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Psychosocial work environment among musicians and in the general workforce in Norway
Get PDFMusicians suffer from physical and mental health symptoms more frequently than the general population. Although their specific demands and challenges have been researched increasingly in the past, explanations still remain somewhat unclear. We use a large epidemiological data set to compare psychosocial work environment among 1,607 members of the Norwegian Musician’s Union with a national sample of 8,517 employees from the general Norwegian workforce. Musicians reported more control over their work; however, they felt less supported and acknowledged, had more work-family conflicts and less motivation, and perceived their work as more demanding compared to the general workforce. In the musician sample, results indicated that classical and contemporary musicians are experiencing a less favorable psychosocial environment in terms of control, demands, and acknowledgment, orchestral players felt less control and soloist less support. Future studies should explore possible interventions to improve musicians’ psychosocial work environment
Disrupting heteronormative temporality through Queer dramaturgies: Fun Home, Hadestown and A Strange Loop
Get PDFThis article considers how André De Shields performance in Hadestown (2019), and the musicals Fun Home (2015) and A Strange Loop (2019) can be seen to respond to the present moment and argues that they disrupt heteronormative temporality through queer dramaturgy. It explores musicals that present queer performativity and/or queer dramaturgies, and addresses how they enact queer strategies of resistance through historical materialist critiques of personal biographies. It suggests that to do this, they disrupt the heteronormative dramaturgical time of the musical, and considers how they may enact structural change to the form of the musical. The article carries out a close reading of De Shields’ performance practice, and analyses the dramaturgy of Fun Home and A Strange Loop through drawing on the methodologies of José Muñoz and Elizabeth Freeman. It considers how they make queer labour visible by drawing on post-dramatic strategies, ultimately suggesting that to varying extents, these musicals offer resistance to the heteronormative musical form
Sonic methodologies in urban studies
No full textThis chapter is available open access on the SONCITIES website here: https://www.soncities.org/previous/sonic-methodologie
The reception of tango and the creation of its authenticity in twentieth century Japan: a study from the perspective of “Internalized Modernity”
No full textHow was tango's authenticity created in Japan? Through the lens of what the author calls the Internalized Modernity, this essay examines the historical construction of tango's authenticity in twentieth century Japan. Tango, as a dance music genre, was fabricated at the intersecting point of "primitivism" and internationality - both concepts of which the products of Western modernity - and as the key part of Argentina's "modernization". Since its arrival in Japan in the 1910s and through to the postwar years, tango was internalized in the distant land together with the genre's associated class and racial politics, and as modernity. In this process, the idea of prioritization of authenticity surrounding tango was cultivated, wherein Japanese performers and aficionados looked to Argentina in search for their artistic and academic pursuits. The creation of tango's authenticity in twentieth century Japan complicates any simplistic understandings of the "West-East" or "Argentina-Japan" frames of cultural transmission, and in turn illuminates a unique mode of modernity construction in Japan. ******* PLEASE NOTE: This article is in Japanese. There is an open access version of it at the 'Official URL' given below. ******
Making music
No full textThis chapter focuses on how and why making music supports health. It concentrates not on music therapy, but on music use in everyday life, in communities and clinical settings, or via specially designed interventions. The chapter begins with an outline of current evidence for the impact of music on both psychological and physical health, before turning to two case examples of recent research conducted by the authors. These examples include group drumming for mental health service users and group singing for women experiencing symptoms of postnatal depression, and both include a summary of the context, music, and people involved, the health outcomes of the music engagement, and the reasons why the music appeared to be effective. The chapter concludes with practical examples and tips for engaging with music for health
Exploring the perceived impact of extensive training in the Alexander technique on the day-to-day lives of professional musicians
Get PDFThis thesis seeks to better understand the potential of the Alexander Technique (AT) for musicians through exploration of the ways in which professional musicians perceive the impact of extensive AT training, represented by completion of an AT teacher training course, on their daily lives. A qualitative methodological approach was employed. Data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with five AT trained professional musicians from a range of profiles within the western classical tradition, and analysed inductively using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). Findings reveal a predominantly positive impact of extensive AT training on three key areas: (1) the act of making music, (2) the sense of self as musician, and (3) health and wellbeing. These are comprised of a number of themes (with their constituent sub-themes) which represent in more detail the impact of AT training: (1) 1.1 Making life as a professional possible, 1.2 The physicality of making music, 1.3 Sound and musicality, 1.4 Musical practice, and 1.5 The performance experience, (2) 2.1 Self-efficacy, 2.2 Identity and self-worth, 2.3 Motivation, and (3) 3.1 Relationships, 3.2 Coping, 3.3 Physical and mental health, and 3.4 Wellbeing. Physical changes achieved through extensive AT training contributes to the perceived impact upon the physicality of making music, physical and mental health, and wellbeing. The core AT strategy for the improvement of physical functioning, Inhibition and Direction, is compared to models of self-regulated learning, and linked to the perceived impact on musical practice, self-efficacy and peak performance experience. These findings have significant pedagogical and injury prevention implications for musicians
The autonomy of private instrumental teachers: its effect on valid knowledge construction, curriculum design, and quality of teaching and learning
Get PDFThis research aims to open doors into the world of private instrumental teaching. As well as examining the varied nature of the profession and the work private teachers undertake, it seeks to uncover more about who private teachers are and the way they view that work which they carry out. Notably, in view of their position outside of institutional frameworks, the research seeks to understand the factors which influence what and how private teachers teach, and in particular, the way they perceive pupil input. Despite the widespread and important role private instrumental teachers play within the music education sector, they inhabit a position which has often been described as isolated; their work taking place behind closed doors. Whilst the nature of one-to-one instrumental teaching has been examined in a variety of contexts, notably higher education, private teachers occupy an almost unique position, operating outside of institutional control. Private teachers have previously been seen as difficult to reach, and researchers have voiced concerns that research into private teaching may be seen as an invasion of teachers’ privacy. From a social constructivist position, and situated within an interpretivist paradigm, I conducted three unstructured interviews with private teachers. These provided the foundation for research which was then expanded to include an online survey of private teachers which received 486 responses. Using an iterative approach, ensuring constant dialogue between data gathered and existing literature, interview and survey data were thematically coded and analysed, and key themes identified. Whilst private teachers were committed to the work they undertook, responses suggest they were often uncritical in their practice. The dataset indicates an emerging dichotomy between the autonomy private teachers possess and their ability to manage that freedom, leading to communities of practice which do not function at as high a level as they might. This research makes a valuable contribution to an under-researched area of music education, highlighting a number of implications for practice. At a time when state-funded music provision is under threat, it is essential that key stakeholders better-understand the role private teachers play as part of the wider music education profession
Enemy aliens: music in internment
No full textThe internment of German and Austrian refugees on the Isle of Man in 1940/41 has been a recurrent focus point in our research about the legacy of migrant musicians from Nazi Europe in Britain. It was a shared experience of many of our featured musicians during a difficult and uncertain time, during which music was vitally important to keep up morale. **** This article is available as part of the Music, Migration and Mobility online resource at the Official URL given below. ***
How participatory music engagement supports mental wellbeing: a meta-ethnography
Get PDFParticipatory music engagement has the capacity to support wellbeing. Yet, there is little research that has scrutinized the processes through which music has an effect. In this meta-ethnography [PROSPERO CRD42019130164] we conducted a systematic search of 19 electronic databases and a critical appraisal to identify 46 qualitative studies reporting on participants’ subjective views of how participatory music engagement supports their mental wellbeing. Synthesis of first-order and second-order interpretations using thematic coding resulted in four third-order pathways that account for how participatory music engagement supports mental wellbeing: managing and expressing emotions, facilitating self-development, providing respite, and facilitating connections. Our interpretation suggests that people benefit from participatory music engagement by engaging with specific and multiple processes that meet their individual needs and circumstances. These findings inform research directions within the field of music and wellbeing, as well as guiding the development and delivery of future music interventions
The Impact Areas Questionnaire (IAQ): a music therapy service evaluation tool
Get PDFService evaluation is a professional requirement for music therapy practitioners and organisations. Yet service evaluation findings are rarely published within the professional literature, and there is limited documentation of the processes and methods of such evaluations, including the rationale, dilemmas, and challenges encountered. This is perhaps due to the perceived status, methodological weaknesses, and context-specificity of service evaluation work. Drawing on our engagement with service evaluation in diverse settings, we have become aware of its potential beyond its typical current uses in the field as well as of the need for open discussion and debate about the service evaluation tools that are available. This is where the aim of this paper lies: to introduce a service evaluation tool, the Impact Areas Questionnaire (IAQ), alongside the studies that led to its construction. Developed originally through a review of 27 individually designed service evaluation projects, this questionnaire contains a number of different impact areas. Adopting an ecological perspective, these areas refer to music therapy’s perceived impact not only on service users, but also on families/carers/friends, staff, and the organisational context in its entirety. Following its original development within Nordoff Robbins England and Wales, this questionnaire was tested in the context of Nordoff Robbins Scotland with the aim of exploring its applicability and transferability to other music therapy settings. In addition to presenting the findings of this testing, we discuss the potential use of the IAQ, which is included as an appendix to this article, in other settings and its relevance for knowledge and policy making in the field