Apprenticeship in music: A contextual study for instrumental teaching and learning

This theoretical paper explores apprenticeship, a term more commonly coined than explained in the literature focused on instrumental teaching and learning.  It begins with a brief historical overview, and going on to examine the assumptions lying behind references to the term in the research literature.  It is argued that, while our understanding of apprenticeship may be richly textured and ambiguous, it is this complexity that makes it so useful in understanding a richly textured and complex practice.