INCLUSION OF TRADITIONAL AZOREAN SONGS IN MUSICAL LEARNING - INFORMAL PRACTICES IN VIOLIN TEACHING

Abstract

Portuguese Traditional Music is often overlooked in formal teaching at music schools in Portugal. Furthermore, there has been little research into its use in the classroom and the informal learning practices associated with it. Thus, an Educational Project was developed and implemented in 2021/2022, at the Regional Conservatory of Ponta Delgada (CRPD), involving 7 violin students aged between 9 and 14 years and focused on learning songs from the Traditional Music of the Azores. These songs were prepared in class using informal learning practices – auditory learning and analysis, the use of recordings, memorisation without the use of sheet music, improvisation, etc. – and presented at a concert. Additionally, a research study was conducted to analyse the effects of such intervention on the motivation, learning and attitudes of the students, as well as the perceptions developed by the students, their parents, the teachers, and the general public involved in this experience. The study also aimed to assess the feasibility of combining formal and informal learning practices in violin teaching at the CRPD and to evaluate its implications for the preservation of regional cultural identity. To this end, qualitative data were collected, through direct observation of classes with field notes, audiovisual recordings, semi-structured interviews with the students, anonymous questionnaires to the parents and the audience present at the concert, and 27 violin teachers. This data was subjected to content analysis, namely by organising it into categories and sub-categories. The results show that the inclusion of Azorean Traditional Music, using informal learning practices, had a positive effect on the students' motivation, enhancing the development of technical, musical, cognitive, and social skills. In addition, the Azorean Traditional Music concert proved to be an effective means of disseminating and valuing the region's cultural heritage, boosting the students' identity development, and preserving the region's cultural identity.