A MODEL VIEW: ACHIEVEMENT, RECREATION AND ADULT BEGINNING VIOLIN INSTRUCTION

Transcription

1 A MODEL VIEW: ACHIEVEMENT, RECREATION AND ADULT BEGINNING VIOLIN INSTRUCTION Lauren Davis A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Australian National University 2009

2 I certify that this thesis is my own work and that all sources used have been acknowledged. i

3 ABSTRACT This thesis explores the subject of beginning violin adult students from the point of view of instructional texts across the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries, with the majority of the focus on the texts published in America from the nineteenth century onward. Deep analysis of the American texts was undertaken in order to determine what changes occurred in violin instruction over the course of two centuries and what effect those changes have had on today s beginning adult violin student. This study is necessary because while there are clear indications of adult interest in playing the violin, and a growing field devoted to music as lifelong learning, there are no texts currently available that are written specifically for adults. Despite a growing body of research on adults and music, particularly the piano, there is little research focusing on adults and violin playing. The majority of music education research is about children and music in schools. From the seventeenth century through a portion of the nineteenth century, it is possible to see two distinct types or models of violin instruction. One is exemplified by European texts and treatises such as those published by Geminiani, Spohr, and Leopold Mozart et al. These texts were designed to be used by a teacher and were used by a variety of students, from children to serious adult amateurs interested in playing European classical music. The learning presented in these texts is highly structured, involving a particular evolution of skills with the pace being dictated by both the teacher and the text. The other model of instruction is exemplified by a variety of self-instructing texts whose audience was adult amateurs. This model presents a less formal learning process with the pace set by the learner himself, and the repertoire consists of popular music of the day instead of solely European classical music. It is argued that from these two very different approaches clearly evident into the nineteenth century, we have arrived in the early twenty first century with a single model which is largely an extension of the European model. While there are still self-instructing texts today, they are markedly different from self-instructing texts of the nineteenth century. The self-instructing model, as it appeared until around the turn of the nineteenth into the twentieth century, has disappeared. The few modern self-instructing texts, while ostensibly for an adult audience, have a uniformity of approach consistent with the texts for ii

4 younger students, suggesting that there is no differentiation between audiences or types of desired outcomes. The lack of discussion around this issue points to an underlying sensibility to do with music making that includes, but goes beyond, those working in the field. A significant number of violin instructional texts that were designed for, or may have been used by adults, have been examined for this thesis. Making sense of the texts required a diverse range of approaches and the need for a broad sweep of secondary literature on a variety of related subjects. The research is qualitative and historical using the technique of discourse analysis to help formulate the two models used as a framework for the analysis. This thesis does not promote the efficacy of one method over another. It is also not designed to offer a complete social history of the violin, but to highlight particular social events and developments that have relevance to violin instruction. Through a combination of deep textual analysis and a broad study of related social factors, the study provides a context for viewing current attitudes towards adult violin instruction and provides suggestions, based on that contextual view, for possible change. iii

5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With thanks and gratitude to those friends who have helped me on my journey. Dr. Susan West (Supervisor) Dr. John Diamond Susan Burghardt-Diamond Dr. Merrilyn Fitzpatrick Pike Andrew Pike Georgia Pike I would also like to thank my past and present adult beginning violin students who were my inspiration. iv

6 FOR MY PARENTS WHO GAVE ME THE GIFT OF MUSIC v

7 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION ONE: INTRODUCTION...1 CHAPTER 1: SETTING THE STAGE My Introduction to Adult Beginners...7 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY Introduction Qualitative Research The Importance of the Texts The Search for Texts Discourse Analysis Historical Research Literature Review The Development of Models Scope of the Thesis Researcher Perspective...25 CHAPTER 3: MUSIC EDUCATION AND ADULTS Introduction Music Education Music Learning and Adults Adult Piano Instruction Adults and the Violin...42 SECTION TWO: ANALYSIS OF THE TEXTS...52 CHAPTER 4: DESCRIPTION OF THE MODELS Categories Discussion of Characteristics...55 CHAPTER 5: ACHIEVEMENT MODEL TEXTS Introduction: The Archetype: Julius Stulberg s A Violin Course for Adult Beginners (1938) and Albert Lazan s Basic Violin for Adults (1968) General First Impressions AM1 Focus on Skill Development and Accuracy AM2 Prescriptive AM3 Work Based Attitudes of the Author/Publisher RM4 Assuming Cognitive Maturity AM5 Music for Technique AM6 Accuracy Defined AM7 Stresses Practice AM8 Importance of Teacher AM9 Sequenced and Progressive AM10 Skill Development through Teacher or Correct Approach Approach to Technique AM11 Technique Leads AM12 Emphasis on Improvement AM13 Descriptions Detailed and/or Sophisticated AM14 Chunking of Skills to Aid Progression AM15 More Technical Work than Music AM16 Technical work Prerequisite for Playing Music Nature of the Repertoire AM17 Emphasis on Playing Elite Art Music AM18 Repertoire for Improvement Other Achievement Model Texts General First Impressions...89 vi

8 5.7.1 AM1 Focus on Skill Development and Accuracy AM2 Prescriptive AM3 Work Based Attitudes of the Author/Publisher AM4 Linking Inexperience with Cognitive Immaturity AM5 Music for Technique AM6 Accuracy Defined AM7 Stresses Practice AM8 Importance of Teacher AM9 Sequenced and Progressive AM10 Skill Development through Teacher or Correct Approach Approach to Technique AM11 Technique Leads AM12 Emphasis on Improvement AM13 Descriptions Detailed and/or Sophisticated AM14 Chunking of Skills to Aid Progression AM15 More Technical Work than Music AM16 Technical Work Prerequisite for Playing Music Nature of the Repertoire AM17 Emphasis on Playing Elite Art Music AM18 Repertoire for Improvement Conclusion CHAPTER 6: RECREATIONAL MODEL TEXTS Introduction: The Archetype: Violin Instructer (1828) General First Impressions RM1 Focus On Enjoyment and Ease RM2 Optional RM3 Enjoyment Based Attitudes of the Author/Publisher RM4 Assuming Cognitive Maturity RM5 Music for Playing RM6 Accuracy Undefined RM7 Does Not Stress Practice RM8 Teacher Not Considered Essential RM9 No Sequence or Progression RM10 Skill Development through Different Pathways Approaches to Technique RM11 Music Leads RM12 No Emphasis on Improvement RM13 Descriptions Simple and Concise RM14 No Chunking RM15 More Music than Technical Work RM16 No Technical Prerequisite to Play Music Nature of the Repertoire RM17 Mixed Repertoire RM18 Repertoire for Enjoyment Other Recreational Model Texts General First Impressions RM1 Focus on Enjoyment and Ease RM2 Suggestions RM3 Enjoyment Based Attitudes of the Author/Publisher RM4 Assuming Cognitive Maturity RM5 Music for Playing RM6 Accuracy Undefined RM7 Does Not Stress Practice RM8 Teacher Not Considered Essential RM9 No Sequence or Progression RM10 Skill Development through Different Pathways vii

9 6.9 Approaches to Technique RM11 Music Leads RM12 No Emphasis on Improvement RM13 Descriptions Simple and Concise RM14 No Chunking RM15 More Music than Technical Work RM16 No Technical Prerequisite to Play Music Nature of the Repertoire RM17 Mixed Repertoire RM18 Repertoire Less Sequential and More Room for Choice CHAPTER 7: HYBRID TEXTS Introduction: The Archetype: George Saunders New and Scientific Self-Instructing School for the Violin (1847) General First Impressions AM1/RM1Focus on Accuracy and Skill Development/Focus on Enjoyment and Ease AM2/RM2 Prescriptive/Optional AM3/RM3 Work Based/Enjoyment Based Attitudes of the Author/Publisher RM4 Assuming Cognitive Maturity AM5/RM5 Music for Technique/ Music for Playing AM6/RM6 Accuracy Defined/ Accuracy Undefined AM7 Stresses Practice AM8/RM8 Importance of Teacher/ Teacher Not Considered Essential AM9/RM9 Sequenced and Progressive/No Sequence or Progression AM10 Skill Development Through Teacher or Correct Approach Approaches to Technique AM11/RM11 Technique Leads/Music Leads AM12 Emphasis on Improvement AM13/RM13 Descriptions Detailed and Sophisticated/Descriptions Simple and Concise RM14 No Chunking AM15/RM15 More Technical Work than Music/More Music than Technical Work AM16 Technical Work Prerequisite for Playing Music Nature of the Repertoire RM17 Mixed Repertoire AM18/RM18 Repertoire for Improvement/Repertoire for Enjoyment Other Hybrid Texts General First Impressions AM1/RM1Focus on Accuracy and Skill Development/Focus on Enjoyment and Ease AM2/RM2 Prescriptive/Optional AM3/RM3 Work Based/ Enjoyment Based Attitudes of the Author/Publisher AM4/RM4 Linking Inexperience with Cognitive Immaturity/Assuming Cognitive Maturity AM5/RM5 Music for Technique/Music for Playing AM6/RM6 Accuracy Defined/Accuracy Undefined AM7/RM7 Stresses Practice/Does Not Stress Practice AM8/RM8 Importance of Teacher/Teacher Not Considered Essential AM9/RM9 Sequenced and Progressive/No Sequence or Progression AM10/RM10 Skill Development through Teacher or Correct Approach/Skill Development through Different Pathways Approaches to Technique AM11/RM11 Technique Leads/Music Leads AM12/RM12 Emphasis on Improvement AM13/RM13 Descriptions Detailed and Sophisticated/Descriptions Simple and Concise AM14/RM14 Chunking of Skills to Aid Progression/No Chunking AM15/RM15 More Technical Work than Music/More Music than Technical Work viii

10 7.9.6 AM16/RM16 Technical Work Prerequisite for Playing Music/No Technical Prerequisite to Play Music Nature of the Repertoire AM17/RM17 Emphasis on Elite Art Music/Mixed Repertoire AM18/RM18 Repertoire for Improvement/Repertoire for Enjoyment Conclusion Summary/Conclusion SECTION THREE: PARALLELS IN CULTURAL, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SOURCES CHAPTER 8: Introduction Development of Musical Life in the Colonies pre Musical Life in the Early Nineteenth Century Summary/Conclusions CHAPTER 9: Introduction The Establishment of the American Music Industry The Influence of Europe and the Growth of the Symphonic Tradition Developments in the Late Nineteenth Century Music Education and its Effect on Violin Instruction Summary/Conclusions CHAPTER 10: 1905-PRESENT Introduction Instrumental Music Education Enters Public Schools Jazz Development of Radio Current Developments which Help Adults Engage with Music Conclusion CHAPTER 11: CONCLUSION Ways Ahead for Adult Violin Instruction Ways Ahead for Music Teaching in General The Future SECTION FOUR: BIBLIOGRAPHY ix

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12 Section One: INTRODUCTION This research derives from my experiences with teaching adult beginners. I had been teaching for ten years before I taught my first adult beginning violin student. Rather than being an anomaly as I first supposed, I discovered over the next decade that there were numbers of adults who wished to learn the violin. As I looked for instructional texts, books of repertoire or other suitable materials, and even a dialogue among teachers about teaching adult beginners, it became clear that there was little such material available. Moreover, discussions with other violin teachers revealed a lack of interest in adult students, other than those who were continuing from early childhood. Some of my adult students told me they had been given the impression from some teachers they had contacted that they were too old to learn the violin, but persevered anyway. As I began to look more closely at the provision for adult violin students, I found other evidence of adults wanting to learn the violin in the form of groups such as the East London Late Starters Orchestra and the New Horizons Orchestras, both of which offered tuition in a group setting as well as the orchestral experience. I also discovered an internet chat group, Beginning Adult Violinists (BAVS), which was the only such group devoted solely to the subject. It was clear that some adults did indeed want to learn the violin, but that, by and large, there was little provision made for them. The amount of research about adults learning to play music is growing but limited. Research about adults learning the violin, however, is even more limited. It cannot be said to represent a strong field either in the area of adult learning theory or music education. The vast majority of the focus in music education in general, and violin study in particular, revolves around teaching children. This focus on pedagogy, while not universal, is so prevalent, it seems clear that a high proportion of music educators do not think in terms of andragogy, or the teaching of adults. Regardless of the focus on children in music education, there is a significant amount of contemporary instructional materials for adult beginning pianists. The availability of this material suggests that there is a market for it: it is seen as worth producing and points to an assumption that adults can and do learn to play the piano. Magazines for piano teachers routinely publish articles on teaching adults. These articles are in the nature of advice from one teacher to another on working with their adult students, reviews of the latest adult texts 1

13 to be published, and suggestions of repertoire that will be easy for a beginner but not condescending to the adult. Why is there so much adult material for the piano and not for the violin? Is it assumed that adults can t learn the violin? Is there no real market? Is the lack of market created by the lack of interest from violin teachers or the other way around? Is it because the available instructional material is considered suitable by the small numbers who use it? If we look back to earlier periods we see a wealth of material that could have been used by adult beginners in the form of both instructional texts and repertoire books. Given the lack of both a body of research and modern-day materials that are designed for adult violin beginners, an in-depth analysis of the texts that are available seemed a logical and useful starting place to shed more light on the subject. Since there is minimal literature in this area, an initial study of the field of materials was appropriate both in terms of the materials themselves but also in terms of what the materials might reveal about the relationship between society, adults and music learning in the twenty-first century. This thesis explores the subject of beginning violin students from the point of view of the instructional texts from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries, with the majority of the focus on texts published in America from the nineteenth century onward. Its subject is both historical and musical in nature, using the historical texts as a starting point for in-depth analysis of the overt and covert attitudes displayed, and discussing these attitudes in relation to socio-musical events of the period covered. These instructional texts are written for beginning violin students, though often it is not clear whether the intended audience is child or adult learners. The texts are both European and American in origin, and presuppose no musical knowledge on the part of the user. They include therefore, the rudiments of music reading, and descriptions of how to hold the violin and bow. Texts published in nineteenth century America specifically for adult amateurs are of particular interest. In looking at these texts, it is possible to gain insight into what the attitudes towards learning the violin were at that time, how and when they changed and when and why texts for adult beginners disappeared. The majority of violin instruction texts, no matter when they were written, do not specify a particular audience. The rationale behind writing a text, and for whom they are intended, is not an area which is generally researched although there are exceptions. It 2

14 could be argued that the texts do not specify an audience because they are intended for use by, and are suitable for, any person who wishes to learn the violin, a one-size-fits-all approach. However in the majority of cases the authors are really intending their audience to be children, even, as will be demonstrated below, in texts purportedly for adults. Not only is there a lack of information about the audience for whom the texts were written, there is also very little information on why the authors have written the texts as they have. We do not know why they have chosen to introduce the skills in a particular order or why they have begun with a particular key, or their reasons for picking particular repertoire because they do not tell us. There is little in the way of methodological detail, and certainly no stated philosophical rationale for the content or ordering of content. Analysis of the texts will help us to discover the explicit and implicit attitudes of the authors about learning the violin, and what their motivations and intentions might have been. One attitude which was surprising was the inherent bias found in texts from different eras. The more recent texts showed a bias towards technical development whereas the earlier texts showed a bias towards social playing. As I examined the texts more deeply, my position began to favor that of the earlier texts. The analysis of the historical texts, which function as primary source material, considers each text in its entirety: art and photography, preface and other author s comments, introduction of various skills, included repertoire, for whom the authors may be writing, and what their educational philosophy and methodology may be. Lack of available information about adult beginners in violin, as well the physical location of texts, proved a significant challenge. Analysis of the discovered materials, given the lack of any written statements about their purpose, was equally challenging. Making sense of the texts required a diverse range of approaches and the need for a broad sweep of secondary literature on a variety of related subjects. Violin instructional texts from across this wide period finally yielded a rich and meaningful canvas on which to explore attitudes towards music learning and violin instruction from both the specific musical, and general social, perspectives. One of the most important areas for review in this context is the development of music education. Music education underwent considerable changes in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries which influenced both the teaching of music and the materials used to teach. In the early part of the nineteenth century, music instruction was not 3

15 standardized and could occur in a variety of ways. Self-instruction was one way, while for the wealthy, a tutor might come to the house to give instruction. Children at boarding school might have had private or group instruction at the school base. Lessons were also available to the general public at music stores. Later in the century, music schools offered larger group instruction, and the conservatories and colleges offered private instruction and small master classes. In the late 1800s professional organizations were set up to develop a more uniform approach to music education. Eventually, around 1913, instrumental music education began in public schools. With development of music education in public schools, texts were needed for that audience and thus we see the development of class methods designed to be used by children with a particular outcome in mind. Over the course of the century, music education became more formalized, and as a result, the instructional texts themselves became more standardized. While the development of music education is of great importance, the range of materials analyzed has significance in a broader dimension. Modern music education is obviously influenced by relevant social changes and conditions. They include the influence of immigrants, the arrival of virtuoso performers, the social acceptability of high and low culture and a range of other factors including the spread of affluence, advances in transportation, the development of recorded music and, more recently, huge technological advances like the Internet. Aspects of all of these areas are relevant to the analysis of the primary source materials, particularly given the lack of commentary within the texts themselves. This study is divided into three main sections with eleven chapters. These main sections are: SECTION ONE: Introduction SECTION TWO: Analysis of the Texts SECTION THREE: Parallels in Cultural, Education and Social Sources. SECTION ONE comprises a statement of how the topic was developed, explains the methodological approaches used in the thesis and contains a literature review that discusses previous and current research done in a variety of areas pertinent to the thesis. Chapter 1, Setting the Stage, discusses my background. This chapter is necessarily personal since it recounts the journey I took in arriving at the topic of my research. Chapter 4

16 2, Methodology, sets out the methodological framework and techniques used in this qualitative research, including a discussion of the historical nature of the study and the qualitative technique of discourse analysis. It also provides a rationale for the importance of these texts in shedding light on current attitudes towards beginning adult violin students. This chapter also discusses the placement of several literature reviews within the thesis, the scope of the study and the development of the models used in the textual analysis. Chapter 3, Music Education and Adults, is a discussion of the literature on a variety of subjects pertinent to the thesis. These include current instructional materials for adult beginning violinists, music education, music learning and adults, pedagogy and andragogy, adult piano instruction, development of materials for adult beginning violinists, and a discussion of attitudes some teachers hold towards adult beginning violin students. SECTION TWO contains a description of the two models developed for the textual analysis, as well as the analysis of violin instructional material with the goal of ascertaining how the texts reflect the two models and what the findings of the analysis might mean for the adult beginning violinist. Chapter 4, Description of the Models, describes the characteristics of the two models used as a framework for the textual analysis. Chapter 5, Achievement Model Texts, is an analysis of ten texts which exemplify the Achievement Model. Chapter 6, Recreational Model Texts, is an analysis of nine texts which exemplify the Recreational Model. Chapter 7, Hybrid Texts, is an analysis of seven texts which are hybrid or transitional in nature. SECTION THREE contains an overview of socio-educational-musical life in America across the period when the analyzed texts were published. The aim is to consider other events of this roughly two hundred year period and place the texts analyzed within this framework. This survey has been placed after the analysis of the primary source material in order to understand the detail discussed there in relation to this broader canvas. These chapters offer a chronological summary of relevant events and sociological developments, as they relate to the analysis of the texts in Section Two. In Chapter 8, , the review includes the development of musical life in the American colonies, the influence of immigrants, musical life in the early nineteenth century, the establishment of performing groups, and early music education. Chapter 9, , discusses the 5

17 ongoing development of musical life, instrument manufacturing, music publishing, European influences, the establishment of symphony orchestras, virtuosi and touring orchestras, developments in music education, the growth of the symphonic tradition, the development of the phonograph, and the appearance of ragtime and early jazz. Chapter 10, 1905-Present, describes the beginning of instrumental music education in public schools, and discusses the appearance of jazz, the development of radio, CDs, DVDs, and the Internet, and the founding of the New Horizons bands and orchestras. Chapter 11, Summary/Conclusions, draws together all the information discussed in the thesis and makes recommendations for further research. 6

18 CHAPTER 1: Setting the Stage 1.1 My Introduction to Adult Beginners In the early 1990s, I was in the USA making a living as a freelance musician and teacher. I had completed both a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music in violin performance, and had settled in one place to make my living as a professional musician. I played in a number of symphony orchestras, with a string quartet, and had a teaching studio in my home. At that time I had approximately 30 students all of them school age. The stories related below are some of the critical incidents which aroused my interest in the subject of this thesis and brought me to Australia to study. At this juncture I would describe myself as a typical violin teacher. Like many, I was not trained as a music educator but as a performer and taught, in part, to supplement the income derived from my performing. I taught my students using my own training as a guide. The instructional materials I used were those that I had either used myself in the course of my training, or were those that I saw my various teachers use. I used some of the same ideas and analogies that my teachers used, and sought to develop my students technique and have them progress. I did not give a great deal of thought as to why I was teaching as I did. However, this began to change when I started working with adult students. I was not aware that adults wanted to learn to play the violin until I received a telephone call from a woman named Penny who was inquiring about violin lessons for herself rather than for a child or grandchild. Penny was not an absolute beginner, but she had only been playing for about a year when she called me. I agreed to take her as a student, which raised many questions. Would she be different to teach from my young students? What materials would I use? How would I go about it? I decided I would take my cues from her. She wasn t a complete beginner and she would have materials from her other teacher. I would meet her and go from there. I was to discover that an adult wanting to learn the violin was not an anomaly as I had first supposed. By the time I left America to come to Australia roughly half my studio were adults who were novices when they came to me to study. As I began teaching adults who had no prior musical and/or violin experience, I began to search for a beginning text 7

19 for them to use because the texts I used with my young students didn t feel suitable for adult beginners. After searching in the catalogues of companies that specialized in string music I quickly learned that there were no materials being published specifically for adults. Other local violin teachers didn t know of anything for adults and those who actually had adults in their studios said that they used what they had for their school age students. The question was why was there a lack of materials, particularly since it was becoming quite clear that adults wanted to learn? I also discovered some teachers didn t want to work with adult beginners. One of my students, Walter, told me that he had had great difficulty finding a teacher, that the numerous teachers he had called were not interested in working with an adult beginner. As I was, by this point, really enjoying my adult students I found this curious. I learned that my adult students had a variety of motivations which led them to begin to study and an assortment of goals to accomplish. For example, Penny had inherited her father s violin which was one motivation for her to play, but her husband also played the trumpet and she wanted to be able to share music making with him. Harold and Will wanted to play familiar tunes; Betty wanted to be able to participate in a folk music festival she had been attending for several years as an observer; Julie had always wanted to learn but didn t have the chance as a child; Walter wanted to learn so he could play at Mass; Kim wanted to play with her granddaughters who were budding violinists; and Daniel wanted to play the violin because it was a family tradition. What I did notice was that most of them wanted to play with others in some social situation, whether it was with family, or informal music making at a jam session at a festival, or with other musicians at Mass, or with other adult students. For example, playing duets in lessons gave some of my students their first ensemble experience in addition to the benefit of helping them be less nervous and have fun. However, I also came to realize that ensemble experiences for the beginning violinist were difficult to find as most local groups were at a high standard of playing. Some of my students solved that problem by forming their own ensemble, meeting weekly to play familiar tunes, help each other and enjoy the camaraderie. Through working with these students, I began to question my teaching practices. These were adults should I teach them in the same way I taught children? They had a 8

20 variety of goals and musical interests should I expect them to learn the same music or type of music as my young students? For example, one student was given lessons by his sister-in-law. He was self-taught and had learned to play tunes by ear. His sister-in-law was studying with me, felt that he didn t play properly and the gift of lessons was her way of encouraging him to study. Did he have perfect positions? They were not exactly what you would see in an orchestra of classically trained musicians, but certainly he was able to play the tunes he liked in a way that made him happy. I offered him suggestions which made his sound better and was able to help him add to his repertoire of tunes. After a time I decided not to insist that he play with the perfect classical style positions. If he were happy with what he was doing and able to play the repertoire of his choice, was it necessary for me to insist on perfection in this regard? He did not desire to play in an orchestra or play much classical music so did he really need to play with perfect positions? I also began to wonder if I was presenting the violin in the best way for my adult students. For example, Walter had a particular goal for his study; he wanted to be able to play the violin at Mass. He was a very diligent student, learned quickly, and over the course of the time I worked with him he reached a level of playing where he was able to use some of the higher positions and play fairly complicated repertoire. However, he never did play for Mass because he never felt that he was good enough to do so though in my opinion he was more than capable. He clearly believed that he had to be at a very high standard before he could play in public. Why did he feel that way? Why did he feel he had to be good before playing in public even for something like Mass where his music would have been part of the worship? I began to wonder why I was the one choosing the repertoire for my adult students? Mightn t it be better if they had some say? Julie was the student that made me consider this issue, which had not occurred to me previously, in common with many other music teachers. She became particularly interested in a piece which was quite difficult when compared to other pieces she was learning. Not only did she like the sound of the piece, she was excited because it was a movement of a concerto and she had never played a concerto before. Even though I knew it would be very difficult for her to learn and I wasn t sure she was ready for it, I decided to let her try and see what happened. Though it did take her a long time to learn it, she was happy to spend time on it. 9

21 Since my experience with Julie I have allowed my students more freedom in choosing what they wish to play. I have discovered that if a student really likes a piece, even if it is very difficult, the end (being able to play the desired piece) is worth the means (the amount of time spent on it). It seems a reasonable assumption that if students are able to play what they like, they are more likely to continue to like playing. I also began to see signs that many adults are affected by their early training. Daniel is a case in point. One day in his lesson he commented on how different my approach was to his previous teacher and told me that the other teacher would hit his hands when he did something wrong rather than explaining what was happening and how to fix it. I was amazed that this man stayed with the teacher until he moved to the city where I was living. Daniel seemed to believe that such a mode of teaching was acceptable, possibly because similar events had occurred in his childhood, though I cannot say that for certain. My teaching changed as I worked with successive adult students. I was now helping the students learn what they wanted, not just what I thought they needed to learn in order to be good players. I was no longer teaching them using abundant technical work, but rather choosing to help them learn new skills by suggesting pieces that used those skills. I was incorporating more chamber music in the lessons, playing duets as a way of making music with my students. At this time, through the auspices of a medical doctor (not, interestingly enough, a music educator), I became aware of a different paradigm of music education being practiced in Australia by Susan West at the Australian National University. The approach being developed at the ANU aligned with my own work. My desire to help my adult students and offer them a different learning experience led me to Australia to begin my PhD. 10

22 CHAPTER 2: Methodology 2.1 Introduction This chapter summarizes the methods used in developing a structure for analyzing the violin instructional texts and conceptualizing findings to highlight the issues involved. A range of methodologies are used, all qualitative and inductive in nature including content analysis, discourse analysis, historical research, and comprehensive literature reviews that relate to the various issues involved in the principal research. The methodologies are discussed below and include a description of the development of the models that are used in the analysis of violin instructional material in Section Two. 2.2 Qualitative Research This study focuses on violin instructional material over two centuries, examining, analyzing and interpreting the content of those texts in order to shed light on the way in which adult violin beginners are perceived and serviced today. The research in this thesis is qualitative in nature. Arsenault and Anderson (1998) define qualitative research as: a form of inquiry that explores phenomena in their natural settings and uses multi-methods to interpret, understand, explain and bring meaning to them (p.119). Looking at the phenomena in a broad context is another aspect of qualitative research. Patton (2002), for example, describes qualitative research as holistic and says: a description and interpretation of a person s social environment...is essential for overall understanding (p.59). While the central element of this thesis is violin instructional texts rather than people, Preston s statement still applies. Violin texts are, obviously, written by individuals. The instructional material can tell us how particular authors and publishers viewed learning the violin. At the same time, placing the violin instructional material in the context of the social environment that existed when it was published allows us to identify factors that may have influenced those authors and publishers and effected change in those materials. The texts are both a product of their time but also a contribution to the musical culture of that time in a cyclical relationship. 11

23 The development of a method for studying the texts was somewhat organic in that the specific subject of the research was modified due to the findings revealed through textual searches, requiring a development of the methodology. At the same time, a range of different approaches was used for the analysis. The general approach was inductive in nature. Patton (2002) says that induction begins with specific observations and builds towards general patterns (p.56). In examining the violin instructional material, specific elements were observed which made it possible, after reviewing the material numerous times, to define particular characteristics or patterns in the manner of instruction. The emerging patterns were hand coded and revised, altered and/or elaborated through numerous review cycles to help develop a model that aided final analysis. One aspect of qualitative research that is relevant to this study is that of the researcher s perspective. As Arsenault and Anderson (1998) comment: the researcher's perspective also influences what might be found (p.119). As I shall be arguing in the next section, lack of information in this area is problematic largely because there does not appear to be a body of research, let alone research undertaken by expert violinists and violin teachers. I undertook this study as both an expert player and an experienced teacher, but also as a teacher who has extensive experience working with adult beginning violin students, an anomaly in itself. My experience with adult students, as discussed in Chapter One, suggests that adults have a variety of goals and wish to have a social outlet for their playing which is not clearly or adequately addressed in the violin instructional material currently available. This perspective has influenced the subject and direction of this thesis. It was necessary to examine a broad range of areas in this study because of the general lack of information about adults learning the violin. The small amount of existing research will be detailed in Chapter Three. To present a more complete picture of current views of adults learning the violin, evidence must be gathered from a variety of musical and socio-historical sources. Additionally, a variety of methods need to be brought to bear on the research as there is no single methodology that provides a specific fit for this purpose. 2.3 The Importance of the Texts As far as can be ascertained through a careful survey of literature, there is no evidence of any close analysis of violin instructional texts as undertaken in this study. 12

24 Given this fact, two questions present themselves: why are there no such studies and why do one now? In fact, these two questions are related, as shall be seen. Initially this research was not designed to focus primarily on instructional texts. Information on texts as well as other discussion on the general field of adult violin instruction was to be covered as part of the literature review. The bulk of the research was to be case studies with adult beginning violin students. The case study method involved trialing a variety of approaches to violin instruction with beginning adult students using a range of methods to collect data on outcomes and attitudes towards the instruction and analyzing that data to provide suggestions for alternative approaches for adult violin beginners. In addition, qualitative questionnaires were designed for both adult violin students and violin teachers to throw more light on an under-studied area. While the case studies were begun and the questionnaires were being sent, research in other areas continued. In reviewing the literature, it became evident that certain violin pedagogues such as Auer, Rolland, Havas, Galamian and Suzuki, were discussed in the literature to a certain degree. However, there exists a significant volume of violin instructional material that was not discussed at all. This violin instructional material included texts for adults and children as well as materials used in school programs across the United States. Why was this material not studied? One possibility is that these texts were not considered important or innovative enough for in-depth study, particularly when compared with the contributions of the people listed above. For example, Suzuki s method was revolutionary at the time of its introduction and continues to influence instrumental teaching today; Havas s contribution is innovative in its quest to keep players injury free; and Galamian was considered one of the most important teachers of the twentieth century. Their status and innovations make them obvious choices to study. However, it could be argued that many more people are influenced by these entry level texts because they are, or were, used by a large number of beginning violin students. Another reason for the lack of study of the particular type of violin instructional material analyzed in this thesis is the focus on the adult beginner. As is shown in Section One, Chapter Three, the study of adult involvement in instrumental instruction is limited and the study of adult violin instruction is more limited still. For reasons which will be discussed throughout this dissertation, the adult beginning violin student does not appear to 13

25 have registered as an important and even growing area in music education worthy of more attention. An in-depth study of this entry level adult violin instructional material is important and necessary because these types of texts are often the gateway to how students view learning and whether or not they continue to engage with the instrument. One could view the texts simply as how-to manuals, but this would be doing the authors a disservice. Texts from different eras can be viewed as a repository of ideas and attitudes about learning the violin at those times. To date there has been no serious attempt to examine and compare violin instructional material over a large period of time with the goal of determining the explicit and implicit messages the author presents to the student and in turn discussing how those messages impacted on the student and the social attitudes towards adult violin learning today. A study of this nature is timely now because while there is an increasing population of adults beginning the violin, there is little instructional material currently available. It became evident, however, through the acquisition of violin instructional material from the nineteenth century, that at one time there was an abundance of material for the adult amateur student. Analysis of these texts provided a wealth of information about changing attitudes towards violin study and showed how particular changes informed the view held today about adults learning the violin. A review of socio-historical source material was accessed in order to consider why the instruction offered in the texts changed when it did. 2.4 The Search for Texts The search for violin instructional texts written for adults took place in three phases which were determined by the relative difficulties in locating texts both geographically and physically. In summary these phases were: 1. An initial search which uncovered a body of material currently available in the USA. 2. A search for historical texts based on listings by Pulver (1923/24) and Eddy (1990). 3. The uncovering of texts as a result of secondary research on other factors that influenced the style, content and marketing of instructional texts. 14

26 The first phase involved collecting texts currently available in the United States that stated they were for adult beginners. Catalogues from companies specializing in string music, such as Shar Products Company and Southwest Strings, were searched. One text, The ABC s of Violin for the Absolute Beginner by Janice Tucker Rhoda (2000), stated it was for both children and adults, but it was the only text found that specifically included adults as an audience. The other texts either did not specify an audience or were clearly written for children. Searching for texts for adults in the WorldCat database yielded two that were out of print. The first was Stulberg s A Violin Method for Adult Beginners (1938); the second was Yost s The Yost Violin Method (1946), which like the Rhoda above stated it was for both children and adults. The second phase was initiated through locating two articles about violin methods. The first was Jeffery Pulver s (1923/24) Violin Methods Old and New ; the second was Alexandra Eddy s (1990) American Violin Method-Books and European Teachers, Geminiani to Spohr. Pulver discusses a number of texts from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and made particular note that some texts, mostly self-instructing, were written for amateurs and others were written for professionals. Pulver is one of the few writers to discuss these texts and the audience for whom they were written. Eddy s article is a detailed discussion of violin instructional texts published in America during the nineteenth century. Her goal was to show the extent to which these texts again intended for the amateur rather than the professional borrowed from and, indeed, very often plagiarized texts written by particular European masters. Included in the article is a list of all the violin instructional material published in the United States during the nineteenth century that Eddy had found. As in the Pulver article, Eddy indicated that the majority of the texts written for amateurs were self-instructing, which by their very nature were not intended for children. The majority of these texts are not discussed in violin pedagogy circles today and do not appear to be widely known. However, because they are written for the amateur adult player, they are of central importance to this research, especially given the general lack of modern materials available. Locating these texts, as well as obtaining copies for analysis proved time consuming since there is no single repository for such texts and the nature of the material caused inconsistencies in cataloging. Extensive study of some texts was inhibited by the fragile 15

27 nature of the manuscripts, particularly with some older manuals like the Ole Bull Instruction Book (1845). Despite difficulties in locating and viewing texts a substantial and representative sample was obtained. The New York Public Library housed some of the texts that Eddy listed. More texts were housed in the Library of Congress [LoC] which had a wealth of violin instructional material, including texts not listed by Eddy and Pulver. Much European instructional material including in the LoC collection was not relevant to this study, but some significant examples were accessed for comparison with USA material that arose from that European tradition. The third phase of searching for violin instructional texts helps to clarify the difficulties in accessing relevant material. While researching the development of music education in public schools in America from its inception to the early twentieth century, a book by Sollinger (1974) titled String Class Publications in the United States, , was uncovered. Within the comprehensive listing of texts in Sollinger s book were a few that were designed to be suitable for both young and adult beginners in groups. However, even though Sollinger sourced his listed texts to the Library of Congress, the items could not be viewed. The researcher assigned to my requests reported that five of the six items were no longer in their catalogue and the sixth item (the only extant copy) was damaged and too fragile to copy by any means. One can see from this description that even dogged determination could not uncover some material that may have been relevant. However, it was possible to obtain a substantial body of texts from the various decades of the nineteenth century to the present day from which to sustain the research and fulfill the scope of the thesis [see below]. Given the exhaustive nature of the search, the examining of a large proportion of published materials, the obtaining of copies of a significant number of the most relevant for more detailed analysis, and use of secondary sources like Sollinger to consider the contents of texts no longer extant, this study can claim to be representative of the range of materials published across the wide period under discussion. 2.5 Discourse Analysis While this study is largely concerned with the analysis of the content of violin instructional manuals, it does not specifically fit the detailed criteria for content analysis as 16