Analysis by way of movement. Transformation exercises as a challenge for gender-sensitive music education

The study FEIN 2015 examines the impact of gender on ways of dealing with bodily movement in music lessons. It focuses on the question of how pubescent boys may be enabled to experiment with body-centred, performative means of expression without putting them in conflict with the subjective image of their gender role. Two classes – years 8 and 9 – were given the task of analysing the musical form of a short unfamiliar piece and translating this form into movement. FEIN reveals striking gender-specific differences: The male groups, focusing on questions concerning a plausible plot, developed “scenes” with clearly identifiable narrative structures, whereas the female groups, concentrating on the music’s effects and its intrinsic compositional features, produced abstract, more dance-like individual movements. (DIPF/Orig.