Young Musicians Research Articles

A Response

In 1978, an 18-year-old musician was about to sign his first record contract with Warner Brother Records when, according to then Warner Brothers Vice President Larry Waronker, the musician turned to Waronker and said, “Don’t make me black.” The young musician was Prince, a rare talent who

A hearing-care toolkit for young musicians: Combined use of a noise dose measurement app and acoustical manekin

Within a joint initiative with the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, the authors developed an original approach to raise awareness about hearing health by combining a participative assessment with a novel noise exposure risk indicator. The overall noise exposure is estimated using two complementary measurement systems addressing, respectively, the contribution determined by (i) the use of portable music players and (ii) music and non-music activities. The first system is a “listening-level measuring kiosk,” a freely accessible station on which students can place their own headphones or earphones and playback (at their preferred listening levels) music excerpts from their own playlist on an acoustical manikin. The second system is a personal, smartphone-based, “noise exposure” portable measurement device. Users start with an initial training and an audiometry screening, followed by the collection of exposure data during a 4-week assessment period. Personalized results are provided based on individual exposure profile and initial audiogram. The validation of the design of a novel noise exposure risk indicator is based on the feedback from a focus group of young musicians. This paper describes the measurement systems, assessment process, and preliminary results from the ongoing pilot studies.

Вопросы преподавания ритмики в системе подготовки педагога-музыканта

The reform of the Russian higher and intermediate musical education, which began in the late 20th century created the possibility of gradually setting forth a system of preparation of pedagogues of the middle ranking in the specialization of “Music Theory” in the sphere of education in the sphere of musical rhythm. The implementation of new standards for institutions of higher education have made it possible to include in the list of subjects of the working curriculum of conservatories in the specialization of “Musicology” disciplines of education in the sphere of musical rhythm which provide for the corresponding profile preparation of future specialists for children’s educational institutions. The article acquaints us with some historical suppositions, methodological foundations, the structure and details of disciplines responsible for the metro-rhythmic development of young musicians. The opinion of psychologists is presented, who indicate to pedagogues at the necessity of special attention towards the development of rhythmical capabilities of the students. Characterization is provided of the subjects included in the curriculum of the Magnitogorsk State Conservatory – “The Methodology of Instruction of Rhythm,” “Tutorial Practice of Pedagogical Work (Rhythm).” Keywords: musical rhythm, education in the sphere of musical rhythm, musical rhythmical capabilities.

Musculus Palmaris Longus: Influence on Playing Capability of Keyboard Musicians - Preliminary Report.

Musculus Palmaris Longus (PL) is one of the most variable anatomical structures in the human body. Despite being biomechanically active, it is vastly considered to have no impact on the functionality of the upper extremity in the general population. The aim of this study is to examine the relation between playing capability of young musicians and morphology of Musculus PL and to compare it with the relation between manual capability of non-musicians and morphology of their Musculus PL. 42 forearms of 21 healthy individuals (11 musicians and 10 non-musicians) were subjected to Shaeffer’s test and ultrasound imaging and tested by dynamometer for hand grip strength and the first and fifth finger opposition before and after exertion. No difference in morphology pattern was observed between the groups. In the musicians, a substantial loss of a hand grip strength of the left hand compared to the right hand after exertion, regardless of lateralization, was observed. A disproportion in exhaustion of the musician’s hands with unilateral absence of PL was observed – the difference in grip strength between the dominant and non-dominant hand before and after exertion increased over eight times more than in the musicians with bilateral presence. There is no difference in PL morphology between either the musicians or non-musicians. Regardless of lateralization, the musician’s left hand in musicians seems weaker and therefore more prone to misuse related injuries. PL may play a role in musicians in balancing muscular exhaustion.

Musicians’ career identities: do bohemian and entrepreneurial career identities compete or cohere?

One of the most-discussed tensions in the cultural and creative industries is that between art and commerce, creativity and business, the artistic and the economic logic. This paper investigates in how far this discrepancy manifests itself in young musicians’ career identities. Based on extant qualitative research, we distinguish between bohemian and entrepreneurial career identities. The goal of our study is to understand whether the two compete (stand in tension) or cohere (harmonise). We address this in a quantitative manner, by surveying 146 music students from two Dutch music schools. An exploratory factor analysis reveals three components of musicians’ career identities, which pertain to ‘open-mindedness’, ‘career-mindedness’ and ‘money-mindedness’. The former two unite bohemian and entrepreneurial career identity items. None of the components exhibits exclusively bohemian career identity items. This leads us to conclude that young musicians do not necessarily experience tensions between bohemian and entrepreneurial imperatives. Rather, they hold career identities that combine bohemian and entrepreneurial elements in a synergetic manner.

The keen hearing of young musicians

The keen hearing of young musicians

Musculoskeletal, hearing and skin problems related to playing the instrument

Physical demands, exposure to noise and intense contact of skin with musical instruments - inevitable in musicians' job - influence the development of musculoskeletal, hearing and skin problems. This paper aims at identifying playing-related health problems among Polish musicians and potential differences in this regard between students and professional musicians. This questionnaire study involved 255 musicians who volunteered to participate - 104 students and 151 professional musicians having music education. The study sample included 61% of women. Mean age of the participants equaled 31 years old, mean playing experience - 23 years old. From 10% to 79% (depending on the affected body part) of the studied musicians experienced musculoskeletal problems. Hearing (41% - tinnitus; 43% - hearing impairment and 52% - hyperacusis) and skin problems (69% - callosities, 58% - abrasions and 26% - allergic reactions) were reported less frequently and were assessed as less severe than musculoskeletal symptoms. The studied professionals assessed their hearing problems (hyperacusis, hearing impairment and tinnitus) as significantly more severe than reported by students. Young musicians, in turn, experienced more severe abrasions than the studied professional musicians. We found no significant differences between students and professionals as regards their musculoskeletal problems. Playing-related health risks translate into relatively high prevalence of musculoskeletal as well as hearing and skin problems among musicians. Hence, it is essential for future studies to search for risk factors for these health problems as well as effective corrective and therapeutic measures. Med Pr 2018;69(4):383-394.

Crossing in popular music in D.R. Congo: the mixing of English in Lingala lyrics

ABSTRACTIn the French-dominated multilingual D. R. Congo where Lingala music reigns supreme, it may seem unusual and unexpected to note the presence of English in lyrics where pervasive mixing of French in Lingala lyrics would be an unmarked phenomenon. This remarkable craze for English in Lingala lyrics in the 1970s and 1980s, by young musicians in a period where there was no obsession for, affiliation with, or inspiration from, the hip-hop movement which often carries the seed of (American) English, seems perplexing. It may assumedly symbolize, or project, values ranging from identity – imagined or real – to refusal, rebellion, or subversion and resistance. Better still, hybridization of this kind serves a variety of social, linguistic, or discourse functions. Would it signify a claim for an imagined or real hybrid identity? Was it a symbolic medium for expressing identity and solidarity? This type of phenomenon engenders a singular type of discourse embedded in the historical context of political, socio-economic and cultural changes of the time. The paper seeks to answers these key questions by reflecting on the music in which special crossing was prevalent at the time.

Urban commoning for Jarip (self-standing) and survival: subcultural activism in “Seoul Inferno”

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the spatial practice of a subcultural activism of the “young radicals” in Seoul, South Korea through the lens of urban commoning. As a cohort of people born after the 1980s, these young musicians, artists, and cultural activists have endeavored to create, produce, and transform urban spaces through involvement in a series of anti-eviction protests. In particular, this study investigates how and why radical musicians, artists, and their associates have negotiated the chasms among their personal lifestyle, collective subculture, and political activism by pursuing their spatial practices for self-standing and survival over the past 10 years. Although not necessarily place specific, several cases are drawn from a group that relocated to the central area of Seoul since the mid-2010s, making its urban activism a subcultural (and transcultural) formation.

“Sun Arise”: The Appropriation of Australia’s First Peoples’ Music, 1956–1974

ABSTRACTWhile the music of Australia’s First Peoples contributes to a growing list of academic books and articles, the appropriation of that music by non-Indigenous pop musicians has received little academic attention. During the 1950s and 1960s, Australian audiences dismissed early attempts at fusing pop with Indigenous instrumentation as embarrassingly kitsch; at the same time, many Australian historians and archaeologists viewed Aboriginality as something primitive, a relic of the “stone-age”. Consequently, there was very little commentary on the cross-pollination between pop and Indigenous music. This article examines this phenomenon. Drawing on contemporary newspaper articles and vinyl record releases, this article argues that pop music appropriated Australia’s Indigenous music soon after art developing its fusions with Indigenous culture. Older popular musicians were more prepared to experiment than young pop performers. The reluctance of young pop musicians to experiment with Indigenous music was primarily an economic decision—American rock’n’rollers had captured the local teenage market. After more recordings of Aboriginal music became commercially available, interest in Indigenous music accelerated, and younger non-Indigenous musicians saw opportunities to incorporate Indigenous themes and instrumentation into their own material.

Time and Perennial Philosophy in Paulo Coelho’s Aleph

ABSTRACTPaulo Coelho’s Aleph is a novel about ‘time’ and the human experience of time via Aleph, a magical point in the universe that renders possible time travel into the era of the Spanish Inquisition to witness the tragic process of condemning a group of young girls to death. The novel is also reminiscent of its precursor, ‘The Aleph,’ a short story by Jorge Luis Borges. In this essay, I briefly examine Coelho’s novel in respect to Borges’s short story and the Greek and Judeo-Christian conceptions of time. More extensively, I probe the complexity of Coelho’s depiction of time, the two modes of Aleph, and the experience of time and reincarnation by drawing upon Gilles Deleuze’s two diverse, albeit intersecting, approaches to time and its dimensions: the Chronos and Aion conceptions of time and the three syntheses of past, present, and future. As the novel delineates the contours of a shared experience of time by a Christian author and a young Muslim musician, I investigate how Aleph, in Coelho’s novel, functions as a perennial symbol of convergence and compassion among the followers of ostensibly irreconcilable religions.

The keen hearing of young musicians

The keen hearing of young musicians

Young musicians’ career identities: do bohemian and entrepreneurial career identities compete or cohere?

One of the most-discussed tensions in the cultural and creative industries is that between art and commerce, creativity and business, the artistic and the economic logic. This paper investigates in how far this discrepancy manifests itself in young musicians’ career identities. Based on extant qualitative research, we distinguish between bohemian and entrepreneurial career identities. The goal of our study is to understand whether the two compete (stand in tension) or cohere (harmonise). We address this in a quantitative manner, by surveying 146 music students from two Dutch music schools. An exploratory factor analysis reveals three components of musicians’ career identities, which pertain to ‘open-mindedness’, ‘career-mindedness’ and ‘money-mindedness’. The former two unite bohemian and entrepreneurial career identity items. None of the components exhibits exclusively bohemian career identity items. This leads us to conclude that young musicians do not necessarily experience tensions between bohemian and entrepreneurial imperatives. Rather, they hold career identities that combine bohemian and entrepreneurial elements in a synergetic manner.

Teaching young musicians expressive performance: an experimental study

ABSTRACTTwenty-nine pupils (aged 8–15) took part in an improvisation test and an experimental vs. control group teaching session. The aim of the improvisation test was to explore whether participants had knowledge about the use of expressive cues to convey basic emotions in improvisations. Assessments of the improvisations by four adjudicators indicated that most pupils in this sample could convey happiness, sadness and anger effectively in improvisations, providing a useful starting point for expressive music performance, which was examined in the experimental study. The experimental study investigated whether discussion of musical character is effective for improving pupils’ expressiveness, by comparing outcomes with a control teaching session that focused on accuracy and technical fluency. Participants’ performances of a ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ musical excerpt pre- and post-teaching were assessed by four adjudicators. Results indicated that the experimental teaching had been significantly more effective for improving expressiveness in the ‘sad’ extract than control teaching.

Effects of Including Information about Hidden Hearing Loss in an Adopt-A-Band Program on College Band Members' Attitudes toward Healthy Hearing Behaviors.

Young musicians may be at risk for developing cochlear synaptopathy (CS), or hidden hearing loss (HHL), that could lead to permanent music-induced hearing loss (MIHL). Patients with CS often complain of tinnitus and/or difficulty understanding speech in noisy situations, even though traditional audiometric testing indicates normal hearing. The aim of this article was to determine the effects of including information about HHL on an Adopt-A-Band program involving college band members' concern about and self-efficacy toward the prevention of MIHL. We conducted a single-blinded, randomized clinical trial. Forty-eight band members participated in this study. Band members were randomly assigned to two Adopt-A-Band presentations, one with and one without information on HHL. Including information about HHL had no effect on these band members' concerns about and self-efficacy toward the prevention of MIHL. However, the Adopt-A-Band program resulted in significantly increased concern for MIHL by 39.5% ( p < 0.0001, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 25-54.2), self-efficacy in its prevention by 79.1% ( p < 0.0001, 95% CI: 66.9-91.2), and plans to use musicians' earplugs while playing by 67.4% ( p < 0.0001, 95% CI: 53.4-81.45). Although inclusion of information about HHL did not have a significant effect, the Adopt-A-Band program, in general, significantly increased the immediate intent of these students to practice healthy hearing behaviors. Future research is needed to determine the long-term effects of using the Adopt-A-Band program with university marching bands' use of healthy hearing behaviors.

New Music Emerging from War: Lingwangwanja during the Frelimo-Renamo Civil Conflict in Mozambique 1977-1992

Lingwalangwanja is a dance tradition performed by young male members of the Makonde society in the northern part of Mozambique, and in south eastern Tanzania. It is usually performed in the evening for the purpose of entertainment. The tradition involves a variety of topical songs, including love, politics, and important social and cultural issues. The emergence of lingwalangwanja is linked to an outbreak of the Frelimo-Renamo civil war in Mozambique when young musicians, due to their fear of landmines, were unable to go to the bush to fetch wild animal-hides and tree-trunks for making drum shells, resorted to improvising alternative musical instruments. These instruments yielded a new dance tradition. Research on this dance tradition is important because most of the studies done on the impact of the civil war in Mozambique have focused on other social, cultural, economic and political aspects; yet there has been no attention paid to the impact of this war on the musical practices of the Makonde, including this dance. By employing an eclectic research methodology, and drawing upon complex theories of musical change, the emergence of lingwalanganja can be revealed as emanating from both the impact of the Frelimo-Renamo civil war in Mozambique, as well as from migratory movements of Makonde of Mozambique to Tanzania, and between the Makonde of both countries. The study draws on fieldwork experience conducted 1995-1998 and upon follow-up research thereafter in the districts of Newala and Mtwara Rural in Mtwara region concerning the music of migrations among the Makonde in Mtwara region, as well as the variety of published sources related to the impact that war and the search for refuge have upon music making.

Effects of Aging on Musical Performance in Professional Orchestral Musicians.

The physical and psychological demands of playing a musical instrument are likely to be affected by age-related decline in function, including physical, cognitive, psychological, and organ-related changes. However, the complex neurophysiological demands of playing a musical instrument may delay many normal aging-related changes. This study compared professional classical musicians of different ages, using a range of physical and psychological measures, to discover how increasing age might affect work performance and to identify possible risk and protective factors for physical and psychological health as the musicians age. 377 professional orchestral musicians from eight Australian orchestras (70% response rate), ages 18 to 68 yrs (mean 42.1). Multiple standardized physical and psychological tools were used to evaluate the impact of age on a range of physical and mental health variables. Age was not statistically associated with frequency or severity of performance-related musculoskeletal disorders, ratings of perceived exertion, QuickDASH scores, use of beta-blockers, workplace satisfaction, and most psychological tests. Differences were observed on SPIN (social anxiety) scores, with lowest scores in the oldest age group (10.66 in 55+ yrs vs 17.83 in 18-30 yrs, p=0.016). Older musicians had higher BMIs and fewer practice sessions per day than younger musicians and also were more likely to consume alcohol on 5+ days/wk (44% vs 9%, p=0.003). Advancing age does not appear to exert undue negative impacts on physical and psychological health or performance capacity of professional orchestral musicians. However, dwindling numbers in the older age groups may suggest a "survivor" effect, whereby those who develop significant age-related decrements may cease professional performance at earlier ages. Longitudinal studies on the professional trajectories of professional orchestral musicians are needed to explore this question further.

Meaning and making: Merchandise practices in the Newcastle DIY scene

Abstract This article explores the relationships between young punk and indie musicians and the merchandise that they produce. Three interlinking analytic distinctions are made in this article of the young musicians’ motivations to make merchandise: building symbolic capital; building economic capital; and serious play. We propose that DIY merchandising entails the construction of an ethical and authentic self through the social gravity of a deeply invested illusio. The research takes place in the DIY music scene of Newcastle, a large regional town on the east coast of Australia. The participants play in punk and indie bands; however, there is a diversity of merchandising practices within the group, highlighting the fluid and complex boundaries of contemporary punk practices. The forms of experimentation, negotiation and strategy encountered illustrate how these meaningful forms of labour are important to struggles about identity and authenticity. Developing and honing merchandise-related skills as a form of ‘serious play’ has facilitated pathways towards self-employment for several of the participants. For this reason, this article draws attention to the diverse applications for expertise in merchandising, manifesting not only in the music scene but in various fields of social life. These circumstances illustrate interesting sociological developments in youth music scenes regarding music-related practices, employment transitions, labour and the transferring of capitals. The social relationships involved in merchandising are analytically explored using a Bourdieusian framework that considers punk as a social practice.

Evaluating the Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI) on Tertiary Students' in Malaysia

This study evaluates the level of music performance anxiety (MPA) using the Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI). Participants are tertiary students from Malaysian universities (Universiti Teknologi MARA UiTM, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris UPSI and ASWARA). The objective of the study was to measure the level of MPA by Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI). The survey was distributed to 316 randomly selected respondents representing semester one to semester five (UiTM), semester one to semester six (UPSI) and semester one to semester seven (ASWARA) participants. The data were analysed using SPSS version 22 software to obtain frequencies and percentages. The KMPAI (Cronbach’s a .882) was reliable and valid for this sample. Normality test, reliability test and frequencies for demographic was demonstrated by significant positive effect to measure the level of MPA. These results support the use of this instrument as a screening tool for MPA in young musicians.

Інтеграційні процеси в професійній підготовці музикантів як основа їхнього духовного розвитку

The article substantiates the relevance of the introduction into the professional training of students of musicians on the principle of integration. The philosophical and pedagogical definition of such concepts as “spirituality”, “spiritual values” of a student-musician is given. The purpose of the article is to introduce the principle of integration into professional training, the impact of integration processes on the development of the spirituality of students-musicians. The goal and advantages of integration training as the basis for the spiritual development of a student-musician are determined.The humanistic paradigm of education (V. P. Andrushchenko, I. A. Zyazyun, A. M. Stepashko) is the methodological basis for solving the problems of the article. A synergetic approach to the processes of development and self-development of spirituality, the thinking of the student, his creative “Self” (V. G. Budanov, V. V. Vasilkov). One of the areas of development of the conceptual foundations of the moral development of student-musician is the introduction into the educational process of the principle of integration of knowledge about the spiritual sphere of man, spiritual values, as the foundations of human culture.It is impossible to give education on the principles of a particular science, regardless of other sciences. This integration is an organic combination of the information of other educational disciplines around the topic of music, musical interpretation, is one of the most promising innovations that imposes new conditions for the activities of teachers and students, has a great influence on the effectiveness of the perception of young musicians learning material. Integration processes in the professional training of young musicians have become more and more important in recent years as they are aimed at implementing new educational ideals — the formation of a holistic knowledge system about musical art and performing skills, the development of students’ creative musical abilities and spirituality. The essence of the principle of integration is based on scientifically grounded, organic interpenetration of different areas of knowledge: in the form of a set of associations, symbols, categories, etc., taking into account the psychological and pedagogical features of the personality of student-musician in order to optimize and increase the effectiveness of forming a coherent picture of the world, value orientations and phenomena of art within the same subject. Thus, the use of the principle of integration in educational activities (in reliance on the widespread use of subject relations) contributes to developing, humanistic learning, in turn, stimulating the spiritual development of a student-musician.