Yang, Yang; (2011) The challenges inherent in promoting traditional folk song performance and pedagogy in Chinese higher education : a case study of Hua'er. Doctoral thesis , Institute of Education, University of London.

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Abstract

The focus of this doctoral research is on understanding the challenges inherent in bringing authentic' folk singing into mainstream higher education music curricula in China. The research fieldwork adopted a multi-methods approach in three stages, with experienced folk musicians, music tutors and undergraduate students in local higher education colleges in Gansu, China. The initial observation was on identifying and quantifying distinctive musical features of videoed, case study folk song performances within the oral culture and to note their social context within this particular region of China. The chosen music was Hua'er, which is a musical art form that was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 by the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, United Nations (UNESCO). Quantitative data from eighteen, field-based authentic folk song recordings from five contemporary folk practitioners were subjected to psychoacoustic analyses in order to search for common performance features. Subsequent qualitative analyses embraced interview and observational data from two follow-up interviews of the recorded case study performers. In the final fieldwork phase, teaching and learning approaches were observed in higher education based lessons by a folk song master and a music tutor with one music student in a college. Implications are drawn for the enrichment of music education in Chinese universities, which is dominated by non-indigenous musics at present, by providing research-based insights into indigenous folk song and performance as well as suggestions for related successful pedagogical strategies.

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