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The excerpt from Veblen’s article, Adult Music Learning in Formal, Nonformal, and Informal Contexts, provided interesting insight on lifelong learning, specifically in regards to music.

Something interesting to me that the article highlighted that I had not considered before was that learning music can come in several different forms and methods. For example, formal learning typically has a notational component such as theory or dictation while nonformal learning may use aural methods. While none of the three learning contexts are necessarily better or worse than the other, it was interesting to see and think about how different types of learners may strive in the different settings. A kinesthetic learner may find more success in informal or nonformal contexts while a more logical learner may find formal contexts to be more prosperous.

I also found it interesting to read about places learning may happen outside of the classroom. Despite formal contexts being the most common focus of learning, the influence of family, church, and workplaces were also mentioned as areas of impact. This is something I had not considered previously and I think it is refreshing to see other modes of learning be acknowledged besides the typical classroom setting.

I did not hold many assumptions before I read the article; I had never thought about adult learning styles when it comes to music, specifically the three different contexts described. I inadvertently assumed that there was and could only be one type of learning, which is the formal learning context. I did not take into consideration the fact that there are other methods of learning music besides in a classroom. What surprised me about this was that informal learning can be accidental, which is something I had never considered. When I first read it it struck me as impossible and I did not agree; how could you accidentally learn something? After deep thought, however, I realized that accidental learning is possible and more common than I initially believed. One could incidentally learn something by listening to the radio, talking to friends, or watching television. I also found the idea of adult music learning to be something I had never thought about before, either. I assumed that, unless students chose to study music in some form of higher education, after students finished high school or even elementary school their music education ended, as well. The article’s focus on lifetime music education is something I had not contemplated, so this article definitely challenged my perception on learning music beyond childhood.

I think it was very useful and effective of Veblen to use a variety of references and outside sources. Learning contexts is not frequently talked about, so it was nice to read about and have multiple perspectives on the matter. One thing I would like to ask the author would be if she thinks one learning context is more or less beneficial than the the others. There are clearly pros and cons to all three contexts, however I am curious to know if there is one in particular that produces the most successful results or if it is dependent on the student?

Overall, Adult Music Learning in Formal, Nonformal, and Informal Contexts was an interesting and refreshing article that challenged some of my initial assumptions and perspective.