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Desire for Recognition and Recognition of Desire: A Theoretical Account of the Influence of Student Teacher Fantasy on Self-Efficacy
Get PDFIn the face of increasing teacher burnout, in this paper I explore the theoretical implications
of political accountability measures on student music teacher self-efficacy in England.
I propose a necessary shift from institutional priorities to weaker personal
aspirations as a route towards more sustainable teaching. Through reflecting on my
own professional practice, I highlight distinctions between teachers’ individual aspirations
and professional action but propose that teachers themselves are somewhat complicit
in this disparity. This assertion draws on a Žižekian conceptualization whereby
actions aim to appease a fantasy of how the subject perceives they appear to others. For
student teachers, I suggest that the attempt to appease their multiple influential figures
effectively self-silences personal aspirations; however, given the multifaceted priorities
of these influential persons, I argue this appeasement entails a perpetually unfulfilling
endeavour. Rather, I call for an intervention which highlights that this desire to appease
others and be recognised as proficient is personally sustained, and thus malleable, in
order to encourage student teachers to nurture more individually fulfilling and sustainable
professional practice
STORIES STUDENTS TELL ABOUT THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCES OF SPIRITUALITY IN THE DALCROZE CLASS
Get PDFThis article is a narrative inquiry of the lived spiritual experiences of students participating in Dalcroze Eurhythmics training. Previous studies have located Jaques-Dalcroze’s own writings and thought within the context of spirituality and have explored the spiritual experiences of Dalcroze teachers, but students’ perspectives remain to be investigated. We interviewed seven students, broadly defined as anyone currently attending regular Dalcroze training or who have recently attended Dalcroze courses and still considers themselves Dalcroze students. Various strategies for narrative data analysis were synthesized into our own coding scheme. Themes emerged from the data analysis: situation, continuity, personal interaction, social interaction and significant moments. The themes helped us construct a fictive conversation between the participants, using direct quotations from the interviews. Implications for practice focus on what inhibits and promotes experiences of spirituality in the Dalcroze class. This research will be relevant to music educators, as it gives clear, evidence-based guidelines on how opportunities for spirituality can be created in the Dalcroze classroom. It also offers an original synthesis of existing coding schemes for other researchers undertaking narrative inquiries
Leadership in the Transition from Music Student to Professional Musician : The Civic Orchestra of Chicago Fellowship
No full textTh e transition from student to professional has been identifi ed as one of the
most challenging phases for musicians. Th e Civic Fellowship at the Civic
Orchestra of Chicago – the training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra (CSO) – is an innovative programme for recent graduates targeting
holistic development through a portfolio of opportunities in orchestral, educational
and community contexts, with leadership at its core. Th is study aimed
to understand how participants experienced the fellowship and to ascertain its
value as a tool for learning enhancement in the transition to professional. Th e
eight musicians chosen for the 2014– 2015 season took part in the study: four
men and four women aged between 22 and 30 years. Data were collected
through semi- structured interviews. Interpretative phenomenological analysis
revealed the experience of the programme to be accounted for through seven
overarching themes: (1) perspective; (2) the musician as citizen; (3) professional
skills; (4) social skills; (5) self; (6) wellbeing; and mediated by (7) the
process of leaving the conservatoire comfort zone. Findings suggest the Civic
Fellowship model represents a strong example of a creative career advancement
initiative that meets key developmental and educational needs of transition
musicians. Longitudinal follow- up is suggested to verify sustainability and
generalisability of change
What Determines the Perception of Segmentation in Contemporary Music?
Get PDFBackground: This study concerns the perception of musical segmentation during listening to live contemporary classical music. Little is known about how listeners form judgments of musical segments, particularly when typical section markers, such as cadences and fermatas, are absent [e.g., Sears et al. (2014)] or when the music is non-tonal (e.g., in much contemporary classical music).
Aims: The current study aimed to examine the listeners’ segmentation decisions in a piece of contemporary music, Ligeti’s “Fanfares”?
Methods: Data were gathered using a smartphone application [Practice & Research in Science & Music (PRiSM) Perception App] designed for this study by the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) Centre for PRiSM and the Oxford e-Research Centre. A total of 259 audience participants were asked to “tap” when they felt that a section had ended. Subjective responses were captured, as well as contextual data about the participants.
Results: The audience members demonstrated high levels of agreement regarding segmentation, mostly at places in the music involving breaks in the musical texture (one piano hand resting), changes in dynamic (volume), and changes in register/pitch. A sense of familiarity with contemporary repertoire did seem to influence the responses—the participants who self-reported being familiar with contemporary music used a wider range of cues to make their segmentation decisions. The self-report data analysis suggested that the listeners were not always aware of how they made decisions regarding segmentation. The factors which may influence their judgment of musical segmentation are, to some extent, similar to those identified by music analysis (Steinitz, 2011) but different in other ways. The effect of musical training was found to be quite small.
Conclusion: Whether musically trained and/or familiar with contemporary classical music or not, the listeners demonstrate commonalities in segmentation, which they are not always aware of. This study has implications for contemporary composers, performers, and audiences and how they engage with new music in particular
Felice Giardini and Professional Music Culture in Mid-Eighteenth-Century London
Get PDFFelice Giardini and Professional Music Culture in Mid-Eighteenth-Century London explores Giardini’s influence on British musical life through his multifaceted career as performer, teacher, composer, concert promoter and opera impresario.
The crux of the study is a detailed account of Giardini’s partnership with the music seller/publisher John Cox during the 1750s, presented using new biographical information which contextualizes their business dealings and subsequent disaccord. The resulting litigation, the details of which have only recently come to light, is explored here via a complex set of archival materials. The findings offer new information about the economics of professional music culture at the time, including detailed figures for performers’ fees, the printing and binding of music scores, the charges arising from the administration of concerts and operas, the sale, hire and repair of various instruments and the cost of what today we would call intellectual property rights.
This is a fascinating study for musicologists and followers of Giardini,as well as for readers with an interest in classical music, social history and
legal history
The efficacy of music as a non‑pharmacological intervention in the endoscopy setting: a literature review
Get PDFBackground: Music has been demonstrated to have therapeutic effects for relaxation and pain management
in various healthcare settings. However, this practice has not been adopted in the UK in the endoscopy
environment. Music as an intervention could potentially lower pain thresholds, promote anxiolysis, reduce
sedation and enhance the patient experience. Aims: The study aimed to identify, analyse and discuss existing
knowledge on the topic of music medicine as an intervention in the endoscopy setting and to expose gaps in
previous research and form recommendations for future research. Methods: Iterative searching of electronic
databases, hand searches and grey literature searches were employed, following inclusion/exclusion criteria
to identify relevant studies. Studies were then thematically analysed and themes identified. Findings: The
search identified 11 relevant studies, with emergent themes of anxiety, patient satisfaction, sedation/
analgesia, choice of music and procedure times. Conclusions: This literature review showed that music is a
safe therapeutic intervention. It has the potential to act as an anxiolytic, reducing amounts of sedation or
even replacing sedation in some cases. Patient satisfaction and experience can be enhanced, reducing DNA
rates and encouraging greater uptake of repeat procedures
Redefining excellence and inclusion
Get PDFIn this article, we present an overview and summary of the work undertaken by
the Music and Social Intervention Network. Exploring the themes of ‘excellence’
and ‘inclusion’, we begin with a consideration of the four articles presented within
this special issue and then proceed onto a reflection surrounding wider discussions
prevalent at the public events held as part of the project. Following this,
we outline five key discourses that emerged through the research process: value,
context, measurement, process/product and pedagogy. These fields were then used
to identify three underlying issues that affect the way the concepts of excellence
and inclusion manifest. After proposing a common understanding of the terms
under scrutiny, we suggest that the research points towards a reformation that
reads: excellence is the process within community music and inclusion is the product
of that process. Reflective questions pertaining to this idea are left open for
further discussion