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Participant approaches to and reflections on learning to play a 12-bar blues in an asynchronous e-learning environmentUniversity of Padova, Italy, frederick.seddon{at}unipd.it
University of Padova, Italy, michele.biasutti{at}unipd.it This study investigated the viability of learning to play an improvised 12-bar blues on keyboard with both hands together in an asynchronous e-learning environment. The study also sought to reveal participant approaches to and reflections on this learning experience. Participants were video-taped as they engaged with six `Blues Activities', supported by audio `guide' and `backing' tracks and a `remote facilitator'. Participants required nine or ten learning sessions, over a period of six weeks, to successfully complete the `Blues Activities'. Individual, semi-structured interviews, designed to reveal participant reflections on their engagement with the `Blues Activities' were conducted with the participants after they had completed the learning sessions. Results revealed that: (1) at the end of the learning sessions, all participants were able to play the 12-bar improvised blues; (2) participants engaged in five distinct learning behaviours; and (3) four participant `reflective themes' emerged from the semi-structured interviews. The five distinct learning behaviours were interpreted as `learning activities': `instruction', `copying', `practising', `playing' and `evaluating'. The four `reflective themes' were interpreted as: `activities', `feelings', `evaluation' and `difficulties'. Comments made by participants during interviews and email exchanges, provided support for the researcher interpretations of the `learning activities' and `reflective themes' through the process of triangulation. Implications for music education are discussed.
International Journal of Music Education, Vol. 27, No. 3,
189-203 (2009) |
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