E Pitt
Biographic Data
| ID | 1166976 |
|---|---|
| NAME | E Pitt |
| GIVEN NAMES | E |
| FAMILY NAME | Pitt |
| SIGNATURE | PITT E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Sheffield |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1430-5801 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 21 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Investigating Amateur Choirs in the United Kingdom as Sites of Musical Learning and Ambition
Singing in an amateur choir is widely recognised as a source of enjoyment, social connection, and wellbeing. Choir membership in the United Kingdom, however, is at risk of decline through an ageing demographic and lack of diversity, and also through its relationship to historic music education practices, which encouraged singing and knowledge of choral repertoire in ways that are now less prevalent. In partnership with the Peterborough Sings! mus…
I don’t care who joins my choir: Investigating attitudes to diversity and inclusivity in lower- and upper-voice choirs in the United Kingdom
Recreational choral singing has long been a mainstay of amateur and community music-making in the United Kingdom, and there is much existing evidence for the potential social, physical and psychological benefits of participation. However, involvement in lower- and upper-voice choirs is declining due to low recruitment rates, the ageing of members and the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we draw on the findings of a recent…
Toward effective performance psychology interventions in tertiary music education: An exploration of students’ experiences, attitudes, and preferences
Tertiary music students face a variety of challenges in their musical journeys. It is therefore promising that studies have begun to explore the potential of performance psychology interventions to help music students. However, less attention has been given to how such interventions should be designed and delivered for maximum efficacy. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring tertiary music students’ needs, preferences, and attitudes re…
‘Just notes’: Young musicians’ perspectives on learning expressive performance
Expressiveness is an important aspect of an excellent music performance as it adds quality and interest to the playing and listening experience. Although several studies have investigated tertiary students’ learning of expressiveness, little is known about effective approaches for teaching children to perform expressively. In the present project, 16 young musicians (aged 9–16, with performance levels at Pre-Grade 1 – Grade 8) took part in a video…
Understanding Audience Engagement in the Contemporary Arts
Spontaneity and planning in arts attendance: Insights from qualitative interviews and the Audience Finder database
Arts managers frequently use customer relationship management systems to identify early and late ticket bookers, but to date there has been no comparable investigation of spontaneity and planning through qualitative academic audience research. This paper combines two radically different datasets to draw new insights into booking patterns of audiences for contemporary arts events. Quantitative data from Audience Finder has been analysed to look fo…
Leisure-Time Music Groups and Their Localities: Exploring the Commercial, Educational, and Reciprocal Relationships of Amateur Music-Making
Membership of an amateur musical group is typically understood in relation to members’ experiences: the research undertaken for this article poses new questions about the ways in which those groups connect with other people, organizations, and venues in their locality to build a broader sense of culturally engaged citizenship. The networks built by amateur musicians are often rendered invisible in the research literature and in policy-making in w…
Valuing Musical Participation
Increasingly, it is becoming evident that those involved in socio-musical studies must focus their investigative lens on musical practice and articulation of the self, on music and community involvement and on music as a social medium for social relationships. What motivates people to be involved in musical performance, and how do they articulate these needs and drives? What do performers gain from their involvement in musical activities? How do …
Not playing any more: A qualitative investigation of why amateur musicians cease or continue membership of performing ensembles
The benefits and pleasures of musical participation are reasonably well known, and yet the number of adults engaging in these activities is only a small proportion of those who learn instruments and participate during their school years. This article reports on three linked studies that investigated the experiences of ‘lapsed’ participants: those who had sought out opportunities for playing in adulthood, before deciding to withdraw for a range of…
Would you credit it? Navigating the transitions between curricular and extra-curricular learning in university music departments
Extra-curricular activities have for many years been a prominent and valuable feature of UK university music departments, but the current political and economic climate poses several significant threats to their survival, including uncertain funding, demands on students’ time (including the need to undertake paid employment), and, potentially, the reduction of music in the school curriculum, limiting the number of students equipped to study music…
Rules and expectations of jazz gigs
This paper explores the rules and expectations of jazz gigs using a case study of a weekly jazz club, The Spin. The paper considers the expectations that audience members have of live jazz performances in relation to the venues in which they are performed, the experience of collective listening and the impact of personal factors and musical identities on motivation and enjoyment. Questionnaires, diaries, follow-up interviews and observations were…
Understanding Jazz Audiences: Listening and Learning at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival
This paper considers the ways in which jazz audiences participate in and contribute to musical events, and examines the roles that music plays in their lives and identities. Analysis of a large-scale survey and in-depth interviews, carried out at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival in 2007, reveals a sense of community and atmosphere within which audience members value the opportunity to be amongst like-minded jazz enthusiasts. The jazz festiva…
Loyalty and Longevity in Audience Listening: Investigating Experiences of Attendance at a Chamber Music Festival
There is currently much concern among arts organizations and their marketing departments that audiences for classical music are in decline, yet there has been little investigation so far of the experiences of long-term listeners that might yield insights into audience development and retention. This paper presents a case study of the Music in the Round chamber music festival, conducted over a three-year period that included the retirement of the …
Becoming a Music Student Investigating the skills and attitudes of students beginning a Music degree
This article reports a project designed to foster first-year music students' academic study skills and to investigate their expectations and experiences of starting at university. Data gathered through questionnaires, diaries and in-class tasks reveal the change in learning strategies and musical identity the students experience in their first semester of the music degree course. Academic work and anxieties about workload and assessment challenge…
What Makes an Audience? Investigating the Roles and Experiences of Listeners at a Chamber Music Festival
The views of audience members on their listening experiences are rarely heard in the research literature, although much speculation occurs on their roles and perspectives. This article reports on an investigation of audience experiences at a chamber music festival, and examines the ways in which social and musical enjoyment interact to generate commitment and a sense of involvement in the event. Audience members’ anxieties for the future of class…
Everybody wants to be Pavarotti: The Experience of Music for Performers and Audience at a Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
Everybody wants to be Pavarotti’: The Experience of Music for Performers and Audience at a Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
This article investigates the contribution that musical participation makes to people's lives by reporting on a study carried out at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in August 2001 in Buxton, Derbyshire. The audience are shown to have a strong commitment to the musical genre and its preservation through live performance, whilst the performers are more likely to value membership of their society and the personal satisfaction that co…
What do Students Learn when we Teach Music: An Investigation of the `Hidden' Curriculum in a University Music Department
This article presents the findings of a small-scale investigation amongst third-year undergraduate music students in a UK university. Students and staff gave their views on the messages and values communicated through the teaching and atmosphere of the music department, so building up a preliminary picture of the `hidden' curriculum, which runs alongside more formal teaching. The music department is portrayed as a `family', with the strengths and…
Changing Tunes: Musical Experience and Self-Perception Amongst School and University Music Students
Academic research and popular discussion generally assume a common definition of the term “musician”, despite the complex social, cultural and critical meanings that emerge under closer scrutiny. On the one hand, inclusive approaches have recognised the importance of music to all individuals, yet the status afforded to professional performers still leads many active players and attentive listeners to be self-deprecating about their own skills, pe…
What Makes an Audience? Investigating the Roles and Experiences of Listeners at a Chamber Music Festival
The views of audience members on their listening experiences are rarely heard in the research literature, although much speculation occurs on their roles and perspectives. This article reports on an investigation of audience experiences at a chamber music festival, and examines the ways in which social and musical enjoyment interact to generate commitment and a sense of involvement in the event. Audience members’ anxieties for the future of class…
Becoming a Music Student Investigating the skills and attitudes of students beginning a Music degree
This article reports a project designed to foster first-year music students' academic study skills and to investigate their expectations and experiences of starting at university. Data gathered through questionnaires, diaries and in-class tasks reveal the change in learning strategies and musical identity the students experience in their first semester of the music degree course. Academic work and anxieties about workload and assessment challenge…
Spontaneity and planning in arts attendance: Insights from qualitative interviews and the Audience Finder database
Arts managers frequently use customer relationship management systems to identify early and late ticket bookers, but to date there has been no comparable investigation of spontaneity and planning through qualitative academic audience research. This paper combines two radically different datasets to draw new insights into booking patterns of audiences for contemporary arts events. Quantitative data from Audience Finder has been analysed to look fo…
Leisure-Time Music Groups and Their Localities: Exploring the Commercial, Educational, and Reciprocal Relationships of Amateur Music-Making
Membership of an amateur musical group is typically understood in relation to members’ experiences: the research undertaken for this article poses new questions about the ways in which those groups connect with other people, organizations, and venues in their locality to build a broader sense of culturally engaged citizenship. The networks built by amateur musicians are often rendered invisible in the research literature and in policy-making in w…
Understanding Jazz Audiences: Listening and Learning at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival
This paper considers the ways in which jazz audiences participate in and contribute to musical events, and examines the roles that music plays in their lives and identities. Analysis of a large-scale survey and in-depth interviews, carried out at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival in 2007, reveals a sense of community and atmosphere within which audience members value the opportunity to be amongst like-minded jazz enthusiasts. The jazz festiva…
Loyalty and Longevity in Audience Listening: Investigating Experiences of Attendance at a Chamber Music Festival
There is currently much concern among arts organizations and their marketing departments that audiences for classical music are in decline, yet there has been little investigation so far of the experiences of long-term listeners that might yield insights into audience development and retention. This paper presents a case study of the Music in the Round chamber music festival, conducted over a three-year period that included the retirement of the …
Rules and expectations of jazz gigs
This paper explores the rules and expectations of jazz gigs using a case study of a weekly jazz club, The Spin. The paper considers the expectations that audience members have of live jazz performances in relation to the venues in which they are performed, the experience of collective listening and the impact of personal factors and musical identities on motivation and enjoyment. Questionnaires, diaries, follow-up interviews and observations were…
What do Students Learn when we Teach Music: An Investigation of the `Hidden' Curriculum in a University Music Department
This article presents the findings of a small-scale investigation amongst third-year undergraduate music students in a UK university. Students and staff gave their views on the messages and values communicated through the teaching and atmosphere of the music department, so building up a preliminary picture of the `hidden' curriculum, which runs alongside more formal teaching. The music department is portrayed as a `family', with the strengths and…
Changing Tunes: Musical Experience and Self-Perception Amongst School and University Music Students
Academic research and popular discussion generally assume a common definition of the term “musician”, despite the complex social, cultural and critical meanings that emerge under closer scrutiny. On the one hand, inclusive approaches have recognised the importance of music to all individuals, yet the status afforded to professional performers still leads many active players and attentive listeners to be self-deprecating about their own skills, pe…
What do Students Learn when we Teach Music: An Investigation of the `Hidden' Curriculum in a University Music Department
This article presents the findings of a small-scale investigation amongst third-year undergraduate music students in a UK university. Students and staff gave their views on the messages and values communicated through the teaching and atmosphere of the music department, so building up a preliminary picture of the `hidden' curriculum, which runs alongside more formal teaching. The music department is portrayed as a `family', with the strengths and…
Everybody wants to be Pavarotti: The Experience of Music for Performers and Audience at a Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
Everybody wants to be Pavarotti’: The Experience of Music for Performers and Audience at a Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
This article investigates the contribution that musical participation makes to people's lives by reporting on a study carried out at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in August 2001 in Buxton, Derbyshire. The audience are shown to have a strong commitment to the musical genre and its preservation through live performance, whilst the performers are more likely to value membership of their society and the personal satisfaction that co…
What Makes an Audience? Investigating the Roles and Experiences of Listeners at a Chamber Music Festival
The views of audience members on their listening experiences are rarely heard in the research literature, although much speculation occurs on their roles and perspectives. This article reports on an investigation of audience experiences at a chamber music festival, and examines the ways in which social and musical enjoyment interact to generate commitment and a sense of involvement in the event. Audience members’ anxieties for the future of class…
Becoming a Music Student Investigating the skills and attitudes of students beginning a Music degree
This article reports a project designed to foster first-year music students' academic study skills and to investigate their expectations and experiences of starting at university. Data gathered through questionnaires, diaries and in-class tasks reveal the change in learning strategies and musical identity the students experience in their first semester of the music degree course. Academic work and anxieties about workload and assessment challenge…
Loyalty and Longevity in Audience Listening: Investigating Experiences of Attendance at a Chamber Music Festival
There is currently much concern among arts organizations and their marketing departments that audiences for classical music are in decline, yet there has been little investigation so far of the experiences of long-term listeners that might yield insights into audience development and retention. This paper presents a case study of the Music in the Round chamber music festival, conducted over a three-year period that included the retirement of the …
Understanding Jazz Audiences: Listening and Learning at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival
This paper considers the ways in which jazz audiences participate in and contribute to musical events, and examines the roles that music plays in their lives and identities. Analysis of a large-scale survey and in-depth interviews, carried out at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival in 2007, reveals a sense of community and atmosphere within which audience members value the opportunity to be amongst like-minded jazz enthusiasts. The jazz festiva…
Rules and expectations of jazz gigs
This paper explores the rules and expectations of jazz gigs using a case study of a weekly jazz club, The Spin. The paper considers the expectations that audience members have of live jazz performances in relation to the venues in which they are performed, the experience of collective listening and the impact of personal factors and musical identities on motivation and enjoyment. Questionnaires, diaries, follow-up interviews and observations were…
Would you credit it? Navigating the transitions between curricular and extra-curricular learning in university music departments
Extra-curricular activities have for many years been a prominent and valuable feature of UK university music departments, but the current political and economic climate poses several significant threats to their survival, including uncertain funding, demands on students’ time (including the need to undertake paid employment), and, potentially, the reduction of music in the school curriculum, limiting the number of students equipped to study music…
Not playing any more: A qualitative investigation of why amateur musicians cease or continue membership of performing ensembles
The benefits and pleasures of musical participation are reasonably well known, and yet the number of adults engaging in these activities is only a small proportion of those who learn instruments and participate during their school years. This article reports on three linked studies that investigated the experiences of ‘lapsed’ participants: those who had sought out opportunities for playing in adulthood, before deciding to withdraw for a range of…
Valuing Musical Participation
Increasingly, it is becoming evident that those involved in socio-musical studies must focus their investigative lens on musical practice and articulation of the self, on music and community involvement and on music as a social medium for social relationships. What motivates people to be involved in musical performance, and how do they articulate these needs and drives? What do performers gain from their involvement in musical activities? How do …
Spontaneity and planning in arts attendance: Insights from qualitative interviews and the Audience Finder database
Arts managers frequently use customer relationship management systems to identify early and late ticket bookers, but to date there has been no comparable investigation of spontaneity and planning through qualitative academic audience research. This paper combines two radically different datasets to draw new insights into booking patterns of audiences for contemporary arts events. Quantitative data from Audience Finder has been analysed to look fo…
Leisure-Time Music Groups and Their Localities: Exploring the Commercial, Educational, and Reciprocal Relationships of Amateur Music-Making
Membership of an amateur musical group is typically understood in relation to members’ experiences: the research undertaken for this article poses new questions about the ways in which those groups connect with other people, organizations, and venues in their locality to build a broader sense of culturally engaged citizenship. The networks built by amateur musicians are often rendered invisible in the research literature and in policy-making in w…
Understanding Audience Engagement in the Contemporary Arts
‘Just notes’: Young musicians’ perspectives on learning expressive performance
Expressiveness is an important aspect of an excellent music performance as it adds quality and interest to the playing and listening experience. Although several studies have investigated tertiary students’ learning of expressiveness, little is known about effective approaches for teaching children to perform expressively. In the present project, 16 young musicians (aged 9–16, with performance levels at Pre-Grade 1 – Grade 8) took part in a video…
Toward effective performance psychology interventions in tertiary music education: An exploration of students’ experiences, attitudes, and preferences
Tertiary music students face a variety of challenges in their musical journeys. It is therefore promising that studies have begun to explore the potential of performance psychology interventions to help music students. However, less attention has been given to how such interventions should be designed and delivered for maximum efficacy. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring tertiary music students’ needs, preferences, and attitudes re…
Investigating Amateur Choirs in the United Kingdom as Sites of Musical Learning and Ambition
Singing in an amateur choir is widely recognised as a source of enjoyment, social connection, and wellbeing. Choir membership in the United Kingdom, however, is at risk of decline through an ageing demographic and lack of diversity, and also through its relationship to historic music education practices, which encouraged singing and knowledge of choral repertoire in ways that are now less prevalent. In partnership with the Peterborough Sings! mus…
I don’t care who joins my choir: Investigating attitudes to diversity and inclusivity in lower- and upper-voice choirs in the United Kingdom
Recreational choral singing has long been a mainstay of amateur and community music-making in the United Kingdom, and there is much existing evidence for the potential social, physical and psychological benefits of participation. However, involvement in lower- and upper-voice choirs is declining due to low recruitment rates, the ageing of members and the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we draw on the findings of a recent…
Visual arts (14 works) · Art (12 works) · Musical (12 works) · Psychology (12 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Diverse Music Education Insights (10 works) · Aesthetics (9 works) · Pedagogy (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Music education (7 works)