Lorna:
So Gareth, we need to organise the findings from our survey on music students for the final presentation.
Gareth:
Yes Lorna, I think we've got some very interesting results.
Gareth:
Obviously we need to start by saying that we interviewed all the third year students doing a music degree and state the objective of our research project, that is, to find out about their attitudes to performing.
Lorna:
And then we should talk about the students' musical backgrounds before coming to university.
Lorna:
The most important points to make are that although most people have actually composed music during the course, that wasn't the case when they arrived.
Lorna:
And the other thing they had in common was the piano.
Gareth:
Well, they'd had access to a piano at some point, but not all had studied it formally.
Gareth:
I thought the most interesting finding was that before coming here, almost everyone was involved in a chamber orchestra or band or singing in a choir and playing in front of live audiences.
Lorna:
But varying enormously in size.
Lorna:
Some had only played in tiny venues.
Lorna:
I think it's worth saying that.
Gareth:
And as you might expect from people wanting to study music, they all had a degree of proficiency in at least two instruments.
Gareth:
But in most cases, one of the instruments was dominant.
Lorna:
We need to talk about attitudes to music practice.
Lorna:
The most striking thing here is that even students who you'd expect to practice for hours every day until they get it perfect, say it's being terrified of failing that really makes them practice.
Lorna:
I know I'm the same.
Gareth:
It's interesting what was said about practising alone.
Gareth:
Some people preferred that because they could focus more on their weak points.
Lorna:
But that wasn't a majority view.
Lorna:
What most of them agree on is that there's nothing more rewarding than mastering something that's really hard to learn.
Gareth:
After that, we should talk a bit about the pieces that students select for assessed performances.
Lorna:
There wasn't quite so much consensus on this, was there?
Lorna:
A few people prefer to do pieces which are relatively unknown, while others choose the ones they think will show off their technical ability.
Lorna:
But they were in the minority.
Gareth:
I think the first thing to say is that a high percentage said they would always try to learn their pieces by heart because it's too easy to get lost if you're trying to read and play when you're nervous.
Lorna:
And quite a lot of them said it helps to listen to other people playing your chosen piece, preferably recordings, but even just other students.
Lorna:
So finally, we need to look at the findings for students' attitudes to performing.
Lorna:
We should point out that this includes informal and formal public performances as well as assessed ones.
Gareth:
Yes, that's important.
Gareth:
I expected to find that performing solo would make students very nervous, but in fact that isn't the case.
Lorna:
They do find it hugely challenging to start with, but they appreciate the challenge and find it stimulating.
Gareth:
I was surprised by what students said about deciding which pieces to perform.
Gareth:
I thought they'd all say this was easy.
Gareth:
For me, it's always been quite straightforward.
Gareth:
Which pieces do I like best and which pieces can I play well?
Gareth:
And my repertoire is quite limited anyway.
Gareth:
But the most commonly cited answer was that it took them ages to make their minds up.
Lorna:
I suppose it's because there are so many factors involved.
Lorna:
You need to consider your audience, the venue, the time available to learn the piece, especially if it's complicated.
Lorna:
You need to think about all these things, and you can't do that in a hurry.
Lorna:
Then there's performing with musicians from a different genre, like a classical musician playing with a jazz group.
Lorna:
That can really be fun.
Gareth:
But most of the music students had never even considered it.
Lorna:
For performing with musicians who play the same instrument, almost everyone put the same thing.
Gareth:
Yes, they all said it was incredibly helpful and not at all intimidating, which says a lot for the department's ethos.
Lorna:
Yes, that's a good point.
Lorna:
OK, what I think we should sort out now...
