ISM Music Journal September / October 2011

Challenges facing the

contemporary conservatoire:
a psychologist’s perspective
John Sloboda argues that reflection is a key requirement for HE music training
institutions and the individuals that work in them, particularly at times of rapid
change in the sector.
This article is based on a keynote address given on An example of the first type of reflection might
28 February 2009 at a conference on The Reflective be the periodic assessment that an instrumental
Conservatoire - Building Connections, held at the teacher gives to the choice of technical exercises
Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Barbican that they provide for their students. The goal is the
Conference Centre, London. achievement of a particular quality of performance
(fluency, tone) and reflection may result in a change
1. What is reflection and why should in the nature or the order in which certain technical
exercises are offered to the student. There’s no
we do it? one word which perfectly describes this kind of
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama hosts reflection, but let us call it Professional Reflection.
an international conference series with the title This is one reason why we engage with other
The Reflective Conservatoire. The third conference practitioners (whether through meetings,
in the series will take place in March 2012. journals, or informal exchanges). We hope to
Above: John Sloboda The series title assumes that reflection is a good pick up ideas for better ways of doing the things
thing for conservatoires, and the people that teach we do every day.
in them. But what exactly is reflection, and why An example of the second type of reflection might
should we engage in it? be an instrumental teacher who decides that
Reflection is critically observing the relationship interpretational autonomy (rather than a very
between what you intend to do (your goals or high level of technical excellence) is a key goal
aims), what you do to achieve these goals (your for their students, and has to go away and do
activities), and the outcomes of what you do (the some fundamental rethinking about the content
results of your activities). Productive reflection and approach of their teaching. Such reflection
leads to changes, either in the goals or the activities, can lead to significantly new ways of thinking
so that outcomes better reflect the goals. or doing. In some contexts, it becomes the stuff
of high creativity, the setting of new trends, the
This is a psychological process, which can be reconceptualisation of the field or the activity.
carried out by individuals. It can also be a group
activity which brings individuals into conversation There’s no one word for this second kind of
with one another. reflection either, but we could call it Paradigm
Reflection (borrowing from Thomas Kuhn who
used the term paradigm change to describe major
2. Two different types of reflection shifts in scientific thinking which have moved
There are probably at least two kinds of reflection, science decisively forward. Such a term seems
one aimed at better achieving outcomes of equally apposite for artistic and cultural change).
agreed goals, and one aimed at reviewing the
goals themselves. This is the difference between
improving what you do, and doing new things.

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ISM Music Journal September / October 2011
Almost by definition, paradigm reflection cannot
be an everyday activity. Reconceptualisation can
only take place when there is a stable pre-existing
system way of doing things. And fields only exist
because there are thousands of people who have
devoted millions of hours to establishing and
maintaining these well-recognised fields, well-
recognised ways of doing things.
3. Tensions between the two types
of reflection
And so here is already the root of an inevitable
tension that plays itself out in every individual life,
every family, every organisation. There is the need
for stability, order, predictability, and systems,
within which existing skills can be perfected.
But there is also the need to review the system
itself in relation to changing circumstance, and
ask whether the system is still fit for purpose in
a changing world. The more rapidly the world is
changing, the more intense becomes the need for
reviewing the system, and changing it.
In many organisations, this tension plays itself out
in organisation dynamics, dynamics which can
sometimes become rather personal and heated.
Individuals within organisations can become
typecast as representatives of one or other trend.
Those who concentrate on professional reflection
can sometimes be seen as conservative or
traditionalist, unwilling to accept change,
even obstructive of change. In confrontational
organisational dynamics they are typecast as
‘stick in the muds’. Those who concentrate on
paradigm reflection can be seen as meddlers,
disrupters, or people who may be involved in
selling out on core values.
The reality is that both types of reflection are
needed, and that the tensions between these two
types of reflection is not only inevitable, but it is
actually necessary, to be welcomed, and part of
what a reflective organisation is. This is not least
because although both approaches have strengths
and advantages, they also have weaknesses and
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disadvantages which need to be checked and
challenged from the perspective of the other.
Everyone is capable of both kinds of reflection.
Most of us do both kinds. We get into personal
and professional trouble here, as in all areas of life,
when we get the wrong balance between the two.
What is the right balance? Well, it depends on both
the person and the circumstances. What’s right
for me may not be right for you, and what was
appropriate for the 1970s may not be appropriate
for the current decade. But it would probably be
safe to assert that the majority of people in the
system should be engaged with professional
reflection for the majority of the time.
4. Why paradigm reflection now?
However, there are times when paradigm
reflection is both necessary and useful. At times of
great and rapid social and cultural change, such as
we are witnessing today, then paradigm reflection
becomes somewhat more important.
What are the social and cultural trends in the music
world which require conservatoires and those
who teach in them to undertake paradigmatic
reflection?
I’ll just mention three trends, although there are
probably many more.
First are the changing employment patterns for
musicians. The job opportunities available to
today’s graduates are different in many ways from
the jobs that were available to those graduating
20 years ago. What implications does this have for
what skills we teach, and the way we teach them?
Second is the changing cultural and ethnic
makeup of society, which is reflected in the
range of types of music that people engage with,
and the range of people who engage with music,
either as artists, students or audiences. How does
this impact on our choice of repertoire, or the
performing contexts for which we prepare our
students?

Above:The Guildhall School
of Music & Drama – venue of
the Reflective Conservatoire
conferences
Photo: Leon Chew
ISM Music Journal September / October 2011
often requires. Such questioning can also be
psychologically unsettling for individuals. It is not
comfortable to question long-held assumptions.
Doing the deep reflection well probably needs
sustained support, not just a one-off injection
every few years. Is it possible that organisations
such as the ISM have a role and opportunity
here? ISM members include many people who
work in conservatoires, and has a commitment
to professional development of its members. If
Third is the changing shape of the education paradigm reflection is important at the present
and training sector as a whole, and its funding. time, can ISM work with partners in conservatoires
Conservatoires do not have the monopoly on and more broadly within the profession which
advanced musical training. It occurs in other provides a more sustained and structured context
institutions such as universities and colleges, as for reflection than is provided by admirable, but
well as commercially and in ‘on the job’ or informal inevitably time limited, conferences?
settings. What is the distinctive value of learning
or teaching in a conservatoire? John Sloboda, Research Professor at the Guildhall School
of Music & Drama.
5. How best to do reflection? The 3rd International Reflective Conservatoire Conference
Performing at the Heart of Knowledge will take place from
How should conservatoires and those working in
Saturday 17 - Tuesday 20 March 2012.
them best undertake deep paradigmatic reflection?
www.gsmd.ac.uk/about_the_school/research/reflective_
One way is through special and time-limited conservatoire.html
opportunities which are particularly conducive to
such broader reflection. Events such as conferences Editor’s Note
can create and foster opportunities to step back The ISM will be considering the points made by John Sloboda in his
from the everyday and ask some questions that article and exploring how we can best address the challenge which
he has set the Society.
we don’t normally ask, not because they are
unimportant, but because our normal routines
and processes are not conducive to dealing with
them productively. However, there is a down side
to such special events, be they conferences, review
days, or whatever. Because they are ‘set apart’ from
the daily work, people can brainstorm all kinds of
interesting scenarios, which wither almost as soon
as they get back home.
As a lifelong professional, I have been quite
disappointed by the opportunities afforded me for
deep and sustained paradigmatic reflection within
the institutions and disciplinary bodies that I have
been a member of.
And this is partly because institutions don’t find
it easy to question the very values on which their
existence is premised, as paradigmatic reflection
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