BY ALISON PARIS, LEAD WRITER (CHILDREN AND EARLY LEARNING)
What influence does music really have on young people?
University of Tasmania education researcher Dr William Baker teamed up with the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra to find out.
Dr Baker has conducted a year-long study, which surveyed Tasmania’s high school students on the experiences they gained from being part of this out-of-school youth orchestra.
Baker’s study sheds light on exactly how the students’ experiences with the program can benefit them, and what skills it’s helped them to develop.
We spoke to Baker about the study, and how to enrich the future of music programs for young people.
What led you to undertake this research with the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra?
In 2017, Michelle Forbes, general manager of TYO, approached researchers in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania. She had observed positive behaviours such as resilience, self-discipline, and positive self-esteem amongst the members of TYO ensembles for some time, and was curious to see if her observations would be borne out through rigorous research.
Part of our funding was used to support several team research days with Professor Michael Anderson from the University of Sydney, who acted as project mentor for us. I was delighted to be asked to work with the TYO because of my own story as a musician and educator. As a young person, I was very involved in youth orchestras in Melbourne, including the Victorian Junior Symphony and the Melbourne Youth Orchestras, and through music camps.
It was through ensemble experiences such as these that I really began to feel a sense of purposeful belonging; part of a group that shared my love for music and my passion for ensemble music-making. For me, the experience of playing in an orchestra was not just playing great music, but about feeling like I belonged.
The findings of your research so far suggest that co-curricular music programs build interpersonal skills that young students wouldn’t otherwise develop as much. Could you elaborate on this?
This is very early research at this stage, and obviously our sample of [31 players in] TYO is relatively small; however, we are confident that the research has pointed us in some interesting directions. For example, one survey question asked participants to rate the extent to which their participation in TYO helped them in working with other people. Analysis revealed that 89 per cent of respondents agreed that TYO helped in this respect. Other areas highlighted included developing teamwork and leadership skills, organisation, and self-discipline.
Also, 81 per cent of respondents agreed that participating in TYO helps with meeting friends with common interests. A 13-year-old participant, for example, stated that ‘music is my passion and I love spending time with other kids who love the same thing as me – there’s a sense of belonging’.But this theme was a little more nuanced than just this. We found that whilst TYO participants reported friendship as being an important outcome of their participation, when we observed them, this didn’t happen in the way we might expect in other social settings, such as in the playground. We think that ‘friendship’ for these participants was to do with the shared emotion resulting from group music-making, and participating in something that was understood and valued equally by all.
The comments of a 16-year-old participant playing in the TYO Philharmonic Orchestra highlight the emotion resulting from being part of something bigger than themselves: ‘When I’m playing, I feel excited and as though I am a part of the whole, working to create a wonderful sound’.
The study also suggests that orchestral programs such as this are great for children’s self-esteem. How is it that the act of participating in an orchestra such as TYO builds confidence?
Although we didn’t focus on self-esteem as such, there was 76 per cent agreement in response to the statement: ‘I think participating in TYO helps with making me feel better about myself’.
The biggest finding of the research was around the unique nature of group music-making and the impact this has on participants. This is the emotional, shared, and fully embodied experience that is orchestral music-making. This was most commonly expressed as ‘happiness’ or ‘enjoyment’ when playing.
The comments of a Year 7 student playing in the TYO Academy Strings seem to encapsulate aspects of this theme and the embodied nature of playing. They told us: ‘I’ve learnt about how music can sweep you up and take you to places I never knew existed’. From such a young participant, this is an astounding observation that indicates a high level of personal investment and engagement in the group!
How would you suggest school music programs go about developing these skills in a similar way?
We didn’t investigate school music programs as such; rather, TYO was seen to be representative of ‘out-of-school’ arts programs. In fact, some research participants suggested that TYO was particularly valuable to them as they chose to be there on their weekend; to ‘give up’ something that they could otherwise do because they valued the experience of being in TYO so highly.
Our next phase of research will seek to establish the behaviours of conductors, tutors, and managers that enables participants to develop skills in resilience. This will allow us to apply our findings in other contexts, such as school music programs!
What’s next for this study, and for TYO?
We’ve applied for further funding to support our ongoing partnership with TYO. We’re really interested in exploring the notion of ‘resilience’ amongst participants, as our research showed members demonstrating skills of resilience such as persistence and teamwork. In the proposed next stage, we want to explore what it is that group leaders do that leads to the development of these skills. This will enable us to create training materials to support teachers and youth arts workers, who can enable these skills in young people right across youth arts in Tasmania.
We’ve also applied for funds to do research with the Singapore National Youth Orchestra in the area of best practice in youth orchestra leadership.
Learn more about the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra online. This study was also supported by the Australian Society for Music Education.
Shout the writer a coffee?
Say thanks to Alison for volunteering her time for Australian arts journalism. No amount too much or little 🙂
Pay what you like through PayPal. 80 per cent of your contribution will go to the writer who composed this piece, and 20 per cent to our volunteer editor for getting this show on the road. (You don’t *actually* have to take them to coffee.) We protect your personal information.
Images of Alison and TYO supplied. Featured image by David Skinner via Flickr CC BY 2.0.
