QEP-Real World Problem Solving

Musicae Scientiae 2016, 20(3): 413-435.
This article addresses the problem of comparing individual creative processes in music composition, across aesthetic visions, research concepts, data collection and analysis methods. Eight professional composers are studied in a real-world setting in search of broad compositional activities that are both common to the composers studied and that are meaningful for individual compositional processes. To compare individual creative processes, the analytic route, specifically the last analysis phases of the research process, is made as transparent as possible. The need for a synthesis phase is clarified by presenting two visual syntheses, apart from four textual synthesis themes: an “events time line” – a general chronological account of salient compositional activities – and a “music in progress” visualization, displaying the development of the new composition. To apply similar criteria in the analysis of eight creative processes, an analysis framework is proposed, consisting of four main compositional activities (planning, exploring, writing and rewriting) and three attributes (productivity, level of musical abstraction and creativity). The results of the study show how the eight processes are individually characterized by a specific configuration, that is, the four main compositional activities appear in a selective presence, chronological order and hierarchy. Although no activities or strategies common to all eight composers were found, some configurations were also recognized in creative processes outside the current study. Finally, indications are discussed that general models of compositional processes and actions, such as evaluating, may be related to specific configurations of the four main activities.
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Research Studies in Music Education 2013, 35(2): 213–237.
In forwarding comprehensive popular music pedagogies, music educators might acknowledge and address expanded notions of composition in popular music that include processes of recording, engineering, mixing, and producing along with the technologies, techniques, and ways of being musical that encompass these processes. This article advances a perspective of popular music pedagogy that is situated in the role production plays in contemporary music-making. Drawing upon a single intrinsic case study focusing on secondary students’ creation and production of popular music, as well as theoretical frameworks that highlight recording, mixing, and production processes, this article provides an expanded perspective of composition and songwriting within a popular music context and proposes related pedagogical considerations. Themes addressed include: developing a theoretical framework within music education that addresses the role of production in contemporary music-making, expanding notions of aural skills and music literacy appropriate for producing popular music, and incorporating production processes in music classrooms.
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Journal of Music Teacher Education 2012, 22(1): 103–112.
The front-loaded lecture can be a dangerous thing. It creates passivity among students and disengages them in the teaching learning process. Many teachers believe frontal lecturing to be the most efficient way to deliver content—the path of least resistance. Unfortunately, these teachers do not view course content as an inquiry; rather they see content as an established body of knowledge solely possessed by the teacher. In contrast, arguably some of the greatest educational thinkers of our time view the classroom and course content quite differently. As well, understandings developed through learning theory and best practice related research also are at odds with this traditional model. Through the use of problem-posing, student-led debates, small group cooperative learning projects, journaling, field experiences, peer teachings, and portfolio assessment, a methods class can be transformed into an empowering vehicle for student learning as well as help students foster a greater sense of ownership in their future profession.
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Canadian Music Educator 2011, Winter: 25-27.
This article reports on a research-practice collaborative work that combined informal music learning practices and youth-led participatory action research with Grade 7 beginning band students at Southridge School in British Columbia. Using real-world music learning experiences, inquiry and reflection, we expanded the scope of a Musical Futures project and helped students develop listening and performing skills, increase their engagement in music learning, and develop leadership skills as they acted as initiators of the music making, learning, and reflective processes.
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Arts & Humanities in Higher Education 2016, 15(3–4): 395–400.
Music conservatoires have generally neglected focusing on a key issue: that of audiences—their needs and wants, why they value particular music, and how music actually functions in any particular community. Yet audience is typically a musician’s first contact with the “real world”; understanding audience (one’s market or customers) is essential to building a sustainable career in music today. This paper focuses on how music students and faculty can explore the issue of audience. Using examples from US conservatoires and concepts from the business world, the paper highlights a number of entrepreneurial learning activities to use within and beyond the classroom and rehearsal space. It also connects this learning with curriculum reform, empathy development, and Design Thinking. The paper argues that our challenge as educators is to design classroom activities that build the life skills needed not just for a student’s immediate future but for a lifetime of learning and community participation.
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