Burwell, K., Carey, G., & Bennett, D. (2017). Isolation in studio music teaching: The secret garden. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 1474022217736581.
February, 3rd 2019
This article caught my attention when it began to discuss in general terms the isolation of the studio system. It seems that this is a historical concept or sort of tradition, an implied feature in music education because that is just how it has always been done. This may connect the ideas of an elitist culture towards learning a musical instrument. It is quite difficult to understand the overall point at the start of the article.
Most intriguing is the benefits, limitations and challenges section of the article. Pointed out is the benefit of the master apprentice relationship that comes from the studio teaching style. The benefit that seemed most important to me was the possibility for personalized course of study for each student. The teacher is able to create an environment with choice of repertoire and individual development areas because of the curriculum that is generally broad in these studio situations.
What is also pointed out is that yes studio teaching has downfalls but the benefits are necessary which effectively makes the studio student teacher relationship necessary. Things like technique and small individual issues with a student would go unnoticed in large group settings. To explain this they use an example were they talk about the difficulties with a hypothetical ‘group doctor’. Everyone had different things that they need to overcome and a general ‘prescription’ to an entire group dismisses the individual issues.
When I have a lesson with my studio teacher we are able to work on the things that I specifically need the most assistance with. Also at the same time we also as a percussion studio have master class where we learn some things as a group, such as general maintenance of instruments or techniques that everyone needs to work on. A combination seems to be very effective. I don’t think the studio needs to be changed there just needs to be a balance to ensure that the students become well rounded musicians.
I would love to talk to the author about their own life experiences and what motivated them into this area of study and analysis. Did they experience first hand the benefits and downfalls of studio teacher? Where did these questions about this long held teaching style manifest? Overall the article brings an interesting perspective to the assumed role of music student and teacher through the studio.
Written by Jessalyn Shein
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