Development and validation of the individual and social music listening scale (ISMUS-LI)

This study aimed to compare the effects of independent dynamic range compression (independent DRC) and conventional mixed-signal dynamic range compression (conventional DRC) on the sound quality of speech and music, in an ideal condition where the individual sound sources are available to the compressor. The hypothesis is that independent DRC optimized for individual signals yields higher sound quality ratings than conventional DRC optimized for a single signal. Participants were 15 young adults with audiometrically normal hearing. Stimuli included a 10-s-long spontaneous speech sample spoken by a female talker mixed with a classical music excerpt. The speech level was fixed at 65 dBA, and the music level was varied to achieve three speech-to-background ratios (SBRs; -10, 0, and 10 dB). A hearing aid simulator applied frequency-specific gain for a standard mild-moderate hearing loss with three amplification strategies: (a) conventional DRC-speech and music were compressed with a 50-ms release time after the signals were mixed; (b) independent DRC-speech was compressed with a 50-ms release time, and music was independently compressed with a 4,000-ms release before the signals were mixed; and (c) linear amplification (control condition)-stimuli were processed with linear amplification, before or after mixing. The participants rated sound quality across four scales: overall sound quality, speech clarity, speech naturalness, and music naturalness. Independent DRC yielded higher ratings than conventional DRC and linear amplification for overall sound quality and speech clarity at -10 dB SBR. Both DRC strategies resulted in poorer speech clarity ratings than linear amplification at 10 dB SBR. There were no significant differences between the amplification strategies for speech naturalness and music naturalness scales across SBRs. The results are a proof-of-concept that, under ideal circumstances, independent compression of sound sources can improve speech clarity and overall sound quality, particularly when the speech is softer than background music. Generally, DRC may result in poorer speech clarity compared to linear amplification when speech is more intense than background music. The results provide a baseline for future work involving independent compression of sound sources. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.31855201.

ABSTRACT This study investigates the impact of the creative music strategy (CMS) on secondary school students’ music performance self-efficacy and resistance to music courses. Employing a mixed-method experimental design, data were collected using open-ended questionnaires, focus group interviews, observation forms, the Music Performance Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Music Course Resistance Scale. Findings revealed that middle school students initially held negative experiences with music courses, exhibited resistance behaviors, and struggled with music performance self-efficacy. While a significant difference emerged between the experimental and control groups in music performance self-efficacy, no such difference was observed in music course resistance. Additionally, students reported that CMS helped mitigate shyness, anxiety, and low self-confidence, fostering greater self-belief, performance quality, course engagement, and creative skill development, including composition. The results indicate that CMS is an effective strategic intervention for addressing the affective challenges of music education at the secondary school level.

ObjectiveTo explore the psychological mechanisms underlying the association between the family music environment and young children’s empathy, with a specific focus on the mediating role of music emotional contagion and the moderating role of parent–child relationship quality.MethodsA quantitative research design combining cross-sectional surveys and situational experiments was employed. A total of 368 parent–child dyads (children aged 3–6 years) were recruited from six public kindergartens across eastern, central, and western China. Measurements included the revised Family Music Environment Scale (FMES), Young Children’s Empathy Rating Scale (YCERS), Music Emotional Contagion Scale (MECS), and Parent–Child Attachment Scale (PCAS). Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0, AMOS 24.0, and Hayes’ PROCESS macro.Results(1) The family music environment, music emotional contagion, parent–child relationship quality, and children’s empathy were all significantly and positively correlated (p < 0.01). (2) Statistical analysis indicated that music emotional contagion mediated the relationship between the family music environment and children’s empathy (indirect effect = 0.185, 95% CI [0.138, 0.239]). (3) Parent–child relationship quality did not significantly moderate the path from family music environment to music emotional contagion (interaction p > 0.05), although it exerted a significant main effect on music emotional contagion ( = 0.295, p < 0.001).ConclusionThe family music environment appears to promote children’s empathy not directly, but largely by activating the mechanism of music emotional contagion. This pathway remained robust across varying levels of parent–child relationship quality, suggesting that the family music environment may serve as a potential compensatory resource for fostering socio-emotional development in early childhood.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the reform and innovation mode of music teaching driven by artificial intelligence (AI). By introducing the Dilated Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN) algorithm and further integrating the attention mechanism, an audio recognition model based on a Multi-Branch Fusion Network Based on Dilated Convolution and Attention Mechanism (MBFN-DCAM) is constructed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of music audio recognition. Horizontal comparison experiments show that MBFN-DCAM outperforms 6 representative state-of-the-art (SOTA) models, including Audio Spectrogram Transformer (AST) and ResNet-50, with a recognition accuracy of 95.65% ± 0.35% (p < 0.01). Validated by a randomized controlled trial (n = 60), feedback provided by the model significantly improves students’ pitch accuracy and enhances their Music Self-Efficacy Scale (MES). Furthermore, the inference latency of the model on Jetson Nano is only 82.4 ms, fully demonstrating its deployment advantages in resource-constrained environments. This paper provides an efficient, robust, and educationally effective technical approach for intelligent music teaching evaluation.

Integrating passive haptic learning (PHL) into paper-based devices offers significant potential for enhancing user immersion and skill acquisition. Herein, we present a compact audio-haptic-coupled paper-based device constructed from flexible, readily available, and eco-friendly materials. The device generates mechanical vibration under low-frequency excitation (~200 Hz), serving as a PHL indicator that can be easily sensed by humans, while higher-frequency excitation (&gt;1,000 Hz) enables the production of diverse musical scales. The device achieves a sound pressure level of 70 dB, which is clearly perceived by audiences. Moreover, it exhibits excellent fatigue resistance, displaying negligible performance degradation even after 43,200 cycles of continuous compression. To improve portability, two compact circuit boards enabling the device to operate in various environments were developed. In practice, volunteers demonstrated improved learning efficiency when using the device integrated with PHL, achieving a ~35% reduction in learning time and 100% performance accuracy.

Music engagement is a central process of music therapy, but there remains a need for a feasible instrument to measure it. The Music Engagement Scale (MES) addresses this need with a single-item process measure of music engagement. This study evaluated the sensitivity to change and inter-rater reliability of the MES using a convenience sample of 20 clients (ages 1-69 years) receiving individual sessions in Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy (NRMT). The majority of clients were autistic children. Three independent raters with graduate training in music therapy, but no advanced NRMT training, rated the 1st, 8th, and 15th sessions. Results showed sensitivity to change in MES scores across sessions. Inter-rater reliability was acceptable-to-strong at the 1st and 15th sessions, while reliability was lower at the study midpoint. These findings suggest that the MES may be used to measure changes in music engagement over the course of music therapy, and that inter-rater reliability may vary over the course of treatment, potentially increasing when music engagement levels are more stable. The MES may be applied in future research to test whether music engagement functions as a moderator or mediator of music therapy outcomes. Implications for clinical practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided. The complete scale is included at the end of this article.

To practise effectively, musicians must engage in self-regulated learning (SRL) through a cyclical process of planning, execution, and reflection. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a new questionnaire that measures SRL in the context of music practice. We generated an item pool by adapting items from existing scales and revising them based on feedback from an expert panel. This pool was administered to 290 musicians, randomly split into Subsamples A and B. Exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) was carried out on Subsample A to create the final Self-Regulated Learning in Music Practice Self-Report Scale (SRL-MP-SRS), which consisted of 27 items distributed across five subscales. ESEM of the final model on Subsample B demonstrated a good fit. Internal consistency was acceptable for both the global scale and each of the subscales. The SRL-MP-SRS scores correlated positively with self-efficacy and deliberate practice, while professional musicians scored higher on the SRL-MP-SRS than students. The SRL-MP-SRS provides a valid and reliable way to measure musicians’ self-regulated practice that can be utilised with large samples, although further studies are needed to investigate its validity and limitations further.

In this study, it was aimed to develop a measurement tool to measure middle school students’ music performance self-efficacy. There were 2 separate research groups in the study, 447 observation sets in the first research group and 351 observation sets in the second research group. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted with the first research group and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the second research group. In the study, a factor structure consisting of 5 factors, explaining 59.9% of the total variance and 27 items with factor loadings ranging from 0.365 to 0.770 was obtained. As a result of CFA, it was determined that the standardized values ranged between 0.59 and 0.84 and the fit indices were within the model fit criteria. The cronbach alpha value obtained for the entire factor structure was 0.922. When the sub-factors were analysed, it was found that the Cronbach alpha value of the first factor was 0.904, the second factor was 0.815, the third factor was 0.763, the fourth factor was 0.815, and the fifth factor was 0.760. As a result of all findings, it was revealed that the developed scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool.

The incorporation of AI-powered applications into music education is becoming increasingly important, as these tools can extend practice support beyond the session and provide rapid performance feedback. The current study investigated whether an app-assisted learning technique improves pianists' performance skills and self-efficacy compared to traditional instruction. Participants were separated into experimental and control groups and given pre- and post-test assessments. The psychometric instruments used included the Practical Piano Performance Assessment and the Music Performance Self-Efficacy Scale. Statistical analysis, involving paired and independent t-tests, revealed that the experimental group showed significant improvements in piano performance (F = 113.528, p < 0.001) and in all four dimensions of self-efficacy-mastery experience (t = 7.031, p < 0.001), vicarious experience (t = 7.126, p < 0.001), verbal/social persuasion (t = 7.929, p < 0.001) and physiological states (t = 12.812, p < 0.001)-compared to the control group, which followed a standard curriculum. These findings highlight the practical value of AI-based applications that provide not only personalised real-time feedback but also interactive learning. Future research should explore the long-term effects of using this software and its potential in blended learning environments to optimise the curriculum.

This study investigates the expressive potential of piano techniques and their role in shaping emotional resonance in classical performance within the cultural and educational context of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China. While piano education in China has traditionally emphasized technical precision and examination-oriented training, limited attention has been given to how expressive techniques function as tools for emotional communication. Addressing this gap, the study adopts a mixed-methods research design to explore how pianists employ expressive devices, how listeners emotionally respond to these techniques, and how local cultural values influence pedagogical and performance practices. A convergent parallel mixed-methods approach is employed, integrating qualitative and quantitative data collected simultaneously. Qualitative data are gathered through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, classroom observations, focused ethnography, and a mini case study involving pianists, music educators, students, and audiences in Nanchang. Quantitative data are obtained through listener-response surveys using standardized emotional descriptors adapted from the Geneva Emotional Music Scale. The qualitative data are thematically analyzed, while quantitative data are examined using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, with findings triangulated during interpretation. The results reveal that expressive techniques such as rubato, dynamic shaping, phrasing, articulation, and tempo modulation play a central role in generating emotional resonance. Both trained and untrained listeners respond more strongly to performances that demonstrate emotional coherence and interpretive intention rather than technical accuracy alone. Cultural values in Nanchang emphasize emotional restraint and refinement, shaping how expressivity is taught and performed. The study concludes that expressive piano performance is a culturally embedded, learnable process and calls for pedagogical models that integrate technical mastery with emotional communication to foster more meaningful performer–listener connections.

A defining aspect of tonality in Western music is that different musical pitches are perceived to have different stabilities: listeners expect unstable pitches to resolve to stable pitches such as the tonic, which is the most stable. To investigate possible explanations for these hierarchies of tonal stability, we conducted three experiments where participants rated the “fit” and “stability” of probe tones contextualized by a variety of musical scales including familiar and unfamiliar scales in 12-tone equal temperament, and the “stability” of probe tones contextualized by unfamiliar scales in 22-tone equal temperament. Context scale pitches were presented in random order to minimize tonal cues beyond scale structure. Using Bayesian multilevel regression, we modeled the ratings with an acoustical feature (spectral pitch-class similarity) and a culture-dependent feature (scale-degree prevalence in a culturally appropriate corpus), along with several covariates. Across all scales, spectral pitch-class similarity is strongly predictive of the responses and, for the familiar scales where corpus data are obtainable, prevalence makes an additional independent contribution. Furthermore, spectral pitch-class similarity is a better predictor of stability than is a simple binary indicator of whether the probe’s pitch is in the context. These findings show that, for Western enculturated listeners, spectral pitch-class similarity approximates the perceived stability of non-simultaneous pitches analogously to how spectral features, such as roughness and harmonicity, approximate the perceived stability of simultaneous pitches.

Most studies of subjective feeling categories in musical emotion use dimensional or categorical models to describe the different kinds of emotions induced by music. There are several data-driven approaches, of which one example is Zentner and colleagues’ Geneva Emotions in Music Scale (GEMS), which proposes 10 terms which can parsimoniously describe emotional experiences with music. Ethnomusicologists, however, advocate approaches to music and emotion embedded in the cultural concepts of communities, and critiques of psychological approaches as WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic) throw doubt upon the generalisations of GEMS and similar models due to a generally monocultural participant sample. Such critiques become particularly salient for musical emotion in non-western genres such as qawwālī which have clearly defined affective systems associated with them. This article applies a similar data-driven approach to experiences of musical emotion in qawwālī , the South Asian Sufi music. This article presents two experiments focussing on regular listeners to qawwālī at the shrine of the Sufi Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi. The first experiment seeks to determine which emotion words are most relevant to qawwālī listening by presenting a list of terms for participants to rate, and selecting the terms most often felt with qawwālī . The second compares these emotions using multidimensional scaling (MDS), and uses exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to determine a small number of factors which parsimoniously describe emotional experiences with qawwālī . EFA suggests three factors describing subjective feelings with qawwālī : virtuous feelings, spiritual love and trance.

The novelty and relevance of the idea of this artistic research lies in the comparison of the intervals of the traditional Lithuanian unequal tunings and the European and Middle Eastern unequal temperament systems in order to identify the degree of similarities and differences of interval distances. The novelty also lies in the extent of the research object, which included Lithuanian folk music recordings from the first half of the twentieth century preserved in Lithuania and the USA. It could be argued that the twelve-tone equal temperament (12-TET) has influenced Lithuanian traditional tunings, but several studies carried out on traditional Lithuanian vocal and instrumental music show that the 12-TET is not widespread. However, the micro-intervals in Lithuanian music have retained their uniqueness and distinctiveness compared with neighbouring countries (Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and Finland), where no natural intervals and tuning of traditional scales has been detected. The project objective is the comparison of unequal tuning systems with Lithuanian folk music scales using computer technologies. The research methods used during the project were: (a) comparative method, a study of European and Asian unequal systems based on the temperaments of natural harmonic series and the traditional Lithuanian music scales; (b) the software R statistical analysis method, using a file system to process text information. It can be concluded that there are many cases of natural intervals found in Lithuanian folk songs, considering that the temperaments of previous centuries had some naturally tuned intervals.

IntroductionMusical aesthetic emotions often display pleasant characteristics and function as a key reward mechanism in music appreciation. Previous research suggests that temporary mindfulness meditation training can enhance the aesthetic experiences associated with music aesthetic emotion processing (MAEP), fostering richer and more pleasant emotional responses. However, empirical evidence on the relationship between MAEP and mindfulness—particularly with respect to music genre, music training, and newly identified MAEP dimensions—remains limited. Therefore, this study, based on music-trained individuals and Chinese pop music, aims to investigate the effects of a 10-min mindfulness meditation training on MAEP.MethodsA 2 (group: Mindfulness Music Group [MMG] vs. Music Listening Group [MLG]) 3 (music style: R&B/Pop/Folk) mixed experimental design was adopted. Sixty-three Chinese college students with professional music training were randomly assigned to MMG (Male = 15, Female = 16) or MLG (Male = 12, Female = 20). Psychological measures included the Geneva Emotional Music Scale (GEMS), the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance and independent samples t-tests.ResultsSelf-report results indicated no significant between-group differences in PANAS or FFMQ scores (all p > 0.05). Aesthetic attitudes were found to be significantly positively correlated with emotional experiences, suggesting that aesthetic attitudes may represent a novel MAEP dimension. Additionally, temporary mindfulness meditation training significantly improved both aesthetic attitudes and aesthetic judgment scores across all three music styles. However, enhancements in emotional experiences were observed only for Chinese Folk music. Compared with the MLG, the MMG demonstrated greater attention and altered time perception, along with reduced bodily control during music listening.ConclusionThese findings provide new insights into the relationship between mindfulness and MAEP and highlight a potential new dimension—aesthetic attitudes—that may contribute to the psychological mechanisms underlying MAEP.

Infrared small target detection (IRSTD) refers to detecting faint targets in infrared (IR) images, which has achieved notable progress with the advent of deep learning. However, the drive for improved detection accuracy has led to larger, intricate models with redundant parameters, causing storage and computation inefficiencies. In this pioneering study, we introduce the concept of utilizing network pruning to enhance the efficiency of IRSTD. Due to the challenge posed by low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and the absence of detailed semantic information in IR images, directly applying existing pruning techniques yields suboptimal performance. To address this, we propose a novel wavelet structure-regularized multidimensional musical scale soft channel pruning (SCP) method, giving rise to the efficient IRPruneDeXt model. Our approach involves representing the weight matrix in the wavelet domain and formulating a wavelet channel pruning (WCP) strategy. We incorporate wavelet regularization to induce structural sparsity without incurring extra memory usage. Additionally, we design a multidimensional musical scale soft channel reconstruction (MMSCR) method that adapts the strategy across temporal and spatial dimensions to preserve key target information and prevent premature pruning. By leveraging interactions between criteria, it balances pruning and reconstruction through a musical scale feedback effect, achieving an optimal sparse structure while maintaining overall sparsity. Through extensive experiments on many widely used benchmarks, our IRPruneDeXt method surpasses established techniques in both model complexity and accuracy. Specifically, when employing U-net as the baseline network, IRPruneDeXt achieves a 65.68% reduction in parameters and a 51.77% decrease in floating-point operations (FLOPs) while improving intersection over union (IoU) from 73.31% to 76.17% and normalized IoU (nIoU) from 70.92% to 75.08%. The code is available at github.com/hd0013/IRPruneDet.

A <em>Kunstlied</em> (German for art song) or simply <em>Lied</em> is a poem set to music by a composer. This genre, which flourished in the 19th century, constitutes a unique connection between text and music. In this paper, we take the first steps towards a computational, multimodal analysis of this close relationship between poems and art songs. Our aim is to explore the relations between emotions expressed in poetry and musical devices chosen by the composers. Our strategy involves annotating text and music for semantic properties. Based on the musical time scale, we then measure the extent to which these properties overlap and show potential correlations between them. As a case study, we apply our methods to the Schubert Winterreise Dataset, a multimodal dataset of 24 songs by Franz Schubert including text, score, and audio data along with various annotations. By examining local keys and chords as musical properties, we find that, overall, Schubert used more major keys to express positive emotions such as joy and love relative to the whole song cycle. For negative emotions, we find that Schubert used chords that exert more tension and less stability. We conclude that our strategy is able to unveil cross-modal relationships and reflect on necessary steps towards a large-scale corpus analysis.

ABSTRACT One of the most important dimensions of music teacher education is musical instrument education (MIE). In MIE, in addition to instrument-specific techniques and musical behaviors, many dimensions of music education, such as solfege, music theory, musical forms, music history, musical culture, individual vocalization, and collective vocalization, are reconsidered, integrated, implemented, and reinforced with a holistic approach. Therefore, the psychological well-being of prospective music teachers during MIE can impact their professional development. While the concept of burnout has been widely discussed as a negative psychological condition among university students, it has rarely been addressed specifically in the context of individual instrument lessons, which, despite contributing significantly to professional development and being offered as a one-credit semester equivalent in music teaching programs, impose a much heavier workload than it appears with their performance tasks and multidimensional complexity. This study aimed to examine the burnout levels of prospective music teachers studying at six state universities in the Central Anatolia Region of Türkiye (n=331). In the study, which employed a correlational screening model, data were collected using a "Personal Information Form" developed by the researchers and the "Individual Musical Instrument Lesson Burnout Scale" developed by Girgin, 2015. SPSS software was used in data analysis, and descriptive statistics, as well as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test, were applied. The findings indicate that the overall burnout level is quite low. However, it was determined that the burnout level varies significantly according to variables such as gender, perceived instrument success, communication quality with the teacher, love for the instrument, and a suitable environment for instrument practice.

We used a quasi-experimental design to examine the potential of a new framework we developed, called emotionally motivated music teaching (EMMT), to cultivate creative engagement in children's musical abilities through specific musical tasks. The sample comprised 86 fourth-grade students, who completed either a 12-lesson EMMT intervention (experimental group) or a 12-lesson traditional music curriculum (control group). We conducted analyses of variance to assess children's pretest and posttest scores on the Assessing Children's Creative Practice Ability in Music Scale, which evaluates multiple dimensions of musical creativity. At posttest the experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group on all five assessed dimensions of musical creativity. These findings provide music educators with evidence-based strategies for fostering creativity through emotionally resonant teaching. Future research could refine the EMMT and observe its effects on students at different grade levels to address the limitations of the current study.

Introduction: Self-efficacy beliefs play an important role in music performance and learning. Despite their importance, few studies have examined self-efficacy in secondary school music students, particularly in ensemble settings. This study aims to explore and measure the self-efficacy levels of secondary school music students participating in ensemble classes. Methods: A total of 188 students from the 2nd and 3rd year Compulsory Secondary education participated in the study as part of a school project. To assess their self-efficacy, the Music Performance Self-Efficacy Scale (MPSES) was administered. The results were compared to established reference values for these subscales. Results: The findings indicated that (a) the participants' self-efficacy scores were significantly lower than the reference values, (b) significant differences in self-efficacy were observed between 2nd and 3rd-year students in two of the subscales, particularly in terms of group interaction and preparation, and (c) no significant gender differences were found. Conclusion: This study contributes to a deeper understanding of self-efficacy in music education, particularly in secondary school ensemble settings, and highlights areas for further research and intervention to improve students' musical confidence and performance skills.