To be like Primrose: understanding tradition in a viola studio.

Dealing with traditions is a central issue in music education. I investigate different perspectives on tradition by engaging in a local hermeneutic study surrounding an interpretive event from a viola studio. To understand the function of tradition in this event, I construct a theoretical perspective with roots in hermeneutics and educational philosophy. Analysing this event and the participants' reflections, the contrast between the teacher's approach and the student's view of the work brings forward their divergent understandings of interpretive tradition. To investigate these differences, I offer three lenses: negotiating aesthetic values, liberation from tradition, and understanding tradition as a noun and as a process. I conclude that there are different ways in which a musician can 'be like Primrose', and become a participant in a tradition. I also suggest ways in which traditions can be explored in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]