Composing, performing and audience-listening as symmetrical indicators of musical understanding

The thesis conceptually disentangles two dimensions of music making and development: understanding and practical skills. Musical understanding, the awareness of the meanings embodied in the elements of musical discourse, is taken as a single conceptual dimension which operates across the central modalities of music making — composing, performing and audience-listening. It is recommended in the literature that these activities should be integrated in the curriculum as they interact with each other. A rationale is offered on the nature of this interaction, suggesting that it takes place in the dimension of understanding, the manifestation of which depends on the refinement of the practical skills necessary to accomplish particular tasks. It is hypothesised that musical understanding will be manifested symmetrically across composing, performing and audience-listening activities once the tasks are appropriate and accessible. The empirical study consisted of a small sample design with repeated measures both across and within the three modalities. Over five months of teaching within the integrated approach to the three activities, twenty students between 11 and 13,5 years old from a non-specialist music school in Brazil offered three 'products' in each modality. These were assessed by independent judges using for the first time the three-fold criteria derived from Swanwick and Tillman's Spiral Model (1986) as an instrument to assess musical understanding across various modalities of music making. Results show that there was no symmetry across all three modalities. They revealed, nonetheless, significant symmetry across composition and audience-listening. Performance was the modality in which students achieved lower scores, being the poorest indicator of the extent of their musical understanding. This supports the assumption that the demonstration of understanding is constrained by the complexity of the tasks. The distinctive psychological nature of each modality and the extent to which this might have affected the results are also considered. Curriculum implications point to the relative role of each modality in facilitating the development and demonstration of musical understanding

Basic psychological needs and the New Horizons musician: a cross-case analysis of six older adults participating in a New England New Horizons ensemble

For 25 years, the New Horizons International Music Association has grown to become a large network of organizations in service of older adults seeking a musical and social experience. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT: Ryan and Deci, 2002), people seek out social environments that allow for the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs, that of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This study examines the choices of six older adults to participate in a New England New Horizons ensemble and the extent to which various facets of participation serve to satisfy or thwart their basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Field observations for this study were analyzed though dramaturgical coding as a means of providing a theatrical structure to the data. Six participants in the ensemble were selected as representative of the gender and experiential distribution of the musicians. Transcriptions of the interviews were adapted to become theatrical monologues as a means of telling the stories of these individuals. The monologues were analyzed with a focus on how participation in the New Horizons ensemble served to fulfill or thwart these musicians’ basic psychological needs. Findings indicate that fulfillment of relatedness though peers, conductors, community members, and family were mentioned most frequently. Fulfillment of the need for autonomy was not only evident in intrinsically motivated behaviors, but in autonomous forms of extrinsic motivation as well. The participants tended to define their sense of competence as New Horizons members and musicians in general, by their experiences of lacking competence. However, they willingly embraced the New Horizons motto of your best is good enough. It is hoped that this study will lead to further examination of basic psychological needs satisfaction in New Horizons members

Leisure piano lessons: A case study of lifelong learning.

The importance of the social and emotional benefits of leisure piano study, whether in a private or group setting, should not be underplayed. While all of the participants in this study experienced age-related difficulties while playing the piano, each had found ways to compensate for their problems.This phenomenological case study explored the experience of piano lessons from the perspective of 12 piano students over the age of 55. Six of the study participants were engaged in piano study through a continuing education program for senior citizens at a community college. The remaining six participants were taking private piano lessons from two teachers in the same geographic location.While the themes that emerged from this phenomenological study can not be generalized to all students over the age of 55 who study piano, the common trends noted for these participants suggest that there are certain goals, desires, and needs that many piano students may have when they study piano at a later stage in their lives. However, the participants in this study could not clearly articulate those goals or needs. This and other findings refute some of the adult learning theories that have long been accepted by educators.The population of North America over the age of 55 is expected to increase dramatically over the next decade. Life expectancy has also increased and North Americans are leaving the workforce earlier than they did just two decades ago. Thus, Americans find themselves retiring earlier and living longer and healthier lives. A trend toward pursuing learning throughout one's life, defined as lifelong learning, has also been noted. The pursuit of leisure activities upon departure from the professional arena is critical for maintaining health throughout the latter part of one's life. Musicians and piano pedagogues have begun to recognize the important role that engaging in musical activities at an older age can play in one's overall health.The findings of this study will sensitize teachers to the special needs and goals of their mature piano students and make educators more cognizant of creating a stimulating learning environment for their older piano students.The researcher conducted a series of in-depth interviews with each participant, video taped and observed piano lessons with each student, and conducted an interview with each of the teachers to triangulate the data. The researcher explored each case individually and then compared themes across the cases

Understanding the Liberal Arts Experience: Developing Leadership Skills from Classical Education

This descriptive case study seeks to determine how public high school students perceive the value of participating in liberal arts activities and how they believe these activities influence their academic success and future choices after their high school graduation. Participants were selected from students who participated in both a liberal arts and leadership activity at the research site during the 2018 spring semester. The eight selected participants were asked to complete an initial interview and a member checking interview. The researcher also observed each participant’s leadership activities twice. Themes emerging from the collected data included participant’s access to leadership development opportunities, enhanced self-confidence, increased self-efficacy, and improved interpersonal communication skills. The results of this qualitative research will add to the academic literature concerning the benefits of liberal arts participation. The implications of this research suggest that high schools need to include a variety of liberal arts programs in their curriculum and that liberal arts teachers can use the results of academic research to serve as stronger advocates for the inclusion of liberal arts programs in their schools

Teen Voices from the City: How School Instrumental Music Students Persevere and Thrive

High school bands and orchestras in the United States reflect the rampant educational opportunity gap when it comes to the representation of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) student populations, denying talented and passionate students the opportunities intrinsic to instrumental music participation (IMP) (Bradley, 2007; Elpus & Abril, 2011; Kozol, 2005; Salvador & Allegood, 2014; Stanford CEPA). The study’s purpose was to understand how BIPOC students successfully participated in high school instrumental music (IM) ensembles. Using the theoretical lenses of Maslow’s (2015) hierarchy of needs and Freire’s (2013) critical pedagogy, this study asked: How do teenage BIPOC IM students experience, and make meaning of, their public-school IM journeys? Including, Who supported them?; What were the transitional points of decision?; What were the IM bonds that kept them participating? Using a constructivist phenomenological approach, this qualitative study interviewed 12 BIPOC high school graduates of a Midwest metropolitan area to learn how they made meaning of their IM journeys. Several common themes emerged. Participants’ IM journeys were supported by family, peers, and IM teachers. Transition points included high school entrance, structural crises, and exclusionary experiences. IMP bonds to continuing IMP included mood, social connection, self-esteem/challenge, aesthetics, and agency themes. Recommendations include investment in equitable, culturally responsive IM programming and recruiting; targeted guidance and bridging strategies for high school IM transitions, private lessons for advanced students of low SES, the use of collaborative student-centered teaching strategies and culturally relevant literature; and targeted, caring anti-racist polices and strategies toward inclusion

Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development

This Compendium summarizes and discusses 62 research studies that examine the effects of arts learning on students' social and academic skills. The research studies cover each of the art forms and have been widely used to help make the case that learning in the arts is academic, basic, and comprehensive

The power of sound: reflections on an intervention programme to develop aspects of mindfulness

The education of the majority of South African learners is in crisis. Eighty five percent of learners are not being educated to a level where they can become independent and productive members of society. In recent years, mindfulness has been recognised as a means of optimising effectiveness, learning ability and general well-being. The intention of this research study was therefore the development, presentation and evaluation of a learning programme that focused on developing listening skills through sound and rhythm with a view to improving the ability to focus attention and facilitate mindfulness. A literature review was also conducted, not only on the benefits and effect of sound and music, but also mindfulness itself, its importance and relevance. The research took place at an aftercare facility in an economically challenged area in the Western Cape of South Africa over a period of ten months. The approach adopted for this research study has been qualitative, multidisciplinary, interpretive and interventionist. Data was collected through field observations, interviewing and using visual participatory methodologies such as drawing and videos. In the course of the research, two major themes emerged namely intrapersonal transformation (including sub-themes of musical aptitude, active listening, focused attention, calmness and presence of mind) and interpersonal transformation (including sub-themes of teamwork and group accomplishment, awareness of others and service). It is my contention that the data from this intervention programme enable me to conclude that music activities provided opportunities for the children involved in this study to develop aspects of mindfulness. It is hoped that the research insights and findings, both from the literature survey and the intervention programme will help to advocate the core positioning of music and the arts, not only in the primary school curriculum, but also in teacher education programmes. I believe that the research study also indicates that further implementation of the intervention programme, would prove useful in developing an education curriculum that has mindfulness at its core as well as going some way towards clarifying a means by which musical sound can be utilised in a way that is meaningful to all South African children

Burnout and engagement in music performance students

This dissertation focuses on burnout and engagement in music performance students. While involvement in music can be detrimental to the health of those involved, it can also foster their well-being. There has been a growing interest in the experiences of music students but there is very little research on aspects of their music-related well-being such as burnout and engagement.1 Not so much is known about the degrees to which students feel burned-out and engaged, and whether their demographic characteristics influence their burnout and engagement. A quantitative study was therefore undertaken to establish the levels of burnout and engagement in this population, and explore potential differences with respect to them between music performance students in Australia, Poland and the UK, and men and women (N=331). With a view to understanding why performance students burn out or become engaged, and what characterises their experiences of burnout or engagement, the mixed-method approach was employed. The results from a quantitative longitudinal study carried out in Australia and the UK (N=124), and the interviews with students classed as burned-out (N=7) or engaged (N=7) were combined to identify the factors underpinning the development of burnout and engagement, and to explore how they are experienced by music performance students. The findings suggest that performance students display comparatively low levels of burnout (although one in 10 could be at risk), and moderate degrees of engagement. The study points to cross-national and sex differences in the levels of music-related well-being experienced by performance students. Burnout develops as a consequence of inadequate motivation underlying involvement in music or limited personal and social resources to support learning. Burned-out students experience problems with their physical health (but devaluation of music may be a protective factor) and their overall psychological well-being is negatively affected. Students are likely to become engaged when music represents their true values, and when they have personal and social resources facilitating their selfactualisation through music. Engagement further fuels students’ proactive approach to learning and resultant progress. The findings form the basis for practical advice for teachers, institutions and students themselves on how students’ music-related well-being could be protected and enhanced

Handbell ensemble ringing as a holistic experience: issues of embodied practice, musical communitas and accessibility

Issues of embodiment, musical communitas, and accessibility have been adapted by music educators and music therapists within their practices. Music education in general may benefit from the unique aspects of what these models have to offer. In this qualitative phenomenological research study, I examined the perceptions of a diverse sampling of handbell musicians and their directors with respect to the three phenomena of embodiment, musical communitas, and accessibility. The findings were compared to existing research related to various forms of embodied learning, musical communitas as seen through the field of music therapy, and accessibility as defined by universal design concepts. The central questions that guided this study were: 1. What are handbell musicians’ perceptions of embodied handbell ringing and/or embodied learning? 2. What are handbell musicians’ perceptions of functioning as one unified instrument? 3. How are handbells unique with regard to their accessibility? The data revealed seven themes with regard to embodiment and whole-body expression, seven with regard to musical communitas, and six with regard to accessibility. Three unrelated themes, as well as a small instance of conflicting data with regard to accessibility, were reported and addressed. Consistent throughout the transcripts was the use of three words: together, everyone/everybody, and whole (as in holistic or not divided). This common language represents a sympathetic resonance that existed among the participants without respect to age, position, or experience. Music educators may benefit from more research in music education based in embodied learning to strengthen the acceptance of the body, not as supplemental, but as foundational in music learning, and to dispel the “either/or” notions that place the body in opposition to the brain. The design of the handbell ensemble may provide a model for music making that values embodiment, communitas, and accessibility, which can address a number of music education’s current goals including creating, performing, and responding (NAfME, 2014b)