Intrusive memories and trauma-related symptoms in individuals presenting with dental anxiety

Research indicates that between 36-40% of people are afraid to visit the dentist, 20% are highly anxious and 5% avoid dental treatments due to severe anxiety (Lindsay & Jackson, 1993). Dental anxiety is known to be a major barrier to optimal health care with individuals fearful of impending invasive procedures often presenting only when in severe pain. Dental anxiety has been found to be based on past memories of experiences of pain and loss of control in the dental setting.Evidence from the literature suggests that some individuals with dental anxiety also present with additional psychological problems, such as panic disorder. De Jongh, Muris, ter Horst and Duyx (1995) also reported that individuals with dental anxiety also exhibited more catastrophizing thoughts related to dental treatment. A recent study by De Jongh, Aartman & Brand (manuscript submitted for publication) reported that intrusive memories of past distressing dental experiences were associated with trauma-related symptoms. However no structured assessment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was carried out.This study aimed to identify the association between intrusive memories related to dental experiences and trauma-related symptomatology and to investigate differences in psychopathology and frequency of thought content in individuals presenting with and without intrusive memories. The proportion of individuals with intrusive memories who would meet criteria for PTSD was also investigated. Results will be given and conclusions reached

The experiential salience of music in identity for singing teachers

Professional musicians with strong identities in music may also have a high degree of music in their identities. Accordingly, a rigid identification with work may be problematic for musicians, particularly when forces beyond their control change their work circumstances. In this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 singing teachers, representing a subset of professional musicians, and used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore the ways in which they enacted music in their identities. The framework of musical identities in action was used to interpret the findings, revealing the dynamic, embodied, and situated complexity of music in participants’ identities. Music had existential salience in the accounts of nine participants. Its salience resulted from the dynamic and situated presence of music across the lifespan, the literal embodiment of the singing voice, and the metaphorical embodiment of the presence of music in participants’ experiences. While a strong sense of music in people’s identities can promote lifelong engagement with music, if the emphasis on music is existential, the identity of a professional musician may be at risk when they are faced with an external threat to their livelihood. This is important knowledge for music educators and professional musicians’ career thinking

The influence of vocal performance on singing self-concept

Background: A growing body of research demonstrates that musical engagement is associated with wide range of well-being benefits. Additionally, research into musical identities indicates that musical self-concept plays a role in the extent to which we engage in musical activities. Therefore, when considering how to widen musical participation for well-being benefit, it is important to consider the role of individual identities which include some component of music. Musical self-concept, is, however, socially constructed; and little consideration has been given to defining the broader sociocultural factors at play in the formation of musical self-concepts. Aims: The present experiment was designed to better understand socio-cultural factors which are hypothesized as potentially influencing singing self-concept. In particular, drawing on social comparison theory, the experiment considered the potential influence of the exposure to different types of vocal performances on singing self-concept. Social comparison theory states that people evaluate themselves by comparing themselves to other people. The present study asked, “Does exposure to examples of certain types of singing influence participants’ own singing self-concept” and “If so, what is the nature of this influence and is a particular influence correlated with a particular example of singing”. Method: Australian residents were invited to complete an online experiment. After providing demographic information and answering a series of questions to establish a baseline for each participant in relation to music and identity, participants heard a one-minute recorded example of “Happy Birthday”. Participants were randomly allocated into one of four conditions, such that they heard either: 1. Male and female trained singers performing in the style of “The Voice” reality television series 2. Male and female trained singers performing a “plain” version 3. Male and female untrained singers performing “as they would normally sing the song” 4. A control version (unaccompanied piano) After listening to the audio clip, participants responded to a series of items concerning the singing technique, level of difficulty, and perceived similarities/differences between the performer and the participant. Lastly, participants were asked to reflect on their own singing ability. Results: Data collection is currently underway. Preliminary analyses (N = 123) indicate that people judged the quality of the performances differently, such that the quality was rated highest for the traditional professional performance and lowest for the amateur performance. People in the traditional and amateur singing conditions reported higher confidence in being able to sing along with the performers than those in the “The Voice” condition. Interestingly, however, people’s direct ratings for being able to sing well/having no singing talent were not affected by the audio condition, such that it is possible that previous music experience might moderate the relationship. Supplementary analyses will draw on additional data concerning how musical self-concept relates to well-being. Conclusions: The present study extends research into the socio-cultural construction of musical self-concept. Findings have theoretical implications for considering how musical self-concept development may influence adult participation in music activities and, thus, individual well-being. In addition, the findings have practical implications for how music educators develop supportive and engaging music-making opportunities

Examining “good singing” in the age of The Voice: Implications for voice pedagogy and practice

The rise to prominence of reality TV singing shows over the past two decades has perpetuated a certain style of singing as the “winning formula”. This formula requires contestants to perform contemporary commercial music using loud, high-pitched, energized singing (usually high belt or chest-mix). What do members of the public make of this style of singing? To test a hypothesis that reality TV singing may be deemed as “good singing” by the public, this study considered how people (N = 52) described and evaluated three stylistically different versions of a melody as sung by amateurs and professional vocalists. We exposed participants to three versions of “Happy Birthday”: 1) amateurs singing “as they would normally sing”; 2) professionals performing a “plain” version; 3) the same professionals singing a version in the style of The Voice reality TV show. Quantitative and qualitative results indicate that both professional versions were considered “better singing” than the amateur singing. While respondents focused on the technical deficiencies for amateurs, descriptions of the professionals concerned style. Contrary to our hypothesis that the popularity of reality TV singing shows would influence public perceptions of good singing, participants’ preferences for “good singing” were split between the two professional versions, with people focused on sophistication and creativity (the “professional voice” version) or vocal quality (the “professional plain” version). While participants were more likely to sing along with the “amateur” version, respondents’ preferred version largely matched their chosen exemplar of “good singing”. When considering studio teaching, these findings have implications for student vocal development and learning: students’ preferences for and aspirations towards “good singing” may not align with the functional capabilities of their voices. Additional Implications will be considered, with discussion invited on the utility of evaluative statements such as “good” and “bad” in relation to singing performance benchmarks

Socio-cultural influences on Australian adults’ musical identities

Background Within the popular imagination, musical talent or ability is perceived to be genetic or innate (Rickard & Chin, 2017) and Western cultures tend to identify only those who actively create music through playing an instrument or singing as 'musicians' (Hallam, 2017). The conflation of 'musician' with ability and/or active music engagement through singing or playing is reflected in research considering musical identity, which has tended to focus on these connections. Where a broader concept of musical identity is deployed, in, for example, the context of music listening, research has narrowly focused on music genre preferences. Any conception of the “musician” identity, is, however, socially constructed; and little consideration has been given to broader socio-cultural factors at play in musical identity formation, particularly as regards to cultural environment. Aims This study aimed to broadly investigate socio-cultural factors that have been hypothesised to contribute to musical identity, asking, 'What socio-cultural factors contribute to the formation of a person’s musical identity, beyond the influence of perceived musical ability and music genre preference?' Methods Australian residents were invited to take part in the research. The research design involved completing an online, mixed-methods questionnaire: individuals were asked to complete standardized measures of self (including self-esteem, self-concept clarity, ego strengths, and personality) as well as measures of musical self-image, education, experience, and engagement (including the MUSEBAQ, GOLD-MSI, MSIQ, an amended version of the STOMP, OM-EIS, and author-developed items). Results Data collection is currently underway. First, it is anticipated that results will distinguish facets of musical identity and link these to influencing factors predictive of identity development. Second, it is anticipated that analyses will demonstrate significant positive and negative associations between particular influencing factors and (1) the strength of people’s perceived musical identities and (2) people’s level of musical participation. Third, analyses will address how broad psychological measures of self relate to the domain of music identity. Conclusion and Implications The present study extends research into musical identity to more fully explore the role of socio-cultural factors on the development and perception of musical identity. Musical identity influences the ways in which people engage in music across the lifespan and musical engagement contributes towards well-being and quality of life. Findings, therefore, have implications for how musical identity development may influence adult participation in music activities and individual well-being. References Hallam, S. (2017). Musical identity, learning, and teaching. In MacDonald, R.A.R., Hargreaves, D.J., & Miell, D. (Eds.), Handbook of musical identities (pp. 475-492). DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199679485.001.0001 Rickard, N.S., & Chin, T. (2017). Defining the musical identity of 'non-musicians'. In MacDonald, R.A.R., Hargreaves, D.J., & Miell, D. (Eds.), Handbook of musical identities (pp. 288-303)

Examining 'good singing' in the age of The Voice

What constitutes 'good singing' can be hotly contested amongst voice pedagogues. The literature on singing evaluation tends to focus on quantitatively measuring the acoustic properties of the voice or qualitative evaluations by expert listeners, who assess the singer’s vocal technique relative to the performed genre. However, little is known about what the general public considers to be 'good singing'. Within a larger program of research on musical identity and singing self-concept, this small-scale, mixed-methods survey considered how people (N = 52) described and evaluated three stylistically different versions of a melody as sung by amateurs and professional vocalists to test a hypothesis that reality TV singing may be deemed as 'good singing' by the public. Specifically, participants were exposed to three versions of 'Happy Birthday': 1) amateurs singing 'as they would normally sing'; 2) professionals performing a 'plain' version; 3) the same professionals singing a version in the style of The Voice reality TV show. Quantitative and qualitative results indicate that both professional versions were considered 'better singing' than the amateur singing. While respondents focused on the technical deficiencies for amateurs, descriptions of the professionals concerned style. For the professional singers, it seems that technical considerations such as singing in tune were not remarked on because they were able to sing with pitch accuracy. Contrary to our hypothesis that the popularity of reality TV singing shows would influence public perceptions of good singing, people’s preferences for 'good singing' were split between the two professional versions, with people focused on sophistication and creativity (the 'professional voice' version) or vocal quality (the 'professional plain' version). While respondents’ preferred version largely matched their chosen exemplar of 'good singing', participants were more likely to sing along with the “amateur” version. Implications for vocal pedagogy and engagement in singing activities for wellbeing will be considered

Descriptions and evaluations of 'good singing' in the age of The Voice

What constitutes 'good singing' can be hotly contested amongst singing voice pedagogues, yet little is known about what the general public considers to be 'good singing'. Within a program of research on musical identity and singing self-concept, this mixed-methods pilot study considered how members of the public (N = 52) described and evaluated stylistically different versions of a sung melody to test a hypothesis that reality TV singing may be deemed as 'good singing'. Participants were exposed to three versions of 'Happy Birthday': 1) amateurs singing 'as they would normally sing'; 2) professionals performing a 'plain' version; 3) the same professionals singing an embellished version in the style of The Voice reality TV show. Results indicate that both professional versions were considered 'better singing' than the amateur singing. While respondents focused on the technical deficiencies for amateurs, descriptions of the professionals concerned style. Stated exemplars of 'good singing' were split between the two professional versions—based on sophistication and creativity ('professional: embellished') or vocal quality ('professional: plain'). While respondents’ preferred version largely matched their chosen exemplar of 'good singing', participants were more likely to sing along with the 'amateur' version. Implications for singing voice pedagogy and engagement in singing activities for wellbeing are considered