Tradition and Innovation in the Pedagogy of Brazilian Instrumental Choro

Choro is a traditional Brazilian music that began in Rio de Janeiro during the latter half of the nineteenth century. A virtuosic instrumental music, choro developed through Brazilian interpretations of European dance genres, especially polka and waltz. Participation by both amateur and professional musicians characterizes choro’s traditional pedagogy, a reflection of informal and formal learning processes and contexts. At the turn of the twenty-first century, choro schools now offer venues for defining and validating the tradition as well as inspiring an atmosphere for innovation and creation. Inherent within the concept of tradition is the dichotomy of continuity and change. This study exposes how institutions negotiate the past and present through a comparison of current and historic pedagogy and modes of learning. Choro institutions use traditional and innovative modes of learning to support and enhance the genre’s current practice through community organization, which sustains and contributes to its continued performance.Chapter one focuses on defining choro music, first discussing the etymology of the word “choro,” followed by a survey of choro’s history and review of choro literature. The chapter concludes with an explanation of this investigation’s purpose. In chapter two I posit the notion that a music community practices and performs choro. Biographies and stories of choro’s past and present community members reveal how they learned choro. The chapter ends with an analysis of the processes that establish and reinforce the community. Chapter three examines how people learn choro. I offer prevailing learning perspectives—acquisition, participation, and knowledge creation—and establish categories for modes of learning—formal, non-formal, and informal—to define the processes and contexts involved in learning choro. Chapter four discusses the musical codes that characterize choro, what the choro community describes as a musical language. The chapter ends with a description of the curriculum at Escola Portatil de Musica, the school case study used for this dissertation. Chapter five is the summation and conclusions, revealing why musicians learn choro music.

Name thesis:degree_name

PHD

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

College of the Arts / School of Music, Hugh A. Glauser

Grantor dc:publisher

Kent State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Murray, Eric A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mukuna, Kazadi

• Music
• Music Education
• Cultural Anthropology
• Pedagogy
• Brazilian choro music
• music pedagogy
• formal, non-formal, informal learning
• Rio de Janeiro
• tradition
• innovation

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: some rights reserved. It is licensed for use under a Creative Commons license. Specific terms and permissions are available from this document's record in the OhioLINK ETD Center.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1365782281

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:kent1365782281