Music Department Research Articles

A Qualitative Examination of Instructor Experiences Regarding Pedagogical Challenges in Classical Guitar Education

This study investigates the pedagogical challenges faced by classical guitar instructors at Linyi University’s Music Department, with a focus on the integration of traditional Chinese musical elements into Western classical guitar education. Employing a qualitative research design, the study explores the lived experiences of 20 instructors through interviews, observations, and document analysis. Key findings reveal significant technical challenges, issues in repertoire selection, and difficulties in maintaining student engagement. The study also examines the strategies adopted by instructors, the influence of institutional support, and the impact of cultural factors on teaching practices. The results contribute to the broader discourse on cross-cultural music education and offer practical recommendations for instructors and institutions aiming to enhance classical guitar pedagogy in diverse cultural settings.

A Systematic Approach to Innovative Strategies for Vocal Instruction in Higher Education: Enhancing Student Performance

This study presents a systematic approach to developing innovative strategies for vocal instruction in higher education, focusing on enhancing student performance. Using Huaiyin Normal University as a case study, the research examines current vocal instruction practices within its Music Department, identifying both strengths and areas needing improvement. The study first provides an overview of traditional and contemporary pedagogical approaches, highlighting the importance of student-centered learning and the integration of technology in music education. Data were collected through interviews with vocal instructors and surveys with students to analyze the effectiveness of existing methods and the feedback from those directly involved. Key findings reveal a need for greater incorporation of collaborative learning, multicultural repertoires, and personalized vocal techniques to foster a more engaging and comprehensive learning environment. The study discusses the implications of these findings for higher education in music and compares them with practices at other institutions. It also addresses the challenges faced in implementing innovative strategies and provides practical recommendations for curriculum development. This research contributes to the broader discourse on enhancing vocal education through adaptive, inclusive, and modernized teaching practices.

Sound exposure of St Paul's Cathedral choristers including unusual events

In November 2022 London South Bank University was approached by St Paul's Cathedral to undertake follow-up sound dosimetry for the music department. Rehearsals and performances were identified and measured using acoustic instrumentation to establish if the Choristers (Adults and Boys) and Organist were compliant with the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. It should be noted that the boys are not employed by St Paul's Cathedral and hence would not be considered employees and are therefore exempt from the regulations. However, a duty of care should be of utmost consideration. Through a close collaboration between the organisations three unusual but representative rehearsals and performances were monitored for multiple performers, all under worst case conditions. This data was then matched to the daily and weekly work schedules to estimate annual exposure.

Postgraduate theses published in the field of preschool music education in Turkiye: a bibliographical study

Preschool music education is an important field that affects and shapes the whole life of the individual. Preschool music education, which has not become a separate discipline for many years, has become a separate field of study both in preschool departments and in units such as music education departments and music departments with the development of the university structure and the diversification of departments. Rapidly increasing scientific studies and new approaches every year indicate the need for this field. At this point, graduate theses that contribute to the literature are important. In this study, which aims to examine graduate theses published in the field of preschool music education in Türkiye from a bibliographic point of view, all theses between 1985, the date of the first thesis, and the present day were included in the study. The study sample was limited to theses registered in the Thesis Documentation Center of the Council of Higher Education and open to access, and 94 theses were included in the sample. In the study, theses were examined in terms of university, distribution according to the years they were written, types, institute, method used, research design, sample selection, sample scope, data collection tools and analysis methods used. Frequency (f) and percentage (%) were used to analyze the data and the results were shown in tables and figures. As a result of the research, it was found that most of the theses were written in 2019 at Gazi University, within the scope of Educational Sciences Institutes, and that quantitative methods were mostly used as methods in the theses, experimental models were used, sample selection was determined randomly, and children between 26-72 months were generally studied. While questionnaires were mostly used as data collection methods, it was concluded that frequency and percentage analysis methods were used. In line with the results of the research, it is thought that conducting bibliometric studies at certain intervals will contribute to the literature.

The music department without walls: Lessons from Marshall McLuhan

In the technological age, the print-based culture of the previous century and the current practice of the bureaucratization of higher education (HE) influence how we manage physical spaces, curricula, and teaching and learning. This article presents possible future scenarios for music in HE in the context of the classroom without walls, based on McLuhan’s (1964) predictions for the future of education in the technological age. The research provides an analysis of relevant academic texts and is followed by a discussion that explores thinking differently, strategically, and creatively about possible future scenarios for music departments. The findings suggest that music departments redefine their core business to craft a different future.

Exploring music performance anxiety among fine arts high school music department students in Turkey

Exploring music performance anxiety among fine arts high school music department students in Turkey

Writing Names in Music Books. Case Studies from the Viadrina Collection Held in the Music Department at University of Warsaw Library

Writing Names in Music Books. Case Studies from the Viadrina Collection Held in the Music Department at University of Warsaw Library

MOVEMENTS OF A MUSICIAN WORKING: PHILL NIBLOCK (1933–2024)

In February 2011 the Brunel Sound Series hosted Phill Niblock at Brunel University London, a memorable visit expertly orchestrated by our late colleague Bob Gilmore.1 The occasion featured Phill's Disseminate and the premiere of his TWO LIPS aka Nameless, led by Bob. As an amateur clarinet player, in an ensemble made up of Brunel staff and students, I had the privilege of delving into the intricacies of Niblock's compositions. The event marked a significant chapter in our music department's history, with performances at Brunel University and, a day later, at London's trendiest club for hip contemporary music, Cafe OTO, in Dalston, leaving an indelible imprint on our students’ musical journey, and not just theirs.2

Conversational Etudes for Cello and Nay to Consolidate Arabic Rhythmic Patterns for Nay Students in Music Department of Yarmouk University

This research contains conversational etudes for cello and Nay, aimed to consolidate Arabic rhythmic patterns for Nay students. The research relied on Descriptive method (Content analysis) These Exercises were in the most common rhythms in Arabic music in Egypt and the Levant, and they are: (Shaftatalli, Laff or Malfouf, bamb, duake, Samaii thaqeel, waltz, fox, Samaii sarband ta’er, wehda kabeera, karachi and ayyoub). Additionally, the major Arabic maqams were utilized in composing the exercises, as follows: (Rast, Bayati, Saba, Kurd, Hijaz, Ajam, Sikah, Nahawand, Huzam). Dokah and Nawa nais were utilized. The most important results of the search were the following: The use of harmony between Nay and cello in the form of rhythmic, interchangeable chords helps sustain the Arabic rhythms in the student’s mind. Playing phrases and intervals between the four registers of the Nay contributes to their development to control their sound production technique

2023학년도 대학 교양 음악 교과의 운영 실태 분석

This study aims to assess music liberal arts education in South Korea and suggest future directions. To achieve this, 40 of 4-year universities across the country were selected, and the curriculum, class objectives, and course plans for the year 2023 were collected and analyzed. As a result of the analysis, in terms of operation, the music department accounted for 61.78%, while the college of Liberal Arts accounted for 23.11%. As for the types of subjects, there were general education courses (41.33%) and distribution requirement courses (47.56%), and names of areas related to art or humanities were used. Content and method of lectures were categorized as follows: music theory lectures (68.21%), music applied lessons (31.79%), music convergence theory lectures (30.39%), and music convergence applied lessons (9.62%). While music lectures emphasized history, singing, and instruments, convergence lectures emphasized humanities. The proposal suggests securing professional lecturers to enhance liberal arts music education autonomy and developing diverse, high-quality music and convergence subjects.

Writing against the chain transmission of fear: Reflections on institutionalised ethics

As a master's student investigating curricular decolonisation at South African tertiary music departments, I found myself in a chain of fear driven by previous contestations of similar critical projects. Despite stringently following the institutional ethics requirements, ethical concerns regarding the critical content of my work were still raised, perpetuating this fear. In this article, I discuss my concerns that the issues raised stemmed from an environment in which moral knowledge has become codified in a template for ethical research. I consider the problems that occur when ethical procedures such as anonymity, protecting ‘vulnerable’ interviewees and member checking become mere tick-boxes on a template for ethical research, as well as how such templates can become a method of imbuing fear into the researcher. In conclusion, I propose the development of an ethical praxis premised on an ethics of care that enables, rather than stymies, critical research.

The Effectiveness of Direct Instruction Model in Teaching Solfeggio for Beginners

The background of this study was rooting down from the students music learning circumstances, of which they have low skill and knowledge of solfeggio, low ability of transferring solfeggio automatically into a new context although they have learned it, unavailability of learning material, syllabus, and lesson plan, standardized method and media of learning. Based on the problems stated above, it is very important to design a research dealing with learning solfeggio which lasting and producing a complete, practical, reliable and valid curricula of solfeggio. The basis model of development is using ADDIE theory. This research belongs to R & D research. The subject of the research is the students of art and music department, FBS Padang State University. The instrumentation of data gathering was using interview, questionnaire, tryout, performance-test. To analyze the raw data to see the level of reliability and practicality the researcher used the formula of Rho Spearman Brown, and the result is that r-obtain 1.2 exceeds r-table within significance level of 95% (0.05) it is 0.349 or by (0,01) it is 0.449. To prove the effectiveness of the product of this research ( the model of learning solfeggio ), the writer distinguish the data of pre-test to post-test by accumulating the scores the students obtained by using match t-test, and the result is that t-obtain 9.311 exceeds t-table 1.697. It means that, the model of learning solfeggio as the product of this research is much more effective significantly since the result of the match t-test is so high exceeding the number of the t-tab. It can be concluded that this model is very useful for the lecturers and the students as well in learning solfeggio at the music department of FBS Padang State University.

Investigation and Reflection on the Inheritance Status of Ethnic Music in Hunan Universities

This paper attempts to investigate the current situation of ethnic music teaching and inheritance in music departments of Hunan universities, and explore the feasible paradigm of ethnic music inheritance in universities from the perspectives of ethnic musicology and music performance. With the opportunity of exploring the infiltration of ethnic music into schools through aesthetic education, it calls on the public to pay attention to the inheritance and development of ethnic music and actively reflect on it.

The Technical Difficulties Faced by Students of the Oud in Performing Some of Munir Bashir's Compositions and How to Overcome Them

This research deals with some of Munir Bashir's compositions, which are characterized by a high level of performance and expression, and it aims at identifying the difficulties that face students when playing these pieces on the Oud. It also aims to suggest technical exercises to overcome these difficulties and find an easy way to perform these compositions. The research followed the developmental approach in order to achieve its objectives. The research population consisted of advanced oud students in the Department of Music at Yarmouk University. The research sample consisted of six musical pieces by Munir Bashir, chosen in the intentional method. The results of the research enabled the researchers to identify and analyze the technical and expressive performance difficulties in the performance of Munir Bashir’s compositions among the advanced students of the Oud. The most prominent of these difficulties are: holding the pick, different pick methods, distancing the fingers, and positions and performance techniques such as gliding, whistling, trilling, and tones harmony. The researchers composed some technical exercises to contribute to overcoming these difficulties in front of the students. Keywords: Difficulties, Performance, Oud, Mounir Bashir.

Pertumbuhan Musik Klasik Barat di Kota Medan

Edward Van Ness is a violinist, conductor, writer and teacher who has lived and worked in Indonesia cumulatively for more than forty years. Composition and world music studies were completed at Wesleyan University, conducted at the Eastman School of Music, with further graduate studies also at Boston University. He undertook research on South Indian Classical Music, was a concert player in the Carnatic Vina, and founded the Madras Chamber Orchestra. He founded the music department in 1986 at the Medan International School and became head of the music and technology department at the Indonesian Music Academy, University of North Sumatra and HKBP Nommensen University. A founder of the Indonesian Promusik group. Also known as the conductor and artistic director of the first complete performance of Handel's historic Messiah with the Ensemble Nommensen and Promusika in 1987 (in the original Baroque performance style). He is also known as the first musician invited by the institution and the Vietnamese government by leading the orchestra with cellist Cecylia Barczyk from the Ho Chi Min Conservatory Orchestra in Vietnam in April 2005. Since 2003 he has led the Nusantara Symphony Orchestra in many concerts. . Most recently he was the music director and conductor of the Indonesian National Christmas celebration in December 2018 in Medan. Until now he is a Music Teacher at the Sumatra Conservatoire.

The future of music department: Scenarios and envisioning for 2030

The future of music department: Scenarios and envisioning for 2030

Formation and development of female choral performance in Ukraine

Statement of the problem. Ukrainian women’s choral performance has long traditions. Today, there are women’s choirs in Ukraine that adequately represent the musical culture of our country. Nevertheless, in scientific research, the issues related to female choral performance do not attract enough attention: there are only isolated works on the activities of female choirs, therefore a systematic study of the genesis of female choral performance is relevant. Recent research and publications. Currently, there is only one textbook in Ukraine: Theory and Methods of Working with female Choirs (Kravtsova, Patskan, & Shkilnyuk, 2010). There are separate articles by K. Davydovskyi (2016), T. Martyniuk 92017), Yu. Olach (2017), and N. Kryzhanovska (2009), which study the activities of the female choirs and their conductors. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the study is to trace the process of formation of female choral performance in Ukraine, to determine its ways of development at the present stag, which is carried out for the first time in national art history. The study is based on the principle of historicism, systematic and complex approaches to the subject under consideration, and uses cultural, source studies, biographical and local studies, executive and interpretive research methods. Research results. Female choral singing has a long tradition that is closely linked to pagan rituals. The origins of professional women’s choral singing are associated with the founding of nunneries in Ukraine. Institutes for noble girls, diocesan schools and private boarding houses appeared in the second half of the XIX century. 13 women’s diocesan schools existed in Ukraine between 1854 and 1917. Singing in the church choir used to bean important element of education in these institutions. First female gymnasiums that appeared in Ukraine were called Mariinsky. They functioned in Kyiv (from 1859), Kharkiv (from 1860), and Odesa (from 1868). Education in Ukraine underwent significant changes after the revolution of the 1917. Most monasteries were destroyed and institutions for noble girls ceased to exist. The choral art of the first decades of the Soviet period was represented by the activities of amateur groups at factories and plants. Professional female choral singing continued to exist thanks to the emergence of music departments in pedagogical colleges. Nowadays, such collectives as S. Fominykh Choir (Mykolaiv, conducted by T. Ostrovska), the Women’s Choir of the R. Glier Kyiv Municipal Academy of Music (conducted by H. Horbatenko), and the “Pavana” Women’s Choir of the Drahomanov National Pedagogical University (Kyiv, conducted by L. Baida) bring to us outstanding examples of the female choral performance. The activity of bright female choirs in the contemporary space encourages composers to create highly artistic choral music. The works of L. Dychko, V. Stepurko, H. Havrylets, V. Poliova, I. Shcherbakov, V. Zubytskyi and others adorn the concert programs of many female choirs in Ukraine. Conclusions. The state’s gender policy has led to a significant spread of the female choral performance. Contemporary female choral performance is divided into amateur, educational, and church. Today in Ukraine there is not a single female choir that has the status of a professional one, but the performance skills of some educational groups actually put them on the level of professional choirs.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROFESSOR HRYHORII LEVCHENKO’S CONDUCTING AND CHORAL ACTIVITIES IN UKRAINIAN CULTURE AND EDUCATION

The article reveals the significance of Professor H. S. Levchenko’s conducting and choral activity in Ukrainian culture and education, its main stages are considered. They are the following: the organization and management of the women’s choir of the Poltava Sewing Factory (1957), the amateur choir “Reshetylivka embroiderers,” the women’s song and dance ensemble at The Palace of Culture of Poltava Cotton and Spinning Factory (1960), the “Horlytsia” choral folk group (1961). The significance of H. S. Levchenko’s creative achievements, participation, and victories in many regional, republican, and international festivals and competitions are emphasized. The peculiarities of the artist’s work with the academic choir chapel of Poltava V. G. Korolenko State Pedagogical Institute (1967), the Ukrainian folk choir “Barvinok” of Poltava meat processing plant (1974) are revealed. It has been determined that the apotheosis of H. S. Levchenko’s conducting and choral activity is the constant artistic direction of the Ukrainian folk choir “Kalyna” (1979-2022). It is analyzed in artistic, pedagogical, and organizational aspects. Attention is focused on the achievement of a high professional and performing level of the group. Its creative achievements and awards, choral repertoire, concert activities, and touring trips are characterized. It is noted that “Kalyna” became a creative laboratory of the Department of Music of Poltava V. G. Korolenko Nation Pedagogical University, where the best traditions of future teacher training were preserved and continued, and the pedagogical ideas of the outstanding Ukrainian teacher, musicologist, conductor, ethnographer, choreographer and composer V. M. Verkhovynets were implemented. Based on the Ukrainian folk choir “Kalyna,” students achieved high-performing vocal-choral, instrumental, and stage skills during several years, enriched themselves spiritually, improved their professional and organizational skills, and deepened their knowledge of musical-aesthetic and national education of the young generation.

HRYHORII LEVCHENKO’S ARTISTIC AND PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITY IN THE CONTEXT OF UKRAINIAN MUSIC TEACHER TRAINING DURING THE LAST QUARTER OF THE 20th – BEGINNING OF THE 21st CENTURY

The article highlights the analysis results of the artistic and pedagogical activity of the outstanding Ukrainian teacher, musician, folklorist, professor, Head of the Music Department, and leader of the Ukrainian folk choir “Kalyna” of Poltava V. G. Korolenko National Pedagogical University Hryhorii Levchenko.
 The analysis has been carried out in the context of future music teacher training in Ukraine during the last quarter of the 20th - the beginning of the 21st century. It is emphasized that with his professional activity, H. Levchenko strengthened the process of providing education to students majoring in spatiality Secondary Education (Music Art) at the institution of higher pedagogical education.
 Attention is focused on the fact that during the last quarter of the 20th century, the teacher created a classical university department of music with a skilled staff. It is emphasized that during total Russification in the 80s and 90s, teachers led by H. Levchenko managed to adhere to the position of training music teachers based on the best examples of Ukrainian musical heritage. It is indicated that at the end of the 80s of the 20th century, H. Levchenko founded the Ukrainian folk choir “Kalyna.” It became one of the leading student collectives of Ukraine during the last decade of the 20th and the beginning of the 21stcentury. It popularized the folk art of its native land on the territory of Europe. It is established that an essential component of student education during the specified historical period was the combination of formal artistic education with non-formal artistic education not only in the “Kalyna” choir but also in other artistic and creative groups. At the beginning of the 21st century, these groups became creative laboratories of the department. Even today, students undergo musical and performing practice in conducting and choral, vocal and performing, and choirmaster training there. It significantly strengthens their professional competence. It is emphasized that the most valuable thing in Professor H. Levchenko’s work for more than half a century of artistic and pedagogical activity is his ascetic work on the formation of a music teacher as a patriot of his country, capable of preserving and multiplying the musical heritage of our people and educating the young generation on the best examples of musical art of Ukraine.

Transforming African musics at a South African university

AbstractThis article critically engages with the discipline of African musics in the academy. It examines the process of curriculum transformation of the African music section at the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town since 2005 as an emergent curriculum model for an integrated approach to the teaching of African musics at universities. The adoption of this curriculum predated the 2015–2016 fervent calls in South Africa to decolonise the university, which necessitates an approach to teaching African musics not rooted in its colonial past. As is known, the study and research of African musics in the academy partly stemmed from the efforts of European (and later US) researchers who often received support through the British colonial administration and much of their output seemed to be focused on convincing their peers about the virtues of ‘African music’ and the study thereof. Despite this history, there is evidence to support the fact that in most African universities, the music departments are far more interested in teaching Western art music and its virtues. In recognition of the calls by students for radical changes to the curricula in South African universities, the article seeks to answer the question ‘how do we consider ongoing changes to the knowledge both received and produced in this field?’