Assessing authenticity and skill development in the pedagogy of Ferghana vocal arts within Uzbek higher education

Abstract

The pedagogy of Ferghana vocal arts within Uzbek higher education institutions faces a fundamental evaluative challenge: how to assess student progress when the tradition’s core value - authenticity - resists standardized measurement. Unlike Western conservatory models that prioritize technical precision and notational fidelity, Ferghana singing including Tanovar and Katta ashula prizes individualized ornamentation, emotional affect (hal), and fidelity to oral models rather than scores. This study examined how four Uzbek higher music institutions assess both skill development and authenticity in Ferghana vocal performance. Through qualitative analysis of assessment rubrics, examination recordings, and interviews with twenty seven vocal faculty, I identified three assessment paradigms: the technical paradigm measuring pitch accuracy, breath control, and ornament execution; the mimetic paradigm measuring resemblance to a specified master recording; and the holistic paradigm measuring audience emotional response and perceived hal. Results reveal significant faculty disagreement on the weighting of these paradigms, with Ferghana native teachers privileging holistic assessment while conservatory trained faculty favor technical measures. Skill development in core competencies (microtonal bending, ornament sequencing, text driven phrasing) showed measurable progression across four years, but authenticity assessed by external traditional practitioners correlated only weakly with grade point averages. The study proposes a dual axis assessment model separating technical skill from authentic expression, accompanied by structured peer and community jury processes. Findings suggest that Uzbek higher education can preserve Ferghana authenticity while maintaining academic rigor, but only by deliberately decoupling technical assessment from authenticity judgments.