How we listen to music and respond to its media and contexts has changed significantly since the invention of sound recording. Today’s musicians have countless opportunities to listen to others’ interpretations given the vast availability of past and contemporary repertories through the global reach of recordings. This study investigated the extent to which the growing archive of recordings provides a valuable resource for performers’ creativity. Although musical performance is a particularly porous domain for influence through either deliberate or spontaneous assimilation of expressive variation from other aural sources, little empirical research exists on influence in performance and specifically on the influence of recordings. Qualitative data were obtained via an online questionnaire to identify how and in what ways the use and influence of recordings have changed over the course of classical performers’ training or professional careers. Respondents’ (N = 130) comments were analysed using a thematic inductive approach. The emerging themes reveal an overall increased level of use of recordings now relative to the past, a largely positive contribution of recordings in shaping musical development, including the role of recordings in self-regulated learning, a largely positive attitude to the influence of others’ interpretations, a means of developing expressions of self-identity in relation to others and a route to acquiring a more critical and discerning mode of listening to recordings. Implications for music education are discussed in terms of how listening to recordings, in both formal and informal learning contexts, could support advanced musicians’ learning through trial and error, enhance creative insight, strengthen self-efficacy, foster metacognitive skills and nurture individuality.

自从录音发明以来，我们听音乐以及对音乐的媒体和环境做出反应的方式已经发生了重大变化。鉴于唱片的全球影响力，过去和当代曲目的广泛使用，当今的音乐家有无数的机会来聆听他人的解释。这项研究调查了不断增长的录音档案在多大程度上为表演者的创造力提供了宝贵的资源。尽管音乐表现是通过有意或自发吸收其他声音来源的表现变化而产生的影响的一个特别多孔的领域，但很少有关于演奏的影响，特别是唱片影响的实证研究。通过在线调查问卷获得定性数据，以确定在古典表演者的培训或职业生涯过程中，录音的使用和影响如何以及以何种方式发生了变化。受访者的（ñ = 130）使用主题归纳法对评论进行了分析。新兴主题揭示了相对于过去而言，现在录音的总体使用水平有所提高，录音在塑造音乐发展中起了很大的积极作用，包括录音在自我调节学习中的作用，对他人的影响也产生了积极的态度。解释，一种发展与他人的自我认同表达的方式，以及获得更关键和更敏锐的聆听方式的途径。讨论音乐教育的意义在于，在正式和非正式学习环境中收听录音如何通过反复试验来支持高级音乐家的学习，增强创造力，增强自我效能感，培养元认知能力并培养个性。