Page 76 - How to Shine on Stage

tional support, which is an integral building block of a child’s musical
self-image (Sichivitsa, 2007).
Creech (2009) lists three types of social support from parents: be-
havioural support, cognitive-intellectual support, and personal support.
Behavioural support is a type of support involving the practice of an in-
strument together with one’s child, transporting one’s child to instru-
ment lessons, attending their concerts, paying for summer seminars, etc.
74 Cognitive-intellectual support consists of planning various musical ac-
tivities to help a young person develop their musical abilities (e.g. attend-
ing concerts, listening to recordings, participating in informal musical
activities). Personal support is a form of support which encourages a
child to shape their musical expectations and goals.
How to Shine on Stage dents of music receive a significant amount of social support in their mu-
Results of a recent study (Orejudo et al., 2020) demonstrate that stu-

sical pursuits, although there appear to be differences in terms of age,
gender, and level of education.

2.1.8.2 Teachers
The role of teachers in the development of children’s musical abilities has
been the subject of much research. The focus has been on the effect of
teacher expectations on student achievement, with findings suggesting
a strong correlation between low achievement and low teacher expecta-
tions (Blatchford et al., 1989, Hargreaves, 2009, in Rosenthal and Jacob-
son, 1968,). The majority of these research efforts have been conducted
in classroom settings, where the teacher has interacted with many stu-
dents. Such settings differ from those that musical instruments are learnt
in, which usually involve the teacher interacting with just one pupil or
with a small group (up to six pupils), presenting a specific social setting.
Only a limited amount of research on music education has focused
on the role or importance of the child’s first teacher of instrument. Bas-
tian (1989) reports that young top performers remember their first teach-
er as relaxed, friendly, and understanding. Some research (e.g. Howe &
Sloboda, 1991b; Sosniak, 1985, in Hargreaves, 2009) indicates that first
teachers have an extremely important influence on the development of
musical skills and, particularly, on the growth of interest in a particu-
lar instrument. For if a child has a good personal relationship with their
teacher, they will be more committed to learning the instrument. Ac-
cording to Lauren A. Sosniak (1985, in Deutsch, 2012), it is important
that the teacher takes a playful approach to teaching in the first stage
of a child’s learning of an instrument (up to the age of 10) and assum-