Learning to Play: Cognitive and Physical Development of Children and the Requirements of Playing the Piano

Musical learning and performance has traditionally been understood as the process of cognitive ability and physical action. If a musician lacks or is underdeveloped in one of these areas it will either be harder or almost impossible to create music. In this presentation I will focus on the connection between them. Cognitive ability and knowledge increases with age as we gain more facts and experiences. Likewise, a child’s physical abilities expand and become more advanced with age. There is an increasing amount of evidence that cognitive abilities and physical developments are linked in children’s development

The Not So Silent Planets: The Medieval and Renaissance Concept of \u3cem\u3eMusica Mundana\u3c/em\u3e

The idea of musica mundana does not seem to hold a high place in musicians’ or philosophers’ imaginations as it once did. This is a topic that is only briefly mentioned in music history classes around the world and is generally viewed as a myth with no relevance to modern musicians. I would like to present the argument that musica mundana should be understood as a serious undertaking to explain the order of the universe in the medieval and renaissance periods and has important implications of how we understand the music in the past and present times. To do this we will look at the mindset of the medieval and renaissance periods, the history of musica mundana, and its importance to contemporary musicians

Learning to Play: Cognitive and Physical Development of Children and Requirements of Playing the Piano

Musical learning and performance have traditionally been understood as the process of cognitive ability and physical action. If a musician lacks or is underdeveloped in one of these areas, it will either be harder or almost impossible to create music. In this paper, I will focus on the connection between them. Cognitive ability and knowledge increases with age as we gain more facts and experiences. Likewise, a child’s physical abilities expand and become more advanced with age. There is an increasing amount of evidence that links cognitive abilities and physical developments in children’s development. I will present research on cognitive and physical development in children between the ages of five to ten years, the usual age range that children start piano lessons. This research will be framed by a brief summary of developmental theories that are currently held in the field of music instruction and Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development. I will present this information in the context of teaching piano in a private setting, but I believe many, if not all, the principles presented could apply to other settings where music is taught. Piano, like other instruments, involves multiple and simultaneous requirements from a child cognitively and physically. It is important to understand the cognitive and physical skills of experienced pianists because they constitute the goals for students and teachers. The next section will cover the stages of musical learning before the age of five. Children should complete these stages before starting piano lessons. The final section of this paper provides information of what a typical child between the ages of five to ten is musically capable of learning. Through this discussion, I expect that the important connection between cognitive and physical abilities in studying piano will become clear and that this connection will provide insight in teaching strategies

A snapshot of young children's mathematical competencies: results from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

This article presents a snapshot of the mathematical competencies of children aged four to five years in Australian early childhood education settings, as perceived by their educators. Data are presented from a nationally-representative sample of 6511 children participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). The results reveal that children are seen to possess a number of mathematical competencies at 4-5 years, with the majority of children displaying interest in mathematics. Moreover, differences were noted with respect to the different program types in which the children participated. These results are discussed in relation to previous research, and implications for future research, policy and practice are presented

Alcohol Expectancies Mediate the Relationship Between Age of First Intoxication and Drinking Outcomes in College Binge Drinkers

Background: While prior research has shown that age of first intoxication (AI) is associated with negative alcohol outcomes, limited research has examined factors accounting for this relationship. Alcohol expectancies, or beliefs about the effects of alcohol, may explain such associations as both positive and negative expectancies have been shown to be key predictors of drinking outcomes. Objective: The present study examined expectancies as mediators between early AI and alcohol-related outcomes. Method: Data collection occurred in 2012 and 2013. Participants were college students (N = 562, 65.8% women) who completed an online survey including measures of alcohol use history, alcohol expectancies, typical alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related problems. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. Results: Our findings support a model whereby AI is associated with drinking through its influence on both positive and negative expectancies. Specifically, an earlier AI was associated with stronger alcohol expectancies, which in turn, was associated with heavier alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Conclusions/Importance: These findings are consistent with expectancy theory and previous research suggesting that more experienced drinkers hold stronger drinking-related beliefs, be it positive or negative, and these expectancies ultimately explain variability in alcohol use and problems. Our findings further support that expectancies play an important role in the initiation of drinking behavior

Region-specific and activity-dependent regulation of SVZ neurogenesis and recovery after stroke.

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability. Neurogenesis after stroke is associated with repair; however, the mechanisms regulating poststroke neurogenesis and its functional effect remain unclear. Here, we investigate multiple mechanistic routes of induced neurogenesis in the poststroke brain, using both a forelimb overuse manipulation that models a clinical neurorehabilitation paradigm, as well as local manipulation of cellular activity in the peri-infarct cortex. Increased activity in the forelimb peri-infarct cortex via either modulation drives increased subventricular zone (SVZ) progenitor proliferation, migration, and neuronal maturation in peri-infarct cortex. This effect is sensitive to competition from neighboring brain regions. By using orthogonal tract tracing and rabies virus approaches in transgenic SVZ-lineage-tracing mice, SVZ-derived neurons synaptically integrate into the peri-infarct cortex; these effects are enhanced with forelimb overuse. Synaptic transmission from these newborn SVZ-derived neurons is critical for spontaneous recovery after stroke, as tetanus neurotoxin silencing specifically of the SVZ-derived neurons disrupts the formation of these synaptic connections and hinders functional recovery after stroke. SVZ-derived neurogenesis after stroke is activity-dependent, region-specific, and sensitive to modulation, and the synaptic connections formed by these newborn cells are functionally critical for poststroke recovery

Testing a Model of Caffeinated Alcohol-Specific Expectancies

Introduction- The present study sought to further understand the association between caffeinated alcoholic beverage (CAB) use and alcohol-related risks. In particular, we focused on the role of two identified expectancies specific to CAB use: intoxication enhancement and avoidance of negative consequences. Although outcome expectancies are consistent predictors of substance use, limited research has examined expectancies related to CAB use and their association with alcohol-related behaviors, such as protecting themselves from alcohol-related harms. Consequently, the present study examined CAB-specific expectancies and protective behavioral strategies (PBS) as mediators of CAB use and negative consequences. Methods- Participants were 322 (219 women) college drinkers who completed self-report measures of typical CAB and alcohol use, CAB-specific expectancies, PBS use, and alcohol-related harms. Results- Structural equation modeling revealed, after controlling for typical non-CAB heavy alcohol use, a significant indirect effect of CAB use to alcohol-related problems through avoidance of negative consequences CAB expectancies and PBS use. However, intoxication enhancement expectancies did not mediate this association. Conclusions- Our findings indicate that heavier CAB use was associated with stronger expectations that drinking CABs can help avoid negative consequences. These beliefs were related to using fewer PBS when drinking and a greater likelihood of experiencing problems. Given that these expectancies may be underlying mechanisms of CAB use, their inclusion in existing alcohol interventions may be beneficial

A Latent Profile Analysis of Drinking Patterns Among Nonstudent Emerging Adults

Research indicates that nonstudent emerging adults, as compared to their college-attending peers, are at higher risk for experiencing alcohol-related problems, including alcohol use disorders. The present study sought to extend the limited research on nonstudent drinking by (1) identifying sub-groups of nonstudent drinkers based on their drinking patterns and (2) determining the extent to which social-cognitive between-person factors related to drinking (i.e., social expectancies, perceived drinking norms, social drinking motivations) distinguish these sub-groups. Participants were 195 (65.1% men) nonstudent emerging adult heavy episodic drinkers recruited from the community. Mean age was 21.88 (SD = 2.08) years and 45.4% were unemployed. Latent profile analysis identified two classes based on drinking across 30 days. The moderate drinkers group (n = 143; 73.3%) reported consuming 10-11 drinks weekly and drinking two to three times per week, on average. The heavy drinkers class (n = 52; 26.7%) reported consuming 42-43 drinks weekly and drinking six to seven days per week. Both groups exhibited a cyclic pattern of drinking whereby weekday drinking was lower, with increases on the weekend; the heavy drinkers class had stronger weekend increases starting earlier. Heavy drinkers reported greater volume, frequency, and problematic drinking behaviors, as compared to the moderate drinkers. The heavy drinkers class also endorsed stronger social motives and perceived their peers to drink more. The present study offered unique insights into nonstudent emerging adult drinking patterns by identifying sub-populations of drinkers based on their past 30-day use. Knowledge gained from this study could aide in tailoring existing alcohol interventions to nonstudents to reduce alcohol-related harms

Identifying Patterns of Situational Antecedents to Heavy Drinking Among College Students

Background- Emerging adults have the highest prevalence of heavy drinking as compared to all other age groups. Given the negative consequences associated with such drinking, additional research efforts focused on at-risk consumption are warranted. The current study sought to identify patterns of situational antecedents to drinking and to examine their associations with drinking motivations, alcohol involvement, and mental health functioning in a sample of heavy drinking college students. Method- Participants were 549 (65.8% women) college student drinkers. Results- Latent profile analysis identified three classes based on likelihood of heavy drinking across eight situational precipitants. The High Situational Endorsement\u27 group reported the greatest likelihood of heavy drinking in most situations assessed. This class experienced the greatest level of alcohol-related harms as compared to the Low Situational Endorsement\u27 and Moderate Situational Endorsement\u27 groups. The Low Situational Endorsement class was characterized by the lowest likelihood of heavy drinking across all situational antecedents and they experienced the fewest alcohol-related harms, relative to the other classes. Class membership was related to drinking motivations with the High Situational Endorsement\u27 class endorsing the highest coping- and conformity-motivated drinking. The High Situational Endorsement\u27 class also reported experiencing more mental health symptoms than other groups. Conclusions- The current study contributed to the larger drinking literature by identifying profiles that may signify a particularly risky drinking style. Findings may help guide intervention work with college heavy drinkers

Differences in Weekday Versus Weekend Drinking Among Nonstudent Emerging Adults

In the current investigation, we sought to examine day-of-the-week drinking of an at-risk sample of nonstudent emerging adults and whether specific factors are associated with differential drinking patterns. Our study aims were to (a) identify differences in weekday versus weekend drinking, and (b) examine specific expectancies (i.e., sociability, tension reduction) and demographic factors (e.g., age, sex) relating to weekend versus weekday drinking after controlling for harmful drinking and holiday drinking. Participants were heavy-drinking noncollege attenders recruited from the community (N = 238; 63.4% men, 35.7% women; M age = 21.92 years). They reported daily drinking for the previous 30 days and completed measures of harmful drinking, alcohol expectancies, and demographic information. Results showed that more drinks were consumed on the weekends (i.e., Thursday to Saturday) than weekdays, with 63% of drinks consumed on weekends. Multilevel modeling analyses indicated that weekday drinking was associated with tension-reduction expectancies, social expectancies, sex, and age. Weekend-drinking increases were related to social expectancies, but not tension-reduction expectancies. Our final model indicated that, after controlling for the effect of holiday drinking, the within-person weekday-weekend distinction explained 18% of the total variance. In general, our findings highlight the importance of alcohol expectancies and drinking contexts in understanding the drinking behaviors of nonstudents. The differential role of tension-reduction and social-facilitation expectancies on drinking throughout the week imply that different cognitive pathways are involved in weekday versus weekend drinking, and both types of expected alcohol effects should be targets of risk-reduction efforts with nonstudent drinkers