This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Papageorgi, I. Articles by Welch, G. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Perceptions and predictions of expertise in advanced musical learners

¹ Institute of Education, University of London
² Institute of Education, University of London, UK
³ University of York, UK
⁴ Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow
⁵ Leeds College of Music, UK
⁶ University of Salford, UK

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: i.papageorgi{at}ioe.ac.uk.

	Abstract

The aim of this article was to compare musicians’ views on (a) the importance of musical skills and (b) the nature of expertise. Data were obtained from a specially devised web-based questionnaire completed by advanced musicians representing four musical genres (classical, popular, jazz, Scottish traditional) and varying degrees of professional musical experience (tertiary education music students, portfolio career musicians). Comparisons were made across musical genres (classical vs. other-than-classical), gender, age and professional status (student musicians vs. portfolio career musicians). Musicians’ ‘ideal’ versus ‘perceived’ levels of musical skills and expertise were also compared and factors predicting musicians’ self-reported level of skills and expertise were investigated. Findings suggest that the perception of expertise in advanced musical learners is a complex phenomenon that relates to each of four key variables (gender, age, musical genre and professional experience). The study also shows that discrepancies between advanced musicians’ ideal and self-assessed levels of musical skills and expertise are closely related to gender and professional experience. Finally, characteristics that predict and account for variability in musicians’ views and attitudes regarding musical expertise and self-assessments of personal expertise levels are highlighted. Results are viewed in the context of music learning and implications for music education are discussed.

First published on June 26, 2009
Psychology of Music 2009, doi:10.1177/0305735609336044


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?