Practice is performance: a study of the musical development of popular music undergraduates

Much has been written in the last 30 years about musical practice and performance, but there is little consensus over what practice really means, or how musicians progress by practising. Whilst academics historically focused primarily on the experiences of Western classical musicians and on individual learning in the conservatoire, more recent research has been devoted to popular, jazz and folk musicians. Informal behaviours, such as aural learning, self-teaching and jamming out in the band are central to the way in which popular musicians learn. The current research project has a major focus on the practice and performance of classical and popular musicians as described in university undergraduate students’ reflective essays. This paper offers insights into the musical development of one cohort of popular musicians over the three years of their study, including examples of their practice behaviours, the development of technique, collaboration with band members and gigging off the university campus, as drawn from their reflective essays and semi-structured interviews. (DIPF/Orig.