1857 research outputs found
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Recreating history: a clarinettist's retrospective
No full textComments on the often uneasy partnership between modern technology and early instruments, particularly in his own work with artists such as Roy Goodman and The Hanover Band, Roger Norrington and the London Classical Players, and Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music. The author's approach has been to assimilate historical evidence into articulation and phrasing, but not to sacrifice sound quality, whether or not the means was strictly historical
La morte meditata (Death meditated upon)
No full textFour settings of Giuseppe Ungaretti for baritone voice and piano, duration 16 minutes. This work was commissioned by Jeremy Huw Williams with the assistance of the Britten-Pears Foundation.
It was first performed on 11 January 2011 by Jeremy Huw Williams (baritone) and Nigel Foster (piano) at St David's Hall, Cardiff
Regaining motor control in musician’s dystonia by restoring sensorimotor organization
No full textProfessional musicians are an excellent model of long-term motor learning effects on structure and function of the sensorimotor system. However, intensive motor skill training has been associated with task-specific deficiency in hand motor control, which has a higher prevalence among musicians (musician's dystonia) than in the general population. Using a transcranial magnetic stimulation paradigm, we previously found an expanded spatial integration of proprioceptive input into the hand motor cortex [sensorimotor organization (SMO)] in healthy musicians. In musician's dystonia, however, this expansion was even larger. Whereas motor skills of musicians are likely to be supported by a spatially expanded SMO, we hypothesized that in musician's dystonia this might have developed too far and now disrupts rather than assists task-specific motor control. If so, motor control should be regained by reversing the excessive reorganization in musician's dystonia. Here, we test this hypothesis and show that a 15 min intervention with proprioceptive input (proprioceptive training) restored SMO in pianists with musician's dystonia to the pattern seen in healthy pianists. Crucially, task-specific motor control improved significantly and objectively as measured with a MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) piano, and the amount of behavioral improvement was significantly correlated to the degree of sensorimotor reorganization. In healthy pianists and nonmusicians, the SMO and motor performance remained essentially unchanged. These findings suggest that the differentiation of SMO in the hand motor cortex and the degree of motor control of intensively practiced tasks are significantly linked and finely balanced. Proprioceptive training restored this balance in musician's dystonia to the behaviorally beneficial level of healthy musicians. ******* This article is available open access on the publisher's website at the Official URL given below. ******
What the students bring: examining the attributes of commencing conservatoire students
No full textAs the range of experiences offered by conservatoires expands to serve an increasingly diverse student cohort, it is no longer reasonable to assume that all students will fit neatly into the traditional expectations of institutions. In the 3P model of learning, the prior learning of students is one of the presage factors that interact with process factors to create products of the system; all three sets of factors should be considered when exploring a learning system. This study explores students' preconservatoire music-learning experiences and attitudes in one bachelor of (western classical) music program in the UK and a similar program in Australia, where a popular music cohort was also studied. Results indicate that prior learning experiences and expectations differ among all three cohorts, raising pertinent questions about the need to reject a `one-model-fits-all' approach to curriculum development. Working from the data, potential lessons from the popular music context are proposed for consideration in the processes of the classical context
Health-promoting behaviours in conservatoire students
No full textThis study focuses on health-promoting behaviours in students from two conservatoires, the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM, Manchester, UK; n =199) and the Royal College of Music (RCM, London, UK; n = 74). The research questions concern (a) the levels and types of health-promoting behaviours among performance students and (b) the association of health-promoting behaviours with emotional state, perceived general self-regulation and self-efficacy. To address these questions, the students were surveyed using server-based inventories over the internet. Results revealed varying levels of adherence to individual aspects of health-promoting behaviours. No significant differences between the populations of the two conservatoires with respect to health-promoting behaviours were observed. In general, values for health responsibility, physical activity and stress management were lower than values for nutrition, interpersonal relations and spiritual growth. Significant correlations were found between all subscales of health-promoting behaviours, emotional state, self-efficacy and self-regulation. These results suggest that music performance students tend to focus more strongly on psychosocial than physical aspects of health while particularly neglecting health responsibility. It is also concluded that health-promoting behaviours are weakly and differentially associated with both positive and negative emotional states, as well as with perceived self-efficacy and self-regulation
The place of music in developing communities of practice among children's centre professionals
No full textBy 2010 there will be 3,500 Children’s Centres in England: one for every community. The “one-stop” shop approach to services offered by these Centres to families with children under five has led to many professionals working and learning together in inter-professional teams. Musical activities successfully bring families into these Centres and early childhood music is often seen as useful for the wellbeing and equipping of parents and children in ways of interacting that are fun and shared. Early secure attachment can be fostered and encouraged through these activities. The co-working of health, social work and community practitioners brings together a wealth of knowledge, skills and
diverse worldviews. This can challenge notions of “lay” and “expert” knowledge [Brechin and Siddell 2000 in Rixon 2008: 222].
This paper will explore a number of learning models: Wenger’s concept of “communities of practice” [1998] where mutual engagement, joint enterprise and a shared repertoire are key dimensions to multi-agency group working and Engeström’s “Activity” Theory [2001] focusing on conflict and collisions of new
and old ideas to generate new learning, and the social pedagogical approach where the arts are seen as integral media for relating with children. The transfer of musical skills such as listening, turn-taking, non-verbal responses, expressions of emotion and mood, eye contact and co-operation may be useful means not only for encouraging interactions amongst families but also in creating new ideas for team cohesion and expression. Professionals working in early childhood are taking part in inter-professional training courses and music in early childhood is often included in such
professional development. Musicians are finding innovative and accessible means to transfer useful skills to a range of professionals, however there may be questions about accreditation of learning and the “quality control” of such training. How is excellence measured and against whose criteria? Conflicting
worldviews at the heart of Children’s Centres can influence the focus of training offered, e.g., health models seem to prefer the scientific approach and social work models the social-constructionist paradigm
Pitching it right? Selection and learning at a music conservatoire
No full textThis article focuses on an oversubscribed UK higher education music conservatoire that centres its selection procedures on individual performance auditions. In this mixed-method study, centrally-held assessment scores are used to show that A-level music grades are a more effective predictor of final degree result than performance at audition. This context is then used to consider the learning of two students at the conservatoire who defy the expectations implied by the statistical results. Through six interviews with each student, their stories are probed through the lens of their trajectories of participation. Drawing on the notion of expansive and restrictive learning, the role that depth and breadth plays in learning to perform is unpacked, and it is suggested that both may be of central importance in shaping musical expertise. The authors discuss the results in terms of the specific challenges that the conservatoire faces in broadening its access, and consider the implications for learners of musical performance
Healthy behaviours in music and non‐music performance students
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the self‐reported health‐promoting behaviours of music and non‐music performance students in higher education. It also seeks to determine the extent to which perceived health and self‐reported symptoms are associated with lifestyle, emotional affect state, self‐regulation and self‐efficacy.
Design/methodology/approach: Music performance students from two conservatoires (n=198) and students of nursing and biomedical science (health students) from two universities (n=65) aged 18‐26 years completed the health‐promoting lifestyle inventory; the positive and negative affect, the self‐efficacy and the self‐regulation scales, as well as reporting their present health and completing an inventory of musculo‐ and non‐musculoskeletal health problems.
Findings: Music performance students score lower than health students on health responsibility, physical activity and spiritual growth; also on self‐efficacy and self‐regulation. Music performance students rate their health, generally, worse than do health students, and report a wider variety of symptoms, which they rate as more severe than do health students. Perceived present health is most strongly correlated with reported healthy lifestyle. This in turn is associated with positive affect, self‐efficacy and self‐regulation.
Research limitations/implications: This is a relatively small‐scale investigation of the health‐promoting behaviours and experiences of ill‐health reported by two groups of students following different programmes of study and with different career aspirations. Firm conclusions cannot therefore be drawn.
Practical implications: While nursing and biomedical science students may be atypical in that they are likely to gain a greater awareness of health issues from their studies, it could be argued that music performance students need to adopt healthy lifestyles in order to reach their full potential as musicians, and health promotion should be part of their training.
Originality/value: The interrelationships among lifestyle, physical health and psychological well‐being have been studied in a number of populations. The health‐promoting behaviours of music performance students in comparison with those of other students are of particular interest given the physical and emotional demands of expert music making
Un exemple d’approche interdisciplinaire dans l’étude des instruments de musique : cas des deux « viola » du Quintetto Mediceo (1690) par Antonio Stradivari/An example of interdisciplinary approach to the study of musical instruments: the case of the two violas of the Quintetto Mediceo (1690) by Antonio Stradivari.
No full textÀ l’occasion de l’exposition qui s’est tenue à la Galerie de l’Académie à Florence, on a pu examiner en détail les deux « viola » du quintette Medicis d’Antonio Stradivari (1690), permettant de progresser un peu plus dans l’attribution de l’appartenance de « l’alto viola » de la Fondation Toscane conservé à la Bibliothèque du Congrès à Washington au Quintette Medicis. Au début du XVIIIe siècle, seulement deux instruments du quintette restaient à la Cour de Florence, tandis qu’un était perdu et les autres changeaient de propriétaires à plusieurs reprises. Les études documentaires et techniques tendent à identifier « l’alto viola » avec l’instrument de Washington prêté pour l’exposition de Florence. Les recherches technologiques sur la table de « l’alto viola » et du « tenor viola » ont révélé une anomalie du bois, suggérant une provenance des deux instruments de la même pièce d’épicéa. L’investigation dendrochronologique confirme que le bois des deux «viola » provienne du même tronc et permet de donner une datation pour le dernier cerne du bois à l’année 1683.*******On the occasion of an exhibition held at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, it was possible to examine in detail the two viola of the Quintetto Mediceo by Antonio Stradivari (1690), carrying out a further step in ascribing the alto viola owned by the Tuscan Foundation and preserved at the Library of Congress in Washington, to the Quintetto Mediceo. Beginning from the 18th century, only two instruments of the quintet remained at the Florence Court, while one was lost and the others changed ownership many times. Documentary and technical studies, inclined to identify the alto viola with the instrument in Washington, which was brought to Florence for the exhibition. Technological research on the belly of the alto viola and the tenor viola allowed to notice an anomaly in the spruce wood, suggesting the provenance of the two instruments from the same piece of spruce. Dendrochronological investigation confirmed the provenance of the wood of both viola from the same trunk and allowed to identify a possible dating of the last tree-ring to the year 1683