A Case Study of Teaching Musical Expression to Young Performers

What does it mean to teach musical expression to child performers? Is it teaching how to interpret a piece of music “correctly,” or is there more involved? In this case study, we explored the beliefs and practices of five teachers who specialized in teaching children to perform in a variety of musical performance areas, including violin, cello, piano, guitar, voice, and musical theater. To discover their pedagogy for teaching musical expressivity, we asked the initial questions, “How do these teachers define musical expression?” “What are the characteristics of an expressive performance for children?” and “Can musical expression be taught to children?” Data were collected through interviews with teachers and students, observations of lessons with children, and archival materials about each teacher’s studio practice. Transcripts of interviews, artifacts, and observed lessons were analyzed through emergent category coding and axial coding, using member checking and negative case analysis. Findings are discussed in relation to extant literature. Implications for teacher training and future research are explored.