musical Identities (pp. 1–20). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
HARGREAVES, D. J., WELCH, G., PURVES, R. & MARSHALL, N. (2003 a) The identities of music teachers. In 5th International ESCOM Conference. Hanover: Hanover University of Music and Drama.Google Scholar
HARGREAVES, D. J., MARSHALL, N. A. & NORTH, A. C. (2003 b) Music education in the twenty-first century: a psychological perspective. British Journal of Music Education, 20, 147–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HENLEY, J. (2010) The Learning Ensemble: Musical Learning through Participation. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Birmingham City University.Google Scholar
LONSDALE, A. J. & NORTH, A. C. (2009) Musical taste and ingroup favouritism. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 12, 319–327.Google Scholar
MAK, P. H. M., KORS, N., RENSHAW, P. & SMIDS, A. (2007) Formal, Non-formal and Informal Learning in Music. Lectorate Lifelong Learning in Music, Prince Claus Conservatoire & Royal Conservatoire. Retrieved from www.jointmusicmasters.org/uploadmedia/files/Book%20Case%20Studies%20of%20Informal%20Learning.pdf.Google Scholar
MOORE, D. G., BURLAND, K. & DAVIDSON, J. W. (2003) The social context of musical success: a developmental account. British Journal of Psychology, 94, 529–549.Google Scholar
NORTH, A. C. & HARGREAVES, D. J. (2008) The Social and Applied Psychology of Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
PARROTT, A. (2000) The Essential Bach Choir. Woodbridge: Boydell Press.Google Scholar
PARRY, C. H. H. (1909) Johann Sebastian Bach: The Story of the Development of a Great Personality. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons.Google Scholar
PITTS, S. (2005) Valuing Musical Participation. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.Google Scholar
PUTNAM, R., FELDSTEIN, L. & COHEN, D. (2009) Better Together: Restoring the American Community. New York, NY: Simon & Shuster.Google Scholar
RESNICK, L. B. (1987) The 1987 Presidential Address: learning in school and out. Educational Researcher, 16, 13.Google Scholar
RICHARDS, H. & DURRANT, C. (2003) To sing or not to sing: a study on the development of ‘non-singers’ in choral activity. Research Studies in Music Education, 20, 78–89.Google Scholar
RUSSELL, D. (1997) Popular Music in England, 1840–1914: A Social History. Manchester: Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
SMITH, B. & SALATOFF, R. T. (2005) Choral Pedagogy (2nd edition). San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing.Google Scholar
STAUFFER, G. B. (1997) Changing issues of performance practice. In Butt, J. (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Bach (pp. 203–217). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
WILTERMUTH, S. S. & HEATH, C. (2009) Synchrony and cooperation. Psychological Science, 20 (1), 1–5.Google Scholar
WISE, G. W., HARTMANN, D. J. & FISHER, B. J. (1992) Exploration of the relationship between choral singing and successful aging. Psychological Reports, 70 (3c), 1175–1183.Google Scholar
WOLFF, C. (2002) Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
YORK, N. (2001) Valuing School Music: A Report on School Music, Vol. 680. London: University of Westminster and Rockschool Ltd.Google Scholar
ZADIG, S. (2011) The single voice in the choral voice. how does the role of informal leaders in the choral vocies affect the other singers? In Geisler, U. & Johansson, K. (Eds.), Choir in Focus 2011 (pp. 64–74). Lund: Choir in Focus.Google Scholar