Caminhos para o desenvolvimento da expressividade na iniciação ao piano: processos de ensino-aprendizagem e avaliação da performance no contexto de uma escola de música

Abstract

This research study was conducted within a theoretical and practical framework and describes a case study in the context of a music and arts school in the interior of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) which also includes an important social project. From an extensive bibliographical study, our aim was to establish broad-based activities focused on developing musical expressiveness in piano beginners. This framework is organized into three main pillars: a) Developing a syllabus and guidelines that support not only teaching organization but the teacher’s autonomy in choosing materials and methodologies from a variety of teaching and learning frameworks with the objective of promoting systematic learning of music fundamentals; b) Encouraging a variety of activities within the broader concept of art and culture in order to expand the student’s tacit knowledge, fundamental for the development of expressiveness; c) Investigating a variety of evaluation approaches with the goal of defining an evaluation system that values musical expressiveness. To build and guide this study, the main theoretical references were Neuhaus (1973), Glaser and Fonterrada (2008), Polanyi (1966), Tourinho (1998,1999, 2000) and França (2000, 2002). The results of this investigation resulted in a course syllabus for the first two years of the piano curriculum, a cross-cultural immersion event, and a broader understanding of musical evaluation.