Musical Upbringing Research Articles

A Conversation with Ana María Martínez

Abstract: In a video interview with Journal of Singing Associate Editor Melissa Treinkman on April 22, 2024, Ana María Martínez discussed her thirty-year operatic career that continues to flourish. She described her musical upbringing, shared advice regarding repertoire choice, and emphasized the importance of finding a sense of purpose. A QR code is included at the end of the article which contains the link to the recorded interview with Ana María Martínez, posted on the NATS YouTube channel.

Music, Exile, and Edward Said: An Interview with Layale Chaker

Abstract The following interview with Layale Chaker, conducted on 14 September 2023, delves into her unique journey as a Palestinian-Lebanese composer, highlighting the pivotal role of music in shaping her sense of “home” following the Lebanese Civil War. Drawing from her diverse musical upbringing, spanning community choirs to formal conservatory education, Chaker elucidates the disparity between institutional training and the lived musical experiences of the Arab world, informing her quest for authenticity in composition. Chaker recounts her involvement with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded by Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said, juxtaposed with her decision to pursue an individual artistic trajectory. Central to the conversation is her composition “En Présence de l'Absence – Homáge à Edward Saïd,” revealing a deeply personal connection to Said's legacy and a nuanced exploration of his ethos through music. The interview culminates with insights into Chaker's forthcoming opera, “Ruinous Gods,” co-crafted with playwright Lisa Schlesinger. Addressing the profound trauma of refugee children afflicted with uppgivenhetssyndrom (resignation syndrome), the opera promises a poignant musical narrative probing themes of parenthood, displacement, and societal obligation. Set for premiere at the 2024 Spoleto Festival USA, Chaker's work continues to blend artistry with advocacy, offering a resonant reflection on human resilience and responsibility.

Основные этапы и некоторые тенденции становления музыкального образования в Курской Мариинской женской гимназии

The article analyses the history and practice of music education in the Kursk Mariinsky women’s gymnasium, which at the beginning of the 20th century became one of the centres of the artistic life of the provincial centre. The three main stages in the formation of the system of female gymnasium education in Kursk are studied both from the perspective of introducing gymnasium girls to musical culture, and in the aspect of identifying the foundations and the process of forming the musical traditions of the educational institution— the predecessor of the modern Kursk State University. A historiographic analysis leads to the conclusion that the information about the musical upbringing and education of pupils of the Mariinsky gymnasium in Kursk is insignificant. Hence, the purpose of the study is to collect, systematize and analyse the main aspects of the musical training of the pupils of the Kursk Mariinsky women’s gymnasium. As a result of the research, three historical stages of musical training in the gymnasium were identified. The first stage is the formation of the spiritual and religious traditions of the women’s first-class pedagogical school (since 1861), the Kursk women’s gymnasium (since 1870), and the Mariinsky gymnasium (since its inclusion in the Department of Institutions of Empress Maria, since 1871). The second is the creation of a system of additional musical education for schoolgirls, which was the result of the arrival of A.M. Abaza in Kursk and the opening of Kursk music classes by him (since 1882). The activity of the outstanding musician led not only to the active professional training of performers on academic instruments and guitar, but also to the growth of vocal and choral skills in the city. It is also significant that the direction of the choirs was carried out by him on a gratuitous basis. The third period is the result of the traditions of the previous stages; it brought musical education and enlightenment to a new level with the acquisition of a new Mariinsky gymnasium building with an assembly hall, which today, already as the hall of the Kursk State University, is recognized as the best in the region in terms of acoustics for academic vocalists, which contributes to the preservation and strengthening of the traditions of the past in our day.

Improved RRT-Based Moving Path Planning Algorithm for Teaching Reform and Innovation in Western Orchestral Ensemble Classes in Colleges and Universities.

Western orchestral instruments in colleges and universities, as important instruments, occupy a central place in many bachelor's degree programs in music education. Music teaching reform and innovation are central to the creative wisdom of music teachers, their musical upbringing, and the lived experience of their students. For teachers, the process of pedagogical reform and innovation is the process by which teachers realize their own pedagogical ideals. Teachers must first be motivated; in the absence of motivation, any advanced teaching methods will become pale in comparison and lose their value and usefulness. Therefore, the construction of teaching activities requires teachers to take responsibility for the education and support of students, to align their teaching goals with the development of each student, to make the students' feelings closely connected to them, and to make them feel their value in the learning process. Starting from teaching western orchestral instrument ensembles in colleges and universities, this thesis uses the research method of improving RRT's moving path planning algorithm to explain and analyze some problems that arise in teaching western orchestral instrument ensembles in colleges and universities and puts forward constructive suggestions and recommendations.

Sonic Ecologies

Sonic Ecologies

Истоки музыкознания: Древний мир и Античность

The initial grounds of knowledge about music appeared virtually at the same time as it emerged as an art, i.e. tens of thousands of years ago. The earliest testimonies to this could be found in the mythological perceptions of various peoples, which has been realized most perceptively and diversely in the Greek myths. The primal elements of music theory were generated in the ancient hearths of civilization. Some of the outlooks widespread in the ancient world appeared in the cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Ancient Jewish artistic practice has also created its impact on the musicians of antiquity. The peoples of India and China also forged their own paths. Ancient Greek, as well as Ancient Middle Eastern musical knowledge was characterized by a syncretic connection of musical perceptions combined with scientific and philosophical systems, in what connection the musical perceptions of the ancient civilizations were frequently endowed with a cosmological character. Since the music of the ancient peoples was predominantly monophonic and, consequently, presented a culture of a monodic type, the theory of music in its entirety turned out to be essentially a teaching about melody. Musical aesthetics absorbed into itself an extremely broad circle of questions concerning the examined period, whereas the ethos of ancient peoples by its practical sides was aimed at the goals of musical upbringing.

The Education of Asian American Music Professionals: Exploration and Development of Ethnic Identity

Abstract Asian American people make up approximately 5.8% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019) and pursue careers in a variety of musical professions. However, a monoracial view of Asian Americans (Mok, 1998) that conceives of all Asian Americans as a homogenous group without regard to ethnicity or cultural background has led to widespread stereotypes. The desire to acculturate to U.S. culture and Western European art music ideals can pressure Asian Americans to play certain instruments, restrict their involvement to particular areas of music, or force them to portray their ethnicity in offensive ways. This study looked at the racial and ethnic identity development of nine Asian American music professionals from various career paths in education, performance, curation, and history through a web survey and subsequent semistructured interviews. Findings pertained to the musical upbringing of participants both inside and outside of school, the social contexts that affected participants’ musical endeavors, pressures from dominant cultures that participants faced while in school and during their careers, and the actions participants took in their careers that were a result of growing up as Asian Americans in various music learning contexts (e.g., school, community, familial, and informal).

Cultural factors related to the decision of music education career choice in Jewish and Arab students in Israel

The decision to become a music educator can be influenced by the musical background of an individual, the cultural values, and by the perceived utilitarian value in terms of viable career option. This study was conducted among Jewish and Arab music-education students in Israel. The aim was to identify aspects related to choosing a career in music, particularly culturally shaped attitudes and perceptions. Cultural differences were examined using the Cultural Attitudes toward Music Experience and Education (CAMEE) questionnaire. Participants were 50 Israeli Jewish and Arab students who were enrolled in music education programs. Findings showed culturally related differences between participants’ musical upbringing. The Jewish students reported that they listened mainly to Western-style genres, played Western-type instruments, and studied Western music theory. The Arab students listened mainly to Middle Eastern Arab-style genres, played mainly music instruments that enable playing Arab music, and studied Middle Eastern Arab music theory. The Jewish students reported more experience with music and instrumental playing than their Arab peers. Motivation for teaching music included educational and ideological components for both groups, with Arab students reporting a higher level of utilitarian motivation

A Phenomenological Understanding of Music Upbringing, Education and Training

The article presents a phenomenological understanding of musical upbringing, education and training. This approach to the consideration of musical upbringing, education and training is unique because it is the first study of these phenomena from the standpoint of phenomenology. Analysis of these phenomena is carried out taking into account their connection with upbringing, education and training in general. The article notes that the problems of musical upbringing, education and training are a reflection of the problems that exist in the entire system of upbringing, education and training. It is indicated that the use of phenomenological approach can help to cope with these problems. The author uses the basic principles of phenomenological reflection, established by the German philosopher J.H. Lambert. Lambert believed that phenomenological comprehension of the truth of the phenomenon is supposed to proceed through three sequential stages: perception (sensory contact), cognition and usage of the will as a source for manifestation. According to the distinction of the three sequential stages proposed by Lambert, in the article upbringing, education and training are treated as three sequential stages of personal comprehension of the phenomenon. This comprehension of the world is actually the ultimate goal of pedagogical influence, and musical upbringing, education and training. The author concludes that music is the perfect manifestation of the world, which means that the introduction of a person to music (through three stages: musical upbringing, education, training) is actually the introduction of a person to the world, in other words, the solution of the pedagogical problem.

Music as Feminine Capital in Napoleonic France: Nancy Macdonald’s Musical Upbringing

Abstract This microhistory situates the musical activities of Nancy Macdonald, a French student at Madame Campan’s National Institute for Young Women and Napoleon Bonaparte’s school for daughters of Legion of Honour Recipients, in broader discourses about women and music in Napoleonic France. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of capital, it eschews a simplistic assessment of music as either constraining or liberating young women, by arguing instead that performance operated as a kind of ‘feminine capital’, accrued and then circulated to achieve tangible socio-economic ends. A feminine-capital framework exposes the paradoxes inherent in female music-making and reveals how values about music were enculturated from girlhood to womanhood in France. This approach contributes to recent scholarship that challenges the rigid binaries previously defining women’s musical labour during the Classical era and inserts France into historiographies of women’s musical practices in the early nineteenth century.

EDUCATIONAL AND THEMATIC REVIEW OF FOLKLOR IN MUSIC TRAINING IN KINDERGARDEN

The course of the changes in the Bulgarian education system is a direct reflection of the changes in the different structures and institutions in recent years. Among the key areas of refor, the pre-school and school education system has undergone significant changes in structures, models and practices. The personal development process starts from childhood, with the upbringing in the kindergarten, where children get acquainted with the world and themselves. The musical upbringing has an important role for their socialization and formation of social and civic competences. In the pre-school music education curricula developed in accordance with the new SER for educational content and approved by the Ministry of Education and Science, Bulgarian musical folklore as a factor for children's musical, emotional, intellectual and physical development is educational and thematic. The positive aspects of communication between children from the earliest age with its models - the variety of songs and music for performance and perception, movements, folk dances and games - is the basis for the authors of all approved educational materials for the kindergarten in the educational field Music to include it. During the work with Bulgarian musical folklore in the contemporary educational process of music in the kindergarten the musical pedagogue skillfully combines traditional and interactive methods, integrates knowledge, experience and skills with the other educational directions. This greatly encourages unity to be enjoyable and beneficial. Children learn easily about music content in an interesting and entertaining way. Working with musical folklore provides incredible opportunities to develop the individual abilities and interests of each child, while building team skills. The specificity of musical-pedagogical work with folklore in the kindergarten reflects the personal and professional profile of the musical pedagogue, covers both the methods and approaches that the teacher uses in the music education, the acquired knowledge, skills and competences on a professional basis, as well as the personal attitude that the teacher uses to present the Bulgarian musical folklore as a national spiritual value. Building this value in children from pre-school is one of the most important. The professional training of the music pedagogues allows them to gain both knowladge and develop self-discipline. It models the conditions in which the child enriches his personality, forms any kind of culture - ethic, moral, musical, mathematical, ecological, health, physical. In this sense, the figure of the music pedagogue is also a factor and a condition in the process of building the child's personality, as well as the guardian of the national values. In the kindergarten the modern music teacher performs new tasks in the modern educational environment, adopts new criteria for structuring the pedagogical and educational process of music, preserving the individuality and stimulating the creativity of the children. The educational and thematic presence of Bulgarian musical folklore is the basis for understanding these ideas.

Взаємозв’язок закономірностей і принципів особистісно орієнтованого музичного навчання та виховання учнів сучасного загальноосвітнього закладу

The article is devoted to a oriented paradigm concerning the use of its content in practical activities at lessons of musical art. The essence of the interpretation of the category of regularities, principles, personally oriented musical is revealed. In particular, – is objectively existing, repetitive, significant links of phenomena of social life or stages of historical development; «principle» is a guiding idea, a basic rule of conduct. Personally oriented musical is the path of the subject interaction of a student and a teacher, aimed at the education of components of artistic awareness and creative abilities in the routine of artistic and aesthetic activity, which activates personal functions, takes into account the results of subjective experience, stimulates expression of a personal position in mastering music. In the course of the study, the specific laws and related principles of oriented music education of students are singled out. The first regularity: the oriented music education and the upbringing of students is ensured by the internal systemically determined unity of the ways of universalization and harmonization of musical activity as a whole. Principles interrelated with it: the integrity of aesthetic development of reality; the synthesis of emotional, rational and intuitive; ontological orientation of musical education and upbringing. The second regularity – actualization of aesthetic values creates the possibility of their internalization in oriented general musical education and education of students. Its corresponding principles are emotional openness; value-semantic orientation and intentionality. The third regularity – oriented character of pedagogical interaction in oriented musical upbringing and education determines the development of aesthetic creativity of school children. The derived principles are empathy interaction, polysubjectity and pedagogical hermeneutics.

THE ROLE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF GAME IN EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF PREESCHOOL CHILDREN

Man develops and changes from conception through end of its life cycle. Under development we mean series of quantitative and qualitative changes over time period that can be progressive or regressive (but not pathological – those changes are not subject of developmental psychology). Preschool age is period in which whole series of developmental changes occur. Child play in early childhood is dominant daily activity. Music game and the increasing attention paid to it has been a result of changing the concept of musical upbringing and education in broader professional circles. In the same time it is beyond dispute that learner-specific features are significant factors of foreign language learning and teaching. Pleasure, which is a consequence of play, is the only conscious reason of why child engage in play. Child play is the activity that is in the same time game and work because play affects all aspects of child development ( senso -motor, cognitive, emotional, moral, social, as well as speech development). In social view, play is preparation of child for life in society with others. Also, we will include classification of preschool children games, in accordance with their level of cognitive development and level of social inclusion. Article DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.20319/pijtel.2017.11.5166 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

”En ny musikuppfostran”: Reformpedagogiska anspråk i Siljanskolans bildningsinnehåll

”A new form of musical upbringing”: Pretenses of reform pedagogy content in the Siljan schoolIn this article, I describe the Siljan school in Tällberg as a Swedish example of alternative pedagogy. The overall questions relate to the reform pedagogy content of the school and its ability to give Swedish music teaching a new form of musical upbringing. An important issue is how the Siljan school as a model for Swedish reform has been inspired by the reform pedagogy movements in USA and Germany. The analysis is thus based on the Alm couple’s ability to give the school an international character which shines light on Swedish reforms in the greater context of reform pedagogy. With its basis in discursive education of the 1930s, two main questions are discussed: what perspective on musical education can be identified in the personal development ethos of the Siljan school? How can the school’s relation to the reform pedagogy music movement during the start of the 1900s be understood? From a hermeneutic perspective, the article contributes by investigating how the Siljan school can have affected decisions in education politics, Swedish schooling, and Swedish musical life. In summary, the article contributes with new knowledge on a chapter in the history of Swedish music pedagogy.

The Origins of the Orchestra Machine

During that summer, the music of the changing of the guard delighted him more than before. When they passed by his house, he would open the middle door of the room in the back in which he lived, where he listened attentively and with pleasure. One might have thought that the profound metaphysician would have derived pleasure only from music character­ ized by pure harmony, bold transitions, elegantly resolved dissonances, or from the works of a serious composer such as Haydn. But this was not at all the case, as the following circumstance demonstrates. In 1795, accom­ panied by the late G. R. von Hippel, he paid me a visit to hear my bogenflugel. An adagio with the flageolet stop, which is similar to the tone of the glass harmonica, seemed rather disagreeable to him, but the instru­ ment gave him uncommon pleasure when the lid was opened and its full force unleashed, especially when it imitated a symphony with full orches­ tra. (quoted in Drescher 1974:268) The eager listener described above is none other than Immanuel Kant, af­ fectionately chronicled by philosopher and theologian Ehregott Wasianski. This colorful description of Kant's fascination with loud military music is suggestive on many levels. Most obviously, it tells us something of his lis­ tening habits, inviting us to smile at the great metaphysician's somewhat unsophisticated musical taste. We could use Wasianski's sketch to begin deconstructing Kant's own musical upbringing and shed light on the infa­ mously negative valuation of music in his third Critique. This passage, how­ ever, also encourages us to consider the surrounding context and examine what Wasianski implies about contemporary musical aesthetics. First, he distinguishes between an intellectual mode of listening-the kind that ap­ preciates daring modulations and the nuances of Haydn's compositional style-and a more immediate mode that takes pleasure in the sheer noise generated by military music. Second, Wasianski makes casual reference to a bogenflugel;' one with various stops. Given the variety of musical instru­ ments invented during the eighteenth century, and the fact that so many of them are lost to us, we might ask exactly what he used to entertain Kant and von Hippel in 1795. Last, we can examine what it means for Wasianski sim­ ply to be able describe an instrument as imitating an orchestra, confident that his readership would know what he means. When interrogated in this way, this passage can be the starting point of investigations that help us

Beginning, Developing and Succeeding as a Thai Saxophonist: A Study of Teachers, Performers and the General Public

This qualitative research analyses stimuli during three phases in the career of Thai saxophonists. From a purposive sample of six saxophone teachers, six performers and twelve members of the general public, the paper reveals inspirations behind pursuit of a career in the saxophone, requirements for development as a saxophonist and conditions for success. The results show that reasons for starting to play the saxophone are personal interest and love of the saxophone, musical upbringing, friends, lifestyle, admiration of skilled saxophonists and the media. There are six requirements for development: personal characteristics, disciplined practice, good teachers, listening skills, experience and a musical identity. Role awareness and responsibility were the important requirements for success as a saxophone teacher. Successful professional saxophonists perform wholeheartedly to their full potential. Both saxophone teachers and performers must adapt their methods and techniques to the audience.

Hoopskirts, Coffee, and the Changing Musical Prospects of the Bach Women

On June 15, 172.1, nineteen-year-old Anna Magdalena Wilcke took up her post as Hofsangerin (court singer) in the central German principality of Cothen. Hired by the music-loving Prince and having been recruited for the position by the Kapellmeister, Johann Sebastian Bach, she became the second-highest-paid member of the court's musical establishment. Anna Magdalena's salary of 300 talers amounted to twice that of the best paid of the other court musicians, with the exception of the Kapellmeister, who received only 100 talers more than she. Having recently left her parents' household in nearby Weissenfels, Anna Magdalena had established her professional status and economic independence. Five months after taking up her new post, she made what must have seemed to her another wise move up the musical ladder of success: she married the Kapellmeister, sixteen years her senior. Their combined salary of 700 talers amounted to a third of the prince's entire musical budget. Thirteen years later and well after Anna Magdalena's official retirement from her position as court singer, Johann Sebastian Bach directed in Leipzig the first performance of the Coffee Cantata (BWV 211), a vehicle for a highly skilled soprano in conditions that Bach scholarship has generally assumed spoke against public participation by women. Further, the work's libretto called into question the notion that women might articulate a position of independence through engagement with the fashionable world and a concomitant disavowal of paternal authority. This was a musical entertainment that staged family tension, patriarchal anxiety, and the problem of unwed daughters--all serious themes, notwithstanding the veneer of humor generated by its lampooning of contemporary consumer culture and in particular the fashion for coffee and hoopskirts. As I will propose here, the Coffee Cantata might well have offered a dramatic role to one of the composer's own daughters; if so, the work reflects an ambiguous light both onto the female musicians of the Bach family and, more generally, onto women and performance in mid-eighteenth-century Lutheran Germany. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The women of the Bach family were indeed excellent singers, and we can get a sense for just how fine a musician Anna Magdalena must have been from the congratulatory cantata Durchlauchster Leopold (Most Serene Highness Leopold, BWV 173a); the piece was composed by her husband in honor of their mutual employer and first performed on December 10, 1722, little more than a year after Cothen's leading musical pair had celebrated their wedding. The cantata includes two soprano arias for the court's star singer: the first, Guldner Sonnen frohe Stunden (Happy hours of golden sunshine), is one of the most graceful of Johann Sebastian's creations, requiring poise, finesse, and agility. In delivering the capering triplets and jaunty melodic leaps, Anna Magdalena would have displayed her gallant musical refinements and technical accomplishment (ex. 1). The second aria, So schau dies holden Tages Licht (Look upon this day's lovely light), allowed even greater opportunities for her to exercise her virtuosity; her voice would have soared with optimism and surety in the passage-work, just as it had to hold steadfast in the long sustained notes auguring Prince Leopold's enduring happiness (ex. 2). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In order to be able to perform these arias, Anna Magdalena had been well trained by members of the musical Wilcke family; whether her mother or trumpeter father played a more central role in her musical upbringing is unknown, but her education in the family craft of music would have begun in early girlhood. A contemporary engraving of a female singer found in Johann Weigel's Musicalisches Theatrum (fig. 1) from around 1720 makes clear that the virtuoso female singer was a literate musician who was adept at coordinating physical gesture with vocal delivery; Anna Magdalena's impressive salary in Cothen shows just how valuable such musical skills were, and these abilities reflected more than simply competence in the complex art of rendering in sound the elegant strokes of the composer's quill pen. …

The Meaning in the Music

As the author struggles to make an impact on the world today, she finds herself looking back on her past. In this essay, she analyzes experiences that hover around her musical upbringing and comes to the conclusion that they have all led her to the place she needs to be now. Early in life, music became a foundation from which she emerged. In playing the piano, she discovered a gift of self-expression as well as a dawning acceptance of herself as a person. Ironically, some things she used adamantly to reject have turned in retrospect into priceless treasures. By sharing these reflections that aspire to be insightful, comical at times, and inspirational, the author hopes that the reader will be led to think about his or her own past and to see the personal value of the meaning in the music .

Paganini's Quest: The Twenty-four Capricci per violino solo, Op. 1

Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840) has long been viewed as an emblem of virtuosity, his music heard, if at all, through the variations and adaptations of other composers. This historical neglect and the Paganini mythos notwithstanding, the twenty-four Caprices, op. 1, published in 1820, establish his place as a serious composer whose innovations must be considered in any assessment of early Romanticism. In the Caprices, two voices seem to speak. The first is lyrical and draws on the vocal and operatic roots of PaganiniÕs musical upbringing. The second I have labeled the questive voice. Romanticism is an aesthetic of distance; the questive voice is a means of traversing the immensity that is the one essential feature of early Romanticism in its incarnations. This immensity manifests itself in the wide registral space opened and explored in the Caprices; in the motivically driven, asymmetrical construction of many passages found therein; and in the extensive harmonic reach of many of the Caprices. This article presents close readings of Caprices nos. 1, 2, 4, 9, and 10, drawing on Schenkerian methodologies and work by Ratner, Caplin, and Burnham to articulate the lyrical/questive dichotomy and interplay between technique and expression in these singular works by a singular composer.

Franz Schubert: a biography

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was born in Vienna of immigrant parents. During his short life he produced an astonishing amount of music. Symphonies, chamber music, opera, church music, and songs (more than 600 of them) poured forth in profusion. His 'Trout' Quintet, his 'Unfinished' Symphony, the three last piano sonatas, and above all his song cycles Die Schone Mullerin and Winterreise have come to be universally regarded as belonging to the very greatest works of music. Who was the man who composed this amazing succession of masterpieces, so many of which were either entirely ignored or regarded as failures during his lifetime? In her new biography, Elizabeth Norman McKay paints a vivid portrait of Schubert and his world. She explores his family background, his education and musical upbringing, his friendships, and his brushes and flirtations with the repressive authorities of Church and State. She discusses his experience of the arts, literature and theatre, and his relations with the professional and amateur musical world of his day. Schubert's manic-depressive temperament became of increasing significance in his life, and McKay shows how it was partly responsible for his social inadequacies, professional ineptitude, and idiosyncracies in his music. She examines Schubert's uneven physical decline after he contracted syphilis, traces its effects on his music, his hedonism, and sensuality, and investigates the cause and circumstances of his death at the age of 31.