Musical Activities Research Articles

Singing Language – Integrating Second Language Learning into Choir Practice

Language and music are closely tied in singing. It has even been argued that without language there is no song. However, can music and language learning through singing also be seen as being closely tied without first highlighting the boundaries between these disciplines? This study emphasizes a nonhierarchical approach to music and language learning by intertwining musical and linguistic activities in a choir context. The study explores the extent to which singing in a language-responsive choir can encourage productive second language use and enhance the sound hearing, phonological processing, pronunciation, and spoken language skills of adult choir participants with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The research material consists of individual pre-, middle-, and post-interviews and Phonology pre- and post-tests that were conducted with volunteer choir participants during 2019–2020. The analysis encompasses both thematic and statistical approaches. The findings are reflected through a hybrid choir practice that draws on a three-way dialogue between choir participants, the choir conductor, and the second language teacher. The results suggest that active and holistic second language use in a language-aware choir context decreases phonological challenges in second language auditory processing and verbal production, including spoken language. The findings of the interviews and the Phonology tests were in line with each other.

PEDAGOGICAL SKILLS OF MUSIC TEACHERS

This article talks about the importance of improving the professional-pedagogical skills of music teachers and professional competence, which is one of its branches. Today, in establishing the effectiveness of music teachers' activities and pedagogical activities, first of all, the importance of pedagogical skills and the possession of the types of competences necessary in each pedagogical process has been highlighted.

Application of Homemade Percussion Instruments into Nursery Rhymes in Music Activities for Preschool Children: A Case of Can Tho City: Southern Vietnam

As recycled materials have increased inexorably in recent years, using daily waste products to make homemade percussion instruments has emerged as a topic of interest in music education. This article details six homemade percussion instruments (including a small drum, coconut shell, two shaking instruments, castanets, and claves) and how to use them in children’s songs, especially nursery rhymes that originated in Southern Vietnam. An experiment using these instruments in music activities for preschool children in Can Tho City was conducted with feasible outcomes and positive feedback.

ЕЛЕНА ФАБИАНОВНА ГНЕСИНА — ТВОРЧЕСКОЕ НАСЛЕДИЕ

2024 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Elena Fabianovna Gnesina, an outstanding teacher, pianist, public figure, founder and head of a complex of musical educational institutions. The article is devoted to the personality and creative heritage of E. F. Gnesina and is based on materials from the funds of the Elena Gnesina’s Memorial Museum-Apartment, where the lifetime environment and a large archive of the Gnesin family are completely preserved: letters, music and book memorial library, concert programmes, posters, photographs and other artefacts, as well as personal belongings of the musician. Publications on the life and work of E. F. Gnesina by the Museum staff were a valuable source of information for the article. The article presents a multifaceted image of E. F. Gnesina, characterising her unique legacy, which was directly related to her performing, teaching, administrative and composing activities. Attention is also paid to the musician’s creative environment. The article concludes with a review of Gnesina’s extensive musical activity, which made an invaluable contribution to the creation of a national pedagogical school and professional musical education, as evidenced by the establishment of a complex of educational institutions. The importance of E. F. Gnesina’s pedagogical methods, to which her numerous textbooks are devoted, and the role of compositional creativity aimed at composing music for children are emphasised.

Music Self-Concept: Structure, Correlates, and Differences across Grade-Level, Gender, and Musical Activity Groups

In this brief article, we describe how global and domain-specific components of music self-concept fit into the Shavelson, Hubner, and Stanton model of self-concept, how those components intercorrelate with each other, how they relate to other desirable outcomes and beneficial aspects of psychological functioning, and how those perceptions vary across grade-level, gender, and musical activity groups. We further offer suggestions for how to enhance music self-concept and related skills.

Research on the Integration of Music Curriculum and College Students’ Mental Health Education in Colleges and Universities in the Context of the New Era

Abstract With social progress and technological development, contemporary college students are under increasing pressure in life and study. Music’s role in regulating physical and mental health has been underlined and gradually used in students’ mental health education. Based on the regulating function of music education on students’ psychology, the study proposes the education model of integrating music courses with mental health education and constructs the model of mental health examination (MMHE) that integrates signal characteristics and emotional characteristics of college students to test the mental health level of college students under this education model, so as to explore the effect of integrating music courses on mental health education. In the group of college students, those with good mental health accounted for 63.39% of the total number of students, those with mild mental problems accounted for 31.25%, those with moderate mental problems accounted for 3.87%, and those with more severe mental problems accounted for 1.49%. Among the students with mental health education integrating music, the values of the 10 dimensions of mental health decreased, and the p-value in obsessive-compulsive symptoms, paranoia, hostility, anxiety, maladaptation, emotional instability, and psychological imbalance was less than 0.05, which was a significant effect. Based on this, teachers must base music activities to optimize students’ psychological quality in the teaching of mental health in colleges and universities, and further bring into play the nurturing value of the music discipline.

Comparison of Heard and Imagined Blends of Instrumental Dyads

Timbral blend is fundamental in various musical activities for shaping sounds and musical intentions. Previous studies on blend perception have mostly focused on sounding blends, neglecting imagined blend made possible by inner hearing where sounds are imagined in the mind. Experiment 1 investigated how imagined blend compares to the perception of heard blend and whether musical background has an effect. Two groups of participants (musicians and nonmusicians; N = 31 per group) were presented with pairs of short instrument sounds in unison from 14 different instruments in two different experimental conditions. In the first condition, paired sounds were played sequentially, and participants were instructed to imagine them being played simultaneously and to rate their degree of blend. In the second condition, pairs of instrument sounds were played simultaneously, and participants were asked to rate the perceived degree of blend. Results showed significant interaction effects among the instrument pairs, presentation conditions, and musical backgrounds. Acoustic modeling and multidimensional scaling of blend ratings showed both varying and invariant roles of different acoustic features between the two types of blend perception. Imagining blend appears to be more sensitive to differences in brightness and richness of the high partial content between the blending sounds. Experiment 2 with 48 participants was conducted on the perception of dissimilarity between instruments, using the same stimuli as the previous experiment. Results from this experiment provided evidence that evaluating imagined blends is strongly informed by judging the dissimilarity of blending instruments. In practice, how the two types of blends differ is a result of complex interactions involving the specificity of blending instruments and listeners’ musical backgrounds.

LANGUAGE LEARNING THROUGH PLAY: A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE FROM IBNU SINNA

Teaching and learning during the time of the pandemic are indeed challenging. It is not easy to sustain the interest of young children especially when teaching is done virtually. This paper explores the use of Ibnu Sina’s psychology in teaching young children during this difficult period using both f2f and virtual learning. Past practice that required children to memorize facts and follow rigid instructions no longer worked for 21st-century children. Active learning is done through freedom to move and think and very often, this is done through play. Ibnu Sina emphasised fun learning with the combination of music and play at a young age to create healthy physical, mental and moral growth for the children. This study is interested to measure the effect of fun learning in English language subject through online applications among children. A total of 140 middle and low-income school children from Perak participated in this study. The results stated that the children enjoyed learning English through games. Almost all of them were motivated and happy when rewarded for their correct answers done through a game online. Through this approach, they improved their pronunciation and increased their vocabulary. As a result, their overall performance in learning English also increased. The findings of this study echoed what was introduced by Ibnu Sina centuries ago that the use of play, music and physical activities was instrumental in young children’s overall growth.

Teaching Algerian Third-Year Elementary-school Pupils English Vocabulary Through Songs: An Effective Instructional Tool to Enliven English Classes

Research objectives (aims), issues or problems: The study accentuates the significant role that integrating songs into the teaching of English vocabulary has for third-year elementary-school pupils in Algeria. It aims to make English vocabulary acquisition effortless and fun for young learners and seeks to facilitate teaching English as a second foreign language for newly recruited instructors. In fact, a major query of this research concerns the incomprehensible lack of songs, poems, and nursery rhymes in the English textbook for third-year pupils, who are 8 to 9 years old, i.e., at an age when musical activities help them become motivated and interested in class activities.
 Research methods: To test the efficacy of songs in teaching English vocabulary to young third-year learners, the researchers opted for a true experimental research method. An experimental group of 26 pupils was exposed to nursery rhymes about numbers, colors, and family members, while a control group of 25 pupils was taught the same vocabulary items for three weeks using lessons from the textbook only.
 A short description of the context of the presented issue: The experiment took place in one of elementary schools in the city of Mostaganem, where the researchers’ former student works as a teacher of English. The experiment lasted three weeks: from January 10 to January 31, 2023.
 Research findings: The findings of this research indicate that the use of songs considerably improved the average vocabulary scores for the 26 young pupils in the experimental group compared to the control group. Therefore, this research paper concludes that songs enhance natural and effortless vocabulary acquisition among third-year pupils who are learning English for the first time.
 Conclusions and/or recommendations: Moreover, this study encourages elementary-school English teachers to give more pedagogical consideration to the use of children’s songs in teaching English to their pupils so as to enliven the lessons and to raise the pupils’ motivation to learn this foreign language.

악기연주 중심의 치료적 음악활동이 한국 체류 난민의 정서 스트레스 감소에 미치는 영향

악기연주 중심의 치료적 음악활동이 한국 체류 난민의 정서 스트레스 감소에 미치는 영향

Narrative observation about music institutionalization through music educational institutions in Kosovo (1948-2020)

The institutionalization of music in Kosovo emerged as a necessary process, playing a pivotal role in fostering sustainable cultural and social development. Its profound effectiveness became evident in the musical trajectory of cultural advancements from the 1950s and 60s onwards. Music schools stood as the primary catalysts, generating a cadre of music professionals involved in various facets of musical productivity. They provided comprehensive professional training to the entire musical community, encompassing composers, conductors, instrumentalists, and pedagogues, who actively contributed to the vibrant musical activities. The year 1948 marked a significant milestone with the establishment of the first music school, initially named ‘Josip Slavenski’ and now known as ‘Lorenc Antoni,’ in Prizren. This was followed by the inception of the music school ‘Stevan Mokranjac,’ later renamed ‘Prenk Jakova,’ in Prishtina in 1949. These institutions served as foundational pillars, laying the groundwork for the subsequent development of a multidimensional music landscape. Notably, the establishment of the Higher Pedagogical School (Branch of Music Education) in 1963 and the Music Academy in 1975 represented crucial milestones, marking the expansion and enrichment of the music sector. The period between 1990 and 1999, characterized by a tumultuous socio-political landscape, posed significant challenges to music education. In the years following 2000, music education in Kosovo continued to adapt and evolve, reflecting to the changing socio-political and cultural landscape. This era witnessed new processes of the established institutional forms and typologies, prompting the adoption of new curricula and a re- evaluation of music education within the context of the evolving social reality and market demands. Furthermore, the demand for music education continued to grow, leading to the establishment of more music schools and programs throughout the country. In general, since 1948, music education in Kosovo represents an unstoppable process that in terms of historical importance, it represents the cornerstone of all professional musical developments in Kosovo.

Examination of Music Teachers' Childhood Experiences of Music

Purpose: This study aims to examine the musical experiences of music teachers in childhood. 
 Design/Methodology/Approach: The research was conducted using the phenomenology research design within the framework of the qualitative research approach. Participants of the study consist of twenty-three music teachers working in the secondary and high schools affiliated with the Ministry of Education in the Kahramanmaraş province in the 2020-2021 academic year. The research data were collected using a semi-structured interview form and conducted for content analysis. 
 Findings: Family, teacher, school, and environment play an important role in individuals' musical experiences in childhood. Participants' tendency towards music during childhood is attributed to their parents’ interest in music and encouragement of music in their children, discovery and guidance of the students’ musical talent, the facilities offered by the school, including an appropriate setting for learning music, organization of the musical activities such as choirs and courses at school, and events held by non-governmental organizations. 
 Highlights: It is seen that music helped introverted and/or shy individuals socialize by allowing them to express themselves better. It was also revealed that the participants interested in music during childhood were self-confident, happy, and peaceful individuals with a wide social circle and without financial concerns.

O. Mishchenko’s button accordion school in metaphors and realities of creative and pedagogical process

O. Mishchenko’s button accordion school in metaphors and realities of creative and pedagogical process

Music in medical education: A critical interpretive synthesis.

While many have championed the value of music in medical education, research specific to how and why music has been offered in medical education is sparse and there have been few attempts to synthesise the literature. A Critical Interpretive Synthesis (CIS) of 56 texts including published articles, correspondence, abstracts and one thesis published between 1977 and 2022 was undertaken to explore the evidence basis for offering music in medical education. A total of 52 music-focused programmes/activities were described, encompassing both curricular and extra-curricular, receptive and participatory music activities and a wide range of musical genres. Inductive analysis of data extracted from texts revealed a variety of rationales for the use of music in medical education, which could be grouped within seven interrelated themes: well-being; supportive learning environment; affective engagement; teaching and learning; developing skills for clinical practice; humanism in medicine; and creative expression (identity). The results of this synthesis demonstrate that there remains a gap between what is claimed about the affordances of music and what has been explicitly addressed in medical education research. Despite a paucity of research in this area, the available data support that the affordances of music are 'multiple' and may not be well represented by linear models. Evidence that engagement with music is beneficial for medical students is strongest in relation to the affordances of music for well-being, facilitating a supportive learning environment, affective engagement, memorisation and creative expression (identity). That engagement with music might enhance humanism, including developing skills for clinical practice, requires further investigation. Accounting for student agency and the 'multiple' affordances of music will ensure that future teaching and research are best positioned to benefit medical students' well-being and personal and professional development.

MIAO TIANRUI — A LEGEND OF CHINESE MUSIC PEDAGOGY

The article is devoted to the musical and pedagogical heritage of Miao Tianrui, a universally recognised founder of the basic theory of music education in China. The article represents the achievements of Master Miao in the field of musical lexicography, highlights his musical and pedagogical activities, identifies the main line of scientific research — the problems of musical structure and temperament, demonstrates the achievements in the methodological field, covering the creation of exclusive educational materials and adaptation of the Western European experience through the translation of iconic musicological research.

Вятские церковно-певческие курсы А. Н.Карасева 1903-1904 гг. как пример региональной музыкально-педагогической инициативы

This article is devoted to the church singing courses held in the city of Vyatka in 1903 and 1904. Short–term singing courses are one of the forms of musical and pedagogical education, which was widespread in Russia in late XIX - early XX century. The organizers of the courses and teachers at them were famous musical figures. The purpose of this article is to expand information about church singing courses in Russia and the musical and pedagogical activities of A.N.Karasev. Karasev, an outstanding music teacher, regent and author of numerous manuals on church singing, was invited to Vyatka to organize folk singing activities. During 1903 and 1904, he organized three streams of singing courses in the city. The main objectives of the courses were to train the leaders of folk choirs for the Vyatka province and to train teachers to teach church singing in schools. Teachers and regents from different counties of the Vyatka province came to the courses. There were no professional musicians among them. During the courses, students studied music theory, learned to sing by notes, trained to manage a choir, studied spiritual and secular chants, and learned to play the violin. Theoretical classes were closely connected with practice. In total, about 300 people were trained at the courses. Students of the courses have achieved great success in a relatively short time. Their achievements are confirmed by the results of final exams, surveys about their subsequent activities, testimonies of clergy and people who checked schools. The article discusses in detail the circumstances of the emergence of courses, as well as some organizational and pedagogical features. Vyatka singing courses are an example of a regional musical and pedagogical initiative, the successful implementation of which became possible thanks to the support of representatives of state, church and educational institutions, the pedagogical system and the work of the course leader, the motivation of the listeners.

The Influence of Music on Speech Development in Children from birth to primary school age

The article presents a theoretical analysis of the problem of the influence of music on the development of speech in children from birth to primary school age. It is noted that music occupies a special place in the correctional work on speech development in preschoolers and younger schoolchildren. The influence of musical activity on the formation of all components of a child's speech through listening to music, singing, playing musical instruments, logorhythmics and the atricalization is considered. In conclusion, it is discussed that the use of an integrative approach, including musical accompaniment in speech development classes, has a positive effect on the formation of speech activity in schoolchildren.

The media text of a musical work and its medium texts

Relevance of the study is due to the modern expectations of music science regarding the adequate reflection in its conceptual and terminological apparatus of the media reality of musical phenomena of the modern era. The key in this sense is the phenomenon of a musical work in the aspect of understanding its ontology as a media text. The phenomenon of the media text of a musical work is considered in the genetic interconnection with its medium texts. Theoretical base. The analytical basis of the reasoning presented in the scientific research is the work of the Ukrainian scientist-musicologist, the founder of the Ukrainian school of musical interpretation, Viktor Moskalenko. The achievements of the modern philosophical and sociological discourse, in particular, individual provisions of the works of Michel Foucault, Michel Maffesoli, Jacques Lacan, Jorjio Agamben, etc., own scientific positions and materials of musical-empirical experience structured on the basis of musical-performance practice of outstanding musicians became the essential basis of theoretical generalizations. - interpreters of the beginning of the 20th century 21st century The complex scientific methodology applied in scientific research, which combines the methods of empirical observations of the compositional and performance practice of musical activity, discourse analysis, comparative studies and musicological theoretical generalizations, deepens the understanding of the mechanisms of musical creativity in the plane of the media ontology of a musical work, which allows achieving the main objectives of substantiating the semantic content and concretizing analytical resource of concepts of media text and medium text of a musical work. The scientific novelty of the presented considerations is determined by the introduction into scientific circulation and the definitional specification of the concepts of media text and medium text of a musical work. The conclusion summarizes the results of the research, points out the perspective of the musicological examination of musical phenomena in the aspect of their media ontology, and substantiates the concepts of media text and the medium text of a musical work. The conducted research opens perspectives for the further development of musical media discourse and understanding of musical phenomena taking into account their modern noumenal media specificity

Bohdan Antkiv's Contribution to the Development of Musical Art of Galicia in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century

The purpose of the work is to systematise and give a comprehensive assessment of the musicological and compositional heritage of Bohdan Antkiv, his cultural and educational, musical activities in the context of the processes of professionalisation of Ukrainian musical art of Galicia in the second half of the twentieth century. The methodology of the research is to apply the following methodological approaches: analytical, systemic, historical and musical. Scientific novelty of the work. For the first time a thorough analysis of the musical activity of Bohdan Antkiv was carried out, the contribution of the artist to the musical art of Galicia of the second half of the twentieth century was characterised. Conclusions. Bohdan Antkiv is a music artist who crosses the line of amateurism and achieves success and recognition in professional music art Ternopil and Lviv regions. He participated in rural amateur groups and circles in early years, led by his father, Mykhailo Antkiv. The musician obtained a professional music education, studying at conducting courses at the Ternopil branch of Mykola Lysenko Lviv Music Higher Institute, and later at the Conducting Faculty of Mykola Lysenko Lviv State Conservatory. He successful conducted activities in the children’s choir of the society ‘Prosvita’ local unit, in the singing and music society ‘Torban’, in the choir of the T. Shevchenko youth organisation ‘Sokoliata’, in the mixed choir of Ostriv village, which won the Regional Choir Competition in Lviv, in the choir group of the song and dance youth ensemble ‘Cheremosh’, which acted at I. Franko Lviv State University. Bohdan Antkiv also started a brass band in Ostriv village. The article also traces composer and arranging activities. Keywords: Bohdan Antkiv, musician, conductor, choirmaster, composer, musical art, Ternopil, Lviv.

Жак Шампион де Шамбоньер и школа французских клавесинистов XVII века

This research article is aimed at showing the importance of the creative heritage of Jacques Champion de Chambonnières (1601/02-1672) who was a harpsichordist, composer, teacher and founder of the French harpsichord school. In the article the brief biography of Chambonnières is given and the musical creative activity of his pupils and followers Louis Couperin and Jean-Henri d’Anglebert is introduced. It is important to mention that Chambonnières’ harpsichord heritage by exception of preludes is penetrated with dance character. The scientific novelty lies in the definition of the peculiarities of monolithic harpsichord style of Chambonnières. As the result, it is proved that Louis Couperin (about 1626-1661) continued to develop the dance forms that made the basis of his teacher’s work. But Couperin’s musical work is characterized by a more complicated musical language, more detail study of texture and imitation material, rhythmic sophistication. The musical heritage of Jean-Henri d’Anglebert (1629-1691) became a unique model for harpsichordists in and outside France, especially for I. S. Bach.