Musical Performance Research Articles

Video Conferencing in Music Performance Learning from The Perspective of Selected Music Students

Video conferencing has become part of the new norm in music education and music performance since the world was affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. From solo to large-ensemble music, people can watch live musical performances through their smartphones, computers, televisions, or any internet-connected device. Therefore, this study focuses on documenting the perceptions of undergraduate students from the UiTM Faculty of Music towards online music performance learning. To gather necessary information, a survey was distributed, enquiring the selected UiTM music students about their experiences engaging in one-to-one studio lessons and other performance-based lessons in an online environment and the advantages and disadvantages of video conference streaming from their perspectives. The outcomes of this study provided the required information that can serve as a practical guide or point of reference to music lecturers and students who want to incorporate online platforms in their teaching and learning method, whether through synchronous or asynchronous approaches, especially when it involves demonstrating music performance skills. Through observing and analysing the survey results regarding significant issues within the online learning environment, this study outlines and justifies how potential improvements in the online music performance classes can be realised based on the suggestions of those who took the survey, which will benefit the musicians, music educators and music students in Malaysia.

The Wind Is Always Blowing: Generative Crosscurrents of Ethnographic Dialogue in Australia

ABSTRACTLive conversations and writing play an important role in ethnographic research that seeks to develop understanding across cultural differences. Both forms of communication need not remain distinct: written dialogue can develop critical thought while foregrounding the shared contexts and relational impetuses of communication across cultures. Set against the background of recent styles in ethnographic writing about and with Yolŋu people, this article extends from conversations about wata (wind), exploring collaborative practices (music performance and teaching) and approaches to writing ethnography that respond to a core quality of wind as a medium that connects. Wata is a significant theme within manikay (public ceremonial song) that connects Wägilak with their ancestral lands, even as it blows through the country of other groups, allowing new relationships and understandings to be formed. Giving rise to concerns of connection, difference, and movement, wata is a significant theme for considering the ways narrative traditions can shape relationality and give impetus to intellectual inquiry.

Vibrotactile perception of music

While music is primarily experienced through audition, many aspects of music can also be experienced through somatosensation. Vibrotactile stimulation occurs when a tactile stimulus displaces the skin at a specific carrier frequency. When the carrier is frequency modulated, it can create a complex waveform and when it is amplitude modulated, it can create a rhythmic pulse. These vibrotactile aspects of music have long been recognized as important by music performers, providing a valuable source of non-auditory feedback that may support musical expression. Critically, these same vibrotactile aspects of music may also support the perception of music and voice in individuals with hearing loss. This paper will provide an overview of research conducted over the last decade that has clarified the aspects of music and voice that may be perceived through somatosensation along with some insight into neural underpinnings of these perceptions. Specific features of music considered will include pitch, rhythm, and timbre. Also considered will be the manner by which sensitivity to these features may change as a function of hearing loss, experience, and the properties of stimulation.

Musician-led performance perspectives in virtual acoustics

Musical performance is a complex task that involves juggling performance techniques, creative expression and auditory feedback, all of which in turn affect a musician’s perception of their acoustic environment. Synthesized here are several recent studies conducted at McGill University in variable acoustic spaces: the Multimedia Room (with a Meyer Constellation system) and the Immersive Media Lab (utilizing a proprietary Virtual Acoustics Technology system). In studying the perception of room response, variable acoustic environments allow researchers to physically and/or virtually change the character of a space around a musician without the need for a physical venue relocation. These experiments explore different methodologies and approaches to studying the perception of room acoustic response of various vocalists and instrumentalists who completed both solo and group performance tasks. After contextualizing these studies with previous work done in this area, lessons recently learned point towards new methodologies for musician-led perspectives on room perception.

Affective Authenticity

This article develops the concept of “affective authenticity” to explore the experiences and reception of US-based African migrant musicians in the 1960s and 1970s. Based on interviews, archival sources and musical analysis, we trace the migration stories of South African singer Letta Mbulu and the ways in which she negotiated conflicting demands for “authenticity” in her musical performances on the American stage. Affective authenticity represents a heterogenous, explorative sound, reflecting pan-African politics and aesthetics that created the very conditions for African and African American musical collaborations. This aesthetic was countered with expectations for “scientific authenticity:” an ethno-linguistically circumscribed performance that catered to colonial ears and conceptualized African musics as insular, ancient and unchanging – an aesthetic held and policed primarily by (white) music critics. Through analysis of the Yoruba hymn Ise Oluwa (1927) and its “translations” in Mbulu’s performance on the soundtrack for the television show Roots (1977), we show the careful balance of voices, texts, instruments, and rhythms African migrant musicians perform in order to adhere to conflicting demands for authenticity, and the rebuke they experience when they transgress them. We also place conceptualizations of affective and scientific authenticity applied to popular music in broader discourses occurring during the height of the civil rights movement in the United States, the decolonization of Africa, and the entrenchment of the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Navigating Digital Frontiers in Music Education: The MUSENSE Project's Contribution to E-Learning

The integration of digital technologies into music education, particularly through the MUSENSE project, marks a pivotal evolution in teaching and learning practices within this creative domain. This research paper explores the project's innovative approach to leveraging state-of-the-art technologies that include AI (Artificial Intelligence), IOT (Internet of Things), robotic and eXtended (XR)/virtual (VR)/augmented (AR) reality and other emerging technologies to enhance music education and performance. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional music education faced significant challenges, catalyzing the need for alternative, technologically driven pedagogical strategies. MUSENSE addresses this gap by facilitating the digital transformation of music education, aiming to enrich learning experiences and broaden access to music performance education. This is implemented through a mixed-methods research approach that utilises an open repository designed to collect, decompose, present the functions of the basic functional components and elements of appropriate case studies. In addition, through the collection of stakeholder interviews and expert contact information, the project reports on the current state of emerging technology adoption in music education, assesses the educational implications of these technologies, and explores their potential to foster innovative teaching and learning practices. Initial findings suggest a positive impact on music education through immersive learning experiences provided by state-of-the-art technologies, alongside an increasing receptivity among educators and students towards integrating digital tools. However, challenges such as the digital divide and the need for curriculum adaptation emerge as critical considerations. This paper contributes to the discourse on digital innovation in music education by highlighting the opportunities and obstacles presented by integrating digital technologies, offering insights for educators, policymakers, and technology developers in navigating the future of music education in the digital age.

IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGAL PROTECTION FOR SPECTATORS REGARDING THE CANCELLATION OF MUSIC FESTIVAL BY THE ORGANIZERS IN SURABAYA AREA

According to Law No. 8 of 1999, in music festival performances, the position of the audience is as consumers and the position of the organizers is as business actors. In conducting business relationships, organizers are required to protect consumers from all kinds of event problems, including from cancellations. However, in practice, legal protection for spectators has not been implemented optimally. In Surabaya, there were three music events which were canceled at the same time. One of the three has fulfilled the legal protection. The method used is empirical juridical with analytical descriptive method and uses primary and secondary data sources. The results of the research found that the implementation of legal protection for spectators for the cancellation of music festivals in the Surabaya area has been going well, but the benefits for the audience have not been maximized. Obstacles that are felt in its implementation are the lack of funds from the organizers and

The musical past revives in the present: An investigation into the cultural heritage of a community

This article explores how two specific musical performances, drawing respectively on the rich repertoire of Italian sacred music and a specific sound environment of a region, can promote cultural participation and ingenuity in the Italian countryside amidst uncertainty and demographic change due to depopulation and the loosening of traditional communal ties. The first study focuses on a specific case in the town of Ortona dei Marsi in the Italian province of L’Aquila. A seemingly everyday experience – participation in community singing – is considered and appreciated from a musicological perspective, while its importance for the revitalisation of a community is recognised. The rediscovering of a forgotten musical heritage contributes to an evolving, prosaic sense of rural cultural resources. The particular case of the community of the small rural town of Ortona dei Marsi, overcoming isolation, distance and new circumstances through the revitalisation of a musicologically significant object, sheds light on how a community serendipitously uses the opportunity to make and maintain music together to demonstrate social and cultural resilience. The second study looks at the experiences of middle school students in the Italian city of Biella of a specific sound memory that guides and paves the way to a diverse learning environment.

Virtual acoustics in distributed performance over a closed audio network

We explore an application of active acoustics used to produce a shared virtual environment for live musical performance. As part of a concert given in the Immersive Media Lab at McGill University, musicians and audience members were located in adjacent but acoustically isolated spaces on the same digital audio network. With computer generated effects and live instruments, the concert consisted of electroacoustic performances that utilized dynamic virtual environments produced by our Virtual Acoustic Technology (VAT) system as an improvisatory partner and a mixing device to blend the diffusion of electronic and acoustic musical sources. The performance, including its evolving virtual environment, was captured using spatial microphone techniques and distributed in real-time to the audience over an immersive loudspeaker system in an adjacent control room. Audience members were given the opportunity to visit the musicians’ performance space in order to compare the reproduction to the original environment. Overall, the blending of computer-generated and acoustic sources created a specific use case for virtual acoustics, while the immersive capture and distribution method examined an avenue for producing a real-time shared experience. Future work in this area includes audio networks with multiple virtual acoustic environments and distributions.

Cognitive neuroscience and music education: Relationships and interactions

This article examines the relationship between cognitive neuroscience and music education, evaluating the impact of cognitive neuroscience on musical learning, performance, and teaching strategies. The first section establishes the purpose and scope of the article, followed by an emphasis on the foundations of cognitive neuroscience in the second section. Cognitive neuroscience is explored in terms of music perception, mental processes, and fundamental concepts related to learning and memory. The third section, focusing on cognitive processes in music education, delves into the cognitive foundations of musical knowledge, addressing topics such as melody and rhythm perception and cognitive development in instrumental education. The fourth section discusses the neuroscientific analysis of musical performance, stage fright, brain activity, creativity, and mental processes. The fifth section discusses cognitive neuroscience-based teaching models, the neuroscientific foundations of student-centred approaches, and the role of technology in music education. The sixth section highlights future perspectives and research directions, recommendations for future studies, contributions of new cognitive neuroscience findings to music education, current developments in the intersection of music and cognitive neuroscience, and suggestions for future research. In the concluding section, the summarised article's significant findings and contributions are emphasised, drawing attention to potential areas for future examination and application. This article aims to serve as a comprehensive resource for readers interested in understanding the connections between cognitive neuroscience and music education, providing a foundation for further research in this field.

Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Goa through Bhakti Literature and Artistic Expressions

Goa is home to a diverse collection of Bhakti literature and artistic works essential in safeguarding the area's cultural legacy. The cultural scene in Goa, characterised by elaborate temples with detailed carvings and moving music and dance performances, reflects the lasting influence of Bhakti traditions.

Reduced Channel Interaction Improves Timbre Recognition Under Vocoder Simulation of Cochlear Implant Processing.

This study aimed to investigate the influence of the number of channels and channel interaction on timbre perception in cochlear implant (CI) processing. By utilizing vocoder simulations of CI processing, the effects of different numbers of channels and channel interaction were examined to assess their impact on timbre perception, an essential aspect of music and auditory performance. Fourteen CI recipients, with at least 1 year of CI device use, and two groups (N = 16 and N = 19) of normal hearing (NH) participants completed a timbre recognition (TR) task. NH participants were divided into two groups, with each group being tested on different aspects of the study. The first group underwent testing with varying numbers of channels (8, 12, 16, and 20) to determine an ideal number that closely reflected the TR performance of CI recipients. Subsequently, the second group of NH participants participated in the assessment of channel interaction, utilizing the identified ideal number of 20 channels, with three conditions: low interaction (54 dB/octave), medium interaction (24 dB/octave), and high interaction (12 dB/octave). Statistical analyses, including repeated-measures analysis of variance and pairwise comparisons, were conducted to examine the effects. The number of channels did not demonstrate a statistically significant effect on TR in NH participants ( p > 0.05). However, it was observed that the condition with 20 channels closely resembled the TR performance of CI recipients. In contrast, channel interaction exhibited a significant effect ( p < 0.001) on TR. Both the low interaction (54 dB/octave) and high interaction (12 dB/octave) conditions differed significantly from the actual CI recipients' performance. Timbre perception, a complex ability reliant on highly detailed spectral resolution, was not significantly influenced by the number of channels. However, channel interaction emerged as a significant factor affecting timbre perception. The differences observed under different channel interaction conditions suggest potential mechanisms, including reduced spectro-temporal resolution and degraded spectral cues. These findings highlight the importance of considering channel interaction and optimizing CI processing strategies to enhance music perception and overall auditory performance for CI recipients.

Visual Attraction of K-Pop: A Correlational Study on Visual Aspects of K-Pop Music Videos

Korean Pop is a music genre that is exponentially growing in popularity worldwide and is known for complex visuals in their music videos and performances. This study aims to determine which visual appeal aspect in 4th generation K-Pop music videos makes the video visually appealing that contributes to the most attractive concept to viewers aged 12-18 in the United States. There was minimal research conducted on the topic of visual appeal aspects in K-Pop, but past research expressed that visuals are a crucial factor to K-Pop, identifying gender roles in K-Pop groups and visually expressing messages to appeal to various norms and beliefs. Focusing on the visual appeal aspects in K-Pop closes a research gap while expanding curiosities about K-Pop visuals and its influences on the audience. This research may aid in improving marketing strategies for K-Pop songs, creating visual appeal that best attracts the audience and increasing viewer engagement towards music videos. This correlational research utilized three surveys for the three 4th generation K-Pop music videos, concluding that set design was the most visually attractive aspect of K-Pop music videos and that chaebol crush was the most visually appealing K-Pop concept currently. The findings of this research will help the music industry in the United States develop music videos that are as visually appealing as K-Pop music videos, creating maximum visual appeal for the audience.

PERFORMANCE POETICS AS AN IMALOGICAL VISION OF A CONTEMPORARY MUSICAL WORK

The article considers features of musical performance in the context of imalogical vision. It is emphasized that in the process of performance, musical work can acquire extensively new meanings and functions. On the basis of contemporary examples, it is shown how imalogical vision of a musical work, shaped within performance poetics can become a tool of cultural diplomacy and soft power. The study employs interdisciplinary approach, combining vectors of musicology, philosophy, and political science.

Instructors' perspectives on teaching music online after the COVID-19 lockdown: A qualitative analysis in Indonesia

The current study analyzes the practices and strategies used by university instructors in Indonesia to deliver online music classes after the COVID-19 lockdown. Using a qualitative method based on semi-structured interviews, perspectives from music professors were gathered to explore various aspects, including the support provided by universities, teaching practices adopted by instructors, students’ reactions, limitations, and advantages of online music learning. The data were analyzed with an inductive method based on grounded theory. Participants highlighted several strategies utilized during online learning, such as (a) the use of video recordings to focus on specific aspects of music performance; (b) the implementation of project-based assessments to address various learning outcomes in different classes; and (c) the development of teamwork for sharing the best teaching practices. Teachers reported being more responsive to the students, placing a greater emphasis on self-reflection and becoming more effective educators. While recognizing several limitations associated with online music learning, the participants believe that this will be the teaching approach of the future, attributing it to improvements in students' independence and self-assessment skills, teachers' self-reflexivity, and enhanced flexibility in scheduling. Implications for institutions and university professors regarding the development of policies and curricula for online music education are also discussed.

Русский музыкальный жаргон как предмет лингвистического изучения

e paper deals with Russian musical jargon treated as a professional sociolect of musicians. The material has been taken from the data presented in the Internet. Stylistically, musical jargon belongs to a colloquial register of the Russian language. A thematic classification of Russian musical jargon has been offered. This class of words and expressions may be subdivided into two unequal groups – specialized and non-specialized jargon units. The former comprises units reflecting the sphere of musical performance whereas the latter refer to various spheres of everyday life. Specialized musical jargon group is subdivided into three subgroups – nominations of subjects, objects and ways of musical performance. Nomination technique of the jargon described includes occasional affixal word formation, word composition, metaphorical transference, borrowings (mainly from the English language), dialectal and dated words, and onomatopoeia. Transference of musical notions into various sphere of reality is also a feature of the jargon described.

Exploring music students' resistance to innovation as a moderator in the relationship between e‐learning adoption and academic performance

AbstractA teaching strategy known as an “e‐learning system” involves the use of electronic technology to encourage and assist learning in a classroom setting. According to the increasing rise in the number of pupils using modern communication technologies, alterations to the e‐learning system are now feasible. The study aims to explore the relationship between e‐learning adoption, attitude, and academic performance in the regulations of students' resistance to innovation from the perspective of Chinese students. Recognizing the mediating impact of e‐learning adoption (ELAD) as well as the regulating function of resistance to innovation (RTI) is crucial for completely comprehending how e‐learning attitude (ELAT) influences music student performance (SP). The objective of this study is to find an association between ELAT and students' performance and to find out the association between ELAD and students' performance. A random sampling technique was utilized quantitatively. Data were collected from 293 music education students in China using a questionnaire method. The study obtained data were analyzed through descriptive statistics using SPSS statistical software. The research was conducted in Chinese music educational institutions in Beijing. PLS‐SEM stands for Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. It's a statistical method used for analyzing relationships between variables. Partial Least Squares (PLS) software is chosen for its versatility in handling complex relationships with small sample sizes. PLS is known for its ability to handle multicollinearity, making it a robust choice for research requiring accurate and stable predictions with limited data. The study analyzes the connection between music student performance and e‐learning attitude. The findings of the study indicate the regulating role of objections to innovation and the mediation effect of e‐learning adoption. The study suggests that a positive attitude toward e‐learning adoption enhances students' work performance. The findings underline the significance of ELAT and ELAD and offer useful policies for improving students' performance.

Live music stimulates the affective brain and emotionally entrains listeners in real time

Music is powerful in conveying emotions and triggering affective brain mechanisms. Affective brain responses in previous studies were however rather inconsistent, potentially because of the non-adaptive nature of recorded music used so far. Live music instead can be dynamic and adaptive and is often modulated in response to audience feedback to maximize emotional responses in listeners. Here, we introduce a setup for studying emotional responses to live music in a closed-loop neurofeedback setup. This setup linked live performances by musicians to neural processing in listeners, with listeners' amygdala activity was displayed to musicians in real time. Brain activity was measured using functional MRI, and especially amygdala activity was quantified in real time for the neurofeedback signal. Live pleasant and unpleasant piano music performed in response to amygdala neurofeedback from listeners was acoustically very different from comparable recorded music and elicited significantly higher and more consistent amygdala activity. Higher activity was also found in a broader neural network for emotion processing during live compared to recorded music. This finding included observations of the predominance for aversive coding in the ventral striatum while listening to unpleasant music, and involvement of the thalamic pulvinar nucleus, presumably for regulating attentional and cortical flow mechanisms. Live music also stimulated a dense functional neural network with the amygdala as a central node influencing other brain systems. Finally, only live music showed a strong and positive coupling between features of the musical performance and brain activity in listeners pointing to real-time and dynamic entrainment processes.

Undergraduate jazz majors’ music identities: A multiple case study

The past few decades have seen formal jazz degrees become more established in university music programs in the United States. As these universities strive to provide an exemplary education experience for jazz degree majors, it is especially important to thoughtfully inquire into the personal and environmental elements that led students to pursue a jazz degree. The purpose of this multiple case study is to examine the identities of four undergraduate jazz performance majors and the factors that guided their selection of major upon matriculation. Data collection included six interviews with each participant, reflective practice journals, and university small group jazz rehearsal field notes. The theoretical framework of music performer identity as framed by Davidson was used as the basis for this study. Cross-case themes that emerged as part of this theoretical framework include (1) the importance of aural music learning; (2) environments that promoted creative music-making; (3) the crucial importance of jazz recordings; (4) music as a social or communal activity; (5) attraction toward musical experimentation and variation. Study results suggest that both universities and K–12 music programs can actively prepare and engage students who are interested in jazz.

The Development of Flexible Ensemble in Thailand

Flexible ensemble is the arrangement that allows the selection of instruments for the instrumentation in order to overcome the problem of a small wind orchestra that cannot be performed with a combination of instruments according to the score for a standard big wind orchestra, or in the case of a wind orchestra where the exact number of musicians or types of instruments cannot be determined. Flexible ensemble is therefore another innovation that helps the teaching and performing management of a wind orchestra to be smooth and efficient, both in managing musicians for rehearsals and music performances. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader's understanding of flexible ensemble and to encourage their use and appreciation of its significance in order to produce musical literary compositions in the form of flexible bands with numerous variations in the future.