MBTI-Informed Individualization in Conservatory Clarinet Lessons: Performance Change and Learner Perspectives

As music education increasingly emphasizes individualized and student-centered approaches, there is interest in whether structured planning heuristics—such as Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)-informed strategies—can help organize and document instructional variation in one-to-one settings. This study examined performance changes and learning experiences observed during an MBTI-informed individualized instruction phase in conservatory clarinet students. Using a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, we implemented a single-subject A–B phase comparison with six students. Quantitative performance scores were examined via visual analysis and nonoverlap indices, and qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically. Performance scores were higher across technical, musical, and overall domains from baseline (Phase A) to the subsequent intervention phase (Phase B), with complete nonoverlap between baseline and intervention observations. Interview data indicated perceived increases in motivation and performance confidence, alongside reduced performance-related anxiety. Taken together, these findings suggest that MBTI-informed instructional planning may be a useful heuristic for organizing and documenting individualized adaptations in one-to-one conservatory teaching. Findings are interpreted as exploratory; while they indicate clear phase separation, they remain as preliminary evidence of association rather than definitive causal effects, intended to inform further research on individualized approaches in instrumental music pedagogy.