Research Catalogue

an international database for artistic research

• 3. Internal publication Research published in this issue are only for internal circulation within the Royal Conservatoire, The Hague.
• 2. Royal Conservatoire Investigations Royal Conservatoire Investigations
• 1. Master Research Projects All research in KC

• Violin education in middle childhood (2017) author(s): Koosje van Haeringen published in: KC Research Portal
  Abstract Title of Research: Violin education in middle childhood. Research Question: How can an optimal musical and violinistic development be achieved in the teaching of children in middle childhood? Summary of Results: In middle childhood (7-11/12 years) enter a new phase in the development of their cognitive functions, their motor skills and social behaviour. In this research I investigate how these developments should be understood from the perspective of violin teaching to children in this age group and how these developments can be used by the teacher to the benefit of their education to become all-round violinists and musicians. For this research I studied the relevant literature in the field of development psychology and the training of young talents and I compared the scholarly theories and insights with my personal experience as a violin and violin methodology teacher of more than 20 years. In this thesis I describe the great potential that violin teaching to children in middle childhood offers, provided that the teacher has a good understanding of the learning process of the child, a clear vision and long-term strategy for the teaching and tremendous patience. Central elements of this vision should be a clear overview and balanced approach of all the different elements that make an expert violinist and all-round musician, the flexibility to respond and adapt to the specific abilities and needs of each individual pupil and an approach that fully involves the child in his/her own learning process.
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• Understanding Classical and Early Romantic Dynamics 1750-1830 (2017) author(s): Bart van Oort published in: KC Research Portal
  In eighteenth century scores, dynamics were notated almost exclusively in a general way. The dynamics belonging to the melancholy or passionate development of a musical phrase or the minimal dynamical differences between a dissonant and a consonant in (for instance) a Mozart Adagio or a Chopin Nocturne are so subtle that it is even better to not notate anything. The deepest utterances of both the composer's and the pianist's soul cannot be caught in any notation. However, in my opinion many of the notated dynamical indications are not fully understood or mis-interpreted. At the same time, implied dynamics can be found (while today often not realized) in virtually every musical phrase. In this research project I have investigated classical dynamics, focusing on the local function of forte and piano, on crescendos and diminuendos, the influence of harmony, the dissonance-consonance resolution, the relative meaning of ff, the dynamics of high notes, and other factors, such as the density of the notation, the direction of the melody, the register of the phrase and the character of the work. This research is part of a larger research project on the nature of the classical language, addressing dynamics, rubato and phrasing.
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• How can aspects of the Kodály philosophy and methodology be integrated into instrumental education? (2016) author(s): Mieke van Dael published in: KC Research Portal
  Name: Mieke van Dael Main Subject: Music Education According to the Kodály Concept Research Supervisor: Renee Jonker Title of Research: Integrating aspects of the Kodály philosophy and methodology into instrumental education. Research Question: How can aspects of the Kodály philosophy and methodology be integrated into instrumental education? Summary of Results: I started this Master's study and Research while searching for tools which would allow me to develop my students' inner hearing, and while also being aware that instrumental education has remained the same for a long time even though the world around us is changing. In addition, I realised that during my career as a performing bassoonist I have seen changes which I did not understand. My study has opened the door to a wide range of possibilities and follow-up steps for me to take. I now understand why I found a number of things difficult in classical music performance. As far as I am concerned that is closely related to the fact that I was trained to reproduce music from notation, whereas I think that making music is much more than merely reproducing something. Splendid masterworks have been composed throughout musical history and I can thoroughly enjoy them if I am given the chance to play them. However, for me, that is not the only way to make my musical voice heard. I also need to speak a living musical language with my pupils and colleague musicians. If self-expression is an important part of the new learning, then I think that it is essential I develop musical expression with my pupils in order to speak a living musical language. It would be extremely interesting in a follow-up study to investigate how the language develops and then to see what is necessary to develop a living musical language-one in which you learn to listen, speak, read, write and interpret. By doing this research I have come to understand how aspects from the Kodály philosophy and methodology can be integrated into instrumental education and I can see that this is enriching. It has given me many insights and a broad palette of tools which I can use to work in the profession in a more creative and innovative manner. Biography: I studied bassoon, contrabassoon and chamber music at the conservatories of Maastricht and Amsterdam at the end of the 1980s. I began my career in the Dutch musical landscape at the start of the 1990s. I have been a bassoonist and contrabassoonist for more than 20 years and have given concerts in the Netherlands and abroad, including a number of years intensive involvement with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. My career as a bassoon teacher has also covered more than 20 years, and is nowadays at Scholen in de Kunst in Amersfoort and at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague.
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• Vladislav Solotarjow and the Russian way of playing the accordion: a case study (2016) author(s): Elisa van Kesteren published in: KC Research Portal
  Abstract Name: Elisa van Kesteren Research supervisor: Stefan Petrovic Title of the Research: The Russian way of playing the accordion: a case study related to the Chambersuite of Vladislav Solotarjow Research question: Does the Russian way of playing the bayan exist and if so, how can I achive this in my own artistic practice? Summary of the results: Russian music is very particular. Through the centuries of this huge country’s history, art has always been of great importance, no matter what the political situation was. The world still honors their cultural heritage, their literature, dance and music. Russian music has always touched and inspired me so it was obvious to specialize during my master in this subject. Becoming myself a performing musician I wanted to investigate what this Russian music is about. What are the characteristics and how do Russian performers play? I wanted to get as close as possible to the ‘Russian way of playing’. Focusing on Vladislav Solotarjow’s ‘Chambersuite’ or ‘Sentimental pieces to Alexander Blok’, made me develop my Russian way of playing. I have done this through listening, analyzing and comparing recordings, from Mika Vayrynen a Scandinavian bayanist and one of Russia’s most important bayanists Friedrich Lips and making my own recordings. This research has proved to me that the Russians play very expressive, with a lot of passion and freedom. Both their music and their instrument are very colorful. I have achieved many of these characteristics in my own playing, even adding my own personal style to it in the end. Only the colorfulness of sound was still missing sometimes. Wondering about my technique and musical decisions, I took the chance to compare the two instruments with each other. My accordion built in Western Europe (Castelfidardo, Italy) versus the Russian-built Bayan (Moscow). It was really helpful to investigate the history of the instrument, the history of Russia and their music in order to get as close as possible to the Russian way of playing. Furthermore, reading about Solotarjow’s life, analysing his composition and listening to different recordings, greatly improved my understanding of this music. These things have helped me to develop my artistic practice. The part of the research that directly involved my artistic practice has been of great value for me. It has enriched my expressive pallet by including more freedom in my playing in many different aspects. I have concluded that it is possible to achieve the Russian way of playing. I have also found that besides having background information about the history of the country, knowledge about the composer and the composition, it is important to have or to imagine the Russian soul. Next to this, it is also important to be open to a different way of playing. A way of playing that might be unfamiliar to a performer. Biography: My name is Elisa van Kesteren and was born in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. I started playing the accordion at the age of eight. After graduating for the Bachelor Degree here at the Royal Conservatory in 2014, I continued studying with An Raskin and will graduate for the Master degree this year. I am a member of the very recently founded accordion ensemble “The Blackboxes”, have a great interest for Russian but also contemporary music and teach at the moment in various music schools.
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• Music education in the Teacher Training College (2016) author(s): Marielle Heidekamp published in: KC Research Portal
  Name: Mariëlle Heidekamp Main Subject: Music education in the Teacher Training College Research Supervisor(s): Suzanne Konings, Renee Jonker Title of Research: Music education in the Teacher Training College Research Question: What content has to be included in the first-year module for the Gouda Teacher Training College (TTC) to give students the experience, knowledge, skills and confidence required to experience joy in making music with children and to enable them to teach good and joyful music lessons in primary schools? Summary of the Results: “There will be good music education in the schools only when we educate good teachers” This quote from Kodály inspired me to start this research. In the Teacher Training College (TTC) there are quite a lot of students who, after completing the two year music module, do not feel confident enough to organise well-balanced music lessons in primary schools. Apart from this, music education is underappreciated in primary schools. By using the method of Practised-Based Research, I have examined how to change the music-modules in the TTC in order to profoundly motivate and equip students to provide well-balanced music lessons in primary schools. In this new music module the students will personally experience the joy and pleasure in music-making and they will be inspired to pass on this feeling of joy to the children. I will show you in my Research Paper and in the Presentation that the content of the new module, inspired by the SFM-model and the concept of the three P's, will give students the knowledge and skills necessary to feel confident enough to organise their music lessons. Biography: I am 34 years old. I am class teacher in primary school for 13 years and music teacher in the Teacher Training College in Gouda for 5 years. I have studied on the Teacher Training College from 2000-2003, on the KC Bachelor Music Education from 2011-2013, on the course 'Muziek als Vak' in 2014. In my free time I am a conductor of a children's choir and a mixed choir. I play the flute and sing in choir as a soprano.
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• Apollo’s Banquet for children: Teaching baroque music to the young violinist (2016) author(s): Ryuko Reid published in: KC Research Portal
  Name: Ryuko Reid Main Subject: Baroque Violin Research Supervisor: Johannes Boer Title of Research: Apollo’s Banquet for Children: Teaching baroque music to the young violinist Research Question: How can the baroque “rules” being used today in the field of historically informed performance practice be taught at a young age? Summary of Results: The purpose of this study is to investigate what aspects of the musical language of the baroque era can be experienced from twenty songs found in John Playford’s Apollo’s Banquet. This is a collection of country-dances, broad street ballads, theatre tunes, tunes from Morris dancing, Scottish tunes and French dances, that were published for the amateur violinist in 1670. In this study, these songs were taught to students between the ages of 5 and 10 with activities designed to create awareness of gestures, bar hierarchy, light cadences and other important baroque features, in a fun and approachable way. Videos and observations of the lessons show that the repertoire was well received and the paper shows that the use of the songs provided an effective initial stage in experiencing baroque music However the students would need to be exposed to many more examples of these baroque elements before they become consciously learned. This paper also concludes that other elements of baroque music not included in this study, such as rhetorical devices and improvisation could be investigated, and exploring folk music repertoire of the seventeenth century would provide our students with a richer experience of the baroque style. Biography: Ryuko Reid is a baroque violinist specialising in historically informed performance practice and is the artist director and leader of Amsterdam Corelli Collective. Ryuko works as a violin teacher in Muziekschool Amstelveen and studied the Kodály method at Koninklijk Conservatorium. She came to study baroque violin with Sophie Gent at Conservatorium van Amsterdam and is currently finishing her masters at Koninklijk Conservatorium, with Kati Debretzeni and Walter Reiter. Before moving to Amsterdam, she studied modern violin with Jan Repko, taught at Chetham’s School of Music and studied Dalcroze method in Manchester, UK.
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