Teaching strategies and gender in higher education instrumental studios

This study investigates instrumental music teaching strategies in higher education settings, in order to identify those employed and their frequency and context of use. An instrument- and gender-balanced sample of 24 lessons from five institutions was analysed using a researcher-designed observational instrument. The results reveal the predominance of teacher demonstration, general directives and praise as most frequent teaching strategies employed in lessons. Gender differences emerged in the teaching approaches: the male teachers gave more general directives and explanations and the female teachers offered more answers and practice discussions; the male students received the most specific teacher criticism despite uniform use of praise. The findings provide new evidence of teaching practices in advanced instrumental studios and raise questions regarding gender issues in music teaching

Isolation in studio music teaching: The secret garden

In comparison with classroom settings that are more accessible to the scrutiny of researchers and institutional monitoring, the one-to-one setting of instrumental and vocal studio teaching has been described as a ‘secret garden’. The physical isolation of the music studio has deep roots within the traditions of apprenticeship and embodies aspects of conservatoire culture that are sometimes carried over into other musical styles. With a focus on higher education, this paper explores the nature and significance of isolation for the studio, alongside some of the benefits, limitations, and challenges that it offers. The authors contend that the physical disposition of the studio within the institution gives implicit support to the attitudes and assumptions that sustain traditional approaches to music performance teaching, and that making them explicit can help to open those approaches to further challenge, review and development