Challenging the old paradigms : using the dimensions of learning to enhance the training of professional musicians within tertiary music institutions

The training of the professional musician involves the development of physical, cognitive and psychological processes pertinent to the particular musical genre. This paper specifically explores the cognitive training of the professional musician and considers a pedagogical framework adapted from the classroom. The learning framework that Robert Marzano (1997) developed from his research, “The Dimensions of Learning”, has been widely adopted as an effective way to encourage learning in the classroom and is based on the assumption that learning involves a complex system of interactive processes that includes five types of thinking and therefore five types of learning. This paper will consider how the Dimensions of Learning can be applied as a framework for the training of professional musicians at the tertiary level thus challenging the old paradigms of one-to-one learning with new ways of considering cognitive development of the musician.