Teaching the adult beginning instrumentalist: ideas from practitioners

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the current practices (band setup, musical instruction, member interactions, and challenges) of adult beginning instruction in ensemble settings. Subjects in the current study were 35 adult band/orchestra directors from 19 US states and one province. The responding directors were 24 men and 11 women directors with from between one and 12 years of adult ensemble directing experience (median = 5). Respondents answered 27 possible questions addressing the current band practices in their setting. Results of the study showed that many of the musical concepts were introduced to the adults with the same types of activities that would be seen in a school ensemble setting, but the way in which information was presented to the adult learners did appear to vary in many ways from the standard ‘school model’. Applications to adult ensemble settings were addressed.