“Science is the mind of the world, art its soul.”
Maxim Gorki
Curriculum Vitae
During her violin studies, Anne Friederike Greuner observed very different courses of study: some colleagues improved slowly but steadily, others developed in leaps and bounds, still others remained more or less stuck in their instrumental development, and in some cases the final exam was worse than the entrance exam.
Anne Friederike Greuner did not want to accept these everyday empirical observations as natural and set out to find appropriate explanations. But apart from vague assumptions by individuals, there were no answers.
The desire arose to contribute to a general improvement of study processes. However, there were no starting points for this, as there was a lack of data-based information on the subject.
But a violinist in research? Is that even possible? Would an active violin career have to take a back seat?
Shortly before graduating with a master’s degree in June 2021, Anne Friederike Greuner faced a directional decision:
Do auditions, teach more, or write a doctoral thesis? The musician decided to pursue all three areas in parallel.
In Prof. Dr. Michael Dartsch at the HfM Saarbrücken, she found a highly committed doctoral advisor who, as a violinist, knows the world of instrumental studies. After successfully submitting her synopsis, Anne Friederike Greuner was admitted to the doctoral program in October 2021 and has since been addressing the question of instrumental and vocal development of music students with an artistic and artistic-pedagogical focus in her dissertation.
The data collection phase is made possible for Anne Friederike Greuner by the Rotary Club of Saarbrücken.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dissertation and doctoral thesis describe the same thing: the finished research text.
The doctorate comprises the entire research process: finding the topic, finding the doctoral advisor, writing the synopsis, (possibly) data collection, data evaluation, writing up the results (doctoral thesis), examination with public defense.
The defence (also called disputation) is the last stage of the doctorate. Here you give a lecture on your own research and its results. Afterwards, the examiners ask questions and evaluate the work.
There are six grading levels. They correspond to the school grades A+ to F and are given in Latin:
summa cum laude = with highest praise (A+)
magna cum laude = with high praise (A)
cum laude = with praise (B)
satis bene = enough (C)
rite = it is sufficient (D)
non sufficit = it is not enough (E or F)
A synopsis (or exposé) is a text describing your own research project. It should be about 10-14 pages long and describe the following:
- the topic to be researched
- a first current state of research
- initial ideas for conducting and evaluating the research (research design and methodology)
- a time schedule
- your own motivation for choosing the topic
The text is assessed by the relevant committee and a decision is then made as to whether or not you will be admitted to doctoral studies.
An exposé is therefore comparable to an entrance examination.
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The supervisor of a doctoral thesis is the mentoring professor and thus the first contact person for questions and problems concerning the thesis. Unlike the instrumental teacher, however, you only see your doctoral supervisor a few times during the semester.
A doctorate can be obtained in many fields. Not only in medicine, but also in all humanities and natural sciences. You can recognise the subject by the abbreviation behind the doctorate.
Examples are:
Dr. med. = Doctor of Medicine
Dr. jur. = doctor of law
Dr. rer. nat. = doctor of a natural science
Dr. phil. = doctor of a human science
Dr. mus. = doctor of musicology
As a musician, you can do a doctorate in either musicology or music education. You have to want to find out or investigate something that has not yet been researched (in its entirety). In addition, you need a completed Master’s degree, you have to find a professor who wants to supervise your thesis (doctoral supervisor) and you have to submit your application (exposé).
Learn more
Do you have further interest or questions about Anne Friederike Greuner’s doctoral thesis? Get in touch! Please send your message to the following e-Mail address:
anne.greuner@hfmsaar.de
