Opiskelijoiden kokemuksia mieli–keho-yhteyttä tukevista harjoituksista osana pop/jazz-laulun opiskelua musiikkikorkeakoulussa

Abstract

Students’ experiences of practices supporting mind–body unity as part of pop/jazz voice studies in higher music education

This article reports on an experimental case study conducted in a pop/jazz vocal pedagogy context at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki. In the study, pop/jazz vocal students were guided to practise skills that support the mind–body connection by using a specially prepared audio recording, created by the teacher-researchers, as part of their independent vocal practice. The core components of this practice were concentration/presence, bodily awareness, and self-talk (CBS). The study was motivated by the teacher-researchers’ perceived need to further develop pop/jazz vocal instruction, particularly from the perspective of vocal expression. The research question was: How do students experience CBS practice and its effects on their vocal training? Eight master’s-level music education students participated in the study. The data consisted of the students’ learning diary entries and a transcribed focused group interview. The material was analysed using qualitative content analysis, supported by researcher triangulation.

The students’ responses showed that bodily awareness, concentration, and self-talk are closely intertwined, forming a unified experiential whole. CBS practice increased the students’ bodily awareness, supported concentration in vocal tasks, and helped them recognise and regulate negative self-talk. This strengthened their confidence, enhanced their sense of presence, and oriented their inner speech in a more positive direction. The practice also helped students to calm down, reduce performance-related tension, and attend to bodily sensations, highlighting the importance of embodied methods in vocal training. The reliability of the study is limited by the small sample size and the single-institution context. Future research would benefit from a larger dataset, and from examining how bodily awareness and self-talk relate to performance situations such as performance anxiety.