This paper relates to the seminar’s theme concerning the integration of artistic research results into musical training, as it focuses on the relation between aural training and performing – the former usually including explicit, verbal explanations – while the latter often is characterized by tacit knowledge and the master-apprentice tradition. The aim of the research project presented in the paper has been to explore how and to what degree knowledge from the aural training subject can inform practicing processes of learning new repertoire.

We have been two researchers working together, both educated aural training teachers. In this project, however, we have used our skills as musicians, playing together on our main and second instruments. Through the rehearsing of different kinds of music repertoire we intended to explore aural training knowledge from a performing point of view, and at the same time challenge our ideas of what is useful aural training knowledge for musicians.

The project is designed as action research. The research process has involved weekly meetings, including playing and discussing different kinds of music, followed by written reports. In between the meetings we have rehearsed individually, and kept written logs.
Our findings do for example concern when in the practising process analysis naturally takes place, what kinds of terminology might be beneficial, the importance of verbal communication in a rehearsal, how learning by heart might be used as a rehearsing strategy, as well as how one can be aurally aware in the middle of or outside the centre of the music.

Among other things, this project has brought us new knowledge about how to integrate artistic experiences and aural training. We therefore consider the outcomes of our project as a contribution to discussions about how music students’ practicing processes might be more effective.

This paper related to the seminar’s theme concerning the integration of artistic research results into musical training, as it focused on the relation between aural training and performing – the former usually including explicit, verbal explanations – while the latter often is characterized by tacit knowledge and the master-apprentice tradition.

The aim of the research project presented in the paper has been to explore how and to what degree knowledge from the aural training subject can inform practicing and rehearsing processes of learning new repertoire.

We have been two researchers working together, both educated aural training teachers. In this project, however, we used our skills as musicians, playing together on our main and second instruments. Through the rehearsing of different kinds of music repertoire, we intended to explore aural training knowledge from a performing point of view, and at the same time challenge our ideas of what is useful aural training knowledge for musicians.

The project design was action research, having a cyclical nature with the following steps repeating themselves: plan, act, evaluate, and reflect. We had weekly meetings, which contained all the four actions involved in the process: We acted through playing together the music on which we had worked separately throughout the week. We evaluated our work in relation to our research question, and we reflected on our findings so far concerning the continuation of the project. Eventually we planned the working process for the next week, including sight-reading and playing once through the new music we were going to work on. As a consequence of the reflection step within the action research cycle, the researcher is free to let the project evolve in other directions than originally planned, to gain new insight. Several times our project evolved in such new directions after reflective discussions.

One of us writing a report, on which the other one was free to comment, followed each meeting. In between the meetings, each of us could practise as much as wanted, which was a continuation of the acting-element. However, we always had to evaluate our practising, and write a personal, reflective note. Thus, our separate practising contained three of the cyclical steps, namely acting, evaluating and reflecting. We summarized our separate, personal notes and sent them to one another, as a fundament on which to start the next meeting.

We mainly based our project upon two theoretical concepts: knowledge and strategies. Defining the concept of aural training knowledge, we have leant on a wide understanding of knowledge, as theoretical, practical and acquaintance knowledge. Theoretical knowledge, the knowing "what", offers a set of already defined verbal resources, practical knowledge - the "knowing how"– is about knowing something in practice, and acquaintance knowledge can be described as "knowing this", and would typically appear as internalised knowledge. We define aural training knowledge as including all these “kinds” of knowledge, and we emphasize that in musical practice knowledge can seldom be separated into categories such as these above; they are too intertwined.

In our opinion, the overall aim of any kind of aural training knowledge is to make practical use of it in a musical playing situation.  By letting aural training knowledge be part of relevant learning strategies, such knowledge may be useful in practical musical situations. In the present project, we have looked for possible learning strategies for practising and rehearsing music.

Most of our findings can be summarized within these three points:

• We used quite a lot of aural training knowledge when practising and rehearsing, yet less than expected

• We used our aural training knowledge in other ways than anticipated

• We found new ways of working

The main reason for these findings, and in itself our most important finding, was that when playing on our instruments we entered the role as musicians. We were feeling like musicians, and not like aural training teachers. This fact does not imply that we did not use aural training knowledge when playing. On the contrary, we experienced such knowledge to be very useful, and we could not manage without it. However, we did not utilise our aural training knowledge quite as anticipated.

Another profound finding was that whatever we brought with us from aural training to performing was actions. We realised that what we are teaching the students in the aural training subject are general ways of handling different challenges, which we could call aural training strategies. However, it is not obvious that aural training strategies always are usable in practising situations, which is what students need them for. What we used in the playing situations, we call aural practising strategies.

Other findings concerned when in the practising process analysis naturally may take place, what kinds of terminology might be beneficial, the importance of verbal communication in a rehearsal, how learning by heart might be used as a rehearsing strategy, as well as how one can be aurally aware in the middle of or outside the centre of the music.

This project has brought us new knowledge about how to integrate artistic experiences and aural training. We therefore consider the outcomes of our project as a contribution to discussions about how music students’ practicing processes might be more effective.

Aslaug Louise Slette has a PhD in music education from the Norwegian Academy of Music (NAM). Her thesis, publicly defended in 2014, is entitled “Aural awareness in ensemble rehearsals. A qualitative case study of three undergraduate chamber music ensembles playing Western classical music”, and her main research interest is the relation between aural training and performing in higher music education. Slette is associate professor at NAM, teaching piano didactics, and is also an advisor in the Centre of Excellence in Music Performance Education (CEMPE) at NAM.

Ingunn Fanavoll Øye is Associate Professor in aural training at the Norwegian Academy of Music (NAM). Her special interest is how to link aural training and performing in higher music education, and her publications reflect this attitude. She has contributed to a textbook in aural methodology, produced a textbook in harmony, and contributed to an anthology on aural issues (Aural Perspectives On Musical Learning and Practice in Higher Music Education, 2013). Besides teaching aural training, she is part of a team teaching chamber music at NAM.