INFORMAL LEARNING IN VIOLIN TEACHING – A STUDY ON THE INCLUSION OF TRADITIONAL FOLK MUSIC FROM THE AZORES

Abstract

In Portugal, music teachers in official music schools make minimal use of traditional Portuguese folk music, and there is a notable absence of research examining its use in the classroom and the informal learning practices associated with it. In light of these considerations, an educational project was developed in 2021/2022 as part of the supervised teaching practice at the Conservatório Regional de Ponta Delgada (CRPD), which involved seven violin students between the ages of 9 and 14. This project was about learning traditional folk songs from the Azores, which were prepared using informal learning practices - such as learning by ear, memorizing without scores, improvisation - and performing them in public. Concurrently, a study was conducted to analyze the impact of this intervention on the students’ learning process. A further aim of the study was to assess the applicability of combining formal and informal learning practices in the teaching of violin at the CRPD. As such, a qualitative study was conducted, employing a range of data collection techniques, including direct classroom observation with field notes, video recordings, semi-structured interviews with students, anonymous surveys of parents and concert attendees, as well as 27 violin teachers. The data were subjected to content analysis techniques, organizing them into categories and sub-categories. The outcomes of this analysis demonstrate that it is possible to integrate formal and informal learning practices in violin teaching at the CRPD. Moreover, it was shown that this merging of approaches had a beneficial effect on the students’ motivation, while simultaneously facilitating the advancement of technical, musical, cognitive, and social abilities. Furthermore, the broader implementation of informal learning methodologies an increased receptivity to diverse musical styles and a more nuanced understanding of the students’ social context and life experience contribute to a more multifaceted, meaningful and comprehensive learning process.