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The musician in the digital age: technology in the conservatoire
No full textThis chapter reflects on the ways in which conservatoires are responding to a digital world where musical performance, creativity, and communication are increasingly mediated by technology. The chapter proposes a framework for understanding the ways in which students encounter technology as classical performers in the conservatoire and explore how these encounters can promote self-sufficiency in digitally informed practices. Based on observations at the Royal College of Music, an exploration follows, examining the key skills required by conservatoire performers in the digital age and mapping a trajectory towards the development of digital fluency or artistry. Through the analysis of selected curriculum case studies, the chapter argues for an aesthetic shift that moves digital experiences into the conservatoire’s core work as practices that are not simply actioned upon or around students but involve active student engagement and self-regulation. In discussing an integrated approach to embedding digital practices across the conservatoire, it becomes highlighted that oppositions between traditional and technologically mediated forms of practice are unsustainable in today’s conservatoire and profession. Finally, the chapter concludes with a horizon scan of what the future might hold for digital innovation in classical music performance and how conservatoires can contribute to shaping new paradigms
Pablo Sarasate across theory and practice: synthesising old and new sources
Full text linkPablo de Sarasate is a renowned and respected violin figure, yet current research is primarily limited to biographical sources and the portrayal of his virtuosity. Sarasate’s skill as a violinist and his contribution to repertoire and performance practices must be acknowledged and understood. This two-part doctoral project is focused, therefore, on redefining our understanding of Pablo de Sarasate.
Part One centres on providing new evidence and perspectives. It explores Sarasate’s
repertoire and programming preferences, whilst also revealing a categorisation of his career development. It includes the first in-depth exploration of Otto Goldschmidt, Sarasate’s manager and piano accompanist, an essential figure in the development of Sarasate’s public identity and success. The first part concludes with an examination of Sarasate’s violins, which includes videos of my performances on his instruments, as well as the discovery and performance of a work found in Sarasate’s repertoire. Part Two focuses on a comprehensive interrogation of Sarasate as a violinist. It includes an exploration of his posture, sound, compositions and overall technique, from my own perspective as a violinist.
Whilst this research expands current knowledge on Sarasate and contextualises the
violinist within the nineteenth century, its larger goal is to highlight his importance in the
development of violin performance practices. Additionally, this doctoral project provides new evidence, including documentary sources such as concert programmes and letters by
Sarasate, which are interrogated for the first time through this work
Antagonistic muscular co-contraction for skilled, healthy piano technique: a scoping review
Full text linkAims: This scoping review aimed to generate a novel evidence-based model of antagonistic muscular co-contraction (AMCC)’s effects on human movement. The review applies this model to the context of skilled, healthy piano playing to enable advances in pedagogy and research that can aid pianists in developing and maintaining skill and task-related health.
Background: Piano playing is a challenging, complex activity that carries significant risk of playing-related neuromusculoskeletal disorder (PRNDs). AMCC is a contentious, terminologically problematic topic in pedagogical and scientific literature, and has scarcely been studied in relation to piano technique.
Methods: Adhering to PRISMA-ScR guidelines, the review adopted the search terms “co-contraction,” “piano,” “co-activation,” and “antagonist,” consulting 36 aggregated resources and 100 individual journals. After screening, 188 studies published between 1982 and 2021 were included. From these studies, AMCC-related content was extracted, analyzed in relation to piano technique, and categorized. The resultant categories were synthesized into a model representing the characteristics and effects of AMCC in movement.
Results: AMCC is a prevalent, complex, and learnable phenomenon, exhibiting the capacity for both positive and negative effects on performance and health. These effects are highly relevant to the task-specific challenges of skilled, healthy piano playing. AMCC can affect sensorimotor task control, accuracy, efficiency, coordination, internal model generation, proprioception, range of motion, individuation, neuromuscular signal-to-noise ratio, speed, power, stability, task-related injury, pain, and rehabilitation.
Conclusion: The review and corresponding model suggest that AMCC is a fundamental characteristic of human movement with broad and unique effects on sensorimotor task performance, including piano playing. Of the 188 publications reviewed, none were found to have robust methods investigating AMCC in healthy, skilled pianists; this review underpins ongoing research targeting the nature of AMCC in piano technique
Competitiveness and performance anxiety as predictors of performance success and intent to quit playing: deliberate practice as mediator and moderator
Full text linkThis study examined how music performance anxiety (MPA) and competitiveness were associated with intent to quit playing one’s musical instrument and perceived performance success in a sample of 281 aspiring professional musicians. Most importantly, both the mediating and moderating role of DP were explored with these outcomes. The hypotheses were partially supported: MPA predicted intent to quit playing positively, and performance success negatively. Competitiveness did not significantly relate to either of the outcomes. Notably, the results revealed that the more involvement in DP the less MPA, which in turn predicted lower intent to quit playing and greater performance success among the participants. Indirect effects indicated that DP partially mediated the relationship between MPA and both outcomes. Competitiveness was not related to DP, and indirect effects via DP were not significant. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that DP accounted for additional variance beyond MPA and was strongly associated with greater performance success and lower turnover intention. The interaction term (DP × MPA) did not predict outcomes, providing no clear evidence for a buffering role of DP. These findings highlight the direct association of DP with positive outcomes in aspiring professional musicians, rather than any moderating effect on the negative consequences of MPA
Personal realities II: how does the conservatoire link with the profession?
No full textThis chapter continues the survey of current realities in the conservatoire, focusing on examples of the conservatoire’s relationship with the profession. Professor Janis Kelly, Chair of Vocal Performance at the Royal College of Music, London, reflects on her own experience of conservatoire teaching and the relationship between this and her own career as a performer. Using this case study as a jumping-off point, the chapter uncovers what the ‘profession’ means to a range of stakeholders in the conservatoire and beyond. Through these professional and pedagogical viewpoints, the chapter illuminates the symbiotic relationship between conservatoires and professional practice, including the ways in which the profession informs both the formal curriculum and individual teaching practices. This prompts the question of how conservatoires today can challenge the existing professional partners and practices and the ways in which the long-established proto-professional model of conservatoire teaching and learning environment might evolve in the future
Integrating regulation and creativity
No full textSet against a climate of increasing accountability, compliance, and regulation, this chapter explores the role of governance, management, and leadership in conservatoires. At first glance, such bureaucratic domains seem at odds with the creative ethos of a performing arts institution, but this chapter uncovers how conservatoires can demonstrate agility and creativity when responding to administrative constraints. It will look at this mostly from an English perspective (Scotland and Wales have their own national funding and regulatory arrangements, which are similar but distinct), but it will also make observations about the systems of governance and oversight internationally, by way of contrast. The chapter will address the role of good governance and strategic management in a modern conservatoire towards a manifesto for institutional success
Dialogues with musical histories: learning from the past
No full textA distinctive feature of the RCM’s education and training of musicians is the hands-on experience they enjoy with various tangible objects relating to music’s art and craft. These items encompass more than musical instruments, portraits, images, engravings, sketches, photographs, busts, and concert programmes, as well as archives pertaining to individuals, ensembles, and organisations. In enabling both the RCM community and the general public access to these materials, the College continues to encourage and promote ‘the cultivation of music as art throughout the world’, as outlined in its founding charter of 1883. This chapter outlines circumstances behind the acquisition of such collection materials, charting interactions from which students benefit. We consider how such encounters synthesise post-war developments in object-based learning and arts education practices. Two case studies demonstrate the breadth of these materials and their current relevance: the first predates the College’s founding and considers items from a canonical period in musical history, highlighting aspects of the reception of Austro-German high Classicism; the second begins in the 1930s as the RCM celebrated its 50th anniversary, using evidence from personal archives to portray the fostering of musical friendships and collaborations, amidst portfolio careers similar to those currently pursued
Intersubjectivity in performance
No full textThis chapter explores musical interaction across contexts and cultures. It outlines ways in which explicit and implicit knowledge and judgment play key roles in performance. It considers affect, empathy, and connectedness in shaping intersubjectivity, and how the community of agency involved in making music together may become a merging of agencies. It discusses the explicit and implicit forms of intersubjectivity implicated in musical performance, the former being evident in the agreement on performance plans typical in expert ensemble performance of western art music (and in some jazz contexts), while the latter are attributable to seemingly spontaneous yet successful bouts of music-making both by experts and non-experts. Both forms of intersubjectivity are shown to derive from shared cultural norms and expectations as well as from intersubjective processes associated with affiliative social interaction. The chapter suggests that any ongoing performance may elicit and be motivated by the changing affective and empathic states and experiences within and between performers, interaction in music being intertwined with the intersubjectivities that may underpin it and to which it may give rise as well as the cultural contexts in which it is embedded
Woman wanted theatre cleaner (8-12 daily): the missing literature of the empty mopped stage
No full textThis chapter emerges from a strange silence where there should be so much more noise. We are beckoned by ghosts slipping in and out of theatre history without any real literature about their material working practices, or indeed any other kind of literature by theatre cleaners or even about theatre cleaning. ***** This chapter is available to read free of charge at the 'Official URL' given below. ****
Music and parental wellbeing: a position paper
Full text linkThis article sets out a collective vision for a new Music and Parental Wellbeing Alliance. It starts from the premise that challenges to parental wellbeing represent a persistent, global concern. When unchecked, these challenges can lead to negative consequences for the whole family. Music is common in the lives of many parents around the world; yet despite emerging evidence, it is not yet considered as an option in most parental care pathways. To address this requires a collaborative approach, leading to the founding of the Music and Parental Wellbeing Research Network in 2023. As a network comprising of parents, musicians, music therapists, healthcare practitioners, researchers, arts leaders, and policy experts, we set ourselves the task of proposing and setting out a direction for the field of music and parental wellbeing. We embarked on agreeing the key steps needed to advance the field, and the driving principles underpinning such endeavor, arriving at a vision for our ongoing work: To enable, sustain, and expand an international and interdisciplinary community that works towards ensuring that all parents have the opportunity – and are empowered and equipped – to engage with music that can support their wellbeing. In this short article, we articulate a mission for a new Music and Parental Wellbeing Alliance that is focused on achieving our vision through SHAPING evidence and practice, SUPPORTING professionals working in the field, and SHARING the potential of music in supporting parental wellbeing. We invite readers to join us in progressing this mission