Subjective representations and cognitive competencies in the learning process of a new contemporary music piece for piano

Abstract

The learning process of a new piece of contemporary music for piano was studied in a group of ten functional piano students, all guided by instructor Kenya Godoy, faculty member from the School of Arts at Universidad de Chile. The goal of the research is to analyze the different study strategies of students based on their cognitive capacities, considering the educational interaction as a relevant part of the learning phenomenon. The participants read the piece Algunas preguntas from Chilean composer Juan Amenábar four times, with the possibility of a two-minute practice between each interpretation, without pause, of the entire music piece. Questionnaires were applied to students and to the professor, as well as other operational and spatial short-term memory tests applied to students. This was with the purpose of analyzing the implication of cognitive resources in the process of learning musical and the type of mental representation involved in the performance. The instructor is placed outside of the learning process, but she participates afterwards by analyzing the interpretations of her students registered in video format. The analysis of the questionnaires shows that self-efficacy is reflected in the degree of trust that the instructor gives his student and established a dialectical relationship that reinforces the long-term integration of knowledge. A principal components analysis shows that the instructor's assessment seems to be a commitment between the cognitive capacities of the student, supported by personal trust and real performance and guided by the technical aspects.