Teaching Method Development for Chamber Music Courses in Chinese Comprehensive Universities

Abstract

Chamber music instruction in higher music education plays a crucial role in developing students’ technical competence, musical expression, and ensemble collaboration. However, existing pedagogical approaches often prioritize technical training over holistic musicianship and rely heavily on traditional teacher-centered methods. This study examines the effectiveness of an innovative chamber music pedagogy that integrates Project-Based Learning (PBL), Collaborative Learning, and Musical Intelligence Theory to address these limitations and enhance students’ overall performance development. A three-phase mixed-methods research design was employed. First, pedagogical challenges and instructional needs in current chamber music education were identified through a review of relevant literature and semi-structured interviews with instructors and students. Second, the integrated pedagogical framework was implemented in a chamber music course involving 17 undergraduate music majors at South China Normal University. The course design emphasized project-based performance tasks, collaborative rehearsal processes. It differentiated instructional strategies aligned with students’ musical intelligence profiles, while incorporating repertoire from both Western classical and Chinese musical traditions. In the final phase, learning outcomes were assessed through pre- and post-intervention performance evaluations. Quantitative data were analyzed using paired-sample t-tests to determine changes across multiple performance dimensions. The findings indicate that, despite relatively well-established curricular structures, chamber music education continues to face challenges, including limited repertoire diversity, insufficient emphasis on artistic expression, and constrained opportunities for collaborative learning. Following the intervention, students demonstrated statistically significant improvements in all assessed areas. Mean technical proficiency scores increased from 3.79 to 4.35, artistic expression reached an average level of 87.6%, and ensemble skills achieved 84.6%. All measured dimensions showed significant gains, with p-values below 0.05. The study concludes that integrating PBL, Collaborative Learning, and Musical Intelligence Theory offers a practical pedagogical framework for chamber music instruction. The findings contribute empirical evidence to music education research and provide useful implications for curriculum design and instructional reform in higher music education contexts.