1,720,969 research outputs found
Common Artistry
No full textThe notion of “Common Artistry” is one of the basic concepts behind the work of Dr Susan West at the ANU’s School of Music in re-defining music education – both its practice and its underlying philosophy. The Music Engagement Program developed by Dr West focusses on long-term engagement in active music-making (most basically singing) as the primary desired outcome of music education. Traditionally, statistics indicate that music-making tends to end soon after formal music education classes end, for the vast majority of people. In other words, music education is not necessarily achieving the goal of promoting engagement in music-making.
In addressing this paradox, Dr West returns to the assumption that all humans are born inherently musical, and observes how this natural drive is progressively eroded by social forces to the point that most adults regard themselves as physically unable to sing or play an instrument. “Common Artistry” is a concept that foregrounds the belief that we are all innately artistic (and musical) and that the goal of music education needs to focus on active engagement in the arts, rather than on passive consumption.
In this context, Dr West argues that we don't need to teach children to participate in music making; we simply need to avoid sabotaging their natural inclination to make music. Further, the often expressed adult fear of singing (among other forms of artistic expression), and concerns about “quality”, “talent” or skill are all socially constructed and can, therefore, be de-constructed.
Dr West performed extensively as a flautist and piccolo player with the WA Symphony Orchestra and with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, as well as a number of woodwind and chamber music ensembles that toured nationally and internationally. She also studied for a year in Hungary in the Kodaly method before developing her own practice and philosophy in music education at the Australian National University. She is currently an Associate Professor at the ANU's School of Music. She lectures extensively around Australia and overseas, and is the author of many articles about her approach to music education, and her work has been the subject of four PhD theses.
Dr West's Lecture is introduced by Professor Adrian Walter, at the time Head of the ANU's School of Music. He is currently (2013) Director of the Hong Kong Academy of the Performing Arts
Our Community
Get PDFOUR COMMUNITY is a film that reveals that, despite the cultural diversity and the challenges before them, the people of the Walgett, Lightning Ridge and Sheepyard communities share a pride, passion, resilience and an inexorable spirit of ‘belonging’. Throughout the film, past misconceptions about racial and economic divisions are clarified and benevolent bonds are celebrated.
WALGETT has a population of almost 3,000 people, comprising a large Aboriginal community. It has a proud history of early pioneers who survived against great odds and used their ingenuity to improve their quality of life and to revolutionise industries of the time. Today, it is still remarkable people who make ‘the outback’ their home and who guarantee the future of ‘the backbone of Australia’s economy'.
LIGHTNING RIDGE has a population of more then 4,000 people which is supplemented by over 80,000 visitors who arrive every year either to try their luck at fossicking or to see what an outback mining town is really like. This influx of tourists means that this once rough and ready town now boasts a number of good quality motels, an endless array of souvenir and gift shops, some good restaurants and a veneer of cosmopolitan sophistication.
GLENGARRY-SHEEPYARD is a small mining community which has had people come and go in tides seeking their fortune in search of ‘the rainbow in the rock’. Since 1908, there have been several new strikes, the most recent in 2000 by a local miner and his son. Miners are continuing to find opal today and many ‘old timers’ swear that they are not finished yet and that there a many more strikes just waiting to be found
How to run a school concert
Get PDFDVD Music Engagement ProgramThis documentary (formerly released as THE BIG GIG) explores some of the strategies involved in applying the radical philosophy developed over many years in music education by Dr Susan West of the School of Music at the Australian National University. The film and the event it records complement the ideas presented in Dr West's COMMON ARTISTRY lecture (also available on DVD from Ronin).
In 2010, Dr West and her colleagues Georgia Pike and Nicole Mengel, in the Music Engagement Program at the ANU, mounted what they termed an “Outreach Concert” involving some 2,200 primary school pupils from 18 schools in Canberra. The participants were encouraged not to worry about “excellence” and accuracy in their performance but to make music in such a way that would encourage the audience to join in. As the concert reveals, the audience response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic.
The key difference between this and many other school concerts is one of intent, which Dr West and her colleagues discuss in the documentary. If the intent of the “performers” is to engage others, there is minimal evidence of stage fright, issues of right or wrong notes dissipate, and a relaxed atmosphere of fun and joy in singing prevails.
Schools elected to be involved at a range of levels, whether they wanted to sing from the auditorium, from the stage, or both. All participants were given a selection of songs to learn, and schools could also elect to present a song of their own on the stage. Some of these “presentation” songs rehearsed by individual schools also had interactive elements where “audience” could join in.
Some schools brought their entire population, while others brought particular cohorts. Groups presenting songs on stage were not auditioned, as consistent with MEP principles, and could include children from one or several school years.
A community group, with members ranging from 4 to 84, played an important role in helping to support both the musical and social elements of the event, and was open to anyone, regardless of age or musical background. This group met weekly for two months prior to the event and leant much of the concert repertoire as well as preparing their own items.
A group of instrumentalists was assembled from players in Canberra and from the Riverina Conservatorium of Music in Wagga Wagga. The leader of the group, Dr Lauren Davis, prepared arrangements that allowed any volunteer to participate, without audition, and regardless of skill level.
The work of the Music Engagement Program is supported by artsACT, the arts office of the ACT Government, and also the Education and Training Directorate of the ACT
The String Project
No full textThe project had three basic aims summarised below:
To experiment with a radically different model for instrumental ensemble playing that was compatible with the MEP philosophy.
The MEP philosophy prioritises the social importance of shared music making over skill development and any notions of ‘talent’. This philosophy has been developed and applied principally in the school system via singing. The String Project is the first documented attempt to apply this philosophy to instrumental playing.
To continue the development of a research design that prioritised practice over research, as befits the MEP’s funding partner, while still contributing to viable research, as befits the MEP’s academic home.
The MEP’s research design features a version of a 21st century model often referred to as Design Based Research where practical interventions are undertaken in iterative cycles to develop theory and relate practice and theory more closely. This type of research methodology helps overcome some of the tensions between funding partnerships that are designed solely to generate in-the-field practical outcomes, and academic obligations to situate activity and learning within a formal research paradigm.
To provide avenues for non-music majors and non-musicians to access, contribute to, and learn from music-related courses.
The project aimed to contribute to the development of the ANU School of Music as it moves away from an elite conservatorium model and towards a more inclusive approach to music as a practical and academic discipline. In this regard, the String Project is of importance in demonstrating how a non-musician from another academic discipline could engage in unassessed music making while developing a research project that utilised that alternative discipline and contributed to both individual and project outcomes
Message from Mungo
Get PDFLake Mungo is an ancient Pleistocene lake-bed in south-western New South Wales, and is one of the world’s richest archaeological sites. MESSAGE FROM MUNGO focuses on the interface over the last 40 years between the scientists on one hand, and, on the other, the Indigenous communities who identify with the land and with the human remains revealed at the site. This interface has often been deeply troubled and contentious, but within the conflict and its gradual resolution lies a moving story of the progressive empowerment of the traditional custodians of the area.
The film tells a new story that has not been represented in print or film before, and is told entirely by actual participants from both the science and Indigenous perspectives. As the co-director, Andrew Pike has said, "We have made minimal use of archival footage and external devices such as mood music, to keep the focus on the oral story-telling of the participants."
The story focuses on one particular archaeological find – the human remains known generally as “Mungo Lady”. In 1968, scientist Jim Bowler came across some unusual materials exposed by erosion. Archaeologist Rhys Jones soon identified these as the remains of a young woman who had been given a formal ritual of cremation. Other scientists confirmed that they were the remains of a young woman who had been given a formal ritual of cremation. The remains were the subject of international academic excitement and debate: claims were made that the remains were as much as 40,000 years old or even older. Lake Mungo became recognised as an archaeological site of world importance.
Through the 1970s and 80s, led by three remarkable Aboriginal women – Alice Kelly, Tibby Briar and Alice Bugmy - and encouraged by archaeologist Isabel McBryde, Aboriginal groups associated with Mungo began to question the work of the scientific community, and became increasingly involved in the management of archaeological work. In 1992, after much pressure from Indigenous groups, the remains of Mungo Lady were handed back to the Indigenous custodians. This hand-back ceremony was a turning point in the relationship between scientists and the local tribal groups.
The film was made over an 8 year period and included extensive consultation with members of the Indigenous communities at Mungo. The film is rare in that it is a creative collaboration between a professional historian (Prof Ann McGrath from the ANU's Centre for Indigenous History) and a filmmaker (Andrew Pike). The film is radically different in style and intent from any previous film about Mungo
The Hundredth Room
No full textBackground The Hundredth Room is a 20 minute essay documentary that explores the experience of grief. Contribution Sarah Gibson is the researcher, writer, director and narrator of the documentary and contributor of original paintings and animated sequences to the poetic visualization of the work. Significance The Hundredth Room makes an original contribution to the field of documentary production. In particular it innovates with the genre of the essay documentary in particular mixing animation and live action. In 2003 it received $80,000 in a competitive funding round of the Australian Film Commission. The film was screened nationally and internationally including The Buddhist Film Festival, 2004; Mardi Gras Film Festival, 2005 and at the Electric Shadows Cinema, Canberra in 2005. It was selected by the Australian Film Commission to be represented in the Manchester Commonwealth Film Festival in 2006. The Hundredth Room makes an original contribution to the field of research into the psychology of grief, in particular the way in which expressing the emotions of grief can be transformative for the individual. Sarah was a keynote speaker screening the film at the NSW Palliative Care Conference, Orange, 2006 and has been invited to present the film at palliative care seminars at hospitals and in the community. Evidence of the contribution of the film to the field is its wide use by psychologists, grief counselors and pastoral care workers. In 2006 Sarah presented the film and a paper The Hundredth Room: The Mytho-poetics of Grief at a multidisciplinary conference of Jungian and Post Jungian Studies at University of Greenwich, London
Etched in Bone
No full textJacob Nayinggul is a charismatic elder from Gunbalanya, an isolated settlement in Arnhem Land, northern Australia. Aboriginal people in this area believe that the landscape is inhabited by the spirits of their ancestors whose bones can be seen in crevices and caves
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
- …
