Young Instrumentalists’ Music Literacy Acquisition

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to present and discuss the findings of a research project concerning music literacy acquisition among young beginners on music instruments. The reported project examines the learning strategies that young students use in order to make sense of notated music in the first year of training. Theories from the research field of language learning are applied to illuminate music literacy as a learning process. Observations and interviews were used to collect data about students’ learning strategies and music literacy development. The findings show that the students have quite different approaches regarding the use of strategies, both when it comes to what strategies they employ, which new strategies they acquire, and how many strategies they use. Young instrumentalists display creativity in their attempts to make sense of the music notation, and the music studio setting itself, using the multimodal tools that appear available to them. It is important for teachers to know how their students’ learn, and how they reason, in order to assist their learning processes. The findings of the study shed light on central issues regarding the awareness of learning strategies in instrumental teaching. Following a discussion of the research results, recommendations for instruction and future studies are presented. Keywords: Music literacy, instrumental learning, ear training, music reading, instrumental teaching, learning strategies.