The journey from instrumentalist to musician : reflections on the implementation of the conservatory method in musical performance

The Journey From Instrumentalist to Musician is a reflective study that addresses the effect of the Conservatory method in musical performance. The discussion begins with the author's early experiences as a young piano student who wanted to please her teacher and after many hours of practice soon became a performance specialist - a performance specialist who excelled as a pianist. The instrument that she studied, instead of the discipline of music itself, it what defined her a pianist. Throughout her early music career, she learned that exact replication of the score was more important than the process of creativity and individuality. The Conservatory method often emphasizes the importance of teaching specific instrumental skills rather than simply teaching music. This prompted the author to explore philosophies of music educators who were not considered educators of the traditional conservatory method. After discussing the methodologies of Suzuki, Kodaly, Dalcroze, and Orff, the author then reflects on her own educational methodology. In evaluating the methodolgies, the author identified four common themes for comparison: rhythm, pitch, recognition, patterning of sounds, and literacy. Through the discourse the author bridges the gap between the instrumentalist and the musician by comparing the methodology of these music educators and that of the conservatory through her own experiences.

Authors

• Malitowski, Cynthia Marie
• University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education

• Music -- Instruction and study
• Conservatories of music
• Music -- Performance
• Dissertations, Academic

Identifier

hdl:10133/134

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/134