Hultberg_approaches To Music Notation

Music Education Research, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2002

Approaches to Music Notation: the printed score as a mediator of meaning in Western tonal tradition

CECILIA HULTBERG, Malmo¨ Academy of Music, University of Lund, Sweden (E-mail: [email protected])

In this exploratory, qualitative study, selected young musicians’ ways of taking musical meaning from notation were investigated. A socio-cultural theoretical perspective was applied, which means that relations between traditions and individuals were especially accounted for. From the results of the study, conclusions on functions of the printed score as a mediator of musical meaning were drawn, and a theory of instrumental training was developed. Two main approaches to music notation were found: a REPRODUCTIVE and an EXPLORATIVE APPROACH. In the REPRODUCTIVE APPROACH, the function of the printed score is that of an explicitly normative document, which prescribes how to play, and through which the performance is to be assessed. In the EXPLORATIVE APPROACH, the function is that of an invitation to seek out implicit meaning according to the musicians’ individual judgement, within a frame of agreed understanding in Western tonal music that they share with the composer. The conclusion was drawn, that strategies for coping with music notation, used in early levels of instrumental education, might strongly in uence musicians in the long term, however skilled and experienced they may be. Teaching methods based on a REPRODUCTIVE APPROACH to the printed score may even prevent professional musicians from applying musical understanding developed later. Based on these results, a theory of instrumental teaching was developed, meaning that teacher’s attitudes towards students, as well as towards music notation, might either support or obstruct students’ development. ABSTRACT

Introduction ‘Can you please show me how to play this?’ During my time as a music teacher in Germany and Sweden, many students have asked me similar questions. Even if they knew about conventions of expression and individual freedom of interpretation, they could not transfer their knowledge to other works of the same style, and decide how to ISSN 1461-380 8 print; ISSN 1469-9893 online/02/020185-1 4 Ó 2002 Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/146138002200001190 2

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play. Many colleagues teaching in different countries have reported similar difŽ culties amongst their students. This general nature of the problem was the reason why I decided to carry out research into young musicians’ ways of coping with notation. In this article an exploratory study of contemporary musicians’ ways of taking meaning from Western music notation is presented, and a theory of instrumental training based on the results is discussed. Literature Review Western tonal music represents a well-established tradition. It includes many periods and styles in which printed scores are expected to provide the necessary information to educated interpreters. Hence, not only the music tradition in itself had to be regarded in this study, but also traditions of coping with notation and learning how to do so. These considerations were of vital importance for the choice of perspective. In a socio-cultural theoretical perspective, the connection between traditions and individuals is of special interest (Sa¨ljo¨, 2000). This perspective is closely connected to Vygotsky’s theory of cultural history, in which individuals inherit the cultural history of the collective in which they live through the in uence of traditions (Vygotsky, 1971). Material or intellectual cultural tools function as bearers of meaning and mediators of the real world (Vygotsky, 1934/1981). Cultural tools may also consist of different kinds of gestures, such as bodily gestures and ways of behaving. In this, Vygotsky’s ideas are consistent with G.H. Mead’s theory of social inter-actionism, according to which we understand ourselves as social beings by means of implicitly imagining the attitudes of others towards us (Mead, 1934). Transferred to this study, notation has been regarded as a cultural tool mediating real music to its interpreters. Further, in uences on the musicians’ approaches to printed scores through gestures have been considered, such as the attitudes taken towards them by their earlier teachers (Hultberg, 2000). The idea of creativity as a way of living is central to Vygotsky’s theory of cultural history, according to which individuals learn how to use and master cultural tools and gestures through re-creation of experiences of the real world. Consequently, individual re-creation is part of the concept of creativity: a process in which intellect and emotion are connected (Vygotsky, 1934/1981). Applied to this study, the process of taking musical meaning from notation has been regarded as the musicians’ individual re-creation of their experiences of real music (Hultberg, 2000). Traditional Aspects of Music Notation Even if musical practice has changed between styles and periods in Western tonal tradition, a collection of conventions of expressions form a common frame, which is taken for granted if nothing is explicitly marked. For instance, the time signature and the general tempo/character designation set a frame of expression. Discords generally cause an increase of tension, and the articulation of a part is in uenced by the tempo and the register in which it is written, as well as by melodic and rhythmic patterns (Coker, 1972; Hultberg, 2000; Nielsen, 1976; Quantz, 1752). Many composers have not marked conventional expression, partly because they expected interpreters to be familiar with it, and partly because they left space for them to present individual divergent interpretations (Hultberg, 2000; Quantz, 1752; Sloboda, 1985). According to the maxim ‘learn the conventions before you break them’, interpreters familiar with musical practice have been regarded as qualiŽ ed to exceed the conventional frame of expression. Thus,

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essential qualities and aspects of a composition are presented in music notation, but not the complete sounding music. Traditions of Using Notation in Instrumental Training In instrumental training, two main traditions developed with different strategies for coping with music notation. In the practical-empirical method, which prevailed until the middle of the 19th century, beginner students learned how to play their instrument by ear. Imitating passages and common thematic patterns played by their teachers, they learned how to express themselves in music. Only as these were extended to musical ‘sentences’ was music notation introduced. The repertoire played was well adapted to the students’ ability and they were encouraged to interpret the music independently. The teachers supervised as much as needed, supporting the pupils’ development as musicians and instrumentalists (Geiringer, 1969; Gellrich, 1992; Gellrich & Parncutt, 1999; Hultberg, 2000). Thus, in terms of Vygotsky, the students inherited a tradition of musical practice. The social and technical development during the early 19th century caused great changes in instrumental training. An increasing interest in playing instruments made it difŽ cult to Ž nd well-educated teachers. New printing technologies made printed scores available to many of the new amateur musicians. Various editions, with expression markings representing individual musicians’ interpretations were published, as well as technical exercises. In instrumental training, these now often replaced the musical ‘sentences’ played by ear as a result of which the focus changed from musical development to technical progress. In order to improve technical skills, many students now played repertoire of a higher level than they could master independently. Instead, they had to follow the editor’s markings and their teachers’ instructions. Only after these pupils had acquired high technical skills could they concentrate on their musical development (Gellrich, 1992; Gellrich & Parncutt, 1999; Hultberg, 2000). Hence, in terms of Vygotsky, most students who did not reach this high level inherited a tradition of instrumental training. To a large extent, this remained separate from musical practice since little space was left for individual freedom in the interpretation. Today, aspects of both methods are combined in different ways. Great musicians like Alfred Brendel (1977) and Daniel Barenboim (1991) have pleaded for strategies similar to those of the practical-empirical method. McPherson and Gabrielsson (2002) found that creative aural activities are connected to motivation and efŽ cient musical improvement, and that the capacity to play new repertoire is of great importance for continuing to play as an adult amateur. Yet, in Western music, education methods focusing on technical skills were found in many separate studies (Bra¨ndstro¨m & Wiklund, 1995; Gellrich, 1996; Nielsen, 1996; McPherson & Gabrielsson, 2002). The results of recent research on practising also indicate a focus on instrumental-technical aspects. In a study on learning strategies, Graabek-Nielsen (1998) found that advanced organ students concentrated mainly on solving instrumental-technical problems. Earlier studies on practising showed that beginners tend to give priority to playing correctly before they focus on musical expression (Hallam, 1992, 1997). These Ž ndings need to be related to the outcome of studies by Jørgensen (1997), which showed that students’ practise strategies are strongly in uenced by their teachers and their institutional learning context. To summarise, in recent research, different aspects focused on when musicians at various levels of expertise practice, and strategies for learning have been

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investigated. However, although the teacher’s strong in uence on students has been conŽ rmed, different ways of comprehending musical meaning in the printed scores still remain rather unexplored. Purpose of the Study The intention of my study was to contribute more knowledge about how musicians take meaning from music notation of sections or entire pieces of music in the Western tonal tradition. No particular period was especially selected and conclusions on functions of printed scores as mediators of musical meaning were to be drawn from the interpreters’ actions. The Study Taking meaning from notation of entire sections or works requires practice and re ection. Consequently, explorative interviews needed to be included in the study. General categories of using notation could not be established in advance, but needed to be generated from the collected data. These conditions correspond to the criteria for qualitative studies (Kvale, 1997; Starrin, 1994) which is why a qualitative method chosen for this project. In order to satisfy the requirement of the harmonic dimension of tonal music, I decided to direct this study at pianists. Eleven musicians, six music students and Ž ve professional musicians and piano teachers were invited to participate. The participants represented different countries and traditions of music education, as well as professional orientation. Two of the students were preparing their entrance tests for higher music education. The others were studying at music academies. Two of them attended the Swedish IE programme (instrumental and ensemble teaching) while the others attended the performers’ programme. However, irrespective of how they had been educated, all participants were capable of interpreting printed scores independently—an important criterion in this study. In order to consider in uences from both traditions involved in this process, music education and musical practice, I asked the participants to perform one tonal work of their own choice, as well as three short pieces that I composed especially for this study, and therefore were unknown to them. In a background study, piano teachers at the Academy of Music in Malmo¨ had examined the musical relevance of these pieces. They do not represent any speciŽ c period but are based on simple ‘musical sentences’ that may be related to different contexts. Interpreting the freely chosen pieces, the participants could present themselves as musicians. Preparing these, their strategies of coping with the printed scores would directly (students) or indirectly (professionals) have been in uenced by their teachers’ advice. When playing unknown pieces, the musicians would have to rely completely on their personal experiences (the participating students’ teachers had agreed not to support the process of interpretation). These pieces, which caused no technical problems to them, had different characters, time signatures and part-writing structures. Besides the indispensable marking for a main character—Allegro, Andante and Allegretto—they were notated without any expression markings. They were sent to the participants about 2 months in advance with an invitation letter, which also informed them about the settings of the study and the procedure of participation. The musicians were asked to begin with

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their freely chosen pieces and to comment on the printed score of each piece after having played it. The data collection included three stages: each musician (1) performed a piece of music, after which he/she (2) commented on the printed score, sitting at the piano. These two stages, which were video-recorded, were repeated with each piece of music. Then, while viewing his/her own video recording, each musician was given an opportunity to (3) evaluate his/her performances and comments. This last stage was audio-recorded. All sessions took place in November and December 1997. Each musician decided when to make the recording. No time limit was set, and because of the uncertainty of duration, there was not only a room for playing and commenting reserved, but also a convenient place for a break. Before recording, the participants were given an opportunity to warm up on the piano, for as long as they wished. They were also informed that they could stop a performance and start again if they wished. In order to disturb the recording as little as possible I stayed beside the camera during the playing sections, watching and listening. No interview questions or categories were set up in advance, but the participants commented freely. However, unclear statements as well as gestures and played examples were followed up with additional questions. A content analysis of the data was undertaken. The statements in each interview were double-checked and compared to the interpretation actually played on the video. As expected, I gained knowledge of how the participants referred to conventions in tonal music, but the data also formed patterns I had not expected to Ž nd. Thus, the data shed new light on how the musicians used printed scores. Results Two main approaches were identiŽ ed in which the origin of the musical meaning differed. The editor’s special interpretation of the composer’s intention was mediated in a REPRODUCTIVE APPROACH, while the composer’s possible intention was mediated in an EXPLORATIVE APPROACH. According to this divergence, the roles of the musicians as well as the functions of printed scores diverged. In a REPRODUCTIVE APPROACH, the musicians restricted their observations to phenomena to which special meaning was assigned by means of performance markings. They concentrated on visual observation of instructions on how to play, through which a horizontal/temporal dimension of attention dominated. Through playing (motor observation) and listening (aural observations), they assessed how they managed to follow the instructions. Consequently, motor and aural observation served as the means for executing and controlling the attempts to reproduce the prescribed interpretation visually observed. Thus, the musicians acted on behalf of a superior interpreter, the editor, whose interpretation they tried to reproduce. Some of them even disregarded their own impression of musical meaning. In marked contrast, in an EXPLORATIVE APPROACH, the musicians participated in the entire process of transforming the composer’s intention to an actual sounded performance of the music. They explored the printed score relying on their personal judgement

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and familiarity with musical practice even if this meant that they had to disregard the editor’s instructions. In this exploration, they paid attention to horizontal/temporal and vertical/tonal dimensions; and coordinated observations of visual, motor, aural and intuitive orientations in different ways. Hence, in an EXPLORATIVE APPROACH, each musician’s individual understanding of conventions of expression was at the core of the interpretation. Reproductive Approach An idea corresponding to the description of a REPRODUCTIVE APPROACH was expressed by Elisabeth, a music education student, as she commented on the dynamics in her freely chosen piece, the Ž rst movement of Sonata G major, K.V. 183 by W.A. Mozart, edition Peters. Yes, you could ask yourself that. You play a lot because it says as it does. If you would think up more by yourself, then there are sort of many ways in which you can do it, that I think would be equally good. Re ecting that various individually created interpretations might be acceptable as well, Elisabeth presumed that these would mostly not be realised. Her re ection was based on her experiences during years of learning, and observations that students do not try out their own ideas of expression, because of a tradition to follow performance markings as instructions in order to reproduce the edited version. In Daniela’s re ections on the middle section of her freely chosen piece, Romance in A minor by Clara Schumann, the subordination of motor and aural observations to visual observations of performance markings was evident. A p marking at the beginning of the section Ž rst caught her attention. Besides a diminuendo sign in the following bar and the instruction on playing crescendo in the middle of the section, no further markings were added. That should be very weak, and I don’t think I quite managed it now. There is really a bit of time before the crescendo begins, here, when about half the page has come. A difŽ cult thing is the bass of the third staff, that you don’t [plays the left hand in order to show]. You easily play the thumb a little stronger. When one [tone] is to be repeated all the time, you have to be careful about it, in order to make it [plays as she wishes to realise it] very weak. Daniela, an established performer, criticised how she followed the instruction on dynamics. Playing (motor observation) and listening (aural observation) to a difŽ cult passage, her attention was directed towards corresponding to the instruction (visual observation). Motorically, she carried the instruction through which she had discerned visually. Aurally, she controlled if the outcome corresponded to the visual instruction in the printed score. Since no markings on expression had been added to the notes in the prescribed pieces, I assumed that the musicians would comment exclusively on how to comprehend implicit musical meaning. However, to my surprise two musicians paid special attention to the lack of markings. One of them was Karen, a young piano teacher. She commented on the Allegro: Well, here I added phrasing markings myself, because it is difŽ cult to … it wasn’t complete, this printed score—and then it was easier to write some down. I don’t know if they are musically correct.

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Karen re ected on the information not provided since the lack of markings caused her problems with the notation. Once she had added the performance markings they turned into instructions, which she followed accurately although she felt uncertain whether they were ‘musically correct’. In a later statement, Karen commented that she had learned to respect performance markings highly as demanding instructions for expression, articulation and touch. Most other musicians of all levels participating in the study also made similar statements. All of these pianists also used a REPRODUCTIVE APPROACH in some of their comments on the printed scores. Explorative Approach Re ections on implicit musical meaning might be seen as a determining indication of an EXPLORATIVE APPROACH. Opening with a formal and harmonic overview of his freely chosen piece, Preludium op. 13: No. 3, G major, by A. Scriabin, Charles re ected exclusively on this kind of musical phenomena: Well, as I see the structure of the piece, you can split it into four parts. There is an exposition until the beginning of the third staves. Then the [theme] comes in another key, which makes me play it differently, that is, a nuance stronger [plays the ending of the Ž rst part and the beginning of the second], G major goes to E  at major there, which is not especially close to G major. That’s a change you need to emphasise so the listener pays attention to it. Charles, a Ž rst year student of music performance, commented on an unexpected key as an indication of a higher dynamic level, and the interpreter’s responsibility towards their audience. This is consistent with a common convention, mentioned for instance by Quantz (1752). According to this, unexpected events are to be emphasised in order to make these accessible to listeners. In marked contrast to the dominance of visual observations in reproductive statements, various combinations of visual, motor, aural and emotional observation were made in explorative statements. Charles did so as he played and commented on Scriabin’s Preludium, but this became still more evident in Beatrice’s opening comments on the prescribed Allegretto. Like Charles, she studied music performance. First she played and commented on her interpretation by referring to implicit indications of expression connected to part-writing and register. She maintained that it is ‘… natural—to play as the notes say’. Then she re ected on an alternative interpretation of the Allegretto as a whole: This variation [Allegretto] tends to become a little Russian, if you wish so. I don’t know if you have heard it, but I will play it once more and you may listen. At Ž rst you might not notice it especially well [plays the beginning], but if you listen, you will hear that it has a very, very Russian succession of notes [plays]. So, if you get into that swing which I made now, in the entire piece—well I made it more solid with more of that kind of swing, which you may develop from the harmonies themselves—it will very quickly change its character. Beatrice, who was born and brought up in Estonia, had revealed that the musical gestures visually observed might indicate an interpretation quite different from the ‘natural’ one. She emphasised that listening (aural orientation) and playing (motor orientation) were

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required in order to reveal this alternative character. Maintaining that a speciŽ c swinging feeling (emotional and intuitive orientation) developed ‘from the harmonies themselves’ would be a presumption for achieving it, she implicitly connected this exploration with a familiarity with Russian music. With the image of a Russian character in mind, she had re-explored the music. The impact of individual experience on the exploration of implicit musical meaning was further emphasised by some of the musicians who decided to disregard the editors’ instructions, and to give priority to their personal judgement instead. Peter, a piano teacher at an academy of music, even changed the notated text. Just before playing S. Lindberg’s Meditation (on a Swedish folk tune) he added a silent chord extracted from the theme, and ended each phrase with a fermata during which the sound of that chord remained. Stating that ‘… you have got that licence’, he combined his knowledge about traditions of coping with notation of this style with his imagination of pastoral ‘mountain surroundings ’, which issued from the theme. Thus, individual musical judgements made these musicians extend their creativity while exploring the printed scores. An EXPLORATIVE APPROACH was represented in many comments made by all participants. However, the degree of exploration differed according to their individual familiarity with conventions of expression. A thorough exploration of the printed score was characterised by a complex coordination of observation through different senses and intuition/emotion, as well as re ection. Shifts of Approaches Most musicians shifted between both approaches. Shifts from a REPRODUCTIVE to an EXPLORATIVE APPROACH were connected to individual understanding of conventions of expression. For instance, in her opening comment on her freely chosen piece, F. Chopin’s Sonata in B  at minor, Beatrice referred exclusively to markings on dynamics as explanations of how to play without mentioning the actual notes. However, she then re ected: So actually my task is to make it work, and understand what he wants, and to what degree these fortes and pianos are used. … You should listen to the chords you play, which colouring the chord has, and which jumps you do, because that’s where the music is. Still following the expression suggested by the performance markings, Beatrice also explored the printed score in order to comprehend fully the musical intention. Thus, she used an EXPLORATIVE APPROACH based upon a REPRODUCTIVE one. Her understanding of conventions of expression was a prerequisite for this process. Unlike Beatrice, Daniela shifted from an explorative to a reproductive approach as she commented on C. Schumann’s Romance. Having described its structure and her idea of interpretation, Daniela re ected that the musical expression of its Ž rst section ‘goes without saying, because it exists in the music’. Consequently, she had played with more shades of nuances than were explicitly marked. As I asked her to explain what actually caused these changes, she said ‘I guess nuances are things that you maybe, if you’re allowed to, I don’t know, add emotionally.’ To my surprise, Daniela, an experienced young concert pianist, hesitated about whether she was allowed to add nuances or not. My question might have awoken the experience of a lesson, in which a teacher asks a student to comment on her interpretation. It made Daniela question her musical judgement.

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Like the reproductive comments in general, the shifts from an EXPLORATIVE to a were characterised by a respectful attitude towards the printed performance markings. In some cases, this attitude even made experienced piano teachers and performers disregard their personal ideas of interpretation. REPRODUCTIVE APPROACH

Functions of the Printed Scores Based on the participant’s performances and comments, the primary function of a printed score in a REPRODUCTIVE APPROACH was found to be that of an explicitly normative document in which the composer’s intention is correctly decoded. The normative function concerns a prescriptive and a controlling aspect. It provides instructions on how to solve a deŽ ned task: the reproduction of the editor’s interpretation of the composer’s intention. These instructions also serve as tools for assessing the musician’s interpretation. Thus, being the starting point as well as the goal of the process of interpretation, the printed score directs the interpreter’s actions. In an EXPLORATIVE APPROACH, music notation serves the primary function of a document providing incomplete, coded information on the composer’s possible musical intention within a normative frame settled by the discourse in music. Each interpreter needs to decode the general musical message and complete the missing information through investigation of implicit meaning. Thus, the printed score is a source for exploration based on the musician’s individual familiarity with conventions of expression. The musician’s earlier experiences from practice of using music notation in uence its secondary function. In uenced by experiences from a REPRODUCTIVE APPROACH, the function may on the one hand be restricted to an exclusively temporal dimension, and on the other hand be restrictive, breaking the musician’s self-conŽ dence. In uenced by experiences from an EXPLORATIVE APPROACH, it may be extended to further exploration, and thus challenge and extend the musician’s creativity. Discussion As mentioned earlier, I had expected to learn more about how these pianists refer to musical conventions. Hence, it surprised me that reproductive statements were made by most of these experienced musicians, all of whom were thoroughly familiar with conventions of expression. This major Ž nding made me aware of a wider perspective of coping with music notation: the complex long-term consequences of traditions of teaching. Traditions and Individuals The reproductive statements and the descriptions made by some musicians of being taught to obey explicit markings rather than to develop personal musical judgement, exemplify attitudes adopted in instrumental training forming patterns of behaviour in students’ future life. Connected to earlier research results, indicating that young students as well as adult amateurs give up playing their instruments because they could not cope with new literature on their own (see Literature Review), these Ž ndings make it relevant to discuss implications for instrumental training in general. The long-term in uence of teaching methods found in this study sheds new light on Jørgensen’s (1997) Ž ndings on teachers’ in uence. It is also consistent with Vygotsky’s

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A)

FIG. 1. Teacher-centre d education —reproductio n of the marked expression .

(1930, 1934) and Mead’s (1934) theories concerning the in uence of early experiences on social interaction. In instrumental training this means that students implicitly take up their teachers’ attitudes in all kinds of communication: in their behaviour towards them, as well as setting and assessing tasks. Accordingly, the context itself and the entire social practice used in it will in uence the student’s development. Thus, in contexts of coping with music notation as a cultural tool (Vygotsky, 1934) in instrumental training, teachers need to consider relations between teachers, students and printed scores. A Theory of Instrumental Training Based on the results of this study a theory of instrumental training was developed. It represents three main models of teaching—A, B and C—which might be regarded as different sub-cultures in Western music education. In the following presentation, the correspondence of these models with Western music tradition will be discussed. A. The teachers’ approach to the printed score is reproductive. Without considering a socio-cultural context, they take musical meaning from the performance markings which represent a strictly normative interpretation. The printed score directs the actions of the teachers who teach the students how to follow the markings appropriately. The students’ initiative is not required since they have to follow instructions on how to play in order to correspond to the correct execution of the musical message transmitted through the printed score. In this one-way-communication, the students will learn about explicit meaning of markings, but not about implicit meaning of the actual notes, indicated by conventions of expression (Figure 1). Since the prescribed interpretation remains without any context, it is difŽ cult for the students to transfer the knowledge achieved in one piece of music to another one. Thus, the students inherit the cultural history of the tradition of instrumental training represented by their teacher rather than a tradition of music. B. In this model, the teachers are familiar with established interpretations of Western tonal repertoire. This constitutes a contextual frame that to some extent includes individual licence in interpretation of the printed score. Within the frame settled by the tradition of performance, the teachers take musical meaning mainly from the markings and make their own individual decisions concerning how to interpret these.

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B1)

FIG. 2. Teacher-centre d education —reproductio n of the teacher’s model.

The teachers’ familiarity with practice of interpretation also enables them to give meaning to the printed score within the acceptable space of individual licence. Thus, they participate in a dialogue with the printed score. Based on their understanding these teachers are representatives of certain traditions of interpretation. They teach the listening students how to understand the performance markings, and exemplify this by their own interpretations, which—to some extent—may diverge from those of the editors. In a one-way communication between teachers and students, the teachers act as indispensable decoders who make the printed musical messages accessible to the students. Thus, conditions for receiving musical messages through notation are mainly regarded. Since the students are introduced to a tradition of interpreting certain works studied with their teachers, they inherit the cultural history of the tradition of interpretation represented by their teacher (B1; Figure 2). Even if little space may be left for the beginner students’ initiative, this may increase on higher levels of education. After years of studies, the students may develop musical independence by means of growing into practice of interpretation. This process may result in a dialogue between teachers and students, in which both of them exchange ideas of how to understand musical meaning (B2; Figure 3). However, to many young pupils this will be of little relevance, since they might give up playing before reaching the independence referred to here. Taking up their teachers’ attitudes, the students may get the impression that they are not capable of coping with printed scores without the support of their teachers. C. Here, the teachers are familiar with traditions of coping with music notation among composers as well as interpreters. This familiarity enables them to use the printed score as a tool for communicating with the composer within the frame of musical practice. This means that they take explicit musical meaning from markings, and implicit meaning from the actual notes, thus individually giving musical meaning to the printed score as well. They adapt the repertoire to the students’ capacity and tell them about how composers and performers coped with notation in the style in question. In a dialogue with the students, the teachers take their ideas into account, and exemplify musical practice through ideas of their own. Thus, they invite their students to participate as co-creative interpreters in a communication with the composer, in which conditions for sending and receiving musical messages through the printed scores are regarded (C; Figure 4).

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B2)

FIG. 3. Student-centre d education —exploratio n of practice of interpretation .

C)

FIG. 4. Student-centre d education —exploratio n of implicit musical meaning.

In this model, the students develop an individual musical judgement on which they can rely in musical practice, irrespective of the level of music education. Adopting the teachers’ attitudes, the pupils develop a habit of independently exploring implicit indications of expression. Thus, they inherit the cultural history of co-creative musicianship in Western tonal music tradition. To summarise, according to this discussion, familiarity with musical practice is a presumption for coping independently with the printed score as a cultural tool in Western tonal music. To a large extent, the conditions for acquiring this traditional knowledge depend on teaching methods and teachers’ attitudes towards students as well as towards music notation. Depending on these attitudes the students’ development might be either supported or obstructed. In order to introduce students, at all levels, to Western tonal music tradition, and to support their musical and personal growth, instrumental teachers need to be familiar with general practice of notation and interpretation of different periods. They also need to respect their students and consider their ideas in mutual communication. REFERENCES BARENBOIM, D. (1991) In: M. LEWIN (Ed.) Daniel Barenboim. A Life in Music (New York, Charles Scribner). BRENDEL , A. (1977) Nachdenken u¨ber Musik (Mu¨nchen, R. Piper & Co Verlag). BRA¨NDSTRO¨M, S. & WIKLUND , C. (1995) TvaÊ musilpedagogisk a fa¨lt. En studie om kommunal musikskola och musikla¨rarutbildnin g [Two music-pedagog y Ž elds: a study of municipal music schools and teacher education] (UmeaÊ , Pedago-gisk a Institutionen , UmeaÊ Universitet). COKER, W. (1972) Music & Meaning (New York, Macmillan). GEIRINGER , K. (1969) Johann Sebastia n Bach (Stockholm , Bokfo¨rlaget Pan/Nordstedts).

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