Preferred Name
Rachel Marie Smith
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2428-2367
Date of Graduation
12-17-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Music (MM)
Department
School of Music
Advisor(s)
William Dabback
Alice Hammel
Charles Dotas
Abstract
Authors have studied informal music learning with different age groups. Lucy Green (2005) studied the topic with adolescents and identified it an intuitive and natural way children learn. Chad West and Radio Cremata (2016) studied informal music learning at the collegiate level, and Martina Vasil (2019) studied secondary music teachers who implemented informal music learning strategies in their teaching practices. Informal music learning in adults is relatively under-explored compared to adolescent and collegiate age groups. Utilizing lenses drawn from John Dewey’s curricular ideas to help students find meaning in learning and motivation as viewed through Self-Determination Theory, I sought to investigate informal music learning practices of professional musicians. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the informal music learning experiences and current practices of professional musicians based in Virginia. Four research questions guided the interview questions and analysis: 1) What informal music learning experiences were formative to professional musicians who perform live music? 2) How did participants utilize informal music learning in their practices? 3) What are the challenges of informal music learning? 4) What are the benefits of informal music learning? I interviewed eight professional musicians about their informal music learning experiences in individual interviews as well as a focus group interview, and conducted a rehearsal observation. I used an iterative coding process to analyze interview transcriptions and the following themes emerged: Self-Teaching, Autonomy, and Collaboration.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Rachel M., "Toward an informal informed classrooms: Professional musicians' informal music learning experiences" (2022). Masters Theses, 2020-current. 181.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/masters202029/181
