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emotional connections

Having emotional connections, or relatedness, within the section and ensemble can improve performance level at the group and individual level. "Relatedness is the psychological need to establish close emotional bonds and attachments with other people, and it reflects the desire to be emotionally connected to and interpersonally involved in warm relationships." (p. 174)1 Within this context, the existence of warm relationships can give the group more confidence in each other an boost their self-efficacy. It can also create an environment that feels more supportive and safe for those struggling with certain skills to reveal them to the section and ask for help.

"In terms of engagement, it is a routine finding in the school setting that relatedness to one’s teachers, relatedness to one’s peers, and relatedness to one’s family and community are strong and reliable predictors of students’ engagement, including how much effort they put forth during school." (p. 177)1 

An explanatory theory of Restorative Justice Theory also applies to this, which is called procedural justice theory. "...high levels of cooperative relations within institutions have been found when individuals feel a high level of pride in being a member of the collective and a high level of respect within the collective." (p. 146)3 Applying this theory to the ensemble would assume that with better emotional connections within the section, there would be fewer problems socially and relating to skills needed to for participation in the ensemble.

This is also something I have seen first-hand, comparing my years of being in marching band ensembles. One of my years had a section that catered an environment filled with friendship and support and which also had high success in terms of performance level and ability to memorize music. Compare another year where friendship and bonding did not come easily for a big portion of the section and the performance level and ability of the members decreased significantly. Deliberate emotional connection should be attempted to be formed within the section in some way so that the members within it will have a higher chance of musical success.

​1 Reeve, J. (2018). Understanding motivation and emotion.  

2 Elliot, Andrew J. “The Hierarchical Model of Approach-Avoidance Motivation.” Motivation and Emotion,                   vol. 30, no. 2, 2006, pp. 111–116. 10.1007/s11031-006-9028-7

3 Brenda E. Morrison & Dorothy Vaandering (2012) Restorative Justice:Pedagogy, Praxis, and Discipline,                                Journal of School Violence, 11:2, 138-155, DOI:10.1080/15388220.2011.653322

4Hewitt, Michael P. “Self-Efficacy, Self-Evaluation, and Music Performance of Secondary-Level Band

                 Students.” Journal of Research in Music Education, vol. 63, no. 3, Oct. 2015, pp. 298–313.,                         doi:10.1177/0022429415595611.

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5Moore, Derek G., et al. “The Social Context of Musical Success: A Developmental Account.” British

                Journal of Psychology, vol. 94, no. 4, 2003, pp. 529–549., doi:10.1348/000712603322503088.

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6Reichter, Alison Phillips, and Maureen R. Weiss. “Conceptions of Adolescent Friendship Quality in Sport

                and Music Domains.” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, vol. 90, no. 4, Sept. 2019, pp.                  534–546., doi:10.1080/02701367.2019.1632412.

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7Ritchie, Laura, and Aaron Williamon. “Measuring Distinct Types of Musical Self-Efficacy.” Psychology                    of Music, vol. 39, no. 3, 2010, pp. 328–344., doi:10.1177/0305735610374895.

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8Schnare, Ben, et al. “Possible Selves as a Source of Motivation for Musicians.” Psychology of Music,                      vol. 40, no. 1, 2011, pp. 94–111., doi:10.1177/0305735610391348.

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9Zelenak, Michael S. “Measuring the Sources of Self-Efficacy Among Secondary School Music                                  Students.” Journal of Research in Music Education, vol. 62, no. 4, 2014, pp. 389–404.,                                doi:10.1177/0022429414555018.

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