An orchestra of “violas caipiras” as an instrument for enhancing the teaching-learning process

Abstract

This work is the result of a research about the orchestra Pingo D’Água, a group of viola caipira (Brazilian ten-string guitar) formed by students of a private music school in São João Del-Rei ( MG ), which is known for the practice of Brazilian country music and the study of the viola. The orchestra is a complementary activity to the regular course, and it was created in order to provide a creative environment and intense learning that is continuously developed because of the good relationship among the group members. The aim of this work is to reflect about the experiences provided from the involvement of musicians with the orchestra activities and its relation to the process of teaching and learning from the point of view of the members themselves. Therefore, the work was divided into three parts: 1) A bibliographic study about how knowledge that is related to the viola has been transmitted over time and how this process has determined the use of the instrument nowadays. 2) A description of the actual aspects of the orchestra’s activities that is similar to other oral tradition of popular musical expressions. 3) A presentation of the information obtained through interviews with the orchestra members, contextualized in four categories: Motivation, different situations of learning, identity and enhancement of learning.