The value of learning to play chamber music has long since been recognized by

performers and educators of classical music. While it goes without saying that chamber

musicians must possess the same skills as their large-ensemble counterparts, such as the ability

to listen to other players to identify where and how their own part plays a role in the music,

chamber music is particularly valuable in developing and finely honing those skills, as well as a

myriad of other skills that cultivate expert musicianship. Many studies suggest that musicians

that actively participate in chamber ensembles are more musically aware - that is, they have a

functional understanding of the music, their part, and others’ parts in relation to their part. These

musicians are excellent listeners, and they exhibit behaviors that are less often seen in large-

ensemble performance, such as active movement to give cues and keep time. All around,

engaging in small-ensemble practices in the absence of a conductor requires a level of focus and

awareness that is often missed in large ensembles, not because it is not needed, but because the

musicians in large ensembles can inadvertently get away with neglecting their development in

those areas.

This is especially true of young and inexperienced musicians. Beginning bands and

orchestras are typically tasked with learning to read music and figuring out their complex

instruments, which alone can be an extensive process. That does not even include the already

generally neglected ear training and music theory that would heavily benefit the instrumental

learning of young musicians. Then, as if they did not already have enough to focus on, the

students have to learn to follow their conductor. With all these different tasks pulling at the

students’ attention, classroom music learning can become stressful and unrewarding.

In response to this issue, educators have considered the idea of introducing chamber

music to students earlier on than what is typical - which is introducing chamber music at the
more advanced levels, sometimes not until post-secondary study. Chamber music eliminates the

distraction that a conductor can sometimes present, but also requires that the musicians learn to

give each other physical cues in order to successfully play together. The young musicians must

also learn to listen to each other in order to achieve a successful performance, which increases

their musical awareness and aids in their ear training and comprehension of basic music theory.

Introducing chamber music to students as beginners sets them up for future success and

masterful musicianship by compiling many aspects of music learning into one musical activity.

Crask, K. P. (2004). Good String Quartet Music For a Beginning Ensemble. The

Instrumentalist,58(9), 38-40. Retrieved September 10, 2018.

Tall, J. (1973). Where Music Begins. Music Educators Journal,59(6), 61-61. Retrieved

from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3400441