By transferring Lundmark’s model to an artistic context, we can envision AR-based education being divided into three levels where we replace ‘scientific’ with ‘artistic’ or, in order to emphasize the very essence of artistic research: ‘artistic explorative. The three levels can thus be rendered as ‘institutional conditions, ‘artistic basis’ and ‘artistic explorative attitude’. 

As for the institutional setting, it would require the institution to place the students at the heart of an active environment of artistic exploration. It would be about the balance between teaching and artistic work for the teachers, which is complex in the artistic context. Many teachers in music education institutions have dedicated time to artistic research in their positions, but a great number of artists work exploratively, experimentally and innovating «in the field» without it being direct part of their positions. Nor is it a goal in itself for all performance and composition teachers to obtain artistic PhDs. Yet the fact that an amount of them having artistic PhDs or experience from formal AR projects is still significant to AR-based education. This experience develops reflection in the arts, at the institution and for each individual; it is important when supervising artistic PhD candidates, and will have impact on the learning objectives connected to artistic research. Allowing artistic PhD candidates to engage in teaching on undergraduate programmes will create an immediate dialogue and connection between education and research at the institution. 

Let us look further at the proposed translation of Lundmark et al.’s model. Artistic and musical knowledge, insight, skill and experience would be key to a study programme designed on an ‘artistic basis’. In order to facilitate AR-based education, it will also be important to integrate new and relevant insights and innovative works from artistic research and from the arts field. This will help ensure that the study programme is up to date with the latest developments in the field.

The students should be introduced to artistic research taking place at the institution and other relevant institutions. This means that the students should be familiarised with what their own performance and composition teachers are working on in their research time. An artistic basis implies that the students practise explorative, investigative and experimental methods. We should add that experimental methods do not need to result in experimental music; investigation and trial can be just as relevant to traditional materials as to a composition project, although it will be done in different ways governed by different goals and intentions. An artistic basis means that the students actively participate in artistic reflection and critical discussion on their own practice and that of others.

We suggest to translate Lundmark et al.’s third level as ‘artistic explorative attitude’. This concerns the skills and approaches the students should adopt in the course of their studies, with particular focus on AR characteristics such as exploration and reflection within their own practice. Study programmes where the artistic explorative attitude is prominent emphasize the students’ ability to make independent artistic evaluations and decisions. They emphasize the students’ ability to articulate, problematize and contextualize their own practice – to identify connections, and to work creatively and consciously with then. The students’ ability to adopt explorative, investigative, experimental and trialling methods is key. Exams should also reflect this by encouraging independence, exploration and reflection.