In this paper the first phase of a descriptive research project on musical preferences and music listening habits of first year’s conservatoire students is presented. The paper presents the background of the research project, the construction of a survey and the first results of this survey, which indicate that musical preferences and music listening habits of first year’s conservatoire students are highly varied. Possible refinements for the survey are discussed.The paper ends with first notions on how to not only use the findings for descriptive ends but also put them in the broader perspective of more general research on musical preferences.
This article explores the intersection between institutional hierarchies and learning at a UK conservatoire. Conceptualizing learning as a social practice situated in a hierarchical social space, the article draws on the theorization of Bourdieu to understand how students are positioned in the conservatoire field and what this means in terms of their learning. Working within a social constructionist framework, the study adopted qualitative research with two case students, making use of a trilogy of methods: semi-structured interviews, participant self-documentation and participant-verification interviews. Findings reveal that as students participate in the conservatoire field they appear to learn their position in the conservatoire’s hierarchies, and that their position relates to what and how they learn. The conservatoire’s hierarchical organization can thus be considered an important factor in shaping student learning, illuminating the need for further research to explore how learning experiences and opportunities can be maximized for all conservatoire students.
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Students in Higher Music Education (HME) are not facilitated to develop both their artistic and academic musical competences. Conservatoires (professional education, or ‘HBO’) traditionally foster the development of musical craftsmanship, while university musicology departments (academic education, or ‘WO’) promote broader perspectives on music’s place in society. All the while, music professionals are increasingly required to combine musical and scholarly knowledge. Indeed, musicianship is more than performance, and musicology more than reflection—a robust musical practice requires people who are versed in both domains. It’s time our education mirrors this blended profession. This proposal entails collaborative projects between a conservatory and a university in two cities where musical performance and musicology equally thrive: Amsterdam (Conservatory and University of Amsterdam) and Utrecht (HKU Utrechts Conservatorium and Utrecht University). Each project will pilot a joint program of study, combining existing modules with newly developed ones. The feasibility of joint degrees will be explored: a combined bachelor’s degree in Amsterdam; and a combined master’s degree in Utrecht. The full innovation process will be translated to a transferable infrastructural model. For 125 students it will fuse praxis-based musical knowledge and skills, practice-led research and academic training. Beyond this, the partners will also use the Comenius funds as a springboard for collaboration between the two cities to enrich their respective BA and MA programs. In the end, the programme will diversify the educational possibilities for students of music in the Netherlands, and thereby increase their professional opportunities in today’s job market.
