Expression in music is crucial, yet little is known about teaching music students how to acquire and improve this skill. Expression is what makes or creates new and insightful interpretations of common pieces. How well this skill is demonstrated makes the audience choose one musician over another. Unfortunately, most of the teaching focuses much on the technique of using an instrument rather than the expression. The same observation is seen in music instrument books where little or little is covered on the expressive aspects, further raising the question of whether it should be taught in class or ignored altogether. It can be argued that the mastery of playing expressively is a skill that manifests the musical talent of the musician, which cannot be learned. More so, knowledge about expression is implicit thus complicated to describe or deliver in words, making it challenging to teach in class.
Literature Review
Previous research underemphasized the teaching degree of expression since it is purported to be tacit. According to Karlson and Juslin (2008), music has the potential to elucidate and express various emotions and thoughts based on the performer. The emotional aspects and devices used can mimic life (Bonastre, Muñoz, & Timmers, 2017). Musical expression is a critical element of a musical performance that influences and affects the audience’s perception (Karlsons and Juslin, 2008). Meissner (2021) also supports the idea and states that expressivity in music is critical in enhancing the playing and listening experience of the audience. The expressive skills of musicians are the basis of the audiences preferring one artist over another. Meissner & Timmers (2019) posit that expressiveness is applied in defining the process a performer uses to identify and manipulate the moments in music. The authors further orate that musical expression allows the music to make sense to the audience. According to Karlsson and Juslin (2008), extensive research indicates that both music teachers and students believe that musical expression is essential. The authors further posit that little information is available concerning the teaching technique despite its importance. Therefore, a musician must master the ability of emotional expression. Brenner & Strand (2013) share the same opinions but further orate that teachers often neglect the aspect despite the importance of musical expression in performance.
The sentiments are echoed by Bonastre et al. (2017), who states that despite the importance of music expression, which automatically creates the idea that music teachers devote more time to ensure students develop the skill, evidence indicates that this is not the case. The sentiments are shared by Karlsson and Juslin (2008), who orate that despite its importance, little information is available concerning the teaching technique for music expression. Knowledge is critical in developing the teaching process, which will impact the students’ performance. Indeed, in the recent past, there has been growing interest in research concerning teaching in music which is essential in providing more insight into learning and influencing the outcomes of instrumental music learners. According to Meissner (2021), research needs to be conducted to identify effective methods that will assist students in learning expressiveness. However, McPhee (2011) posits that the research in this area has mainly focused on music teachers who self-taught in music pedagogy. Therefore, the focus has been on the teachers’ practice rather than a consideration of its educational outcomes. McPhee states that the most collective limitation of the teachers was the lack of planning and course. The author notes that teachers failed in the interpretation and musical expression. Brenner and Strand (2013) also posit that teachers often neglect music expression.
Similarly, Karlsson and Juslin (2008) state that instrumental teaching mainly focuses on technique rather than expression. Consideration on teaching music expression has been limited, and McPhee (2011) and Brenner and Strand (2013) state that this explains the reason for the skill being acquired late in the music development. Meissner (2021) further supports this and posits that there is less attention given to expressiveness and communication lessons when teaching instrumental music. Musical participation for most students focuses on the technical and thus creates insufficiencies in developing meaningful interaction with music. Meissner & Timmers (2019) take this further and state that the deprivation could contribute to ceasing music interaction. Ivaldi (2016) agrees with Karlsson and Juslin (2008) that the main contest in research has been the ability to tap into the intricate forces of the teaching process.
Fabian 2014 et al. and Meissner (2021) state that expert musicians use a variety of expressive tools to convey their expression of music work. The expressive tools used include the ancillary gestures, articulation, tempo, timing, intonation, among other music elements. The sentiments are echoed by Gabrielsson (2003), who states that musicians can influence various performance topographies to effectively and efficiently communicate phrases and harmonic structures. According to Brenner & Strand (2013), Bonastre et al. (2017), and Meissner & Timmers (2019), it is essential to consider music as an intellectual narrative with a character. This will help the performer devise structures that are perceived in music to solve a sequence of expressive problems, consequently creating a definitive performance. Therefore, modulation of various expressive devices can mould the discernment of emotion in music. However, Gabrielsson (2003) states that the awareness of emotion in music is based on the interaction of the ability of music to express itself and the influence of the contextual information on the mind of the listener. Meissner (2021), conversely, notes that despite the plausibility of the idea, it cannot be useful for the instruction of teaching and learning expressiveness. Thus, learners require metaphors denoting emotions, moods, or characters to develop their understanding and elucidation of the works they study.
Fabian et al. 2014 state that expressive music performance is categorised by expressive intensity and musical tension. Meissner (2021) supports the idea by stating that musicians can practice a sense of forwarding movement when playing if the music has a track and the performance is going well. On the contrary, if the expression fails, the musicians may feel that the music is static, and both the performer and the listeners can lose focus. Therefore, the tension of music and the forward movement had a significant influence on the perceived expressive intensity of a performance.
Brenner and Strand (2013) highlight a significant gap in the literature concerning expression, which fails to provide the meaning of the term. In the same regard, Meissner & Timmers (2019) point out that research treats expression as a single unit, and the quality is considered vaguely mysterious. Mcphee (2011) shares the same sentiments and states that research on music expression fails to focus on the consideration of whether the students have an understanding of what it means or what they are doing. The lack of serious consideration of the aspects being expressed and how they are expressive provides a false illusion that there is just a single way of performing expressively. Therefore, it is evident that teachers have significant shortcomings in teaching interpretation and expression.
According to Meissner & Timmers (2019), music expression being neglected in teaching could be linked to the idea that it is a talent and, therefore, innate. Meissner (2021) supports the vision and states that teaching expressiveness is complex since the knowledge is intuitive. Karlsson and Juslin (2008) state that the most important things to learn are also the most difficult to teach and point out that books for teaching music instruments do not include expressive aspects as part of the syllabus. Brenner & Strand (2013) share the same sentiments but further state that the skills and knowledge to perform are considered more implicit than the obvious, and it is thus challenging to convey. This brings about a significant debate concerning the strategies that should be applied to teach expressivity and ensure students better understand the concept. Therefore, they can easily employ it. Karlsson and Juslin (2008) posit that a significant debate among music teachers has been on the best strategies to teach expressivity or whether it should be taught at all. According to Mcphee (2011), the success of teaching music expressivity is dependent on motor production. Music expression is someone dependent on the experience achieved by a musician so the physical skills can become fully automated in the motor memory.
Therefore, it is challenging to teach music expression when basic skills are being learned. However, Karlsson and Juslin (2008) state that implicit strategies may be less effective in teaching expressiveness. McPhee 2011 states that it seems complicated for a master model to be used as a strategy for enabling students to create personal meaning to the making of their music. Moreover, many students may question the essence of their musicality if the teachers mainly focus on the method at the cost of the meaning of music. This further highlights the importance of teaching music expression. Therefore, Mcphee 2011 and Meissner (2021) recommend that music teachers refocus their teaching strategies to support the students in the hearing, interpretation, and creation of musical expressions of emotions.
According to Brenner & Strand (2013), teachers apply a variety of strategies in teaching music expression. The authors, however, state that the choice of techniques used had little importance in ensuring students acquire a proper understanding of the style. Meissner (2017), Brenner & Strand (2013), Meissner & Timmers (2019) share the same opinion, but further state that the inclusion of strategies that focus on ensuring young learners can create and attach personal meaning in the making of their music can be very beneficial to the art of teaching musical expressions. Researchers and music teachers must address these issues for practical application of strategies for teaching expressiveness which will positively impact the performance of instrumental students in teaching.
Brenner & Strand (2013) orate that the strategies available for teaching music expression include the choice and use of vocabulary, the numerous forms of modeling, and the general organization and application approaches. Teachers use metaphors, aural modeling, verbal direction, and a focus on the emotions felt to provide students with information concerning musical expression. Bonastre et al. (2017), on the other hand, are of the opinion that heightened groupings and accent patterns positively impact the performance of a music structure, making it more expressive. Learning and experience in music are essential in allowing the performer to make decisions on the performance of accents and groupings (Brenner & Strand, 2013). However, Meissner, H. (2017) has a contrary opinion where he states that deviations in the dynamics, articulation, and tone quality might be termed as mistakes by the audiences rather than expressive gestures. In contrast with Bonastre et al. (2017), Meissner (2021) denotes that it is impossible to have one single prototypical presentation of a composition. Fabian et al. 2014 supports the sentiments and explains that it is because there can be different appropriate interpretations within stylistic constraints. Therefore, teachers should encourage students to imitate and advance their understanding of a musical work, which varies subject to the situation and the performer. Gabrielsson (2003) states that teachers must assist their learners in developing a sense of expressiveness during the learning process. The theory and practice of teaching expressiveness are predisposed by the understanding of music, its elucidation, and performance. Meissner (2021), therefore, states that it is essential to ensure there is an understanding of the concepts. Gabrielsson (2003) refers to a previous study that postulated that children who lacked explicit instruction had limited knowledge of their music and did not consider the aspects of expressionism. Therefore, teachers need to ensure they effectively guide their students to polish their performance. Mcphee (2011) supports the same sentiments with his study, mainly focused on high school students. He, therefore, states that for music students in high school, it is easier for them to understand the difference in expression when playing two different instruments. Still, the consideration of expressivity achieved by their performance takes time, and some students only pick it up later.
According to Meissner & Timmers (2019), the dimension to be addressed in helping students develop skills in music expressionism are essential questions that need to be addressed. The sentiments are shared by Meissner (2017), who states that the lack of explicit meaning attached to expressiveness makes it difficult for teachers to determine the areas that should be covered when helping learners to develop the skills when performing. Brenner & Strand (2013) also states that there are significant questions that are linked with the focus areas teachers are required to consider and the dimensions that are readily available to children. The authors, therefore, indicate the existence of issues with determining the appropriateness of a teaching strategy to a group of learners, which is influenced by the age of the learners. Additionally, Meissner (2017) posits that there is a significant issue related to the relationship between the definition of music expressiveness by practitioners and the one derived from research sources. Meissner & Timmers (2019) also purport that the existing disconnect between the beliefs of teachers and their pedagogy indicates significant gaps that should be addressed to have a better understanding of the teaching practice.
Ivaldi (2016) states that conversation analysis should be applied in achieving micro-analysis of the composite nature of the music lesson interface. The methods use both psychological and sociological tactics to language and social relations based on the structure of a conversation, its organization, and the student’s response. The method will be effective since it involves communication, and thus it is less vulnerable to the over-interpretation of data. Meissner & Timmers (2019) state that technique, interpretation, and creativity are central to the content teachers apply in instructing the students. Content analysis will therefore be a practical theory used in formulating effective strategies for teaching expressivity. Conversation analysis is an effective strategy that will allow us to see how learning and performing are rooted in the structure of the pedagogical interaction. Ivaldi (2016) further states that conversation analysts are concerned in data collected without researchers’ interference. Therefore, the data is collected from mundane settings, and thus, it can provide accurate data on the teaching of music expression. The sentiments are supported by Gabrielsson (2003), who stated that positive assessment could influence the interaction between students and teachers. Contrary to these sentiments, Bonastre et al. (2017) state that students may interpret teachers’ assessment delays as a negative evaluation, and repeated questions indicate a failed answer. Ivaldi (2016) highlights a significant issue with the distinction between understanding and knowing. Teachers provide a positive evaluation based on the students’ demonstration of knowing in distinction to their considerate and doing, resulting from negative assessments (Meissner & Timmers 2019).
Teachers can re-enact students’ performance and can therefore effectively provide feedback on the areas that require improvement. It is paramount for the bodily quotations to be displaced immediately after the improper presentation, encouraging modification in the consequent version (Gabrielsson, 2003). The student’s response to the bodily corrective will then provide the teacher with information on whether the student acquired an understanding of the instruction. Ivaldi (2016) posits that the interaction during a music lesson offers a wide range of pedagogical practices that can be studied. He further states that conversation analysis provides an opportunity to analyse each technique and identify its differences. McPhee (2011), on the other hand, highlights the shortcomings of the teachers where he states that instrumental teachers fail in providing students with strategies that enable them to understand and generate expressive interpretations that are important to themselves. Meissner & Timmers (2019) argue that teachers do not address all realms of musical expression, and creativity is of least addressed during instructions concerning the structure of music.
Expressiveness is considered necessary, but the techniques applied in teaching students vary based on the teachers’ pedagogy and the student’s response to the instructions provided (Bonastre et al. 2017). Meissner (2017) states that expressivity is the student’s bodily fluidity of movement and the degree of connectedness to the device. The most accessible instrument that expressivity can be practiced is mainly considered to be the voice since it is within the body. Brenner & Strand (2013) support the idea that they purport that a musically expressive body is connected to the instrument. Thus, it is essential to teach the lesson as early as possible. Similarly, Gabrielsson (2003) discourses that physical freedom needs to be developed for the audience to connect with the music. Therefore, teachers must ensure they apply strategies that will assist students in developing physical independence.
Research in the area would effectively define expressivity and develop theories that can guide teachers in teaching expression. This would also be effective in devising strategies that are effective in teaching expressivity that can be applied by all teachers and have guaranteed success for learners of all ages and instruments. Research would also be effective in describing the nature of the existing teaching strategies to determine the merits and demerits of each. This would effectively address the current gaps in literature while ensuring that the approach applied would be beneficial to both the students and their teachers. The improvement of music expression teaching depends on obtaining the information concerning the current techniques applied.
Conclusion
Nonetheless, the literature gap is highlighted by the scarcity of information regarding the strategies applied in teaching expressive music performance. There is a need for further research to clearly explain the meaning of music expressivity, especially for instrumental students. Students and teachers both require a clear understanding of its definition and components for them to integrate it into their performance effectively. Teachers should also pay more attention to teaching expression during the initial stages of learning to allow the student to achieve healthy growth. It is also evident that younger students have a more challenging time understanding the meaning of expressivity and its importance in performance which could be influenced by the motor skills and memory at that level. Therefore, research should focus on providing information on the most effective techniques that can be applied by music teachers who are dealing with children and young adults. All aspects of music should be learned as a process. Various theories should be applied to guide the teaching process and ensure music expression is given as much attention as the technical aspect of learning an instrument. Additionally, it has been highlighted that there is a need for music teachers to provide their students with enough room for making their musically expressive selections rather than dictating the tactic to a student.
References
Bonastre, C., Muñoz, E., & Timmers, R. (2017). Conceptions about teaching and learning of expressivity in music among Higher Education teachers and students. British Journal of Music Education, 34(3), 277-290.
Brenner, B., & Strand, K. (2013). A case study of teaching musical expression to young performers. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(1), 80-96.
Fabian, D., Timmers, R., & Schubert, E. (Eds.). (2014). Expressiveness in music performance: Empirical approaches across styles and cultures. Oxford University Press, USA.
Gabrielsson, A. (2003). Music performance research at the millennium. Psychology of music, 31(3), 221-272.
Ivaldi, A. (2016). Students’ and teachers’ orientation to learning and performing in music conservatoire lesson interactions. Psychology of Music, 44(2), 202-218.
Karlsson, J., & Juslin, P. N. (2008). Musical expression: An observational study of instrumental teaching. Psychology of music, 36(3), 309-334.
McPhee, E. A. (2011). Finding the muse: Teaching musical expression to adolescents in the one-to-one studio environment. International Journal of Music Education, 29(4), 333-346.
Meissner, H. (2017). Instrumental teachers’ instructional strategies for facilitating children’s learning of expressive music performance: An exploratory study. International Journal of Music Education, 35(1), 118-135.
Meissner, H. (2021). Theoretical framework for facilitating young musicians’ learning of expressive performance. Frontiers in psychology, 3721.
Meissner, H., & Timmers, R. (2019). Teaching young musicians expressive performance: an experimental study. Music Education Research, 21(1), 20-39.
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