Directions of independent work in vocal education
Authors: Mykhailets V.V. 
Published: March 2020

Background. The modern practice of teaching and training the specialists of higher education, in particular, choral performance specialists, introduces new requirements to the content of education and organization of the educational process, emphasizing the importance and necessity of using the independent work of students in nowadays conditions. In this connection, there is a need to determine the directions of the independent work of students and to systematize this type of work in the educational process. Objectives. The purpose of the article is to define and theoretically substantiate all aspects of the independent work of students in the process of the vocal education for the further formation of their professional skills. Methods. To solve this task, the following methods were used: studying the state of the problem in the practice of the present (analysis of curricula content and educational and methodical literature); the analysis of academic progress and performing activity of the vocal students; the research and generalization of pedagogical experience. Results. In the vocal training, the independent work of students involves organizing their educational activities both during practice in the classroom and in the process of working outside the classroom in such a way as to get the intended result. Planning the independent work on solo singing allows finding the concrete ways of the development of vocal skills and criteria for evaluation in the professional training of a specialist. The essence of organization of the independent work of students in the process of learning singing is concluded in the creation and implementation of a specific system of tasks, which takes in account general didactic principles and the interdisciplinary interactions arising in the educational process in the formation of vocal abilities and skills. The planning of this work is carried out on the basis of both the focused activity of the teacher, who poses the necessary tasks and controls the results of their implementation, as well as the organization of the student’s own extra-curricular work, containing moments of introspection and self-assessment of the achieved results. So, the organization of the independent work of students in the process of singing education should be carried out necessarily taking into account the person-oriented approach. The independent work on solo singing is considered as a specific form of the educational activity of the student and is characterized by a number of the following psychological and pedagogical peculiarities. First, it is a continuation and extension of the vocal-performing activity in classroom organized expediently by the teacher, which stimulates students to the further professional work in the lessons-free time. In this case, the educational and cognitive activity of the student during his/her individual classes is called to act as a kind of the algorithm for the independent work on the preparation of the vocal concert program. Secondly, the student’s independent work on solo singing should be understood by him/her as a chosen and internally motivated activity, which includes: a) the awareness of the goals of his/her activities; b) the adoption or setting of a vocal-performing or vocal-methodical task; c) the self-organization in the distribution of the educational load in time; d) the adjustment of own work on the basis of self-control and self-esteem. Thirdly, the students’ independent work on solo singing should be a highly organized form of the educational activity, and the methods of its execution should be conditioned by the level of development a number of student’s personal qualities. These include: self-regulation, which involves a certain level of the self-awareness; an adequate self-esteem; active thinking; independence; time management skills; purposefulness; the complex of will qualities, as well as the so-called substantive self-regulation. An important indicator of the formation of the student’s substantive self-regulation is the availability of skills related to the definition of the goal and the final results of the proposed tasks. In determining the tasks for the independent work of students, it is necessary to cover several aspects: the complexity on theoretical and practical levels; the necessity to include tasks with increasing complexity, as well as use of interdisciplinary connections. The tasks for self-mastering of material should adhere to the following principles: 1) the principle of minimizing the level of the complexity and amount of scientific information, vocal exercises and compositions; 2) the principle of coherence of the content of the educational material for the independent work with the previously presented scientific information, studied vocal material during individual classes; the reflection in the content of essential information on the topic being studied, interdisciplinary connections, stylistic diversity of the vocal music; 3) the principle of the correspondence of the volume and the complexity of the selected vocal material to the real possibilities and individual characteristics of the students and to the time interval allocated in accordance with the curriculum; 4) the principle of the content-technological continuity between the forms and methods of independent study of the material by the students, the self-examination of vocal knowledge, skills and abilities. Also, the article deals with: a) the ways of organizing the independent work of students on solo singing; b) the plan of the independent work on a vocal composition; and c) the conditions for the effectiveness of the students’ independent work. Conclusion. So, the independent work on solo singing is considered as a specific form of the educational work of the student and is characterized as an activity that is purposeful, internally motivated, structured and adjusted by the student himself/herself. Its implementation involves a sufficient level of self-awareness, self-discipline, personal responsibility, and creativity of the learner, which allows one to consider the independent activities of students as a process of self-improvement and self-knowledge. Independent work is a necessary component of the vocational training of the singer and a specific form of his educational activity, which is characterized by certain psychological and pedagogical features, namely: - it organically complements and continues the vocal and performing activity during the individual lessons in the classroom, contributing to the unveiling of the student’s creative potential and its formation as a thinking artistic personality; - independent work should be perceived by a student as a chosen and internally motivated activity, since the development of the motivational sphere stimulates the growth of his professional interest in vocal performance and nurtures his/her ability to develop strategies for forming a system of vocal skills, hence, the strategies of success.