Noninvasive diagnostic methods for perceptual and motor disabilities in children with cerebral palsy

The field of neuroorthopedics centers on chronic diseases demanding close clinical monitoring. We shall use several examples to show how the various noninvasive diagnostic instruments can be used to obtain insight into the central nervous system as well as into the musculoskeletal system and its morphology. The choice of the most appropriate method depends on the problem; that is, whether the method is to be applied for clinical use or for basic research. In this report we introduce various technical examination methods that are being used successfully in the fields of pediatrics, orthopedics, and neurology. The major examination instrument in pediatric diagnostics is sonography, which is being used in this report as a research instrument for the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system, but which also gives insight into neurofunctional sequences. In orthopedics, pedography is used for diagnosing deformities of the feet. In neuroorthopedics for children pedography acts as a functional monitor for apraxia and thus allows, for example, a classification of the degree of neurological malfunctions in the lower extremities. The 3D bodyscan is used to minimize x-raying in patients with neurogenic scoliosis. This report introduces examples of the application of MRI and fMRI for basic research. The biometric measuring methods introduced provide precise data in the areas of diagnostics and monitoring and are highly valuable for further neuroorthopedic basic research. In future we expect the ever-evolving technical measuring methods to enable a deeper understanding of the primary neurological causes of and the implications for patients with cerebral palsy and other neuroorthopedic conditions. This may allow the development of new forms of therapy not necessarily predictable today

Physical Listening : The Influence of the Black Arts Movement on Free Jazz-Inspired Movement

For my thesis project, I created an afternoon of dance inspired by my exploration of “Free-Form Body Motifs” performed to free jazz music within the context of the Black Arts Movement. Through my investigation, I was able to transcribe jazz music into movement motifs , exploring the idea of free and how active listening translates music into body movement. In essence, this project enabled me to learn how to speak the language of the music by reacting to rhythms through isolated body parts. In particular, I focused on specific musical elements to create movement: ostinato (a repeated rhythm) and melodic phrasing (line of the melody). In my research and choreography, the musical ostinato is comparative to a dance motif and melodic phrasing is like physical listening , which is my method of translating music into movement. My choreographic process, in addition to my research of the Black Arts Movement, led me on a new pathway of creating and expanding modern movement vocabulary. This project taught me that there is nothing random about this type of improvisation; it accentuates intention in the hearing and specificity in the musicality, while elevating a story in the movement with an undeniable intimacy between the dancer and musician

Pianism: performance communication and the playing technique

Os movimentos de um pianista são fundamentais para a produção dos sons musicais e os movimentos expressivos do tronco e dos braços que comunicam as informações estruturais e emocionais da música, tornando válio para essa revisão examinar o movimento da parte superior do corpo no processo de desempenho em combinação com os fatores importantes na aquisição de habilidades. A técnica de apoio subjacente deve ser eficiente com o uso econômico da musculatura, usando segmentos do corpo de acordo com seu design e potencial de movimento com os segmentos do braço mecanicamente ligados para produzir movimento coordenado e fluente. Duas ações fisiológica e pianisticamente importantes propostas pelos primeiros cientistas da música envolvem soltar a mão dos ombros para as teclas através de uma ação ondulatória, com as articulações ativadas sequencialmente, e rotação do antebraço para posicionar os dedos para a tecla, uma ação seguida de cotovelo e braço girando na direção oposta. Ambas as ações poupam os músculos do antebraço, gerando a energia necessária nos principais músculos do ombro. A mão na posição de jogar tem uma palma curva através da ação das articulações metacárpicas (dedos) e dedos curvos. A postura de palma e dedo controla a qualidade do som para uma articulação de legato mais suave, e para um desempenho eficaz, os antebraços devem se inclinar em direção ao teclado. A técnica deve ser automática através da prática sistemática que desenvolve as habilidades motoras para um toque proficiente, com a duração moderada da prática para reduzir o risco de causar lesões através do uso excessivo dos músculos do antebraço. Padrões de movimentos eficientes e relaxamento muscular estratégico, que resultam em movimentos mais rápidos, são realizados apenas por meio de treinamento extensivo. Os movimentos constantes da cabeça e do tronco e o movimento fluído do braço com movimentos manuais frequentes e movimentos rotacionais do cotovelo, embora gerados na produção da técnica de toque, ressoam com os membros da plateia que os percebem como expressivos, criando neles um empatia com a música. . Propõe-se que os estudantes de música sejam treinados nos aspectos mecânicos do uso da parte superior do corpo na técnica do brincar, e pratiquem estratégias, com pedagogia especializada para que crianças desenvolvam habilidades motoras para brincar eficientemente e métodos de treinamento que promovam uma apreciação dos aspectos comunicativos na performance musical.A pianist’s movements are fundamental to music-making by producing the musical sounds and the expressive movements of the trunk and arms which communicate the music’s structural and emotional information making it valuable for this review to examine upper-body movement in the performance process in combination with the factors important in skill acquisition. The underpinning playing technique must be efficient with economic muscle use by using body segments according to their design and movement potential with the arm segments mechanically linked to produce coordinated and fluent movement. Two physiologically and pianistically important actions proposed by early music scientists to deliver the keystroke involve dropping the hand from the shoulders towards the keys via a wave action with the joints activated sequentially, and forearm rotation to position the fingers for the keystroke, an action followed by the elbow/upper-arm rotating in the opposite direction. Both actions spare the forearm muscles by generating the energy needed in the larger shoulder muscles. The hand in the playing position has a curved palm through action of the metacarpal (knuckle) joints and curved fingers. Palm/finger posture controls sound quality from loud, high tempo sounds to a more mellow legato articulation, and to perform effectively the forearms should slope down towards the keyboard. The technique must be automatic through systematic practice which develops the motor skills for proficient playing, with practice duration tempered to reduce the risk of causing injury through overuse of the forearm muscles. Efficient movement patterns and strategic muscle relaxation which results in faster movement are realized only through extensive training. The constant movements of the head and trunk, and flowing arm movement with frequent hand lifts and rotational elbow movements, although generated in producing the playing technique, resonate with audience members who perceive them as expressive and thereby creating in them an empathic engagement with the music. It was proposed that music students be trained in the mechanical aspects of upper-body use in the playing technique, and practice strategies, with specialist pedagogy for children to develop motor skills for efficient playing, and training methods fostering an appreciation of the communicative aspects of music performance

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This thesis is an overview of the source material, methodologies, artistic influences, and conceptual decisions that inform my artwork and characterize my art practice. Utilizing participation (audience, community, viewer), I engineer experiences and encounters for the general public. Whether through directed physical interaction or implicit reaction, I create open-ended situations or environments that I may influence, but not fully control. The democratic cede of authorial control, as well as the heightened risk and unpredictably in my work, instigates a more positive, non-hierarchical social model in which every viewer is an “author,” who produces content and communication signals, and has a voice and a presence in society

Press Start: Narrative Integration in 16-bit Video Game Music

Title from PDF of title page, viewed on September 8, 2015Thesis advisor: S. Andrew GranadeVitaIncludes bibliographic references (pages 115-120)Thesis (M.M.)--Conservatory of Music and Dance. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2015Ever since Pong graced the screens of video arcades, one of the most influential interactions between technology and sound has been the video game console. Over the past decade, scholars have begun to recognize this interaction with the steady growth of scholarship on video game sound; however, one group of games, that of the 16-bit generation, has been overlooked. The 16-bit era, roughly spanning from 1988 to 1996, was a period of transition and innovation for the medium. The purpose of this research is to identify the elements of narrative integration of 16-bit video game music. To explore these elements, several games from the 16-bit era are examined. The first chapters discuss the common elements of narrative integration, including musical cohesion, identification, mood evocation, and musical codes. The last half of this research is devoted to in-depth discussion of five games; first, the story-driven genre, the Role Playing Game, is represented by Chrono Trigger and Earthbound. The final chapter gives context to the 16-bit era by looking at three games from The Legend of Zelda series. Narrative integration is discovered to be an evolutionary step in 16-bit video game music. Games of this era were more capable than previous generations of including cohesive musical ideas and identification of areas and characters. Composers used the improved technology of 16-bit systems to create pervasive moods which affected players’ experiences. Finally, musical codes from both film and video games of previous generations were iterated and improved upon. The way in which 16-bit games respond to and utilize elements of narrative integration had implications for the future of game music. Many current trends of contemporary video game music can trace their origins back to the 16-bit era.Press start to begin -- Sound and story -- The Pan is mightier than the sword -- A link between video game worlds -- Epilogu

Cadences of Choreomusicality: Investigating the Relationship Between Sound and Movement in Staged Performances of Popping and Animation in the United Kingdom

This practice-led doctoral research explores the relationship between staged performances of popping, closely related movement practices such as animation (in dance) and music in the United Kingdom. Through an experiential, choreographic and critical methodology, I consider the ways that popping artists are able to shift, bend and distort perceptions of their performances through complex uses of musicality. Popping is a dance form that is included under the umbrella of street dance, which encompasses a wide range of dance practices with their origins in social and vernacular contexts. I scrutinise the musical trends and characteristics of popping and animation specifically, despite street dance forms usually being considered as a collective. This extensive focus reveals a range of selective rhythmical and textural nuances that engage the spectator in a world of choreomusical play. Placing practice at the centre of my investigation, I carry out a series of choreographed projects and reflect on these experiences from the position of dancer/performer and choreographer. Additionally, I consider the work of other popping artists in the field, presenting extensive choreomusical analysis of a selection of their work. Drawing from interviews that I conducted with nine UK street dance artists, I use a range of practitioner-led terminology to demonstrate the metaphorical vocabulary that they have employed to articulate their choreomusical practices and complicate notions of musicality. Drawing from the fields of choreomusical theory and Animation (in film) studies, I explore the value systems that frame ideas of the music-dance relationship in dance studies, developing an appropriate analytical lens which privileges close relationships between popping, animation and music on stage. I interrogate the anxieties that infiltrate close choreomusical relationships, in order to privilege the complex skill and musical sensitivities that poppers develop through their craft. Given intrinsic connections between animation and Animation, I utilise perspectives from the latter field of study to explore the illusionary potential of the moving body on stage. This, I argue, blurs distinctions between the real and the artificial and ultimately contributes to choreomusical tension and resolve. Through extensive analysis in a range of performance contexts, I contend that this specific, detailed investigation of popping and animation can inform and contribute to the fields of choreomusicology and dance studies.AHR

How the Waltz was Won: Transmutations and the Acquisition of Style in Early English Modern Ballroom Dancing:Part One: Waltzing Under Attack.

This two-part article examines the contested transition in London's fashionable ballrooms from the established Victorian rotary waltz to the modern English waltz of the early 1920s. Existing scholarship on the dance culture of this period and locale has tended to focus on issues of national identity, gender, race, class and the institutionalisation of popular dance practices. Although these are of profound significance and are here integrated into the analysis, this fresh study focuses on the waltz's choreological aspects and relationship to its ballroom companions; on the dance backgrounds and agency of the waltz's most influential practitioners and advocates, and on the fruitful nexus between theatre, clubs, pedagogy, the press and competitions in transforming style and practice towards modern English ballroom dancing as both a social and artistic form. Part One discusses the kinetic problems that waltzing couples encountered in the face of ragtime dances and tango, the impact of World War One on social dance practices in fashionable London and the response of the press and the dance pedagogic profession to the post-war dance craze. Improvisational strategies are considered as contributory factors in the waltz's muted persistence throughout the war while throwing light on how certain social choreomusical practices might lead to the transmutation of dances into newly recognised forms. The persuasive role of London-based leaders such as Philip Richardson, Madame Vandyck and Belle Harding in these early years of modern ballroom dancing is brought to fresh attention. Part One concludes with the dance teachers’ inconclusive attempts during 1920–21 to define and recommend a waltz form compatible with both a discrete choreomusical identity and the stylistic dictates of modern ballroom dancing </jats:p