The Japanese translation of the Gold-MSI: Adaptation and validation of the self-report questionnaire of musical sophistication

This study presents a Japanese translation of the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI). The index consists of 38 self-report questions and provides a general sophistication score as well as subscale scores for Active Engagement, Perceptual Abilities, Musical Training, Singing Abilities, and Emotions. The validation of the translation with 689 native Japanese speakers indicated excellent internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the bifactor model structure formulated by the original study of Gold-MSI is maintained reasonably in our data. The strengths of the Gold-MSI self-report inventory are (1) it offers a multifaceted view of musical sophistication, (2) a subset of five subscales can be used to measure different aspects of musical sophistication independently, and (3) the ease of administration as it is a self-report questionnaire. In view of the fact that this inventory and its translations increasingly contribute to research on musical expertise, skills, and abilities, having a Japanese translation may enhance future research in these areas even further

The 15th International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology (SysMus22)

The International Conferences of Students of Systematic Musicology (SysMus) are a series of interdisciplinary student-run conferences with the aim of promoting intellectual exchange between early-career researchers in various fields of systematic musicology. In 2022, the 15th conference was hosted by the Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music (IPEM) in Ghent, Belgium, and was held in a hybrid format, allowing researchers to be present and participate in the events in person and online. SysMus22 comprised 43 posters, 23 presentations, 6 workshops, a panel discussion, musical demonstrations, and 3 musical performances. Topics were as diverse as music cognition, psychology, health and well-being, music theory and performance, technology, and philosophy, among others. Adding to the richness and diversity of topics were keynote lectures given by Psyche Loui (MIND Laboratory, Northeastern University), Mendel Kaelen (Wavepaths), and Rebecca Schaefer (Music, Brain, Health & Technology Laboratory, Leiden University). The whole conference was marked by a friendly, warm, and stimulating atmosphere, encouraging the exchange of ideas between all participants and particularly among researchers at the beginning of their academic careers in systematic musicology. This report provides an overview of SysMus22, the topics it covered, and the format it employed, with a critical discussion of the benefits and challenges posed by the hybrid format