Self-identified learning needs in style-bound musical improvisation: a qualitative, category-guided analysis for fostering self-directed action

This qualitative study examines how students in higher music education recognise and articulate self-identified learning needs in style-bound improvisational contexts. Data were gathered through four workshops using semi-structured interviews, reflective diaries, classroom observations, video recordings, and participant feedback. Following Grounded Theory methodology, the analysis derived, using constant comparison, four overarching categories of learning needs through a systematic category-guided approach: (1) Self-Regulatory–Introspective Dimension, (2) Musical-Technical Dimension, (3) Social–Interactive Dimension, and (4) Cultural–Aesthetic Dimension. These domains reveal how learning needs act as diagnostic markers linking self-reflection, emotional regulation, and social interaction, while shaping the development of self-directed artistic development. Across data sources, learning needs became salient at moments where learners experienced breakdowns in confidence, fluency, role negotiation, or stylistic orientation and translated these difficulties into articulated targets for action. The findings suggest that addressing these needs can support psychological safety, collaborative creativity, and artistic responsibility. This model offers a transferable framework for curriculum design, teacher education, and assessment in style-bound improvisation by foregrounding learners’ diagnostic competence as a central mechanism of improvisational learning, and by informing curricula that harmonise reflective practice, inclusive pedagogy, and practice-oriented learning environments across diverse cultural and stylistic contexts.