Dalcroze meets technology : integrating music, movement and visuals with the Music Paint Machine

peer reviewedNew interactive music educational technologies are often seen as a ‘force of change’, introducing new approaches that address the shortcomings (e.g. score-based, teacher-centred and disembodied) of the so-called traditional teaching approaches. And yet, despite the growing belief in their educational potential, these new technologies have been problematised with regard to their design, reception, implementation and evaluation. A possible way to optimise the realisation of the educational potential of interactive music educational technologies is to connect their use to music educational approaches that stood the test of time and as such may inspire technologies to become a bridge between tradition and innovation. This article describes an educational technology (the Music Paint Machine) that integrates the creative use of movement and visualisation to support instrumental music teaching and learning. Next, it connects this application to such an established music educational method, the Dalcroze approach. Through the lens of a set of interconnected aspects, it is shown how the Music Paint Machine’s conceptual design aligns to the underlying principles of this approach. In this way, it is argued that integrating Dalcroze-inspired practices is a plausible way of realising the didactic potential of the system. An appendix with example exercises is provided

The Faculty Notebook, May 2009

The Faculty Notebook is published periodically by the Office of the Provost at Gettysburg College to bring to the attention of the campus community accomplishments and activities of academic interest. Faculty are encouraged to submit materials for consideration for publication to the Associate Provost for Faculty Development. Copies of this publication are available at the Office of the Provost

Portraits of pre-service classroom teachers: exploring intentions to integrate music through the lens of the theory of planned behavior

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston UniversityThe primary purpose of this short-term study was to examine pre-service classroom teachers' intentions to integrate music in their future classrooms. Using the theory of planned behavior (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010) as a framework, and embedded, multiple-case study design, I developed case studies of six pre-service classroom teachers enrolled in a music methods class. I identified changes in their perceptions of music integration, changes in their attitudes toward music integration, changes in their perceptions of subjective norms, and changes in their perceived behavioral control over music integration. Results indicated that participation in an elementary music methods course with an initial focus on the development of musical skills and a later focus on music integration might have influenced such changes. Following the theory of planned behavior, the results of this study suggest that participants are more likely to integrate music in their future classrooms after participating in the methods course. All participants expressed confidence in teaching lessons they had created, regardless of their overall confidence to integrate music. Participants' confidence in their ability to integrate music and their actual ability to integrate music did not always align. Influential course components included an initial emphasis on the joy of music making followed by a focus on music integration, valuable course assignments, an informed and experienced course instructor, and successful course activities, including participation in model lessons, peer teaching, and reflection. Implications for music education include possible revisions to current curricular models at the teacher education level, a call for active participation and engagement in musical activities during methods courses, and a call for increased collaboration between teachers of different subjects

Seeing Sounds: The Effect of Computer-Based Visual Feedback on Intonation in Violin Education

The fact that the violin is a fretless instrument brings along intonation problems both in its performance and in its education. The introduction of technology into educational environments day by day, has led to the need to try different methods besides the traditional methods for solving intonation problems. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of computer-based visual feedback on the student’s intonation on the violin. For this purpose, an 8-week experimental process was carried out with 8 violin students studying in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades of the music teaching undergraduate program in the 2021-2022 academic year. In the quantitative dimension of the research, which was designed with mixed method design, a pretest – post-test single-group experimental design was used. The quantitative data were collected with the intonation evaluation form and the qualitative data were collected with diaries and a semi-structured interview form. The dependent samples t-test was used in the analysis of the quantitative data, and descriptive analysis technique was used in the analysis of the qualitative data. In the implementation process of the study, students were given visual feedback only with Cubase VariAudio software. At the end of the study, it was seen that computer-based visual feedback contributed positively to the intonation skills of the students. The students stated that the study made an abstract situation concrete, offered an opportunity to make self-evaluation, contributed positively to the motivation and limited class hours, and that they wanted to use it while practicing on their own

Practitioners' strategies for enhancing early childhood music education in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to describe practices of pre-school educators and to investigate the extent to which they enhance music instruction among five-to-six-year-old children. This was accomplished through an examination of three early childhood educators investigating what strategies are used for providing music instruction to pre-school children, the attitudes of teachers and parents in regard to this, the most effective approach for providing music instruction, and the assessments used to measure student progress in achieving musical skills. Primary participants included three early childhood teachers, and secondary participants included nine parents. Qualitative methods were used, including formal interviews with the three chosen teachers. They were each interviewed one time individually. Parents were given open-ended questionnaires designed by the researcher. Observations of teacher interactions with students were conducted in 14 separate sessions over a period of three weeks, where the researcher sat in during general and music class in the same classroom; the field notes cataloged observations of musical activities. The collected documents included teaching materials developed by the music and classroom teachers, such as lesson plans and a teaching activity handbook. The Taiwanese pre-school music curriculum included singing, music and movement, listening, and playing musical instruments. Data indicated that children can only audiate to one instrumental sound or one melodic line at a time. The teacher provided feedback was found to be effective in enhancing student musical learning. Teachers served as musical models in singing, music and movement, and in playing instruments to assist children's musical learning. Bruner's theory of enactive and iconic modes of representation played an important role in singing, music and movement, as well as listening in the class. The model movements or gestures were presented by the teachers and imitated by the children. Teachers and parents had positive attitudes toward early childhood music education. When music classes were provided, the music teacher could enhance both the classroom teacher and children's musical skills. Effective approaches were storytelling and using body movements. Participants reported several different opinions regarding teachers' assessment of students including having teachers follow the national curriculum standard, assess her students through their classroom response, and observe her students at a graduation concert. In general, the practitioners' strategies for enhancing pre-school music education were positive and related to previous research findings on music instruction and educational theories

Practitioners' strategies for enhancing early childhood music education in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to describe practices of pre-school educators and to investigate the extent to which they enhance music instruction among five-to-six-year-old children. This was accomplished through an examination of three early childhood educators investigating what strategies are used for providing music instruction to pre-school children, the attitudes of teachers and parents in regard to this, the most effective approach for providing music instruction, and the assessments used to measure student progress in achieving musical skills. Primary participants included three early childhood teachers, and secondary participants included nine parents. Qualitative methods were used, including formal interviews with the three chosen teachers. They were each interviewed one time individually. Parents were given open-ended questionnaires designed by the researcher. Observations of teacher interactions with students were conducted in 14 separate sessions over a period of three weeks, where the researcher sat in during general and music class in the same classroom; the field notes cataloged observations of musical activities. The collected documents included teaching materials developed by the music and classroom teachers, such as lesson plans and a teaching activity handbook. The Taiwanese pre-school music curriculum included singing, music and movement, listening, and playing musical instruments. Data indicated that children can only audiate to one instrumental sound or one melodic line at a time. The teacher provided feedback was found to be effective in enhancing student musical learning. Teachers served as musical models in singing, music and movement, and in playing instruments to assist children's musical learning. Bruner's theory of enactive and iconic modes of representation played an important role in singing, music and movement, as well as listening in the class. The model movements or gestures were presented by the teachers and imitated by the children. Teachers and parents had positive attitudes toward early childhood music education. When music classes were provided, the music teacher could enhance both the classroom teacher and children's musical skills. Effective approaches were storytelling and using body movements. Participants reported several different opinions regarding teachers' assessment of students including having teachers follow the national curriculum standard, assess her students through their classroom response, and observe her students at a graduation concert. In general, the practitioners' strategies for enhancing pre-school music education were positive and related to previous research findings on music instruction and educational theories

Young Children and the Arts: Making Creative Connections -- A Report of the Task Force on Children's Learning and the Arts: Birth to Age Eight

Provides guiding principles and recommendations to organizations to support the development of arts-based early childhood programs and resources

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion

Understanding the Cultural Value of 'In Harmony-Sistema England'

This research project on which this paper reports was designed to explore questions of cultural value in relation to the schools music project In Harmony-Sistema England. Our core research focus has been upon the ways in which children, their teachers and tutors, and their families understand the value of their participation in IHSE initiatives. The project engaged with three case studies of IHSE initiatives (based in Norwich, Telford and Newcastle) and qualitative data was gathered with primary school children, school staff, parents and IHSE musicians in all three cases