can .. .L ., .mxwfifiwux “Mini, XWWI“. “WWW. 4“ 5 n? r . x. .3 11.x} a. firm. - ‘ ~ 2 . .‘ nun-n «uh I 34' 5L0 . In»? in,» .X'fi ta: 3. x35 .35... i c . ‘ a I. (.9519. .1-Hw a. .3. .i... ; § . x 2.: r945?» iv! :5. ; \l o. 51MB 3.. . 3.” {21.59.52 3 ”wan. 2.3.6 .63) a . a 6.3.9,” .1! .u. I . . A. ‘ luoxz r: :5 ..17.’..~ I , 1)., ‘er Ll L1;“i.'-\t' l '1 Michigan tritatn University This is to certify that the dissertation entitled ADULT AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF MUSIC TEACHING AND LEARNING AT THE GODERICH CELTIC COLLEGE, GODERICH, ONTARIO, CANADA: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY presented by JANICE LYNN WALDRON has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the DOCTOR OF degree in Musuc EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY Major Professor’s Signature DECEMBER, 6, 2006 Date MSU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE 5108 K:IProj/Acc&PrelelRC/DateDue,indd A .EARXI? ADULT AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF MUSIC TEACHING AND LEARNING AT THE GODERICH CELTIC COLLEGE, GODERICH, ONTARIO, CANADA: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY By Janice Lynn Waldron A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Music Education 2006 ADL’LT A.‘ AT THE (i The Celtic tradit cient held i community traditions fr Neiifound‘; Instrument; fiddle, bani 3’15, and CI. Week is to: Itguiar Sch Par aural/Oral I through an COIIege are IradnjOn Ir. approacheS ABSTRACT ADULT AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF MUSIC TEACHING AND LEARNING AT THE GODERICH CELTIC COLLEGE, GODERICH, ONTARIO, CANADA: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY By Janice Lynn Waldron The purpose of this ethnographic study was to discover the manner in which Celtic traditional music is taught and learned at the Celtic College, an annual weeklong event held in the town of Goderich, Ontario, Canada. An excellent example of community music, the College provides instruction to adult learners in Celtic musical traditions from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, and the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Ontario. Instrumental instruction is offered on flute, tin whistle, bagpipes, concertina, accordion, fiddle, banjo, guitar, piano, and bodhran (an Irish drum). Traditional singing, cooking, arts, and crafts classes are offered as well. Because the underlying philosophy of the week is to create a “micro-culture/community,” other activities occurring outside of the regular school day are also a significant part of the College week. Participants were asked to describe their comfort levels regarding both visual and aural/oral music learning, and this was because Celtic music is traditionally learned through aural/oral transmission and not written notation. Many of the instructors at the College are traditional folk musicians who have learned in an aural/oral, non-literate tradition in informal social settings, and when “teaching,” employ various aural/oral approaches because those are what they are most familiar with. Student study participants were North American adults, formally schooled, musically literate, and generally uneoml‘o: Thus. “It learning I aural oral perceiied sell-teaehi learning. The Comfort le\ one indix’id their partiCI III? next. Fu dependent u Perceived 1h inaPPYOprian rtiasons, The 3“ Iniegra] p; behaviors 355 “III Third, 3 dining the (‘0 more Valuable uncomfortable with aural/oral music learning when introduced to Celtic music as adults. Thus, when first learning Celtic music, they were both unfamiliar with and had difficulty learning the music in the manner in which it was traditionally transmitted, that is, through aural/oral learning in context. Therefore, in order to learn Celtic music in what was perceived to be the most natural and authentic way (aural/oral), participants developed self-teaching strategies designed to accommodate and/or supplement their aural/oral learning. The study’s results generated three main conclusions. First, because participants’ comfort levels with both visual (written notation) and aural/oral learning differed from one individual to another, participants developed specific strategies designed to address their particular learning styles, and these, at times, varied greatly from one individual to the next. Further, students perceived that learning traditional music successfully as dependent upon the development of aural learning skills. Second, adult students perceived that Western concepts of formal music teaching and learning were inappropriate and/or insufficient when learning traditional Celtic music for several reasons. These included the realization that playing in context with other musicians was an integral part of learning traditional music. Learning the appropriate socio-cultural behaviors associated with playing Celtic music with others were, therefore, important as well. Third, students felt that the informal musical activities kthat occurred in context during the College week provided opportunities for learning that were equal to and/or more valuable than music learning that happened in the formal classroom. Copyright By JANICE LYNN WALDRON 2006 I an help. and su research ne committee: What I intui practice. ar dissertatior guidance at ethHOmusic encouragcr Veblen. f0] and €nCOUr To and Organi; Celtic R00 GCC'CRF Sonthem C Without the the researd been a] 10W: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am profoundly grateful to my professors, family, and friends for all of the help and support given to me throughout the collection and compilation of the research necessary to complete this dissertation. I wish to thank the members of my committee: to Dr. Mitchell Robinson, my advisor, for challenging me to articulate what I intuitively knew regarding music teaching and learning and applying it to practice, and for the continued support and advice given me throughout the dissertation process and beyond; to Dr. Cynthia Taggart for providing insight, guidance and assistance; to Dr. Michael Largey, for providing me with the iethnomusicological grounding vital to my research, and to Dr. John Kratus, for encouragement throughout the dissertation process. Special thanks goes to Dr. Kari Veblen, for providing the inspiration for my research and for being such an incredible and encouraging friend. To Warren and Eleanor Robinson, for their vision, insight, incredible courage and organizational ability in founding the Goderich Celtic College (GCC) and the Celtic Roots Festival (CRF), and for their continued efforts to ensure that the GCC/CRF remains the inspirational event and gathering for members of the greater Southern Ontario traditional music community and beyond. What would all of us do without the Celtic College to look forward to each summer? I am forever grateful for the research opportunities that the Celtic College provided and privileged to have been allowed access to it. Thank you to my participants for sharing your stories, insights, and experiences with me. Th: me througl and unwax Christina 2 MI and to In} process. I much loxe Thanks and appreciation to the many friends who supported and encouraged me throughout the Ph. D. and the dissertation process; to Sheri J, for your continued and unwavering friendship, Sherry S, Holly, Marc (you are still always right), Christina and Joe, Charlie, and Clouseau. Much grace and gratitude goes to my parents, John and Marguerite Waldron, and to my brother John, for the love and support given me throughout the Ph. D. process. I could not have done any of this without you all. Finally, thank you and much love to Michael Lynn. You returned to my life at just the right moment. vi CHAPTEF Situating Rational Purpose Central ' Context Dffinhh CHAPTET An Ox'erx'i Traditiona Irish ' Scotti Irish 4 COmmu Adult .\1 Infornqa West: Form Contem CHAPTEI Data Cc Proloco. The Res Data C c Tfiangu Data Ar SlUdc Teacl DCHnfiu POSiti ACCef CHAPTEI Music L Early Ummar afly TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. l Situating the Study .......................................................................................................... 1 Rationale and the Significance of the Study ................................................................... 5 Purpose ............................................................................................................................ 7 Central Research Questions ............................................................................................ 7 Context for the Study ...................................................................................................... 8 Definitions ....................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................. 13 An Overview of the Primary Celtic Musics Taught at the College: Irish and Scottish Traditional Music .............................................................................................................. 13 Irish Traditional Music ............................................................................................. 13 Scottish Traditional Music ........................................................................................ 14 Irish and Scottish Traditional Music in Ontario ....................................................... 16 Community Music Making ........................................................................................... 18 Adult Music Education ................................................................................................. 23 Informal Music Learning and Schooling: An Overview .............................................. 26 Western and Non-Western Performance Practices: A Comparison ......................... 26 Formal Music Education and Informal Music Learning Practices ........................... 32 Context and Transmission in Community .................................................................... 37 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY .......................... 48 Data Collection: Rationale ............................................................................................ 48 Protocol for Participant Selection ................................................................................. 48 The Research Landscape: Physical and Social Boundaries of the College .................. 50 Data Collection: Methods ............................................................................................. 52 Triangulation/Trustworthiness ...................................................................................... 53 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 54 Student Data: Themes and Codes ............................................................................. 55 Teacher Data: Themes and Codes ............................................................................. 57 Delimitations ................................................................................................................. 59 Positioning and Biases .............................................................................................. 61 Access ....................................................................................................................... 62 CHAPTER F OUR-ANALYSIS OF STUDENT DATA .................................................. 64 Music Learning Outside of the College ........................................................................ 64 Early Music Learning in the Home ........................................................................... 65 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 67 Early Institutional Learning ...................................................................................... 68 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 70 Adult Music Learning .......................................... 70 The Importance of Belonging to a Community to Facilitate Learning ..................... 77 Aural/Oral and Visual Learning: Attitudes, Abilities, and Learning Strategies ....... 81 vii Learnin The Celtic Moth at Teachir Learnin Summon CHAPTER I Mmuia Earl} .\' Summa Adult .\ Aural C‘ Summa: Teaching ' Teachin Summai Teachin Summary CHAPTER S PRACTICE . Summary, Researcl Central ; teaching the Con. Central J and perc teachjng Central ] edllCatio COHCIUSIOr ccOmmcI Teacher PT Listcnin‘; Singing Role TE; [motor-i5 W to I Teacher Edefini Learning Strategies ................................................................................................... 89 The Celtic College Experience ..................................................................................... 93 Motivations to Attend ............................................................................................... 94 Teaching and Learning at the Celtic College ............................................................ 99 Learning Outside of the Classroom ........................................................................ 113 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 121 CHAPTER FIVE: ANALYSIS OF TEACHER DATA ................................................. 123 Music Learning ........................................................................................................... 123 Early Music Learning ............................................................................................. 125 Summary ................................................................................................................. 137 Adult Music Learning ............................................................................................. 137 Aural/Oral and Visual Learning: The Learning Continuum and “Bi-Musicality”. 145 Summary ................................................................................................................. 151 Teaching Traditional Music ........................................................................................ 152 Teaching Music Outside of the College .................................................................. 152 Summary ................................................................................................................. 159 Teaching at the College .......................................................................................... 160 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 174 CHAPTER SIX- SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE ..................................................................................................................... 176 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 176 Research Questions Revisited ................................................................................. 176 Central Research Question Number One: What are the Characteristics of music teaching and learning that occur in formal, semiforrnal, and informal settings at the College? ............................................................................................................ 177 Central Research Question Number Two: What are the various attitude, beliefs, and perceptions of the College participants with regard to the learning and teaching that goes on at the College, and Celtic music in general? ........................ 184 Central Research Question Number Three: What are the implications for music education in general? .............................................................................................. 185 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 190 Recommendations for Practice: Implications for Music Educators and Music Teacher Preparation Programs .................................................................................... 194 Listening and Aural Learning ................................................................................. 195 Singing and/or Lilting as Instrumentalists .............................................................. 196 Rote Teaching ......................................................................................................... 196 Improvising/Ornamentation .................................................................................... 1 98 Peer to Peer Group Learning and Democratic Music Making ................................ 199 Teacher Aural/Oral Learning .................................................................................. 200 Redefining “Music Education” ............................................................................... 200 viii APPENDII INTERV APPENDII CCRIHE APPENDII INFOR) APPENDIL MAP OI REPEREX APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................. 202 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ....................................................................................... 202 APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................. 204 UCRIHS APPROVAL LETTER ................................................................................ 204 APPENDIX C ................................................................................................................. 205 INFORMED CONSENT LETTER ............................................................................ 205 APPENDIX D ................................................................................................................. 207 MAP OF THE CELTIC COLLEGE ........................................................................... 207 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 208 ix Mj Houston, to find otl Irish trad. ammhd Addition. notation time. it “'IIOm tt held in ] the pub CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Situating the Study My first experience playing Irish traditional music with others occurred in Houston, Texas in 1984. I had recently been given a tin whistle and a book and was eager to find other musicians with whom to play and perform. Having already been advised that Irish traditional music was “an aural tradition,” I was nonetheless sure that, because I had a music degree, I would be able to play and learn traditional music with notation. Additionally, I felt a certain disdain for those musicians who could not read written notation fluently, or worse, not at all, although I would never have admitted so at the time. At that time (pre-intemet) it was difficult to find other traditional musicians with whom to play. I did, however, manage to discover the only Irish traditional music session held in Houston at that time (there are now several), and proceeded to attend. I arrived at the pub with my folding metal music stand in hand, and attempted to join in with the twenty some musicians who were already playing. I pulled up a chair and placed my book on my music stand in front of me, receiving some odd looks fi'om the other participants in the process. Frantically, I asked the surrounding musicians the names of the “tunes” being performed so that I could find them in my little book and play along. By the time I found the tune in my book, however, the players were already on to playing the next jig or reel. This was particularly frustrating, because, although I had recently completed a music degree, I was unable to participate because I not only lacked the necessary aural skills but was also generally unfamiliar with the genre. A di As mention At that poi' Bachelor 0 Like many diligently ‘ university director. 1! and for th. students” musical f1 Variety of A IlaVlng Pl Significa] the tunes the “tune the West Sexophol A discussion of my background will help further situate the context of this study. As mentioned above, I began playing Irish traditional music as a hobby at the age of 30. At that point in my life, I was a middle school band director in Texas, having received a Bachelor of Music-Teacher Education degree from the University of Houston in 1980. Like many classically trained music educators (I am a saxophonist), I had practiced diligently throughout my school years and been an active member of my high school and university bands, only to discover that, after University graduation and becoming a band director, there were few satisfying musical opportunities available to me. I played with and for the students in my middle school band, my beginning woodwind classes and students’ private lessons, but it was strictly for teaching purposes and not for personal musical fulfillment. There were a few community concert bands in the area, but, for a Variety of reasons, they did not provide musical fulfillment either. At approximately the same time, my parents returned from an Irish holiday having purchased a tin whistle and an instruction booklet there for me. Having no prior significant exposure to Irish traditional music, I fooled around with the whistle, reading the tunes in the instruction booklet, and thinking, in my naiveté, that I would have it and the “tunes” mastered in a short period of time. I knew no Irish musicians personally. In the Western definition of the term, I was technically “proficient” on the whistle due to my saxophone training, but my playing did not sound like the Irish musicians I heard playing at the pub that I described above. Obviously they were doing something different than I was, but I was at a loss to explain precisely what that was. It was then that a university friend recommended I attend Augusta Heritage Center’s Irish Week in Elkins, West Virginia, which is the “Granddaddy” of the North American adult summer folk “camps.” Until that point, I had learned Irish tunes from standard written notation. Following the advice given me by the Elkins instructors, however, I started learning Irish traditional music aurally, from recordings. I did not fully realize how or why this could be so important, but instead began the process as a “leap of faith.” It was an exasperating experience to sit in front of the stereo and lift “tunes” note by note (after all, I had a music degreel). And I was only “getting” the notes, remaining clueless regarding the ornamentation of the “tunes,” which is an important element in Irish traditional dance music. I had a book that explained the techniques of ornament execution, accompanied by diagrams and written notation, but it proved woefully inadequate. Ornaments would remain a mystery to me until I began listening intently to teaching tapes of Irish Week instructors demonstrating ornaments within the context of “tunes.” The following year after first attending Elkins, I moved to Guelph, Ontario, Canada, for personal reasons. I had a position as a high school band director there, but when not busy with school, I discovered and became involved with the local traditional community, attending sessions and getting to know the traditional musicians in the “scene.” Soon after, I acquired a set of Uillean pipes and began learning them along with the Irish flute and tin whistle. I then became a member of various area Celtic bands and began an active gigging career, something that I had never experienced as a classical saxophonist. I performed at concerts, dances, in pubs and at weddings, and also began an active recording career as an Irish musician (my biggest claim to fame: I was hired to play Uillean pipes on a Molson’s commercial, backing Irish band the Pogues). After hearing me play at a ceili dance, Warren Robinson hired me to teach tin whistle and Irish flute at the Goderich Celtic College (hereafter the College) in Goderich, Ontario, Canada, in 1996, and since that time I have returned annually to teach there. Warren and his wife Eleanor Robinson, two secondary school teachers from Goderich, Ontario, founded the College in 1995. Both have a long history of interest in traditional folk music (they both sing and play several instruments) and an equally long involvement in the Goderich area as formal educators and active community members. In addition to teaching drama, choir, and English at the Goderich Collegiate Institute for the past 30 years (both have now since retired), the Robinsons were instrumental in the development and continued sustainment of the local semi-professional theatre troupe and other Goderich cultural organizations. They are well known and trusted community members because of their talents, vision, organizational skills, and commitment to the area arts scene. The Robinsons developed and produced the first Earth, Air, Fire, Water: Celtic Roots Festival (hereafter the CRC) in 1993; it is now an annual event, that has become the biggest tourist attraction for the town of Goderich. The CRC was the first Pan Celtic Festival in North America, and rose from humble beginnings; its original mission was to honor a deceased local musician. In the 12 years of the CRC’s existence, musicians from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Germany, Denmark, the United States, and all regions of Canada have presented performances to annual audiences of approximately 11,000. The Robinsons developed the College as an extension of the CRC, because they determined that, based on their interactions with CRC attendees, there was enough interest to warrant founding a school whose mission was to teach Celtic music, dance, culture and arts to nonenculturated adult students. The CRC and the College are non- profit events produced by the Goderich Celtic Folk Society, which was also founded by the Robinsons specifically for the purpose of running both events. One of the organization’s mandates is to promote education in Celtic music, dance, culture, and art. At the Celtic College, Irish traditional music, as well as a number of related musical practices from the British Isles, Breton, and Canada, have been studied by North American adult learners for the past decade. While these adult learners have studied within a formal framework, there is evidence to suggest that considerable learning may take place in informal settings within that overall structure. Many of the instructors at the College are traditional folk musicians who have learned in an aural/oral, non-literate tradition. I believe that there is a potential wealth of information regarding the intersection of learning styles and/or tensions that may arise from this conjunction. Rationale and the Significance of the Study I will briefly discuss this study with regard to its potential significance in the field of music education. Adult community music participation in North America is “strong and vital,” and research into this area has implications for school music education, according to Mark (1996, p. 121). He maintains that music education researchers, using qualitative techniques, should study adult participation in community music activities for two reasons. First, adults participating in music activities do so “for the love of it,” because they have had “positive, effective exposure to music,” enough so that they invest themselves in it (1996, p. 121). Second, an investigation of adult music participation could determine whether such participation leads to a “greater sense of community” (p. 122). Discussion on the subject could provide music educators with a “unique way to contribute to the quality of lives of community throughout the country” (p. 122). Coffinan recommends that adult learning be examined to discover what kinds of instruction are “most appropriate for adult learners” (2002, p. 205). His definition of adult/community learning includes both formal and informal settings, and the site of the proposed study would be included in this definition. Field studies could be useful in determining how traditional instructional approaches to music education could be modified to encourage more self-direction in music learning (p. 205). He concludes: (1) current music educators should train future educators to work with adults as well as children, and that this training could involve implementing community music activities, (2) music educators need to “increase the availability of appropriate entry points for music education,” and (3) music researchers need to “apply sufficient rigor in the research to help understand music learning across the life span” (p. 206). Another justification for the study comes from Rapuano, who contends that: Ethnicity seems to be a perfect subject for decoding invented communities, such as those formed around playing Irish traditional music. If we view playing and listening to music as one aspect of culture, then studying music communities can illustrate social and cultural history. (2001, p. 106) I also discovered, through a pilot study undertaken at the 2003 College, that more research into community and adult music making at the College was warranted. A closer examination of the teaching and learning that occurs there could expand and clarify the available literature on both the intersection of formal and informal music learning practices and adult music education, a goal recommended by Mark and Coflinan. Purpose The purpose of this ethnographic field study, which also has elements of a case study, was to discover, using interviews and observational techniques, the manner in which Celtic Roots music (see Definitions, below) is taught and learned. I am not using the term “teaching” here in the traditional, formal, sense. Instead, a substantial amount of recent literature has supported the idea that music transmission, an ethnomusicological term, necessarily involves elements of teaching and learning, although in many musical practices these occur in informal, rather than formal, settings (Szego p. 707). Central Research Questions Guided by Dabczynski (1994), Garrison (1986), Veblen (1991), and the themes that emerged from my pilot study, the following central research questions and sub- questions guided the study: 1. What are the characteristics of music teaching and learning that occur in formal, semi- formal, and informal settings at the Goderich Celtic College? 2. What are the various attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of the College participants with regard to the teaching and learning of music that occurs at the College, and Celtic music in general? 3. What implications can be drawn for formal music education practices in general? The following sub—questions emerged from the central research questions. Several emerged during the course of fieldwork: a) How do teachers divide class time between different musical elements, such as repertoire, technique, and style? b) How are the concepts of repertoire, technique, and style perceived by students and teachers? c) Is the teaching/learning at the College reflective of “authentic” and “traditional” teaching/learning practices? (I) In addition to formal classes, in what settings within the College does music learning/teaching occur? e) What are participants’ motivations for learning the musical practices at the College? f) What effects, if any, does the College experience have on participants’ subsequent musical activities and/or learning? Context for the Study The College is an annual, weeklong event that takes place in the town of Goderich, Ontario, Canada every August and is held in conjunction with the Celtic Roots Festival, which follows the College. The school, aimed at adults, provides musical instruction on various instruments and on various types of Celtic music. Different musical traditions taught at the school include those musics from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, Brittany, Newfoundland, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario. Instrumental instruction is available on Irish flute, tin whistle, bagpipes (several types), Anglo and English concertina, button accordion, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki (which, though Greek in origin, has, like the banjo, become part of the tradition), guitar, piano, and bodhran (a traditional Irish drum). There are traditional singing, dance, arts, crafts and cooking classes offered as well, because the underlying philosophy of the week is to create a “mini-culture/community” for the students and the staff . This model of “summer school” is based on the Willie Clancy Summer School week in Ireland, which focuses on the instruction of Irish traditional music to adults (Sky, 1996, p. 101). As mentioned earlier, the College is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 1995 by Warren and Eleanor Robinson. In the first summer of the school’s founding, there were seventeen instructors and eighty-three students. By the ninth year of the school’s existence (2004), fifiy-five instructors were employed to teach 350 students. The Robinsons continue to run and administer the College voluntarily, assisted by many volunteers from the town of Goderich and some paid support staff. Definitions It is necessary first to discuss briefly some of the problems inherent in defining “Irish traditional music” as well as the terms “Celtic” and “Celtic music.” Vallely (1999) offers the following partial definition of the term Irish traditional music: It is music of a living popular tradition. While it incorporates a large body of material inherited from the past, this does not form a static repertory, but it is constantly changing through the shedding of material, the reintroduction of neglected terms, the composition of new material, and the creative altering in performance of the established repertory. (p. 402) Vallely goes on to list 16 points that further limit the definition in various ways. The most significant of these limitations is the fact that most “purists” agree that the definition does not allow for hybridization, in that they “abhor commercialism, fusion and borrowing between music genres, adulteration of the centrality of melodic line, and popular or classical music, ethics, and instrumentation” (p. 302). According to Vallely’s well accepted definition, I would ascertain, through personal experience and discussions with the Robinsons and other instructors, that approximately 50% of the music that takes place at the College generally falls into this category (for my definition of Celtic Roots music see below). For this reason it would be inappropriate to use this term to describe all of the other music that occurs at the College. Similarly, the term “Celtic music” is problematic, but for different reasons. Its use is strongly questioned by many who perform traditional folk musics and Irish music scholars, because it has arguably become appropriated as a “catch-all” phrase that encompasses any and all music that shares some surface characteristics with traditional Irish and other folk musics of the British isles, but which also includes: (1) musics that are hybrids of two or more musical practices, (2) fusions of traditional and modern styles, and/or (3) any globally-marketed musical product with predominantly Irish instrumentation and New Age appeal (V allely, 1999, p. 64). Vallely states that this third perception is particularly pronounced in North America, where he contends that the term Celtic has come to denote a “record-shelf category” and that this catch-all phrase blurs important distinctions between musics of Wales, Scotland, Galicia, Breton, the Isle of Man, and Ireland (p. 64). Since I studied all music transmission practices that occur at the college, I instead employ the term “Celtic Roots music” to describe in toto all of practices that occur there. Thus the language employed throughout this dissertation is intended to disengage the study from current debates about authenticity and the alleged appropriation of the term “Celtic music,” as a discussion of these debates is of peripheral interest to how the music is taught and learned. This term, along with the term “Celtic roots music,” acknowledges the amount of hybridization and crossover, as well as some contemporary influences, that 10 are present in the musical practices at the College. For the ptrrpOSes of this study, the term “Celtic Roots music” will refer to all of the various musical traditions taught at the school including those of Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Brittany, Newfoundland, Cape Breton (part of Nova Scotia, Canada), Quebec, Ontario, and various combinations thereof. Examining how nonenculturated North American adults learn musics from other cultures is important because such study could reveal the differences, if any, between Western school/conservatory formal music training (and therefore preconceived notions of what it means “to teach” and “to learn”) and the informal aural/oral music learning practices of another culture. Further, discovering how enculturated traditional musician/instructors perceive music teaching and learning could also reveal significant differences regarding what it means to be musically educated, and this was a question also posed by Green (2002) in her examination of how popular musicians learn. Such differences could reveal the weaknesses, as well as the strengths, that a formal school music education can offer, and thus inform music educators of how to better their practices. Because College participants are adults with a completed formal education, and, according to Coffman (2002), already have preconceived ideas about teaching and learning, this could mean ascertaining what, if any, musical skills and knowledge were lacking in their completed formal education. This could include discovering musical skills not traditionally valued, and thus missing from, a traditional Western school music education. Conversely, an investigation of this sort could uncover what College participants valued most from their childhood formal music experiences, and further, 11 which of those learning experiences they deemed most applicable and relevant to their study of Celtic music as adults. Such an inquiry has obvious implications for school music programs. For example, many of the instructors at the College were traditional folk musicians who had learned in an aural/oral, non-literate tradition in informal social settings, and when “teaching,” employed various aural/oral approaches because those were the strategies with which they were most familiar. Typically, College students were North American adults, formally schooled, (mostly) musically literate, and generally lacking in aural music learning skills. Therefore, many were uncomfortable with aural/oral music learning when introduced to Celtic music as adults. Thus, like my own experiences, that, when first learning Celtic music, adult learners were both unfamiliar with and had difficulty learning the music in the manner in which it was traditionally transmitted, that is, through aural/oral learning in context. 12 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE An Overview of the Primary Celtic Musics Taught at the College: Irish and Scottish Traditional Music Irish Traditional Music Interpreted broadly, Irish traditional music is defined as music from Ireland that is traditional in any way, be it by origin, idiom, or in the mode of transmission or performance style (V allely, 1999, p. 197). The adjective “traditional” implies that “something in the music is being passed from one generation of performers to the next” (O’Canainn, 1978, p. 1). While there are different styles and genres of music within Ireland, the bulk of Irish traditional music is categorized as “songs, dance tunes, or tunes meant for listening” (Veblen, 1991 , p. 234) and has developed over the last three hundred years from native sources and outside influences (Hamilton, 1996, p. 46). The music as it exists today is remarkably similar to its original 18“1 century form (McCullough, 1978, p. x). Historically, it was “passed on” from one performer to another through oral/aural transmission (V allely, 1999, p. 403). Categories of songs include those songs in English and those sung in Irish, also known as sean nos. Songs sung in English are a relatively recent development and include ballads and lighter songs that can vary in tempo (Veblen, 1991, p. 234). Sean nos, or “old style” singing in Irish Gaelic is found mainly in the southwestern part of Ireland. It is unaccompanied, highly ornamented and performed in a rubato style (O’Cannain, 1978, p. 3). The bulk of instrumental music is comprised of dance forms such as jigs, reels, marches, slip jigs, polkas, mazurkas, and set dances. Also included in this genre are slow airs and planxties, intended for listening only (Veblen, 1991, p. 235). The dance forms 13 usuallj cncou reels. mazu nonli signa lnstn melo later harm. musi then of la With Cons Poeu filter; oft/re l‘v’OQah 1115mm thegmc usually consist of two 8-bar phrases, with the occasional three or more 8-bar phrase encountered (Hamilton, 1994, p. 46). Common time signatures are 2/2, 2/4, or 474 for reels, marches and hompipes and 6/8 for jigs, 9/8/for slip jigs, and 3/4/ for waltzes and mazurkas (Hamilton, 1994, p. 239). Although Irish dance music is an aural/oral tradition, nonliterate musician practitioners are generally knowledgeable regarding time and time signature issues, because the music is so tightly connected to traditional dance. Instruments that performed these Irish dance forms were fiddle, flute, tin whistle, melodeon, concertina, accordion, Uillean pipes, and bodhran (Veblen, 1991, p. 239). Later other instruments were added to the tradition including banjo, piano, guitar, harmonica, bouzouki, and mandolin (Veblen, 1991, p. 239). Scottish Traditional Music Because it is linked to Ireland geographically and linguistically, Scotland has a music tradition that shares many commonalities with the Irish music tradition. Further, there are two distinct musical regions in Scotland, and both are closely linked to a class of language speakers. These areas are (1) the Highlands and the Hebrideans - associated with Scots Gaelic, and (2) the Lowlands and the Northern Isles — associated with Scots, considered by some to be a language separate from English, and best exemplified by the poetry of Robert Burns (in Porter, 2002, p. 360). There is, however, much overlap and interaction between the two musical styles in terms of forms, melodies, and themes. Vocal music from the Highlands reflects the clan-based, pastoral earlier lifestyle of the region and includes lullabies, work songs, and puirt-a-beul, or mouth music, (vocalized nonsense syllables sung to dance tunes and used as a replacement for instrumental dance music). Puirt-a-beul arose after the British banned piping following the Battle of Culloden (Porter, 2002, p. 363). Highland instrumental music includes the 14 piobaireacd tradition of the Great Highland Bagpipes, consisting of songs, marches, and dance tunes, the clarsach (harp), and the fiddle, which gradually took over the piping repertoire and is best represented in the dance tradition by the music of the famous 18‘” century Highland fiddler James Gow, among others. The Lowlands and Northern Isles are noted for their vocal tradition of ballads and lyric songs. Ballads are stanzaic in form and tell stories arising from specific events. Lyric songs, reflective of rural life, often reference everyday agricultural events or relate metaphors for physical love (Porter, 2002, p. 365). Lowland instrumental music is best characterized by the fiddle, which has been the most favored instrument since the 17005. In the 20th century, dance bands consisting of fiddle, piano, piano accordion, and drum set have also become popular. A strong regionalized fiddle tradition that shares certain commonalities with Irish style is still present in the Shetland Isles. It has been claimed that, in modern times, there are more fiddlers present in the Shetlands relative to population than in any other place in the British Isles (Emmerson, 1971, p. 178). Like Irish traditional dance music, Scottish dance music is learned primarily through oral/aural transmission. However, as the great Scottish fiddling collections (those of the Gows for example), were collected and published at an earlier period in the mid to late 18th century than similar collections of Irish traditional dance music, there is a stronger music reading component in Scottish fiddling tradition (Emmerson, 1971, p. 55). Scottish traditional dance forms includes reels, jigs (first popularized in and then imported from Ireland), marches, and hompipes, and are identical in form to those found in Irish traditional dance music. There are, however, two forms, the rant and the strathspey, unique to Scottish dance music. Rants, whose name is derived from a 15 Germanic term meaning “to frolic,” are lively tunes in duple meter, and are sometimes mistakenly classed as reels (Emmerson, 1971, p. 130). Originally not a distinct genre, the strathspey was a style of reel playing associated with the fiddle. Unique to Scotland, the “strathspey is characterized by a rhythm known as the “Scotch snap,” a 16th note- dotted eighth note rhythm played with extreme “pointedness” and as if double-dotted (Cannon, 1988, p. 111). The first movement of Malcolm Arnold’s Four Scottish Dances, 0p. 59, is an example of a concert version of a strasthspey. Irish and Scottish Traditional Music in Ontario As of 1992, the fourth largest population group in Canada was composed of persons of Irish descent, following English, French, and Scottish (Miller, 1992, p. 635). Although Irish fisherman settled in Newfoundland in the early 18th century, it was not until the Irish famine of the mid-nineteenth century that thousands of Irishmen and women immigrated to Canada (p. 625). Most settled in Quebec and Upper Canada (Ontario). Irish settlement in Ontario is reflected by the place names of many small towns including Antrim, Mayo, Donegal, Westmeath, Shamrock, Killaloe, Maynooth, St. Columba, Killarney, and Newry, to name a few (Trew, 2003, p. 98). In Ontario, the Ottawa valley has long been associated with Irish music and Irish fiddle music in particular (Miller, 1992, p. 636). The Ottawa River has an historic past, having been traveled in the past 300 years by fur trappers, loggers, and voyageurs, many of whom were Irish descendents (Trew, 1996, p. 214). During the 19‘“ century, approximately 75% of the Ottawa Valley’s citizens were of Irish origin (p. 214). Contemporary fiddle music in the Valley, however, is now comprised of many different fiddling styles, including Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, Quebecois and Ontario Old Time, with players ofien emulating the “down—east Maritime fiddling” of renowned Canadian 16 ll fiddler Don Messer (Miller, 1992, p. 217). This “down east” fiddling style has been popularized in many contests, including the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddlers’ Contest in Shelbourne, Ontario, established in 1951. Now considered a style in its own right, Canadian “Old Time” fiddling evolved from a combination of different styles including Irish, Scottish, and maritime fiddling. (Miller, 1992, p. 456). Past Canadian Grand Fiddle Champions include the Franco-Ontarian Schreyer brothers, one of whom, Pierre, was a fiddle instructor at the Celtic College. The history of Scottish music in Canada is closely associated with Scottish emigration, beginning with the Highland clearings of the 18th century and continuing unabated into the present century. Although most notable in Nova Scotia (literally “New Scotland”), there is also a long history of Scottish settlement in Ontario. Many of Ontario’s larger towns’ and counties’ place names are indicative of Scottish settlement and these include Perth, Strathroy, Lanark, Calabogie, Caledonia, Glengarry, Ailsa Craig, Tobermory, Kincardine, Culloden, and Glencoe among others (T rew, 2003, p. 98). Additionally, many old songs of Scottish origin have been recorded in the province of Ontario (Waterhouse & Larkin, 1992, p. 1203). Scottish instrumental music is represented by both the Highland piping tradition, and the dance music tradition discussed earlier, of which the most common instrument is the fiddle. Although there is not much available documentation, it is believed that fiddlers were present among the many Scottish settlers who immigrated to Upper Canada (Ontario) (p. 1203). There has long been a history of civilian pipe and drum bands in Ontario, and this continues to the present day. Pipe bands are usually sponsored by towns, and/or Scottish cultural organizations, universities, and police associations. Canadian Grade 1 pipe bands 17 (those operating at the highest level of proficiency) have, at times, outnumbered those in Scotland, and after 1980, were considered to be on par with Scotland’s best pipe bands (Kallman, 1992, p. 85). Community Music Making Recently, music educators have begun to examine community music practices for school application, but this research has been inconsistent. Some areas have been studied thoroughly, while others have received little or no documentation (Veblen & Olsson, 2002, p. 731). Music teaching and learning occur in a wide variety of contexts and, for this reason, informal and formal music practices often co-exist along a continuum. This overlapping of musical practices is one factor that distinguishes community music making from music education that takes place in publics and/or higher education. Community music (CM) is “inclusive by nature;” thus overlap exists between it and “early childhood and adult music education, technology, rural/urban community educational settings, and informal learning and transmission” (p. 730). Drawing on a dissertation by Abromovitch, Veblen and Olsson (2002) describe CM as music that involves “active participation in music making of all kinds (performing, improvising, and creating),” and this definition allows for many diverse musics and music learning practices. Cultural events can include music and other folk arts representative of the community, and may reflect the “cultural life of a geographical community, re-created community, or imagined community” (p. 730). CM is variously defined depending on the country of origin; however, there is general agreement that the term implies “opportunities for participation and education through a wide range of mediums, musics, and musiCal experience” (p. 730). Thus, CM activities accommodate a 18 wide participant age span and may involve children, adults, and seniors, with some activities being intergenerational. The following is a list of some of the possible CM activities: Church choirs, brass bands, local orchestras, youth music programs, Elderhostel, ethnic celebrations, parades, festivals, Internet users, fan clubs, chat rooms, youth band, barbershop quartets, nonprofit coffeehouses, barn dances, ceilis, contradances and square dances with live musicians, recorder ensembles, the local “jazz” scene, bell ringers, local music schools, and private lesson studios. (p. 730) Veblen (2002) also compared typologies of CM from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, the Philippines, and North America. To situate the comparison, she draws on German sociologist Ferdinand Tonnies’ (1887) seminal theory of community. Tonnies, like Marx and other intellectuals of the time, was heavily influenced by pivotal events of the 19th century, including the Industrial Revolution, the Irish potato famine, and changes to the world’s power structures. To explain the rapid changes in society triggered by these events, Tonnies crafted the concepts of Gemeinschafi and Gesellschaft. The former term refers to smaller-scale, homogeneous community relationships (church and family being two examples), and represents a traditional view of community in which people know and are dependent upon one another. Gesellschafi, the polar opposite of this idea, is defined by the presence of “rational and calculative interactions, fleeting relationships, social and geographic mobility and fluid roles,” resulting in an individual’s value being directly tied to her achievement (Veblen, 2002, p. 1). In Gesellschaft, society is large, heterogeneous, and represented by business, state, education and media interests, 19 and often, there is overlap among all. Tonnies viewed the encroachment of industry and urban life as negative factors, because they foreshadowed a loss of community. According to Veblen, some perceive Gemeinschaft and Gesellschafi as mirror images, one being the “yin” to the other’s “yang.” As urban industrialization engulfs rural areas, however, it is believed by many that Gemeinschafi inevitability becomes Gesellschafi. Others, however, contend that the two can coexist. Veblen posits that the following three key characteristics are rooted in Tonnies theory. Accordingly, community is: 1. A geographic expression-[represented by] a fixed and bounded locality 2. A local social system and 3. Type of relationship (Veblen, 2002, p. 2) Based on her comparisons, Veblen concludes that, although there are differences between each country’s sample CM typology, they can all be traced to a type of Gemeinschafi. Further, the examination and categorizing of CM in different parts of the world is a fairly recent phenomenon, as researchers are just beginning to formally identify what has always been present informally. Because there are so many global variations on what constitutes CM, the International Society of Music Education (I SME) Commission on CM states that the Commission has intentionally chosen not to limit itself to a strict definition of the term. Instead, its work is based on the following beliefs: 1. Music is a basic means of human expression and communication. 2. Music is one of the factors that create social and cultural identity. 20 3. Music activity is in itself educational in the sense that it leads to personal and social development and self-realization. (International Journal of Music Education, 1987, p. 40) Breen (1994) examined the effects of government funding on community music activities in Australia, questioning how “public funding re-orientates cultural behavior” and contending that CM operates at three levels (p. 40). He contends that CM exists: 1. For its own sake as an art form. 2. As an expression of community development. 3. To feed into and develop the music industry (p. 41). Breen posits that the most passionately supported community music projects arise when there is a close connection between music production and local government. Based on his investigation of community music projects throughout Australia, Breen concluded that the term “community music” is becoming a less accurate descriptor with the passage of time, because traditional interpretations of the term connect it with certain geographical areas linked to specific genres of music, usually folk-ethnic acoustic. However, this orthodox definition of the term “community music” is appropriate when applied to groups of practitioners of music that is Celtic in origin, because, in addition to being tied to specific countries and/or regions, the music played is primarily acoustic in nature. Traditional Celtic music is also a social phenomenon, because the music is transmitted and enjoyed at dances, parties, pub and house sessions, as well as at competitions, concerts, and summer schools (Reiss, 2003, p. 146). These communities of musicians and dancers are fluid but still bounded by the aforementioned experiences. 21 Additionally, these groups are not defined by one single community, but instead are composed of many communities with overlapping identities. The types of communities that are formed around Irish traditional music would be specific examples of this. As the music was first distributed from its original place because of immigration, and is now commodified and codified through music books and recordings, Taylor (2003) feels it is accurate to state that the community of “Irish music” is less place based than ever before. However, people in the Irish traditional music community use “Irish music to anchor them, to construct, however temporarily, a rooted sense of place using these commodified musics” (p. 281). Further, he argues there is a longing for “roots” or a sense of place, particularly among contemporary North Americans, because that society is such a famously itinerant one. Being part of a traditional music community, be it Irish, Scottish, English or whatever, is one way to place oneself (p. 281). According to Mark, ethnic and cultural musics have always been taught outside of a formal educational institution, usually beginning in the family, and extending into the cultural community. He also maintains that researchers should discover more about how people teach musics and cultures informally, in community settings, by asking the following questions: 1. Who does the teaching and under what circumstances? 2. What is expected of learners? 4. Does any of that learning depend on formal learning in the schools? (Mark, 1996, p. 120) 22 Mark believes that the answers to these questions could hold implications for music education, leading toward a new vision for the field in North America, one that could serve the entire community and also forge connections between school and community music. Further, for the adult learner, community is a significant factor contributing to musical growth and education (Sky, 1996, p. 104). Moreover, community adult music activities have always been an integral part of North American musical life (Mark, 1996, p. 119). Mark recommends that more qualitative studies in this area could provide research opportunities for acadenrics in the area of music education. Adult Music Education The majority of research on adult music activities examines the myriad reasons for participation in community music organizations, offering information on demographic backgrounds, music preferences, and motivations (Coffrnan, 2002, p. 202). A seminal study by Bowles (1989) assesses the self-expressed music education interests and educational preferences among prospective participants in adult music education, and also delineates their music experiences. Based on the study’s results, she concluded that adults who had had positive school music experiences were more likely to pursue adult music education activities. Further research in the area reveals that reasons for participation fall into one of three categories, none of which consistently emerges as more important than another. These are: (1) personal motivation, (2) musical motivation, and (3) social motivation (Coffinan, 2002, p. 202). Further, adult musicians are often exemplars of life-long learning (Chiodo, 1997). Their characteristics include openness to a variety of music learning practices and extreme flexibility to allow for continuous learning (Coffman, 2002, p. 201). Andragogy, defined as a set of assumptions about adult 23 learning, was first identified by Brookfield, and discussed by Coffman, who states that adults: 1. Learn throughout life as they adjust to life phase transitions 2. Display a variety of learning styles 3.‘ Prefer problem-centered learning that readily applies to specific personal concerns 4. Are influenced (aided and hampered) by prior experiences 5. Need to view themselves if learning is to occur, and 6. Tend to be self-directed learners (Coffman, 2002, p. 201). The literature on andragogy has been largely confined to an examination of older adult learners (Darrough, & Boswell, 1992, p. 25). Although this study is not necessarily concerned with older learners, the research is relevant for several reasons. Coffinan concludes that many diverse adult musical activities, including participation in community musical groups and festival attendance, can be considered as forms of music education, as adult music activities often encompass one or more of the above characteristics of adult learning and education. Further, such activities can also be considered examples of either formal or informal learning, if one acknowledges that music teaching and learning can occur outside of teacher-centered classrooms. According to this definition, virtually no music activity is excluded, and Coffinan contends that more exploration in the area is needed. Thus a study of adult learning that is concerned with the adaptation of non-Westem musical practices could have implications for researchers interested in andragogy. The Edinburgh Adult Learning Project (ALP) is an example of an adult music education program that is situated in both formal and informal settings and employs formal music teaching and informal music learning practices. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, it was examined by Symon (2003) through an interview with the director of the program, Stan Reeves. The purpose of the program, which was begun in 1989, was to connect local Scots with their cultural heritage through music. Scottish traditional music was chosen because it was believed to best exemplify the living tradition that exists between Scotland’s historical heritage and Scottish contemporary life. Prior to founding the ALP, Reeves consulted members of the Scottish traditional music community and asked them what they felt the issues and problems would be in developing and delivering such a program (Symon, 2003, p. 263). Private music tutors were hired to instruct a variety of classes and enrollment in the program now averages 500 adult students per year. ALP is responsible for the formation of traditional musicians’ networks throughout Edinburgh, and Reeves estimates there are currently 11 ceilidh bands consisting of players who met through the program. The ceilidh band members also meet at ALP-sponsored traditional music sessions held at local pubs in Edinburgh, and Reeve estimates that, because of ALP, there are currently ten sessions a week occurring at various pubs throughout the city. Students are predominately lower middle class, white, and range in age from their early 205 through their early 603. Reeves classified the students as belonging to one of two categories; the first being Celtic music devotees in their late 203 and early 303, who typically own recordings of Scottish traditional groups and attend folk clubs and festivals. The second group consists of adults Reeves deemed “translators.” These were older 25 adults who received a significant amount of their music education as part of formal schooling. Most were motivated to learn traditional music because they had no social musical outlet after leaving public school. Reeves described this group as: A huge bloc of pe0ple who benefited fi'om the upsurge in music education in schools in the sixties and seventies [to which Reeves referred to as ‘that sausage machine’] and who can ‘knock out a tune’ on the fiddle, but they generally can’t do it without music. They can’t play by ear. They’ve got no performance skills at all. All they can do is read music and translate it onto their instrument and they want to do something more useful with it (Symon, 2003, p. 267). Further, Reeves was adamant that adult students first learn traditional music “by ear,” stating that aural/oral learning was “very important to him” (2003, p. 268). He also stated emphatically that reading music “is a good thing,” saying, “it’s a good skill that you can use” (p. 268). However, he does insist to classically trained adult students that they learn traditional music “by ear,” and further states that this is often a difficult hurdle for them to overcome. He says: We get people who say, ‘Ah nah, I can’t learn by ear. I can’t do it.’ They’ve been in the classical music mode and they actually don’t want to do it. You just have to say to them, ‘Well you’ll never be a performer. You’ll never be able to perform in the community, because you cannae take your music stand into a Pub (p. 268)!’ Informal Music Learning and Schooling: An Overview Western and Non- Western Performance Practices: A Comparison Musicologist and social critic Christopher Small examines commonly held assumptions of music believed to be universal and basic based on beliefs and suppositions surrounding traditional conceptions of Western European art music (Small, 26 1977, p. 8). Other cultures are interested in different elements of musical sound that are “neither superior nor inferior,” instead simply differing in their assumptions of how they conceptualize and what they value in music. Therefore, Small posits that, in non-Westem art music traditions, value judgments based on musical elements deemed important to Western art music are irrelevant. While we are all shaped by and can never fully escape the biases of the cultures in which we are raised, an awareness of the differences between the music of non-westem societies and Western art music would help us to understand that Western art music has morphed rather than progressed. To illustrate, Small traces the historical development of tonal-harmonic themes in Western art music over the last three centuries, contending that there are certain musical characteristics that “unite Monteverdi, Wagner, Beethoven, and Delibes,” the most significant being the recognition of the harmonic triad as the basic unit of musical composition (Small, 1977, p. 11). This acceptance of the triad as the basis for all musical composition is now so ingrained that it is difficult for us to imagine that it has been otherwise, even with the intellectual acknowledgement that, prior to the Renaissance, we know this not to be the case. Further, Europe before the Renaissance was not that dissimilar from other parts of the world, in that the culture was mainly an oral, non- literate one (p. 12). After the Renaissance, the Western Etn'opean tradition of a primarily oral culture gradually shifted towards the development, and finally the dominance, of a primarily written culture. This includes the notation of music, which is a unique system among the world’s cultures. Many cultures have developed musical notation systems, but they function primarily as memory aids to assist musicians in remembering what was performed after 27 the fact. Western art music is the exception to the rule; the written score is created prior to performance, before any sounds are made and by the composer acting in isolation. Further, Small insists that, based on how other cultures conceptualize music (he uses the Balinese as an example), we should reject what we assume are universal tenets of music, based on how we conceptualize Western art music. He lists seven assumptions, but two have direct application here. They are that: 1. The idea of a musical composition as having an abstract existence apart from performer and the performance, to which the performer aspires to present as close an approximation as he can, as well as the idea of the composer as one who is set aside from both performer and audience, [should be rejected, and] 2. The idea of music as the conscious articulation of time so that one always knows or expects to know where one is in relation to the beginning and the end, [and, further, that] the idea of music as a linear progression in time from a clear cut beginning to a fore-ordained end should be rejected as well (Small, 1977, p. 36). Further, he asserts that complete reliance on written notation by performers in the in the practice of Western European art music is unique when compared to other musical cultures (Small, 1998, p. 110). Notation enables but is also simultaneously limiting. Compositions from earlier centuries are preserved and, because of the written notation, are learned by modern performers quickly and efficiently. What the player can perfomr, however, is restricted by the parameters of the printed music. The player’s power of self- directed performance is therefore likely to diminish, because in the Western art music tradition, aural/oral performances are deemed inferior to those based on written notation 28 (p. 110). Small defines this aural/oral performance practice as “performers inventing some or all of their own material,” and he believes that this practice no longer exists in Western concert performances (p. 110). To European musicians of an earlier period, this attitude towards aural/oral performance would have seemed absurd, as the ability to perform music outside of the confines of the written page was a tacit part of performance practice. The primary frmction of a score was to disseminate a performance and not to preserve the written text. Further, Small states that, in this respect, those earlier musicians had more in common with today’s popular musicians making recordings than with current classical musicians. None of the canon “Great Classical Composers” were completely text dependent, either for performance or compositional purposes (1998, p. 110). Fluency in both aural/oral and written musical practices enabled them to move freely between both practices with ease. According to one contemporary account, “their frequent nonliterate [which is Small’s term for aural/oral performance] performances were, to judge from wildly enthusiastic contemporary accounts, more exciting and moving, even inspired, than any performance could be of those notated works of theirs which have come down to us and which today we treasure” (1998, p. 110). Hopkins (2000) suggests the same. She maintains that, at the time, it was an expectation that musicians add improvisation to their performances of both sacred and secular music. As an example, Hopkins cites contemporaries critical of J. S. Bach, because be included so much in his music notation that little or no room was left for improvisation to be added by the performer (p. 93). Small contends that the aural/oral irnprovisatory performance practice described by himself and Hopkins has completely disappeared in contemporary concert music practice. 29 Music literacy, or the knowledge of notation and how to decode it, is not a significant part of most global musical practices. It is not the same as musicianship, being only one part of formal learning practice (Elliott, 1996, p. 61). For a music teacher or performer in the Western classical tradition, formal knowledge of music and music making is a prerequisite, but it is not a necessary component for achieving competent, proficient, or expert levels of musicianship (p. 62). In many parts of the world, aural/oral transmission is the primary way in which instrumental music is learned, and it is sometimes augmented by vocal and/or visual elements and cues. By vocalizing, often with non-lexical syllables, instrumental music is re-created, learned, and transmitted from one musician to another. There is a visual component to aural/oral learning as well. Student instrumentalists often watch their teachers’ hands and fingers, looking for repeated finger patterns (Hopkins, 2000, p. 105). Rice (1995) goes so far as to claim that the method that Hopkins describes above is a third distinct learning mode separate from written and aural/oral learning, based on his experiences learning the gaida (Bulgarian bagpipe). During his study of it, he discovered that the tradition is passed from one male generation to the next using what Rice terms a “visual-aural-tactile or a visual-aural-kinesthetic tradition” (p. 268). His initial assumption, based on his Westerrrized conception of aural/oral learning, was that he could learn the gaida solely by listening to and then imitating recordings of it, and that that would suffice. However, he says in retrospect, “I misunderstood the sound of the bagpipes with a host of biases that influenced and limited my attempt to acquire an adequate comprehension of it,” and this included Western concepts of melody, harmony, and rhythm (p. 268). It was only after repeated trips to Bulgaria to observe respected 3O gaida masters there that he began to comprehend visually certain vital aspects of gaida playing. Watching a master player’s fingers enabled him to “re ” not written music but the movements of the bagpiper’s fingers, and it was only after this realization that he was able to play simple gaida tunes in an authentic manner (p. 269). However, Rice was still unable to add any ornamentation to his playing in a way that sounded “real,” and it was only when he began to understand and internalize tactile elements involved in gaida performance that his playing sounded authentic. He explains that his initial attempts to ornament tunes were based solely upon listening and then imitating aural examples of gaida playing. After playing for his mentor, Rice was told that he did not have a gaida player’s fingers. Listening and observing by themselves were not providing sufficient information to produce an authentic sounding gaida style. It was only after a “Eureka experiment” that he “realized how to move [his] hands in order to produce the ornaments I heard” (Rice, 1995, p. 270). He explained that this involved: The central insight [of] understanding how to move my hands correctly in order to make the music; specifically, I had to discard my attempt conceptualization of melody and ornament and unify them into a way of moving my hands (p. 271). He realized he had attained the correct musical style after his mentor no longer asked Rice to omit the ornamentation from his gaida playing. Irish musicologist Andrew Robinson discusses aural/oral learning and ornamentation from an Irish traditional perspective, explaining that “staff notation is good at clarifying counterpoint, but not good at showing the details of phrasing and rhythm that constitute the living communication of music” (in Vallely, 1999, p. 396), and further, be compares reading staff notation in music to painting by numbers in art. He 31 also maintains that, although all music is learned aurally, some music teachers still use the phrase “playing by ear” in a derogatory manner, the implication being that any who engages in that activity is not educated as a musician. In the Irish dance music tradition, the availability of written notated music, along with the ability to read it, has facilitated the passing on of the music to those whom it would otherwise be inaccessible. However, particularly in the case of traditional music, this can only indicate the notes to be played; it cannot fully communicate rhythmic subtleties, or stylistic elements, and other performance aspects. Nor can notated music accurately document the ornamentation that is expected of Irish players. The creation of interest in Irish traditional music depends upon the creativity of each individual musician. Thus, the same “tune” is never played the same way twice by the same musician, nor is it likely to played the same way by two different players. Ornamentation facilitates this individual creative process, and the player can select from any of the accepted forms of ornamentation (cuts, tips, rolls, trebles, cranns and triplets), and then apply them to the appropriate musical place in the “tune” (V allely, 1999, p. 290). Formal Music Education and Informal Music Learning Practices Many of the aural/oral informal music learning practices typical of other cultures are similar to those employed by Western popular musicians. In her study of how popular musicians learn, Green (2002) explains that, along with or as a replacement for formal music education practice (of which one aspect is the ability to decode written notation), every society has developed other ways of passing on and acquiring musical skills and knowledge, including Western popular culture. Green defines these skills as informal music learning practices, in which musical skills and knowledge are “picked up” from 32 family, friends and peers. Formal music education shares few, if any, of the characteristics of “informal learning practices” (p. 5). The differences between formal music education and informal music learning practices can be perceived as reflective of the differences, discussed by Jorgensen (1997), between schooling and education. The word “school” is derived from the Old English skol, meaning the “the. place where instruction takes place” (p. 4). Several assumptions are attached to this definition, including an understanding that instruction is formal (as opposed to informal, haphazard, or incidental), and that the content of that instruction is determined by what is perceived to best serve society as a whole (p. 4). Schooling is associated with Western-style, govemment-operated institutions that are divided into classes, run by administrators, and taught by certified teachers delivering a government- approved curricula. Instruction is teacher-centric, and takes place at specific times within a scheduled timetable. Therefore, it is no surprise that a general supposition among music educators is that music education is primarily state-sponsored and delivered in formal academic institutions. This assumption restricts music education to Western-style elementary and secondary state schools, with music education programs outside of the West mimicking their Western counterparts. Historically, however, this was (and still is) not the case, as music education occurred in churches, conservatories, independent music schools, and private studios. Music education as possible only in state-run schools is problematic because implementation of this belief reduces music education to “incomplete objectives and elementary and intermediate levels of instruction” (Jorgensen, 1997, p. 7). Jorgensen 33 concludes that this is an unacceptable foundation on which to “build a paradigm of music education” (p. 7). In addition to excluding other places in which music education might occur it also discounts the possibility of any learning occurring after formal schooling ends. Further, it “tends to perpetuate a parochial, culturally biased view that discounts the ways in which people make music and come to know music outside the West” (p. 7). Additionally, this view of music education overlooks the informal learning experiences that occur in the social contexts of musicians’ lives. As an example, Jorgensen cites the learning that occurs in informal contexts among jazz musicians. To truly “learn” jazz, one must participate and grow into a community of jazz musicians, because absorbing all of the musical knowledge necessary to become a proficient jazz musician cannot be obtained in a private studio or formal classroom situation. This was also consistent with Small (1977), who describes the individualized learning strategies developed by aspiring jazz musicians to learn their craft. These learning strategies are non-linear and totally dependent upon what each musician feels is most valuable to her learning. A majority of the learning is aural; musicians listen to live concerts and/or recordings of artists and styles whose music they most wish to emulate and/or incorporate into each of their individual styles. The aspiring jazz musician therefore, faces problems similar to those wishing to learn the music of another culture. To describe persons trained in one musical practice (usually Western art music) that have acquired the musical practice of a second “cultivat ” culture (for example, China, Java, or India), ethnomusicologist Mantle Hood, in 1960, coined the term “bi- musicality.” Titon (1995) maintains that, since Hood originally defined the term, it has evolved to mean fluency in two or more musics. It is therefore analogous to bilingual, 34 and leads to what he describes as “subject shift.” He defines this as “acquir[ing] knowledge by figuratively stepping outside of oneself to view the world with oneself in it, thereby becorrring both subject and object simultaneously” (p. 288). In this way, bi- musicality becomes a learning strategy for obtaining musical skills and understanding how people make music. Further extending the term, Green (2002) applies it to describe people who have acquired musical skills through both formal music instruction and informal music learning practices, and are, therefore, proficient visual musicians as well as competent aural/oral musicians. This is because reading written notation is a requirement in Western formal music education practice, and aural/oral learning is a significant element in informal music learning practice. Cope and Smith (1997) examined and compared the characteristics of a Western formal school music education and informal non-school music learning through the medium of Scottish traditional fiddle music. Maintaining that in Western culture formal school music education has traditionally been viewed as an elitist activity, they assert that formal instrument instruction has largely been confined to those children deemed sufficiently talented, because it is believed they would benefit most. Thus, the tacit assumption in Western society is that music instruction is appropriate only for the gifted. The problem is further exacerbated because of the limited resources available to many educational institutions. As a result, music programs often exist on the periphery of school culture because they serve only a select few. Cope and Smith propose an alternative approach that they believe would move music instruction from the fringes of school society towards a more central position in school culture and curriculum. Specifically, they argue that “a more 35 relevant cultural framework for instrumental teaching would result in competent players whose facility with an instrument would be appropriate for their social context” (Cope and Smith (1997, p. 283). The authors maintain that the following elements are typical characteristics of Western formal school music instruction: 1. A written culture, the primary emphasis being on reading written music 2. The musically gifted student 3. A mostly classical repertoire 4. The gradation of exercises and technique 5. The use of “classical” art music instruments 6. Comprehension of music theory 7. A tacit assumption that becoming a concert player is the goal (Cope & Smith, 1996,p.285) The abilities to read notated music and understand theoretical music knowledge are valuable skills in the Western classical curriculum; they are, however, stressed over the development of contextual aural learning. Further, Cope and Smith maintain that learners should experience music contextually and intuitively prior to learning written notation or formal theory. Music cultures that exist outside of the school environment reveal a different approach to learning than that that exists in the Western formal academic sphere. The authors reported the result of their own earlier study, which focused on teaching Scottish traditional fiddle to a small group of children. Scottish fiddling was selected because the researchers felt that, in addition to affording “r ” performance opportunities, it allowed for the development of musical skills that were transferable to 36 the “classical” medium at a later time. Rejecting the idea of the concert player as the ultimate goal of music instruction, the authors preferred to focus on allowing children to enjoy music performance through active participation. Stressing the social and cultural aspects of music learning as significant motivational factors resulted in “one hundred per cent attendance over a period of three months over a daily before-school practice session” (Cope and Smith, 1997, p. 286). Based on this and other studies, Cope & Smith maintain the following attributes characterize this informal and contextual approach to music learning: 1. A traditional repertoire 2. A musically competent participant 3. Learning in a holistic manner by learning tunes 4. The traditional/folk range of instruments 5. Learning by ear 6. Music theory unexplicated 7. The competent amateur player as goal (Cope & Smith, 1997, p. 286). The authors contend that the above characteristics are applicable to any number of musical sub-cultures, and not just Scottish traditional fiddle music. Context and Transmission in Community The most prominent feature of the approach articulated by Cope and Smith ( 1997) is that it is context dependent, meaning that musicians learn to play within the cultural context of their performance idiom. While practicing may occur in a' solitary setting, interactive learning also occurs in the informal group setting. The group setting functions 37 as a social activity as well, since tunes are learned through transmission fi'om one group member to another. This group setting constitutes what Elliott refers to as a “specific community of practice” (Elliott, 1996, p. 67). That is, students must become inducted into the practice or culture they intend to learn, and the resulting musicianship is, therefore, context- dependent. He states: The dominant forms of knowing that constitute musicianship [are] intimately related to the authenticity of the musical situations in which it is taught, learned and used; that is, that musical action and musical context work together to co- produce musical understanding (Elliot, 196, p. 161). McCarthy (1999) relates a similar idea, stating that, “Musical cultures are created within particular communities whose members participate in and share a common musical practice” (p. 23). Exploring the musical culture of Ireland from a music education perspective, McCarthy (1990) examined the philosophical, historical, and cultural roots of Irish music education from 1831-1989. Historically, music education in Ireland could be categorized into one of three musical genres: (1) music from the “high” society of Britain, which served to tacitly reinforce the cultural hegemony of Anglo-Irish values and beliefs, (2) sacred music which “advance[ed] the cultural ideologies rooted in Catholicism and nationalism,” and (3) Irish traditional music which, in contemporary times, was freed from the constrictions of Catholicism, nationalism and linguistic ethnocentrism. The author explores two perspectives of Irish music education, the first being music education as indoctrination, and the second being music education as enculturation. One important 38 feature of the enculturation process in Irish traditional music was and continues to be the transmission of the music in a community setting. Further, this transmission has always been viewed as the “most natural and true way to learn music” (p. 100). In his study of the “tune families” that exist in Irish traditional music, Cowdery (1990) describes one aspect of this transmission process (p. 13). In the Irish tradition, music is transmitted primarily through the “session” or seisiun ceol. Musicians gather in an informal setting to play music together, and this gathering could occur in a church, parking lot, or a public house. It is not, however, considered to be a public performance, even though there can be members of the general public in attendance. The session exists for the enjoyment of the players, some of whom attend the session to test their own abilities against those of other musicians, while others come to learn new tunes and techniques. No formal teaching, however, takes place. Describing informal music sessions in Ireland, McCann (2001) asserts they are the most popular form of Irish musical activity that occurs in a public place. He further explains that sessions involve at least three people playing reels, jigs, marches, and hompipes in unison, with the odd solo piece “thrown in.” He maintains that, although sessions can happen anywhere, the most interesting ones occur in the “third space” of the typical local pub. This is due to several factors, including the presence of the proper “lubricant” (drink), and the involvement of other non-playing participants such as the Pub owner, dancers, and encouraging listeners. Described as an increasingly widespread phenomena, sessions provide an environment in which younger, less experienced players can be “sheparded” along by older, more experienced ones, and are the site of most music transmission. Sessions contain their own complex codes of etiquette and procedures 39 consisting of visual cues and unspoken value judgments. Woodford (2005) suggests that the apprenticeship learning that occurs in “jam” sessions (the Irish model being one example) should be examined more closely by music educators for possible application and inclusion in the formal music classroom. Invited to participate in informal sessions at homes and pubs during a fieldwork trip to County Clare, Ireland, Koning (1980) described how he learned and “picked up” tunes while participating in sessions there. During these occasions, if Konig expressed interest in a tune that was played, other players immediately offered to teach the tune to him. He explained that this was done through aural/oral imitation and by breaking the time down into smaller “bits.” First, the learner copies the tune orally, in tempo, by “lilting” (singing the tune with non-lexical syllables) and then imitates the player who is teaching it to her. The other player continues in this manner until the tune has been completely copied by the learner. No ornamentation or variation is included in this version by the teacher of the trme (so as not to complicate the learning by teaching the learner the teacher’s copy of the tune) or the learner, and is instead added by the learner at a later time. The next time the two players meet, the two versions may differ considerably (p. 422). To understand the processes through which Irish traditional musicians become members of session communities, Rapuano (2001) examined Irish traditional music sessions in the mid-westem United States. Her ethnographic study focused on three Irish traditional music sessions in two different mid-westem cities in the United States. While discovering that becoming a proficient Irish traditional musician involved developing the skills necessary to learn tunes and build repertoire, the author contends that an important part of becoming accepted as an Irish musician at those sessions also necessitated learning the socio-cultural aspects of playing the music. The study focused on sociological aspects of session participation rather than musical elements, and she concluded that the musicians, “while not being Irish, nevertheless promote a version of ‘Irishness’ through the music they play, and their identification with it” (p. 116). Veblen (1991), in her examination of Irish traditional music transmission, explored the “nature of stability and change” through the role of the traditional music teacher. While Veblen’s study took place in contemporary Ireland, it encompasses both the “verifiable present and the remembered past” (1991). Using ethnographic techniques, Veblen documented how 15 traditional music teachers transmit Irish traditional music to their students. Veblen determined that Irish traditional music was and still is taught primarily through aural/oral transmission, with written music used as a memory aid. Music was taught sequentially and incrementally, and each teacher had her own distinctive “teaching repertoire,” the contents of which varied depending on preferred style, region, instrument, and perceived learner level. Veblen concluded that the role of the Irish traditional music teacher has remained steady over time, despite the introduction of sound recordings and radio in the past 50 years (1991). She further concluded that the teacher continues to be a “tradition bearer, community resource and facilitator” (1991). One difference, however, is that in contemporary Ireland traditional music tends to be taught in groups. In the past, it was taught one-on-one (p. iii). Veblen explored the group teaching of Irish traditional music further with Johnson in 1999. By observing and interviewing at two Irish music summer schools, they sought to establish the observable 41 contexts of Irish traditional music, and “the role of competition in the stability and innovation of Irish traditional music” (1999). By examining the traditional and nontraditional teaching techniques employed in Cape Breton fiddling practices, Garrison sought to determine if the “essential features of traditional teaching and learning practices” could be maintained in a more formal teaching environment. The purpose of her ethnographic case study was to determine if “the essential features of Cape Breton fiddling could be maintained when the transmission process occurred in a more formal educational context.” The study took place in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada and participants were 78 Cape Breton fiddlers and 49 intermediate and beginning fiddle class students. Garrison identified the “essential” teaching/learning and transmission characteristics of Cape Breton fiddling by observing the practicing Cape Breton fiddlers, seeking to determine whether the same essential features were present in six semiformal, informal, and formal weekend and week long fiddle classes held in Cape Breton. She also observed a week-long fiddle class, and concluded that traditional and nontraditional teaching characteristics were present in the formalized setting (Garrison, 1985). Garrison discovered that a primary teaching characteristic of Cape Breton fiddling was that the music was learned through aural/oral transmission, with written music used only as a mnemonic device. Based on her research results, Garrison concluded the study by providing two models for future use to researchers studying transmission. These were (1) a model for studying “teaching and learning in instrumental folk traditions” and (2) a model for “ethnographic style research in music education” (1985). 42 Bayard (1956), a seminal figure in the exploration of North American fiddle styles, studied folk fiddlers in Western Pennslyvania and Northern West Virginia. Described as “old time” fiddlers, few practitioners of this style were able to read written notation, and those who were had generally picked up or taught themselves how to do so later in life. Even if an informant claimed a tune had been “book-learned,” she was more likely to play the local version of the tune instead of the version found in the fiddle tutor. Further, Bayard states that, although it is difficult to exactly determine the purity of an oral/aural tradition, many of his informants’ playing habits were characteristic of “ear- playing” traditions. For example, the players reported similar accounts of how they first learned to play. None of the informants first learned to play fiddle “from the notes,” nor were any involved with formal “music lessons.” Instead, they were all exposed to traditional music as children through family or friends, and, as a result, had a “head full of tunes” prior to learning fiddle (p.16). An investigation of the traditional music and dance community in Owen Sound, Ontario was undertaken by Lupton (1998). Contending that the Saturday night dance tradition was a significant part of the social fabric in early Canadian culture, and that such traditions should be preserved for future generations, the author documented one such specific living tradition as represented by the Glenelg Full Moon Country Dance Band and F iddlefem dancers. She concluded that this unique community significantly contributed to the local culture, and that the documented dances were suitable for use and application in school music programs. Finnegan (1989) documented what she deemed “hidden musical practices” in an English town. Those practices were defined by the manner in which seemingly invisible 43 but organized individuals contributed to the “changes and the continuities of English music today” (p. 4). Her definition of “English music” did not refer to music that was geographically indigenous to England (although that was one genre that she included), but referred instead to all the musical genres co-existing within the confines of one specific English community. One genre was folk music, which itself is made up of several sub-genres. One of those sub-genres, the ceilidh band, specialized in playing for country-type and barn dancing, and their repertoire of the bands consisted of lively, melodic music comprised of “familiar tunes,” classified as “in the tradition” of common Irish dance tunes (p. 65). Typically, bands members were a highly educated, literate group, with many of the participants working in professional jobs and holding advanced degrees. Within the folk bands there was a tradition of playing by ear and self-learning, but many of the performers were also musically literate. Maloney (1991) discussed the recent emergence of “summer schools” in the United States. These schools typically offer weeklong intensive classes to adult students in folk music, arts and traditional crafts. Schools mentioned included the Milwaukee Irish Fest Summer School, the Ashoken Summer Camp in New York, and the Augusta Heritage Festival in Elkins, West Virginia. Two of these schools, Elkins and (later) Swannanoa in Asheville, North Carolina, are modeled after the Willie Clancy Summer School in Ireland and offer week-long Irish or Celtic music instruction. An intensive, temporary and multi-layered support community is provided for the students, whose primary motivation for attending the camps is to learn Irish traditional music. This includes instruction by “living authority figures” and “master teachers,” opportunities for “jam sessions,” and lectures on different cultural aspects 0f Il'iSh life (Sky, 1996, P- 104)- Attending the Augusta Heritage Festival for the first time, F risch (1987), documented the teaching of Old Time fiddle master Gerry Milnes. Frisch enrolled in Milnes’ beginning Old Time fiddle class, and reported that Milnes focused on teaching two specific elements throughout the week. First, Milnes discussed the importance of “getting the correct rhythm into the right (bowing) hand” and stressed that everything else learned during the week would be secondary to that. Most of the class members were total or near beginners, and Milne instructed them not to be concerned about intonation, finger placement, or any other technique. Second, Milne announced that all of the week’s teaching would be done “by ear,” and there would be no music to read, no fingering charts or theory, and no technical or scale exercises taught. Everything would be learned by listening to and then imitating what Milnes was playing. Milnes was adamant that students learn in this way so they would be able to hear what was in the music. Only then would they be able to transfer the music into their hands and onto the fiddle. F risch concluded that the manner in which Milne taught was representative of informal music learning practices in the Old Time fiddle tradition. A detailed examination of the Ashoken fiddle camp, held in upper New York State, was undertaken by Dabczynski (1994). Folk fiddling has traditionally been an activity learned in informal settings and transmitted by its practitioners through oral/aural transmission. In response to a changing society, fiddling practitioners have sought different contexts in which to transmit their art. The author wished to determine and describe the teaching characteristics that occurred in the fiddle classes during the week, how the camp experience affected the participants and what, if any, practical applications could be found for inclusion in a public school string program. Dabczynski discovered 45 that the participants valued the camp experience as an extension of their regular music making activities. The researcher also determined that the primary motivation for participants’ attendance at the camp was to acquire repertoire in a supportive community environment. Repertoire was taught primarily through aural/oral call and response technique, but written music was accepted as a learning supplement. The author concluded that Northern Week provided a sense of community for the participants that, in turn, helped to facilitate aural/oral learning. In 1998, Kearns and Taylor documented the Willie Clancy Scoil Samhraidh (Willie Clancy Summer School, or WCSS), a yearly week-long summer school held in Miltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland. The school was the first established “summer school” for Irish traditional music, and as such, is the model for similar summer schools throughout the world, including the Goderich Celtic College. Established in 1972, the retinue of WCSS includes approximately 100 instructors and 600-700 students, depending on the year. In addition to documenting the music that occurred at WCSS, Kearns and Taylor’s ethnographic field study focused on recording the entire week as a socio-cultural event, and not the teaching and learning that happened there. They did, however, include some observations of formal classroom teaching and informal sessions as part of their study. The reviewed literature in this chapter is relevant to this study for the following reasons (1) in order to place traditional Celtic music in context, a socio-cultural-historical overview was first necessary. Performance practices associated with Western European art music and the philosophical assumptions associated with that practice are, therefore, not necessarily consistent with other world music performance practices, and this includes traditional Celtic musics, and (2) to discuss related studies regarding the learning and teaching of traditional musics to non—enculturated adult students by enculturated musician/instructors. The importance of aural/oral learning, sometimes augmented by written notation in related traditional performance practices, was a recurrent theme throughout the literature and further served to inform this study. 47 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY Data Collection: Rationale Ethnomusicologists and anthropologists have historically employed ethnographic techniques when collectingdata regarding cultural practices and experience. In music education research, however, ethnographic techniques are a relatively recent methodology employed in data collection in addition to the research enterprise. McCarthy contends that this is because “the importance of sociology as a conceptual lens for understanding music education” has been “historically diminished” (2002, p. 563). This has begun to change in the past decade, however, as music curricula has become more reflective of students’ social, cultural, and musical backgrounds, along with the gradual acceptance of a music education philosophy that views music and music learning as socially and culturally embedded (p. 563). Because music transmission refers to a cultural event through which music learning occurs, the social and cultural aspects of the transmission process must be taken into account by the researcher. Szego contends that ethnography is, therefore, the “most appropriate” research tool for researchers who wish to study music learning and teaching in the broader context of music transmission (2002, p. 707). As the purpose of this study was to study music learning and teaching in context, I chose ethnography as the most appropriate choice of data collection based on Szego’s rationale. Protocol for Participant Selection Despite the fact that there is no formal assessment or grading at the College and that the students are adults, student participants were in a potentially more vulnerable position than either administrators (i.e., the Robinsons) or instructor/musicians for two reasons. First, students paid for the experience; they chose to enroll primarily for the enjoyment of learning derived from playing their music of choice within the context of a supportive community. Any unexpected intrusions could be perceived as inappropriate by those who looked upon the experience as a holiday of sorts. Second, because I was an instructor, students could have adopted a deferential attitude toward me, as their way of acknowledging the “musical authority” (real or perceived) that often accompanies an instructor role. To prevent this possibility, I interviewed only those students who responded positively to an invitation, which was sent out via Warren Robinson through the College e-mail list in his possession. The invitation included two questions: (1) Have you attended the Celtic College previously? (2) Would you describe your previous musical training/experience, if any? The invitation made it clear to potential student participants that they need not participate in the study, and that they need not have any previous musical experience in order to participate if they wished to do so (but that information was of interest to the researcher) and that, prior to participation, they would be asked to sign a consent form explaining that all data gathered from them would be aggregated and would remain anonymous (unless a particular student participant wished otherwise). Neither the e-mail address nor the initial invitation alluded to the fact that I was also an instructor at the College, thus students (of my class or any other) would feel in no way obligated to participate. For reasons of practicality and quality, I limited the number of interviewed participants to twenty-four. A primary set of data was collected from two subsets of participants: nine instructor/teachers (three who were new to teaching at the College, and 49 six of whom had taught at the College in previous years), and 15 students (two of whom were new to the College and 13 students who had returned from previous years). I did not interview all of the students who responded because there were an overwhelming number that expressed interest in becoming study participants. I winnowed the participant selection based on availability of the students and how their schedules intersected with the teacher participants’ schedules, and this immediately dropped the number of potential student participants to 15. I wanted to include some new students in addition to returning ones in the study, and this occurred naturally within this group of 15 students. As mentioned above, there was no formal assessment or grading at the College, and all decisions regarding student placement in classes and involvement in activities were made by the students themselves. The instructor participants were selected because of the following factors that comprised their different backgrounds (1) nationality, and/or country of origin (2) instrument, and (3) number of years of experience of teaching at the College (I wanted a mix of new and returning teachers). Five of the instructors were familiar with me from previous years at the College while the remaining four, because they were first time instructors, were not, and this was also an element that I felt was an important consideration for study participation. The Research Landscape: Physical and Social Boundaries of the College The town of Goderich, founded in 1837, is an active port town situated on the shores of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada. It has a population of approximately 7500, 90% of whom are descended from the Irish, Scottish, and English imrrrigrants who originally settled the region. Goderich proudly holds the title of “The Prettiest Town in 50 Canada,” having won the right to call itself that after having won two nationwide contests of the same name. Goderich Collegiate Secondary School, where the College was held, is about one mile from the town’s unique octagonal town square. The College boundaries were fluid and dependent both on time of day and the location of its participants. During the school hours, the College was physically bounded by the parameters of the Goderich Collegiate Secondary School because this was where scheduled classes were held. The College day began at 9:00 AM and ended at 5:00 PM, with a 90-minute lunch break at 12:00 noon. This allowed students to enroll in four 90- minute classes, so that, in addition to studying their primary instruments, they could study second or third instruments, join an ensemble classe, sing (approximately half of the music classes offered are in traditional song), dance, or enjoy traditional art or craft classes. Teacher participants taught three of the four scheduled periods, thus allowing each to have a “spare” period. Later, when the school day was completed and dinner was over, the College community moved to the Livery (where the nightly concerts were held) and to the town gazebo, where optional student performances were scheduled. After concerts were finished, the boundaries of the College changed yet again, becoming even more fluid as students spread out to various establishments throughout the town to participate in or observe scheduled sessions, dances, and/or impromptu sessions. Because the College community was contained within the parameters of the GCSS during the day but College activities (concerts, dances, and sessions) moved from the school to various downtown Goderich venues at night, the College was bounded both geographically and sociologically. This was because the parameters were dependent on 51 building physicality and the whereabouts and activities of the members of the College community. Thus, boundaries were relatively stable during the school day but constantly in flux throughout the evening. Further, the College was also bounded by where participants choose to stay during the week; the majority of the students stayed at hotels or bed and breakfasts in and around the vicinity of the town of Goderich. The most preferred place for students to stay was at the Bedford Hotel because it was the top session venue in addition to being within walking distance of the high school. Some students stayed all week at a local campground, and this was also a site of much musical activity and socializing for the duration of the College. Indeed, enrollment at the College was limited to around 350 adults because that was approximately the number of persons that the town Could supply with places to stay for the week. Teacher participants were boarded free of charge with supportive volunteer townsfolk during the College week and the Celtic Roots Festival weekend that followed, which also allowed for additional social and musical interaction between local community members and teacher/musicians. Data Collection: Methods Interviews were recorded on a Sony micro-cassette recorder, model M — 650V. The interviews were semi-structured in nature because the study involved perceptions of teaching and learning; thus interviews required a framework in order to keep responses focused on these issues. The semi-structured nature of the interviews also allowed participants to describe experiences and raise supplementary issues that they felt were relevant to their learning processes. Allowing supplementary questions generated from participants’ initial responses did not presuppose a full understanding of the issues 52 involved, because this would have defeated the purpose of a qualitative inquiry. The semi-structured interview was, therefore, an appropriate compromise. A sample interview protocol is included in Appendix A. A second set of data was collected through observation. The gathering of this secondary data was necessarily more serendipitous. Data gained through observation served, to some extent, to triangulate data obtained through interviewing. Observation was unobtrusive, and I participated in musical activities when appropriate, in order to appear as less of an “outsider.” Triangulation/Trustworthiness Student response to the invitation to participate was strong. I narrowed the selection of students to be interviewed such that those participating were enrolled primarily in classes taught by instructors who were also interviewed. Participant observation, supplemented with note-taking, thus focused on those classes taught by instructors and attended by some of the students who were interviewed. Thus, triangulation of teaching/learning situations was made possible through comparing the perspectives of student, teacher, and observer relative to the same teaching/learning events. Additional triangulation was accomplished through a comparison of the perspectives evident in the various transcripts, regarding the perceptions of teaching and learning that occur at the College. A relatively stable core group of instructors from Ontario who returned each year, as well as a strong return rate among students, provided the study with perspectives informed by experience and this further helped to ensure internal validity. 53 Member checking was incorporated into the research. Study participants who agreed to be interviewed had editorial rights that included correcting transcripts for typographical and spelling errors and, if a participant believed that he or she misspoke or said the opposite of what was intended, the transcript in question was corrected, and the newer passage was used for analysis and quoting purposes. Additionally, participants had editorial rights to negotiate changes to any passages of the draft dissertation that portrayed their thoughts, opinions, or feelings in such a way that it was not obvious that such statements were analyses or interpretations of the author. All other portions of the transcripts and draft versions of the dissertation, including passages that pertained to others involved with the study, were withheld at the author’s discretion until such time as the information was aggregated and made accordingly anonymous. Data Analysis Once all of the transcripts (and field notes taken in shorthand) were transcribed, a copy of all transcripts and notes were made and were then used as a “working set” All notes and transcripts in the working set were examined, and passages that were indicative of major themes were marked. For this purpose, a coding system was developed and will be discussed in detail below. Coding occurred partially in-field, where some preliminary analysis also took place, the purpose of which was to “funnel” the study’s focus as specific themes surrounding the issues of teaching and learning. Due to the large number of participants and the consequent amount of raw data, I chose to divide the resulting analysis into two chapters; Chapter Four is devoted to the student participants’ analyzed data, and Chapter Five consists of the teacher participants’ analyzed data. Each chapter was then divided into two meta-themes (which I deemed 54 categories). The two student categories were music learning (both formal and informal) that occurred outside of the College, and the Celtic College experience as a whole, which included all of the teaching and learning that happened there. Teacher categories were similar; formal and informal music learning and traditional music teaching, with the latter category including teaching outside of, and at the College. Student Data: Themes and Codes Each meta-theme was comprised of themes that were determined after I identified the codes in the transcripts. The two meta-themes in Chapter Four (music learning outside of the College and music learning at the College) resulted from the questions regarding music learning and teaching. These were further divided into seven themes, and two of the themes (adult music learning and motivations to attend the College), required that I further divide them into sub-themes prior to discussing the codes of which they were comprised. The remaining themes (early learning in the home, early institutional learning, learning and teaching in the College classroom, learning at the College outside of the classroom, and the after effects of the College week) did not require any further division prior to discussing the codes that made up those themes. Codes were determined only after many thorough and thoughtful examinations of the transcripts. The student themes that emerged out of the first meta-theme (music learning outside of the College) were: (1) early music learning in the home/community, (2) early institutional learning, and (3) adult music learning. Two codes emerged that comprised early music learning; these were listening to recordings or the radio as children and relatives that played an instrument and/or sang. The second theme, early institutional learning, contained the following codes: (1) private piano lessons given through the 55 Royal Conservatory (2) some type of institutional music learning (this included general school music and involvement with church music), and (3) membership in a school ensemble (most commonly reported were instrumental ensembles). Lastly, the third theme, adult music learning, was separated into three sub-themes, and these were determined by the identified codes. Unlike the first two themes, which were fairly straight forward, this was an additional and necessary step due to the large number of codes that I determined were part of the larger division of the still larger theme of adult music learning. These three divisions were ( l) motivations to learn traditional music (coded reasons included concert attendance, listening to recordings/radio, involvement with traditional dance, instrument timbre, personal contact, filling a personal void, and the desire to become a member of a musical community) (2) the value of belonging to a community (which was made up of the codes of belonging to a Celtic band and regular session attendance) and, (3) aural/oral and visual music learning (which included the codes of participants’ attitudes, abilities, and learning strategies) The second category pertaining to the students’ data was the Celtic College experience itself and from this emerged four themes. These were (1) motivations to attend the College (2) learning and teaching that occurred in the classroom (3) learning that occurred at the College, but outside of the classroom, and (4) the after effects of the College week. The first theme, motivations to enroll at the College, was divided into two sub- themes. The first division was comprised of initial reasons to attend, and the second one was composed of the motivations of multiple retmnees for their continued yearly enrollment. Initial reasons to attend were determined to be the following and thus labeled 56 as codes (1) wanting to study with a particular teacher (2) learning a specific instrument (3) being encouraged by others to participate, and (4) “weaning” onself from written notation. Reasons that were mentioned by multiple returnees included the coded reasons of: (1) wanting to study with a particular teacher (and thus there was some overlap with initial motivations) (2) hearing teachers play together at sessions (3) seeing old friends (4) being accepted as a member of the community, and (5) learning or improving on a secondary instrument. Learning and teaching in the classroom, the second student theme, included the following codes: teaching styles/philosophies, classroom music learning practices, specific class types, self teaching that was triggered by classroom events, and lastly, frustrations with classroom teaching. The third theme, memorable learning that happened outside of the classroom, contained the codes of learning through listening at concerts, observing, listening, and playing at teacher and student sessions, and learning by conversing with teachers and other students. The fourth theme in this category was the after effects of the College. It included the codes of effects on participants’ musicality (for example, self learning that was triggered by classroom events) and maintaining connections with other College participants. Teacher Data: Themes and Codes The two meta-themes in Chapter Five, music learning and music teaching, pertained solely to the teachers’ analyzed data The three themes which emerged from music learning (early music learning, adult music learning, and aural/oral and visual learning) paralleled the student themes to a certain extent. This was not surprising because the questions that I asked the teachers about their music learning were the same 57 questions that I asked of the students. There were some significant differences however, and this will be discussed in Chapter Five. Two themes emerged from the category of teaching music, and these were teaching music outside of the College and teaching music at the College. Further, both themes were comprised of several codes. Five of the teacher participants were enculturated in their musical genres, while the remaining four were not. This required that I divide the themes of early music learning and adult music learning by whether teacher participants were enculturated or nonenculturated before I could discuss the codes in those two themes. The five of the instructors that were raised in what I identified as “traditional” homes were labeled as enculturated teacher participants. Because they were raised in traditional homes, their responses to early music learning were different than students’ and the other four nonenculturated teachers, and were a result of different codes. These codes were (1) parents, siblings, and/or extended family that played traditional music (2) encouragement by the same (3) aural/oral learning as the learning style of choice (4) traditional dance integrated with traditional music (5) the presence of recordings and/or radio in the home and, (6) opportunities to perform frequently. The nonenculturated instructors had similar codes to the students, and these were (1) hearing various musical genres in their childhood homes, and (2) some type of formal music instruction (school or private lessons). Adult music learning was also demarcated by the teachers’ backgrounds. The four enculturated teachers’ childhood music learning was indistinguishable from their adult music learning; in other words, there was no clear dividing line where childhood music learning ended and adult learning began. Further, two codes (participants still actively 58 pursuing their craft, seeking out or making opportunities to perform) emerged that were consistent with traits of lifelong learners (Coffman 2002). Again, the codes derived from the nonenculturated teachers’ transcripts were similar to the student codes and these were ( 1) strong initial motivating factors to begin traditional music and, (2) the development of individualized teaching strategies designed to primarily accommodate aural/oral learning. The second meta-theme, teaching traditional music, yielded two themes, and these were teaching traditional music outside of the College, and teaching traditional music at the College. Codes comprising the first theme were all related to learning in context. These were (1) learning the history of the instrument/music (2) learning the appropriate social behaviors associated with learning the instrument, and (3) employing what are considered to be traditional aural/oral teaching methods. Codes associated with the second theme, teaching traditional music at the College were ( l) the challenge of using aural/oral teaching methods at the College (2) the importance of learning from students (3) the relative importance of style, technique, and repertoire (4) the development of unique teaching methods (5) anxiety regarding teaching at the College for the first time, and (6) the strong sense of community at the College that was perceived to facilitate music learning. Delimitations The study was limited to an examination of music teaching and learning that took place at the Goderich Celtic College during the summer of 2004. There were three primary reasons for limiting the study to an examination of this annual happening. First, ethnography is an approach to field research that “emphasizes providing a very detailed description of a different culture from the viewpoint of an insider in that culture in order 59 to permit a greater understanding of it” (N eurnan, 2000, p. 509). In this case, the Goderich Celtic College offered a potential wealth of information about how its thirty- tlrree instructors and three hundred students perceived their own teaching and learning. practices, as well as the manner in which those individuals interacted with one another through the myriad processes of transmission that occurred during an intense one week period. The study included the collecting of anecdotal information about the past practices, experiences, and training (both formal and informal) of students and instructors alike. Such inquiry was crucial, given that past experiences have impacted participants’ current beliefs, practices, and strategies of music learning/teaching. Such information shed light on the researcher’s (as well as the participants’) understanding of why they perceived music teaching and learning in a particular way. Second, the extent to which the teaching and learning of much Celtic Roots music appears to be embedded in sociocultural context (i.e., bound with a sense of community) provided an additional reason for choosing Goderich as the site for this research. Data collected for the pilot study indicated that many participants felt positively about what they described as the particular sense of community engendered at the College. Previous comments suggested that those who enroll at the College valued the manner in which formal and informal learning activities were synthesized, and there was a perceived emphasis on social aspects. According to McCarthy (1999, p. 4) these were attributes found in settings that constituted the sites of learning for much traditional Irish music (for example). Thus, the Goderich Celtic College, in some respects, was a microcosmic representation of learning events that occurred in more “authentic” settings. Moreover, to my knowledge, there is no comparable adult music school or camp that combines the concepts of “school” and festival. The weeklong learning sessions that took place at the College culminated in public student performances for the community of Goderich. The student performances were the commencement of the annual Celtic Roots Festival, which immediately followed the College. Combining elements of the College with elements of the festival appeared to be a unique endeavor in Canada, and offered further proof of the Robinsons’ commitment to portraying the important connection between the learning of Celtic Roots music and authentic performance situations. Third, my previous experience as an instructor at the College provided me, in the context of this research, with an emic perspective. I have been hired as an instructor at the College annually for the past ten years and, having developed attitudes and opinions regarding the College during this time, I nwded to make allowances for those feelings (see Positioning and Biases). However, I believed that this situation was more than compensated for by the following facts: (1) the post-positivist paradigm in which this research was situated sought to reveal, rather than eliminate, biases, with the understanding that the latter goal is impossible, (2) the purveyance of numerous different perspectives further assisted the reader in triangulating my interpretations and, thus, provided an additional balance against these biases, and (3) my particular role as an insider at Goderich allowed for a much higher degree of ecological validity than would normally be expected when accessing any field site—a potentially valuable trade-off for the allowance of a moderate degree of researcher bias. During previous years at the College, it has become commonplace for instructors to visit other classes during their “off-period” and simply observe or “soak in” what is occurring. This precedent allowed for a degree of “naturalness” when carrying out class observations, as I was perceived 61 more as an instructor than a researcher. Thus my previous association with the College provided an additional benefit to the study. Positioning and Biases As mentioned above, I have taught at the College for nine years consecutively and, during that time, have formed acquaintanceships with several of the “core” instructors from Canada. My relationship with the Robinsons has been more than cordial but (mostly for geographical reasons) somewhat short of a close, personal friendship. The most obvious potential conflict was the unwillingness (real or perceived) of an employee reporting negative findings or perceptions about the College. Although, I must admit, I do not look upon teaching at the College each year as a job. Rather, I make the time for reasons of personal and musical fulfillment. However, I did not in any way rely on the yearly position of instructor at the College for my livelihood, and my devotion to this research took precedence over any personal considerations regarding the College. I removed myself from teaching all but one class this past smnmer (the normal teaching load is three classes per day, plus performances at night) in order to secure the time needed to observe and interview. I made the decision to maintain the beginning tin whistle class, because I believed that doing so helped to preserve my “insider” status, which increased the comfort level of students whom I am observing in other situations, and also allowed for studying a class of my own fi'om a phenomenological perspective. Further, I discussed the issue of the possibility of negative findings candidly with Warren and Eleanor Robinson, and they have assured me that they perceived the upcoming project not as a promotional endeavor for the College, but as an opportunity to gain insights into the perceptions of teaching and learning that are present among the 62 College’s participants, with the understanding that criticisms are a naturally occurring part of any such project, and thus should be reported. Their actions in the past have demonstrated a desire for student and teacher feedback, and they appeared to be approaching their involvement in this project with a similar outlook. I am tmaware of any other potential conflicts of interest with regard to my association with the College or with this research in general. I have no present or past professional affiliations with any of the other individuals involved with this study. Access Despite my errric perspective and access as an instructor, Warren and Eleanor Robinson acted as gatekeepers to the field in various ways. First, they allowed me to adapt my teaching schedule to suit the study, which gave me better access to study participants. Second, they offered to act as intermediaries with regard to accessing students in order to invite them to participate. I at no time had access to students’ e—mail addresses, or any other personal information not furnished by students themselves, but Warren Robinson agreed to forward my e-mail address, along with the invitation to participate, to all registered students. Third, the Robinsons agreed to allow me access to classes for the purposes of observing, subject to the approval of the instructors and students involved. Fourth, they offered me full access to the manual that outlines all of the procedures for organizing and running the Festival, as well as their mission statement as a not-for-profit organization, and various relevant collections of historical documents pertaining to the town of Goderich, which were in their possession. 63 CHAPTER FOUR-ANALYSIS OF STUDENT DATA In this chapter, I will discuss and analyze the student participants’ responses to the study questions discussed in Chapter One. Of 15 students interviewed, 13 were returning students and the remaining two were first time College attendees. The participants play a variety of Celtic instruments; many sing and are also involved in traditional dance. Because the College day began at 9:00 AM and ended at 5:00 PM, with a 90-minute lunch break at 12:00 noon, students could enroll in four 90-minute classes, so that, in addition to studying their primary instruments, they could study second or third instruments, join an ensemble classe, sing (approximately half of the music classes offered are in traditional song), dance, or enjoy traditional art or craft classes. In this study, the participants’ primary instruments were tin whistle and/or Irish flute (eight), fiddle (two), banjo (two), guitar (one), and button accordion (one). In addition to studying their first instruments, participants continued or began learning second instruments, took traditional song or dance, participated in ensembles, or enrolled in specialized music courses, such as composition, duet playing, or recording technology. None of the participants was enrolled in traditional arts or crafts classes. Two larger categories emerged directly from the study questions; the first being music learning that occurred outside of the College, and the second, music learning that occurred at the College, or learning that occurred as a direct result of events that transpired there, and from each category several themes emerged. Music Learning Outside of the College Three themes emerged from the larger category of participants’ music learning outside of the College. These were: early music learning in the home, early music learning in an institution, and adult music learning. No smaller sub-themes emerged from ‘ participants’ childhood learning. From the theme of adult music learning, however, three sub-themes emerged, and these were: motivations to learn traditional music, belonging to a community, and aural/oral and visual learning. Early Music Learning in the Home Previous literature on adult music learning has focused on participants’ formal school music education backgrounds and not their informal music learning experiences growing up (Bowles 1991, Coffman 1996, 2000, Dabczynski 1994). This study was concerned with identifying how participants’ perceived and defined all of their music learning. It was therefore important to identify that, as children, where and how learning occurred outside of, and in addition to, music learning that occurred in formal academic institutions. All of the participants recalled hearing music at home and/or at church growing up. Many listened to relatives who sang and/or played instruments: the instrument most commonly mentioned was the piano. They also mentioned listening to the radio and/or records. A surprising number of students (six) had older relatives who sang or played a type of traditional music that they had learned informally. The same number of participants had parents who exposed them to different kinds of music, including classical music, swing, and/or jazz. Four had musical siblings, as well as musical parents. One participant accredited his original interest in traditional song to fond memories of campfire singing as a member of the Boy Scouts. In another example, Betty envied her father’s ability to play by car: 65 I wanted to be like him and play the piano. He was one of those guys [who would say], ‘Hum me a few bars and I’ll play it.’ I grew up thoroughly convinced that I had no ability in music whatsoever. This is my father’ doing, I believe, because he played stuff by ear. I came home one day and heard my father playing a song by car on the piano. And that was so discouraging, because I had worked so hard to learn [that song] with written music. Stefan’s father was a barbershop singer, active in barbershop quartet and chorus, and sang a cappella to Stefan and his brothers every night at bedtime. Not only did this nightly ritual produce sentimental memories for Stefan , but he believed it eventually fostered his ability to learn traditional music aurally. It was only as an adult that he realized how unusual and significant this experience was. On return visits to Ireland (his mother was born there), Tony remembered hearing his aunts and mother sing Irish folk songs together. Ironically, considering his Irish- English background, Tony was the only participant who described listening to American Blues as a teenager. His background was working class English, and he perceived a connection between that and the Motown artists fiom the Atlantic record label that he listened to growing up. Older relatives, typically grandparents, played traditional music in the homes of six participants. Five remembered traditional Irish music being played or sung and one, Bruce, recalled hearing Old Time (or “hillbilly”) music on the radio with his grandfather, who played the bones along with the radio programs in between milking the family’s cows. Three years old at the time, Bruce remembered how pleasant an experience it was to sit among the cows listening to the “Old Time.” His mother, a classically trained pianist, disapproved of “hillbilly music” and would not allow Bruce to listen to it at home. Kevin grew up in a musical Irish-American household. Both of his grandfathers learned and performed Irish traditional music aurally, one on fiddle, and the other on banjo. Because of Kevin’s mother, music played a central role in the family home. She played and sang a variety of music, including many of the old Irish-American standards, and encouraged Kevin to sing also. At the age of eight, he became sick after repeatedly practicing “A Little Bit of Heaven,” which he was to perform on St. Patrick’s Day. The Boy Scouts introduced campfire singing into Ryan’s life, and this sparked a lifetime interest in traditional song: In scouting, there was always the campfire, and campfire songs, and it gave me a role as a leader to lead songs. And I was 14, 15, 16. Scouting was very important to me, and very good, because I never took to sports for various reasons. Scouting got me into unaccompanied singing, and leading songs, and I think that was important. It gave me a niche, something that I was good at. Summary With the exception of one, all of the participants reported enjoying their informal early music experiences, particularly the six participants who remembered hearing some type of live traditional music as children. Based on the related studies of similar adult summer camps (Dabszynski 1994, Garrison 1986, Veblen 1991), this was an unexpected result based on what I assumed were completely nonenculturated adults. 67 Early Institutional Learning With the exception of one participant, all of the informants studied music formally as children, and this was consistent with the literature (Bowles 1991, Dabczynski 1994, Coffman 1996, 2000). Five participants learned piano privately, and one studied violin at the Royal Conservatory. Five belonged to their schools’ ensembles (band and/or orchestra), while three experienced general music instruction in public school. Two went on to study music in university, and of those two, one became a professional music educator. All of the participants except for one described positive public school music experiences. Every participant reported disliking private piano lessons; all mentioned that for various reasons the lessons were dropped after a short time. For example, Betty made this observation: Because I wanted to be like my father, I took piano lessons. I worked hard, and they were deadly because there was to be absolutely no deviation from the program whatsoever. If I had a song I wanted to learn, it was not to be learned. Sometimes I would sneak in and try to figure out tunes on the piano. I’d go and try and play Mary Had a Little Lamb, or something I knew on the piano, but that was not allowed. Kevin was the one participant who reported disliking school music, and found his frustrations with it similar to the frustrations he felt learning piano. He tried the clarinet for a short period of time during his freshman year in high school, and was astonished to discover that he could not play any tunes. He found this surprising because he grew up in a traditional music household where learning by playing tunes was the norm. 68 Consequently, he quit playing the clarinet, and later had a similar experience with private guitar lessons. The instruction was technical; Kevin felt that he was not really playing music. Unlike Kevin, five informants enjoyed participating in their schools’ instrumental ensembles; enough so that two majored in music at university, although one changed majors. Stefan, for example, spoke at length of his positive experiences. He began playing trombone in the fifth grade in a school music program with a fine reputation, and continued playing trombone in high school as an active member of the school’s many bands and orchestras. Speaking of playing in the local semi-professional community orchestra, which he joined while in high school, Stefan said that, because he played the trombone, he primarily occupied an accompaniment role that consisted of counting large black spots on a page. After graduation, Stefan continued to play trombOne in the local musical theatre troupe’s pit band. However, after years of playing the instrument in many public school and community ensembles, he stopped playing the trombone because his experiences with it were no longer musically fulfilling. He asserted that, at that time, he allowed the musical part of his life to disappear, despite the fact that playing music with others had once been so central in his life. Three participants enjoyed their elementary music classes. Because she learned a great deal about music in her elementary school music classroom, Jane remembered the experience as a positive one. She wanted to be in the band in junior high school, but lamented that, she was not allowed to join the band, because only the “smartest students” could enroll in instrumental music. Thus, Jane’s formal music education experience 69 ended and, because there was little music in the family home, she ceased actively pursuing music instruction. _ Because Tony and Ryan were originally from England, their school music experiences differed from those of their North American counterparts. Tony recalled singing classical English music from music textbooks. He also learned music theory in school, but his ability to read music and understand theory did not “stick.” Thirty years later, as an adult living in Ottawa, he re-learned to read written notation in his private guitar lessons. Owing to his English schooling, Ryan was aware of the efforts of Cecil Sharpe and other British folk song collectors. Further, Ryan developed a keen interest in song collecting and discussed the influence of the pioneering work of Sharpe in both the collecting and introduction of English folk music into the formal classroom. Stunmary Overall, participants reported that they enjoyed their public school music experiences, and this included instrumental ensemble membership. However, all of the participants who studied the piano privately reported that they disliked the lessons, and that they were dropped as soon as possible. Reasons included the “linear” quality of the piano books and the lessons, boredom with the instrument and being ‘forced” to practice, and the perception that the written music theory that accompanied the lessons was disconnected from practice. Adult Music Learning From the participants’ descriptions of their adult music learning it was clear that a strict dualistic interpretation of the terms “informal music learning practices” and “formal music education” was inappropriate because the two were intertwined to various degrees, 70 based on where the learning occurred and what music learning practices were employed. “Informal music learning practices,” as defined by Green (2002) and Cope and Smith (1997), occurred both inside, and outside, of the classroom, as the results“ of this study emphasized. This was most apparent in the participants’ descriptions of their experiences with “formal” private instruction as adults. None of the students reported that, as an adult, she or he, had received or been involved with any formal Western music instruction. However, the majority of students reported having received private one-on-one instruction in traditional music styles, with Irish traditional music being the most popular genre. At first glance, the lessons appeared to be formal instruction, because they were seemingly in accordance with Western conceptions of what a private lesson entails. The lessons were one-on-one and occurred within a fixed time period on a particular date. However, instruction was accomplished through music learning practices more closely associated with informal than with formal music education. Thus, the traditional music lessons were an example that, informal and formal music learning practices occur along a continuum, and should not be perceived as two distinctly separate categories. Three sub-themes emerged from the larger theme of adult music learning. These were: participants’ motivations for learning traditional music, the value of belonging to a community (which included the codes of belonging to a band/ group and/or regularly attending a session) to facilitate music learning, and aural/oral and visual learning. The last subtheme included the codes of participants’ attitudes, abilities, and learning strategies devised to accommodate individual learning styles. As mentioned earlier, the 71 terms “formal” and “informal” refer to settings and music learning practices that often overlap. Motivations to Learn Traditional Music Coffman’s (2002) definition of “adult music activities” is so diverse as to include concert or festival attendance, listening to recordings, and participation in community groups. He contends that all of these can be considered forms of music education; by this definition, virtually no musical activity is excluded Further, according to Coffman, adults’ reasons for participating in adult music education activities could be divided into three categories: personal motivation, musical motivation, and social motivation. In this study, participants’ introductions to and motivations to play traditional music were consistent with this. Participants were introduced to traditional music and motivated to play it for the following reasons: attending concerts, listening to recordings/radio, involvement with traditional dance, instrument timbre (musical motivations), personal contact, filling a personal void (personal motivations) and the desire to become part of a musical community (musical and social motivations). There is some overlap among the three motivating categories. Musical Motivations Radio, recordings, and concerts were an important part in the learning of a majority of students Some participants were interested in English and Irish folk singing, and this drew them to Celtic instrumental music. For example, because he grew up in England, the BBC’s radio programs furthered Ryan’s interest in folk music. He had already developed an interest in English folk singing through the Boy Scouts. The programs that he listened to featured vocal and instrumental folk music and included 72 some Irish traditional music. Another student, John, discussed the influence of the Irish Rovers’ CBC radio program, saying that, “I loved it. I listened to them a lot, and I really started to getting interested in Celtic music because of them.” This led him to purchase a tin whistle and recordings, particularly of the Irish folk group the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. Four other students also mentioned that hearing the Irish folk group the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, either at a concert, on the radio or on recordings, first piqued their interest in traditional music. For example, John said: I got a two album set of their greatest hits, and I listened to it. I remember when I first got the record, there were songs that I played along with, “Roddy McCorley’s Lament,” I think it’s called. And I played it; I didn’t even know all of the words, because of the accent. In some cases, participants were drawn into Celtic music from another genre, through radio and concerts, and this was a result of both the musical hybridity and the folk revival that occurred in the 605 and 7 Os. Tony’s introduction to Celtic folk music resulted directly from his interest in Blues and folk music, because he attended a Bob Dylan concert where the Clancy Brothers joined Dylan on stage. As a graduate student in the early 608, Bruce witnessed the folk revival at its peak After leaving classical music and clarinet behind as an undergraduate student, he became a jazz enthusiast and taught himself saxophone. While in graduate school, a fellow student encouraged Bruce to attend a Pete Seeger concert. Upon hearing Seeger’s banjo playing, Bruce immediately became “hooked” on the instrument, which became his bridge to folk music. He was introduced to Irish music purely by chance, while attending a pottery course at an art and music adult summer camp. Two well-known Irish traditional musicians were teaching 73 classes during the same week that Bruce was enrolled in his pottery class, and this limited exposure intrigued him enough to want to learn how to play it. Traditional dance was the vehicle that introduced Irish traditional music into the lives of several participants. It was not until Lynn’s children became active Irish dancers that she considered trying to learn to play Irish music. Dana started Irish set dancing at age 25, and thus discovered the Irish flute through hearing it played on recordings and by live musicians at dances. Stefan was re-introduced to active music participation in mid-life through Morris dancing. A co-worker at the University of Toronto belonged to a local Morris dance troupe and urged Stefan to join the group, at which point he began to learn English and Irish folk tunes on recorder to accompany the dance troupe. This led him to take up the tin whistle and attend and participate in traditional Irish music sessions throughout Toronto. Instrument timbre also played a significant role in participants’ decisions to learn a specific instrument. Betty heard an Irish musician play tin whistle at a concert and the sound of the instrument thrilled and inspired her to want to play it. Hearing the sound of the banjo solidified Bruce’s desire to become a traditional musician, while Lynn was smitten with the sound of the button accordion after hearing it played by a visiting fiiend from Newfoundland. Jane, while participating in a cattle drive vacation, heard one of the wranglers playing fiddle one evening; she found the sound quite haunting and affecting. The experience was the impetus for learning the fiddle Two participants experienced personal introductions to traditional music. While Lynn did mention that she was strongly motivated to learn to play traditional music because of her children’s involvement with traditional dance, she was first introduced to 74 the genre by her husband, who is a native Irishman. John’s high school band director brought a tin whistle to class one day and played it, and the experience made a lasting impression: He could play hompipes and things, and I liked it. Immediately. And I sort of wanted to get one, and start playing it, but I didn’t at the time. I remember my high school teacher telling me that you could make sharps and flats by playing half holes, way back in 1972. So that information, I didn’t forget that, but I didn’t use it again until 20 years later [laughs]! Social Motivations Combined with Musical Motivations Traditional music filled a void in the lives of several participants, two of whom found solace in the folk community after martial breakdowns. In 1990, after his first marriage ended in divorce, Tony endured a six-year period of depression. Folk music helped him to become emotionally centered and connected to other people. An active member of the “Auld Sod” (the Ottawa folk club associated with the Ottawa Folklife Center), Tony worked there as a volunteer and also attended as many concerts as possible. Because of that connection, he met many of the prominent musicians from the Ottawa Valley, including Don Kavanaugh (who currently teaches at the College and also participated in this study) and Nathan Curry (a former teacher at the College). Membership in a community was a reason for learning traditional music in several participants’ accounts, and one student, Lama, raised the matter directly. Kevin shared the following conversation that took place between himself and a pub owner, while vacationing in Ireland in 1988: 75 I think one of the real wake-up calls for me was going to the pub in Ardragh, in Donegal, and having only instruments on the wall, and as I walked in, the proprietor said, ‘Take an instrument.’ And I said, ‘Well, I don’t play,’ and he said, ‘Well, you know, try.’ So he handed me a bodrhan, and I tried it, and had some attempts at hammering it, and I realized that this was a place that welcomed anybody in, the music was created by those who came. At the same pub mentioned above, Kevin was also inspired by an upholsterer from Belfast with whom he had struck up a conversation with. The labourer had travelled to Ardragh to work for several weeks but also to hear as much traditional music as he could Kevin said: I realized how important the music was for him, how much it was a part of what he believed in, and that he came here for an injection of the music. It was a necessary sustenance of something that he needed to have. Kevin explained that it was difficult for the laborer to access traditional music in Northern Ireland, because it was associated with Catholicism. Connecting with other people through music to fill a void was important to, and also discussed earlier by, several students. This desire was often intertwined with the desire to learn traditional music. Laura stated that the attraction that she feels toward Celtic music is directly attributable to the close ties to community that, she believes, are integral to the music. It is that significant that, although she possesses three music degrees and is head of a music education department at a large Canadian university, she does not feel a personal connection to classical music: 76 I feel a real affinity with Celtic music. There’s something about the turns of melody, and the whole community spirit of playing together that I haven’t found in my own classical background. I’ve bought every book I can buy on Celtic music, but it doesn’t come by [reading written notation] so I really wanted to get into a community. The Importance of Belonging to a Community to Facilitate Learning Taylor (2003) credits the general feeling of “disconnectedness” in contemporary North American society to the itinerant nature of its culture. He claims that Celtic music, initially displaced from its original location through immigration, has now become commodified and codified through recordings and music books. The accessibility of both has facilitated the creation of communities formed around Celtic music in areas far removed from the music’s original locations, including North America. These musical communities are usually comprised of North Americans who have tenuous cultural connections to the music’s country of origin. Taylor’s claims are consistent with Rapuano (2001), who concluded that, based on her study regarding Irish session participation in the Mid-Westem United States, although the participants themselves were not Irish, they identified with a sense of Irishness because of the music they played. Thus, playing Irish music in a session was a sociological phenomenon as well as a musical one. Reiss (2003) elaborates, stating that music, in addition to being transmitted at pub and house sessions, is also transmitted at parties and other social gatherings. Having friends to play with at house and pub sessions is valuable because it provides an opportunity to learn new tunes and the chance to socialize with like-minded adults, as well as supplying the motivation to practice at home. 77 Informal-music making in community was important to the study participants’ learning, and their reasons for participating in such activities were consistent with Rapuano (2001), Reiss (2003), and Taylor (2003). Participants discussed two informal community music—making situations which they believed facilitated learning for them; belonging to a Celtic band and participating in a session. Belonging to a Band Band membership was perceived as more formal than session participation because of the implied commitment for all to attend and the presence of planned rehearsals and gigs. Additionally, participants reported that there was a tendency for their Celtic bands to use written notation to learn tunes instead of learning them aurally, which contributed to a sense of formality. Five participants recounted playing with bands, although these sometimes consisted of groups of acquaintances gathering regularly in casual settings, such as basements to rehearse repertoire in a manner only slightly more formal than what might occur at a session. Two participants, however, belonged to Celtic bands that held fairly structured regular rehearsals during which they would work out arrangements of tunes. Although these two students were involved in bands primarily for musical and social pleasure, they considered paid performances to be a secondary factor because these provided validation of themselves as “r ” musician Sessions Session participation was more informal by comparison, because there were no set boundaries as to who could participate and, by definition, no rehearsals or gigs. Further, tunes played at sessions were almost exclusively played and/or learned “by ear,” and not with sheet music, another characteristic closely associated with informal music 78 learning practices. These findings were consistent with the literature (Cowdery. 1990, Konig 1980, McCann, 2001, Rapuano 2001, Reiss 2003, Symon 2003, Veblen 1991). Participants who were not already attending a session expressed an intense desire to do so, and two students who were not attending sessions at the time of the study expressed a desire to join a regular slow jam, which is a term used to describe sessions that feature common tunes played at a slow tempo for beginners. Being a member of a regular session community was valued by a majority of the participants. Among other reasons, session participation was important because it provided motivation to practice at home. As soon as Lynn stopped attending sessions in her hometown, she no longer practiced at home. Sessions were also places to see old fiiends and meet new people with similar musical interests. Sal met his future wife at a session in Ann Arbor, Michigan and became close friends with the other members of the group. They now travel. to Goderich annually to take classes and “hang out” for the week. Additionally, sessions provided a fiiendly and supportive environment in which tunes could be “picked up” aurally. New tunes find their way into sessions from members who learn them elsewhere aurally and then “bring” them into the community’s repertoire. Stefan explained what happened when someone in his regular session had “brought” several tunes back from Scotland: One [tune] was called “Maggie’s Pancakes” . . . I really liked the way he played it, so I got the music for it and learned it. Since that’s the point, we’ve gotten three or four other people in our group to learn it. We didn’t make them learn it. We played it enough so that they wanted to play it. So that tune came into our 79 community through one person’s visiting somewhere else, finding a tune, and bringing it back. Ambience at sessions was described as “relaxed,” “informal,” “comfortable,” and “unassuming.” John referred to his session leader as his “confiere.” Most sessions were either instrumental or vocal, and, with the exception of John’s, traditional dance tunes were interspersed with songs and ballads, which is unusual. It allowed John the opportunity both to play melody and sing harmony, which he valued. Two students who had had no access to regular sessions had become convinced by the Goderich experience that they needed to find or make musical communities of their own in order to become better musicians. Laura felt that the musicians at Goderich sessions “played off of,” as opposed to with, one another, assigning to the former expression a connotation of much more interactivity. She had become convinced that the “true sense” of the music could not be understood from playing in isolation with a compact disc. Sessions were most often held at local pubs; however, several took place in homes. Stefan, although active in the Toronto pub sessions, said that he most enjoyed playing and learning tunes with friends at house sessions because of the musical and social support that they provided. Sal, after attending a pub session in Ann Arbor, Michigan for some time, decided to move the group to his home. He explained: I just took up the banner because there was an understanding that the pub was not necessarily the best place to be doing this. And, you know — exclusionary is not quite the right word, but you don’t necessarily want to be playing with every person that walks in. So we have our own session. 80 One of the values associated with sessions was the importance of contributing to the session community. For example, Stefan mentioned that he occasionally learns times that do not particularly appeal to him but that others in the session enjoy playing. However, this worked both ways. His friends would also learn favorite tunes of his for the same reason, and he occasionally provided them with sheet music and a CD of a tune that he liked as added incentive to learn it. He described the give and take: I’m not a big polka fan, but just being at [sessions], you hear polkas all the time. And I usually play along with people, even though I wouldn’t play polkas by myself. But you play them to contribute and join in. Aural/Oral and Visual Learning: Attitudes, Abilities, and Learning Strategies All of the study participants felt that the accepted and “proper way” to perform traditional music was without written notation. Traditional musicians often refer to written notation as “the dots,” as opposed to “the tunes” or “the music,” both of which reference the sounds themselves (www.slowplayers.org). The idea that music that comes out of an aural/oral tradition should be learned in the manner in which it was originally transmitted is a recurring theme throughout the literature (Dabszynski 1994, Frisch 1987, Garrison 1985, Rapuano 2001, Rice 1995, Robinson 1999, Symon 2003, Veblen 1991, l 999,). However, Frisch (1987) and Dabczynski (1994) reported that some of the participants in their respective studies had minimal understanding of both the aural/oral learning process and the advantages of learning traditional music in the manner in which it was originally transmitted, a result that differed from this study. This could be attributable to learner levels in both studies. Frish observed a class of completely novice 81 level fiddlers, and Dabcynznski also included some beginning level traditional musicians in his study. Because most North Americans have not experienced aural music learning in their formal public school backgrounds, they can have preconceived notions that learning in this way is ether “wrong,” “hard,” or that instructors who teach in this manner are lazy. As stated above, all of the participants in this study were aware of the value of aural/oral learning when learning traditional music. However, some mentioned that, when they first began learning traditional music, they did not fully comprehend why they should learn it “by car.” All of the student participants did eventually came to realize the advantages of aural learning when learning Celtic music. This was also the case in my own experience, both as a musician and a beginning tin whistle instructor. However, their attitudes and abilities towards aural/oral learning varied from student to student, and it was these individual discrepancies that led to the development of each student’s own unique learning strategy, which often included some type of written notation. The development of personal learning strategies by the participants in this study was similar to Green’s (2002) report on how popular musicians learn. Like the participants in this study, Green’s subj ects, which included both teenagers and adults, devised various self teaching methods that included aural/oral learning (i. e. learning from recordings or peers) and/or a combination of various types of written notation, and these also varied from individual to individual. Attitudes and abilities: A continuum ‘ Participants’ comfort levels with aural versus visual music learning were variously situated on a continuum with bi-musical learners occupying the center point, and completely visual and completely aural learners at the poles. Abilities were often, but not 82 always, associated with attitudes toward one or both styles. Specifically, some students felt positively about the idea of aural learning, yet had difficulty with it in practice. ’ Although several students felt that they could learn music either way, two expressed equal comfort with both aural/oral and visual music learning. Laura and Stefan had similar learning backgrounds, both having experienced informal aural/oral music learning when younger as well as having received more formal music training than the other participants. Laura played piano in a “Carole King” style garage/pop band, which used no written notation, thus learning the piano parts required that she learn how to aurally “lift” songs from recordings. She attributed her comfort with aural learning to this early experience, as well as working with a semi-professional adult choir, which developed her aural acuity further. Her advanced degrees in music, however, secured strong visual learning skills that now enable her to “read like a hawk.” Self described as “musically ambidextrous,” Stefan claimed to integrate visual with aural music learning music fairly easily. Although he could learn music either way, he occasionally used sheet music as a tool when he “got stuck” learning times aurally. Although occasionally learning a tune completely fi'om notation, he would usually return to the tune later and aurally “re-leam” it — reinforce it in his memory and add various nuances. Stefan attributed his aural ability to listening to his father’s nightly singing ritual while growing up, while his music reading ability was developed through playing the trombone in school and community ensembles. Two students (Laura and John) believed that it was more difficult to remember tunes learned from notation than tunes learned aurally. Aside from the sentiment that learning Celtic music fi'om sheet music was an impediment to learning the music in a 83 way that was musically accurate and fulfilling — what she called the “true sense” of the music —— Laura was surprised to find that she had difficulty remembering tunes learned from notation despite her many years of formal training. She said, “I thought that if I could just play it with the [sheet] music enough, it would stick in my memory, and it never did.” John claimed that the fiddler in his band presented the same type of memory problems when using notation. Since this particular performer (she had majored in string performance in university) was not an aural learner, however, one cannot rule out the possibility that she has poor memorization skills in general. The idea that written notation was not “the music” but instead functioned as a blueprint for learning times was voiced by some, and this was consistent with some of the literature (Garrison 1986, Veblen 1991). Several even asserted that, based on their experiences, the only way to achieve a truly musical performance in the Celtic genre was through aural/oral learning. However, in general it was considered acceptable to use written music as a starting point or memory aid “to fill in the blanks.” Stefan perceived sheet music as a blueprint of the tunes, instead of a manuscript in the Western sense of the term; when viewed in this way, he felt that sheet music functioned as a “skeleton” for learning Irish music when aural sources were unavailable. It was his opinion that, when most North American adults begin learning traditional music, they do so with a misunderstanding of how printed music functions in the genre, based on their experiences with formal music instruction. Further, he believed that this misconception kept them from learning aurally and thus blocked their development as Irish traditional musicians because it impeded their ability to listen for style Stefan did, however, reiterate that sheet music was a useful tool: In Irish music, there’s often a tendency to say that we don’t use script [because] you lose something there, and I understand what they’re talking about, but I also know that I’m able to get things fiom the script sometimes when I haven’t got the source to go in and get it from. The bones of the notes, so to speak. Students seemed to be aware of the importance of listening and the role active listening plays when initially learning traditional tunes. Laura understood the difference between the actual played “notes” and the written music, and she believed that stylistic elements were best learned aurally. Students also felt that listening to master performers and tradition bearers was an absolutely necessary component of aural learning “in the tradition” (in context). Although many students mentioned listening to recordings to learn tunes, John and Sal, who were both comfortable aural/oral and visual learners, said that they often listen in order to acquire musical elements, such as ornamentation, accents, and phrasing that comprise regional styles. John realized that he could learn ornamentation by imitating Irish musicians who were not whistle players like him: It occurred to me, this whole thing, it’s all the same, whether you’re singing, whether you’re playing the fiddle, or playing a flute or a whistle, they’re all using the same ornamentation, so that was what I tried to imitate. Occasionally, playing along with more experienced performers could impede the learning process, because a student would not always be able to hear the subtle stylistic nuances being executed by the leader or teacher. Sal, who was a proficient note reader, realized after the fact that he should have been listening more and playing less during a class taught by Peter Horan (a flautist and fiddler who taught at the College in 2001 and 85 plays in the regional County Sligo style). He made the realization upon listening to audiotapes of the class: I realized just how much I didn’t know at the time. That’s exactly it. I weep when I hear the tapes, because he played tunes in class, and if we knew it, we’d play along. And every time I’m playing along with the tape, I’m like, ‘Arg! A tune wasted! I can’t hear how he’s playing it!’ And the valuable thing here was listening to how a master played it. It was fun playing with him, but I wasn’t anywhere near in a position where I could learn anything by playing with him at that point. Now — maybe — it would be closer anyway, that I could pick something up on the fly, but back then, not a chance in hell. But the tapes have been very valuable. Robert commented on the “silliness” of using written notation to perform and learn music rooted in an aural/oral tradition. His primary purpose for first attending the College was to force himself to play by car, since he had considered himself “addic ” to note reading. John explained that his first experience at the College re-aflirmed his intuitions about the advantages of aural music learning. Asserting that there were many advantages to learning music by car, he stated that his experiences at the College reminded him of the way he first began learning Celtic music. Because the Celtic band with which he had been playing was dependent on written notation, he had acquired a repertoire of tunes, learned from sheet music, that don’t come “alive” for him unless he is playing them with other people who have learned them aurally: Like the other people in the group, I tended to depend upon the written music and think, ‘We’re rotten, we’re bad, we’re sinners, because we keep our music in front 86 of us when we play.’ But I tend not to look at it, because I don’t read that fast anyway. So I gave up on [reading] before, say, the fiddler. Whereas I know the tunes, and I know what they sound like. I used the notation as kind of a guide and a crutch, but it’s not nearly as much fun as lying on my back in my bedroom, playing [by ear] for the fim of playing it, and I get a lot more joy out of it, and I feel like it’s more musical. I’ve learned a lot of things by rote now, and it’s actually fun because it’s taken me back to the way I [learned music] at first. And it’s like saying to myself: ‘You were right!’ Although John was a proficient visual and aural learner when he played tin whistle, he found written music “useless” when learning tunes on button accordion. He felt that, because of the nature of the instrument (specifically, the fact that he is unable to see his fingers, as when playing whistle), he was unable to “make the visual connection.” Several self-proclaimed visual learners predicted that, based on initial attempts, they would never be able to play traditional music by ear. However, after some initial discouraging experiences, all were progressing as aural learners, despite some continued Won. The rate at which they were adapting to this learning style varied and appeared to be connected to self confidence as well as the types of learning strategies they were able to devise. Betty, who classified herself as a strong visual learner, was convinced she would never develop her aural memory to the same extent as her visual memory. She explained that when told a phone number, she immediately forgets it. However, if the number was written down and held up to her, she could remember it, and she felt that this was analogous to her music learning. As a child, she had been 87 completely intimidated by her father’s ability to play piano “by ear,” and had stated earlier that this was something she was never able to do. She stated: I am comfortable with playing by car now, but it depends on what I’m playing. If it’s a tune I know - from my childhood, from my life - then I’m comfortable with it. I can pick it up. I couldn’t very well when I started, but now I can pick it up, and 1 can almost immediately know what note I should start on, rather than having to [experiment] . . . I don’t know howl do that, but I do, and I can usually figure out the tune if I know it, pretty well right off. I’ll play maybe the odd little flub, but then I immediately know it’s not the right note and I can find it. Anne, when beginning to play Irish traditional music, was completely dependent on written notation, but she has since become a competent aural/oral learner. Based on her experience, she felt that, for people not raised in an aural music learning environment, acquiring an “car” as an adult was difficult, because “it is a skill to be learned as well as playing the instrument itself, that is, learning how to learn tunes.” Only one participant, Dana, identified herself as “musically illiterate,” which would place her at the extreme aural pole of the continuum. Interestingly, though, she devised an observation system to augment her aural learning, which would indicate that there is an important visual component to her learning process, even if it is not related to reading notation. Dana, who had learned fifty tunes in four years, maintained that she learned tunes slowly compared to others with similar experience. Conversely, two students, Tony and Lynn, expressed complete frustration with aural learning and adamantly claimed that they would never be able to play without notation. Lynn felt that her inability to learn aurally was attributable to the visual way she 88 had learned music as a youngster through the Royal Conservatory. Although Tony maintained that he could not play anything unless the written music was in fiont of him, he related one aural learning experience that occurred after a particularly inspiring traditional concert. He said: Christine Kidd came over from Scotland [to perform at the Olde Sod, an Ottawa folk club]. I can’t remember whom she came with, but they did a CD together, they did a version of Old Tippy Gloom. They did what I thought was a phenomenal guitar style of accompaniment. I went home and practiced and practiced to be able to emulate that. The sound was still in my head, the rhythm that was set up, [and] the droning that happened in the background. Learning Strategies The various learning strategies developed by participants were intended to accommodate aural learning to some degree. This was also the case with hybrid strategies that employed some sheet music reading. All of the students except Dana had some level of note reading skill prior to first attending the College, and the degree to which students adopted aural strategies was dependent on their comfort level with the idea of learning by ear. I am deeming such strategies as observing the hands of a flute player “aural” here, insofar as they circumvent notation. Small (1977) describes the informal music learning practices developed by early adult jazz musicians as “nonlinear.” Although some jazz artists had had school music education and/or classical training, as adults, they developed individualized learning strategies that focused on what musically interested them most and what seemed to suit them best. They did not practice written studies; rather, each one learnt the “ ' s” and 89 figurations that they felt best suited their musical and artistic desires and needs. This was achieved, in part, by a great deal of aural imitation of admired musicians, which occurred either through live concerts or recordings. This was also consistent with Green’s (2002) examination of how popular musicians learn. Her participants reported that learning was non-sequential, non-linear, and differed depending on the musical tastes, needs, and wants of each individual. Participants in this study developed their own learning strategies through similar processes of self-discovery when first introduced to Celtic music as adults. Such practices included imitating live performances and recordings that exemplified their musical goals. With the exception of Dana, the participants had some formal music training, and their earliest recollections of formal music learning involved written notation. Despite this, however, several opted to learn traditional folk music completely aurally. Although John had only performed with written notation until encountering Celtic music, he found it relatively easy to learn to play the repertoire of the Irish Rovers on tin whistle, because he had listened to their recordings so many times before ever attempting to play the instrument. He described the process as “semi-random.” Starting at the beginning of the tune, John would “fumble through it,” finding the notes as he went along, and afterwards returning to the tune to work out the “kinks.” Because there were few books available at the time, Bruce used the aural skills he had developed playing jazz saxophone and applied them to learn Old Time music on the banjo: I had no music at all. I was totally picking things up by ear. I’d had a blues book or something and tried to learn blues out of it. But as far as Old Time music, I never had any sheet music at all. . .I was interested in jazz, you know, and [the other musicians] would say let’s play this tune, and they’d say it goes like this [sings a jazz standard “Bernie ’s Tune”] So I’d know how to play the tune after that that. It was totally aural. Dana described a similar self-teaching process. Because she is dyslexic, she claims not to be able to read written music. However, she insists that, after seven years of flute playing, she has only been able to learn one tune from a CD because she must have a “live person” to listen to in order to learn tunes. Dana had already internalised many tunes through exposure to them as an Irish dancer, so for her, learning tunes involved coaxing the tunes that were already “in her head” to her fingers on the flute. She always learned rhythms first, explaining that it was easier for her because of her dance background. While at ceili dances in Toronto, the band members, who were fiiends of hers, would allow her to sit quietly on stage behind them while they played. Knowing the sets of tunes that will be played, the order of tunes, and number of repetitions from her dance experience greatly facilitated her learning. Several participants devised learning strategies that combined sheet music with recordings to learn new tunes. Stefan sometimes used sheet music if he needed to “fill in the notes” when lifting tunes using his transcription software. Betty, who was comfortable with notation, employed both sheet music and tapes and alternated between the two. Anne recorded her lessons with flutist Loretto Reid and then learned as much as she could from the recordings before supplementing them with written music. Stefan described “lifting” tunes with the aid of software that slows digital recordings to any tempo without altering the pitch. After finding a time he likes, he initially slows it down and then “chops it up” into smaller phrases. Finally, he transcribes the tune so that he has 91 a written record of it. Sometimes he also uses sheet music to fill in the gaps during the lifting process. Several students described strategies that they devised for learning during sessions. In addition to being nonliterate, Dana claimed to be a poor aural learner and devised a visual observation system to supplement her aural learning. Her session learning strategies were consistent with some of the informal music learning practices in other cultures described by Rice (1995) and Hopkins (2002): I sit way at the back, and I play all ofthe A’s. I sort ofstart with A, I can see that, it’s two fingers down. If I don’t know the note, then I have to see. I know A’s on fiddles, banjos, flutes, accordions, pipes, some button accordions. ButI know to look at what note they are playing, at least some of them. Sol can get those. Guitar mystifies me. They do chords and stuff, I don’t do chords. But F# on a banjo, fiddle, they’re all the same. It’s only hard if it gets below my range on flute, because I have to octave it, and my brain hasn’t learned that yet. Actually, it’s backwards though, because we lift our fingers up, and they put them down, and that took me a year to figure that out. I know it intellectually, but the actual practice of it is hard. The way I learned it is, I look at a flute player, and then I look at a fiddler. When the flute player is playing an A, I looked at the fiddler, and he’s playing the F #. With the flute, I can’t always tell if they’re a man and have very big hands, if their fingers are up or down [which is why she started looking at people playing instruments other than flute]. I’d rather play in a session with better musicians than ones that are worse than me, because I don’t play every note. So it doesn’t matter how fast they play, really. I just play fewer notes, because I’m following their energy. I just “lie” the notes I can’t get-I just don’t play them. I play every fifth note, every third note. First I get the big notes [first and fifih scale degrees] and then I get the smaller ones in between. And eventually, the whole roll thing, I can figure it out now after seven years. But I just started with, “Nope, that’s an A, that’s an F, that’s an E (Iaughs).” Anne discussed the importance of recognizing familiar rhythms and note patterns. At friendly sessions, she quietly plays along, catching snippets of tunes and listening for familiar patterns. She always makes an effort to learn new tunes at sessions because she feels that every new learning experience will make the next easier. John finds “picking up” tunes at sessions personally satisfying. He always brings sheet music along to the local session. However, the other participants often play tunes and songs that are unfamiliar and for which John lacks sheet music. Then he familiarizes himself with the melody while figuring out chords, arpeggios, and rhythms on the button accordion. After several repetitions, he then can usually sing and/or play the melody on tin whistle. The Celtic College Experience The second student participant meta-theme, the College experience, was a direct result of questions regarding teaching and learning that occurred at the College, both in and outside of the classroom. Four themes emerged: motivations to attend (both initially and repeatedly), learning and teaching that occurred in the classroom, learning that occurred outside of the classroom (learning and teaching that happened at the College did differ, in varying degrees, from learning that occurred outside of the College environment, mentioned above, and which I will discuss below), and after effects of the 93 College week. Each theme yielded several codes which were then integrated/folded into one of the larger themes regarding learning in and outside of the College classroom. Motivations to Attend The first theme, what motivated participants to attend, was dependent upon the returning status of each participant. The 15 participants were equally distributed into one of two categories; those who have attended three times or less and those who have faithfully attended the College every year since its inception in 1995. Reasons for enrolling initially differed from reasons cited for continued attendance by multiple returnees. First time participants mentioned that they chose to attend for one or a combination of factors, including studying with a particular teacher, learning a specific instrument, being encouraged by others to participate (friends and/or family), and ‘eraning” themselves from written notation. Multiple returnees stated that, although their initial reasons for attending, were the same as those mentioned by first time participants, those reasons differed somewhat depending on the number of years they had been a College participant. Four reasons were cited for multiple returnees continued annual enrolment at the College; some students mentioned a combination of one or more factors. These were: desiring to study with a particular teacher in a given year, wishing to participate in teacher/student jam sessions, returning to see and play with old fiiends and to be part of the College community, and/or wanting to learn a secondary instrument. Initial Motivations I asked students what initially motivated them to attend the College. Students were adamant that they did not attend in order to collect repertoire, because collecting repertoire was seen as something that could be done at home. Nor did anyone state that the initial reason for enrolling was to attend concerts or to hear or participate in sessions or to get to know like-minded adults. Further, first time attendees were often unaware of musical activities outside of the classroom, both structured (concerts and dances), and unstructured (teacher and student jam sessions), that were available to them throughout the week. Once informed of these activities, first time students did not seem to attach importance to out of classroom activities in terms of learning. Several students initially enrolled at the College to study with a particular teacher. Stefan began attending soon after he started to learn the banjo (which he plays in addition to whistle) because he wanted to study with Brian Taheny, with whom he greatly admires, and whom he has since studied with for the nine consecutive years that he has attended the College. Three students came specifically to take classes with whistle teacher Loretto Reid. Some students desired to learn how to play a particular instrument, or wished to know about the technique, style and ornamentation of Celtic music. Tony wanted to be exposed to more performers and styles of music, while Laura stated that, despite owning a large CD collection, her recordings did not provide her with the in—depth information that she felt was necessary to learn the music properly. John came with a clear idea of what he specifically wanted to learn, including stylistic musical elements that he felt he could not “get” on his own. Analytical about these elements, he had clearly thought out and was able to articulate his specific learning objectives: I set for my goals what I wanted to learn primarily: how to do rolls, how to use less tonguing, and to “get” what I’m learning. How do you accent the rhythm, and 95 what is the purpose of this ornamentation and the purpose of the variations that people play? Is it really to drive the rhythm and to make people aware of the chords in the music? I learned that today, and I thought, ‘Great, I can use this.’ So any bit of technique that I can use to improve my playing, and to make me a better player, or in sessions, is great. Several students were encouraged by family or fi'iends to attend, or simply wanted to connect with other people (this did differ fi'om the desire to see fiiends made over the years from attending the College). Kevin and his wife Jean had always been interested in Irish music and discovered the Goderich Festival in 1996 purely by chance. They attended the College the next yearibecause of their general interest in Celtic music. Both enjoyed their initial College experience and later convinced friends from their hometown in Pennsylvania that they too should attend. Now the group of them make an annual trek to Goderich and “take over” a local Bed and Breakfast for the College and Festival week. A session acquaintance encouraged John to attend the College this year, while a fellow musician from Robert’s Celtic band urged him to enroll. Initially, Robert was reluctant to attend, but, because of his overwhelmingly positive experience that year, was, in retrospect, extremely happy that he did. Although her primary reason for enrolling was to study with Reid, Lynn also came because her children had had a positive experience at the College the previous year. Although Tony’s primary motive was musical, he had a deeply personal reason for initially attending the College: It was a time in my life that I needed to connect, to stay connected. Because I knew that coming would be a heck of a lot better than not coming and sitting at home, and looking at a bottle of booze, and a lot of pills. So I just threw caution to the wind and, in spite of my terrible shyness, I came here. Finally, learning to “wean” himself from written notation was one of the reasons that Robert initially attended. Motivations for Multiple Returnees Several returning students stated that they wished to study with a particular teacher attending that year. While Sal’s original reason for enrolling at the College was to learn whistle from Loretto Reid, in subsequent years, he came to study with Peter Horan, Newfoundland musician Frank Mahr, and this year, Irish-American fiddler Liz Carroll, a prolific composer of tunes, many of which of have become part of the “canon.” Sal composes tunes as well, and after he discovered that Liz Carroll would be teaching a composition class at this year’s College, was “completely geek ” (his words) about returning to the school. Hearing instructors play together at sessions was cited as a primary factor by four students; many stated that the teacher sessions were a strong attraction for them, because they provided opportunities to listen, observe, play, and learn. Dana and Anne both described the teacher sessions as “exciting” and mentioned how important those sessions were for the contribution they made to the overall atmosphere of the College week Elaborating, Anne asserted that one of the week’s highlights for her was finding a good session where the instructor/musicians were playing because she finds them so inspiring. A more in-depth description of College sessions will be discussed at a later point in this chapter. Many returning students made the yearly trek to Goderich to see old friends and acquaintances that would otherwise be missed, or to be a part of the College community. One participant enthusiastically stated, “You know, it’s like you have to go back to see your people!” Stefan remarked that he no longer returns annually to enroll in particular classes, but to re-connect with the people and friends he has made in past years. As a long time attendee, he had become more selective regarding the classes he wanted to take. It had become harder for him to find new musical things that he wanted to learn. Although Stefan still maintained that the music was the primary reason that he and others returned to the College yearly and that it was the element that bound the entire experience together, getting reacquainted with friends was almost as important as hearing and playing the music and, often, the two activities were intertwined. Being accepted as a member of the College community was a particularly strong reason to return for Tony and Ryan. Ryan discussed being liked “just for himself,” saying that it took several years before he realized that College participants liked and accepted him for who he was, rather than because of how he either played or sang on stage. Tony, self-described as “terribly shy,” stated: People would talk to me. And that was kind of year after year, and people got to know me, and gradually, people like John and Robin, I’d go and have a beer with them, and gradually I’d meet people, and they would just pull a rope around me and pull me out of my shell. Another motivation to return was to learn and/or improve on a secondary instrument. Robert came back this year to improve his skills on several secondary instruments, while Anne stated that she started playing her second instrument after 98 observing other students doing so at the College. She was so impressed by the number of people who attended to perform on multiple instruments that she too thought it might be enjoyable to learn another instrument besides the flute, her primary one. As a result, she decided to learn the concertina; this was her second year playing it. Teaching and Learning at the Celtic College I asked participants what College experience they felt was the most profound in terms of their learning. I also explained that this need not have occurred in a classroom, but could have happened at an informal session or formal concert. Nor was it necessary to have been musical in nature. Perhaps a conversation at the local hotel or a revelation inspired by College events was the catalyst that sparked effective learning for someone. Students’ responses fell into one of three sub-themes, and these were determined by the different codes derived from the transcripts and will be discussed in the following section. Each code was folded into one of two divisions, that, when combined, made up the larger theme of teaching and learning at the College. These divisions were: memorable learning that occurred in the classroom or was inspired by a classroom experience, and profound learning that happened outside of the classroom. Memorable Learning in the Classroom Most students described a formal classroom teaching experience that stood out as most effective in terms of their learning. After students described their experiences, I asked them to discuss what made them so memorable. Four factors (and which I determined were codes) were cited by the participants and these were: teaching styles/philosophies, classroom music learning practices, specific class types, self teaching that was triggered by classroom events, and fi'ustrations with classroom teaching. Teaching styles and philosophies. Teaching styles and philosophies among the instructors were, according to some participants, sometimes determined by what students perceived as a visible discomfort in some individual instructors’ roles as “teachers.” Instead, some students reported that some instructors chose to act more as facilitator/ guides rather than music teachers in the accepted Western European formal definition of the term. Some instructors told students that they had not received any teacher training or had any formal teaching experiences prior to working at the College, and thus did not feel “qualified” to teach in the traditional formal education sense of the word. Students reported that some instructors chose to act as mentors facilitating a guided learning process similar to the transmission process that occurs in sessions, instead of functioning as teachers employing formal pedagogical methods (in some cases, ironically, these were the instructors that were most likely to be mentioned as most effective in terms of teaching and inspirational ability). Based on the instructors’ biographies, which explain that the majority learned traditional music informally in the context of Ireland or the Celtic diaspora, one would assume that this approach to “teaching” is one with which they would have been most familiar. In many cases, the instructors learned through a mentor relationship with older musicians in their native countries. (Cowdery 1990, Dabczynski 1994, Garrison 1985, Konig 1980, McCann 2001, Rapuano 2001, Symon 2003, Veblen 1991, 1994). Master Sligo flute and fiddle player Peter Horan, age 80, was the example of a mentor/facilitator who was most often cited by students. Three participants were enrolled in his class of 20 in 2001, the year Horan taught at the College. All three told me that they learned an incredible amount from Horan, despite the fact that he does not consider 100 himself to be a teacher. They described the class as an holistic event with, Horan functioning in a facilitator/moderator role, guiding students through their own self- teaching process. Horan, according to the participants’ descriptions, approached classroom teaching in the same manner as sharing tunes at a session. Ills democratic teaching style, as described by the participants, could be perceived (in formal teaching parlance), as a social constructivist model of instruction. It is, however, doubtful that Horan would ever describe his “teaching” in those terms. There was a general consensus among the participants that Horan was sharing his knowledge with them rather than forcing it upon them. Horan talked to the students about learning music “in the tradition” and explained the origins of particular tunes and techniques. He reportedly played tunes alone and with the entire class, continually asking the students what tunes they wanted to play or hear him play. This was in keeping with the manner in which tunes are transmitted in Horan’s native Ireland, and in accordance with accepted session behaviour (Cowdery 1990, Konig 1980, McCann 2001, Veblen 1991). No call and response techniques were used; no students were put “on the spot.” He encouraged students to start tunes on their own, and, if he were familiar with a tune, would join in, afterwards ofl‘ering feedback in a positive manner. The three participants reported that his attitude was infectious. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, and this, added to the fact that students perceived him as behaving in a relaxed manner, created an atmosphere that was extremely conducive to learning. Sal believed that, in terms of his musical growth and his gradual awareness of the complexities of what it was he was trying to learn, Horan’s class was the most important class for him to have taken at the College: 101 Because one could argue that perhaps the best lessons are things that have been learned more by . . . example isn’t the right term, or maybe it is kind of. And it was not necessarily what we were supposed to have been taught, but instead it was providing the impetus to go to this other place, and ‘Here’s the direction,’ and that sort of thing. Sal also felt that Liz Carroll was a “teacher as facilitator.” From his descriptions, Carroll, like Horan, approached “teaching” using a constructivist approach. She is also a well-known fiddle teacher as well as a performer, and has taught at adult summer camps since the early 80s. This was her first time teaching a tune composition class, and, according to Sal, she acted more as a facilitator and guide than a teacher in the strict Western sense of the word. Instead, Sal felt that Carroll provided inspiration and affirmation for the class members, based on the readiness with which she offered feedback on student compositions and the quality of the feedback itself. This was Sal’s third time taking a composition class at the College and, although he had enjoyed the previous two classes, he reiterated that Carroll’s mentoring approach was more successful for him in terms of his own learning than the previous two had been. Music learning practices in the classroom. Students described two effective teaching techniques used by instructor/musicians in the classroom; the first, call and response, is a common informal technique that, interestingly, was also disliked by several students (see below). The second teaching technique mentioned by students was the use of written music as a starting point or a memory aid. This is not usually associated with informal music learning practices but has been cited as a method employed by 102 instructor/musicians teaching at other North American summer camps (Dabcyzinski, 1994, Garrison 1985). Call and response is a common informal music learning practice for aurally/orally teaching tunes. According to participants’ descriptions, the manner in which call and response was employed by College instructors was consistent with the way the technique is described in the literature (Garrison 1985, Frisch 1987, Veblen 1991, 1999, Dabcyzinski, 1994). Many student participants in this study reported that they felt that, call and response was an effective teaching technique for them; however, it was also disliked by two students, and this will be discussed later. Five participants described various call and response teaching strategies used by instructors and, in all five situations, teachers completely avoided using sheet music or any other kind of written notation (for example, ABC notation). Call and response, a teaching strategy new to Conservatory trained Robert, worked well for him. He explained Pierre Schryer’s use of the technique in that instructor’s fiddle class: He’d play one or two bars slowly, and then we’d play it back, and then he played it again slowly, and then we’d play it back, and then he played it again. Then you do the next two bars, and then we, do four and eight, and he would play the whole tune up front first, at normal speed. Then he’d usually do it again slowly, and then he’d say, ‘OK, we’re going to go through it,’ and we’d slowly build the tune up chunk by chunk. That’s what works for me. It was great. Tony described a variant of call and response technique employed by Michael Johnson in his guitar class. Like Schryer,iJohnson supplemented call and response with verbal instructions and visual observations. According to Tony, Johnson was even more 103 particular than Schryer, both in terms of giving verbal instructions and visually demonstrating throughout each phrase. Johnson would continue the process until he felt that each student had grasped the phrase structure of the tune. Laura discussed Loretto Reid’s use of different teaching modalities. Reid began by using a standard call and response mode, but switched to verbally calling out the note names and fingering them simultaneously for students who were unable to learn by listening to her playing the melody in phrases. Laura also expressed alarm at how the experience of playing alone in front of other students affected her negatively, particularly because she is a professional musician, albeit in another genre. Despite an intellectual acknowledgement that this should not be the case, the experience still disturbed her viscerally. Laura also described the Quebecois dance instructor employing a call and response technique that paralleled the music instructors’ strategies. Laura felt that she was an extremely effective teacher for several reasons, including her effective use of call and response, clarity of instruction, the ability to “think on her feet,” and her efficient use of class time. Laura believed that the combination of these elements served as an excellent example of well-paced rote teaching. The use of sheet music is most often employed as a technique at the College when students are either uncomfortable with aural/oral learning, or as a time saving measure, and some students reported instructors using written music for these reasons. In summer schools with a similar format to the College, the use of written music to teach had gradually become a more accepted way to teach tunes (Garrison, 1985, Dabczynski 1994, Veblen 1991, 1999). Participants reported that some of College instructors distributed sheet music in order to teach more efficiently (because of limited teaching 104 time) or as an option for students who were uncomfortable with aural/oral learning. One instructor, Loretto Reid, employed written notation in a manner that differed from the other College instructors and the related literature. When teaching the more advanced concepts of embellishment, ornamentation, and variation, she began by teaching aurally. However, to assist in learning these elements, Reid used sheet music and gave students the option of writing, on the music, possible places that those musical elements could be used in the tune. Thus, according to several students, she used written notation in a manner that could be described as teaching a theme with variations. Lynn mentioned that Reid initially asked her to learn two fairly easy accordion tunes with notation, and then demonstrated to Lynn what could be done with the various omamentations, using runs and rolls (common methods of elaboration and ornamentation) as examples. Reid suggested to her that, in addition to adding these musical elements, Lynn also try different ones in different places to further personalize the tune, thus making it into her own unique version. Anne described Reid’s teaching in a similar way, but elaborated on how different the final version of the tune became. Reid would render several distinctly different interpretations, demonstrating various ways to phrase, articulate, and embellish the same tune. Anne concluded: For one thing, Loretto doesn’t read music, so it has to be aural transmission, and her preference certainly, as we got going, was to learn the notes of the tune first, and then you are actually ready to work on something musical. Specific Class Type: Ensemble Classes Ensemble classes provided students the chance to learn and perform traditional music with others. Over the course of several years, within assorted ensemble classes 105 representing a number of different Celtic genres, returning students reported very similar positive learning experiences along with high degrees of personal satisfaction. Often, ensemble class was a student’s first experience of performing in a “band.” Such classes also provided participants the opportunity to work with professional Celtic musicians. Additionally, most of the ensemble classes opted to play on stage at the beginning of the Celtic Roots Festival, which immediately follows the College week, thereby giving students the chance to perform what they had created, arranged, and practiced. Betty believed that the ensemble class she had taken the previous year was the most positive classroom experience she had ever had at the College, because it provided her the opportunity to play with other people and boosted her confidence. Thus, she felt that her playing would be successful when performing on stage with her “group.” She stated: I got such a bang out of [the ensemble class] . . . because I sat down and played with other people. As opposed to trying to go to a session and waiting for a tune I know. We knew what the tunes were going to be, so I could go home and work on them, and then I was able — I mean, there were too many, and I didn’t get them all. But I got enough of [the tunes] that I could be part of the group, and it was such a thrill, and it was such a high to do that, that I just went home charged up. Self- Teaching Triggered by Classroom Events Events that transpired in College classes acted as catalysts for students, helping them to develop more self-awareness regarding their learning. Laura astonished herself mulling over the day’s classes one night, when a self—teaching strategy came to her as she was falling asleep. She also expressed surprise that, as a music educator, this method had 106 not occurred to her earlier. Laura reflected on the self-teaching strategy she plans to implement this year: It came to me in the middle of the week, that what I need to do, to learn tunes, is make my own learning tape, because I know how to learn. So what I’m going to do is, pick a tune I want to learn a week or depending on how my schedule works out in the fall. A tune that I want to learn, and I’m going to play it, depending on how difficult it is, play it either on the whistle or the piano, one finger, and then doing my own learning tapes, by doing my own rote learning sequence. So I’ll play the whole thing through, and then I ’11 play one phrase, and leave the gap on the tape for myself to play it back, and so, it just came to me in the middle of the week, I mean, it’s probably the most common thing in the world, but that’s what I’m going to do this year. And I’m going to make myself a goal, sit down and figure out how many tunes I want to learn, and make my own learning tapes. I think the real learning moment was learning howl could be my own teacher in the sense of making the learning tapes, and then really having [the tunes]. Because, as I say, the frustration is being trained as a musician as I am and not being able to play up to snuff — to my standard in another form, even just physically having the notes, sol could learn the ornamentation and the rest of it. So I think that was a really huge thing forime. Sal discussed how Reid’s teaching stressed the context of traditional folk music, and he recounted how this understanding grew over a period of time. Because he is a semi-professional bassoonist, Sal first approached learning traditional folk music in the same way he had learned to play the bassoon. Many of the values of informal learning 107 occurred to him only after he had fully digested and intemalised what Reid taught him during the College week. In other words, he realized that he was not yet ready to learn what she had to teach him. This process of self—awareness was therefore gradual: I discovered that I learned stuff fi'om Loretto, and what I’ve learned doesn’t sink in for a year or two. It’s not so much the fancy tricks she’s taught me, but just a general sort of. . . . ‘This is how things go.’ Being more technical, I think you have to get to a point where you understand what you’ve learned. Without the proper context, you may hear something, but it doesn’t really mean anything to you. I remember last year, when I was in Toronto, I played for her a couple of tunes that I’d written, and she had some comments on, well you should try doing this, and this, and this. And it was nine months later, and suddenly I’m like, Ohhhhhhhh [slaps forehead]! And suddenly I’m doing what she had said. And it hadn’t meant anything to me until then, and I’m doing it now. And the stuff that I’m doing is 100 times better than I was doing in August. Prior to attending the College, John developed a self-teaching technique that involved singing tunes before attempting to learn them. At the College, however, he suddenly realized the importance of saving tunes on tape in order to reinforce them in his memory. Afier this revelation, John promptly went out and bought a tape recorder. He also observed his teachers playing, and then compared their actions to his own: I watch her hands [describing Reid]. I watch her fingers, because this is my first chance to learn proper technique, proper fingering, how to do rolls, so I pay very close attention to what her fingers are doing. The button accordion teacher, I do 108 watch his fingers, but it’s not for the feedback of what notes they are. I’m thinking, what strategies is he using? By “strategies” John was referring to the fingering and draw (whether to push or pull) combinations used to play particular note sequences, as there are numerous ways to execute note sequences on button accordion. This process was self-affirming, because John realized that the button accordion teacher was employing a technique that he himself had already been using. Frustrations with Classroom Teaching The overwhelming majority of participants’ responses regarding teaching and learning at the College week was extremely positive. Students heaped praise on the week’ 5 concerts, sessions, instructors and general atmosphere, and reported many positive experiences of classroom learning and teaching. There were, however, some students who expressed varying degrees of fi'ustration or discouragement with the instructional approaches taken by teachers in a few classes. This frustration likely arose from the cultural clash of teaching and learning systems, such as aural versus visual learning, and this was consistent with the literature (Dabczynski 1994, Green 2002, Frisch 1987, Small 1977). For example, pacing and organizational issues were perceived as problematic by some students whose cOmments showed that they had expected formal music learning practices to be employed (to some extent) at the College. This could best be described as a “clash of systems.” Some students were upset when course content differed from the course description in the College syllabus because, for example, they may have made the decision to attend based on the information originally given. 109 A “clash ” of systems. It should be emphasized here, that although the Robinsons developed the College with the expectation that teaching of some kind would take place in classes, it was not necessarily an expectation that such teaching mirror the kind of linear, formal teaching found in most schools. Thus negative feelings likely result from differences of opinion over the meaning of the term “teach.” Instructor/performers, many of whom are born into a musical tradition, often employ the informal teaching practices they are most familiar with, and usually these include call and response and /or similar rote teaching techniques. Although the call and response approach to music learning was mentioned as an effective and correct way to learn traditional music by many students, informal music learning practices (of which it is one example) can conflict with the expectations of those students only familiar with Western concepts of formal music learning and teaching. This can result in a cultural “clash of systems.” The most common complaint in this area was that sheet music was not provided for students uncomfortable or not yet proficient with aural learning, thus such students were frustrated with instructors who taught only through call and response. Further, there was a perception that some instructors assumed that all students in their classes were proficient aural learners. This bothered Betty and she discussed this issue: I think many of the teachers are not aware —- and I’m not being critical of them —- of the differences in learning styles. I find that most of the instruction is geared toward strong aural learners. [The teachers] come in and try to teach you a tune. One teacher, I stopped him later, and said, ‘Did you know that there is a reason that phone numbers are only ten digits long? Because that is the limit that you can hold in yom short term memory.’ And then the teacher will start giving you 12 110 bars of a tune you know, and say, ‘OK, now try that part.’ . . . It is taken for granted that everybody learns. that way, and they’re not aware that [some people] are different. From her comments, Betty’s learning fi'ustrations with aural/oral learning were evident. It is interesting to note, however, that, afier her initial discouragement, she did become more accepting of aural/oral learning and also became a more proficient aural/oral learner. She also acknowledged that aural/oral learning was a more “natural” way to learn traditional music, despite it initially being a more difficult way for her to learn. Betty’s remarks also demonstrate that not all learners have the same abilities and/or aptitude for aural/oral learning, and that, further, this can particularly be the case when introduced to the concept as adults. Lynn, who is not comfortable with aural learning, expressed fi'ustrations similar to Betty’s. Despite a disclaimer in the syllabus that students could learn with written music if they chose to do so and that sheet music would be provided in all of the classes, Lynn’s button accordion class at the College this year was, as she had experienced in previous years, taught completely aurally. Thus, she immediately felt lost and experienced the same frustrations on the first day of the class as she had in previous years. Dana, who does not read written notation, expressed an opposing view, because she felt that sheet music impeded the class flow and explained why: Classes that rely on sheet music, because it just breaks the energy so much, I just can’t learn. And everyone’s like, ‘What’s this fifth note here?’ And I can’t do it . . . it just shifts the part away. You learn the notes, but you don’t learn the music. 111 The above quote exemplifies the disjoint between primarily visual and primarily aural/oral music learners at the College. Bruce explained what he believed were reasons for this teaching/learning disj uncture. He addressed the issue from a cultural viewpoint, maintaining that the. perceived problem was directly attributable to the way instructor/musicians learned and their exposure to traditional music in their native countries while growing up. Further, he claimed that the way in which the majority of North Americans perceive music teaching and learning is as foreign a concept to Irish musicians as their informal music learning practices are to North Americans. This schism could be perceived as institutional as well as cultural, because formal music learning practices are typically associated with the former, while informal learning practices are usually connected with the latter. Bruce also felt that some students and teachers assumed that being a talented musician automatically means that one is also a competent teacher, even in the formal sense. He asserted that some of the instructors were simply unaware of how to teach formally, and were therefore branded as “poor” instructors. However, he felt that it was unreasonable for students to expect them to be able to teach in a formal classroom situation considering their backgrounds. Moreover, as stated above, the expectation that they teach in a formal style was never a condition of being hired. Consequently, some students were frustrated with what they perceived as a “lack of teaching experience” on the part of instructors. These included accusations of poor pacing, perceived organizational problems, and not adhering to the College syllabus. For example, Lynn, in the beginner accordion class, was shocked by the fast pace and the amount of repertoire the instructor tried to cover during the initial meeting of the class. 112 Apparently, he attempted to teach the beginning students three tunes on the first day of the College. Laura described a pacing problem in her singing class that was the opposite of Lynn’s complaint. Laura perceived the pacing as too slow, because she felt that the class did not cover as much material as they could have. She felt, however, that this was more attributable to disorganization on the teacher’ 5 part and not teacher inexperience. There was sometimes confusion as to what course content was supposed to include. Laura identified this as a problem in the same singing class she discussed above, and Bruce expressed disappointment over a duet class he enrolled in, because he expected the course content to reflect the course name (duet playing), which it did not. Instead, the instructor simply taught tunes to the class as a whole. Learning Outside of the Classroom Because the philosophy of the College is to create a “mini-culture/community” for the week, musical, social, and artistic events that occur outside of the classroom were often perceived as equally important to those that take place in the classroom. The idea of creating a “mini-culture/community” for the duration of the College is consistent with other North American and Irish adult summer schools (Dabzcyski 1994, Frisch 1987, Garrison 1985, Maloney 1990, Sky 1996, Taylor 1998, Veblen 1991, 1999). Long-time returning students were more likely to attend informal activities held at night, and they mentioned that their most powerful learning experiences occurred at these times. Laura was the only first time attendee who shared this sentiment. Based on her previous experience at another adult Celtic summer school, she was aware of the advantages that such activities had to offer, unlike the other newcomers to Goderich. This could, however, also have been an issue of readiness. 113 Concerts Several participants discussed learning while attending and listening to the nightly concerts. While the overwhelming majority of students expressed that they enjoyed the concerts, Lynn was the most enthusiastic, because she felt that she learned an enormous amount fi'om these experiences. Considering how adamant Lynn was regarding her inability to learn aurally, this was perhaps ironic. The concerts also provided a venue for meeting other people that, in the case of Tony, led to discussions on various topics; including how others learned in classes, which teachers were preferred and why, and what techniques were used by the instructors. Sessions Observing, listening to, and playing in informal teacher and student sessions provided students with valuable and powerful learning opportunities. The sessions that occurred during the College week were impromptu events with their own nonverbal code of etiquette and expected behavior. No formal teaching occurred; rather, times were played, “picked up,” and transmitted from one player to another. There is a natural ebb and flow to any traditional session, and College sessions were no exception. Different musicians came and went. Players chatted with fiiends and drank beer in between tunes. Some players stayed in the same chairs until last call, playing every tune that came around. While the musicians played, other non-playing participants listened and observed; a few held recording devices above the musicians as they captured the music on tape. There were always numerous places available in the town of Goderich for impromptu sessions to happen during the College week. Every evening after 9:00, there 114 were one to ten different sessions occurring at several venues surrounding the town square. The Bedford Hotel, the main session venue, often had two or three simultaneous sessions featuring different musical genres and geared toward varying levels of expertise. On some nights. it was impossible to get in after 11:00 because of the number of people that were already inside. Large, noisy, full of people and music, the Bedford became the communal “watering hole” for College students and teachers. Several participants discussed why the College sessions were so special and what they, as students, took away from them. Before Sal discovered that Betty Carroll would be teaching composition at this year’s College, he contemplated coming to this year’s College for the sessions alone, because he believes that attending them nightly is as important to learning traditional music as the classes are. A really good session could also be a source of inspiration for those listening. Hearing unfamiliar tunes, musical styles, and different tune settings played by great musicians presented students with valuable learning opportunities. Discussing a “hot” fiddle session at the Bedford the previous evening, Stefan talked about how sessions contributed to his learning: Last night, there was a huge session with fiddlers; all the best fiddlers were in the Bedford Hotel. Exceptionally inspirational because it’s the music, which actually said, ‘Boy, I want to play that.’ Or you hear an ornament by somebody. So that’s the inspirational aspect. And if I get the title, I can look through my CDs for it, or I can go to my books and find it and get the structure down. And if it comes up in a session again, I can start layering on the nuances. Mid-week at the Bedford there were three different types of Celtic sessions happening at once. Although the music was different (Irish, Scottish, and Quebecois), the 115 three sessions had several non-musical elements in common, which Laura described. She was delighted by the level of bonding, community, and the “sheer delight in the music,” expressed and displayed by the actions of each of the different sessions’ musicians. Further, she felt that this “sheer delight” represented the “true essence” of the music for her. The subject surfaced when I asked her a question regarding the College timetable and not sessions in particular. She replied that she did not feel it was practical to begin the College day any earlier than 9:00 AM. Elaborating, she said that the sessions are a significant and valuable part of the College learning experience, and to start the day any earlier than that would leave students with no choice but to miss them altogether. Conversations Talking with people who shared a similar passion for traditional music was also a significant informal learning experience for participants. As stated above, the concerts were important to Tony, because they provided a place for him to meet other people with whom he could discuss different aspects of traditional music and the College in general. Dana felt that her most profound learning at the College came from sitting in the Bedford Hotel, drinking Guinness and talking about music with well-known Irish musician Sean Keene. They formed a bond, and Dana believed that after a week of shared conversations, her understanding of traditional music became deeper and more insightful. As a long-time returning student, Tony has become close fiiends with other long- time retumees who also shared his enthusiasm for learning traditional music and with whom he shares beer and conversations over the course of the week. Tony felt that the insights they shared contributed significantly to his learning, and he explained why: 116 I’d meet people and they would pull me out of my shell. And we talked music, very much so. I felt that only in the last couple of years have I not felt completely inadequate [laughs], so I would just be listening in awe. And I would be trying to absorb everything I heard, all of the stories about the musicians, all of the music that was being played, how people were learning, where they were going to listen to other music. And that had an impact on how I was learning afterwards, very much so. Tony added that, because the week was so intense, it would be beneficial for new students if there were some way of preparing them for the experience beforehand. He asserted that the social aspect of the College was “phenome ” and that, combined with the musical opportunities, and provided a real growth experience for students. First time attendee John and second year student Robert validated Tony’s thoughts. John said: I’m doing the family thing. So it’s been hard to do the stuff at night. I’m going to try and go to one of the concerts or at least I’d love to go to the sessions. But I’m sort of torn. Because the College week is tightly scheduled, with classes starting at 9:00 AM and finishing at 5:00 in the afiemoon, new students, often unaware of what they are missing “after hours,” sometimes fail to attend concerts and sessions because they are completely “worn out” from the school day, which Robert attested to. Robert stated, “For me, the learning was basically all classes, because we didn’t go to the jams last year. I’m just too darn tired.” 117 After Eflects of the College Week Two codes, effects on participants’ musicality, and maintaining connections, contributed to the division of after effects of the College week. Because the College week is so rich and intense, there was a general consensus among students that they were departing with more musical knowledge and also a deeper understanding of how important the role of learning in context and community is to traditional music. Equally important were feelings of satisfaction derived from the number of new friends and musical connections made in addition to the re-connections made with old comrades. Stefan summed this feeling up by stating: I’ve been here since the beginning [of the College]. One of the main reasons that I come back is not so much for the workshops, but because of the people and the friends I’ve made in past years, and the experiences, like the sessions that have happened in previous years, the events that have happened, mostly of a musical nature. Every year I get more. I meet new people every year, so that community grows over time. Many participants also expressed that they had a better comprehension of their own learning styles, thus enabling them to take more responsibility for their learning. For these reasons, participants were inspired, and therefore convinced that they needed to include more traditional music making in their lives at home. Eflects on participants ’ musicality. Stylistic elements learned from tradition bearers had profound effects on participants’ approaches to traditional music. Sal completely changed his approach to rolls (a common ornament in Irish traditional music) after taking Reid’s whistle class during the first summer he attended the College, and this 118 was mentioned earlier. His initial conception of roll execution was based on theoretical instructions in a popular whistle tutor, further augmented by listening to recordings. His conception of what rolls consisted of and how and when they were implemented had been based on his initial experience with the whistle book. It was only after studying with Reid that he was able to develop a better understanding of how and when ornaments should be executed and inserted. He also believed that, in addition to broadening his approach to traditional music, this led to his own “paradigm shift” in the way he approached music from other genres, specifically, Western art music on the bassoon. He said: I discovered that I learned stuff from Loretto, and what I’ve learned doesn’t sink in for a year or two. It’s not so much the fancy tricks she’s taught me, but just a general sort of . . . ‘This is how things go.’ Being more technical, I think you have to get to a point where you understand what you’ve learned. Without the proper context, you may hear something, but it doesn’t really mean anything to you. Although Dana did not pinpoint one specific element (for example, ornament execution) that contributed to her musicianship, she fully credited the College for an improvement in her overall musicality. She could not explain an explicit cause for her improvement, instead attributing it to the “entire” College experience. So for Dana, learning was completely contextual and holistic. Laura’s discovery of a strategy of how to become her own “best teacher” was one result of attending the College, and which she planned on implementing on her return home. On a practical level, she also planned to introduce Quebecois dance, which she learned during the week, into her elementary methods course at the university where she teaches. Laura also discussed the overall 119 “richness” of the week. Her experiences as a first time participant were different from those of other new students, because she had previously attended another Celtic summer school. As a result, she was able to compare that earlier experience to the Celtic College week: I have to say that this is a completely different experience. This is so rich. I can’t see how anybody can come here and not take just tons of stuff away with them. And I think that that’s why it’s so successful, because it is so diverse, and you do have the intergenerational and the different socio-economic, and it’s affordable. I’m not used to seeing the different traditions and being able to see the differences, because when you’re in one tradition, and you’re peripherally looking at the others, and you don’t really see it as distinct. So I think having the diverse cultures here, while you have the opportunity to study in each one, or focus on one tradition, it really does help you to see the distinctions. And I think that’s really a good thing, because this Celtic catch all word that we’ve got going is really, I think, melting a lot of the distinctions away, and flren you don’t get what makes each of them so special. Robert credited the College with a renewed desire to include more music (and, in particular, traditional music) in his life. He also felt more comfortable playing with and performing for other people, and had begun teaching violin and fiddle locally; he directly attributed his growth as a musician and his involvement in all of these musical activities to his experiences at the College. Thus, the experiences of the College week were tremendously influential in his life as both performer and teacher. 120 Maintaining connections. Musical and personal connections made through the College were often maintained and valued by students long after the week had ended. For example, Tony discussed becoming involved with other folk musicians located throughout Ontario through the network of friends made in Goderich, while Betty met her future whistle teacher (Reid) there. Laura mentioned the many smaller communities that existed within the larger College community, and discussed how she travelled from one to another throughout the week, sharing information and experiences. As a result, she felt she made valuable personal connections, and that these would continue long after the week had ended. Stefan said that each year the community becomes larger, as people with similar life outlooks meet, interact, and get to know one another. He, like Laura, mentioned that he remains in contact with many of his College friends alter the week is over. Summary It was clear, fiom the participants’ responses, that their perceptions of what comprised music “teaching” and learning as adults were dependent on childhood music experiences (formal and informal) and their exposure to traditional music and informal music learning practices as adults. Further, participants’ experiences with formal music teaching and learning practices and informal learning practices (inside and outside of the College) were often intertwined to various degrees based on location, time of day/night, and the individual participants’ perceptions and attitudes regarding music learning in general. Again, this latter factor was dependent on each individual’s experience with formal school music learning (both positive and negative) and with informal music learning at different stages throughout their lives. Openness to using various informal 121 music learning practices (in particular, oral/aural learning) was, therefore, also dependent on participants’ attitudes and abilities towards those practices. Based on their attitudes and abilities, each of the participants developed music self-teaching strategies that worked best for them; strategies were completely aural/oral, totally visual (and this included observing the fingers of other musicians), or, most commonly, a combination of the two learning styles. Further, every participant reported that an important part of their self-teaching strategies included being a member of a musical community. All perceived this as a significant factor in the learning process and was most valued by the committed aural/oral learners. Membership in a musical community provided an impetus to learn and practice and also served as a venue in which participants could “pick up” new tunes. The College week was a more compact and intensified model of music learning than that which occurred in the participants’ daily lives. Besides providing a formal classroom model that, due to its structure, allowed participants to take a number of different classes taught by world class musician/instructors, the College experience also exposed students to a variety of and (often superb examples) of informal music learning opportunities that would be difficult for many to find in their daily lives. These learning experiences were further heightened because of the extremely inclusive sense of community created during the College week. For many participants, this became the primary motivating factor for their continued yearly attendance at the College. 122 CHAPTER FIVE: ANALYSIS OF TEACHER DATA For this part of the study, I interviewed nine College teachers, who were chosen based on the following factors: (1) nationality and/or country of origin (2) instrument and musical style/genre, and (3) number of years of experience teaching at the College, because I wanted to include a mix of new and returning teachers to the College. Of the nine, four have taught at the College six years or more (Frank Edgeley, Maureen Mulvey, Leon Taheny, and Don Kavanaugh), two have taught for two years (Jean Mills, and Maire Breathnach) and three have taught one year (Christine Quigley, Robin Hue Bowan, and Brian McNeill). All play different primary instruments, which will be discussed presently. The questions were organized around the categories of music learning and music teaching. I opted to present the relevant data by assembling it into individual teacher profiles which were then integrated thematically. Because of the large number of students participating in the study, this format was impractical to pursue when presenting the student data. Detailed biographies of the teachers in this study were necessary because, in ethnographic studies of classroom teaching, biographies of teachers’ lives are integral in accounts of classroom life (Goodson and Walker, 1990). I have used the teachers’ real names, because all are well known performers in their respective genres. Several are also profiled in the related literature to further provide context for the reader. Music Learning Responses to questions about music learning were organized into three themes: early music learning, adult music learning, and visual versus aural learning. These themes paralleled those of the students’ data, which was unintentional but not surprising, because 123 questions asked of the teachers were the same or similar to those asked the students. Teachers’ experiences differed somewhat from those of the students. While almost half of the students reported that they had been exposed to traditional music in their childhood by a relative, none of them began playing traditional music as a child, unlike those teachers. However, approximately half of the teachers grew up in traditional music homes, and which I will discuss below. I labelled these instructors as enculturated teacher participants, for the following reasons and will use the term “enculturated” to describe them henceforward. 1 define traditional music homes as those in which live or recorded traditional music is heard on a regular basis as part of daily or weekly routine and is not considered a “special” occasion. The five teachers in this category had parents or close relatives who played, danced and/or sang in their presence. Further, for the instructors in this category, adult music learning was a fairly seamless transition fiom their childhood music learning and this was because their adult music learning appeared - for the most part - to be no different from their childhood learning. Thus, there was no discemable dividing line where childhood music learning ceased or changed (for example, from formal music instruction to informal music learning) and adult music learning began. It was also evident that these instructors were exemplars of lifelong music learning; the codes identified in their accounts (continually learning new aspects of their art and seeking and/or making opportunities to perform) were consistent with traits of lifelong music learners established by Coffinan (2002). The remaining four instructors, who did not in grow up in traditional music homes, thus began learning traditional music as adults, had similar experiences to the 124 students insofar as a greater effort was initially required to seek out sources of information on the music. Thus, I labelled them as nonenculturated instructors. The codes derived from these teachers’ transcripts (which included various motivations to learn traditional music, aural/oral and visual music learning, and self developed learning strategies) relating to adult music learning were almost identical to those of the students, unlike the five traditional music home instructors. Despite its being a more specific designation, visual versus aural learning was so important throughout the discussions that it should once again be considered a separate theme in its own right. Teachers’ comfort levels with visual as opposed to aural learning were, like those of the students, situated on a continuum, with bi-musical teachers (which will be defined and discussed within the confine of the theme) located at the center, and others situated at various points throughout. Early Music Learning In order to establish instructors’ perceptions and definitions of what it means to teach and learn music, it was first necessary to discern what, if any, exposure they had to music when growing up as children. Following the examples set by Garrison (1986) and Veblen (1991), I asked the teacher participants about their early music learning, and this could include informal music learning in the home and/or the community, and/or formal music instruction (school or private lessons). This was important to determine because childhood musical exposure would, most likely, both shape and formulate the teachers’ attitudes and abilities towards music learning and teaching as adults. It would appear that this exposure did indeed do so, and this will be discussed in the next section. 125 Traditional Music Homes The traditional music family is an old and respected living tradition in Ireland (O’Cainnan, 1997). According to McCarthy (1999), tunes are “passed on” from one generation to the next and this “passing on” of tunes is not necessarily limited to immediate family but can also include other relatives and community members. It is not unusual for the younger generation to play different instruments fiom the older one; what does remain constant, however, are the “tunes” themselves and the aural/oral manner in which they are absorbed and learned. Because the “tunes” are already in “in their heads,” learning music for the younger generation is a matter of transference onto the instrument of choice. Five instructors (Christine Quigley, Leon Taheny, Moira Breathnach, Don Kavanaugh, and Maureen Mulvey), were raised in traditional music homes, and their experiences learning music as children were consistent with the literature (Bayard 1956, Dabczynski 1994, Garrison 1986, Kearns & Taylor 1998, McCarthy 1999, O’Canainn 1978, Vallely 1997, Veblen 1991,). Several factors (and which I labelled as codes), were common to their accounts, and were present in every traditional home instructors’ response. These codes were: (1) parents, siblings, and/or extended family that played traditional music (2) encouragement by the same (3) aural/oral learning as the learning style of choice (4) traditional dance integrated with traditional music (5) the presence of recordings/radio in the home and 6) opportunities to perform fiequently. None of the traditional home participants reported that they had to be coerced or forced to practice; all stated that they practiced and played at every possible chance and of their own accord. 126 Taheny, Breathnach, and Kavanaugh, were born in Ireland, whereas the latter two were also raised there. Mulvey is first generation Irish-Canadian, while Quigley is a Canadian born into a large Irish-Canadian family. Their childhood accounts, related in the next section, exemplify the codes discussed above. Additionally, all five have continued to play and/or dance in the traditional genre they learned as children, and thus are lifelong learners in their respective practices. Quigley’s and Taheny’s experiences were unique among the five traditional music teachers because they both grew up playing in their respective families’ bands. They related similar experiences; they learned “on the fly,” through arranging music and backing others at gigs. Additionally, they toured and performed during summer vacations while still in secondary school, and have recorded albums and CDs with their respective families. Leon T aheny. As the son of Irish traditional musicians, Loretto Reid and Brian Taheny, both of whom teach at the College, Taheny cannot remember a time when traditional music was not present in the family home. In addition to Irish traditional music, he was consistently exposed to kit drumming from the age of three because, at the time, his parents owned a recording studio in Ireland and their clientele consisted primarily of Rock bands. Taheny attributed his overwhelming desire to become a drummer at a young age to these experiences. Taheny’s mother, however, would not allow him to begin learning percussion until he had studied piano and theory formally. She insisted that he learn a melodic instrument first and, because she regretted never having learned to read music herself, also felt strongly that he should study music theory prior to beginning percussion. After 127 he had purchased a bodhran (an Irish drum), she prohibited him from playing it until he received formal instruction on it at the College, notwithstanding his previous exposure to many excellent performers, such as Billy, the bodhran player in his parents’ band whom Leon would soon supplant, and the bodhran players he had encountered at various sessions. Besides joining the Reid-Taheny Band, he formed and played in several rock bands as a teenager and played drum kit in his high school’s jazz band; this contributed to his overall development as a musician. In addition to drum kit and bodhran, Taheny plays bass and electric guitar; he is self taught on both instruments. He teaches bodhran at the College, and currently lives, works, and teaches in Toronto. Christine Quigley. Quigley grew up in Peterbourough, Ontario as a member of the Leahy family, well known performers of “Old Time” Ontario fiddle and step dance (Lederman, 1992). Both of her parents are accomplished traditional musicians (her father, a fiddler, and her mother, a pianist), and all nine of her siblings play fiddle, and/or piano, and step dance; Quigley also step dances in addition to playing Ontario style piano. As a child, she learned music aurally as soon as she began playing piano (her first instrument) at the age of four. Because there was only one piano in the house, she constantly competed with her siblings for time to practice on it. She entered her first step-dance competition at the age of ten and, by the time she was twelve, was regularly accompanying her brothers and sisters on piano while they played fiddle and/or step- danced. Because she appeared to be older than she was, Quigley also began gigging with her parents at local Hotels, despite being underage. Her family gigged and toured extensively, particularly as she and her siblings grew older. She currently lives in Peterbourough, Ontario with her husband and children, and no longer performs as 128 frequently as she did as a youngster. She recalled her experiences as a member of the family band, learning “on the job”: My parents had a band, by the time I was twelve. Liquor laws were such in Ontario that you couldn’t take any children into a bar. And I looked a lot older than I was, so I used to be able to go with them. And they’d play in a local — they called them “hotels,” but they were bars. So we’d go with them, and I’d get to play a set, and that means that I’d have to learn to play to the singer that was in the band. It was piano, fiddle, accordion, guitar, and a singer. No drums, no bass. So the piano had to [function rhythmically and provide the bass]. So we continued to play then, my brothers and sisters, I have ten brothers and sisters, and we all learned to play. We went to competitions, first of all, fiddle and step dance contests, and eventually a band grew out of it, and a family music show, and we travelled all over Canada. And we used to perform every summer; our whole summers were always spent playing music. I don’t know how many times on fair circuits, we’d do the Canadian National Exhibition, every major fair and exhibition, fiom one coast to the other. At first it was, ‘Oh do we have to go, do we have to do this?’ As we got a little older, then it became fun in the party sense of the word, all the other people we’d meet, the other musicians, and all of that. And that would be excitement. Maire Breathnach. In addition to being a traditional fiddler (she was the original fiddler in “Riverdance”), classically trained violinist, and prolific composer (her film scores include “In the Name of the Father, ” “Rob Roy, ” and “The Secret of Roan Inish ” among others), Breathnach is fluent in Irish, German and English. Currently residing in 129 Ireland, she holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Arts in Music, a Master of Arts in Irish Language, and a Masters of Arts in Ethnomusicology. Before becoming a full time freelance musician and composer, she was a lecturer for nine years at Trinity College Dublin, first in Irish folklore and then in classical music. She gave up her position as a lecturer because, she said that “I was tired of talking about music instead of playing it.” Music was omnipresent in Breathnach’s childhood Dublin home. She recalled classical and traditional programs, as well as some jazz, being played on the radio constantly; the family seldom listened to popular music, with the exception of the “old standards” that the older people enjoyed. Her mother played the piano, and she described her father as a “raconteur. ” Although he did not have a formal education, he had a love of Irish history and culture that he shared with her. Breathnach remembered riding on her father’s bicycle handles as he took her to visit his fiiends with whom he had similar musical and cultural interests. In addition to studying Irish Gaelic at the age of six, she began learning Irish step-dancing and fiddle: The only trouble was where I grew up, I was a bit of a fish out of water, because I lived in what would be known as project housing, and it was very uncool to do anything cultural. And I had the Irish dancing, ringlets, curls, and all of that stuff, which was even doubly uncool. I started dancing when I was around six, about the same time I started playing the fiddle. And I was learning classical in the School of Music, I was also playing traditional music. Maureen Mulvey. Born in Canada to Irish parents, Maureen Mulvey is an active teacher and performer of Irish set, ceili, and step dancing. Accompanying her family at age four when they re-emigrated to Ireland, Mulvey began dancing soon after their 130 return. She began as an Irish step-dancer, and later learned ceili and set dancing, before teaching Irish step dance as a teenager. Both of her parents were excellent ballroom dancers and her mother step-danced as well. Mulvey is not a musician per se, but because traditional dance is integral to the Irish music tradition (it is comprised solely of dance forms) it was important to include her in the study. Because she has been dancing for most of her life, she is intimately familiar with a large repertoire of Irish traditional tunes. Because their feet interact with the music as it is being played, Irish dancers function in a percussionist’s role. This is particularly true regarding the “tapping” sounds made by step-dancers; these sounds are due to their special footwear, which are similar to tap dancing shoes. In addition to dance, Mulvey gained a familiarity with Irish traditional music because her family purchased a “music pub” (a bar which traditional musicians frequent) soon afier returning to Ireland. Mulvey returned to Canada in 1974 and, since that time, she has been active teaching Irish dance in the Toronto area. Additionally, she travels throughout North America offering Irish dance workshops. Mulvey recalled that there was always music present in the family pub, and illustrated the relationship between traditional music and dance: In our pub, we had people like Packie Duigrnan, the flute player. If there was nobody in the house, the only way that he could feel like getting out the flute would be if he had reason. So he’d make us the reason, so it would be like, ‘OK, you do a dance, and I’ll take out the flute and play.’ And once it was out, he wouldn’t put it away, he needed a reason; he felt he just couldn’t take it out and play. But if he had someone to dance, or someone to sing a song that he had to 131 accompany, then he would take it out. And that was the kind of house otlr house was, there were three or four houses in town that were like that. We had a little room off to the side, and it made for cozy sessions. And because I was a dancer, the older people would come in and they’d say, well, we’re missing one for a set, and then they’d pull me up. I was very resistant to sets; I didn’t want to do them, because that was what all of the old people did. Don Kavanaugh. Harmonica player Don Kavanaugh, born in Dublin, Ireland, immigrated to Canada in 1953. In addition to harmonica, he also taught Irish music transmission at the College. At age 77, he considered himself a lucky person for a variety of reasons, one of them being his exposure to traditional music by family members while growing up. He joined the Royal Air Force in Belfast at age 17 and, after leaving the Air Force at 20, worked in a series of jobs that took him all over Ireland. After immigrating to Canada, he lived in Toronto and Hamilton before finally settling in Ottawa, where he has resided for 47 years. Kavanaugh began playing harmonica when he was eight years old; it was a gift from his father, who was a fiddler. At the time (1936), there was a dearth of traditional musicians in Dublin due to the rise of , popular music; there were, however, pockets of traditional musicians throughout the city, most of who were from traditional music families. Kavanaugh’s father learned the fiddle from his father, who also played the banjo. His grandfather, a jeweller and watchmaker, performed in local minstrel shows as a hobby. Kavanaugh’s father was a fiddler in a local ceili band, and Kavanaugh was exposed to traditional music through that activity and by listening to radio programs. He said: 132 My father and I would listen to [traditional music programs on Radio Eirann] together, sitting on the Chesterfield, and I can still hear him, keeping time to the reels and jigs, with the stern of his pipe between his false teeth. I learned a lot from my uncle and my father, and they both encouraged me very much to play, and to keep on playing. I always had the harmonica in my pocket. Kavanaugh progressed quickly after his father bought him his first harmonica. He was soon rewarded for his diligence with a larger harmonica with extended range. This was important because a large range is necessary to play fiddle tunes on the harmonica. By then he was 11 years old, and received what he described as a “really lucky break” from a musical standpoint, because his parents’ application to transfer him from the local national school (the Irish public school) to a Christian Brothers school was accepted. His parents considered the latter school more desirable in terms of quality education, but the musical experiences were what struck Kavanaugh as memorable: When I went into the school, I found that there was a harmonica band in the school, and the next day I was in it. 15 harmonicas, a fiddle player, a little drum, and a piano. Philip Moynihan was the teacher, and he did some children’s programs on Radio Eirann. So we would play on the children’s programs five or six times a year. And you went into the studio and you did it live. So that was a great experience. I learned some tunes from them, and they learned some tunes from me, because my father had taught me a lot of times. In addition to the codes shared among the five enculturated teachers’ accormts (a musically supportive family, aural/oral learning, the presence of recordings, dance integrated with music, and opportunities to perform), it was obvious that just the presence 133 of music, and, by extension, music learning (both as a listening and a performing experience), was such a significant factor that it was integrated seamlessly into all parts of their lives. Music was accepted as an important part of daily life; something that was a normal function of the everyday experience, and not perceived as an activity that was “special” (i. e. removed from everyday life). Indeed, all five teachers’ accounts could be perceived as exemplifying music as practice, or, as praxis (praxialism), according to Elliott’s definition (1995). Each one of the five reported that music was something that they actively did as children and continued to pursue as adults. Non- Traditional Music Homes Like many of the student participants, four teachers (Jean Mills, Frank Edgley, Brian McNeill, and Robin Hue Bowan) were not exposed as children to the traditional music they now play. Mills and Edgley are Canadians, McNeill is a Scot, and Bowan is Welsh; all four reside in their native homelands and discovered traditional music as either teenagers or adults. Not only do their accounts share commonalities with one another; similar factors (motivations to learn traditional music and self developed learning strategies) were reported by the College students who were not exposed to and/or played traditional music as youngsters (in other words, they were not encultmated into the musical practice they now play). Again, like the student participants, all four nonenculturated teachers recalled hearing various genres of live and/or recorded music in their homes while grong up and also had some type of formal music training, either in school and/or through private lessons. Unlike the students, of whom five had fond memories of public school music instruction, only one teacher, Mills, expressed delight in her formal school music 134 training. The other three expressed indifferent or negative feelings regarding their school music experiences. Mills was also the only teacher who enjoyed her private instruction. In common with the students, the other three nonenculturated teachers reported disliking their formal lessons. Jean Mills. An adjunct professor at Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario, Jean Mills lives in Guelph, Ontario and is an active participant in the local folk scene there. She had a musical upbringing, studying classical piano, recorder, and viola, and has been interested in folk music since she was first exposed to it in elementary school. Her parents and teachers encouraged her musical interests. For example, she recalled that her sixth grade teacher loaned her a copy of a popular Canadian folk song collection so that she could take the book home and learn the songs on her own. She also remembered a special trip to Toronto in her teens; her parents took her there specifically so that Mills could buy folk song books from a music specialty store. She sings and plays a variety of instruments, specializing in lap (or mountain) dulcimer. This year at the College, in addition to lap dulcimer, she taught a course in Canadian folksong. Robin Hue Bowen. One of the few remaining performers of Welsh triple harp, Robin Hue Bowen is a professional musician, teacher, and fluent Welsh speaker, which he teaches to adults in addition to harp. His family was not musical, but there was a piano in the home; he took lessons on it from a neighbour. The lessons were typical Conservatory fare, consisting of easy classics and simple arrangements of popular folk songs, none of which was “traditional” per se. Bowan also learned music history and theory formally in school, but did not perform any music while enrolled there. He expressed indifference about the whole experience; it neither inspired nor disgusted him. 135 Brian McNeil]. Born in Falkirk, Scotland, Brian McNeil] currently lives in Edinburgh, where he is the Head of Traditional Scottish Music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD). He is a singer-songwriter and multi- instrurnentalist (he plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar, cittern, bouzouki, concertina, and hurdy-gurdy), and was also a founding member of the well-known Scottish traditional music ensemble, the Battlefield Band. McNeil] has recorded over 20 albums, tours extensively, and also teaches traditional Scottish music and guitar master classes throughout Europe and North America. He was not exposed to traditional music as a child, but had some formal training on violin as a youngster. The experience was not a positive one: I had to learn violin for about a year when I was twelve years old, and I had a terrible old bitter and twisted teacher who used to rap me over the knuckles with a pointer every time I made a mistake, which of course, when you’re learning violin, is about once every ten seconds. And interestingly enough, the worst insult he could give me was, ‘Laddie, you play like an old Scotch fiddler!’ And that, at the time, was an insult. And I was a refugee from that and went into rock bands. Frank Edgley. A native of Windsor, Ontario, Frank Edgily recently retired from a 30-year public school teaching career. He has embarked on a second career as a maker of Anglo concertinas and is an active participant in the Windsor area folk scene as an Anglo concertina performer and teacher. Prior to teaching himself the concertina at age 35, Edgily played the Great Highland Bagpipes (which he began learning informally at 14) in several Windsor area pipe bands, afier an earlier dismal experience with both piano 136 lessons and clarinet in the school orchestra. His father played the saxophone in military bands, and his mother, although she did not play an instrument, was influential as well: She loved British military bands. I think probably the Coldstream Guards and the Scots Guards and all of those British bands were really important to her. She would put these old 783 on (and I was three or four years old) and she’d march around the living room and I’d march behind her. It was all British military band music that she’d listen to most of the time. And that’s really howl got interested in pipes because she had a couple of Scots Guards pipe band 788, and of course, I’d march around to those as well. And that was one of my biggest musical influences, those old 78s. Summary What is significant in three of the four accounts are the unpleasant or indifferent memories of formal music instruction. It is interesting to note that those three instructors (Bowan, McNeil], and Edgily) were not inspired to become musicians because of school music or private lessons. Instead, they did not actively pursue new music learning until their formal public schooling ended; evident in each account was the importance of discovering a musical genre that was so enticing, that the non-traditional teacher participants were prepared to seek out that genre, and the particular instrument they wished to learn, on their own. Again, this phenomenon was shared with many of the student participants and will be discussed in the next section. Adult Music Learning As stated earlier, the five instructors who grew up in traditional music homes were lifelong learners in their respective genres. All reported that they were still active 137 musicians and/or dancers and were still constantly learning through informal experiences at the time of this study. Therefore, there were no discemable differences between their childhood and adult music learning experiences and strategies. Their adult informal learning experiences, in addition to being similar to their childhood learning, paralleled the informal music learning practices of adult popular musicians reported by Green (2002). Like the participants in her study, they sought out opportunities to perform and were always open to learning new tunes or dances. I labelled both of these factors as codes. For example, Mulvey, already an accomplished step and ceili dancer in her teens, taught herself Irish set dancing as an adult and became an accomplished performer and teacher of that style. Additionally, traditional teachers created places to perform if none was available, a tendency consistent with Green’s participants. After relocating to Ottawa in the early 60$, Kavanaugh helped organize an Irish social club that held monthly dances with the musical entertainment provided by himself and a fiiend Because they grew up in non-traditional music homes, the adult music learning experiences reported by the other four instructors (Mills, Edgily, Bowan, and McNeill) were similar to the adult learning experiences of the College students, and therefore also resulted in similarities found in the theme of adult music learning. These commonalities were: (1) strong initial motivating factors to learn traditional music and, (2) the development of self-teaching/learning strategies devised primarily to accommodate aural/oral learning. 138 -v.‘—AA——d-‘- 4.: Nonenculturated Teachers: Initial Motivations to Learn Traditional Music With the exception of one study (Dabczynski 1994), research which explored music learning practices at similar adult music summer camps (Frisch 1987, Garrison 1986, Kearns & Taylor 1998, Veblen 1991), did not examine the childhood-musical backgrounds of adults who were not enculturated in the music they now play. Dabczynski (1994) did examine the formal school music learning backgrounds of the nonenculturated student participants in his study, but not their early music learning. Further, all of the teacher participants in his study were enculturated, as youngsters, into the traditional music style they played and taught. There are therefore no examples of the early childhood music learning experiences of nonenculturated adults in related studies with which to compare. Because Mills, Edgley, McNeill, and Bowen were raised in non-traditional music homes, becoming a traditional musician required a certain amount of detective work, both in terms of finding an instrument (in the case of Mills, Bowan and Edgley) and seeking out tradition bearers from whom they could learn or observe (McNeill, Bowan, and Edgley). This was a commonality shared with the student participants’ accounts, and, like the students, they were motivated to learn traditional music as adults for similar reasons, which included the codes of: (1) instrument timbre and/or attraction to the genre and, (2) wanting to belong to a musical community. Edgley, unique among the participants, was analytical and pragmatic when choosing an instrument (concertina). This was attributable to his previous experience playing the Highland bagpipes, which are notoriously problematic, because of reed sensitivity and practice issues associated with volume. Mills’, Bowan’s, and McNeill’s 139 introductions to traditional music paralleled that of several College students. Upon hearing their respective instruments/musical genres played for the first time, all three were immediately gripped by a desire to begin learning the instrument and/or genre. McNeil] described his life changing musical moment that occurred during a university break: I went to the University of Strathroy in Glasgow in 1966, and on one of my trips back to my hometown of Falkirk, Scotland, I went into a pub, and there was this old blind guy, playing harmonica in the pub, jigs and reels. And there was a fiddle on the wall and I could remember enough of the basic fiddle to take it down and have a go at it, and I did and I got hooked immediately. I was 17, and I’d been away from the fiddle for five or six years at that point. Somebody gave me an album of Dave Swarbick and Martin Carthy, an, album called, “Rags, Reels, and Airs.” And it was just like, my life changed overnight. I knewI had to play this music and I had to have a go ofit. McNeill explained that the spirit and feel of traditional Scottish dance music were what inspired him to begin learning Scots fiddle, and not the timbre of the harmonica or the fiddle. McNeill had begun learning classical violin as a youngster (related earlier) but not the fiddle; the term “fiddle” generally has a different connotation (Dabcszynski 1994). This is because “fiddle” is usually associated with traditional musical styles (as opposed to classical music), and generally differs fiom violin in its pedagogy, both in physical terms (how the instrument and bow are held), and learning style in general (primarily aural/oral for the former and visual for the latter, again, there is some overlap). 14o Additionally, McNeill’s remarks regarding his reasons for learning Scots fiddle were similar in spirit and tone to those participants in Cope and Smith’s (1997) and Symon’s (2003) research. Participants in both studies reported that they were attracted by the liveliness of the music itself and the fact that it could be performed with other traditional musicians regardless of time, number of musicians, or place. More importantly, however, members from those two studies stated that they were motivated to begin playing traditional music because it was something that had been, and continued to be, a significant part of Scots daily life. In other words, the spirit of community embodied by traditional music was a strong motivating factor for those wishing to play it. This too was one of McNeill’s reasons for learning Scottish traditional music. Edgley began learning concertina at the relatively late age of 35. Already an experienced Great Highland Piper (he “got the idea” that he would like to learn the pipes at age 14), he joined and eventually became Pipe Major of the Windsor Scottish Society Pipe Band. He played the pipes for 18 years, but grew tired of them because they were musically limiting, required vigilant maintenance, and could only be practiced outside or away from others due to their extreme loudness. Edgley began searching for an instrument that would be relatively maintenance fiee, quiet, and portable. He finally settled on the concertina after seeing it in an old Shirley Temple movie, and taught himself to play it: I mentioned it [concertina] to my mother, and she found me one of those red toilet seat 20 button German concertinas, and gave it to me for Christmas. I played that instrument, literally for a couple of weeks. I didn’t know which end was up; there were no concertina tutors, nothing. But I figured out the Skye Boat Song. 141 As these responses suggest, nonenculturated teachers were motivated to learn traditional music because of one or more of the following factors: portability, community, the music itself, instrument timbre, and traditional music’s connections to the past. Nonenculturated Teachers: Learning Strategies Because Mills, McNeill, Bowan, and Edgley were not raised in traditional music homes or communities, they required a greater degree of self-teaching. Like the student participants, they all devised unique self-teaching strategies designed to facilitate their particular individual learning styles. Both Mills and Edgley describe themselves as “completely self-taught.” Mills, however, like McNeill and Bowan, was able to find and connect with other folk musicians in her community, albeit not ones who played lap dulcimer (her primary folk instrument). All four teachers described learning through informal music practices that were consistent with the literature (Small 1977, Cope and Smith 1997, Green 2002). Like Mills, McNeill and Bowan learned informally but, unlike her, found individuals to play with, listen to, and/or observe playing their primary instruments. McNeill described how difficult it was to find Scottish traditional musicians in Glasgow in the late 603. Glasgow now has a thriving traditional music scene, consisting of both amateur players and professional performers (Symon, 2003). This is due largely to performers like McNeil]. At the time, however, the traditional scene was “dire.” McNeill explained: I learned Scottish music through some very circuitous routes. I was originally a rock musician and played bass in a band in my school years. At the time, the most difficult thing was to find a teacher. This was in 1967 or 68. There was me, trying 142 --v to learn Scottish fiddle, and I couldn’t find anybody in the city of Glasgow to teach me. Given its long history and the prominent position fiddling had historically held in Scots culture, this was an astonishing comment, perhaps indicative of traditional fiddling’s waning popularity in 19608. In addition to rock music, McNeil] was also playing bass and guitar (he was self-taught on both) in an eclectic trio, and he and his band mates added reels and jigs to their repertoire. Although McNeill is a proficient music reader now, his music learning at the time was aural/oral, non-linear and similar to both Small’s (1977) description of how early jazz musicians learned and Green’s (2002) examination of how popular musicians learn. Additionally, his current preferred method of music learning is aural/oral and not visual (although he also mentioned why it was equally important to be a proficient visual musician and this will be discussed later on). His comments regarding learning “on the job” are remarkably similar to statements made by the adult participants in Green’s study. Like McNeil], they discussed learning music “through the back door.” By this they meant that their music learning took place outside of formal institutions (and in places such as public houses or folk clubs) and by employing informal music learning practices (“picking up” tunes aurally fi'om recordings and peers). McNeill said: By 1969 . . . we had become the Battlefield Band. And then it was not any kind of professional deal at all, but we just played anything we liked. And we had an apprenticeship in the roughest pubs in Glasgow, you know? We played anything from Tom Jones to Country and Western, to anything you can name, and had a great time doing it. And gradually, we began to gravitate towards traditional 143 music. And oddly enough, halfway down the road, somebody took us to a folk club, and we were totally unnerved that people actually listened to us. From that point on, we never looked back. We turned professional in 1975, and the rest is history. So that’s how I got to it. I got to it through a dozen back doors. Unlike McNeil], Bowan’s learning was more consciously self-directed. He dug through libraries seeking repertoire, collected and listened to videos and recordings, and sought advice from the few surviving players in Wales. He eventually found a woman who had been a friend of the late Nanci Richards, well known for being one of the few extant performers of the Welsh triple harp. Bowan also became fiiends with Eldra Jarman, the last surviving exponent of the Welsh gypsy style of harp playing, who generously shared that style with him (the musical contributions of Richards and Jarman, as well as Bowan, are documented in Kinney, 2000). He learned through observation as well as listening, and this was consistent with non-Westem learning strategies described by Rice (1995) and Hopkins (2000). Additionally, like the participants in Green’s (2002) study, he described his music learning in terms of “picking up” things fiom these older, more experienced players: There was a lady called Edith Evans, who was a fiiend of Nanci Richards, and who played in the traditional style. She taught me several things, not in a very, very formal sort of way, but I would call to visit her, and we’d have tea and talk, and she’d play something. I’d pick up something from watching her, and then she’d learning differed somewhat because of his location. Windsor has an active Irish “scene,” due in part to the efforts of Edgley and his wife. Like Bowan, he learned through observation, saying that, “Most of what I knew 144 was through discovery, figuring it out myself, or watching somebody, watching their fingers, and figuring out what they were doing.” After his first instrument, an Anglo concertina, broke, he bought another Anglo instead of the more popular English concertina, because he had already learned “The Skye Boat Song” on the Anglo. At the time, there were no Anglo concertina books or tutors available, so he had no option but to figure out how to play it on his own. He became familiar with Irish music through recordings of groups such as the Chieftains and the Bothy Band, and every three or four months he travelled to a large traditional music store in nearby Michigan to buy as many albums as possible. As the above examples illustrate, in order to learn their instrument and musical genre of choice, all four non-traditional teachers were forced to seek out sources and tradition bearers on their own. They were thus completely self-motivated, driven to learn, and through necessity, devised learning strategies that worked for them. Aural/Oral and Visual Leaming: The Learning Continuum and “Bi-Musicality ” The idea that music that comes out of an aural/oral tradition should be learned aurally was expressed by all of the teachers and this was consistent with the literature (Dabczynski 1994, Frisch 1987, Garrison 1985, Kearns & Taylor 1998, Koenig 1980, McCann 2001, Rice 1995, Robinson 1999, Symon 2003 Veblen 1991, 1999). Teachers’ comfort levels with both learning styles were, like the students, variously situated on a continuum. There were a few significant differences, however. There were no completely visual learners and two instructors were completely aural learners. The majority (seven) was “bi-musical” according to both Titon’s (1995) and Green’s (2002) definitions of the term. 145 According to Green’s (2002) definition, which focuses on learning approach rather than the ability to perform in more than one genre, seven instructors (Quigley, Edgley, McNeill, Bowan, Taheny, Breathnach, and Mills) were bi-musical. These instructors all had some formal music training and could therefore read written notation; yet, because they had also learned music informally, they were also comfortable aural learners. Taheny, Mills, and Breathnach, in addition to being comfortable visual and aural learners, were “bi-musical” according to Titon’s (1995) criterion as well, because, in addition to being exceptional traditional musicians, they functioned at a proficient level in another genre; Taheny in rock (and jazz), and Mills and Breathnach in Western European art music. In terms of the music learning continuum (with completely visual learners situated at one pole and completely aural/oral learners at the other) these seven instructors were situated at the middle point in the music learning continuum because they were equally competent learners in both styles. By both Titon’s and Green’s definition, Breathnach was the exemplar of a bi- musical learner, because she was an accomplished performer, functioning at a professional level in both the traditional and classical music genres and was, therefore, a proficient aural and visual learner as well. Her story is unusual among both traditional and classical musicians. Breathnach’s father worked at a music school, and it was there, as a six year old, that she won a scholarship to study classical violin. But at the same time she was also learning traditional fiddle informally with an extracurricular group at her school. She said: I was very lucky. I had a wonderful classical teacher, Clara Green. She was a very broadminded person. She’d let me play what I wanted. The wisdom of the time 146 was, well, if you play classical, you can’t play trad, and if you play trad, you’ll ruin your classical style, and there was a lot of that But she wasn’t like that. The experience of playing in both genres as a youngster lefi Breathnach feeling as though she was “some sort of schizophrenic.” She explained that this was because everyone she knew who played classical music was unable to play by car: They had to have everything, like verse, words, and chapter written out in front of them. On the other hand, the traditional people felt like they were some sort of inferior caste because they weren’t able to read, and people looked down on them. So there was a certain amount of mutual suspicion and hostility on both sides. All of the bi-musical teachers agrwd that being able to read written notation was a valuable skill, particularly when employed as a memory aid. They also insisted, however, that aural learning skills were absolutely vital to learning traditional music; all stressed that this was the only way to develop the necessary skills to ftmction as a proficient musician in the traditional genre. Thus they were in agreement with Reeves’ (Symon 2003) beliefs regarding visual and aural learning in the genre. For example, McNeil] discussed the value of being proficient in both learning styles fiom his position as head of a university traditional music program. Additionally, McNeil] discussed the importance of combining aural and visual learning with the apprenticeship model of teaching, the last of which Woodford (2005) cites as one model useful for developing critical thinkers in music. It was clear, from McNeill’s comments, that he believed that, when combined with aural and visual learning, the master and apprentice approach is the most effective manner in which to learn traditional music. He 147 believed this because of the personal nature of the learning environment (one-on-one instruction) but, more importantly, because it provided the apprentice with a solid musical foundation that could be adapted and shaped by the student to fit her own individual taste and musical style, more so than could be provided by other teaching methods and settings (for example, employing visual learning in formal classroom instruction). In order for that musical foundation to solidify, however, the apprentice had to aurally absorb as much musical knowledge fi'om the master teacher as possible. Further, it was only after this point that the student could begin to make musical decisions on her own. Thus, in this model of music teaching, the goal is to become a critical music thinker. Through this process, students are enabled to make informed and creative musical decisions as opposed to simply replicating music. McNeill elaborated on the value of combining aural and visual learning with the apprenticeship model of teaching: We teach aurally because we believe that the best method of teaching is master and apprentice, and we say, ‘Right, the thing that you do is, actually get in front of somebody who knows more about it than you do, and you learn fi'om that person. You learn style, repertoire, approach.’ We don’t say that written music is a bad thing. For instance, you could never approach some of the great collections of Scottish music from the 17th and 18th centuries without being able to read. But what we say is that it shouldn’t be the starting point. But we are also in the business of preparing musicians to go out into the real world, and written music is a fact of the real world. Let’s face it, you‘re not going to get a job in a studio unless you can read. 148 Because the popularity of Scottish traditional music waned in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the music itself came close to expiring. Many of the great collections of Scots fiddle music (for example, James Gow’s) from the 17th and 18‘” centuries include compositions that were preserved visually but not aurally/orally (Emmerson, 1971). The “living tradition,” represented by the aural/oral tradition, was partially broken at some point in the 19th century. It is therefore necessary that contemporary aspiring musicians in the genre be able to read and, more importantly, interpret written notation in order to access music from that earlier period. Edgley, a fluent music reader, was more dependent on sheet music than he wanted to be, and attributed this to his experience as a Highland piper. Highland piping is taught formally, in a manner similar to the way that band and orchestral instruments are generally taught in public school. Highland pipers learn music strictly from written notation, from a system that has been codified over the last 400 years. The most successful competitive pipers and pipe bands are those who can most closely replicate the written notes on the page (Cannon, 2003). In this manner, Highland piping competitions closely resemble North American band contests and festivals (as described by Kirkoff, 1988). Highland piping performance practices are, therefore, at the opposite end of the spectrum from traditional Irish and other traditional Scottish performance practices, because in those latter two naditions, individual creativity and unique musical style are highly valued. Although it is conceivable that someone may advocate a purely reproductive form of oral/aural music transmission, Edgley felt that there was a strong connection between adherence to the written page and absence of the artistic license that might be said to spawn creative ability: 149 I envy people who learn music by ear quickly. Now maybe if I had started ofl learning music by ear, playing concertina by ear, I might be able to do that. In Highland piping, particularly if you’re in a band, you learn nothing by ear. Somebody gives you a sheet of music, and you have to learn every grace note in exactly the way it’s written, until you learn absolutely nothing by ear. Edgley repeatedly expressed the desire to become a more proficient aural learner than he was at the time of the study. Although the majority of the tunes that he learned on concertina were from notation, he also explained that, because he had been playing Irish music for 20 years, he was finally able to “pick up” tunes more easily. He attributed this to the familiar patterns in traditional music; the more tunes one learns, the more patterns one knows, thus making it easier to learn more tunes quickly, even if one is not a proficient aural learner. Classically trained Mills described the advantages of being able to learn music either way. She preferred to learn by ear, regardless of the genre, because she believed, “Once you’ve done it that way, you realize what an effective way it is to learn a tune.” As an example, she recalled the first time she learned aurally. As a 12 year old, she had managed to pick out the principle melody of Bach’s Fugue in G Minor using her recorder. Mills elaborated on the advantages and disadvantages of aural learning: I find it a more enjoyable experience to take a somd and make it my own, to hear it, to live with it, to have it in my head, and then I can pick it up on any instrument and play the time on it. There is one drawback to learning tunes or songs by ear. It is that you tend to take in the interpretation or arrangement that you hear, and I don’t like to give that arrangement or interpretation back. When I hear a song or a 150 tune, I want to hear the notes, I want to hear the way it’s structured, and then I want to make it my song. But I still would prefer to learn it by ear. Only Kavanaugh was a completely aural/oral learner He had never learned a tune on the harmonica before first being able to sing it. Mulvey, the dance instructor, was also unfamiliar with musical notation. For obvious reasons, however, she avoided the use of instruction manuals when learning and teaching set dances, an activity that might be considered a rough approximation to the learning of music from a written page. Mulvey stressed the importance of learning dance by doing, a concern that paralleled the musicians’ preoccupations with learning by ear. Mulvey owned an extensive collection of set dance instruction books, but she only used them as references and/or memory aids, and did not employ them during teaching situations. Summary Despite their positions on the aural/oral and visual learning continuum (again seven were bi-musical, thus occupying the center point), all nine teachers emphasized that their preferred method of learning music was aural/oral. It was perceived that learning music “by ear” had many advantages. These were that: (1) the music was always “in one’s head,” and therefore never lost, unlike music learned with written notation (2) music learned aurally was (generally) more easily personalized, thus making ownership of “tunes” more musical and authentic and, (3) tunes learned “by ear” were more readily accessible. This was because one could learn “on the spot,” without the inconvenience of written music, from a peer or by sitting in a session. 151 Teaching Traditional Music Two themes were generated from the category of teaching music: music teaching outside of the College, and music teaching at the College, with various codes derived from both. These themes were determined from the codes identified in the transcripts, and will be discussed in the next section of the study. I asked instructors if they felt that they teach differently than they learned, and what emphasis they placed on repertoire, technique, and style when teaching, and what methods they used to teach traditional music in the different teaching settings. Teaching contexts outside of the College included private one-on-one instruction, summer camps, adult education courses, and community groups. When answering questions related to teaching music at the College, instructors only commented on teaching that occurred within the formal classroom there (this was unintentional on my part). This perhaps was indicative that the teachers, like the students, were predisposed to assume that when discussing “music teaching,” formal classroom instruction was automatically presumed. This belief was despite the fact that all of the instructors discussed their own informal music learning in depth; they also acknowledged that it was those informal music learning practices that were most influential to their own learning. Teaching Music Outside of the College All of the teachers had some form of music teaching experience outside of the College except for one (Quigley). Kavanaugh taught his younger brother and sister the harmonica. Of the remaining six teachers, all taught adults and three (Breathnach, Mills, and Mulvey) taught both adults and children. Instructors discussed problems with 152 teaching traditional music to North American adults in general, and this was interwoven with the disjoint between formal and informal music learning practices. The codes that emerged from music teaching outside of the College were all related to this cultural and institutional disjuncture, and thus were all about learning in context, which the instructors referred to as “learning in the tradition.” These codes were: (1) learning the history of the instrument/music (2) learning the appropriate social behaviours associated with playing in sessions (3) employing what are considered to be traditional aural/oral teaching methods and these could be augmented by visual observation. Teaching and Learning in Context: History, Etiquette, and “Traditional ” Teaching Methods Several teachers discussed the importance of students “learning in the tradition.” This phrase sometimes referred to learning in a traditional place, for example “picking up” tunes at sessions (again, an expression also used by Green’s 2002 participants), and by extension, it might also refer to learning acceptable session behaviour. It could also mean any method of learning tunes that is deemed traditional, such as call and response, observation, rote learning, singing and /or lilting (singing dance tunes with nonsense syllables) and demonstrating. All of these factors were deemed codes in the theme of music teaching and learning in context outside of the College experience. For example, Taheny stressed that, in addition to learning the musical function of the bodhran, students needed to first understand its history, reputation (both good and bad) and appropriate use in a session, including acceptable etiquette. In other words, he o believed that, not only was learning about the social context of the bodhran necessary prior to learning it, but that understanding that context was an inseparable and therefore 153 necessary element of playing the instrument. His comments were consistent with the literature (Such, 1985). According to Taheny, bodhran players, particularly unskilled ones, have developed a reputation for ruining sessions either through inability or ignorance. Novice players often have the misconception that the bodhran is an “easy” instrument, and they tend to be unfamiliar with basic session etiquette. It is not uncommon to see beginning bodhran players attempting to join in at sessions with highly skilled musicians. For musical reasons, seasoned players usually consider it inappropriate for beginning bodhran players to play at high-level sessions. Beginning drummers, however, often fail to recognize the subtle visual cues seasoned session musicians give one another when “freezing out” an inept player. Taheny stressed that, to avoid such a scenario, students make a habit of first watching and listening at sessions before finally joining in on the bodhran: I teach that session etiquette is about how everyone is in this little community together. There are certain rules that go without saying that you learn just by being there, and just by watching, and by listening, and eventually doing. So I really try and enforce that, that there’s no formal way to learn the bodhran, there’s no certain book that’s out there. I’ll just go very basic. I’ll show them visually . . . ‘You don’t really need to understand it. Learn from listening to me.’ Bodhran also presents a special case, because students are sometimes attracted to the instrument for the wrong reasons. Beginning bodhran students are often motivated by the desire to learn the instrument because they want to participate in sessions but do not currently play a session instrument. Or, they have yet to achieve the sufficient skill 154 required to actively participate in sessions on their primary instrument, in terms of both technique and/or repertoire (Such, 1985). Thus, playing the bodhran is mistakenly perceived as a shortcut to session participation, and this is not unlike the misperceptions held by school band students regarding the drums. Taheny shared the following: I think they’re expecting to come in and just learn a couple of things, and then [be able to] play at a session, that sort of thing. They didn’t expect that there was more to the bodhran than this. McNeill discussed how oral music teaching was incorporated into the formal academic curriculum of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where he teaches. This was because it was perceived as the traditional and, thus, more appropriate way in which to learn the genre. The Academy includes an alternative exam method in aural learning, which he explained: We want to create alternative pathways through an exam system. And one of the pathways will be aural/oral. One of the pathways will be that if one actually wants to ignore written music completely, through this exam (up to a certain level) you can do that. So you’ll be examined, to a certain extent, on the way you’ve been taught. All of the teachers discussed the importance of oral teaching approaches and incorporated them whenever possible. Written music was used as a memory aid or when “learning by ear” was impractical because of time constraints combined with a high level of learner frustration (as was often the case with adults who had little or no prior aural learning experience). This was verified by the students’ responses and was also consistent with the literature (Dabczynski 1994, Frisch 1987, Garrison 1985, Kearns & Taylor 1998, 155 Veblen 1991, 1999). Some instructors employed the standard call and response technique, which could be augmented with lilting, while others stressed the importance of observing in addition to listening. Kavanaugh and Breathnach were both observed asking their instrumental students to sing during classes. Kavanaugh felt strongly that students be able to sing tunes before learning to play them. He remembered teaching his younger brother and sister the harmonica while growing up in Dublin, and described the process as “transferring” the I tunes his siblings already knew fiom the voice to the harmonica: it Well, the first tune I learned, and it’s the first tune that I taught to my brother and sister, that famous old Irish tune, Frere Jaques [we both laughed]! So I got them to sing it, because that’s in their heads, you start singing it and you keep singing, you see? So it was just a case of teaching them where the positions were on the harmonica, teaching the instrument. Because we were brought up in the same culture, and the tunes were mostly in their heads anyway. Bowen, who teaches folk harp, discussed a parallel between classically trained violinists learning traditional fiddle and classically trained harpists learning traditional harp. In both cases the instrument is the same, but appropriate techniques and styles are quite different. Like classical violinists learning fiddle styles and techniques, classical harpists often “cross over” to traditional folk harp. Bowen has taught a number of students who began as classical harpists, and he believed that, in addition to a general inability to learn aurally, they tended to over- incorporate technique on folk harp due to their previous classical training and the physical nature of concert harp. Because these students did not understand the history, 156 learning style, and the social context of the folk harp prior to playing it, Bowan felt that their learning was actually impeded due to their previous perceptions, which were based on their classical backgrounds. Further, he contended that this “overuse” of (classical) technique on folk harp often came at the expense of musicality and also interfered with aura] learning: [Classical harpists] put in so much technique, they tend to forget, or they just don’t have the strength in them to remember why there is technique. Technique is for the making of music, and if you loose the making of the music, then why bother? You’re just making noise then, aren’t you? Breathnach, an experienced private instructor, taught classical violin to older children grounded in traditional and/or classical music. She observed that students with a traditional music background usually “had far better ears” than classically trained students at the equivalent playing level. Based on her experience, she believed that while music reading was an essential skill, it should be given equal weight to, or be allowed to lag slightly behind, aural learning, which she felt was the “basis for everything.” This was consistent with the literature (Dabszcynski 1994, Garrison 1985, Robinson 1999, Symon 2003, Veblen 1991, 1999). Breathnach explained: I certainly did find that in later times, when I was teaching, any kids that came to me with a background of traditional music had a far better grasp of improvisation. The reading thing, as long as it’s not left too late, can go along slightly after or in parallel, but not to make it into a big issue. Mills, founder of the adult dulcimer club she ran in Guelph, Ontario, taught dulcimer to the members who attended meetings, although this was not her original 157 —7—_* ' " *“ “‘7‘" '- - intention. She initially envisioned the members teaching each other informally, but they expressed discomfort with self and peer teaching. As a result, Mills taught attendees in a Western, teacher-centred style, employing sheet music, because that was what the learners were most comfortable with. She maintained that this was not her preferred method of teaching, but felt it important not to discourage the club members, because many were not proficient aural learners. Several instructors felt that, in order to augment aural learning, students needed to observe teachers performing. This would presumably facilitate their understanding of finger patterns (both visually and kinaesthetically), and this was also discussed in the related literature (Hopkins 2000, Rice 1995). Rice claims that this is a third method of learning, combining aural/oral, visual (observational), and kinaesthetic elements. In this study, this third learning method was personified by learning practices employed by student participant Dana (discussed in the previous chapter) and harp instructor Robin Hue Bowen. Bowan discussed the importance of students observing finger placement and seeing and feeling repeated finger patterns on harp prior to seeing the corresponding written notation. He still stressed, however, that listening was equally valuable to students’ learning: They’re actually seeing the patterns with their fingers, rather than looking at the notes first of all. There are sort of repeated passages of patterns where the fingers hold the same configuration, and I want people to see that in particular, because I think that’s very important in harp technique. But on top of that, I want them to listen. 158 — “in, ._.. _ “n.{,_-a.._~-_,_.._..-_. When instruction was over, some teachers handed out sheet music for students to use as a memory aid at home. Bowan gave his students a copy of music when their lessons were finished; they could then use it as a memory aid, or as a learning tool. Despite his insistence of the importance of aural learning, he recognized that some students were poor aural learners, or believed themselves to be so. Instructors also discussed the importance of “breaking tunes down” into smaller parts. Breathnach, owing to her dual perspective as a scholar and a teacher, expressed an academic and a practical interest in discovering what the “sticking points” were for learners. Understanding the nature of specific musical problems enabled her to approach teaching on a larger scale, and also allowed her to reflect on where it was best to “break things down” and “put them back together.” She attributed this approach to her classical teacher, Clara Green: Because she was always somebody who, if you got stuck somewhere, she’d help you go at it, not just by the bit itself, and starting off from there, but she’d have you knit it back in as well . . . I think that is another influence in what I do. Summary It was apparent that teaching traditional music was inextricably bound with context. This could be extended to include appropriate session behavior, which is integral to learning traditional music in community (Koenig 1980, McCann 2001), and is something that cannot be “book learned.” Knowledge of appropriate etiquette was considered so vital that some instructors included discussions of session behavior when teaching nonenculturated adult students. Additionally, all of the instructors maintained 159 v.9; ‘ I. that aural/oral learning should be acknowledged as a legitimate and, in some cases, superior way to learn music, and, in particular, traditional music. Aural/oral teaching, sometimes supplemented by singing, observation and written notation, was the instructional style of choice for all of the instructors. Additionally, instructors were aware of the importance of breaking tunes up into smaller passages to facilitate learning. Written music was used for only two reasons: (1) to assist those students who needed a pneumonic device to “jog their memories” when their lessons were finished, and (2) to teach adult students who were convinced that they could not learn music aurally. Further, when teaching was concluded, some instructors distributed written notation for a more Machiavellian reason not related to music learning. Those instructors admitted that they did so because some adult students were convinced that, if teachers gave out a lot of written tunes, it proved that they were “good” instructors. Teaching at the College Teachers described a number of issues (which I labelled as codes) associated with the theme of teaching at the College: (1) the challenge of using aural/oral teaching in College classes because of learner issues and time constraints (2) the importance of learning from students in the teaching situation (3) the relative importance of style, technique and repertoire (4) the development of unique teaching methods (5) anxiety regarding teaching at the College for the first time, and (6) the strong sense of community that was perceived and helped to facilitate music learning. The Challenge of Using Aural/ Oral Teaching Methods Teaching North American adult learners a musical tradition they were not born into presents instructors with special challenges. Adult students often have “baggage 160 issues,” when it comes to learning, and this includes music learning (Coffman 2002). Most adults have memories of school music or private instruction, some good, and some not. Because of these earlier experiences, adult learners usually have a predetermined idea of “music teaching.” Most often cited is the misconception that, in order for music to be “taught,” written notation must be involved. Many adults are intimidated at the thought of learning music aurally and/or believe themselves incapable of doing so. This creates special problems for teachers of traditional music because, in addition to learning a new instrument, students are learning unfamiliar repertoire in a new way. Several instructors addressed this problem. For example, Quigley’s advanced piano class was comprised mainly of highly skilled Conservatory trained adults, many of whom were proficient sight-readers unfamiliar with aural learning. Quigley had the reverse problem; she was an excellent aural/oral learner, but was uncomfortable sight- reading, although she was able to do so. She explained that most of the students were used to being told exactly what to do musically, due to their Conservatory backgrormds, and she found that this expectation made teaching traditional-style piano more difficult Kavanaugh also addressed this problem from a cultural standpoint. He explained that North American beginners must learn the “tunes” before he can begin teaching them the harmonica positions; otherwise they are learning new “tunes” while simultaneously learning an unfamiliar instrument. He was emphatic, stating that it was impossible to learn new tunes while learning to operate the harmonica. To avoid this problem, Kavanaugh tried to find “universal tunes,” (for example, Frere Jaques), and had his students sing the tunes before he taught them any mechanics of the harmonica. Kavanaugh discussed how he taught at the College: 161 So we’re not teaching them how to play Irish Celtic music, although this is a Celtic College. You’re teaching them the instrument, and whatever it takes to get that knowledge in their heads, that’s what you use. So I get them to sing, so that it’s in their heads. Because if it’s not in their heads, then no matter how many times you play it in fiont of them, they won’t be able to transmit that knowledge to the harmonica. So you start singing it, and you keep singing it, you see? Because they can all sing well. And it works. And then they can transmit the knowledge from their heads — their memory. It’s easier. You can’t learn a tune and also learn how to operate this instrument, which is not as easy as it looks. So it has to be in their heads, not on a sheet of paper. Edgley, like Kavanaugh, believed that aural learning was the “best way” to learn music. Although he felt that musical literacy was important in order to access unfamiliar tunes, it was also his opinion that the most musical players were those who initially learned tunes “by ear.” He formed this belief after years of hearing returning students play in his College classes: Because the people I’ve taught for several years [are visual learners], they can play all of the notes but they can’t play the music. They’re missing the feel of the music, and that’s what I think happens when you learn fi'om the written page. So the best way to learn traditional music, or I think any kind of music, is to get the music in your head frrst. There’s that old joke, ‘Do you read music? Yeah, but not enough to spoil a tune!’ Breathnach discussed how she dealt with the challenge of teaching visual and aural learners in the same class. Because she was trained both formally as a classical 162 violinist and informally as a traditional fiddler her classroom at the College differed fiom the rooms of the other teachers. She had written out on the blackboard, in clear manuscript, the many tunes she was teaching. This struck me as highly unusual, because the majority of Irish traditional musicians do not read or write Western notation and, if melodies are visually displayed, they are usually written using ABC notation (V allely, 1999). In 20 years of attending folk music camps, all of which were held in school buildings with classrooms, Breathnach was the only Irish traditional teacher I have observed who notated tunes for students on the blackboard. Despite the Western notation on the board, however, Breathnach taught tunes aurally/orally. She demonstrated tunes first by lilting, and then encouraged her class to lilt the tunes along with her. Breathnach followed this with call and response using instruments and demonstration, and urged students that they only look at the board as a last resort. When I observed her class, it was obvious that she believed in offering alternative teaching strategies to learners and, in particular, to classically trained adult students. She explained: I try to have an approach that will work for the people who are classically trained and that also will work for the people who don’t read music and are learning by ear. And that’s the thing that I’m trying to do, for those who are very classically hemmed in or bound by what they’ve done before. I’m trying to say to them, ‘Through away the life jacket. You can. It’s all right!’ But if they still insist, or feel better that way, or if they’re visual people as opposed to aural people, you have to look at that too. So I write out all of the tunes. I end up just writing loads and loads of tunes, and anybody who’s a reader and wants to learn that way, they 163 can take them, as a backup anyway. So I think it may help people with their sight- reading, if they’re interested in that as a separate issue. I look at music as a complete thing anyway. I try to put as many different approaches to the same thing as possible, hoping that some of it will stick. Breathnach elaborated on another aspect of Irish dance music that complicated the teaching of traditional music to students accustomed to Western concepts of teaching and learning. Irish traditional musicians, either through ornamentation, elaboration, or variation, often change tunes each time they play them, and this is usually done unconsciously (McCullough, 1977). This is a significant element of traditional music, because it provides interest for both performer and listener (McCullough, 1977). The improvisational element of traditional music was so ingrained in performer/ instructors at the College that they often varied tunes during the teaching process. This seemed to occur without their conscious realization. Teaching in this manner inevitably causes problems for learners familiar only with formal Western music practices, where close adherence to an original version is the standard through which music is learned and by which performances are measured. In many non-Western cultures this is not the case, and Small (1977), cites the music of the Balinese as one example. The differences between Western and non-Westem practices, however, do not necessarily align themselves with geographical boundaries. Indeed, folk music practices in Ireland and the British Isles are similar to folk music practices in non-Westem countries in many respects, and differ greatly from art music practices within their borders, as I have discussed throughout. This disjoint is one reason why Irish traditional 164 musicians often find it intimidating to teach students whose only musical learning experiences are with Western art music. Breathnach described it thus: Tunes are not set in stone, they are fluid, and because they are fluid, it’s like somebody coming up and sort of looking with something like a microscope, looking at something so closely that they miss the whole of it. It’s like seeing a spot on a butterfly’s wing and not seeing the whole butterfly. There are notes in tunes that might be different from one tune to the next, from one version of the tune to the next, from the same player on different days, the second time through might be different, etc. So it’s very difficult for [Irish traditional musicians] to make this available to people whose expectations are those of Western art music . . . I know that for many traditional musicians the idea of teaching is a bit of a nightmare because they feel that they don’t have formal training in it and, also, they’re not sure how to break things up. I mean, anonymously, people will say that to you. I can understand what they’re saying to me when they say ‘We’re not trained teachers and we find it very difficult to make this available to people whose expectations are those of Western art music.’ It’s a clash of systems. Two instructors addressed concern over the short duration and tight scheduling of the College week with regard to aural learning. Bowan attributed students’ aural learning problems partially to lack of time. He explained that he was only at the College for four days and that during that time, his students would leave his class to learn fiddle, dance, and to sample various other disciplines within a short time. He said: 165 In the old days, of course, you’d have one instrument, so you’d be learning it with your master or mistress who was teaching you. You’d do a certain amount, and that would be it. You’d stick with it until you could do it and then you’d carry on. Breathnach discussed the difficulty of covering as much material as possible in one week. At the same time, she also felt the need to be sensitive to the fact that many students perceive the College experience as a vacation of sorts, saying, “People are on holiday, so you try to keep it ligh ” Learning fiom Students With the exception of Edgley, who was a third grade teacher, none of the instructors had formal teacher training. Interestingly, however, several expressed the belief that they become better teachers through listening and responding to their students’ questions and problems. Breathnach believed that observing her students struggle throughout the week helped her to become a more empathetic and effective instructor: I’ve learned an awful lot this week from the students — from watching what they’ve struggled with, what they’ve been working at. It’s taught me an awful lot. . . You learn through what you see people go through, and how they approach things, on one level. Mulvey learned from her students’ questions. She was aware of the concern, shared by some students that not everyone capable of performing a skill is able to pass that skill on through teaching it, and she also understood that the most effective teachers were those who could employ several different teaching modes. She said that the questions posed to her by students make her think about how to teach and what to say. It is futile, she claimed, to repeat an explanation when someone cannot understand it, rather 166 than try to find a different way to teach the idea or skill. This is a maxim that she has learned from her students. Style, Technique, and Repertoire I asked teachers what emphasis they placed on style, technique, and repertoire while teaching at the College, and, because I asked them this, this theme was related directly to this research question. Replies were mixed and sometimes dependent on class skill level; however, it was the general consensus that style and technique preceded repertoire in importance during the College week. Several teachers were quite emphatic that students develop their own style instead of mimicking teachers or recording artists. McNeill, for example, expressed disdain for the style of fiddle teaching and playing he described as “robotic,” while Taheny stressed to students that they not become “miniature versions” of him. Taheny also recognized that each person experiences and hears music differently and felt that this factor was the most significant one in the development of individual style. It was McNeill’s hope that his students returned the following year with different stylistic interpretations of the tunes he had taught them. He also believed that students get “too hung up” on the mechanics of ornamentation, instead of letting it come naturally. He stressed that they did need technique, but that this was directly entwined with style development: I believe that people should have the guts of what they want to do when they go away from a course like this. So they have a basis of a tune. I’m a firm believer in style being a personal choice. I don’t believe in any kind of stylistic straightjacket. . . . We’re about the element of personal choice in this kind of music. And I have to say, that there is a school of traditional teaching that annoys the shit out of me, 167 where all of the fiddlersare sitting there, and they’re like robots, ‘I Robot! ’ Style first, then repertoire and technique! Several instructors addressed the relative importance of technique, style, and repertoire in terms of students’ playing levels. When teaching beginners, technique was considered paramount; however, when dealing with intermediate and advanced players, teachers switched their focus to style. Repertoire was generally considered the least important element because teachers felt that that was something that students could acquire on their own. For example, Edgley reiterated the importance of learning tunes aurally for stylistic purposes, and stated that: As I’ve said, I’ve come to the conclusion that learning tunes by [notation] is not the way to go. I’ve been [teaching that way] for a number of years, and I’m finding that some of these people are not playing very musically as a result. Others are playing musically, because they’ve got that music in them, I suppose. So that’s very important. I’ve been concentrating on teaching people how to find their way around the keyboard I’ll spend a half hour trying to teach people by ear how to play the tune, and hopefully, they’ll have their tape recorder, because if they don’t, it’s a waste of time. Technical skills and style are not only applicable to repertoire, but were felt to be much more difficult to learn than repertoire itself, and this was cited as another reason for a strong focus to be placed on the former two elements. Quigley described a breakthrough moment with her piano class on the last day of the College. Her class of Conservatory trained students applied the techniques and styles that they had learned aurally to new tunes on the last day of the College week: 168 Towards the last day, I put on some tunes that they hadn’t heard before, and they were recognizing the patterns that we’d been working on all week, and they could use them! They were transferable into new tunes, you see? Whereas a lot of people are used to reading and being told what to do. Developing Unique Teaching Methods Several college instructors developed unique teaching methods. In Kavanaugh’ s case, he developed a method that he thought was unique but had in fact been used by others unbeknownst to him. Quigley and Kavanaugh devised their strategies while teaching at the College; Edgley developed his method over several years and based it on a fingering system he created for playing Anglo concertina. He had also written his own tutor and produced a supplemental teaching CD. He was motivated by the lack of instructional materials available for Anglo concertina at the time. College week was Quigley’s first time teaching piano and, for her, the difficulty was compounded by musical miscommunication — she was primarily an aural learner and her students were Conservatory trained visual learners; however, together, Quigley and her class deconstructed what she did with her hands when playing piano and came up with a system that everyone could understand: I don’t sight-read very well, and my theory is nonexistent, so to even explain it to them, this was the part that I thought was the most difficult. We started to figure out rhythmically what I do with my hands, I’ve never deconstructed that. I’m not great at picking out melodies, but I am good at picking out chords. I’m crisp and clean. I don’t always play the right chord. I need to work on that I have to sit down and arrange things. But I certainly can, as they say, drive the piano. I have a 169 good touch - light — that’s the skill I’ve probably developed the best. And all the people in my family, when it comes to whoever plays the piano — chording — have developed this attack to the piano that’s sort of our own: a lot of lift. In class, one girl went up and she was writing notes and rests and everything all over, and even that wasn’t understandable by everybody in the class, and I went up and I just counted it out, and wrote it the way I would think it: right hand, left hand, and here’s the beat that hits, and whatever. And it worked. And what was really interesting [was that] it worked for everybody. Everybody understood it. They understood what I was getting at. Even though it wasn’t ‘proper’ musical notation, you know? And I even said, ‘We’re writing a new language.’ Because that was it. And it worked! Kavanaugh discussed the system he developed to teach adults beginning harmonica at the College, which involved singing and head movement. The latter is used to indicate where the drawn note is on harmonica. This is the note that is sounded by inhaling, and produces a different pitch than exhalation on the same position. Apparently, a Quebecois harmonica player also teaching at the College devised a similar system to teach harmonica independently of Kavanaugh. Like Quigley’s example above, this demonstrates that sometimes the most effective teaching methods are those made through self discovery, exploration, flexibility, and openness to new ideas. Kavanaugh demonstrated this head movement for me and made an inhaling sound at the same time. He related the exchange that occurred between himself and the Quebecois teacher, who first explained that the idea was not unique to Kavanaugh: 170 He came into my class this morning, and he saw what I was doing, and he said, ‘Yeah, this is good!’ I was telling him how I do it, and he said, ‘Oh! I do that too. I start them that way.’ And I said, ‘Oh, I thought I invented that, you know, I thought it was a great way [laughs].’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘you know, this is the great thing about playing by ear — we invent whatever works.’ And he said, ‘You and I just happened to hit on the same thing.’ And of course, I have found out since that this is a common idea, and it’s a great approach to learning music. Analytical and pragmatic, the self-taught Edgeley developed a method to teach Anglo concertina based on a fingering system be devised. Because he is intimately familiar with his system, it is easy for him to teach and he is also able to give students short cuts based on his experience with it. Anglo concertina is an unusual instrument. because there are several different ways in which it can be fingered. Edgeley said: I teach differently fiom the way I learned because I had to discover everything, and it took me a lot longer to get to the same point. And now that I know what I know, I can prevent [problems]. I can give a lot of short cuts to people. ‘Instead of doing this why don’t you try this?’ It took me a long time to discover that, and I particularly think that [because of] the way my fingering system works, it is probably the easiest to learn . . . With me, this seemed to be a very linear fingering pattern, and it’s very easy to pick up. First Time Teaching at the College Of the five first time teachers at the College, three expressed concern or anxiety about the experience for various reasons. Breathnach, an experienced teacher, was daunted by both the schedule and students’ expectations, while Quigley and Kavanuagh 171 “panicked” at the idea of teaching adult learners. Quigley had no previous teaching experience, and Kavanaugh’s only experience had been teaching his siblings harmonica long ago in Dublin. Kavanaugh wondered how he was going to teach harmonica to students who were unfamiliar with the tunes he planned to teach. Alter worrying himself “sick” over it, however, he finally relaxed and was able to enjoy the experience once it began: Eventually, two days before I got here, I stopped worrying about it. I went into the class the first day and I didn’t know, in the name of God, what I was going to do. But it all worked like a charm, because I took turns working with each person. One on one, you know, going around with them all. You get a lot of exercise too, you know, cut the weight off! Walking around the room, I worked with them, and I had no complaints. I enjoyed it very, very much. Teaching at the College had special meaning for Kavanaugh, as it turned out, because he had wanted to become a teacher many years earlier but had had his plans interrupted by the sudden death of his father. He expressed satisfaction at the idea of having “finally become a teacher at the age of 72!” Community Many remarked on the spirit of community, which was said to make Goderich “special,” particularly when compared to other festivals and schools. Teachers commented on how well cared for they were during the week, and several repeatedly mentioned how grateful they were to Warren and Eleanor Robinson for organizing the event and creating extremely familial conditions. These comments were similar to those made by most students. For example, Breathnach and student participant Laura made 172 similar statements about elements that contributed to the overall atmosphere of the College week. Like Laura, Breathnach described the week in terms of its richness, mentioning both the intergenerational aspect of the College and the feeling of community that was present. She stated: I was just noticing from what goes on around here, there is such a community spirit, and it just brings out the best in people, I think. I mean, another musician said to me yesterday, they look after you so well here. The level of considering the needs of the musicians is pretty unique. But it caters to everybody. It feels like extended family here. The learning has been here on so many levels. It’s not just learning music. It’s learning music as a way to get in touch with your own humanity, I think, in many ways here. And the music sort of spans countries, age groups, generations, religions, politics, everything. It’s something which transcends and which has an intrinsic value of its own. And you can take it on any level you want. You can dip in and dip out of it, and you can just get what you’re looking for from it. So it’s a well that’s there, and you can go to the first story or the seventh story, or the sixth story, but there are different compartments in it, and you can take whatever you need at that particular time. Quigley expressed amazement at the efforts taken to ensure that the College week was a comfortable experience that would make one feel “at home.” In addition to the music classes, this included the quality of the food in the cafeteria, and the work presented by the craft artists. She found it difficult to comprehend the amount of organization and the attention to detail that was required for the success of the week: 173 There’s just an atmosphere here that says the music is front and centre. Great respect, no ego, it’s fabulous. None of this ‘Who’s got top billing? and ‘Who doesn’t?’ Community — that’s another thing. All of these people know each other, there’s a feeling of community. I’m privileged to be asked to be a part of that The fact that they’re not gouging the students, because the amount of money that people have to pay for the College is minimal. The free concerts every night alone are worth the price! When asked to pinpoint the factors that contribute most to a sense of community, teachers identified the “richness of experience,” “the relationships,” “the people one meets,” “the stories we all bring,” and “the warm emotions that are shared.” Overall, the comments indicated an appreciation for the fact that the College experience was perceived as something that was “part of life, and not just some ivory tower kind of thing!” Summary Of the nine College instructors interviewed, five were raised in traditional music homes, and four were not. This meant that the former were exposed to traditional music and aural/oral learning as children, while the latter were not. However, the four nonenculturated teachers did report learning and/or listening to various musical genres growing up, either at home or through formal instruction. None of the four experienced aural/oral learning with others as children. Additionally, three of the four expressed indifference or disdain with their formal music instruction, and further, reported that these formal experiences had nothing to do with their choosing to become musicians as adults. 174 All four nonenculturated teachers’ accounts shared common factors with the student participants, none of whom were raised in traditional homes either. All nine instructors were competent aural/oral learners, including the four who were not raised in traditional homes. Aural/oral learning was both the method of choice for learning and teaching traditional music. Instructors did acknowledge however, that the ability to read written notation was a necessary part of proficient musicianship, but also emphasized that it should not precede aural/oral learning. All of the teacher participants developed their own individual learning and teaching strategies designed to accommodate “learning by ear.” The nine instructors were also emphatic that the sense of community embodied at the College was an intrinsic part of why the week was so successful, both in teaching terms and in general enjoyment for all of the participants. Teachers mentioned that they were made to feel “special,” and “like family.” They believed that it was these elements that inspired them to become better overall teachers and thus contributed to a more effective learning experience for the students. 175 CHAPTER SIX- SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE ' Summary The purpose of this chapter is to examine, synthesize, and summarize the analyzed data and to situate it through a comparison to the related literature. This will provide a context for facilitating a deeper, more reflective understanding of the analyzed data. Recommendations for music education will also be made based upon the results of this inquiry. Superficially, much of this study appeared to be about nonencultrated North American adults learning to play Celtic music in a specific community setting, which indeed, part of it was. However, a closer and more thoughtful examination of the analyzed data revealed that this study’s results were also about something else in addition to nonenculturated North American adult students learning a previously unfamiliar musical genre. Teacher and student participants experienced a perceptual “lens” change regarding music teaching and learning, and, for the most part, this was based on their previous familiarity with formal music instruction; this will be discussed in the concluding section of this chapter. Research Questions Revisited I will begin by discussing the analyzed data in terms of the central research questions. The first central research question that guided the study was, “What are the characteristics of music teaching and learning that occur in formal, semi-formal, and informal settings at the College?” Before that question can be addressed, the physical settings that defined the College should be reviewed (see page 51). It was clear that learning and teaching occurred not only throughout the scheduled College day but also 176 occurred into the evening and later into the night, thus including formal, semi-formal, and informal settings throughout the town of Goderich. Thus, the College boundaries were fluid and dependent both on time of day and the location of its participants. Because the scheduled day classes were held at the Goderich Collegiate Secondary School (GCSS), the College community was contained within the parameter of that building during the day, and superficially, the learning and teaching that occurred there appeared to happen only in the formal classroom. There were, however, many opportunities for participants to learn throughout the College day that were not in formal classroom settings, and these informal settings included the College cafeteria and the outside parameters of the Secondary School building. They were therefore considered places where learning occurred. Participants socialized at regularly scheduled coffee breaks, breakfast and lunch, congregating both in the cafeteria and at the main enhance to the school building, thus providing opportunities for participants to socialize and discuss various aspects of traditional music, College classes, and different College instructors. Some students also practiced and played tunes with one another on the school’s lawn throughout the day, and, at any given time during the school day, spontaneous sessions were observed taking place among all levels of participants, and this included some teachers in addition to the College students. Central Research Question Number One: What are the characteristics of music teaching and learning that occur informal, semiformal, and informal settings at the College? Characteristics of teaching and learning in formal settings. The only strictly formal setting where teaching and learning occurred during the week was restricted to the College classroom during the scheduled school day. The teaching and learning that 177 occurred there had more in common with informal music learning practices than formal music instruction, but there was some crossover between the two learning practices, a phenomena also noted by Finnegan (1989). She observed that, although the differences between the two learning modes were “fimdamental,” closer inspection revealed some commonalities, and cited music, individuals, and instruments as examples (p. 140). Green (2002) also maintains that informal music learning practices and formal music education should not be perceived as mutually exclusive musical and social practices, but rather should be envisioned as being situated along a continuum, their places there being determined both by musical genre and culture. The characteristics of informal music learning observed in the College classrooms in this study were also identified in the related literature. Garrison (1985), in her study of Cape Breton fiddling contexts, stated that one of the important characteristics of the fiddling classes that she observed was the casual class atmosphere, and the mutual respect that existed between student and teacher. Like this study, she also reported elements that could be described as “democratic music making,” the teacher as facilitator model being one example. She also reported that adult students took responsibility for their own learning. Further, even though all of her participants could read notation, all stated that they preferred learning by ear and used written notation sparingly as a “back up.” Additionally, “tunes” were the medium through which students learned both repertoire and technique. 1 Learning by ear with written notation as a memory aid, rote teaching (including the use of lilting, defined earlier), “tunes” as the vehicle for both technique and repertoire, and written theory used sparingly or at all, were also identified by Cope and 178 Smith (1997), Dabczynski (1994), and Veblen (1991) and in their respective studies, and were thus consistent with the characteristics of informal music learning observed in the classroom in this study, and listed belOw: l. 2. Learning by ear. Written music used as a memory aid, or as a learning tool when students got “stuck.” A casual, relaxed and (mostly) democratic class atmosphere, with the teacher functioning as a facilitator. Rote teaching through the use of different modalities (calling out note names and fingering simultaneously, for example). Tunes were also sung and/or played repeatedly and broken up into smaller phrases and sections. Written theory used sparingly or not at all. Learners that took responsibility for their own learning. Tunes learned holistically as the vehicle for both technique and repertoire. The competent amateur player as a goal (as opposed to creating a professional). The following characteristics were observed that were associated more closely with formal music education: 1. Written music used to facilitate the learning of variation, elaboration and ornamentation. Written music used by instructors for pragmatic reasons such as time constraints and/or for appearances’ sake (i.e., to be perceived as “good” teachers by students who believed that the presence of “lots” of provided 179 written notation was a prerequisite to music learning, and further, that this was proof of “good” instruction). 3. Regularly scheduled contact time and scheduled length of instruction. 4. The presence of a “curriculum.” It appeared that some teachers had developed a sequence of teachable tunes designed to accommodate different learner levels and learning styles in addition to accommodating their own personal teaching styles and/or methods. All of the above characteristics were consistent with the literature (Cope and Smith 1997 , Dabczynski 1994, Garrison 1985, Veblen 1991), with the one exception of written music used to facilitate the learning of variation, elaboration, and ornamentation, which was unique to one teacher in this study. The participant teachers in Veblen’s study articulated that, they, like the teachers in this study, had developed their own unique teaching “repertoire” of tunes. In this and Veblen’s study, this varied from individual to individual and was dependent on instrument, teaching approach, personal taste and regional style. To summarize, it was apparent that, as Finnegan (1989) and Green (2002) also reported in their respective studies discussed above, that the music teaching and learning observed in College classes could not be demarcated solely on the basis of characteristics found in either informal music learning practices or formal music education. Both learning and teaching modes were observed in College classes, and as Green (2002) also observed in her study, there was some flux and overlap between the two teaching and learning practices. Thus, teaching and learning practices in the College classrooms were, like the music learning practices reported by Green (2002), situated along a continuum with neither learning practice occupying a position exclusively at either pole. 180 Characteristics of teaching and learning in semiformal and informal settings. Semiforrnal and informal learning settings included the GCSS building during the day (the College cafeteria, and the outside of the building as mentioned above), and the parameters of the town of Goderich after classes were finished in the afternoon and at night. Every evening, for the duration of the College, there were scheduled cultural activities, concerts, and dances held at the Livery, an all purpose hall/theatre owned by the Town of Goderich. Cultural events began at 7:00 and these included various artists’ presentations, lecture/slide shows, Celtic Jeopardy (a game show involving College instructors and administrators that included trivia and inside jokes about the College), and a silent auction. Concerts began immediately afterwards at 8:00, each night featuring different instructor/musicians. Concerts were usually followed by Irish ceili dances; sometimes these were scheduled, and at other times they were impromptu affairs. All of the above were semiformal in nature because they were scheduled events but no formal teaching took place, although participants reported that music learning did occur. In terms of a formal/infonnal setting and learning continuum, the nightly concerts were defined as semiformal because they occurred at a designated time and place, but any learning that took place there (listening) was more informal, because it was unstructured and the sole responsibility of the student if they so wished to learn. Thus, participants had to decide whether to be purposive, as opposed to passive listeners, and both types of listening were also described by Green as being used by her participants (2002). She defined purposive and active listening as the action that occurs when musicians intentionally listen to live music or recordings with the conscious intent of aurally learning and/or copying a specific piece of music. Passive listening was a more 181 unconscious and osmotic activity, and could be described more accurately as “distracted listening” (i.e. without specific intent to learn the particular piece being listened to), and Green maintains that it could contribute to improvisatory practices or loose imitation. The participants in this study described both types of listening when they attended the nightly concerts. Dances occupied the same place on the continuum as concerts; they were structured but the learning that occurred there was casual and informal. They contributed to learning because dancing necessitated that the involved participants listen to the accompanying music, thus reinforcing aurally not only the concepts of melody, but also serving to kinetically reinforce rhythmic and stylistic elements such as “lift.” At the College dances, music was provided by the superb playing of the instructor/musicians, and provided the student participants with superlative examples of traditional music with which to listen and dance. Many of the participant dancers (the majority of whom were at the College learning a traditional instrument) recognized common tunes that were taught during the week, which served to reinforce their aural learning, mentioned above. Student participant Dana, who was an active Irish dancer prior to learning to play the flute, specifically mentioned this. She reported that she already knew many of the tunes and, further, that hearing the tunes played repeatedly at dances contributed greatly to her transferring the tunes to the flute. Further, she stated that the elements of rhythm, beat and “lift,” all of which are integral to traditional music, were reinforced through dancing. Sessions exemplified the learning that occurred in informal settings through informal music learning practices listed in the above section in the classroom. They could, however, be categorized as both semiformal and informal events, because some 182 were scheduled, teacher led, and delineated by ability and/or type. For example, there was a structured Irish “slow jam” every night that was run by an assigned teacher/ musician. The majority of sessions, however, were impromptu events. Sessions were delineated, defined, and negotiated by the participants themselves (teacher, student, or a combination of both) musical genre, and type (instrumental or vocal). Despite these differences, they had the characteristics listed below in common, and these were also representative of informal music learning practices and consistent with the literature on sessions, session learning, and sessions at similar adult summer camps (Cope and Smith 1997 , Dabczynski 1994, Garrison 1985, Green 2002, Koenig 1980, McCann 2001, Veblen 1991). l. 2. Learning music within the context of community. Learning the associated socio-cultural behaviors in community. Learning and playing by ear. Learning in a holistic manner by playing tunes. . The presence of a traditional repertoire. Participants employing the traditional/folk range of instruments and/or vocal range. More experienced players “sheparding” along less experienced ones. Peer to peer and group learning that generally resulted in democratic music making. The last characteristic is cited by Woodford (2005) as a reason that the informal “jam” session model should be examined more closely by music teachers for possible inclusion in the formal music classroom. 183 Further, the observed sessions were characteristic of sessionselsewhere, both musically and culturally, and were also examples of group and peer to peer learning. Each had an unacknowledged “leader,” an ability level defined nonverbally by the participants themselves, varied instrumentation, and a particular musical genre that was being played (ballad, Ontario, Scottish, Quebecois, Irish, or some combination of any of the former). Central Research Question Number Two: What are the various attitude, beliefs, and perceptions of the College participants with regard to the learning and teaching that goes on at the College, and Celtic music in general? It was obvious that the all of the student and teacher participants, based on their experiences with formal music education, had preconceived beliefs of what it means “to learn and teach music.” All of the student participants reported that they understood the value of aural/oral learning when learning traditional music, even those students who believed themselves incapable of and/or incompetent aural/ oral learners. Additionally, first time participants were generally unaware of the value of the activities that took place outside of the regularly scheduled school day, and this included the aural/oral nightly formal concerts and the informal jam sessions and dances. Conversely, multiple returnees were most likely to state the opposite; they all asserted that the learning opportunities that occurred outside of the College day were what they felt benefited their learning most. Interestingly, the teacher participants, when discussing their own learning, emphasized that their most profound learning occurred in informal settings and through the use of informal learning practices. However, when I asked them about teaching at the College, all discussed teaching that took place in the classroom during the scheduled 184 College day, and not any learning that occurred outside of the formal school setting. All assumed that, when discussing “teaching,” a formal classroom setting was implied. Although they did employ informal music learning practices when teaching traditional music (discussed earlier) in the classroom, when discussing music teaching and learning in general, none mentioned any informal music learning and/or music making that occurred outside of the classroom, both of which they mentioned as being so central to their own learning. Green (2002) discussed a similar phenomenon in her research on popular musicians’ informal learning. The participant musician/teachers in her study all reported that they had learned to play rock and popular music through informal music learning practices, and the most commonly mentioned was learning through aurally/orally copying recordings or other musicians. They did report, however, that, as teachers of popular music, they rarely employed the practices by which they themselves had learned. Only one of her teacher participants maintained that be included listening and aural copying when teaching his own private students. Central Research Question Number Three: What are the implications for music education in general? Formal music education and infirrmal music learning: A comparison of childhood experiences. What can we learn? The majority of the participants at the College were not enculturated into Celtic traditional music as youngsters, and this included four of the teachers. While a majority of the student participants either enjoyed formal school ensemble membership or their general music classes, only one of the nonenculturated teachers stated that formal classroom and private instruction had been a valuable 185 experience for her. The three remaining nonenculturated teachers expressed indifferent or negative feelings regarding formal music instruction, while only one of the students reported a negative formal school music experience. The student participants who had been members of their school ensembles missed active music making after the completion of their formal schooling, and it was primarily the need to fill this void that initially led to them to learning Celtic music as adults. However, the five student participants who had taken private piano lessons as children expressed a hearty dislike of them and quit instruction as soon as possible. Reasons cited were the “linear” qualities of the piano lessons, boredom, and being required to learn the accompanying theory that was perceived as being disconnected from practice. Dislike of private music instruction was also reported by Green’s participants (2002), the majority of whom had been enrolled in some type of private music instruction as children, most notably, the piano. All but two of her participants felt that they had “gotten little out of them” (p. 148), and only one made any useful connections between his formal music instruction and his informal music learning. While it is neither possible nor the intent to generalize from ethnographic, qualitative studies like this one and Green’s 2002 study, they provide music educators with another perspective into music teaching and learning, and this includes examining the reasons why students stopped pursuing formal music instruction. The five enculturated teacher participants, on the other hand, remained active musicians from childhood to their adult lives. They did not think of music as being a “special activity” and always found occasions to play and/or perform. Even if they did have a “dry spell” as an adult (various personal reasons were mentioned, including 186 I: a. parenthood and other major life changes), they always felt that they had a musical genre that they could, and eventually did, return. So for the enculturated participants, traditional music, once it was “in their heads,” remained there even throughout the sporadic dormant musical periods in their lives. All stated that they “came back to the music” when they felt so moved. This phenomenon was also reported by Veblen in her discussion of traditional music teaching in Ireland. If our goal as music educators is to create lifelong music learners, than the personal characteristics and attitudes towards music learning that were exhibited and discussed by the enculturated teacher participants should be examined more closely to see what, if any, of those traits could be developed by music educators for application in the formal music classroom. This was also suggested by Green (2002). However, just because all of the enculturated participants in this study were lifelong music learners is not to suggest that all enculturated music learners will continue playing and learning in their socio—cultural music genre throughout their lifetimes. That would be a specious conclusion. But the evidence presented in this study does suggest that music educators should examine the phenomena more closely. All of the nonenculturated student participants had pleasant memories of school ensemble membership, but stopped active formal music making after formal schooling ended for various reasons, including boredom with their instruments and their ensemble parts, and lack of quality community instrumental ensembles with which to play. Additionally, playing traditional music was perceived as a musical activity that was much more flexible than formal ensemble membership because it could be played and enjoyed with a few or with many players, and was not hindered by the lack of physical resources 187 (for example, sheet music), or by extremely specific instrumentation, like that required of concert bands and orchestras. Further, it was generally agreed that playing traditional music was more rewarding overall, and this was partly because participants could choose to play as much or as little as they wanted to during musical activities. This was because participation was self-directed and negotiated instead of being dictated by a director, ensemble parts, or ensemble needs. Some of these reasons for traditional music participation by nonenculurated adult learners were also reported by Symon (2003) in his examination of the Edinborough Adult Learning Project Based on all of the participants’ experiences, further study into informal music learning in the home and community is warranted. In the related literature, it was common to find reports of nonenculturated adult participants’ early childhood formal music education experiences, but there was little literature with which to compare in terms of nonenculturated participants’ early informal music learning. Closer investigation of the topic is therefore recommended, particularly in the case of adult learners, who, as Coffman (2002) reports, generally have preconceived notions of their own learning styles based on their earlier musical experiences. Such studies could aid music educators in informing and improving on best practice in the formal classroom. Bi-musicality. Participants who were the most satisfied with their own musicality, and who also expressed the most comfort with their with own music learning abilities, were those who were situated at the middle of the “’bi-musical” continuum discussed in Chapters Four and Five. In other words, those learners who were both comfortable aural/oral and visual learners were glad that they were able to learn in either mode, because the ability to do so made traditional music more accessible and easier to learn 188 than music learners who were restricted to one learning mode. It should be stated however, that in the learning of traditional music, all of the participants valued the ability to “learn by car” more than being a “good” sight-reader, and this was because aural/oral learning was perceived as a more “authentic” and a more musical way in which to learn traditional music. Not all of the participants believed this to be the case when they began learning traditional music, but all eventually came to this realization. However, participants who were strictly aural music learners did maintain that they wished they could read written notation as well as learn music by car. This was for personal as well as practical reasons. Those participants who were not facile music readers appeared to be ashamed and embarrassed of their inability to read sheet music and were somewhat reluctant to discuss this issue with me. This seemed to an issue of class (in the case of the participants raised in Ireland), and/or an issue of being perceived as “stupid” or one of inability (in the case of participants raised in North America) As music educators, we should be more aware of the value of teaching our students both learning modes. Public school instrumental directors have long focused on teaching their students to become proficient note readers, and indeed, being able to decode written notation is a standard, necessary, and well-established part of Western performance practice. The idea that young instrumentalists should also become good aural/oral learners is not a new one; yet, none of the nonenculturated North American adults had been exposed to aural/oral learning over the course of their formal instrumental music education. Thus, in their experiences, aural/oral learning was not a learning mode that was given consideration as a valid learning approach in its own right, nor was it used as an augmentation to visual music learning. 189 Conclusion As mentioned above, at first glance this study appeared to be about learning and teaching Celtic music at a specific location. It was also, however, about the student and teacher participants experiencing what Titon (1995) describes as a “subject shift” regarding how they perceived and understood their own musical learning and teaching, which was originally based on their previous experiences with, and their perceptions of, formal music education. Often, students expressed fright at the idea of aural learning, and teachers were wary of aural teaching with adult students who were only familiar with learning through notation. Further, this study was also about how those perceptions changed as the nonenculturated participants were introduced to another musical genre, one that required a different and unfamiliar musical learning style and mindset regarding music learning and teaching altogether. This “mindshift” sometimes occurred at the College, or was a direct result from events that participants experienced while there. Conversely, this also held true for the five enculturated instructor/musicians regarding teaching, who, almost universally, did not perceive themselves as “teachers” because they had not been trained formally as music instructors. Interestingly, this was not the case with the four nonenculturated teachers. However, the majority of the enculturated instructors did have some experience teaching their musical genre informally, but, in general, did not consider this to be legitimate music teaching. To this end, participants were first required to examine what they felt to be “true” regarding music teaching and learning, and then had be open to the idea that perhaps their previous conception of music learning and teaching did not hold “true” for different musical genres and/or settings. After the nonenculturated participants came to this 190 realization, the next step was to address how to learn music in a manner that none had previously experienced (aural/oral learning and/or peer directed group learning). In the case of the enculturated teachers, they were forced to devise a system that worked to teach an unfamiliar musical genre to nonenculturated adults learning a new instrument in a new way, which was, in general, aural/oral learning augmented with visual observation. This required that each participant discover and design a consciously self- developed learning and/or teaching strategy that worked specifically for her. Interestingly, these strategies were largely developed without input from other musician/participants and in learner/teacher isolation, despite the fact that some of the participants were familiar with one another outside of the College setting. Many were from the Toronto, Ontario area, and played together in various sessions there or were otherwise acquainted with one another. This phenomenon was also discussed by Green (2002) in her study regarding how popular musicians learn. Her participants devised self- teaching strategies in isolation designed to aurally copy recordings, and this was sometimes supplemented with conventional notation or tablature. Like the vast majority of the participants in this study, using written notation to learn music was also considered by Green’s participants to be secondary to their aural learning. Unlike the participants in this study, however, Green’s participants were reluctant to talk about their aural learning. Indeed, most were somewhat embarrassed to discuss their learning strategies, believing that they were not valuable based on their formal music education experiences. Again, this was not the case with the participants in this study, many of who were proud of discovering their own learning and/or teaching strategies and were eager to discuss these with me. Further, many were quite articulate 191 regarding their own self-developed music learning strategies, and this too differed from Greens’ report. This could be attributed to the following factors: (1) Green’s participants were a mixture of English teenagers and adults, unlike this study, (2) The British class system, which traditionally values all things associated with “high” culture. This includes music and its associated performance practices; anything deemed “vulgar” (including rock and popular music and the informal learning practices associated with it) is deemed undesirable and thus unworthy of acknowledgement, and (3) The possibility that, because the location of this study was in an educational setting, participants were more predisposed to reflective thinking regarding their own music learning. Green’s participants were professional and semi-professional rock musicians located throughout the city and suburbs of London, England. Additionally, all of the participants in this study placed high importance on learning and playing music in community, and this included being a member of the College community. This was for learning and for social reasons and the two factors were often intertwined. The majority of the student participants had been members of their school ensembles, but stopped active music making after their formal schooling ended, discussed above. All mentioned that they missed active music making with others, and that this was one of the factors that initially drew them to learning Celtic music as adults. The enculturated teacher participants in this study were active music makers their entire lives, also discussed earlier; there was no border that defined where childhood learning ceased and adult learning began. All of the teacher participants mentioned how much they enjoyed the community atmosphere at the College, and felt that this contributed to their being better teachers. 192 Many of the participants played in Celtic bands (and this included the teacher participants); these participants reported that this was an experience that they found musically fulfilling. However, all of the participants mentioned that they valued regular session participation more than band membership because, in addition to playing with others in a more informal setting (and this was seen as an enjoyable experience in itself), it was also believed to improve one’s playing ability, particularly if one was playing in a session with “better” musicians. Further, sessions were also seen as a place where new “tunes” could be “picked up” and learned, and several participants discussed strategies that they devised especially for session learning. Thus, peer directed and informal group learning were important factors in the participants’ music learning. Both types of learning were observed at the College, and were more obvious outside of the formal learning that took place there; however, elements of peer directed and informal group learning were also observed in College classes. Further, opportunities for peer and group learning were mentioned by all of the participants as a primary motivating factor to attend or teach at the College. Peer and group learning was also discussed by Green (2002) and recommended by Woodford (2005) as worthy of further study by music educators. Green defined peer directed learning among her participants as “involv[ing] the explicit teaching of one or more persons by a peer” (p. 76), and, in this study, according to the participants’ descriptions, this also was a significant learning factor for them. Group learning in this study was also identical to Green’s description of it among her participants; she defined it “[as] occuring as a result of peer interaction but in the absence of any teaching” (p. 76). Further, both group and peer learning may take place between two or more persons, and 193 can be in the form of casual encounters or more organized sessions. The latter was observed as a regular occurrence between the College participants many times at different venues and times throughout the week. The College sessions also had in common traits of peer to peer group session learning observed in Ireland and described by Koni g (1980) and McCann (2001). These included the lilting of tunes in order to learn them during the session, and the presence of more “seasoned” musicians helping along less experienced ones, as discussed earlier. Woodford (2005) recommends that “apprenticeship models (he cites jam sessions as one example) involving community musicians may also be useful and practical with so—called ‘world music,’ in addition to being valuable models of music making in the ‘real world’ in their own right” (p. 100). This is because sessions provide opportunities for real informal music learning practices, which he stresses should be examined by teachers for possible inclusion into the formal music classroom. Further, sessions provide opportunities for democratic music making, a goal that Woodford recommends to music educators interested in developing crucial life skills such as critical thinking, both in music and in life after formal schooling ends. The evidence presented in this study would appear to be consistent with Woodford’s claims regarding the values of informal music learning in community. Recommendations for Practice: Implications for Music Educators and Music Teacher Preparation Programs Shehan Campbell believes that the “musicianship of students in Western [school] ensembles can be fostered through the use of instructional techniques employed in aural/oral cultures from around the world” (1991, p. 246). Volk (1998), concurs stating 194 that “Although music literacy remains at the top of the list of objectives for school music, employing aural/oral methodology provides not only an entry point in to the music of another culture, but can improve aural skills and provide a way to teach stylistic elements such as ornamentation and characteristic rhythms, neither of which are frequently notated” (p. 180). All of the nonenculturated participants’ accounts were testimony to the latter statement, and some almost replicated this quote regarding the advantages of aural learning. Based on this study’s results, the following are practical as well as philosophical recommendations for music educators: Listening and Aural Learning Listening is an essential skill in the Irish and in other Celtic traditions. Often, in North American instrumental music programs, listening and playing are divorced from one another, with students concentrating on playing written music at the expense of listening to students around them. Irish musicians generally listen “purposefully” (i.e. with intent to learn) as opposed to “passively” (listening without specific intent to lean), and the two are different perceptions of what it means“ to listen”. This has implications for how music educators teach listening in ensembles, and would need to begin with a change in how music educators perceive listening before it could be implemented into a band or orchestra classroom. Acquiring the ability to listen “ purposively” is, according to Elliott (1995), a necessary prerequisite to reflective music practice. Learning to “listen well” is crucial if one is to develop “critical music thinking end strategic musical judgment,” both of which constitute what Elliott describes as “musical thinking in action” (p. 98). This occurs 195 during music making as performers learn how to make appropriate musical decisions during the process of developing the ability to make artistic musical interpretations. Singing and/or Lilting as Instrumentalists Lilting is defined as “a musical style of vocalization, and refers to singing a dance tune with “nonsense words” or “meaningless syllables” (V allely, 1999, p. 217). The comfort that Irish musicians/teachers display in using their voices as a supplement to their instrumental playing has obvious implications for North American instrumental music programs. Often, instrumental music teachers do not use their voices to model for students, nor do they encourage their students to sing as an aid to instrumental playing. Shehan Campbell recommends that instrumental music educators should sing rote songs with their students as a supplement to playing an instrument, with the eventual aim being that student instrumentalists (and instructors) become as comfortable using their voices as playing their instruments. Rate Teaching A majority of the College’s instructor/musicians taught tunes aurally by rote in “bits” and “pieces,” and without the use of scales or technique. The teachers played one “bit” of a tune to students, who then would play that “bit” back. This process continued until the entire tune was learned, and the teachers did not move on until all of the students in the class had learned the tune. Sequencing and repetition are therefore, fundamental in the Irish tradition. Even though each teacher participant employed their own devised “curriculum” of tunes which varied depending on instrument, specific Celtic genre/and or style, all employed a similar rote teaching process as described in this paragraph. 196 I am not recommending the abandonment of written notation. Performance practice in the Western tradition is based on the ability to decode written music proficiently, and this is particularly important at the public school level. However, all of the participants stated that they wished they had been encouraged to hone their aural skills as youngsters for the reasons stated earlier. The idea that instrumental students should become less reliant on written music is not a novel one. However, none of the participants reported that they had been exposed to aural/oral learning in the formal instrumental music classroom. All of them did state that, at some point, they wished that they had been encouraged and taught how to “develop their cars.” It was generally believed by participants that, not only would this have contributed positively to their overall musicianship, but it also would have made it easier for them to acquire the aural skills necessary to become competent traditional musicians. All of the nonenculturated participants in this study (teachers and students) developed their own unique learning and teaching strategies to accommodate aural learning. Their approaches were therefore nonlinear and devised by each individual to suit her particular strengths/weaknesses and musical needs. Because each individual had developed her own approach in isolation, there was a wide variance of strategies. I can only surmise that, had the nonenculturated participants been exposed to aural/oral learning during their formal schooling, perhaps their approaches and strategies would have been more consistent and less idiosyncratic. This is, however, mere speculation on my part. Based on the evidence presented in this study, instrumental music educators should at least consider employing some type of aural/oral teaching approach in their 197 classrooms. To this end, the manner in which the participants in this study developed their own unique learning and teaching strategies should be examined more closely. lmprovising/Omamentation Shehan Campbell believes that “Improvisation is a culminating act in the music learning process” (1991, p. 274). In an Irish tune, “the melody is a spectrum of musical possibilities, from the simplest musical structure, to the fully ornamented and realized tune, implying personal variation” (Veblen, 1991, p. 283). This has obvious implications for an instrumental class. The students could be taught a “basic” version of a piece, and then be encouraged to vary it according to skill level. Simple omamentations could be taught aurally to students, who could then decide when, where or if to insert them into their own pieces. Indeed, this method of knowledge acquisition could be considered comparable to holisitic language learning. For example, traditional music teachers when teaching how to ornament/vary a “tune” to nonenculturated learners usually employ the following steps: 1) Aurally/orally rote teaching the tune as described earlier, with particular emphasis placed on tempo, “lift,” and “beat feel.” 2) Explaining and “breaking down” the mechanics of ornamentation both in and outside the context of “tunes.” 3) Demonstrating where ornaments can occur in tunes, then giving different options to students as to where ornaments can be placed, dependent upon their own taste, choice, and technical ability, and 4. Demonstrating how a “tune” can be varied, thus serving to give the learner an additional element of personal choice. Who takes responsibility for learning changes because the process begins by being“ teacher-directed,” and morphs as it becomes more “student-directed.” Guided by 198 the teacher, knowledge acquisition and application by the learner begins with limited, but self-made musical choices, and ends (inasmuch as the process ever does) with the learner choosing from her own ever-expanding musical vocabulary as she becomes more facile in the genre. Peer to Peer Group Learning and Democratic Music Making As mentioned earlier, music learning in Ireland occurs primarily in sessions, with musicians learning from one another. This could be implemented in small groups in an instrumental class. Woodford advocates that we should examine this approach to music learning more closely because it is a more democratic approach to music learning than many employed in the formal music classroom because participants have ownership and take responsibility for their learning. Students who already know a tune aurally could then “pass it on” to other members of the group and vice versa. With guidance from the music teacher, band students could also be encouraged to discover and to have some choice in the repertoire that they want to learn and share with others. Because students’ input would be an integral part of the musical decision making process, this approach could contribute to their overall sense of ownership, motivation, and enjoyment. Further, according to Kirchoff (1987), most wind band pedagogues take a “fix it’ approach to rehearsals, often stopping every time an error is detected, directing and telling learners when and how to correct mistakes. The more holistic “apprenticeship model” favored by Irish musicians, where less experienced learners benefit from older players, would enable instrumental students to take responsibility for their own learning. 199 It would also strengthen the bonds of community within the group, thus providing for a richer and more democratic learning experience. Teacher Aural/ Oral Learning Green (2002) suggests that formally trained music educators who are not comfortable aural learners teach themselves to “play by car” on the instrument and genre of their choice in the same manner as the popular musicians in her study. As mentioned above, this includes “purposive” listening and copying of recordings. The participants in this study reported similar learning through purposive listening in the same way as was described by Green. In addition to becoming better musicians (which Green reported as happening to her, stating that, as her “ears” opened up, she was able to hear more subtlety and nuance in music), this would also serve to make music teachers more empathetic to their students who were popular musicians outside of the music classroom. Genre and musical instrument are unimportant; what is important is that teachers begin learning in a mode that was previously unknown to them. Redefining “Music Education ” Lastly, all of the student participants reported that, based on their learning Celtic music as adults, that their perceptions of what defined “music learning and teaching” gradually changed as they learned to play more in the genre. Because they were all nonenculturated North American adults with similar formal music instruction backgrounds, when first introduced to Celtic music they were initially unaware of how to learn aurally in the genre, and indeed, many questioned why they should have to learn Celtic music aurally. In other words, they misunderstood how written music functions based on their earlier formal music backgrounds. 200 However, all of them but one were progressing as aural learners. Their preconceived ideas towards aural learning were overcome and changed even though they had had no earlier exposure to it. Once they understood that this was a legitimate way (and in the case of traditional music, a more authentic way) to learn music they were able to overcome their fear of aural learning. In other words, their “lenses” changed as their preconceived notions of what defined music learning and teaching were overcome. This was also true of the enculturated teacher participants, who with the exception of one, felt that because they were not “formally trained,” originally did not perceive themselves as teachers. However, their “lenses” also changed as they realized that they were able to teach somewhat in the manner that they themselves had learned, and further, that it was a legitimate way to learn and teach music. As music educators, we usually assume that “music education” is defined by place (typically in some type of academic institution) and is delivered through some type of formal music instruction. An examination of how other cultures perceive music teaching and learning would provide insights into our own teaching and learning practices, and perhaps stimulate new ideas and approaches, which could then be implemented into formal music education practice. Ultimately, this should lead to musically fulfilling adult lives and stimulate the pursuit of lifelong music learning. 201 APPENDIX A INTERVIEW QUESTIONS For all participants- 1) How did you learn your subgenre of Celtic roots music? 2) Describe the circumstances under which you began to play. 3) Describe your early musical experiences. 4) Describe how you learn “tunes.” 5) Describe your comfort level with written music. 6) Describe your comfort level with “playing by ear.” 7) What kinds of support have you received during your involvement with Celtic roots music? 8) What motivated you to begin playing your subgenre of Celtic roots music? Questions for instructors- 1) What does “teaching music” mean to you? 2) Do you teach differently than you learned? 3) Could you describe the various settings in which you teach/have taught? 4) Is teaching at Goderich different than teaching in other settings? If so, how? 5) What emphasis do you feel you place on the following elements when you are teaching: a) repertoire b) technique c) style? 6) Are there other musical aspects that you feel are important to teach? If so, please describe. 7) How would you define the terms “traditional” and “authentic” as applied to your specific musical practice? Would you consider your teaching at the College to be reflective of “authentic” and “traditional” teaching/learning practices? 202 8) What are the student expectations regarding learning your subgenre of Celtic roots music? Are they consistent with your ideas about how the music should be learned? Questions for Students- 1) Describe your learning experiences at the College, both in formal class settings and in more informal settings (sessions, “slow jams,” conversations, concerts, etc). 2) Describe your motivations for attending Goderich. For returning students-What was the initial attraction? Have there been any changes in your motivations for attending? 3) What do the terms “authentic” and “traditional” mean to you as applied to your musical practice at the College? 4) For returning students-What effects has the College experience had on your subsequent musical activities? 5) This question will be asked prior to starting classes- How do you expect these classes to help you learn this music? 6) This question will be asked after classes have begun- Describe the manner in which the instructor helped you to learn this music. Was this consistent with your earlier expectations before the class began? 203 APPENDIX B UCRIHS APPROVAL LETTER MICHIGAN STATE” U N l V E R S l T Y May4,2004 TO: Mitchell ROBINSON 208 Music Practice Building RE: IRB# 03-781 CATEGORY: 2-6, 2—7 EXPEDITED RENEWAL APPROVAL DATE: May 3, 2004 EXPIRATION DATE: May 3, 2005 TITLE' TEACHER AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING AT THE ' GODERICH CELTIC COLLEGE, GODERICH, ONTARIO: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELD STUDY ' -, E j- .7“ . _ The University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects' (UCRIHS) review of this project is complete and I am pleased to advise that the rights and welfare of the human subjects appear to be adequately protected and methods to obtain informed consent are appropriate. Therefore, the UCRIHS APPROVED THIS PROJECT'S RENEWAL. This letter notes approval for the study title change. RENEWALS: UCRIHS approval is valid until the expiration date listed above. Projects continuing beyond this date must be renewed with the renewal form. A maximum of four such expedited renewals are possible. Investigators wishing to continue a project beyond that time need to submit a 5-year renewal application for complete review. REVISIONS: UCRIHS must review any changes in procedures involving human subjects, prior to initiation of the change. If this is done at the time of renewal, please include a revision form with the enewal. To revise an approved protocol at any other time during the year, send your written request ith an attached revision cover sheet to the UCRIHS Chair, requesting revised approval and eferencing the project's |RB# and title. Include in your request a description of the change and any ' evlsed instruments, consent forms or advertisements that are applicable. ' ' ROBLEMSICHANGES: Should either of the following arise during the course of the work, notify ‘ CRIHS promptly: 1) problems (unexpected side effects, complaints, etc.) involving human subjects 0mm; gear 2) changes in the research environment or new information indicating greater risk to the human RESEARCHsubjects than existed when the protocol was previously reviewed and approved. ETHICS ANDIf we can be of further assistance, please contact us at 517 355-2180 or via email: STANDARDSUCRIHS@msu.edu. . nmrxlty Commlttae on Research tnvolvlngsmcerety' Human Subjects Michigan State University W 202 Olds Hall East Lansing. MI Wheter Vasilenko, PhD. 517/355-21 . FAX:517/4312-453‘3UCRIHS Chalr www.msuedu/user/ucrihs E-Mail: ucrihs@msu.edu APPENDIX C INFORMED CONSENT LETTER “TEACHER AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING AT THE CELTIC COLLEGE IN GODERICH, ONTARIO: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELD STUDY” Dear Participants». I am currently a graduate student at Michigan State university. This summer, I will be conducting research that involves a case study of the Celtic College. This study will be entitled “Teacher and Student Perceptions of Teaching and Learning at the Celtic College in GoderiCh. Ontario: An Ethnographic Field Study.” The purpose of this research will be to discover, using interviews and observations, how various genres of Celtic traditiOnal music are transmitted by the participants of the Celtic College Summer School. Using information from this project. the researcher hopes to gain insights into how adult musicians learn and transmit Celtic traditional music in informal settings. Participation is strictly voluntary and subjects may choose net to participate at all. Participants may refuse to answer certain questions and may withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. 90 minutes is the estimated amount of time required for volunteers participating in the study. Interviews and observations will be a part ofthe research. Audiotapes will be made using a micro-cassette recorder during individual interviews held between the researcher and the participants. The audiotapes will be transcribed and coded by the researcher. Videotapes will be made using a camcorder during the participants’ classes at the Celtic College. Written ‘ observations will be made from the videotapes. The researcher will be the only person with access to the audiotapes and the videotapes to enstne the participants‘ confidentiality. Audiotapes and videotapes will be stored in a locked filing cabinet in the researcher’s basement for five years, with identifying data, after which time they will be destroyed. The researcher will ask participants for their signed permission to use recorded material on this form. Data gathered from human subjects will be treated with confidence on the pan of the investigator. Participants’ privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. Please complete the form at the bottom of this page. If you have any questions regarding this study, you may contact either or both the Responsible Project Investigator and the Secondary Investigator. Dr. Mitchell Robinson, the Responsible Project Investigator, can be reached by phone at SI 7- 355-7555, e-mail: 31' roflajmsuedu at the College of Arts and Letters. The 205 Secondary Investigator, Janice Waldron can be contacted by phone at 519-243-2046 or by e-mail at jiggwmusic@execulink.com. As a participant, if you have any questions or are dissatisfied at any time with any aspect of this study, you may contact— anonymously, if you wish-Peter Vasilenko, Ph. D., Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) by phone: (5 l 7) 355-2180, fax: (51 7) 432-4503, e-mail: ucril_l§@_rn_s_q.edu, or regular mail: 202 Olds Hall. East musing, MI 48824. Thank you, Janice Waldron, Phd. Candidate Michigan State University Please take two copies of this form. Sign and return a copy to the researcher and retain a copy for your own records. “Your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law.” I voluntarily agree to participate in this study and I give my permission to be audio and videotaped individually and in class settings. Date (Signature of Participant) Town of Goderich HeritageTours N WalkOne/////////// $ Walk'l‘wo I Walk Three——.———— (All walks are approximately 1 hour) mil—:3 I: ir—“l