Teaching, Learning and Assessment:Common Themes in the Creative Arts

Experience in assessing musical performance on courses devoted to the Western European classical tradition will prove to be enormously advantageous to the assessor of popular music performance. However, while there are a number of important similarities between these two, the assumption that assessment of popular music performance is identical to the assessment of the Western European classical performance tradition is erroneous and should be avoided (See the section Assessing Popular Music Performance for a comparison of the Western European classical tradition and popular music). Indeed, would-be, and already practicing assessors of popular music performance may well be as richly rewarded by reviewing the assessment practices which have been developed in a number of other arts disciplines.

The whole area of creativity, for example, is a common theme which links the assessment of popular music performance to a range of other arts disciplines in higher education. These other disciplines include theatre studies, art, design and technology, dance and physical theatre, and creative writing. In a number of instances their importance and influence on popular music has been considerable. For example, it is significant that a substantial number of extremely successful performers of popular music have emerged from the British Art School tradition (see Frith and Horne, 1987 and Longhurst , 1995, pp. 62-63). Performance based arts - drama, dance and physical theatre, for example - clearly address issues pertinent to the assessment of popular music performance. These issues may include deportment and the use of the body for expressive purposes, modes of delivery and communication, projection of image and characterisation, interaction within the group as well as with the audience, and a whole range of factors involving timing. Many successful performers of popular music, and particularly but not exclusively lead vocalists, recognise the importance of these aspects of their craft and place great emphasis on them as an intrinsic part of their performance. Similarly, audiences recognise and appreciate these aspects and, as a result, a considerable part of their evaluation of a particular performer's merits may be based on them. Hence, it should be evident that elements such as this often form a significant part of the performance of popular music. Therefore, some understanding and an awareness of these elements is relevant to the assessment of popular music performance on the part of both assessors and assessees.

The disciplines of fine art and creative writing often involve an exploration of the creative imagination. In many instances, this exploration tends to be more thorough and involves greater depth than is possible in the study of music, as a discipline in higher education. The study of the use of colour, shape, proportion, line, composition, imagery and symbolism, as well as their relationships to each other, is fundamental to both the creators and those who appreciate fine art. Such aspects do not generally form a central tenet in the evaluation of musical performance, however their significance in popular music performance can, at times, be considerable. It is evident that the importance and use of lighting and lighting effects, film and video projection, stage design and clothing, as a part of popular music performance, has increased greatly in the last thirty years. This trend is likely to continue, particularly since the growing number of performers who utilise modern electronic music technology (sampler and keyboard players, as well as manipulators of record decks, for example) often have little opportunity to display the physical aspects of their performance to their audiences. Once again, an understanding and appreciation of these elements may prove valuable and form part of the assessment of popular music performance.

Similarly, an understanding and appreciation of the exploration of creative aspects of the imagination through the study and practice of creative writing, would appear to be of little value in the evaluation of musical performance. Yet, as will become evident, much popular music performance lays great emphasis on the presentation of original material (see the section Assessing Popular Music Performance). As a result, it is often impossible to separate the composition from its delivery in performance. Furthermore, the vast majority of popular music compositions are songs which clearly involve the manipulation of lyrics as well as music. Hence, the suitability of the lyrics to popular songs will play some part in the success of the subsequent performance. An understanding and appreciation of this often relatively minor aspect of the popular music performer's art is nevertheless a useful element in the assessor's arsenal.

Finally, the teaching, learning and assessment practices involved in design and technology studies, embrace a number of elements which are pertinent to the study of popular music, and particularly popular music performance, in higher education. These may include considerations of the physical and aesthetic logistics involved in performance, organisation of sound and lighting technology, notions of efficiency and elegance in both performance and rehearsal planning, as well as reconciling performance ideals with specific performing environments. All these may prove suitable for consideration when assessing popular music performance. In summary, experience of assessment of performance in the Western European classical tradition will clearly be extremely valuable in the assessment of popular music performance. Yet the complex nature of popular music as an art form requires a broader approach on the part of assessors of performance. This breadth of approach involves consideration of a whole range of factors which rest largely outside the Western European classical tradition of musical performance, and, as we have seen, these tend to be more commonly addressed in other creative arts disciplines.