Abstract
Drawing upon research on classroom interaction as investigated by Conversation Analysis, as well as with reference to ethnomethodological and anthropological studies on collective music making, the paper examines the phenomenon of “correction” (as a particular case of “repair”) in a pedagogical musical setting.
The analysis is based on a corpus of ensemble music workshops devoted to Conduction®, a way of making music together on the basis of a codified lexicon of gestural instructions - employed by the conductor to direct the ensemble without notation - which are explained to instrumentalists during the workshops. Against the background of the alternation between talk and musical activity characterizing the examined setting, and the role played by the conductor/teacher’s corrections of musical performance – also typical of musical pedagogy and orchestra rehearsals –, the analysis focusses on the ways in which the conductor/teacher constructs and sequentially organizes correction, seen as a way to negotiate the ‘meaning’ of Conduction gestural instructions and to reach intersubjectivity within the group.
Based on the fine-grained analysis of two correction sequences, the paper examines the techniques, or communicative moves, used by the conductor to provide correction (locating the trouble source, characterizing correction, demonstrating the correctable and the correction – often as contrast pairs – specific and generic technical advice, etc.), and discusses how they are accomplished through the interplay and mutual contextualization of talk and further audible and visible semiotic resources (iconic gestures, pantomime, singing, gaze expressions, use of artifacts).
Focussing on the musical domain – so far little explored from a linguistic and communicative perspective –, the present study stresses the role of adopting a multimodal analysis approach when investigating music and pedagogy from an interactional perspective, while highlighting the peculiarities of Conduction as performative and educational practice.