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- Volume 3, Issue 2, 2011
Journal of Music, Technology & Education - Volume 3, Issue 2-3, 2011
Volume 3, Issue 2-3, 2011
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Cultural perceptions, ownership and interaction with re-purposed musical instruments
More LessThis article addresses the perceptions, ownership and interactions between users of re-purposed devices that now form musical instruments, how they are used, perceived and whether this owes anything to their original context as a gaming devices. For the research, specially designed software was created to mimic the performance of a musical instrument for use in a workshop setting. The software relies on groups of five or more players interacting together to perform music beyond that of simple experimentation, and in order to teach basic musicianship through the use of a familiar device, A Nintendo DS. The initial workshop took place at The Box, FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) a multimedia arts facility based in Liverpool. The workshop on 1 February 2010 had participants answer multiple questionnaires, take part in audio and video recordings as well as interviews to ascertain the effectiveness of the design and potential of the concept.
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Exploring contexts for development: Secondary music students’ computermediated composing
More LessThis article is from an ongoing doctoral study working towards an understanding of compositional development that attends not only to the processes and products of composing but also to the social and cultural contexts that shape classroom computer- mediated composing processes. The case reported in this article is part of a multiple case study carried out with classroom music students aged between 14 and 16 over twelve months. Changes in students’ composing processes are explored over time through the systematic mapping of their composing strategies. Rich data banks generated from participant observations, video observations, MIDI recordings, semistructured interviews, documents and computer files were constructed and videostimulated recall interviews are used to position the students as collaborators in the research process. The findings describe a transition through three phases of development that are distinct both in the physical tools employed and the nature of the composing context. The findings suggest a need to increase the range of resources available to music students in schools.
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Calibrating a bowing checker for violin students
Authors: Cordelia V. Hall and John T. O’DonnellPlaying a string instrument, such as the violin, requires solving many problems in controlling the bow. For example, the player may find that ‘saving bow’ is crucial to getting through a passage, yet not know why. Computer models may be able to help musicians to understand such problems better and to find solutions. We have developed a simple bowing model that analyses a piece of music and calculates predicted bow speeds and positions. The model takes account of notes, slurs and ties, tempo, and dynamics. It has been implemented as a computer program that reads a score, analyses it and outputs an annotated score that indicates detailed information about the predicted bow positions and speeds. To support practical applications, as well as further research, the model needs to be validated and calibrated. In this article, we compare the predictions of the model with the performances of one of us, a violinist with a professional violin performance education. The results indicate that the model is accurate enough to predict places where practical difficulties, such as running out of bow, are likely to occur.
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Frameworks and affordances: Understanding the tools of music-making
By James MooneyThis article presents a simple and flexible model in which the tools of music-making (‘frameworks’) are viewed in terms of what they allow us to do (their ‘affordances’). The model has analytical and pedagogical applications in any discipline that involves interactions with tools. This article focuses on musical applications and will therefore be of particular interest to music educators, composers, performers and researchers seeking an alternative perspective on the relationship between music and the tools used to compose and perform it. The model deals with technology in a broad sense that includes traditional acoustic instruments and other non-electronic tools as well as electronic and computer technologies. An account of how the frameworks and affordances model could be usefully applied in teaching and research, with specific examples, is given.
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Tactus: Didactic design and implementation of a pedagogically sound-based rhythm-training computer program
Authors: Jesús Tejada, Manuel Pérez Gil and Rafael García PérezThis article presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a computer program (Tactus) for musical rhythm training (perception, production and representation) at conservatories, music schools and universities. Firstly, a computerprogram- based rhythm-training model designed in an earlier study was adopted in order to derive a technical checklist to analyse existing commercial rhythm-training software. This original model had been prepared with several sources of information: music education methods, teaching praxes and conservatory faculty members’ opinions and perceptions. Secondly, these existing commercial programs were analysed and several problems related with didactics were detected. Finally, as a consequence, a new computer program was conceived using the didactic design derived from the training model. This design included characteristics related to the following: content order, didactic approach and activities (perception–production, creation, reading– writing), didactic resources (ostinati, real music from several cultures, non-conventional and conventional notation), as well as evaluation of students’ performance. Tactus was finally evaluated at eleven music education institutions in Spain and Chile by adult and young students (n=185) as well as teachers (n=51) with qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The high scores obtained in the evaluation suggest a high applicability of Tactus as a useful didactic medium in the processes of rhythm teaching and learning in real classroom situations. It can also be suggested that one reason for the high scores could be the aforementioned characteristics of Tactus and in particular the fact that Tactus does not follow the typical top-bottom approach in teaching rhythm, but instead allows users to firstly, perceive and produce; secondly, represent the sound; and finally, read and understand the theory subjacent to the western rhythm metric system.
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Blogging transforming music learning and teaching: Reflections of a teacher-researcher
More LessThere has been much recognition that blogging can develop writing skills, foster reflective thinking, enable higher-order learning, including the development of critical thinking skills, and facilitate collaborative knowledge building. In the area of music teaching, blogging has been particularly used to facilitate collaborative compositional projects. In this article, the teacher-researcher reflects on his five-year experiences of using blogging in his music theory and analysis classes to examine how the adoption of this particular piece of social software has transformed not only students’ learning of music theory but also his own teaching. In effect, we witness the extent blogging has become a ‘disruptive technology’ in a particular music-educational context. The discussion will heighten music educators’ awareness of some of the potential benefits of blogging (or similar social software) as well as possible pitfalls or tradeoffs pertaining to music learning.
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Exploration on potential connections between music education and teaching Mandarin to westerners: Evidence from Taiwanese universities
By Tiija RintaStudying tonal languages has become increasingly popular in the West over the past decade due to the growing economy in the Far East. It has been argued that westerners who have a background in music find it easier to learn a tonal language, including Mandarin. The current study aimed at exploring the perceptions and experiences of western students learning Mandarin and those of their teachers. The focus was on exploring the role of music and music software in Mandarin teaching and learning practice. A total of 29 students and 25 teachers were interviewed at two different universities in Taiwan. The collective response was that musical engagement and using music in the classroom can be of great benefit for the students. Reasons for such a view varied, ranging from the effect of music on enhancing memory for pitch to clearer demonstration of Mandarin pronunciation through the use of singing. In addition, software that depicts the pitch changes of the language and turns them into a song was regarded as a beneficial pedagogic tool. The present study demonstrates that a future, systematic study of developing and evaluating such a pedagogic software would be essential in clarifying the indicated connections.
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BOOK REVIEW
By Rowan OliverMUSICAL RHYTHM IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL REPRODUCTION, ANNE DANIELSEN (ED.), 2010 Aldershot: Ashgate, 252 pp., ISBN: 978-1-4094-0340-1, hardback, £60.00
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