OVERVIEW AND PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE TEACHING OF CONDUCTING IN THE TRAINING OF MUSIC TEACHERS IN THE SOUTHERN REGION OF BRAZIL

Abstract

The training of music teachers is a field of increasing relevance in Brazil, driven by the legislation that reinserted music as a mandatory curricular component in basic education (Law 11.769/2008). In this scenario, musical activities together, which have deep historical roots and multiple social, aesthetic and educational purposes, assume a central role. Conducting, as a practice of leadership and conduction of musical groups, becomes an essential knowledge for the teacher who will work in these contexts. This article aims to present an overview of the presence of conducting teaching in music degree courses in the Southern Region of Brazil and to explore the perceptions of students, teachers and coordinators about the importance and functions of this teaching in professional training. The methodology, in the phase described here, involved an initial survey, consulting the INEP register and the websites of higher education institutions to identify the music degree courses in the South Region and verify the inclusion of conducting in their curricula. The results revealed that all twenty institutions identified offer regency education, and eighteen have specific disciplines for this. The subsequent research, involving 56 students, as well as conducting professors and coordinators of three selected courses, demonstrated unanimity as to the fundamental importance of this knowledge. The functions assigned to conducting included the development of leadership essential to teaching practice, the training to direct amateur groups (the predominant context in Brazilian music education), the integration of theoretical, practical and pedagogical knowledge, and the provision of specific methodologies for the collective teaching of music. It is concluded by the wide presence and the strong recognition of the relevance of conducting in the training of music teachers in the South Region, indicating its strategic role in preparing for the challenges of professional practice in various educational spaces.