MacArthur, Stephanie L.R., Davidson, Jane W., and Krause, Amanda E. (2024) Interpreting 7-year-old beginner cellists' experiences of practice. Research Studies in Music Education, 46 (1). pp. 114-133.

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Abstract

Practice is essential to the acquisition and development of musical skills, requiring musicians’ time, investment, application, motivation, metacognitive strategies, and ability to self-regulate. Research in children’s music practice indicates the type, quality, and duration of practice, along with adult support, contributes to fluency in musical development; and when progress occurs, children invest in further practice. However, nuances in children’s lived experiences of musical practice that influence these critical factors are largely unknown. To understand the complex issues in children’s practice, this study employed a unique pairing of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Participatory Action Research to investigate 14 seven-year-old beginner cellists’ practice during early learning and explored how their thoughts and experiences evolved over the first 18 months of lessons. Providing rare insight into children’s perceptions of musical development and the vital role of parents and teachers in nurturing engagement, three superordinate themes emerged: (a) four approaches to practice, characterized by practice structure, learner behavior, and family support, (b) a three-phase practice process, and (c) perfection ideation. Positive experiences, including creative activities, within these thematic contexts fostered children’s enjoyment in early musical development, supported productive learning interactions, and sustained engagement. Together, the findings have meaningful pedagogical implications for instrumental music teaching practice.

Item ID:	81188
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1834-5530
Keywords:	beginner cellist, children’s music learning, instrumental music education, interpretative phenomenological analysis, music practice, musical development, participatory action research, perfectionism, music psychology, psychology of music, music education, instrumental learning, cello, cellist, social and applied psychology of music
Copyright Information:	© The Author(s) 2023. CC BY.
Date Deposited:	22 Nov 2023 23:08
FoR Codes:	36 CREATIVE ARTS AND WRITING > 3603 Music > 360303 Music education @ 40% 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5205 Social and personality psychology > 520505 Social psychology @ 60%
SEO Codes:	13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1301 Arts > 130102 Music @ 40% 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280121 Expanding knowledge in psychology @ 60%
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