B. J. Music Ed. (1999) 16:1, 79±95 Copyright # 1999 Cambridge University Press Instrumental learning with exams in mind: a case study investigating teacher, student and parent interactions before, during and after a music examination Jane Davidson and Sarah Scutt Teaching and learning dynamics in musical instrument tuition, especially in one-to-one teacher±student contexts, have not been studied in a truly systematic manner. The research described in this paper attempts to bring some insights to this area, for teachers and students were studied over a period of six months. More speci®cally, in the fourth month of the study, all the learners took a practical instrumental examination of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (either violin or piano, ranging from Grades 1 to 8). It thus became possible to explore how the teachers aided, developed and structured the students' preparation up to, during and after the examination, and also how the students worked and responded to the examinations within the context of their families. Furthermore, parents were observed and interviewed about their interactions with their children ± the students ± and the teachers. Looking at four teachers and eighteen students, the results revealed a number of complex and interconnected themes which both aided and hindered learning. The current paper highlights these. Situating the current study The existing literature on teaching and learning has tended to separate out particular factors as single elements that contribute to a learner's progress. In the current paper, however, every attempt is made to look simultaneously at as many of the factors that either assisted or prevented learning within the context of the current case-study approach. But which factors may contribute to successful learning in music? Davidson, Howe and Sloboda (1997) demonstrate the key role of others and external events in stimulating instrumental learning: being offered music lessons by the school; parents supporting practice activities; the `star' performer being seen as a role model (Nigel Kennedy or Vanessa Mae, for example). However, the researchers demonstrated that whilst external motivation may be a stimulus to learning, it does not sustain learning. Intrinsic (internal) motivation was found to be the key ingredient for longitudinal engagement and development. Davidson et al. showed that personal engagement, particularly an emotional/expressive response to the content of music, provided the critical intrinsic force. Studying a cross-section of young instrumental- ists, they discovered that those who gave up music after six to twelve months of tuition had no personal sense of connection to what they were learning. Whereas those who went on to develop high-level skills found playing personally very satisfying. Sloboda (1990) studied the autobiographical memories of emotional responses to music and demonstrated that individuals with a life-long commitment to music were more likely to report strong emotional responses to musical content than those individuals who were not involved with music, or considered themselves `unmusical'. For example, one young woman reminisced: