In this case study, the structure of conversations during violin lessons between a native German professor and a Japanese graduate student was explored. The teacher-student interrogative conversations were analyzed by examining the transcriptions of the audio recordings of the lessons.
The results revealed the presence of abstract questions that explored the student's expressive intentions. Some of the utterances were based on impressions from listening to the student's performances and asking the student about expressive intentions. The student attempted to verbalize abstract details, such as the pitch and timbre. When the student was unable to understand the teacher's question or intentions, multi-layered conversations were observed. It is imperative to address misunderstandings.
It is important for students to become aware of the importance of language in understanding music and to verbalize such in their mother tongue. This will allow them to express the interpretation of sounds in various languages, thus helping them to understand and behave appropriately in a different culture such as instrumental lessons in German. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be employed as part of future teaching methods.

研究論文