Musicking at home on the wood that sings : contemporary marimba performance practices in Zimbabwe

Text in English, abstracts in English and ZuluThis thesis explores the current state of marimba music performance practice in Zimbabwe. I begin by presenting a historical perspective of the marimba, and then discuss how the Zimbabwe marimba tradition came into being at Kwanongoma College of African Music in Bulawayo. The study continues to unveil how the relatively new marimba tradition has grown to popularity in its 55-year history in the country, with the phenomenal emergence of professional Zimbabwe marimba musicians. The thesis includes analyses of marimba musicians’ lived experiences, traditional and contemporary marimba music compositions, marimba music education programs and mentors, as well as the Zimbabwe marimba construction industry. Using ethnographic methods, the analysis in this qualitative study draws on an application of Christopher Small, Richard Schechner, and Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical perspectives, amongst others. Results show that marimba music performance practice in Zimbabwe has been kept alive in various permutations, albeit in a harsh economic environment. Education, passion for marimba music, cultural tourism, and festivities are the main avenues where Zimbabwe marimba music performance practice has survived on the margins of Zimbabwe’s popular musical cultural traditions.Le thesis ihlola isimo samanje somculo wemarimba kanye nokuqhutshwa kwawo eZimbabwe. Ngiqala ngokwethula imibono yezomlando ngemarimba, ebese ngixoxa ngokuthi ngabe usiko lwenkambiso yemarimba eZimbabwe lwaqhamuka kanjani eKwanongoma College of African Music eBulawayo. Ucwaningo luqhubeka luveze ukuthi umculo wemarimba omusha usheshe kangakanani ukukhula nokuba nedumela kumlando weminyaka engu 55 ezweni, kanti futhi nokwenza ukuthi abaculi bemarimba eZimbambwe basebenze ngesiprofeshini. Le thesis ibandakanya ukuhlaziya izipiliyoni zabaculi bemarimba, usiko kanye nokuqanjwa komculo wemarimba, izinhlelo zemfundo yomculo wemarimba kanye nabaqeqeshi abafundisa abasha emculweni, kanye nokwakhiwa kwemboni yomculo wemarimba eZimbabwe. Ukusebenzisa izindlela zesayense yokuchaza abantu eyaziwa ngokuthi yi-ethnography, uhlaziyo kulolu cwaningo olubheka kanzulu, lufunde nokuchaphuna kwimibono yochwepheshe yethiyori yabantu abafana no-Christopher Small, uRichard Schechner kanye no-Pierre Bourdieu phakathi kwabanye. Imiphumela ikhombisa ukuthi ukwenziwa komculo wemarimba eZimbabwe wenziwe ukuthi uqhubeke ngokusebenzisa inqubo yokuhlela izinto ngokuhambelana noma inqubo ye-permutations, kodwa ngaphansi kwesimo esinzima kwezomnotho. Imfundo, ugqozi lomculo wemarimba, inqubo yezovakasho lokufunda ngamasiko kanye nemicimbi ngenye yezindlela lapho khona umculo wemarimba eZimbabwe oboniswa khona nokwaze ukuqhubeka ngayo, nangendlela esetshenzisiwe ukwenza ukuthi umculo uqhubeke nokuba nedumela ngisho nangaphansi kwesimo esinzima eZimbabwe.Art History, Visual Arts and MusicologyD. Litt. et Phil. (Musicology

Samba: the sense of community in participatory music

This ethnographic study examined the relationship between the sense of community and music education within the community of Santa Marta in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a public high school in New York City. Guided by Turino’s (2008) framework for participatory music making and McMillan and Chavis’s (1986) framework for the sense of community, the pedagogical and musical practices of Santa Marta were observed and analyzed to form a definition of a participatory music community. This definition was used to examine the impact of participatory practices on a samba ensemble within a New York City high school. The findings describe how participatory music education both influences and is influenced by the participants’ senses of community in both settings and explores applications of participatory music methods to school-based music, particularly within urban settings. Participatory characteristics were found to be imbedded in samba’s musical structure, including the repetition of rhythms, the simultaneous use of advanced and simplified patterns, and the flexibility of the size of the ensemble. Music events in Santa Marta often lacked artist-audience distinctions with situations of performance and learning occurring simultaneously. Decentralized group learning was found to be a pedagogical tool with information stored in the community’s memory. Inclusive pedagogies, which allowed players of various skill levels to perform together in the same ensembles, maximized participation in both sites. These characteristics created a pedagogical structure that addressed many of the identified challenges of urban school music and provided opportunities for active student engagement. This study presents a possible way forward for music education in urban settings, a path based on creating an inclusive educational environment. In schools where sequenced music programs, funding, and stabile student populations don’t exist, participatory music has the potential to create ways for students of varying skill levels to find a place in school music communities

Music, computing and health: A roadmap for the current and future roles of music technology for health care and well-being.

Health and self-regulatio

A utilização da música nas atividades educativas em grupo na Saúde da Família

OBJECTIVE: describe how music is used in the development of group educational activity in Family Health. METHODS: a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study, developed with 10 group coordinators, distributed in five basic care units in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Data were collected from March to July, 2009, with non participant observation in the group itself, and semi-structured interviews with the coordinators. Information was organized and categorized according to thematic analysis. To interpret the data, the Snyderian concepts in addition to theoretical references about music, communication and health education were used. RESULTS: three thematic nuclei were found: the affective dimension of music; recreative dimension of music and the reflexive dimension of music. CONCLUSION: an attempt by the coordinators was observed, to overcome the pathological barriers with the use of music, considering the group as a whole. As advancement for the production of knowledge, this study shows the need for qualification of these coordinators, by means of workshops and constant follow-up of their musical practices.OBJETIVO: describir como la música es utilizada en el desarrollo de actividad educativa en grupo en la Salud de la Familia. MÉTODOS: estudio cualitativo, descriptivo y exploratorio, efectuado con 10 coordinadores de grupos, distribuidos en cinco unidades básicas de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Los datos fueron recolectados de marzo a julio de 2009, con observación no participante en el propio grupo y entrevista semiestructurada con los coordinadores. Las informaciones fueron organizadas y categorizadas según el análisis temático. Para interpretación de los datos se utilizó, además de los marcos teóricos sobre música, comunicación y educación en salud, las concepciones de Snyders. RESULTADOS: fueron encontrados tres núcleos temáticos: la dimensión afectiva de la música; la dimensión recreativa de la música; y la dimensión reflexiva de la música. CONCLUSIÓN: se observó la intención de los coordinadores de transponer las barreras de lo patológico a partir del uso de la música, considerando al grupo en su totalidad. Este estudio considera un avance, para la producción del conocimiento, la necesidad de capacitar esos coordinadores por medio de talleres y acompañamiento constante de sus prácticas musicales.MÉTODOS: estudo qualitativo, descritivo e exploratório, desenvolvido com 10 coordenadores de grupos, distribuídos em cinco unidades básicas de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Os dados foram coletados de março a julho de 2009, com observação não participante no próprio grupo e entrevista semiestruturada com os coordenadores. As informações foram organizadas e categorizadas, segundo a análise temática. Para interpretação dos dados, utilizou-se, além dos referenciais teóricos sobre música, comunicação e educação em saúde, as concepções snyderianas. RESULTADOS: foram encontrados três núcleos temáticos: a dimensão afetiva da música, a dimensão recreativa da música e a dimensão reflexiva da música. CONCLUSÃO: observou-se uma tentativa de os coordenadores transporem as barreiras do patológico a partir do uso da música, considerando o grupo em sua integralidade. Este estudo indicou, como avanço para a produção do conhecimento, a necessidade de capacitação desses coordenadores por meio de oficinas e acompanhamento constante de suas práticas musicais

Leading Through Music: A Comparative Case Study on the Effects of Military Band Performance

This study explored the emotional impacts of military band performance, as well as the result of military band support loss on individuals in surrounding communities. The primary objectives of this qualitative comparative case study were to discover the value of military bands perceived by audiences and musicians. A critical, qualitative examination was implemented to assess how the atmospheres created by military bands influence their audiences and how communities react to reduced opportunities to interact with military band members. Community members of the 329D and TRADOC Army Bands were surveyed and interviewed in this study to compare the morale and sense of community response within each community. Drawing from an interpretivist standpoint, the symbolic interactionism theory, affect control theory, and affect heuristic were used to analyze the value of military bands in community and morale building. Narratives from this study increase the understanding of the unique relationship that exists between military bands and their various audiences. This study provides a unique insight into the social and emotional benefits of military band performance and important recommendations to multiple levels of leadership for improvement. Overall, the resulting themes reveal crucial evidence that military band support performances provide a positive impact, and that military band support loss negatively impacts communities. It is concluded that merging the interests of the government, community desires, and the military band mission may be indicative of what social-merit based factors affect morale, well-being, identity, and sense of community

Wearables and machine learning for improving runners’ motivation from an affective perspective

Wearable technology is playing an increasing role in the development of user-centric applications. In the field of sports, this technology is being used to implement solutions that improve athletes’ performance, reduce the risk of injury, or control fatigue, for example. Emotions are involved in most of these solutions, but unfortunately, they are not monitored in real-time or used as a decision element that helps to increase the quality of training sessions, nor are they used to guarantee the health of athletes. In this paper, we present a wearable and a set of machine learning models that are able to deduce runners’ emotions during their training. The solution is based on the analysis of runners’ electrodermal activity, a physiological parameter widely used in the field of emotion recognition. As part of the DJ-Running project, we have used these emotions to increase runners’ motivation through music. It has required integrating the wearable and the models into the DJ-Running mobile application, which interacts with the technological infrastructure of the project to select and play the most suitable songs at each instant of the training