Exploration and improvisation: the use of creative strategies in instrumental teaching

摘要

In music lessons there are still predisposition toadopt some educational practices, where theteaching is still centered in the teacher, and thestudent is there to “imitate” and learn the musicexercises brought into class. By doing so the teacheris neglecting the student musical development asthere is a unidirectional skill transfer, and thestudent does not participate directly in the process.Therefore, using creative strategies in classmaybe a striking and important element, that canboth create student participation but also allowdifferent dynamics within the classroom.In music, instrumental classes share a set ofcommon skills to other music disciplines, in whichthe use of musical exploration and improvisationactivities can present in various ways. Theimportance of incorporating these activities inteaching students how to play an instrument, pointsto their individual needs and presents itself as avehicle to promote further technical and expressivedevelopmental skills.The present paper focuses on two case studies,with both students at the beginning of theirlearning.The study intend to demonstrate the impactof musical exploration and improvisation in thetechnical and musical evolution of the student withinthe context of studying the violoncello. The results’analysis led to a discussion that could serve as aproposal for strategies on teaching-learning to playan instrument.The paper concludes that the students, whoattend classes with the use of creative activities as ateaching strategy, obtain more emphatic results and success.