Student teachers learning collective free music improvisation in a teacher preparation course
Authors:   , Ng Hoon Hong 
Published: November 2024

Collective free music improvisation (CFMI) develops music learners’ social relationships and identity (Burrows, 2004a; Sansom, 2007), communication skills (Kanellopoulos, 2007b; Sutton, 2001), musical skills and knowledge (Azzara et al., 1997), as well as creativity and technical skills (Koutsoupidou & Hargreaves, 2009; Moreira & Carvalho, 2010). It also engages diverse music learners from different cultures by tapping on their diversities in the music-making process (Lange, 2011). Despite its potential contributions to music learning, its negligence in schools is notable. This could be attributed to a lack of understanding of free improvisational practices and potential outcomes, and a lack of research, texts, and courses that provide teachers practical ways to design and facilitate free music improvisation lessons. With the intent of developing free music improvisation pedagogy relevant to Singapore’s Primary and Lower Secondary (PLS) music programme, this research examined the experiences of student teachers and myself as the instructor-facilitator in a CFMI teacher preparation course. In this course, music student teachers collaboratively developed free improvisational skills under me over six training sessions. They learnt to improvise freely based on a learning model derived from various literature on free improvisation and improvisation practices and pedagogy. Based on their experience learning CFMI in the course, they developed CFMI curriculum and pedagogical strategies for the PLS music programme. The research questions were: 1. How do participants learn to improvise collectively and freely in the CFMI course? 2. How do musical backgrounds and personal dispositions contribute to participants’ learning and performance of free music improvisation? 3. What is the value of CFMI in music teaching and learning from participants’ perspectives? 4. What recommendations do participants have for developing and facilitating CFMI curriculum for the PLS music programme in Singapore schools? The study utilized a qualitative case study design (Stake, 1995). The participants comprised nine pres
assistant
ervice music teachers in their final year of study at the National Institute of Education (NIE) and me as instructor and facilitator of the CFMI course. I conducted the study and analysed data by directly observing nuances in behaviours, thoughts, and feelings of the student teachers, and by reviewing data obtained through video and audio recordings, written surveys, and teaching resources. Constant comparative method of analysis (Glaser, 1965) guided the analysis for this research. This method generates and plausibly suggests (rather than provisionally tests) “many properties and hypotheses about a general phenomenon” to generate an integrated theory (Glaser, 1965, p.438). It aligns with my research purpose to generate preliminary theory on CFMI pedagogy based on participants’ experiences and interactions in the CFMI course. Through the analysis, a preliminary curriculum framework was created to guide the piloting of CFMI in PLS music programmes. This framework comprises four major components. The first component pertains to factors a teacher should consider before starting a CFMI programme. The second pertains to various pedagogical strategies to instruct and facilitate learners on their improvisational journeys. The third pertains to general curriculum considerations, including the role of practice sessions and the use of assessment. The final component pertains to enabling conditions that facilitate students’ growth as free improvisers, such as a safe environment and sufficient time to develop improvisational skills. Findings from this research inform music educators and researchers keen to implement and study CFMI in schools and teacher training colleges.