Tag: research-design

Music Improvisation in UK Secondary Schools: Part 8

by mwrightmusic

In this series, I will present parts of my dissertation, ‘What strategies, activities and methods would help develop the teaching of music improvisation in UK secondary school education?’. I aim to give you insight into my improvisation research by informally presenting my findings, opinions and thoughts. It may start a discussion of the justifications, merits, and advocations for music improvisation or completely put you off and double down on why improvisation should be left out of music education. Either way, I believe it’s a meaningful conversation.

Results from Interviews & Conclusion

Background

The interviews highlighted the individual pursuit of learning improvisation and an inquisitive mind to find answers to questions their secondary education did not ask. Their experiences highlighted a divide in music education, whereby improvisation did not feature in their school education, or worse, was treated with a callous dismissal in ID B’s discovery of improvisation. For other examples, teachers were well-meaning but ill-informed to give proper assistance in developing improvisation skills. For ID C, improvisation was barely featured in his secondary education due to the pre-eminence of Western classical learning. The survey showed that only a few teachers come from an improvisational background in training as musicians and teachers. However, most teachers use improvisation in their curriculum (just under half for co/extracurricular). By anonymising the identities and backgrounds, the data did not represent a true reflection of their experiences. In hindsight, it should have been captured as an open-ended question like the one asked of the interviewees. This was a missed opportunity to look at the phenomenology between the survey and interviews to see how the experiences compare, such as the divide between secondary education’s relationship with improvising. Where is the duality between curricula and self-learning improvisation? And what is the role of an explorative mindset in learning improvisation?   

Definition 

Regardless of improvisational background, references to spontaneity and expressive and momentary music making were identified as characteristics of improvisation. These characteristics will be essential to secondary teachers in creating rationales for strategies, activities, and methods and advocating improvisation in one’s practice. Improvisation as a musical language (musicianship, notation and music theory) could eliminate barriers to demystifying improvisation by describing it as a language linked with human experience. Mentioning composition was an interesting definition that can also help bridge a better understanding of improvisation in secondary. Teachers have a better chance of promoting strategies, activities, and methods for devising, embellishing, and experimenting with musical ideas while not taking students out of their comfort zones to create improvisation (ID D).

Genre 

Genre-led teaching of improvisation featured heavily in the interviews and survey questionnaire. This may have been due to an association that genres such as jazz strongly linked to improvisation (Larsson & Georgii-Hemming 2018). A potential issue with this association is secondary teachers presuming that to teach improvisation, one must know jazz music. When designing the project, there was no emphasis placed on genre, as the intention was for participants to reveal their opinions on genre’s role when teaching improvisation. Not mentioning genre in the survey questionnaire and interview invitations should have clarified any ‘assumptions, world view and theoretical orientation at the outset of the study’ (Merriam 1988, 169). As a result, jazz and blues emerged as preferred genres, which could cause issues for teachers unfamiliar with the genres wishing to teach improvisation. Further studies on other genres, such as Early music and Indian classical, will be beneficial in ascertaining if these genres would be suitable for improvisation in secondary school. 

Strategies, Activities and Methods

The interviews shared different perspectives on what would be effective when teaching secondary improvisation. ID A’s emphasis on the neurological approach, ‘right brain’ activities and methods based on rhythm, pulse, groove and repetition is reminiscent of Sarath’s advocation for his Transstylistic method, as both mentioned repetitive framework for rhythm underpinned by a melodic and harmonic pitch framework (Sarath 2009), backed up the survey. ID B’s focused on the ‘pitch framework’ too, with the use of rhythm implied in his examples but not the main focus. ID C’s concentrated on learning by listening, genre attributes and composition by devising tied in with musical elements based on strategy and method. They also offered good exemplars for secondary teachers to use, playing the first chorus of a solo only. This advice is useful, teachers will need to take care in the exemplars they select to not put off students by making them feel improvisaiton is unobtainable.

All four represent strata for improvisation pedagogy, with the survey questionnaire sampling strategies, activities and methods mainly in line with Simon’s approach to curricular teaching. Cocurricular’s data was surprising in that it offered fewer suggestions. The presumption was that teachers would use strategies, activities, and methods in cocurricular activities because there would be more opportunities for improvisation and fewer limitations to contend with in curriculum teaching.  

Away from a more prescribed approach, the survey’s sugestion of improvisation for special needs schools deserves some consideration. Using sounding boards and allowing their students to improvise with an open scaffolding could be a great way to introduce improvisation to a group already confident with instrumental skills and have the freedom to play without restrictions. The concern is that it takes secondary improvisation back to the original issue of lacking formal strategies, activities, and methods. However, special needs and music therapists’ teachings could provide ‘a psychological template.’ (ID A) for teachers to use.

The use of improvisation at SEN schools is also worth noting due to its flexibility and explorative nature. Using assessable musical instruments for students to improvise with an open scaffolded approach could be a great way to introduce improvisation to a group already content with instrumental playing and freedom to play without restrictions. There is potential to expand improvisation pedagogy and research in the SEN area (SEN and music therapists’ teachings could provide a psychological template for teachers to use) and, most certainly, at the primary education level.

A Model for Secondary School Music Improvisation (Conclusion)

Define what improvisation Means to You  

Most people may think of improvisation as an ‘on the spot’ act, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Good improvisers plan and practice enough ‘musical vocabulary’ to perform from memory, in the moment, in any context and many ways. Improvisation takes on different forms, whether a solo within an ensemble performance, generating ideas for a composition or embellishing a song structure or chord progression. However you define improvisation, this is what it will mean to your students. 

Genre/Topic     

Genre is essential to learning improvisation as it contextualises the learning and provides students with a framework for the vocabulary they will develop. The first thing to consider is what genres/topics you are comfortable modelling and teaching. There is no point teaching an unfamiliar genre/topic, as you will not know if the improvisations are stylistically correct. When you choose your genre/topic, introduce stylistic characteristics and typical phrases as you go, with fewer stylistic pointers at the start. You can scaffold more genre-specific traits as students develop their skills and confidence. Composition is an accessible topic. Get students to devise ideas in rehearsal time and perform their creative ideas later. This method does not use ‘real-time’ improvisation but uses improvisation at the heart of the learning. Blues and Jazz are the most straightforward genres, as many recorded examples of great improvisations exist. Some of your students may already know that Jazz uses improvisation.     

Curricular/Co & Extracurricular    

It is noteworthy to consider whether you want to teach improvisation for curricular, co/extracurricular teaching or both. Your choice depends on your cohort, class size, available breakout space, equipment, department’s schemes of work and plan and ethos for the learning. Your vision for improvisation will be necessary for how it fits in with the teaching; curricular improvisation allows it to be accessible for students regardless of instrumental skill and explores musicianship skills to develop their improvisation vocabulary. Co/Extracurricular teaching will enable you to work directly with the musicians/singers in your department to establish improvisation skills in ensemble and performance contexts. Both pathways will help your students with confidence in performing and social skills and provide a place where ‘mistakes’ are very much part of the learning process and essential to learning.      

Strategies, Activities & Methods    

Scaffolding is key, as well as using practical starters, main tasks and plenaries to get students listening and engaged musically with improvisation. Starters should focus on using body percussion/movement and voice to focus on repetitive call and response (teacher-led then moving to student-led) tasks designed to engage the ear and quickly get students improvising. Patience is key; students will be scared/reticent at first but will warm up once they feel safe doing the task. How you plan your student’s learning is important too. Do your students learn improvisation individually? Or in groups? Do they practice their improvisations to a backing track? Whatever you plan for the learning outcomes will determine what they show you as improvisers.    

If you plan for performance-based improvisation, the best place to start is with instruments. Keyboard/pianos are the obvious choices, but xylophones are just as effective in connecting the instrument with creativity. If you use keyboards/pianos, the back keys (pentatonic notes) are easy to teach call and response patterns and get students to make their improvisations. Keyboard/Piano’s are great at improvising chord progressions/shapes. White keys (C major/A minor) present a more significant challenge, so narrow the keyboard area to an octave for less confident students and encourage a broader range for more confident ones. Stick with triads/dyads (root and 3rds) for the less confident student and inversions/extended chords for the more assured. Black/white keys can also be great for composing a piece in binary form as students learn to improvise using both sets.    

Whether your students are performing or composing using improvisation, creating a template/guide for them to follow is a must.  Developing improvisers requires a bank of ideas to form their musical vocabulary, so careful planning, encouragement of repetition and decision-making are essential. A good way to capture improvised ideas could be to write /record ideas, like a diary. This can satisfy learning progression, demonstrate that students have used aural skills, and show understanding of the learning outcomes too.     

Developing a student’s understanding of rhythmic patterns and grooves is necessary to improvise fluently. Students need help with rhythmic improvisation more than melodic or harmonic. Students struggle with cognitive overload, not knowing what to do next, and not having a strong rhythmic vocabulary to fall back on. This is where the ideas bank comes in handy, as it will help students learn and recall ideas to be used for melody or chords. Avoid focusing on numbers and words when demonstrating improvisations and focus on shapes and metaphors. The less information students can process to access improvisational activities, the better. Ideas can be borrowed from what students already learned, i.e. using straight quavers to play a jazz pattern, with compound (swung) quavers introduced later once they build upon prior knowledge to add to new knowledge. Having a sound understanding of stylistic grooves will also be a factor in your improvisation teaching, and this can be developed through call and response, along with clear exemplars of improvisations that model what you teach. Just be mindful of these examples; the first chorus of jazz solos is good to play as the soloist usually takes a while to warm up, and you would not want to scare off students by playing a blisteringly fast and technical solo from the start!  

Be mindful of the learning outcomes and create an assessment plan that is authentic to the improvisation you teach. Fluidity, articulation, theme and repetition could be areas you wish to assess. Differentiate for different outcomes. Improvisation can take many forms, whether melodic (selecting notes from a scale), using rhythmic patterns, or comping a chord progression. A well-planned and challenging lesson is achievable even if the results do not show initially.  Be patient: students develop at different levels, and it takes time for improvisation vocabulary to become embedded.

Supporting Your Student’s Improvisations  

It’s a defining characteristic in professional careers and expresses one’s identity as a creative artist. Improvising can be a transformative experience for your students and help unlock the creative potential for new and exciting music-making.

Most of your students might not feel comfortable with improvising, and the very nature of making music without some form of notation or structure is scary for some. It can also be utterly petrifying and put even your most talented students into a situation where they feel like beginners; after all, creating music without notation is scary! Therefore, an environment where ‘mistakes’ are encouraged as part of the learning process and used as part of improvisation is crucial. 

Ensure you give them enough opportunities to improvise in front of people beforehand, letting them know beforehand that it’s ok if they choose not to. Improvising can be a transformative experience for your students and help unlock the creative potential for new and exciting music making, it can also be utterly petrifying and put even your most talented students into a situation where they feel like beginners.    

Be mindful of the learning outcomes and create an assessment plan authentic to the improvisation you teach. Fluidity, articulation, theme and repetition could be areas you wish to assess. Differentiate for different outcomes; improvisation can take many forms, whether melodic (selecting notes from a scale), use of rhythmic patterns or comping a chord progression. A well-planned and challenging lesson is achievable even if the results do not show initially. Be patient: students develop at different levels, and it takes time for improvisation vocabulary to become embedded.

Finally, encourage your students to take risks and celebrate successes! It’s tremendously brave of any young musician to stand up and perform an improv, so do not dampen their spontaneity to improvise, even if you are working on non-improvised topics. You will know the true extent of your success when students incorporate improvised ideas in your lessons or produce a solo/piece of music with confidence and imagination.   

 

Wright, 2023

This proved quite challenging when trying to summarise my research into a succinct and accessible model, albeit one that is in its infancy regarding introducing the idea of improvisation in secondary music education. I will say that I have been overwhelmed by the music community’s response to this, and I have been privileged to speak at a Music Teachers Association conference, Jazz in Education, Music & Drama Expo and Curriculum Music conference within the first year of finishing my Masters. I will post a blog (maybe Vlog, but it has been a while since I’ve done one!) later on, but for now, I thank you, dear reader, for supporting the work I do, and I am excited about the potential impact of our collaborations in developing improvisation and putting it back in its rightful place in music education.

Best wishes,

Michael Wright

Larsson, Christina, and Eva Georgii-Hemming. 2019. “Improvisation in General Music Education – a Literature Review.” British Journal of Music Education 36 (1). Cambridge University Press: 49–67, p.59-60.

Merriam, Sharan. 1988. Case Study Research in Education: A Qualitative Approach. Jossey-Bass, p.169-170 


Sarath, Ed. 2009. Music Theory through Improvisation : A New Approach to Musicianship Training [Electronic Resource]. Routledge, p.43-83

Music Improvisation in UK Secondary Schools: Part 4

by mwrightmusic

Methodology: How to gather data that represents the current landscape of music improvisation in UK Secondary education

In this series, I will present parts of my dissertation, ‘What strategies, activities and methods would help develop the teaching of music improvisation in UK secondary school education?’. I aim to give you insight into my improvisation research by informally presenting my findings, opinions and thoughts. It may start a discussion into the justifications, merits and advocations for music improvisation or completely put you off and double down on why improvisation should be left out of music education. Either way, I believe its a meaningful conversation to have.

Choosing my methodology was a painstaking process that saw many revisions and misunderstandings on terminology. I felt a bit silly when presenting this in my viva voce! What helped me solidify my approach to the dissertation was this video by Amgad Badewi:

He expertly defined the terminology I needed to justify my rationale and narrowed down what I wanted to find out and how I would get there.

Firstly, is the research aiming to fill a knowledge gap (measured academics, theoretical) OR solve a problem? (applied scientific research). I was initially planning on solving the ‘problem’ with a lack of collectivised music improvisation pedagogy, but to go in with this approach would mean I have the pedagogical tools and academic credibility/authenticity to do it, which I don’t. How about filling in a knowledge gap? That might have legs, as my literature review uncovered methods of improvising but little in the way of secondary school. The sweet spot lies in the middle of the two, and by filling a knowledge gap, I may also solve the problem of a lack of knowledge. 

I then proceeded to the definitions of the latter two. Generally speaking, Badewi equated the Knowledge gap to positivist research and problem-solving to interpretivism. Positivism (causal/quantitive/objective research) explores reality through reading and finding information from responses from people; it attempts to find a ‘reality’ of the research. Interpretivism (non-reality) relies on descriptive/qualitative research, which is a bit more focused on what the data presents. (Badewi, 2013)

Next up is the research paradigm. What is one’s concept/model of research? 

How would the data be processed if my research aimed to fill the gap? Would it be ontological? (a belief/perception about reality (constructivism) no single reality) Epistemological? (interoperating reality) 

Figure 1. An overview of how my methodology was created

Science-based? (collect information—propose hypotheses—test hypotheses objectively) (ibid). Much of this decision was based on the data being presented in a way that authenticated improvisation strategies, activities, and methods in their most genuine way and respected the method of improvising itself. Music improvisation is open to interpretation and has many factors that determine outcomes, not just knowledge and memory recall. 

After many drafts, I finally had it. The research would conducted as a (drumroll) ’embedded single-case study’ (Cohen, Manion et al. 2011, 291), allowing for multiple data sources data built-in. 

I could not limit my data pool to just one place, so I planned for a mixed methods data collection, using an online questionnaire targeting music teachers and educators experienced with teaching music at secondary education level. Quantitative data would provide a starting point for findings, with qualitative data (interviews) embellishing the quantitive findings. Planned in two stages; stage would be the survey questionnaire, and stage two would be the interviews, including transcriptions from Music Teachers’ Association’ Teaching Notes’ podcast and live interviews with my participants. Both methods would be run concurrently with stage one coded first and then stage two. Data would be paired together to observe patterns, similarities and differences in findings. This case study required me to gather data that was fit for purpose and skilled in probing beneath the surface of phenomena, defined more by the results and findings and less by the methodology used. (Leavy 2017)

Figure 2. Notes from my lecture on quantative data analysis

A Rationale for Research Methods

My thinking was to allow my single case study’s topic to remain narrow but provide a comprehensive method for collecting my data. The qualitative data would favour the quantitative, with the latter supporting the former. I needed to be flexible, too, as the initial idea of how my research would present improvisation in secondary changed frequently. This meant the case study could present data as descriptive (‘providing narrative accounts’) (Cohen, Manion et al. 2011, 291) and help ‘identify or attempt to identify the various interactive processes at work, to show how they affect the implementation of systems and influence the way an organisation functions.’ (Bell 2014, 12) (Flyvbjerg, 2006). In this case, the implementation comes from embedding improvisation in secondary education.   

Participants’ experiences played a crucial role in validating the research and survey data, determining what is known and what can be learned by accessing the knowledge base of survey participants and interviewees, with a level of authenticity, I.e. music educators with lived-in experience of teaching secondary school music improvisation (Cohen, Manion 2011). In theory, this should have enabled the reader to recognise idiographic ideas presented by the case study, not ‘abstract theories or principles’ (Ibid, 289), letting the ‘observational evidence’ (Chapman & McNeill 2005, 98) present itself. Collecting multiple data had to be bound by commonalities and general information in current improvisational research and those who participated. Limiting what one finds in the data will bind this with identifying the phenomenon of the project’s research and serve as the project’s boundaries, defined as:   

• Cases will have boundaries which allow for definition.   

• Cases may be defined by an individual in a particular context.   

• Cases may be defined by the characteristics of the group (or individual) (Hitchcock and Hughes 1995, 319) 

This is also backed up by Yin, who also references similar boundaries of research. These include:   

  • Specificity of case study (research) questions to keep within the boundaries of the research topic.   
  • Constitution of the case study (the research’s principles and propositions, not to be confused with ethics). This includes basing the research on a ‘real-life phenomenon.’   

With additions regarding:  

  • Linking the data back to the initial research questions with analysis and triangulation  
  • A ‘criteria for interpreting the findings’ resulted from the case study. Interpreted in a way which is robust and can withstand scrutiny. (Yin, 2009)    

Interviews were semi-structured, following a template of questions tailored to fit the interviewee’s experience and job role, i.e. questions regarding strategies, activities and methods for the peripatetic piano teacher to focus on individual students. Structuring questions for each interviewee. Semi-structured interviews allowed for a more conversational approach. They allowed participants to express thoughts that may be unrelated to the topic but provided other avenues of research that could be useful. (Bell, 2014)

Qualitative data outcomes would have a different relationship with qualitative data due to changes in interviewee’s experiences, beliefs and views (Hitchcock and Hughes 1995). In essence, it captures the participants’ ‘constructions of the world’ (Ibid, 324). The participants’ experiences, knowledge, and ambitions for improvisation were triangulated through the researcher’s lens, meaning that when I changed focus, the qualitative data changed, too.    

The following types of triangulations were identified:  

  • Data triangulation – data collected over a period from more than one location and from, or about, more than one person  
  • Investigator triangulation – which involves the use of more than one observer for the same object. This can also involve member checks. That means taking data and interpretations back to the subjects to ask them if the results are plausible.  
  • Theory triangulation – which involves the use of more than one kind of approach to generate categories of analysis.   
  • Methodological triangulation – the use of more than one method of obtaining information within a data collection format.  

(Ibid)   

Things to Consider

Would my methodology fail to capture the true nature of secondary school improvisation? Or would the methodology benefit secondary school educators by standardising a topic for a cohesive pedagogy? Supposing my methodology explores what is known and/or effective and allows the reader to modify and enhance their practice, any notion of inconsequential research must be disregarded (Leavy 2017). By regulating the benefits and limitations of my methodology and ‘critically informed opinions’ (Ibid, 7) around what is effective in secondary school improvisation, I hoped to collect information that generated a model of recommended improvisation strategies, activities and methods in secondary schools.   

Critics of the case study approach draw attention to several problems and disadvantages. For example, some question the value of the study of single events and point out that it is difficult for researchers to cross-check information as a result of data’s ‘limited generalizability’ (Cohen, Manion et al. 2011, 294) and be dismissive of other similar case studies (Bell, 2014) (Cohen, Manion 2011). By designing the methodology, we expect the data to change the research path, move away from fixed research criteria, and be open to other case studies. Another argument against it is based on the focus and longevity of the case studies. Yin warns of choosing case studies that are ‘done about decisions, about programmes, about the implementation process, and about organisational change.’ (Yin 1994, 137), as none are ‘easily defined in terms of the beginning or end point of the case’ (Ibid). Hitchcock and Hughes also agree that a case is not worth pursuing if a boundary is indeterminate (1995). You can perhaps see how researching improvisation falls into this trap; my counter-argument to this was my ambitions to continue my case study by widening the data collection to develop a bigger picture of improvisation in secondary education for as long as I’m prepared to collate stories, opinions, and other research that remains within the chosen case topic’s limits (Yin 1994). The potential for this research development can only be for the gain of secondary education.   

Ethics and Acknowledging Biases

All interview participants came from a jazz performance/improvisational background. This was not by design but based on recommendations, availability and participants willingness to be in the project. Therefore, the questions for the survey and interviews did not mention anything genre-related or pertain to any reference to jazz music. It would be at the discretion of the participants to refer to genres they associate with improvised music. I was aware that use of jazz vernacular could narrow my research to a specfic audience (Leavy 2017), so any reference to slang terms for describing musicianship, was translated into a ‘mutually understandable language’ (Ibid) in order not to alienate the reader from a different musical background. 

I needed to show my subject knowledge and research expertise when interviewing and surveying participants, whilst communicating in an open, friendly and non-judgmental manner to enable access to information, empathy, rapport and trust with my interview participants (Cohen, Manion et al. 2011). This was important in bringing out the ‘wholeness’ and ‘integrity’ (Ibid, 296) of participant’s experiences, connecting them with the case study and providing a safe platform to do so, in keeping with an ethnographical representation or construction of their ‘social reality’. (Leavy 2017, 145)

How did the research design represent or construct the reality of secondary school improvisation experiences? Paying attention to one’s reality/construct of, contrasted with the participants qualitative and qualitative data, aware of its ‘validity, reliability and representativeness’ (Ibid) of responses. This also included the literature review and other results to assess the quality of strategies, activities and methods.  

A possible contention about participants being aware of the nature of research and having the freedom to express opinions could be participants’ bias for/against music improvisation in secondary schools or embellishment/exaggeration of their strategies, activities, and methods, which made it hard to control the research phenomena. The likelihood of this happening was down to the trust I had in participants answering honestly and accurately, afterall it wasn’t as if they stood to benefit anything personally from embellishing their responses.

Bell, Judith. 2014. Doing Your Research Project. [Electronic Resource] : A Guide for First-Time Researchers. Sixth edition. Open University Press, p.10-14, 178-192

Chapman, Steve, and Patrick McNeill. 2005. Research Methods [3rd Ed.]. 3rd ed. Routledge. 98-101

Cohen, Louis, Lawrence Manion, Keith Morrison, and Richard Bell. 2011. Research Methods in Education. [Electronic Resource]. 7th ed. Routledge, p.228-229, 289-296

Flyvbjerg, Bent. “Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research.” Qualitative Inquiry 12, no. 2 (April 2006): p.219–45, p.219-224

Hitchcock, Graham, and David Hughes. 1995. Research and the Teacher. [Electronic Resource] : A Qualitative Introduction to School-Based Research. 2nd ed. Routledge, p.316-329

Leavy, Patricia. 2017. Research Design : Quantitative, Qualitative, Mixed Methods, Arts-Based, and Community-Based Participatory Research Approaches. Guildford Press, p.5-10, 27-30, 129-148

Merriam, Sharan. 1988. Case Study Research in Education: A Qualitative Approach. Jossey-Bass, p.169-170

Welch, Graham F., Adam Ockelford, Sally-Anne Zimmermann, Evangelos Himonides, and Eva Wilde. 2016. The Provision of Music in Special Education (PROMISE) 2015.

Yin, Robert. 2009. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks, Canada: SAGE Publications, p.27

Yin, R.K. (1994) Designing single- and multiple-case studies, Nigel Bennett, Ron Glatter, and Rosalind Levacic, Improving Educational Management: Through Research and Consultancy. 1994. p135-156