Exposition

Expanding horizons - ensemble improvisation on 20th-century classical music (video article) (2024)

Peter Knudsen
open exposition

About this exposition

This video article presents two pedagogical applications of the artistic research project "Expanding Horizons" for ensembles with adult music students of diverse musical backgrounds. The project is centered around practical explorations of applying improvisation to repertoire from 20th-century Western classical music, in combination with qualitative methods such as autoethnography, participant-observation and semi-structured interviews. The examples in the video demonstrates how approaches that are developed in the project can be applied to pedagogical situations, based on ensemble workshops with musicians of different musical orientations enrolled in music performance programmes in Sweden, one with university-level students in a bachelor programme and another with students at a folk high school. Two pieces were selected and adapted for these situations: Lili Boulanger’s Cortége (1914) and Maurice Ravel’s String quartet in F, movement II (1903). During the workshops, these pieces were then re-worked in a collaborative manner, with an emphasis on mutual exploration and musical expressivity through improvisation. The main pedagogical considerations were: selecting the appropriate repertoire, adapting materials for diverse learners, and fostering agency among performers. Although the improvisational approaches presented are rooted in jazz performance practice, the examples demonstrate how improvisational frameworks can be adapted for music students across musical genres, showcasing the potential for creativity, collaboration and interdisciplinary learning in music education.
typeresearch exposition
keywords20th century music, improvisation, Music Education, artistic research, jazz, classical music
date05/04/2024
published19/11/2024
last modified19/11/2024
statuspublished
share statuspublic
affiliationNorwegian University of Science and Technology
copyrightPeter Knudsen
licenseCC BY-NC-ND
languageAmerican English
urlhttps://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/3012775/3012747
doihttps://doi.org/10.22501/rc.3012775
published inResearch Catalogue
connected toNorwegian University of Science and Technology


Copyrights

nameExpanding horizons – pedagogical applications
copyrightPeter Knudsen
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesvideo
nameCortège (Boulanger) - lead sheet
copyrightPeter Knudsen
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespdf
nameRavel's String Quartet, mvt II
copyrightPeter Knudsen
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespdf
nameSuggestions for things to try
copyrightPeter Knudsen
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespdf
nameExpanding horizons - Pedagogical applications
copyrightPeter Knudsen
licenseCC BY
usagespdf

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