Help! A Talent! The Student-Teacher Relationship in Higher Music Education

Faculty research at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague focuses on a wide range of topics relevant to the artistic practice of its teaching staff, to the artistic develop- ment of its students and to the world of musical practice at large. Areas covered include informed performance practice, creative (artistic) research, instrument building, educational research, and music theory. One strand within the faculty research programme is directed towards the under- standing and the enhancement of the student-teacher relationship in higher music education. Two investigations within that strand – ‘Making Music: Being Heard and Seen’ by Paul Deneer, and ‘The Teacher-Student Relationship in One-to-One Teaching’ by Gerda van Zelm – were performed in close collaboration. This publica- tion brings together the outcomes of both research projects, including an appendix ‘Reciprocity: The Two Studies Combined’, which offers conclusions and recommen- dations to further enhance the student-teacher relationship in conservatoires. Help! A Talent! documents and communicates knowledge, understanding and practical recommendations, based on accumulated experiences, theoretical insights and data collection. Its empirical base is the practice of teaching and learning at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. The relevance of the findings, however, reaches beyond the confines of this institute. Other conservatoires and music departments might benefit from the insights and suggestions offered. Research into the student- teacher relationship in higher music education is gaining more and more attention lately. This publication is both a contribution to this emerging research field and an invitation to further research. Help! A Talent! is part of Royal Conservatoire Publications. With this series the Royal Conservatoire aspires to contribute insights and experiences, embedded in its higher music education culture and embodied in the professionals who study and work here. With the publication of Help! A Talent! we support the dissemination of knowledge and understanding, but we also show our commitment to research and our readiness to be in front of the development. In doing so the Conservatoire ma- nifests awareness that today’s higher music education is in constant need to refine and attune its programme to an ever-changing world.