MEETING AT

A CROSSROADS:
Trombone pedagogy and
psychological theories of learning
PETER MIKSZA, PH.D., ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MUSIC EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, BOULDER
 INTRODUCTION
Scientific approaches lo ihc siudy ol ihc mind and human
learning emerged in ihe late 19th century with a great deal of
interest in mental phenomena such as sensation, perception,
and memory. Psychological theories o learning advanced
greatly ihrotighoui the 20lh century due lo the inlluentil work
of individuals such as Pavlov, Skinner, Piaget, Vygotsky,
Bandura, Bruner, Gardner, and many others. These
devekipmenis have been incorporated into many teacher-
training curricula throughout the US and have allowed teachers
to approach their emit with greater insights into the processes
of learning. Many of the concepts and principles that have been
discovered in psychology may also be useful for those wishing
to establish a scientific basis for trombone pedagogy. For
example, connections may exist hetween pedagogical
approaches which trombonists are intuitively or traditionally
drawn and existing theories of learning. Once these connections
are found, trombone teachers could then examine the potential
theoretical underpinnings of their practice and evaluate their
teaching from a more informed perspective.
In this article, I will briefly discuss two common issues in
trombone pedagogy and how each can be seen as congruent
wilh a specific scientific theory of learning. The examples will
include a) learning how to create a beautiful trombone sound by
listening to a beautiful trombone sound and b) developing
trombone students who can go on to become creative and
expressive musicians. Given the length, it must be stressed that
ihis article will only present a sketeh of how each pedagogical
issue relates to each learning theory and will therefore be
incomplete. However, a resource list has been provided for
those who wish to find more information on either the specific
topics discussed or theories of learning in general. It is hoped
that readers who are intrigued by this article will be able to use
these or other similar sources to enrich their teaching.
THE ROLE OF MODELING AND DELAYED
IMITATION IN LEARNING: SOGIAL
COGNITIVE THEORY
Social cognitive theory was developed by Albert Bandura
in the latter half of the 20th century This theory recognizes the
roles of an individuals behavior, cognitive activity (i.e., internal
mental processes), and environment as interacting forces in the
learning process. According to Bandura, people can learn a
great deal from observing the behaviors of models and the
consequences models encounter for their behaviors. In addition,
social cognitive theory asserts that learning can take place
covertly For example, an individual can interact and cognitively
process the events in their environment and then manifest
behaviors demonstrating learning has occurred at a later time.
This type of learning is known as delayed imitation.
Trombone pedagogues employ techniques that resonate
with many aspects of social cognitive theory. One of the most
obvious examples is the use of modeling in trombone teaching.
Most trombonists would agree that it is extremeiy difficult to
produce a beautiful trombone sound without being able to
International Trombone Association Journal / www.trombone.net
recognize and create an internal mental representation of a
beautiful sound. As a result, many trombone teachers model
variotis tone quality concepts (bright, dark, warm, thin, fuzzy,
full, rich, etc.) or assign recordings for their students to listen to
in the hopes that they loo will be able to discriminate among
various tones and produce tbe best sound they can. The
development of a lieautiful sound can also be related to the
concept of delayed imitation discussed above. For example,
many teachers understand the fact that the ability to
discriminate between various types of sounds and be able to
mentally represent a quality sound is not the same as the ability
to produce a good sound. Instead, teachers often reeognize that
the demonstration of learning (i.e., the production of the good
sound) may come at a later time once the mental processes and
behavioral processes have had time to develop through practice
and repetition.
AN INVESTMENT APPROACH
TO CREATVlT'
Stemberg and Lubart (1992) have recently developed a
theory of creativity that draws from the field of economics.
They state that ".. .to be creative is to invest one's abilities and
efforts in ideas that are novel and of high quality, and to be
creative, one must, like any good investor, 'buy low and sell
high' (Stemberg &r Lubart, p. 2, 1992)." According to this
theory creative individuals should focus their energy (i.e., 'the
buy') on an idea that is rich in potential even if the general
public does not currently value it. Once the idea is accepted the
creative individual delegates its management (i.e., 'the sell') to
others and focuses again on coming up with a new
"undervalued' idea. Stemberg and Lubart highlight six
characteristics that influence whether people are successful in
developing and promoting creative ideas a) intelligence, b)
knowledge, c) thinking style, d) personality, e) motivation, and
0 environment. The authors argue that it is the interaction of
these characteristics that determine one's success in creative
endeavors. Stemberg and Lubart have also made several
recommendations regarding how teachers could encourage
creative thinking among their students. The recommendatiotis
include a) students should evaluate for themselves what the.
most significant problems are in their given fields; b) tead
should emphasize thinking broadly or with a more 'global style'
towards problem solving; c) teachers should stress the
development of a tolerance for ambiguity; d) teachers should
encourage persistence in the face of obstacles; e) teacher must
allow students the experience of making mistakes; 0 teachers
must encourage students to take appropriate risks and g)
teachers should emphasize a belief in one's self.
The cultivation of personal expression and interpretation in
performance is an important element of trombone pedagogy.
Stemberg and Lubarts investment theory of creativity can be
reiated to the efforts many trombone teachers put forth weaning
their students off of imitative approaches to interpretation. For
example, encouraging students to follow their own personal
interpretive choice rather than that demonstrated by an
established professional on a recording is in a sense the same as
encouragiii.i; iliL-m in IIKUS ihcir ciC-gii.-^ on 'buylii); low.' Youn^
tromlionists who sucfcssiully niplfinuni ihcir inusic;il choitcii
are in clloct sulling hij;h' hy t;)kiJig ;i rcliUivrly Linpiiptikir or
unknown musica idea, iiiluvniing it, and pnxku'inj; a musicnl
product thai is acccpiahic lo ;iii audicm-'c. IVtlai;iatl
approaches to cultivating expression and intcrprctaiinn also
oilcn ri'llcd ihc six chanicicrisiii's lh;u Slcrtihcrj; ;iiul liih;iri
5U^csl inllucnuc crcaUvu nuipui. l-or cxamplu, irnnihonc
teachers oltcn stress that a baseline oltcchniquc/ahility anti
hackgniund knowlctigc arc necessary for successful musical
inlcrpa-tation. In adtlitinii, ironihom- teachers olicn cnLOiir;igu
stutlcnts to ihink ouisidc ihc hux' or more hronclly in ivgartl^ lo
resolving phmsmg issues or intcrpixHivc markings. Teachers also
undouhiedly recognize the importance o personality Lmd
molivaiion differences among their suidcnts when gauging how
to approach the develop men I of cxpR'ssinn. lastly, Irnmhonc
pedagogues often design situations or en\'ironinen[s such as
master classes and sliuliii recitals in which studcnUb can
experiment and t a k e j ^ n ^ i t h various intcrpanive ideas.
Ift-this Liriiclc I have picscineti iwo c.xnmpk's ihal dcmonsiraic
tromhonc pedagogy iind ihc seicniilit siudy of learning arc
ertwined. More spccilieally, my main f^oal was to show how
traditionally and intuitively accepted methods ni' trombone
pedagogy can he situated within esiablished learning theory. 1
must reitrale that the brief summaries of the two theories
presented in this ariielc arc nol intended as complete
represeniaiions of the theories themselves. Instead, these
summaries arc only highlights ihal I have drawn out lo illustrate
specific examples. It is also important to note that no single
theory is as of yet adequate for explaining all of the phenomena
and processes ihat lake place in learning. In fact, much can be
gained Irom taking an ecleetit approach lowards incorporating
learning theories into one's teaching and drawing Worn the
strengths of many principles. Those who found these materials
interesting are encouraged lo look over the suggested reading
list provided and delve more deeply into each subject or others
given your own sense nl curiosity. Hopefully, some who have
read this article will be encouraged to reflect on their ovim
teaching and consider how their craft may intersect with various
theories of learning. Perhaps once ihe connections are made
opportunities can be found for growth in the learning o both
teachers and students.
This anicle was originally written for the ITA pedagogy
Committee, M. Dee Stewart, Chair. Peter Miksza can be reached
via email at peter.miksza@colorado.edu,
REFERS
Bandura. A, (1986). Social Joundaliom of thought and action: A
soda! LHgniiivi' theoiy. Prentice Hall, Inc.: Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Stemberg. R. J. & Luban, T I. (1992) Buy low and sell high:
An investment approach to creativity Current Directions in
Psychok)ffca Science, , i - 3 .
Some Suggestions for Funher reading...
www.trombone.net /
0(1 f/ic I'ufiv /((s/<irv ('/ psyi holoi^y...
MerriisU'iii, H. U, <SJ' Boring. I:, Ci. (l^fi'i). A -iounchooh in the
history ol p^vifwi>^y. (^iimhriilge, MA: 1 larvaal Universily Press.
Oil kainiii}^ //icones in y^cnenil...
Drisfoll. M. \'. (200'5). Psychohfiy c/ I-/II/I.^;/nr fis/iic/iiin (rd
ed.). NY: Pearson.
Ormrotl, J. I. {00^). Human (ctJifiin.i; (4th ed.). U[>per Saddle
kivcr, Nj: I'reniiie Hall.
On Ihr psychoio^y of mu\it learning In .i^ivirKiJ...
lUxIges, D. (Ed.). ( l W d ) Hndhi>i>k nj itiiisii f>syihoioiy (2nd
ed.). San Amonio: IMR Press.
Ritloty, R. H. ^ loyk-, ). 1). (200). rsychoi\^\,u foui-idaions of
inusual hi-hvw) (4th e d j . Springlicld, 111: Charles C. Thomas
Slolioda, ). (Hd.). (2001). Cvncrathr /irrxfsscs in rnusii: The
psychoo{y ii/ pcrjornutnt i\ inipiomation, and composition. NY:
(")xlor(.l Universily Prcss-
Shuier-Dyson, R. & Gabriel, C. (19HI). The ps.ythdo^y of musical
ahilily (2nd ed.). London: Methuen.
On theories ofcrvtivily in :!_cnera\...
Slcrnberg, R, ]., Grigorenko, IZ, L &r SingerJ. L. (2004).
Crclivity: f-rom potcnlial to rcaUzatior). Washington. DC :
American Psychological Association.
Sternherg, R. J. (Ed.) (1999). HandhiKik of creativity. New York :
Cambridge University Press.
On ( icaliviiv in music...
Hiekey, M. (2002). Creativity research in music, visual art,
theatre and dance. In Colwell, R., & Richardson, C. (Eds.), The
new hiidhook of research on mui^ic teaehin}; und ic/ninj,'. (pp.
398-415). New York: Oxford Universily Press.
Mickey, M. &r Webslcr, P (2001). Creative thinking in musie.
Mu.sic Educiitois journal, fi(l). 19-23.
Wehster, P (2006, April). Relininga model of creative thinking
in music: A basis for encouraging students Lo make aesthetic
decisions. Paper presented al ihc MENC National Convention
in Salt lake City, UT.
Social aignivf theory in general...
Bandura, A. (1986). Sociai foundations ofthoujiht and action: A
social (.ognitivc theory. Prentice Hail, Inc.: Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
lLindura, A. (1997). Self-efjicocy: The L'xt'rti.sf of control. New
York: Freeman.
Bandura, A. (2(X)1). Social cognitive theory: An agentive
perspective. Annual Reyiew of Psychohji^, 52, 1-26.
Research n'i^u'ing the effectiveness ol modeling in music teaching...
Dickey, M. R. (1992). A review of research on modeling in
music teaching and learning. Bulletin aj the Councilfor Research
in Music Education, 113, 27-40.
Linklaler. F (1997). Effects of audio and videotape models on
[he performance achievement of beginner clarinets. Journal of
Research in Music Education, 4.5(3), 402-414.
Roscnthal, R.K- (1984). The relative effects ot guided model,
model only, guide only, and practice only treatments on the
accuracy ol' advanced instmmentatists" music performance.
journal oj Research in Music Education, M, 265-273.
Roscnthal, R.K., Wilson, M., Evans, M., and Greenwah, L.
(1988). Effects of dilTerent practice conditions on advanced
instrumentalists' performance accuracy Journaf oj Research in