Deon Ning - Research Paper

1
The Role of Instrumental Music Teachers in an
Independent School
Name: Deon Ning (333 984)
Supervisor: Richard Sallis
Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Teaching
June 2016
The University of Melbourne
Graduate School of Education

2
Table of Contents
Abstract ……………………………………...…………………………………………...…………………… 3
Introduction…………………………………...……………..…………………………...…………………… 4
The Research Site ………………….…………………………………...……………………………………… 6
Definition of Key Constructs ………………….………………………………………………………………. 6
Review of Literature………………...……………………………….……………………………..………… 9
Role of Instrumental Music Teachers ………………...……………………………………………..………… 9
Challenges Faced by Instrumental Music Teachers ………………………...…….……………….…….....… 13
Methodology and Methods
Qualitative Study …………………….……………...……………………........…………………………...… 18
Data Collection ………………………………...……………………………….....………………………….. 21
Triangulation …………………………....…………..………………………...………..…………………….. 24
Data Analysis ………………………….……...……..……………………...……………….……………….. 25
Results and Discussion………………………..………………………………...…..……………………….. 26
Role of Instrumental Music Teachers:
Instrumental Music Teacher Responses ………………………..…………...…..………………………...….. 27
Classroom Music Teacher Responses …………………..………………….....…………………...…………. 29
General Classroom Teacher Responses ………………….....……………..…………………………………. 32
Parent Responses ……………..………………..………………………………………….………………….. 33
Challenges Faced by Instrumental Music Teachers ……………….....………………..……..………………. 35
Key Findings …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 36
Conclusion and Recommendations ………….…………..…………………………………………...…….. 37
Bibliography ……………………….………….………..………………………………………………..….. 40
Appendices
Appendix 1: Semi-structured Interview Questions ……………………….………………………………..… 43
Appendix 2: Plain Language Statements
Teachers ……………………….……………………………………………………………………………... 44
Parents ……………………….……………………………………………………………………………….. 45
Appendix 3: Consent Form
Teachers ………...…………….………………………………………………………………….………….. 46
Parents ……………………….………………………………………………………………………………. 47

3
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the role and challenges of instrumental music
teachers in an independent school. A school in the inner east of Melbourne, Victoria served as the
study's focus. In this qualitative study, narrative inquiry was used and data was collected through
individual, semi-structured interviews. Experiences of twelve participants (three instrumental music
teachers; three classroom music teachers; three classroom teachers from disciplines other than music
and three parents) were documented. Interview data were analysed and coded, categories were
identified and themes were developed. The findings indicated that the understanding of the role of
instrumental music teachers was subjective and not necessarily consistent between educators and
other members of the school community. However, majority of the participants recognised that
instrumental music teachers perform both teacher and performing musician roles. It is hoped that this
research could help in the formulation of clear roles in instrumental music education.

4
INTRODUCTION
Many music educators have a multitude of skills and experiences as instrumental music teachers,
conductors, classroom music teachers and performing musicians. As a music educator, the majority
of my work is based in classroom music teaching along with some instrumental music teaching in
school settings and at my private music studio. Aside from teaching, I also perform as a musician.
Prior to classroom music teaching, most of the teaching I had done was instrumental music teaching.
As my professional role has transitioned from an instrumental music teacher to a classroom music
teacher, I have come to realise how the role of instrumental music teachers can be ‘invisible’ to the
rest of the school community as they are not frequently seen. As a music educator, I am curious
about the roles and experiences of other instrumental music teachers and how different members of
the school community perceive and interact with them. I feel that it is important to highlight and try
to define what the roles of instrumental music teachers are and how their roles contribute to music
education in schools. As a result, this research is an investigation into the work, experiences and
challenges of instrumental music teachers in an independent school. My research question is: What
is the role of instrumental music teachers in an independent school? Sub-questions to this inquiry
are: How do members of the school community view the role of instrumental music teachers? What
challenges, if any, do instrumental music teachers face when working in a school?
In the literature available, the role of instrumental music teachers is not easily defined due to the
diverse nature of instrumental teaching. Currently in Australia, the role and position of instrumental
music teachers relating to employment in schools have become a focus of attention (Watson, 2010;
Arney, 2011). Traditionally, instrumental music teachers need not have undergone teacher training
courses in order to secure positions in schools. However, they would be expected to have
successfully attained performance degrees and professional performance experience (Arney, 2011).
However, in 2011, changes were made to the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) ‘Permission to
Teach Policy’. The policy states: 1.1.3 Sports Coaches, Instrumental Music Instructors, and other
instructors whose duties relate to co-curricular or extra-curricular programs are not considered to be
undertaking the duties of a teacher (Victorian Institute of Teaching, 2011, p. 3). The implication of
this policy is that it does not recognise instrumental music teachers to be classroom teachers. My
research aimed to also find out if the role of instrumental music teachers as perceived by different
members of the school community included a teacher role and to what extent this teacher role took
precedence when constructing the role of instrumental music teachers. This study was conducted in
an independent school as most of my teaching experience has been in independent school settings
and I was interested to investigate more about instrumental music teachers in a school similar to my

5
work environment.
In music education, there exists a considerable body of research which explores the value of
instrumental music education, yet there is a lack of literature exploring the specific duties of the
instrumental music teacher role. In recognising the value of instrumental music education, it is
helpful to gain an understanding of the people who teach instrumental music. What is their career
pattern? What types of experiences do they have in their occupation? How do they perceive their role
and what are the attitudes toward them? How do they fit into the broader music program? What
conflicts, if any, do they experience by working in the occupation? This research prompted
instrumental music teachers to critically reflect on their role in student learning and institutional
values (Conkling, 2003). This occupation operates in a societal framework of students, fellow
teachers, school administration and parents who help define the professional role by assessing their
contributions to the fulfillment of the aims and objectives of the school and its program (White,
1967). The results from this research may help instrumental music teachers gain a better
understanding of their experiences and professional roles within a school. School leadership teams
are likely to benefit by gaining an insight into how instrumental music teachers perceived their jobs
in order to jointly accomplish wider school goals. This research can also help potential instrumental
music teachers to make appropriate career choices and raises pertinent questions about the career
pathway as those who are considering looking for work in instrumental music education need a
realistic idea of what it means to be an instrumental music teacher in a school. As a passionate music
educator, I hope that this project may contribute to the body of research literature about the support
and holistic development of instrumental music education in schools.
In this qualitative (Merriam, 1998) study, the main research question is investigating the role of
instrumental music teachers, and the sub-questions are comprised of exploring what that role is to
different members of the school community and challenges faced by instrumental music teachers.
Merriam describes the essential components of qualitative research as:
The goal of eliciting understanding and meaning, the researcher as the primary instrument of
data collection and analysis, the use of fieldwork, and inductive orientation to analysis and
findings that are richly descriptive. (p. 5)
The study was carried out at a single research site and involved four distinct participant groups:
instrumental music teachers, classroom music teachers, classroom teachers from disciplines other
than music and parents. There were a total of twelve participants, that is three from each sample
group. Each participant took part in an individual, thirty-minute semi-structured interview (Cohen,
2006).

6
The Research Site
During the undertaking of this research, my role was an instrumental music teacher of harp at the
research site. This involved giving individual tuition, harp demonstrations to classes and assemblies,
writing reports, organising instrument rentals, maintenance of harps and participation in the orchestra
when needed. I have been a member of this school community since the beginning of 2013 when I
started my first preservice classroom music teacher training. In addition to my role as a researcher
during the duration of this project, my role at this research site also included working as a graduate
classroom music teacher for a short period of time prior to the commencement of this project.
This is an independent Anglican day and boarding school for boys from Preparatory to Year 12,
located across several campuses in Melbourne, Victoria. It includes an Early Learning Centre (ELC)
for boys and girls. The main campus is situated in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Kew. Although
the research site is an independent boys’ school, this research does not intend to differentiate the
impact of independent schools being boys, girls or co-educational on the role of instrumental music
teachers. There are twenty-six different specialisation options1
provided by specialist instrumental
music teachers and over five hundred instrumental music lessons taught weekly. The ensemble
program provides over fifty musical groups catering to different musical levels. All instrumental
music students have to participate in student recitals and are encouraged to participate in at least one
ensemble.
Definition of Key Constructs
Instrumental music teacher role:
The Oxford English Dictionary (Simpson, 2005) defines role as ‘the behaviour considered
appropriate to the interaction demanded by a particular kind of work or social position.’ The terms
role and identify are loosely intertwined as Woodford (2002, p. 675) defines the pursuit of identity as
‘…the imaginative view or role that individuals project for themselves in particular social positions,
occupations, or situations.’
The Queensland Government: Department of Education and Training (2015) defines the role
description of instrumental music teachers as teaching students how to play instruments and
facilitating their participation in ensembles, such as concert bands and orchestras. Instrumental music
1
Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Harp, Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Saxophone, Bassoon, French Horn, Trumpet,
Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Percussion, Voice, Piano, Jazz Piano, Pipe Organ, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar,
Theory, Composition.

7
teachers usually work in more than one school, with students from primary schools feeding into
secondary school instrumental music programs.
In the literature available, it is difficult to find a universal definition of the role of instrumental music
teachers. Hence, this research aimed to construct an understanding of what instrumental music
teachers are in an independent school by looking at one research site. For the purposes of this
research, I am defining instrumental music teachers to mean specialists who teach technical aspects
of their discipline (i.e. an instrument / voice). It is often in a studio or small group setting and the
content is considered extra-curricular.
Studio teaching:
A large part of being an instrumental music teacher is doing studio teaching. The Victorian Music
Teachers Association (VMTA, 2014) defines studio teaching as encompassing non-classroom
instruction of a practical or theoretical nature, either one-to-one or in small groups, and delivered in
regular schools, music schools or in home / private studio premises. Schouten (1982, p. 40) outlines
that instrumental music teachers work with students, either individually or in groups, teaching
beginning, intermediate and advanced technique classes, small ensembles, band or orchestra
rehearsals. They work at the elementary, middle and high school level.
Classroom music teacher:
The Queensland Government: Department of Education and Training (2015) defines the role
description of music teachers to involve assisting in creatively integrating music into the classroom.
Schouten (1982, p. 40) states that general classroom music teachers are responsible for guiding the
initial formation of a student’s concept of music. They expose students to various musical styles,
instruments, ensembles and to concepts such as rhythm, pitch, timbre etc. They also help to recruit
students for the future ensemble membership.
In the literature available, it is difficult to find a universal definition of the role of classroom music
teachers as music educators often perform a combination of musical duties and have a wide spectrum
of specialties catering to the needs of the school. For the purposes of this research, I am defining a
classroom music teacher to be a teacher employed by a school to teach general music to a class of
students. General music can include singing, music theory, playing of common classroom
instruments like recorders or xylophones and building general music knowledge. Classroom music

8
teachers often perform, but are not limited to, the following standard duties: prepare lesson plans,
teach basic music concepts like theory, develop curriculum, evaluate and report on student progress.
Independent school:
There are two categories of school education in Australia: public schools (also known as government
or state schools) and private schools, which can be further subdivided into Catholic and independent
schools. Independent schools are a diverse group of non-government schools. Many independent
schools provide a religious or values-based education. Others promote a particular educational
philosophy or interpretation of mainstream education. Self-management is the distinguishing
characteristic of independent schools, differentiating them from government schools and Catholic
schools (Independent Schools Council of Australia, 2015).
Music program:
For the purposes of this research project, a music program in a school encompasses both curricular
and extra-curricular elements. In this study, the website of the research site states that the school
music program consists of instrumental lessons, ensembles and classroom music programs.2
2
Further information of the school’s website can be supplied upon request.

9
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This research was designed to investigate the role of instrumental music teachers in an independent
school. Instrumental music teachers are a common phenomenon in Australian independent schools
and the leading Catholic Schools (Stevens, 2003). In Stevens’ (Music Council of Australia, 2003)
report, he found much higher levels of music provision in the independent school systems compared
to the government schools, as music is one of the valuable added parts of the curriculum being
sought by parents who choose to send their children to independent schools. Stevens reported that
almost all independent primary schools have music classroom specialists supported by instrumental
or vocal teachers.
During the search for related literature, priority was given to studies which pertained directly to the
instrumental music teacher role and identity. However, a lack of general research into the
experiences of instrumental teachers has frequently been noted (Creech & Gaunt, 2012; Ward,
2004). When discussions involving the role of instrumental music teachers could not be found or
more depth was needed, studies in similar situations were reviewed. Therefore, this review of
literature is comprised of studies which took place in a variety of institutions regarding music
educators from different parts of the world.
The following literature review is structured under the key concepts outlined in this research:
Role of Instrumental Music Teachers
As there is insufficient literature pertaining directly to the role of instrumental music teachers, I have
chosen to discuss the research of Ballantyne (2005), Isbell (2008) and White (1967) on classroom
music teachers. Although there are differences between the classroom and instrumental music
teacher roles, the chosen research provided a context for the discussion of issues that may transfer to
instrumental education. Hence, my research is aimed at filling in this gap in literature by addressing
the role of instrumental music teachers rather than the classroom music teacher role.
Research suggests that the most important factors influencing the role of music teachers are the
musician and teacher roles (Pellegrino, 2009; Ballantyne, 2005; Isbell, 2008). Ballantyne (2005)
reports on findings from interviews with fifteen early career secondary classroom music teachers in
Queensland, Australia regarding their perceptions of their professional role and identity. Her analysis
indicated that early-career music teachers viewed themselves as musicians, music teachers or
teachers. Ballantyne (2005) outlined three categories: a musician who happens to be teaching, a
music teacher, and a teacher who teaches music. She found that the teachers who only taught music

10
have a perception of themselves primarily as musicians who happen to teach. From that emerged a
perception that successful music teachers have high levels of music skills and knowledge. On the
other hand, Ballantyne raised the point that many music teachers in Queensland are required to teach
other subjects, as there are not enough music classes to provide a full-time load. These teachers tend
to view themselves as a music teacher and generalist teacher. In other cases, there are teachers who
do not consider themselves to be musicians, often because they see their musical skills as sub-
standard. Subsequently, these teachers tended to view their professional identity as a teacher who
teaches music. Hence, Ballantyne (2005) found that a teacher’s association with one of these roles
was based on his/ her perceived musical performance ability.
Similarly, in a survey conducted of preservice music teachers, Isbell (2008) found that the music
teacher role consisted of three constructs: musician role, self-perceived teacher role, and teacher role
as inferred from others. Participants were asked to use a 6-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly
disagree, 6 = strongly agree) to indicate the extent to which they identified themselves as educators,
teachers, music educators, music teachers, musicians, music performers, musical artists and
conductors. Following a symbolic interactionist framework, participants also indicated if they
believed that most other people viewed them according to these same occupational identities. Isbell
concluded that the occupational identify among preservice teachers was a complex construct. Not
only do ‘teacher’ and ‘musician’ represent two distinct roles, but they are also two types of roles that
do not seem to function in the same manner. The results of this study showed that the self and other
facets of teacher identity appeared to be more separate than they are with musician identity. Isbell
suggested that when there was a significant difference between self and others, preservice music
teachers’ views of themselves as teachers may not correspond with other significant people’s views.
However, if this distance was narrowed, the views from significant others may be more quickly
absorbed into the self-identity as a musician.
White‘s (1967) research aimed to gain an understanding of the people who taught music in the
United States. His participants (sample size = 1000) included elementary, junior high, senior high
and college music teachers in all fields of institutional music instruction. His lines of inquiry include:
What types of experiences do they have in the occupation? How do they perceive their status and
role, and what are the attitudes toward them? What conflicts, if any, do they experience by working
in the occupation? He argues that an understanding of the stratification of society into occupational
subcultures would allow for an insight into one’s relationship to social structure. White explained
that the occupation of the music educator
exists and operates in a societal framework of students, fellow teachers, school

11
administrators, and parents who help define the professional role and status by assessing its
contributions to the fulfillment of the aims and objectives of the school, its program, and its
personnel. Through this type of interaction the rights, duties, obligations, responsibilities, and
privileges that the music educator is accorded are partially clarified. (p. 4)
His findings showed that approximately two-thirds of the participants did not desire or seriously
attempt to become professional performers. Music teaching was their first serious occupational
choice. White concluded that music teachers perceived their professional role as teaching the cultural
heritage of worthwhile music to their students.
In Paul’s (1998) study, he researched the effects of a two-year peer teaching laboratory experience on
the professional role development of three undergraduate instrumental music education majors at the
University of Oklahoma. In formulating the role of instrumental music teachers, Paul’s study aimed
to identify what an individual must first do to become a member of the group ‘instrumental music
teachers’. He identified the ‘teacherly’ duties as:
Planning and presenting lessons, evaluating student progress, diagnosing student problems
and prescribing solutions, and disciplining the class. In addition, he will acquire other
behaviours that define the teacher role, including modes of dress and language that are
common to the school; political and union alignments and commitments; and a whole host of
attitudes about administrators, department heads, supervisors, other departments, ‘good
students’, ‘bad students’, lunch duty and bus requisitions. (p. 73)
One of the issues relating to the teacher self-image was connected to the dual roles of musician and
teacher. One of the participants gave the example of how making a musical mistake as a musician
would affect not only her musical self-image, but her teaching self-image (p. 84). She considered the
musician role to be a strong part of being a music teacher (p. 86).
Thorgersen, Johansen and Juntunen (2015, p. 55) investigated the visions of twelve music teacher
educators who taught both instrumental and classroom music in three music academies in Finland,
Norway and Sweden. Data was collected through individual, semi-structured qualitative interviews
to construct the participants’ visions of good music pedagogy teaching, an ideal graduate and visions
of their subject as a whole. The ideal string teacher was described as ‘a performing musician who can
handle several professional settings, has a personal relation to the subject content, and who is also
able to teach (p. 55)’, while the ideal vocal teacher should demonstrate ‘a deep artistic knowledge
including performance skills (p. 55)’ and the ideal piano teacher was seen as ‘a skilled person who
masters the instrument in at least one musical style and is able to teach it to students’ and be ‘able to
accompany different kinds of music, to sing and play, and to play in ensembles (p. 55).’ While this
paper distinguished between the different instrumental specialisations (e.g. strings, voice, piano) of
instrumental music teachers and seemed to indicate that the visionary role of instrumental music

12
teachers is specific to the instrument taught, all ideal visions contained the element of being able to
perform as a musician while undertaking the role of a teacher.
Hindsley (1937) examined the purpose of music education, specifically instrumental music and
raises the point that in the interest of music education, teachers should have a common set of aims,
ideals and work towards the same goal. He stated that:
The well-rounded instrumental music department should provide opportunities for the
development of the student along all possible lines. As a creative musician, the student should
have the opportunity to play in bands, orchestras, small ensembles, and as a soloist, all to the
fullest extent of his talent and proficiency. As a consumer of music he is entitled to the chance
of becoming acquainted with a wide range of music literature, with guidance in listening to it
from the appreciative, cultural standpoint. As a future citizen, he should come in contact,
during his musical training, with all that is virtuous in the building of citizenship, with
opportunity to develop his individuality, personality, and leadership to the best and highest
degree. (p. 34)
His explanation is a concise description of what a school instrumental music department should aim
to achieve. From his explanation, we are also able to unpack what instrumental music teachers
should do in order to develop a student’s music potential to the fullest.
In exploring the work of instrumental music teachers, Hindsley established that ‘the first requisite of
the music teacher is that he be a musician in the fullest possible sense of the word – one who knows
music as well as makes music (p. 34).’ In addition to knowledge about music theory, history,
conducting and expertise in the instrument, he also highlighted:
The instrumental music teacher must realise that he is an educator as well as a musician, and
that he must keep himself informed on all trends in education. His work must harmonise
thoroughly with the general educational program, rather than be considered a superimposure
on the regular school curriculum. (p. 34)
Aside from the qualifications of instrumental music teachers, Hindsley emphasised that teachers of
instrumental music must also be administrators. Before instrumental music teachers can teach, they
must have someone to teach, a place in which to teach, and equipment with which to teach. The job
of instrumental music teachers also involves maintaining relations with parents of students. Hindsley
mentioned:
He must be a salesman and a promoter of instrumental music. He must serve the community
which supports him in his work. He must seek to elevate the standards of music appreciation
and at the same time popularise his performances so that his music will belong to all. His job
cannot begin and end in the classroom. (p. 34)
It is not enough for instrumental music teachers to know music and theories, they must also know
how to organise and control all the factors involved in order to create the most favorable conditions

13
for instruction and to direct their efforts towards a definite musical goals. This would determine the
kind of organisation or department they build up, and this would determine their success both as a
teacher and as an administrator.
Aside from the musician, teacher and administrator roles raised in this literature review so far,
Chapman (2006, p. 169) outlined six roles that a teacher performed: mentor companion, creative
midwife, spiritual champion, lifelong learner, knowledgeable teacher and truthful mentor. Although
Chapman's research initially related specifically to singing teachers, her findings have been extended
to the construction of general teacher roles and attributes. Likewise, using the Teacher Self-Describer
constructed by Ted Ward (1961) of Michigan State University, Barnes (1973) developed the
Instrumental Music Educator Describer (IMED) in order to study the high school instrumental music
teacher role. The purposes of the Barnes’ study (1973, p.62) were to compare the expectations of
high school instrumental music teachers and significant others (principals, assistant principals,
guidance counsellors, vocal music teachers, parents and students) regarding the high school
instrumental music teacher role and to construct a ‘profile’ of the high school instrumental music
teacher role based on perceptions of the people involved in the study. The IMED was concerned with
the instrumental music teacher as: individualiser of instruction, provider of educative experience,
encourager of student leadership, counselor, learner, utiliser of educational data, acceptor of
professional responsibilities, contributor to society, utiliser of community resources and conformer to
established patterns. According to Barnes, instrumental music teachers should help develop decision-
making skills, leadership qualities and reduce tendencies to work towards narrow or self-centered
goals. In addition, instrumental music teachers should also be concerned with the problems of
students, and display warmth and sympathy when needed (Barnes, 1973).
The chosen literature has highlighted the variety of roles performed by music teachers as well as the
persistent conflict between teacher and musician roles. The perceptions regarding the role of music
teachers are not always consistent. However, most of the literature raised the importance of being a
competent musician and educator.
Challenges faced by Instrumental Music Teachers
Conway and Christensen (2006) examined the perceptions of a first-year middle school instrumental
music teacher in Detroit, Michigan. One of the major themes identified in their research was isolation
faced by instrumental music teachers:
I quickly discovered that a degree of physical isolation is part of my job… My room is at an
extreme end of the building, and so, having never been introduced to the high school staff, I
was mistaken by a well-meaning guidance counselor as a substitute teacher—in April. (p. 18)

14
In Conway’s earlier research (Conway and Zerman, 2004), their findings highlighted the challenges
faced by an instrumental music teacher which included isolation from other teachers, being
overwhelmed, feelings of self-doubt, varying levels of student ability and content-needs, high profile
public performances and many extra-curricular responsibilities. Although these studies are focused
on the novice instrumental music teacher, the narrative inquiry employed in their research is useful in
identifying possible challenges faced by both novice and expert instrumental music teachers. For
expert teachers, the challenges might not be viewed as strongly due to expertise garnered over time.
My research study did not aim to differentiate between the novice and expert instrumental music
teacher. However, the identification of similar challenges faced by these two groups of teachers
indicated the extent of prevalence and demonstrate how those challenges are faced by instrumental
music teachers in general. In addition to isolation experienced within the school community,
isolation within the profession has also been identified as a challenge (Hallam and Creech, 2010;
Robinson, 2012). There is a lack of opportunities for professional dialogue within instrumental
teaching. Robinson (2012) noted that the isolated nature of the profession is such that experiences
and knowledge are rarely shared between teachers.
Fitzpatrick (2011) conducted a mixed methods study to learn about the ways in which instrumental
music teachers in Chicago navigated the urban landscape. Her research focused on the contextual
knowledge that instrumental music teachers held regarding their students and communities, the
specialised skills they relied upon to be successful, the attitudes and beliefs they held toward
teaching instrumental music in an urban school, and the challenges and rewards they perceived from
teaching in this context. Experiences of four instrumental music teachers were used to illustrate the
issues of teaching music in the urban school. Purposeful sampling was utilised to include the
combination of experienced / inexperienced and thriving / struggling teachers to produce a four-way
matrix. The greatest challenge identified was the need for better scheduling of instrumental music
lessons (Fitzpatrick, p. 249). All four instrumental music teachers found it very difficult to schedule
lessons on a consistent basis for both low and high achieving students. Due to the emphasis on
numeracy and literacy classes, the full school schedule left no room for electives like instrumental
music lessons. In a qualitative study of four experienced instrumental music teachers in New York,
Conway (1999) developed a selection of teaching cases for instrumental music education methods
courses. She explored issues relating to curricula and objectives, program administration, recruitment
and balanced instrumentation, scheduling, choosing literature, classroom management in rehearsals,
motivation, assessment and grading, musicianship, and rapport with students. All four teachers
highlighted the challenge of program administration. Instrumental music teachers face logistical

15
difficulties in their weekly schedule and some employ various tactics to organise their programs in
which sequential instruction is best facilitated:
It seems like there is something difficult every week. The schedule is really wild. You really have
to understand the politics of the building and the teachers in order to survive. You need to know
who you can do what with. (p. 350-351)
Other challenges highlighted by Fitzpatrick (2011) were the inadequacy of instrumental music
facilities, lack of program funding and support from administration. However, the research findings
revealed tremendous disparity between participants regarding facilities, funding and support which
was dependent on which school they worked at.
Watson (2010) investigated the issues arising from musicians as instrumental music teachers in
Australia. This case corresponded to one of three categories raised by Ballantyne (2005) regarding
the music teacher role: a musician who happens to be teaching. Instrumental music teaching is a
significant part of the career of most musicians. The aim of Watson’s paper was to discuss the
opportunities available for the education of musicians as instrumental music teachers and identify the
challenges faced by instrumental music teachers in schools and the private studio. One of the
challenges highlighted was the lack of stability in employment for instrumental music teachers as the
different state and territory jurisdiction requirements in Australia lead to inconsistencies in
employment conditions and opportunities (Watson). This might impact on pay and work entitlements
for instrumental music teachers in schools. Watson also highlighted the challenge of organising the
school teaching schedule:
Although there is a perception of a flexible professional life associated with the portfolio
career of a professional musician, it is in many ways restricted, as life behind the school gate
is regulated with timetables, curricula, assessment and reporting requirements and student
extra-curricula activities. The professional musician may find it difficult both to
accommodate the demands of the non-negotiable school routines, such as attendance at
evening parent–teacher meetings and concerts, combined with the short-notice nature of
other career opportunities, and to maintain stable attendance as a teacher. (p. 198-199)
This conflict between performance and teaching schedules might hold more relevance for the
category of musicians who are working as instrumental music teachers rather than the teacher who
teaches music (Ballantyne, 2005) who conforms to a more regular work schedule. In Schouten’s
article (1982), he explored the career of a public school music teacher, which might be a general
classroom music teacher, an orchestra director or instrumental music teacher. The lack of job
availability and unattractive pay rates were highlighted as disadvantages to the career. Schouten
explained that the economy has forced many school systems to reduce the number of music teachers
they employ, and in some cases eliminate or reduce parts of the music program. In addition, music
teachers spend many after-school hours in rehearsals and performances. When comparing the salaries

16
of the average music teacher to salaries of students who enter the industrial work force, the resulting
pay per hour can be discouraging. However, Schouten also highlighted the intrinsic advantages of the
career, such as the thrill of a good performance, the satisfaction of watching students grow, praise for
a job well done and the extrinsic advantage of a shorter-than-average work schedule and school
holidays. In his opinion, he concluded that the satisfaction gained from imparting the love of music is
unparalleled and outweighs the extrinsic disadvantages of the music teacher career.
In Barnes’s (1973) study of the high school instrumental music teacher role using the viewpoint and
nomenclature of role theory, Barnes identified that the primary source of conflict regarding the role
of the high school instrumental music teacher was the divergent expectations between instrumental
music teachers themselves and significant others. He explained that in instrumental music education,
instrumental music teachers place great emphasis on the learning of the technical aspects of their
discipline: instrumental and vocal music methods, music theory and keyboard harmony, applied
music and performing ensembles. However, his research revealed that the significant others
(principals, assistant principals, guidance counsellors, vocal music teachers, parents and students) in
his study would have liked instrumental music teachers to also give more emphasis to interpersonal
and social skills (Barnes, 1973, p .74).
In Parkinson’s article (2014), he offers a model to assist instrumental music teachers in reflecting on
their teaching practice in relation to their aims and values. Using his reflections as an instrumental
music teacher of guitar in South East London and Kent, United Kingdom, Parkinson highlighted the
persistent challenge of balancing student progress versus enjoyment. Instrumental music teachers
must make decisions of priority between ensuring that students are making measurable progress in
terms of developing musical understanding and technical abilities, and enjoying their experiences of
music-making and learning (Parkinson, p. 2). Sometimes, these decisions might not be supported by
students or parents. In Conway and Jeffers’s (2004) study about parent, student and teacher
perceptions of assessment procedures in beginning instrumental music lessons, Jeffers’s experiences
as an instrumental music teacher in Connecticut were recorded. The measurement and evaluation of
musical objectives is an important responsibility of the instrumental music teacher. In some cases,
instrumental music teachers can sometimes feel like instrumental lessons are ‘extra-curricular’ and
not as important (Conway and Jeffers, 2004). However, the study revealed the extent of parent
interest in the musical growth of their children. The common theme which emerged was the different
expectations between teachers and parents or students towards instrumental music outcomes. When
Conway and Jeffers (2004) were reviewing the interview tapes of parents, there were many instances
where one parent suggested one thing and the next parent interviewed suggested the complete

17
opposite. For example: ‘I really appreciated the detail in this assessment report. It is so refreshing to
get extensive information regarding how my child is progressing;’ and ‘this report seemed like too
much detail. I would have been happy with a single letter grade, maybe that's just me. (Conway and
Jeffers, 2004, p. 21)’
In conclusion, the literature review has discussed issues associated with the instrumental music
teacher role and the challenges they face as practicing teachers in schools. A variety of challenges
that may be experienced by instrumental music teachers from different school environments and
cultures were identified in the second part of this literature review. The challenges included
employment and professional learning opportunities, school teaching environment and parental
expectations. This project attempted to investigate if the issues raised in the literature review are
consistent with the experiences of instrumental music teachers at this research site.

18
METHODOLOGY & METHODS
This section identifies the methodology and qualitative methods (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011)
underpinning this research project.
Qualitative Study
Qualitative research is a ‘situated activity that locates the observer in the world’ and makes the world
visible through a set of interpretive practices (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011, p. 3). Qualitative research is
often associated with feelings, perceptions and meanings of human behaviour, instead of the
numerical analysis and measurements used in quantitative research (McGregor & Murnane, 2010).
Yin (2011) outlines the five features of qualitative research:
1. Studying the meaning of people’s lives, under real-world conditions
2. Representing the views and perspectives of the people in a study
3. Covering the contextual conditions within which people live
4. Contributing insights into existing or emerging concepts that may help to explain
human social behavior
5. Striving to use multiple sources of evidence rather than relying on a single source
alone.
(p. 7-8)
Qualitative research is a common form of study in educational research because it enables
researchers to conduct in-depth studies about a broad array of topics (Yin, 2011, p .27). Yin (2011)
explains that other research methods are likely to be constrained by: The inability to establish the
necessary research conditions (as in an experiment); the unavailability of sufficient data series (as in
an economic study); the difficulty in drawing an adequate sample of respondents (as in a survey); or
other limitations such as being devoted to studying the past but not ongoing events (as in a history).
This project was based on the concept of narrative inquiry (Taylor & Littleton, 2006) which
incorporates the histories and experiences of the individual, while reflecting the social environment
in which they are created. Clandinin and Connelly (2000, p. 146) describe the purpose of narrative
inquiry as being ‘first and foremost a way of understanding experience’. The typical methods of data
collection associated with qualitative inquiry are interviews and observations (Yin, 2011). In
qualitative interviews, the researcher’s goal is to reveal meanings and interpretations from the
participant’s point of view. This type of interviewing is therefore more likely to assume a
conversational rather than a tightly scripted format (Yin, 2011, p. 312). The main method of
collecting data in this research was through conducting semi-structured interviews (Cohen, 2006) in
which ‘the interviewer can choose to deal with the topics of interest in any order, and to phrase their
questions as they think best’ (Nichols, 1991, p.131) to reveal a ‘richness of data’ (Oatley, 1999, p. 1).
This method ensures some consistency, while allowing freedom for other relevant issues to be raised.

19
As the intent is to search for meanings in a specific social setting rather than generalisation, this
research focused on a small sample size (McGregor & Murnane, 2010).
Yin (2011, p. 176-205) states that the analysis of qualitative data is usually comprises of five phases.
The first phase requires careful and methodic organisation of the original data into a database while
the second phrase can involve a formal coding procedure in order to disassemble the data in the
database. In qualitative data analysis, Yin defines coding to be ‘the assignment of simple words or
short phrases to capture the meaning of a larger portion of the original data’ (2011, p. 308). The third
phase, reassembling, benefits from a researcher’s insightfulness in identifying emerging patterns.
Yin elaborates that good qualitative studies must go two further steps: trying to interpret the findings
and then drawing overall conclusion(s) from the study.
Qualitative inquiry typically focuses in depth on relatively small samples, selected purposefully
(Patton, 1990, p. 169). Patton (1990) describes purposeful sampling to involve selecting information-
rich cases, from which one can learn a great deal about issues of central importance, for in-depth
study. The strategy utilised in this research was maximum variation sampling (Patton, 1990), which
aimed at capturing and describing central themes. In order to maximise variation in a small sample,
diverse characteristics for constructing the sample were identified. The inclusion of four distinct
sample groups ensured variation among the participants, and care was taken to ensure that the
participants were from different leadership positions to ensure a well-rounded insight into the role of
instrumental music teachers.
Any common patterns that emerge from great variation are of particular interest and value in
capturing the core experiences and central, shared aspects of impacts of a program. (Patton,
1990, p. 172).
Maximum variation sampling yields high-quality, detailed descriptions and important shared patterns
that cut across cases and derive their significance from having emerged out of heterogeneity (Patton,
1990). By including a wide variety of experiences and perceptions in this research, the data obtained
showed variations in viewpoints while also investigating core elements and shared outcomes. In
addition to including teachers with varying experiences, the research sought to include reflective
practitioners (Schoonmaker, 2002) who would be able to share and articulate their experiences and
interactions. Schoonmaker (2002, p. 9) suggests that reflective practitioners possess the cognitive
elements of decision-making and information processing related to teacher practice and awareness of
their experiences, goals, values, and social implications of teacher work.

20
In this qualitative study, I adopted the worldview of a post-positivist researcher (Creswell, 2009;
McGregor & Murnane, 2010). The key relevant assumptions of the post-positivist worldview are:
1. Knowledge is conjectural, absolute truth can never be found.
2. Data, evidence and rational considerations shape knowledge.
Research seeks to develop relevant statements, ones that can serve to explain the situation
of concern. (Creswell, 2009, p. 7)
The post-positivist researcher assumes that there are many ways of knowing aside from using the
scientific method. Instead of testing hypothesis, the post-positivist researcher generates hypotheses
through inductive reasoning. Patton suggests that the post-positivist researcher ‘has direct contact
with and gets close to the people, situation, and phenomenon under study’ (1990, p. 40). It
recognises the voice and role of the researcher and participants in the study. The researcher's
personal experiences and insights are an important part of the inquiry and critical to understanding
the phenomenon. As a current music practitioner, I brought along an added dimension of perspective
and insight to the study. The participants are seen as the core to the research process, rather than
controlled and isolated subjects.
Research should happen in communities and in the daily lives of people, in natural settings
rather than experimental settings. The intent of the research varies but can include: seeking
patterns and commonalities; discovering underlying structures; revealing beliefs, kinships
and ways of living; placing experiences into words and narratives; and, uncovering
ideologies and power relationships. (Lather, 1994; Thorne, 2000).
The nature of this post-positivist research methodology is interpretive and concentrates on
facilitating understandings. The intent is to understand what is happening to the role of instrumental
music teachers, how people in these roles feel about it, how these conscious and unconscious
feelings came to be and how new, shared meanings affect their roles. The study was designed to
allow dialogue with and among those in the this role to identify patterns of behaviour.
This study reflects the interpretive tradition within qualitative inquiry (Merriam, 1998). O'Donoghue
(2007) asserts that educational research can be underpinned by one of the four major ‘big’ theories:
positivism, interpretivism, critical theory and postmodernism. Each of these theories can then be
broken down into a number of related theoretical perspectives. This research was guided by an
interpretivist perspective and embraced the theory of symbolic interactionism which defines attitudes
as developing in a social context (vom Lehn and Gibson, 2011, p. 315-318). This framework
considers the professional role of the instrumental music teacher as a product of the interaction
between his ‘self-image’, role involvement and definition of the situation together with his
conception of occupational role expectations and status (White, 1967). The interpretivist
methodology centres on the way in which humans make sense of their subjective reality and attach
meaning to it. This approach believes that understanding human experiences is as important as

21
focusing on explanation, prediction and control (Holloway & Wheeler, 2009). For the interpretivist,
the individual and society are inseparable units and are mutually interdependent (O'Donoghue,
2007). It explores people not as individual entities who exist in a vacuum, but recognises their world
within the whole life context as experiences of people are essentially context-bound (Holloway &
Wheeler, 2009). Hence, in formulating the role of instrumental music teachers, I analysed not only
the individuals directly involved but also the groups of individuals which made up the society
dimension (i.e. teachers / parents).
Based on the symbolic interaction theory, to become an ‘instrumental music teacher’, the individual
must learn to do ‘instrumental music teacherly’ things (Paul, 1998). This research aimed to uncover
what the ‘instrumental music teacherly’ duties and characteristics are in constructing the role of
instrumental music teachers. According to Patton (1990, p. 88), the symbolic interactionist asks:
‘What common set of symbols and understandings have emerged to give meaning to people's
interactions?’ This research aimed to analyse meanings, describe and understand experiences, ideas,
beliefs and values.
Data Collection
This independent school was selected as the research site because I had completed part of my
preservice teacher training there and was already an itinerant staff member. This connection meant
that I could approach the school to seek for ethics approval to conduct this research. In the past, this
research site had links with the University of Melbourne in the training of preservice teachers and I
was hopeful that the school would be likely to support educational research and development. The
Director of Music at the site also believed this to be a worthwhile project which would benefit the
school. These factors made it possible for me to obtain approval to conduct my research at this site
and my limited work involvement at this school ensured that I remained objective and fair.
In Victoria, 68.58% of schools are government schools and 9.29% of schools are independent
schools, with the remaining being Catholic schools (Summary Statistics for Victorian Schools,
2015). This research site is very well-resourced and offers an extensive music program. However, the
music program on offer at the research site is likely to be the typical environment found in other
Victorian independent schools of a similar position. The Music Faculty is located in the Centre for
the Arts, with facilities for small and large group rehearsals, music classrooms, a technology centre
and a professional recording studio. The school offers a diverse music program: a wide range of
instrumental music lessons, classroom music programs and ensembles. Classroom music is taught to
all boys up to Year 8. In addition, the classroom music curriculum provides a range of immersion

22
programs including a Year 1 Suzuki String program, a Years 2 and 3 String Instrument program and
a Years 4 and 5 Orchestral Instrument program. The Years 7 and 8 classroom music curriculum
includes instrumental lessons and music technology opportunities, with specialist music electives
offered in Years 9 and 10. In Years 11 and 12, VCE3
Music Studies are offered as part of the
coordinate program with its sister school.
Data collection took place over a twelve-week period, from December 2015 to February 2016. There
were four distinct sample groups involved in this phase: instrumental music teachers, classroom
music teachers, classroom teachers from disciplines other than music and parents. The study sought a
total of twelve participants, that is three from each group. All teachers were current staff at the
research site. Parent participants had children who were undertaking instrumental study at the school
at that time. Of the twelve participants, six were male and six were female which ensured a gender
balance. The participants were invited to attend an individual, semi-structured interview (Cohen,
2006) to share their personal reflections and perspectives on their experiences as an instrumental
music teacher / about instrumental music teachers. All teachers and parents agreed to be participants
in the research through signed consent forms. The interviews lasted approximately thirty-minutes to
allow time for in-depth discussions, without the possibility of generating irrelevant data. A schedule
of interview questions (see Appendix 1) was developed using themes stemming from the literature
review process to ensure ‘a proportion of common data’ (O’Toole, 2006, p. 115). The interview
questions were used as starting points for a dialogue with the participants, while the semi-structured
nature of the interviews allowed opportunities to ‘seek clarification, invite expansion or explore a
response further’ (O’Toole, 2006, p. 115). Interviews were conducted at locations and times
convenient to the participants, with security in mind. Seventy-five percent of the interviews were
conducted in a meeting room or classroom located at the research site. The remaining interviews
were conducted in private homes. Only the researcher and individual participants were present
during the duration of the interview to provide a degree of privacy. All interviews were audio-
recorded with the permission of the participants, which allowed for verbatim transcription after the
interviews were carried out. The recordings allowed words, tone and tempo of voices to be analysed.
However, it did not capture ‘the gestures and paralanguage, the emotional subtexts’ (O’Toole, 2006,
p. 111) of the interviews. Hence, a field journal about the interviews was also maintained to record
details about inaudible elements of the interview.
3
VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) Music Studies is a course of study selected by students in the final years of
secondary education in Victoria, the Australian state, which is the site of this study.

23
In choosing the instrumental music teacher participants, I initially extended an invitation to four
teachers after discussions with the classroom music teachers at the research site. However, I did not
receive a reply from one of the teachers. Of the three instrumental music teachers I interviewed,
Kerry4
was the only full-time salaried instrumental music teacher. Kerry is the Head of Strings and
has been teaching at the site since 1996. Her role included teaching individual and small group string
lessons including VCE solo music performance preparation, conducting string orchestras and
running the classroom and Suzuki string programs. In previous roles, Kerry has had extensive
experience in classroom music teaching. Benjamin is the Head of Woodwind and has been an
instrumental music teacher since 1978, with a sessional load equivalent to four out of five days of
work in a week at the research site. His load includes some time allowances for administrative tasks
and staff management. Benjamin has always taught only instrumental music and also worked at two
other schools in addition to the research site. Adam is a teacher of brass with a sessional load
equivalent to one out of five days of work in a week and has also worked at the research site as an IT
support staff previously. His skills included teaching classroom music and music technology. In
addition, he worked at two other schools and taught in a tertiary institution as a music technology
lecturer at the time of the interview.
There are five classroom music teachers at this research site, four of whom I have worked closely
with prior to this research. These four teachers were invited to participate, however one declined due
a busy personal schedule at the time of data collection. Cathy is the Director of Music and has been
teaching at the site since 1986 while Paul is the Coordinator of Junior School Music and has been
teaching at the site since 2000. Paul was also a former student of the research site and has had
experiences teaching English and Mathematics in regional Victoria to supplement a full teaching
load when he first started teaching. Both had some experiences as instrumental music teachers earlier
in their careers. David is the Assistant Director of Music Academic Program and has been teaching
at the site since 2012. He was an instrumental music teacher of woodwind at numerous schools in
Victoria and Tasmania for over a decade, before transitioning into classroom music teaching.
When canvassing for non-music classroom teacher participants, I approached a Mathematics teacher
I knew, Carrie, for recommendations. Carrie is also the Director of Coordinate Program and has been
working at the research site since 2007. She suggested James (VCE Teacher of Science) and Joseph
(Teacher of History and Philosophy) as she knew both teachers were very musical and participated
in musical activities outside of school. James arranges and composes music as a hobby, and has
4
All participant names are pseudonyms

24
taught music privately before while Joseph was the organist of a religious order for ten years and
sings frequently in church choirs.
The parent participants were sourced from my contact list. Emma is the mother of one of my student
at the research site and has a daughter who is a current recipient of a school music scholarship.
Amy’s daughter is a student of mine at my private studio and has a son who is undertaking
instrumental study at the research site. Her son is an active member of the school orchestra, a
chorister and recipient of a music cathedral scholarship from the affiliated cathedral to this research
site. Sandra is the mother of two boys who are undertaking instrumental study as well as the music
administrator at the research site. One of Sandra’s sons has graduated from the school and the other
is a current student. All three parent participants have more than one child and all of their children
are involved in instrumental study and ensembles.
The research was conducted in accordance with ethical guidelines that were made clear to
participants from the outset. Permission was granted from all participants, the research school site
and The University of Melbourne prior to conducting the research. Participants were provided with a
choice about participating, and had the option to withdraw consent at any point during the process.
They were informed about the project description and aims as outlined in the Plain Language
Statement (See Appendix 2).
Part of the project’s aim was to share the experiences and perceptions collected about the role of
instrumental music teachers with the school and music communities, without being able to identify
the research participants. It was difficult to ensure complete anonymity in a small study sample of
twelve participants. Due to the size of the study and my role as the researcher, it meant that there was
the possibility of participants being identified by an audience reading the research report. While I
attempted to disguise the identities of participants and the school by using pseudonyms, they were
also informed of the possibility of being identified.
Triangulation
Holloway & Wheeler (2009) define triangulation as the process by which several methods (data
sources, theories or researchers) are used in the study of one phenomenon and is identified as a
strategy for increasing the validity or rigor of a study (Golafshani, 2003). Denzin (1989)
differentiates between four different types of triangulation: triangulation of data, investigators,
theories and methodologies. In this research, triangulation of data (Holloway & Wheeler, 2009) was
used. To investigate the role of instrumental music teachers, teacher and parent participants’

25
perspectives were explored. A variety of teachers were included: non-music, classroom music and
instrumental music. Within the teacher groups, data from positions of leadership, permanent
members of staff and sessional members of staff were compared with one another.
Data Analysis
The form of coding utilised in this research was axial coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). This method
‘relates categories to subcategories and specifies the properties and dimensions of a category’
(Charmaz, 2006, p. 60). The focus was to examine the conditions, causes and consequences of a
process, with the goal of achieving saturation which is ‘when no new information seems to emerge
during coding, that is, when no new properties, dimensions, conditions, actions / interactions, or
consequences as seen in the data’ (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 136). Richards & Morse (2007, p. 137)
described the process of coding as allowing the linking of data to idea, and from the idea to all the
data pertaining to that idea. In this research, the process of data coding (Saldana, 2009) occurred
concurrently with and following the fieldwork. I listened to the recordings, took notes of key
phrases, categories and possible themes. Selected portions of the recordings were then transcribed
and analysed. Lichtman (2013) raised the three Cs of analysis to transform raw data into meaningful
concepts: from Coding to Categorising to Concepts. This process is based on the grounded theory
coding techniques described by Strauss and Corbin (1990), and Neuman (2003).

26
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Instrumental music teachers fulfill a complex balance of roles in schools. During the interviews, the
questions were designed on the basis of the three questions underpinning this research. The emphasis
was on the key question: What is the role of instrumental music teachers in an independent school?
The sub-questions to this inquiry were aimed at obtaining a variety of viewpoints as well as to
prompt further reflection on the key question (How do members of the school community view the
role of instrumental music teachers? What challenges, if any, do instrumental music teachers face
when working in a school?) This chapter reports on the responses received during the interviews.
The responses are categorised into the four distinct sample groups in this research: Instrumental
music teachers, classroom music teachers, general classroom teachers and parents. The purpose of
the semi-structured interviews was to find similarities and differences between the different sample
groups regarding the role of instrumental music teachers. The questions in the semi-structured
interviews included a focus on:
1. As an introduction, participants were asked to list their music education and / or work
history to establish an understanding of what they do. Parents were ask to list their child’s
involvement in the school music program.
2. Based on their musical and / or work experiences and interactions, participants were asked
to determine the identity of an instrumental music teacher and to elaborate their answers. This
gave an insight to the duties and pedagogical function of an instrumental music teacher.
3. In the broader context, participants were asked to identify the successes in the school’s
music program and how instrumental music teachers might contribute to those successes
mentioned.
4. Similarly, they were asked to comment on what they believed were areas of improvement
in the school’s music program and the limitations of instrumental music teachers in
improving those areas.
Role of Instrumental Music Teachers
Due to the nature of semi-structured interviews, participants were able to convey the role of
instrumental music teachers without any boundaries limiting or structuring their answers. They
were free to list a few different roles, or just one if they felt it could aptly summarise the role of
instrumental music teachers. Some participants felt more inclined towards joining two distinct roles
together, resulting in the musician-teacher (musician first, then teacher) and teacher-musician
(teacher first, then musician) roles. A few participants suggested the term ‘psychologist’ when
explaining the role of instrumental music teachers. The ‘psychologist’ role in this project did not

27
refer to instrumental music teachers being professional psychologists, but instead expressed how
instrumental music teachers were concerned with students’ well-being and pastoral care.
Table 1 Instrumental Music Teacher Responses on the Role of Instrumental Music Teachers
Instrumental
Music Teacher
Job Description of an
Instrumental Music
Teacher
Other Experiences
of the Participant
Role of an
Instrumental
Music Teacher
Kerry
Head of Strings
- full-time salaried
- Individual and small
group violin and viola
lessons (including VCE
solo music performance)
- Conducts 4 string
orchestras
- Assists with the Suzuki
string program: weekly
group lessons
- Runs the Years 4 & 5
classroom instrumental
music string program
- Previous work history:
Classroom music teacher
1. Musician
2. Teacher
3. Psychologist
Benjamin
Head of Woodwind
- 0.8 sessional load
group woodwind lessons
- Conducts the Clarinet
ensemble and assists with
other woodwind ensembles
- Teaches at 2 other
schools
- Has always taught
instrumental music and
conducted ensembles
- 1st
clarinet player and
president of a top
community orchestra
1. Teacher-musician
2. Psychologist
Adam
Teacher of Brass
- 0.2 sessional load
group brass lessons
- Has also worked at this
research site as an IT
technical support staff
- Teaches at 2 other
schools and is also a
tertiary lecturer
- Previous work history:
Classroom music teacher
and music technology
teacher
1. Musician-teacher
2. Psychologist
All three participants in this sample group agreed that instrumental music teachers are musicians,
teachers and psychologist. Despite stating clearly that instrumental music teachers perform the role
of a teacher due to the instructional component of their work, the participants also recognised that
the role of instrumental music teachers is different to a classroom teacher. Adam viewed the
instrumental music teacher as a musician-teacher:

28
A professional musician who teaches during the day. They are on the ground and in the field
playing gigs, transferring knowledge from gigs and practice routines to students. We have to
be able to instill enthusiasm, motivation and commitment. (Interview, February 2016)
Kerry and Adam emphasised how the role of instrumental music teachers is an interaction of both
musician and teacher activities, with the teacher role growing out of the musician role. They
highlighted the need for instrumental music teachers to be active musicians first before transferring
their practical knowledge and expertise to students.
Benjamin (Head of Woodwind) viewed the role of instrumental music teachers as a teacher-
musician. However, he also acknowledged that the role construction of instrumental music teachers
is dependent on the individual. Benjamin explained that there are certainly both teacher and musician
roles, but which role takes precedence is dependent on the nature of the instrumental music teacher’s
work:
Some instrumental music teachers here play in many professional shows, so they get more of
their income from performing. Whereas, I get a large majority of my income from teaching.
(Interview, February 2016)
In Benjamin’s case, he saw his role as an instrumental music teacher to be a teacher-musician, with
the teacher role taking dominance over the musician role but still coexisting together. In a broader
societal context, Benjamin gave the example of when he had to list his occupation on official
documents. He did not introduce his occupation as a musician but instead identified himself as a
music teacher.
In addition, the nature of individual instruction paves the opportunity for instrumental music teachers
to develop a unique teacher-student relationship which might not exist in typical classroom teacher-
student relationships. The three participants agreed on the psychologist role of instrumental music
teachers, although to different extents. Adam felt that instrumental teaching did include some
elements of being a psychologist such as listening to problems and difficulties faced by students, but
that should be left to professional psychologists who are employed within the school. In contrast,
Kerry felt more strongly about the psychologist role:
Some students deal with death, families and problems. Their instrumental music teacher
might be the only teacher they see individually, once a week. Part of my role is listening and
talking to them. Previously, two of my violin teachers have alerted me to circumstances which
needed attention. One student was unhappy with his stepfather, who was quite violent
towards him. The other student was unhappy with the treatment from his older brother. Both
were reported to Junior School. In both cases, none of their class teachers knew about it. So,

29
they felt quite comfortable telling their respective violin teachers.
(Interview, December 2015)
As teachers, there is a pastoral component involved and the nature of one-on-one teaching allows for
greater opportunities to be concerned with student well-being.
The next section discusses the responses given by classroom music teachers on the role of
instrumental music teachers. At this research site, the instrumental music teachers seemed to also be
active, professional musicians. There is a high level of musical involvement outside of the school
environment. The instrumental music teachers often perform in masterclasses, shows, musicals and
orchestras. The emphasis on a high-level of musicianship and teaching as a musician seemed to be a
trait of instrumental music teachers at this school.
Table 2 Classroom Music Teacher Responses on the Role of Instrumental Music Teachers
Classroom Music
Teacher
Other Experiences of the Participant Role of an
Instrumental Music
Teacher
Cathy
Director of Music
Previous work history:
- Instrumental music teacher, in a small capacity
1. Musician
2. Teacher
Paul
Coordinator of
Junior School
Music
- Year 3 Mathematics & English teacher
- Instrumental music teacher, in a small capacity
1. Specialist
2. Administrator
David
Assistant Director of
Music Academic
Program
- Instrumental music teacher for over a decade, before
transitioning into classroom music teaching
1. Teacher-musician
2. Psychologist
Occasionally, the impact of professional playing might cause temporary disruptions to the teaching
schedule due to rehearsals or travels. Cathy (Director of Music) debated the importance an
instrumental music teacher who is a performer versus the continuity of instrumental lessons:
Continuity and following-up with students are basic teaching elements that need to be fulfilled, but
opportunities for playing are as important for instrumental music teachers as ‘they bring the
experience and passion back to the students’ (Cathy, Interview, February 2016). Any opportunities
for instrumental music teachers to further their performing and musicianship skills are highly valued

30
as it contributes to their teaching expertise. Cathy elaborated:
First of all, they have to be excellent performers, that is the most important thing. Then the
teaching, communicating and certainly being able to get the best out of individual students.
These are such specific qualities and skills. They are really the most important things I think.
Like any teacher in today’s climate, we have to have a multitude of skills. But for an
instrumental music teacher, I consider the instrumental music teachers to be the most
important part of our department. Without the instrumental music teachers, we are nothing.
Classroom music does not work without instrumental music. And music is about playing and
making sound, not just talking about it. So, we must have the best quality musicians working
with our boys and those people then need to be great teachers and communicators.
In her view, the music performing informed the teaching role. Cathy also emphasised how
instrumental music teachers are the core of the school music program. Their role is pivotal as
instrumental music lessons equip students with the skills to play in ensembles and provide the
opportunities for students to be active musicians outside of the music classroom.
In contrast, David (Assistant Director of Music Academic Program) had a more holistic view on the
role of instrumental music teachers, with music being the product of a broader education. He puts
forward the opinion that as an instrumental music teacher, the main purpose is for the benefit of
students and their learning, which is the same as a classroom teacher. David elaborated that
instrumental music teachers have a very specific set of skills and expertise, but their role is educating
students which encompasses more than just music. He recognised that there is a difference in the
approach and delivery of instrumental music education, but the intrinsic teacher role is very much the
same. This teacher role also encompasses a pastoral element, which results in the psychologist role.
In addition to the teacher role, David believed that being a musician was just as important:
I do not know that you can be an effective instrumental music teacher if it was purely based
on theoretical knowledge. I think there needs some practical side of it, which is performing,
that is your PD (Professional Development) as an instrumental music teacher.
David gave the example of how when instrumental music teachers meet new people and mention
their occupation, the next question which follows is inevitably asking if they performed or which
instrument they played. When David was questioned further to explore the idea of a musician-teacher
and teacher-musician, he said: ‘When I was an instrumental music teacher, I was making more
money off the teaching than performing. So I was a teacher before a musician’. David concluded that
both the teacher and musician roles exist in symbiosis but the teacher role is larger than the musician

31
role. This viewpoint is similar to Benjamin (Head of Woodwind). Both participants made the
association between how source of income might be a factor when determining the role.
Both Cathy and David illustrated the triangle which make up a school music program:
Instrumental program
Classroom program Ensemble program
David explained how each point on the triangle needed to work cohesively in order to inform one
another. Cathy reinforced how instrumental music teachers in a music department are the most
important people, next to the students. She explained:
Without a strong instrumental program, there will be no ensembles. The classroom program
must work side by side the instrumental teaching as you cannot study music if you are not
making, playing and experiencing it. The classroom program enhances it.
Paul (Coordinator of Junior School Music) viewed the role of instrumental music teachers as
fulfilling a specific function in a school by providing students with an opportunity to learn an
instrument from a specialist with considerable expertise. But he also mentioned that the involvement
of an instrumental music teacher in a school program can vary widely and this made the role hard to
define. Paul gave the example of instrumental music teachers who have administrative roles such as
repairing and maintaining instruments, managing other instrumental staff in their department or
conducting ensembles. In addition, he highlighted the strong relationship which usually exists
between instrumental music teachers and their students due to the one-on-one instruction.
The subsequent section reports on the responses given by non-music classroom music teachers on
the role of instrumental music teachers. At this research site, the music faculty is suited at the same
campus but across the road from the main buildings. This is similar to most schools where the music
department often gets too big that it needs its own building to accommodate the variety of classes,
lessons and ensembles.

32
Table 3 General Classroom Teacher Responses on the Role of Instrumental Music Teachers
General Classroom Teacher Other Experiences of the Participant Role of
Instrumental Music
Teachers
Carrie
- Teacher of Mathematics
- Director of Coordinate Program
N / A 1. Musician
2. Teacher
James
VCE Teacher of Science
- Hobby: Arranges and composes music
- Has taught music privately
1. Support staff
Joseph
Teacher of History and Philosophy
- Organist of a religious order for 10 years
- Sung in church choirs
1. Musician
The teachers in this sample group do not have any or much direct, frequent interactions with
instrumental music teachers. They are aware that instrumental music teachers exist because they
have students in their classes who undertake instrumental music lessons and have observed
instrumental music teachers conducting or performing in ensembles with the students at school
assemblies or concerts. Hence, the musician role of instrumental music teachers was viewed quite
strongly by participants in this group.
A classroom music teacher described the isolation of the music department as: ‘We are almost like
another world over here, the whole music staff runs like a sub-school’ and another classroom music
teacher mentioned: ‘I am not sure how many teachers know how many instrumental staff we have
got and how big the department is.’ In addition, most instrumental music teachers tend to teach at
recess and lunchtimes. The implication of this physical separation and differences in schedules are
that instrumental music teachers and non-music staff do not have many opportunities to meet one
another in a common staff room. Hence, the teachers in this sample group have made the point that
they are not aware of everything that goes on in the music faculty to be able to give an informed
response and they are only able to comment based on their personal experiences or assumptions.
Carrie (Teacher of Mathematics) mentioned the marrying of the musician and teacher role for
instrumental music teachers. The two roles are intrinsically bound. She strongly recognised that
instrumental music teachers are teachers, but ‘having the best of both worlds’ as they are able to
maintain an active performing career while complementing it with teaching their passion. Unlike

33
Carrie, the other two participants in this sample group did not recognise the teacher role as strongly.
Joseph (Teacher of History and Philosophy) did not mention the teacher role when perceiving the
role of instrumental music teachers. Instead, he viewed the role as being largely a musician while the
other participant, James (Teacher of Science) perceived it as a supporting role in a school:
Instrumental music teachers are not teachers in the same category as a classroom teacher.
They are very different things, I have taught music privately as well. A teacher in the sense
that you are giving people knowledge and skills they don’t have. Certainly, a teacher from
that perspective. But, not a teacher in the sense of a school teacher in the classroom.
(Interview, December 2015)
Despite recognising that instrumental music teachers are imparting knowledge and skills to their
students, James did not see them as teachers in a school context. He did make the distinction
between a teacher and classroom teacher role, but concluded that he viewed instrumental music
teachers as support staff in a school environment.
The last section discusses the responses given by parents on the role of instrumental music teachers.
Table 4 Parent Responses on the Role of Instrumental Music Teachers
Parent Role of an
Instrumental Music Teacher
Emma
1. Teacher
Amy
1. Teacher
Sandra
- Sandra is also the music administrator at the research site
1. Specialist
2. Musician
Sandra viewed the role of instrumental music teachers as similar to language teachers. They are
specialists who require more expert knowledge and specialised skills than a classroom teacher. This
specialist role was also raised by Paul (Coordinator of Junior School Music). Sandra explained:
As instrumental music teachers, they bring their professional knowledge and experience,
along with their educational knowledge. It really is a marrying of two types of education and
skills. (Interview, December 2015)
In recognising that instrumental music teachers are specialists, Sandra rejected the support staff role

34
portrayal of instrumental music teachers. Both Sandra and Adam (Teacher of Brass) brought up the
point of instrumental music teachers being classified as support staff in some Victorian schools, and
as a result are more likely to have unsuccessful music programs. Adam explained:
It is not a true reflection of their work. Support staff are usually administrators, IT and people
who help in the daily running of the school from an administrative point of view. (Interview,
February 2016)
The implication of this classification for instrumental music teachers is a much lower rate of pay.
Sandra elaborated that private schools who pay instrumental music teachers the tutor rate rather than
the Victorian Music Teachers Association (VMTA) rate tended to attract a lower calibre of teachers.
She emphasised the importance of paying instrumental music teachers fairly and correctly. In 2015,
the recommended hourly fee by the VMTA was more than double the support staff hourly rate
offered in Victorian government schools.5
The VMTA’s recommended minimum teaching rates are
widely recognised and used by instrumental music teachers, schools, music festivals and Eisteddford
competitions in Victoria.
Similar to Sandra, Emma rejected the support staff role portrayal of instrumental music teachers:
Being an instrumental music teacher, you are actually teaching a skill. Teaching students
something they don’t know, they are learning it from scratch. Support is normally reinforcing
something that has already been taught to them. (Interview, December 2015)
When questioned further to probe the notion of the instrumental music teacher role, Emma
concluded that the teacher role in this case is different to a classroom teacher. She listed the example
of her son addressing his instrumental music teacher by her first name, rather than using the formal
title and last name, which was the expectation for all students at the research site. This was the same
example listed by Benjamin (Head of Woodwind) when he explained that instrumental music
teachers and classroom teachers were different as most of his students addressed him by his first
name.
Amy described the role of instrumental music teachers as educators of music: to get students
interested in a particular instrument, develop a love for music and extend them to the best of their
abilities. She elaborated on how instrumental music teachers provided a more personal level of
teaching by tailoring lessons to individual students. This made instrumental music education
different to general classroom education. Hence, Amy saw the role of instrumental music teachers as
being quite unique and different to classroom teachers.
5
Based on the Education Support Class Salary Rates (November, 2015) released by the Victorian State Government, the
casual hourly rate of pay for a Level 1 Range 1 support staff was $27.51, Level 1 Range 2 was $33.25, Level 1 Range 3 was
$40.34. The VMTA recommended hourly rate for a qualified teacher of music / accompanist was $70.

35
Challenges Faced by Instrumental Music Teachers
Most of the participants in this research recognised that instrumental music teachers often work at
multiple schools, which make integration into the work place a challenge. Of the three instrumental
music teachers interviewed, two of the instrumental music teachers worked at more than one
institution in addition to the research site at the time of interviews. As instrumental music teachers
often rush from one school to another and teach through lunchtimes, they rarely get the opportunity
to meet other members of staff. This could lead to a lack of knowledge and understanding about the
work instrumental music teachers do in schools, especially by non-music staff, as they are not seen
in daily school life. As a result, instrumental music teachers might feel that they cannot integrate into
the school community and have no allegiance to any school. Cathy highlighted that: ‘Instrumental
music teachers often feel like they do not belong anywhere (Interview, February 2016).’ On the other
hand, Sandra said:
Experienced teachers are used to that scenario of not being a part of the wider school. They
really quite like coming in and maximising their time with the students and then going off to
their other work places - private studio or another schools. I do not think they are interested
or search for that, and they have the opportunity to be a part of general staff activities but
vast majority do not take it up. I believe that they are quite happy with fitting in what they
need to into their very tight timeframe. (Interview, February 2016)
The second concern was the lack of job stability as instrumental music teachers. Most instrumental
music teachers are sessional staff employed by institutions. This means that their employment and
income is affected by fluctuations in student enrolments. As a sessional instrumental music teacher
before moving into an on-going classroom music position, David discussed the differences in
mindset and work attitude. He mentioned how there is much more ownership and sense of
responsibility in his current role:
This is not to do with the amount of money. But you know that your time is valued, the school
puts it down in writing as an on-going position and there is a sense of stability. (Interview,
February 2016)
By offering more staffed positions for instrumental music teachers, it would ensure greater job
stability. Cathy suggested that this could potentially help instrumental music teachers integrate into
the wider school community and increase awareness of what instrumental music teachers do. Paul
explained how having the right instrumental music teacher on staff could be beneficial for the school:
Benefits of salaried positions are huge, a bit of time release to get to know other staff and
students better. They can start thinking about how to recruit students and build up the
program rather than dashing off to another school. (Interview, February 2016)

36
At this research site, there are two on-going salaried instrumental music teacher position. This is
unusual for independent schools in this part of Victoria. Most other schools similar in status to this
research site have several salaried Heads of Instrumental Faculties (e.g. Strings / Woodwind / Brass /
Percussion / Keyboard). When questioned about the areas of improvement in the school’s music
program, Cathy expressed a keen interest in increasing the number of salaried instrumental music
teacher positions.
Key Findings
A key finding of this study was the conflict which existed between the teacher and musician roles.
The research revealed that the role of instrumental music teachers was subjective and that the
instrumental music teachers’ personal views on their roles were not necessarily consistent with those
of their colleagues. These results support Ballantyne’s (2005) findings in the context of Australian
classroom music teacher roles as outlined in my earlier literature review. Ballantyne constructed
three categories in which classroom music teachers identified themselves to belong to: a musician
who happens to be teaching, a music teacher, and a teacher who teaches music. Although
Ballantyne’s research was on classroom music teachers and not instrumental music teachers, the
results from this project strongly resonated with two of her categories: a musician who happens to be
teaching and a teacher who teaches music. Majority of the participants in this research highlighted
both the musician and teacher roles of instrumental music teachers. Approximately half the
participants felt that the musician role superceded the teacher role, and the other half vice versus.
Ballantyne also found that a teacher’s association with one of these roles was based on his / her
perceived music performance ability. However, the findings from this research seemed to suggest
that an instrumental music teacher’s association with a particular roles could be linked to source of
income rather than perceived music performance ability. An instrumental music teacher might have
competent music performance ability but gets most of his / her income from teaching rather than
performing, and as a result identity the teacher role more strongly than the musician role.
The research findings from the non-music classroom teacher group also suggested that the
instrumental music teacher role allowed musicians the flexibility and opportunity to maintain a
music performing career while complementing it with teaching. In my earlier literature review, the
impression of a flexible work schedule was also raised in Watson’s (2010) research regarding the
challenges faced by instrumental music teachers. Watson explained that this flexibility was not
always true as the instrumental music teachers’ work schedule was restricted by school timetables
and routines (p. 198-199). The findings from this research suggest that non-music classroom teachers
might not realise the reality of instrumental music teaching schedules.

37
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The narrative inquiry research design used in this study allowed for the qualitative documentation
and description of the work instrumental music teachers do. One of the difficulties in trying to
provide a succinct representation of a project of this nature is diluting the complexity of data (Bartel,
2006, p. 366) and hence reducing the multifarious nature of an instrumental music teacher. As
instrumental music teachers, they perform a variety of roles which require a ‘toolbox’ (Harrison,
2006, p. 75) of skills.
The attitudes and beliefs towards the role of instrumental music teachers were broad and complex.
From the data collection, six distinct roles were interpreted: musician, teacher, specialist,
psychologist, administrator and support staff. In addition, two fusion roles were identified: musician-
teacher (musician first, then teacher) and teacher-musician (teacher first, then musician). In seeking
to provide answers to the first research question (What is the role of an instrumental music teacher in
an independent school?), reflection on the findings identified the following distinct roles as
significant:
1. Musician role: An extensive knowledge of their specialisation area, including the practical
ability to demonstrate musically for students
2. Teacher role: Communication skills
3. Psychologist role: The ability to interact sincerely with students
4. Administrator role: Excellent management skills of self, resources and people
The role of a specialist seems to suggest a combination both musician and teacher roles. By using the
word ‘specialist’, we recognise that instrumental music teachers are both musicians and teachers,
without trying to distinguish which is more important or dominant.
A key theme which emerged out of this research was the existence of both musician and teacher
roles. Seventy-five percent of the participants related the role of instrumental music teachers to being
both a musician and teacher. The variations within this perception are: the teacher role is developed
from the musician role, the teacher role is first before being a musician or both roles coexist in a
single entity but one is more dominant.
Based on this study, it appears that the role of instrumental music teachers is largely both a teacher
and musician role. The teacher component exists in the sense of imparting knowledge and skills, but
the participants recognise that this teacher role is different to the traditional teacher role in schools.
One of the key traits of a teacher, whether classroom or instrumental, is administration. It is clear

38
that teachers of today no longer perform the duty of just teaching. Schools are extremely busy places
with an array of activities happening; teachers must be able to organise their teaching calendars and
plan their curriculum accordingly. In addition, students have to be psychologically well in order to
maximise their learning potential. Hence, taking a sincere interest in student well-being and building
relationships with students will help facilitate the success of any teacher. These findings are
consistent with the issues raised in my earlier literature review and resonate strongly with Hindsley’s
(1937) description of an ideal instrumental music teacher.
Limitations
Limitations of this research include the specific socioeconomic status and geographic location of the
research site. As this research is limited to the role of instrumental music teachers in an independent
school, there may be important issues in instrumental music education that were not addressed (e.g.
lack of resources, ethnic diversity). This study is not meant to represent typical instrumental music
teaching scenarios but instead, to provide a context for discussion.
Recommendations
In my earlier literature review of challenges faced by instrumental music teachers, the issues
surrounding isolation, organisation of teaching schedule, work stability and lesson expectations were
explored. The results of this research strongly supports two of the issues raised in the literature
review. From this research, the two main themes identified as challenges faced by instrumental
music teachers when working in an independent school are:
1. Failure to integrate;
2. Lack of job stability
The school model of providing more staffed positions for instrumental music teachers might help
solve these two challenges. By providing instrumental music teachers with regular on-going work,
they are less likely to need to supplement their income by working at multiple schools. This would
allow them to spend more time and efforts growing their body of students at one school and make
more meaningful connections with staff there. However, concerns like fluctuations in student
enrolments and time allowances for administrative duties make this a questionable model from the
business aspect of running a school. Schools in Victoria who employ instrumental music teachers as
salaried instead of sessional staff have been known to then reduce the number of instrumental music
teachers they employ to ensure that this model is sustainable in the long term.
These findings warrant further research, particularly comparative studies between different contexts.
In future, it may be valuable to develop a more detailed research of instrumental music teachers in

39
different types of school institutions (public / Catholic) and locations (metropolitan / regional) in
order to establish a more homogeneous description of the instrumental music teacher role. In
Victoria, as educational policy is undergoing a period of uncertainty in the area of instrumental
music, we must continue to examine the role of instrumental music teachers in schools. The ‘voice’
of teachers, parents and students should be heard in this policy discussion. This investigation has
proved valuable for me and the participants in promoting a deeper level of reflection. It appears that
instrumental music teachers generally lack avenues for sharing their experiences, thinking and ideas
(Hallam and Creech, 2010; Robinson, 2012). Sharing and publishing discussions like this could help
develop a common resource for the music education community. It is hoped that schools who use
this research will benefit from this work in the holistic planning of their music departments.

Deon Ning - Research Paper

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (6)

Similar to Deon Ning - Research Paper

Similar to Deon Ning - Research Paper (20)

Deon Ning - Research Paper