ABSTRACT. As a professional musician, have you ever stopped to think what it is like for students with special educational needs to access a formal Western Classical Music curriculum? In this workshop, we act as iconoclasts to break down barriers to musical learning. Drawing on experimental music traditions, we challenge participants to break free and enjoy making sounds. This workshop explores three alternative approaches to sound art: #Shuffle by Alison Knowles and two musical installations curated by Samuel D Loveless: ‘Letting go’ and ‘Somewhere’. The underlying pedagogic principle here is inclusive participation without any prior musical knowledge. Our findings suggest that making sound – note, not making music – is open to all. In this workshop, you will use your body, explore how you can make music with a balloon and experiment with vocal melodies based on Arlen’s Somewhere over the Rainbow. We would suggest that approaching improvisation and composing through sound enables students, whatever their musical background, to get involved and learn about musical and compositional elements through exploration. Our current research suggests that many other-than-classical musicians find this approach more accessible. If we are to challenge the traditional hegemony of performance pedagogy in HE and secondary education, music theory and teaching notation, this has profound implications for the current approaches to music composition and performance, which, we would suggest, need to be reconsidered to make music performance accessible to all, including SEN students. By participating in this workshop, you will discover how sound can empower your students to discover their musical selves.

ABSTRACT. In December 2020 the Incorporated Society of Musicians declared that ‘the heart of the school is missing’ in their report on music education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving classroom teaching online meant that pupils were unable to participate in music making, but following the pandemic, many schools began to integrate some of these online learning practices into in-person education. However, the impact of changing online learning practices upon teachers, pupils and current music pedagogies in the United Kingdom is yet to be addressed, and as such this research directly addresses these themes.

This paper explores themes of music education, technology, and the COVID-19 pandemic, analysing how these factors have interacted and their potential benefit to music education. First, it examines the presence of online education before the pandemic and the place of technology within the music classroom and individual music lessons. It then considers the literature published on music education both during and following the pandemic, in which many educators found themselves unable to teach in person. Given the gap in current research into educators’ own reflections on the impact that the increased incorporation of digital pedagogy has had as a result of enforced isolation, it next presents the findings of an online survey study, in which music educators throughout the United Kingdom submitted their thoughts regarding the place of digital pedagogy in music education and the impact of the pandemic on their teaching. The survey was distributed to both classroom and extra-curricular music teachers via social media platforms and music educator magazine mailing lists, and in total it received 139 valid responses. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected to assess the changing uses and pedagogical impacts of technologies as a result of the pandemic. Using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, this paper identifies emergent themes relating to the short-term and long-term impact of the pandemic on both music educators and pupils.

Drawing on the survey responses gathered, this paper analyses educators’ perceptions of the resulting impact of digital pedagogies adopted during the pandemic upon pupils and their learning experiences. For example, comparing educators’ use of technology for interactions with pupils before and since the pandemic, 56% (n = 78) of respondents said they used technology more in these interactions since the pandemic. This was compared to 9% (n = 13) who used it less and 35% (n = 35) that saw no change from before the pandemic. However, in total only 41% (n = 57) of respondents could answer confidently that they felt supported during the transition to online teaching, and as a result a small percentage (7% , n = 10) believed that technology had been of no benefit since the pandemic. This implies that among this sample of music educators from the United Kingdom more support is needed for implementing digital pedagogy in the music classroom.

As a result, the paper proposes a framework for ensuring the beneficial application of technology in music education. Using participants’ survey responses, it illustrates a tripartite structure of pedagogical change based on the themes of the use of digital resources, changes in personal pedagogy and supporting pupil wellbeing. It proposes that balancing these three themes is most likely to ensure the beneficial application of digital pedagogy in both the music classroom and private lessons. However, presently the experience of educators differs across the United Kingdom, based on factors such as disparities in financial support for their departments and the provision of education for educators. Although most respondents in the survey are open to digital pedagogy and the use of technology in the classroom, many are lacking in confidence and knowledge, which then results in less beneficial outcomes for both pupils and educators alike. Therefore, this paper calls for the requirement to provide sufficient and enriching education for educators in order to create a successful environment for digital pedagogy in the music classroom. It is hoped that by acknowledging these problems music educators are facing – alongside the positive implementation of digital music education pedagogy – in future we can work to ensure that technology is incorporated into learning in a way that is beneficial for both pupils and educators.

ABSTRACT. This presentation reports on findings from a study of (n=105) participants in Australia, which investigated how music educators applied technology across their teaching in varied online contexts and face-to-face scenarios. It specifically examines the types of professional learning they accessed, their usage of devices and software and the shifting patterns of usage across different learning environments (studios, online, classrooms). Data were analysed from a larger project ‘Re-imaging the future: Music teaching and learning, and ICT in blended environments in Australia’ that was developed and commenced in 2021 by the researchers.

After ethical approval were received, data were collected anonymously from teachers via a mixed-methods online survey. Invitations to participate were emailed from professional music associations to their members and (n=105) responded. Drawing on selected qualitative and quantitative data, this presentation highlights the myriad of ways teachers accessed Professional Learning (PL) to improve their teaching, the types of software and devices they regularly integrated within their practice, combined with illustrations of practice that emerged. Using the analyses across all respondents, a framework for the development and implementation of ‘real-world’ music teaching is presented, which involves four key components that form a Professional Learning Quadrant. Through the exploration and explanation of each quadrant (D=Device, E=Environment, L=Learning focus, and P=Pedagogy), a case is made for a shift in the design, provision, and access to Professional Learning to support educators as they integrate digital technologies in diverse music learning contexts. The data highlights the need for creative, adaptive, and purposeful design that reflects the changing needs of the curriculum, while supporting teachers and their students. The key findings highlight the need to move away from a ‘one size fits all’ PL model by providing customised training that enables music educators to be empowered by developing the skills and knowledge they require to create equitable access to digital learning environments, whether in performance, composition, listening or musicology. Implications regarding the need for increased intersection with the music industry and technology providers, coupled with teacher training are presented.

ABSTRACT. During the Pandemic music educators were forced to exist predominantly through their online world, whereby their day-to-day teaching experience was surrounded by multiple devices, whether it be using computers, phones, tablets, combined with a multitude of peripherals (screens, microphones, and cameras). These were used to support the intricate needs of teaching, combined with creating, sharing, and archiving audio and video within the online environment. The Teaching Music Online in Higher Education (TMOHE) conference was created and delivered for the first time in 2020, followed by 2021 and then again in 2022 (in conjunction with Sempre) as a means of connection and collaborative professional learning amongst educators globally. This presentation will overview the purpose behind such an event, the impact that it crated and most importantly, the professional support, connection and learning it provided to music educators around the world.

The presenters will highlight the key affordances that the delivery and facilitation of an online conference provided participants, with reference to the Higher Education Conference Report (Merrick & Johnson, 2020) that evaluated responses from n=143 participants. Implications for the sharing of ‘real-world’ practice across diverse styles, locations, and contexts (studios, ensembles, classrooms) are presented, with a focus on the importance of providing a structured professional learning experience that engages participants, while creating an online environment that fosters shared learning and collaboration amongst practitioners in the field. The affordance of this TMOHE conference design and the implications for sustainability are also discussed. Benefits relating to enhanced communication, communities of practice, shared pedagogy, combined with the intersection of research, teaching practice and social structures for connection amongst participants are featured as key findings. The presentation concludes with recommendations for the ongoing use of online professional learning experiences for the dissemination of digital technology applications in teaching, given that the design enables affordable, relevant professional learning opportunities, via synchronous and asynchronous delivery regardless of location or device. The sustainable nature of this type of online event is evidenced through the digital collation and archiving of all presentations and resources, which can be easily housed on an LMS enabling flexible access when required.

ABSTRACT. This presentation will demonstrate the pre-release of v3 of emuso™, a desktop toolset created by MusicIncite Ltd, for building skills in music concepts related to improvisation. Based on learnings of music psychology, this is intended to help guitarists that have struggled with theory in the past or have hit creative roadblocks due to learning from guitar tab without understanding of note choice. The emuso platform provides interactive content giving foundational instruction in theory, melody, and rhythm and comes with several interactive visualisations. These include interactive virtual guitars and piano (music constructs can migrate across these), editable scale and chord construct libraries, support for self-creation of music constructs including own scale pathways, a chord progression explorer (diatonic generated from scale), secondary dominants, borrowed chords), inversion, and translation of patterns selected from scales and chords, a visual harmony explorer using a clock instrument linked to the instruments, and an ear trainer. A rhythm explorer supports one-click transfer of selected patterns into one or more tracks, where the rhythm is visually designed independent of pitch, and both are independently editable. This is also used for timing and loading/creating technique practice. The notes presented on-instrument can be labelled in many ways, the main one being based on intervals (and initially semitones from a datum point) thus allowing note names to be de-prioritised. Collectively this avoids the use of music notation and knowledge of note names and note name locations on-instrument, meaning music can start to be musically explored on day-one, after basic familiarisation with the tools. Emuso comes with interactive help. Interactions can also be synchronised against video (e.g. a guitar lesson about a song). Emuso v3 is due for release in Q3. V3 has had many UI/UX improvements. It is being used in Taiwan university and high school guitar clubs (with a MIDI guitar controller that send commands to emuso), in the USA for helping Army veterans deal with PTSD by learning guitar, in France for individual tuition, and is being assessed by an educational advisor to State of Michigan who thinks it will be hard to keep teenagers off it. MusicIncite would be honoured to provide emuso v3 to music psychologists and educationalists for assessment. (Please note our site, emuso.buzz, is selling and trialling v2, not v3)

ABSTRACT. tbc

ABSTRACT. In the last 30 years, digital technology has changed music making. These changes have been studied in the context of music education. However empirical previous studies have been limited by being narrow in their sample size, only sampling advanced users of digital technology or pre-service teachers. The majority of the research also predates the major technological shifts that have occurred in the last five years (e.g. browser-based Digital Audio Workstations) and the impact of online teaching through the Covid-19 pandemic. Previous studies have focused on the relationships between teacher beliefs at the introductory or integration phase of digital technology. It has not been determined how secondary school classroom music teachers in New Zealand conceptualize music education in light of the country's unique curriculum and assessment framework. Neither is there any recent empirical research that provides insights into the relationship and influence of teacher beliefs with their experience and practice of digital technologies in the classroom. This paper examines the experience, practices, and beliefs of secondary school music teachers in New Zealand with the goal of attaining the essence of their experience as a combined cohort. The methodological approach uses a transcendental phenomenology lens, drawing on Husserlian phenomenology. The two-part mixed methods study includes nationwide online survey (N=156) of and estimated 40% of the cohort followed by six case studies. The major finding of the study is that teachers’ curriculum decisions are made within the praxicalist framework, the most recent iteration of the education theory of praxialism. Participating teachers revealed what teachers believe is valuable knowledge in the digital age. This in turn has informed a clearer view of how teachers are navigating teaching music in a digitally infused environment. Two other key factors in their curriculum decisions are the influence of current music praxis of musicians, and the position of teachers as teaching experts, rather than knowledge or digital technology experts. Both curriculum and assessment policy were identified to not be barriers for the teachers. Possible implications of these findings for music education are the extent to which teacher beliefs and autonomy need to be considered in the content of the curriculum and assessment. This paper will conclude with potential areas of support needed for teachers when curriculum and assessment are changed, as is the case currently in New Zealand.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Playing a piano keyboard can provide a broad range of therapeutic benefits, such as strengthening fine motor muscles in the hands and fingers through physical rehabilitation or helping improve cognition processes for those with intellectual/developmental disabilities. The non-profit organization Music Therapy Gateway in Communications (MTGIC) recently partnered with a regional library to pilot a music learning program incorporating hand-drawn, color-coded charts that symbolize music notes. This visual representation allows children with intellectual or developmental disabilities to have an opportunity to play a variety of songs alongside their neurotypical peers. In response to multiple requests for additional charts, a computer program was developed to create a new visual notation system called Notes2Blocks. These charts are now widely available on the MTGIC website free of charge for those who cannot read traditional Western music notation. By matching a simple color grid chart with color-coded keys, populations (e.g., children with developmental disabilities such as autism) who are unable to read traditional music notation can play a favorite song, or persons recovering from stroke or other motor challenges can be motivated to strengthen muscles in hands and fingers.

Methods & Materials: A music .xml music file generated from Finale notation software serves as input into a Java-based program; the program deciphers the file and generates a color-coded grid, symbolizing each note in a straightforward visual configuration. Java was chosen as the computer language to use for programming since it runs almost universally on most operating systems. The output chart format is contained within a .jpg file and therefore available for universal access on many different devices. To avoid visual confusion, the charts are organized diatonically with a three-octave maximum availability. The graph design easily illustrates the rise and fall of a melodic pattern (unlike traditional notation, which does not represent literal keyboard spacing) with a specific color representing each note. Charts are available for using left and right hands together, or for left hand only or right hand only to suit user preference. An accompanying .mp3 audio file is also available for the user to listen to for each chart.

Results: New charts are created expeditiously simply by playing into a MIDI keyboard, exporting the .xml file as input into the JAVA program, and loading the files into an online database. Individual notes on a keyboard are marked with coordinating color labels so the client can match the note with the color. To serve a variety of musical preferences, charts are available in diverse styles and arrangements including children’s songs, easy classical music, hymns, and popular music arrangements that fall within public domain. For use in physical therapy, the developers are now exploring the option of real-time data collection on MIDI output. The MIDI data allows tracking of note name and velocity (the force a note is played) to record improvement in note accuracy and finger strength as the user is playing.

Discussion: This project falls neatly into the intersection of technology, science, music, and health. Examples of populations who could benefit from this method include persons affected with Parkinsonism, Alzheimer’s, stroke, autism, or traumatic brain injury. Even neurotypical individuals who don’t read music could play for their own enjoyment. In addition, Notes2Blocks could be applied to create a social network in educational hubs or assisted living centers. MTGIC is a strong advocate of professionals from various occupations working together to lend their expertise in finding a solution to a problem. Notes2Blocks was inspired by this type of shared effort involving professionals from intersecting backgrounds.

ABSTRACT. In this paper, we will be presenting a number of examples of creative use and a-buse of technology in supporting people that have undergone laryngectomy (the removal of the voice box) due to throat cancer. These are going to be offered as research informed vignettes that inform rehabilitation praxes in a creative, inclusive and exciting way.

ABSTRACT. According to research conducted since 2012/2013, (Whittaker et al., 2019; Savage 2018, 2020) the provision of public examinations such as GCSE and A-level Music is under serious threat. These qualifications require students to perform, compose and critically analyse musical works selected by the examination board. Whilst the performing element of these qualifications seems to be adequately supported by schools, Music Hubs and private tuition, students are increasingly turning towards technology-based approaches to music creation and production, not necessarily in school, as articulated by Folkestad in a keynote at the 2022 SEMPRE conference in London. Furthermore, whilst traditional approaches to music composition used to be firmly situated in the Western Classical Art tradition, it could be argued that some music teachers may be clinging to these traditions, despite their students’ preference for music technology and digitally based genres. How, therefore, can music educators adapt their pedagogy to encourage wider participation in musical composition and performance in secondary schools?

This paper critically analyses the response of music teachers, musicians, music students and young people to a fully immersive ninety-minute sound installation project. We examine the extent to which participants break free from traditional composition, performance and improvisation techniques in order to understand approaches to sound art. Through thematic analysis of video recordings and workshop written feedback, different responses to creating sound, storytelling and performance are identified. Whilst findings point towards mixed levels of confidence in working in new ways from all five groups, as such installations are equitable and open to all, consideration should also be given to the potential benefits of this approach for participants who are neurodiverse or have specific learning needs which make traditional approaches to notation-based composition challenging. Furthermore, exposure to sound art in primary and secondary education might also initiate an interest in music that would not otherwise be realised because of the restrictions of the current traditional approach. We conclude that developing approaches to sound installation may have positive benefits for a wide range of student musicians in school settings and we call for further training for music educators to gain awareness and embrace such pedagogical approaches to widen participation in music in HE, as well as offering enriching musical experiences in the wider community.

ABSTRACT. In light of the dramatic shifts effecting the global educational landscape, addressing the critical need for inclusive and innovative music education has become increasingly a priority. This is especially true given the evidenced benefits of music participation on overall health and wellbeing. Therefore, explorations into the role of technology in inclusive pedagogies across music teaching and learning contexts is required. Providing access to music learning and inclusive opportunities may not only be situated within schools, but also beyond formal institutions. Music learning, which often takes place in group classrooms or one-to-one settings can serve as a catalyst for change and the adoption of inclusive pedagogies and technologies. It is for this reason that we have chosen to examine technology in piano teaching and learning in the piano studio and group piano classroom. The research team adopted a qualitative research design, conducting interviews with diverse innovators identifying as teachers, software developers, leaders, and researchers. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, we explore participants’ lived experiences and first-hand insights through the combined frameworks of Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) alongside the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) model. Our overarching research questions were:

1. What technologies impacted the pedagogies and content of piano teaching among leaders in piano pedagogy? 2. What role did technologies play in the pedagogies they employ and the content they teach? 3. How does a teacher’s identity with and acceptance of technology begin and evolve? 4. What have been innovative ways of using technology in piano teaching and what were the motivations for choosing and integrating technology? 5. How might piano pedagogy continue to move forward innovatively with technology? The results of this study provide a global perspective on the profound transformations born out of the integration of technology into piano teaching and learning. While the participants in this project represented diverse backgrounds and unique professional identities, they shared the value of technology as a means to improve access and achieve pedagogical, creative, or musical goals. Participants reported the effects of technology in increasing engagement, motivation, and agency in the teaching and learning process. The integration of technology across these teaching contexts formed a complementary and symbiotic relationship with more traditional approaches to music teaching and learning. Emerging from the thematic analysis were key factors that influenced the acceptance and efficacy of technology, including the importance of mentors who shape IT identities and fostered overall acceptance of technologies.

Additionally, integrating both the TPACK and UTAUT frameworks provided a comprehensive perspective for analyzing the impact of technology integration in piano pedagogy. This approach not only helped in understanding participants’ experiences but also revealed the intricate interplay between technology tools, instructional strategies, and content. The study raises important questions regarding the use of technology in piano teaching, teacher education, and professional development, as well as potential strategies for sustainable piano pedagogy.

ABSTRACT. Music, as a “language of emotions” (Cooke, 1959), plays an important role in many people’s daily lives. Its ability to communicate and induce emotions is valued by audiences (Juslin & Laukka, 2004). Although post-listening measurement is widely adopted in the studies of musical emotions, as music is an “art of time” (Alperson, 1980, p.407), this study is focused on the real-time measurement of participants’ psychophysiological and self-reported emotional response to music.

Russell’s 2-dimensional circumplex model of emotions (Russell, 1980) was adopted in this study. Participants were asked to self-report each dimension (valence and arousal) of their real-time emotional responses to two pieces of sad erhu music on Continuous Response Measurement Apparatus (Himonides, 2011) while their psycho-physiological responses (Galvanic Skin Response and finger pulse) were recorded simultaneously at a sampling rate of 1000Hz.

Participants’ raw data were recorded and partially processed in Labchart (ADInstruments Pty Ltd, 2010). Due to the high sampling rate, meaningful data as well as the noises were recorded. Labchart was used for 1) the process of down-sampling and smoothing of raw GSR data, 2) the transform of raw finger pulse data to heart rate, 3) the time-frequency analysis of heart rate variability. The musical features (pitch, intensity, and tempo) from the musical materials were extracted by using the software Praat (Boersma, 2001) and Sonic Visualiser (Cannam et al., 2010). The Python programming language were then used for the rest of the data processing, the further analyses of processed data, as well as their visualisation.

Finally, a replicable and easily extensible framework for data processing and analysis was initially established, which is designed to explore and investigate 1) the impact of music on emotional and psycho-physiological responses in a real-time setting; 2) the correlation between psycho-physiological and emotional responses.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: India is a country of varying religions, dialects, traditions, customs, edibles, music, art, and architecture woven in a garland of patriotism and unity. One of the most distinguishing qualities of Indian culture is the Indian mindset, which can be characterized as welcoming, greeting, celebrating in a united way with immense affection and togetherness. Indian culture is quite rich not only because of its own heritage but also because it has assimilated the traits and cultures of the world. Modern historical and cultural research shows that Indian music has developed within a very complex interaction between people of different races and cultures. Indian music includes varieties of folk music, classical music, film music (named as Bollywood), Indian rock, and Indian pop. The Music of India has been evolving for ages with the changing realities of the society and thus every city in India has a genre of music associated with it. However, the COVID-19 global pandemic resulted in disruptive, unusual, and uncertain conditions and became a new normal in today's world with a marked change in the consumption pattern and absorption of music and music apps in India. The music industry is relatively non-telecommutable, making working from home difficult during the imposed lockdown and social distancing norms. These conditions had adverse effects on the physical and mental health of music professionals. Therefore, it was crucial to understand the differential impact of COVID-19 on music professionals to find effective solutions and plan for future careers in a changed music industry.

Method: The current paper qualitatively explored the experiences of the music professionals participating in this research during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. For this reason, a call to invite volunteers for research participation was circulated among the music professionals via various social networks (e.g., WhatsApp groups, Facebook pages, and snowball sampling by initially identified participants). Efforts were made to identify participants who were at their early career stages. Participants meeting the purposive sampling criteria were telephonically interviewed one by one. After interviewing 12 participants saturation were achieved and interviews were stopped. The present study, therefore, is conducted on a total of 12 participants, including singers, instrumentalists, music teachers, composers, YouTube content creators residing in the State of Maharashtra, State of Uttar Pradesh, and the national capital of India, Delhi. Among the participants, seven were singers; three were instrumentalists, two were singer cum YouTube creators, and one participant was singer cum composer. Three participants were working as music teachers while others were freelancing in various capacities before the beginning of the pandemic. The age group of the participants ranged from 25-40 years. The average age of their professional experience was eight years. The interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis.

Results: The thematic content analysis resulted in the emergence of Four themes which are as follows: Emotional and psychological impact, social impact, impact specific to music professionals and coping reactions. These results are indicative of the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in anxiety and fear about the post pandemic career plans and outcomes. Also, the feeling of helplessness was reported by the professionals who were in the early years of their professional experience. They clearly mentioned the fact that professionally they were still in their formative years and due to the COVID-19 restrictions, they were 'losing valuable time' which otherwise could have been used in their training and practice. It seemed that the stage at which the participants' career was (i.e., the extent to which they were professionally established) had played an essential role in contributing to the feelings of helplessness. Those with less professional experience seemed to experience more intense feelings of helplessness. The results also indicated an efficient and effective adoption by the music professionals to survive under the extreme circumstances posed by the pandemic. The music professionals reported the use of active acceptance, habituation, positive life orientation and creative thinking to mitigate the challenged they faced. Active acceptance has been found to be an adaptive strategy that results in positive psychological outcomes.

Conclusion: The present research findings are significant as they contribute to our understanding of the differential impact of COVID 19 on music professionals participating in the study. The music industry is vast, with several people gaining employment from it. However, the pandemic has adversely affected the industry along with those who are a part of it. By describing the nature of such an impact, the current study's findings can help effectively plan the future of the industry and find solutions. The study also provides an insight into the pros and cons of the mitigating actions taken by the music professionals participating in the current research during the pandemic. Based on the findings the present research has also suggested to develop a resilience plan to protect the music professionals in the current and future crisis situations.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this research was to examine the mental health of undergraduate music students within the setting of a private music school environment in the United States, focusing specifically on levels of general anxiety. The main research question that guided this study was to explore whether any significant differences exist in anxiety levels among undergraduate music students based on factors such as gender, major field of study, primary instrument, and academic year. In this study I assessed the generalized anxiety levels of 51 undergraduate music major participants enrolled in an undergraduate music program at a private music institution in the US. Utilizing the GAD-7 measure, I examined potential factors such as major, gender, primary instrument, and year in the program that may influence anxiety levels. I found that participants' mean GAD-7 scores (11.04) fall within the 'moderate' range, indicative of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). I also found a significant difference in general anxiety levels based on gender, with non-binary students exhibiting higher scores compared to their binary peers.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Music Perception Skill includes ability to detect modulations in tonal (melody, pitch), qualitative (tuning, timbre, embedded rhythm) and temporal features (tempo, accent, rhythm). Less is understood about how these features contribute to Music Perception when people with or without musical training listen to audio clips. We examined how perceptual features of music independently and/or in concert with each other represent music perception skill across musicians (primarily trained in eastern musical instruments) and non-musicians using PROMS-S in Indian context. We investigated what features are unique in defining music perception skill for musicians and non-musicians. We also examined how duration of training modulates construction of music perception skill through features using Principal Component Analysis (PCA).

Methods: Total 80 participants (36 musicians, 44 non-musicians, mean age: 28±5 years, 29 females) performed PROMS-S offline including eight subtests of perceptual features of music, namely, melody, rhythm, embedded rhythm, tuning, tempo, accent, timbre and pitch. In each subtest, a reference stimulus is presented, followed by repetition of its own and a comparison stimulus. The participants were required to compare the stimuli and report whether they are similar or different. We examined whether the features were normally distributed across population using Shapiro-Wilk test. We then compared performance of Musicians and Non-musicians on all eight subtests using independent sample t-test. We clustered musicians and non-musicians for each feature to understand variations in clustering. Factor Analysis was performed to investigate what features are unique to each group. Since, we observed multicollinearity across features, we performed Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to reduce dimensionality. As PC1 was significantly different across different durations of training, we performed a group-wise PCA to observe how duration of training modulates construction of PC1.

Results: Shapiro-Wilk test showed, scores on Rhythm, Tempo, Timbre and Pitch subtests was not normally distributed across all participants. Through independent samples t-test we found that musicians performed better on all subtests compared to non-musicians. Effect size for melody, rhythm, embedded rhythm, tuning, tempo, accent, timbre and pitch were 1, 0.40, 0.55, 1, 0.58, 0.44, 0.72, 0.80 respectively, suggesting a strong training effect on melody, tuning, timbre and pitch. Factor analysis showed that for Non-musicians, Tempo (0.476), Tuning (0.544) and Rhythm (0.496) emerge as most unique features whereas for Musicians unique features are Melody (0.725), Rhythm (0.722), Pitch (0.500) and Tuning (0.400), explaining the variance in data. Because of multicollinearity among features, we performed a PCA and chose to work with PC1 as it accounts for maximum variation in data. The Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed that for musicians, association between PC1 and melody is stronger whereas for Non-musicians, it was between PC1 and embedded rhythm. The association between tempo and embedded rhythm was higher for non-musicians (0.43) compared to musicians (0.27). PC1 was found to be significantly different across different durations of training (p < 0.001). For participants with no training, maximum loading for tempo was seen in PC1. With less than 5 years of training, melodic loading was 0.30 and rhythmic loading was 0.14. Highest loading was seen on timbre (.68), and comparable loading on tempo and accent (0.43). For musicians with more than 5 years of training, highest loading was observed on pitch, 0.38 on timbre, and comparable loading on tempo and accent. Rhythmic dependence increases and melodic dependence reduces with musical training.

Discussion: We find moderate to strong training effect on one’s ability to distinguish feature-based qualities of music. Differences were observed in terms of uniqueness of certain features across musicians (melody, rhythm, pitch and tuning) and non-musicians (tempo, tuning, rhythm) through factor analysis. There is evidence to suggest that meter perception or rhythmic understanding develops differently for Musicians compared to Non-musicians. In case of musicians it is top down process whereas for non-musicians it follows bottom-up processing (Kondoh et al, 2021). For musicians rhythmic understanding develops from concept of melody and hence both of the features may be equally unique whereas for non-musicians it develops from concept of tempo which justifies the features of tempo and rhythm to be unique in case of non-musicians. If rhythm developed similarly in both musicians and non-musicians then we wouldn't see this pattern as melody loses its uniqueness (0.005) for non-musicians and tempo (0.005) loses it for musicians, however, rhythm stays unique for both. We found pitch as a unique feature explaining 50% of the variance in data for musicians only. Musicians have an outstanding ability to discriminate differences in pitch (Nikjah et al., 2008; Spiegel & Watson, 1984). Previous studies suggest frequency selectivity is different very early in auditory pathway between musicians and non-musicians (Powner et al, 2014). Tuning emerged as a unique feature for both musicians and non-musicians suggesting that tuning accounts for information, not represented by other features. Results based on PCA and correlation analysis showed stronger association between PC1 and melody for musicians, and PC1 and embedded rhythm for non-musicians. Melody refers to tonal sequence in music. Embedded rhythm, also known as melodic rhythm refers to musical concept whereby memorable rhythm is composed first and then pitches are assigned to notes. Difference between "melodic rhythm" and melody, is that "melodic rhythm" is recognizable even when its melody is removed (Harmony, 2016). Thus, while musicians due to training may rely on melody alone, non-musicians rely on temporal feature such as rhythm, even when they have some grasp on melody. This is further reflected in higher association between tempo and embedded rhythm for non-musicians.

Conclusion: In this study, melody emerged as the most unique feature for musicians and tempo for non-musicians. Non-musicians primarily rely on temporal features even when they have some understanding of melodic deviations. Perception of tonal features and how they contribute to music perception is also affected by duration of training, however temporal features seem to have stronger representation and have consistent contribution to music perception skills across all durations of training. Temporal features may be more resilient and have wider applications as therapeutic tool.

ABSTRACT. One of the central challenges in the field of digital transition in music education is finding an appropriate balance between digital technology and traditional music teaching practices. While digital technologies offer significant opportunities to enhance music learning, they also bring challenges, such as over-reliance on devices and screens and insufficient training for teachers. The ongoing search for effective pedagogical strategies that incorporate digital resources in a balanced way and meet the diverse needs of students remains an important topic of exploration and discussion. Therefore, from September 2022 to February 2024 was developed a small scale Erasmus + project entitled “DigiMusi: Digital transformation in elementary music education”. Through a Portuguese-Spanish partnership, the project selected, analyzed developed and implemented strategies to address the digital transition in music teaching and learning, empowering teachers and students for the digital world. The study presented here was one of the research conducted in the scope of the project which aimed to explore how digital transition is impacting students, teachers and families in two music schools in Spain - one private and other public school - that have implemented a learning management system (LMS) for teaching and individual practice of musical theory subject. We conducted two exploratory case studies in schools who have implemented i-MUSI - progressive and interactive musical theory platform - for 4 and 6 years consecutively. Participants included 18 students aged 7-13 years and their families and 7 teachers of music theory. Field observations, demographic questionnaires and 4 focus group interviews - two with teachers and two with children and their families, were conducted. A thematic analysis revealed themes and sub-themes related to the (i) potentialities, (ii) limitations and (iii) strategies to digital transition. According to teachers, students, and parents, the use of this platform offered potential to optimize teaching practice, fostering self-regulation and student autonomy in practicing at home. This is reflected in increased motivation and more playful, dynamic teaching and learning, with a variety of resources available. Additionally, it was possible to observed a great benefit for students who have more difficulties in the subject of music theory. Teachers also mentioned the advantage of having more contact with students between lessons and the fact that i-MUSI provides a balance between digital activities and the non-digital activities. However, the use of the platform also posed some limitations and challenges for teachers, students, and parents. While there was a noted low capacity for developing improvisation and musical creation skills, some teachers expressed concern about returning to reading sheet music on paper. Furthermore, technological dependency for both teachers and students became an obstacle. Extended screen exposure time also raised concerns among parents. The lack of immediate feedback from the platform, especially in terms of real-time exercises, was another problematic aspect identified. At last, teachers mentioned a variety of strategies to address the challenges and leverage the opportunities arising the digital transition. They emphasized the balance between traditional and digital methods, the responsibility in technological use, the importance of human relationships, the importance of motivation, and the active role of the teacher in facilitating learning. This study provides patterns and examples of real-world praxial contexts regarding the digital transition in music education, as well as insights for enhancing future development of platforms similar to the one observed here. It becomes quite evident the necessity of not evading critical scrutiny during this process and considering the needs and access possibilities of all stakeholders involved in the digital transition.

ABSTRACT. Based on the assumption that teachers can promote self-regulated learning (SRL) directly through instruction and indirectly through curriculum design, learning environment, and pedagogical tools, this study aims to understand how teachers can encourage the adoption of SRL principles by students in online string instrument lessons. The study investigated the teachers' promotion of components categorized within the SRL dimensions of motivation, method, physical environment, and social aspects in general music instruction. Five string teachers and seven students (over 12 years of age and non-professional musicians) from Europe, Latin America, and North America participated in the study, engaging in online lessons within non-formal educational settings. Data were collected through structured observation, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and a field diary. The analysis of lesson recordings aimed to code the teachers' observable behaviours using a scheme based on SRL theory. Thematic analysis was conducted in the interviews and questionnaires using an inductive method, seeking pedagogical approaches and their relation to the development of SRL skills. The results indicate that teachers adopted specific strategies (e.g., stimulating imaginative thinking and requiring recordings) due to the characteristics of the online modality, which indirectly contribute to students' self-regulation of practice. However, the lessons lacked dialogue, and components such as metacognitive monitoring were not stimulated. The findings suggest pedagogical implications for online string instrument lessons' design and teaching strategies.

ABSTRACT. This paper offers insight into ongoing work at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, where Daniella Meagher and Kristine Healy manage the Practice Department in a joint leadership role. Drawing upon Daniella’s additional layer of inside knowledge as an Instrumental Tutor (Strings) at Chetham’s and Kristine’s interest in social theory, the presentation reflects our shared efforts to better understand how a new piece of software—the Music Journal—has been adopted, adapted, and in some cases, resisted by its intended community. We examine data from interviews with members of the staff body, institutional texts, and auto-ethnographic material in the form of our own reflexive dialogue in order to respond to a central research question: What does it mean to make a ‘new’ space inside a network of ‘old’ musical relationships?

The one-to-one lesson is a “signature pedagogy” (Shulman, 2005) of music education, which has long been assigned exceptionally high status in institutions that prioritise the development of individuals’ musical performance skills in western classical music and jazz (e.g. Carey & Grant, 2015). Although there is a growing body of work that critiques elements of this kind of pedagogical relationship (see for example Bull, 2019; Holmgren 2022, 2020), the master-apprentice model remains current in the context of conservatoire-style music education. At Chetham’s, students (aged 8-18) receive feedback and advice on their music-making from members of a diverse support team that includes their Instrumental or Vocal Tutor, their Head of Department, their Practice Assistant, additional Tutors, visiting musicians, and often adults at home. Hierarchical structures that develop within this network are contingent upon a variety of factors, but it is still usual for students to see their Tutor as one of the most significant voices in their learning community.

In an effort to provide a dedicated online space for these and others’ voices, including those of the students themselves, the Music Journal was designed by Daniella and Kristine in collaboration with software developers and additional Chetham’s colleagues. Its intended purpose was to be a repository for records of lesson activities and a place for students and their musical support teams to reflect upon and engage in dialogue about their continuing musical practice. While the platform is bespoke to Chetham’s, the Music Journal is a relatively simple example of a “digital portfolio”: a multi-modal tool whose value in arts education has been recognised widely (Calderón-Garrido et al., 2023). Multiple users can contribute to the Music Journal at any one time, and it can be viewed remotely by students’ parents and carers.

After several stages of design and development and a period of consultation with a selection of Chetham’s staff members, the Music Journal was introduced to the School in September 2022 via a presentation to the staff body and the provision of an electronic tutorial. Since that time, Tutors have offered a range of responses, including acceptance in both enthusiastic and more reluctant forms; resistance; and overt rejection. Suspicion of the institutional and political purpose of the Music Journal and discomfort and anxiety relating to the use of technology were some of the objections raised in the early stages of implementation. Richly varied and sometimes emotionally charged responses foregrounded issues of identity and agency, calling into question whose words should matter most to whom, when and how technology should mediate musical and pedagogical conversations, and what kind of participants in an institutional community are permitted to make or break the rules.

Engaging Maxine Greene’s ideas about seeing things ‘big’ and ‘small’, we consider the process of implementing the Music Journal both “from the perspective of a system” and “from the point of view of the participant in the midst of what is happening” (1995, pp.10-11). In so doing, we show how the “identity work” (Solomon, 2012) done through individual responses to this new tool illuminates some of the ways in which members of the school community construct themselves in relation to the institution, its technologies, and its musical practices, and in relation to their colleagues and students. We reflect critically upon our own position in the conversation and propose that, in troubling the master-apprentice status quo, the introduction of the Music Journal provided an opening through which to view and learn from the machinations of identity production and reproduction that constitute a complex institutional environment. We offer ways to apply what we have learned to other music education communities where new technologies are developed, and we suggest that further research in this area could contribute to scholarly conversation about digital artefacts in neoliberal educational worlds (Ball, 2016; Grimaldi & Ball, 2021).

Sources cited:

Ball, S. J. (2016). Neoliberal education? Confronting the slouching beast. Policy Futures in Education, 14(8), 1046-1059. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478210316664259

Bull, A. (2019). Class, control, and classical music. Oxford University Press.

Calderón-Garrido, D., Gil-Fernández, R., & Martín-Piñol, C. (2023). Exploring perspectives, uses, implications and needs of the educational digital portfolio in the arts: A systematic review of the scientific literature. Sage Open, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231185557

Carey, G., & Grant, C. (2015). Teacher and student perspectives on one-to-one pedagogy: Practices and possibilities. British Journal of Music Education, 32(1), 5-22. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051714000084

Greene, M. (1995). Releasing the imagination: Essays on education, the arts, and social change. Jossey-Bass.

Grimaldi, E. & Ball, S. J. (2021). The blended learner: digitalisation and regulated freedom - neoliberalism in the classroom. Journal of Education Policy, 36:3, 393-416, DOI: 10.1080/02680939.2019.1704066

Holmgren, C. (2020). The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’s apprentices : A critical analysis of teaching and learning of musical interpretation in a piano master class. Svensk Tidskrift För Musikforskning, 102, 37–65.

Holmgren, C. (2022) Empowering piano students of Western classical music: challenging teaching and learning of musical interpretation in higher education, Music Education Research, 24(5), 574-587, DOI: 10.1080/14613808.2022.2101632

Shulman, L. S. (2005). Signature pedagogies in the professions. Daedalus, 134(3), 52-59. https://doi.org/10.1162/0011526054622015

Solomon, Y. (2012). Finding a voice? narrating the female self in mathematics. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 80(1/2), 171-183. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-012-9384-z

ABSTRACT. Background. Despite the existence of a few scholarly studies on rich metaphors hidden in 24 compositions of Tchaikovsky’s Children’s Album, Op. 39, this work is still often understood as an (1) authorized publication of a (2) curated collection of (3) simple piano pieces with (4) child-centric appeal that capture (5) the essence of childhood for (6) pedagogic purposes yet display (7) sophisticated themes that are educational, enjoyable, and executable for young musicians.

Purpose. In this paper we seek to show that these seven concepts are oversimplifications or misbeliefs. We discuss how computational and language modeling augment a musicology-centered analysis of the genesis of the Children’s Album.

Related works. Composers like Schumann and Tchaikovsky revolutionized music education for children by blending educational and inspirational aspects in their compositions, moving beyond mere technical exercises to capture the children's imaginations and engage their emotions. Rather than focusing the technical aspects of piano play (surely not ignoring them), convey the more sophisticated images that appeal to both children and adults. Unlike purely didactical works by other composers, their pieces incorporate narratives that transcend simple instructional content. Schumann, in particular, is credited with creating a new genre of programmatic music for children, initially composing playful pieces for his own children before expanding the collection. This innovative approach has been followed by other composers, such as Debussy, Mompou, Ravel, Shchedrin, and Prokofiev. Prokofiev's Op. 65, for instance, is celebrated for its educational intent, musical connections to his larger works, and its thematic unity, symbolizing a cycle of rebirth in a similar vein to Tchaikovsky's method, demonstrating a profound influence on the development of music for young audiences.

Method. A thematic analysis of the published literature was conducted which resulted in the detection of the seven points itemized above. These points apparently permeate the published literature as our interaction with ChatGPT 4.0 confirmed this prevailing view. A critical analysis of the literature, however, revealed that these seven points were built on shifting sand rather than firm foundations. Detailed comparative analyses of scores were conducted using computational and language modeling (Georges, 2017). Signature elicitation algorithms (Cope, 1991) were harnessed to detect similarities between compositions.

Findings. Some of our key findings include: The first thorough analysis of the changes from Tchaikovsky’s Children’s Album manuscripts to its first published edition appeared significantly later, suggesting a nuanced view of Tchaikovsky's relationship to Schumann’s work and raising questions about the intent behind publication changes. Admitting Schumann’s influence on Tchaikovsky does not reduce the Children’s Album to mere imitation; rather, it opens discussions on the subtleties of inspiration versus direct copying, especially given the disruptive edits made for publication. Despite abundant historical documents, the reasons behind Tchaikovsky’s editorial changes remain speculative, but modern analytical tools, such as the use of signature elicitation algorithms, offer new ways to examine these transformations and their implications on musical style and authorship. Preliminary experiments with signature elicitation algorithms reveal a diverse set of compositional influences within Tchaikovsky’s Children's Album, challenging the notion of a deliberate imitation of Schumann's style (Pyshkin et al., 2022). The disruptive reordering in Tchaikovsky’s first published edition versus the manuscript suggests a deeper thematic and structural coherence in the original composition, underscoring the complexity of interpreting Tchaikovsky’s editorial decisions.

Conclusion. Based on our findings, we argue that the prevailing seven concepts may be considered as far from factual given the following: (1) The fact that the author signed the first published edition could not hide all the metaphors that we can discover from the original manuscript. Such an approval must not be understood as a definitive final message of the author. (2) Children’s Album is not simply a collection, but an integral inseparable larger scale composition constructed of 24 pieces linked to appear as several untitled parts of the whole. From this perspective, Tchaikovsky’s Children’s Album is maybe a unique case, where Tchaikovsky is closer to reflect on 24 Chopin’s Preludes from Op. 28 (1839) rather than on Schumann’s pieces for children. (3) Though the pieces are technically accessible for young musicians, they are not simple from the perspective of their mental appeal, pictures they portray, and the perspectives they unveil. (4) Children’s Album can be appreciated by young piano players and their audiences, but they are not appealing for children only. To truly revel the whole construction, its metaphors and perspectives, one requires both historical and musical background, as well mental maturity of an adult person. (5) Unlike to many cited excellent examples of music for children, the compositions from Children’s Album do not simply capture the essence of childhood and nostalgically paint the pictures from the childhood, but portray the whole human life journey and experience through creating a complex blend of compositions seemingly intended for children but requiring a background of an educated, sensitive, and inspirable person to savour its metaphorical richness. (6) The educational benefits are not to be contested, but the purpose of advancing piano playing skills is definitely not the main motive leading the composer to creation of the masterpiece. (7) All the above points support the rationale to call in question the imitation of Schumann’s style and approach as a leading force for appearance of Tchaikovsky’s Op. 38, the latter consideration not disproving the Tchaikovsky’s highest esteem to Schumann’s heritage.

Some of above-mentioned considerations can be partially supported with the help of AI, computer science and linguistic instruments that can provide the additional important insights for musicologists searching to unravel the possible reasons of significant transformations that occurred on the way from the very accurately organized original manuscript to the first published edition of Tchaikovsky’s Children’s Album. Techniques based on formal mathematical and linguistics methods supported by AI and computer technology, though being unable to completely resolve these issues, can bring new data to the discourse of musicology and art.

ABSTRACT. As technology has advanced, the field of Music Information Retrieval (MIR) has made many things possible in the realm of music. Computational musicology, an essential part of MIR, applies scientific approach to explain the complexity of music by revealing the intricate relationships between various performance parameters and performers’ characteristics. This paper investigates the subtle differences in piano performance between professional pianists and amateurs, focusing on the challenging technique of octave. A MIDI dataset was collected from two distinct groups of participants performing on a Yamaha Disklavier C7 piano. The study involved three professional pianists and twelve amateurs with performing two excerpts. One excerpt required participants to play octave repetitions, with eight octaves played as eighth notes in each measure, repeated five times using both hands. The other excerpt, “Bydlo,” involved playing the octave as a melody extracted from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," specifically measures 38 to 44, with only the right hand observed. The study analyzed MIDI file data aligned with musical scores to investigate temporal and dynamic aspects of performances at various structural levels—note, measure, and phrase Temporal features, including rDuration, rIOI, and Articulation, were computed from onset and offset times [1][2][3]. While dynamic features, represented by velocity, were derived from onset and offset velocities. Structure levels contributed to obtaining representative values for the analysis and the mean and standard deviation (SD) were utilized. The Mann-Whitney U test was employed as the statistical methodology, a non-parametric test designed to evaluate potential statistically significant differences between two independent samples. Four Null Hypotheses were examined in this study. For octave repetition, the Null Hypotheses tested that there is no significant difference in intensity and rhythm irregularities between the little finger and thumb of professional pianists and amateurs. Regarding octave performance as a melody, Null Hypotheses explore the intensity of the little finger and playing legato of the octave melody, with comparisons between professional pianists and amateurs. In terms of octave as technique, no significant differences were found between the two groups regarding intensity in the little finger and thumb. However, partial significance emerged in rhythm irregularities, specifically rejecting the Null Hypothesis, observed solely in the right thumb, which means that the professional pianists played the right hand thumb more consistently than amateurs. Furthermore, aside from the Null Hypothesis, the significant features were identified: professionals exhibited shorter rhythmic durations compared to amateurs by observing rIOI. Additionally, professionals demonstrated briefer key pressing durations, suggesting the professional pianists struck key more quickly and agilely In terms of octave as melody, the Null Hypothesis asserting no intensity difference between the thumb and little finger across participant groups was rejected, indicating a significant difference. This implies that professional pianists played climax notes more prominently compared to amateurs. Specifically, professionals played the thumb approximately 5 units higher in velocity than the little finger, whereas amateurs performed the little finger by approximately 0.25 units over the thumb. As a result, the professional seemed to double and emphasize the melody by using the thumb effectively. In terms of rDuration, professionals surpassed amateurs for both the thumb and the little finger by lasting the thumb and the little finger longer. Professionals maintained a longer proportionate key-pressing length for the thumb and little finger when it came to articulation, which is suggestive of a more connected melody performance—especially through the little finger. These findings make an important contribution to music education and performance assessment. By identifying key differences in piano performance proficiency between professionals and amateurs and quantifying a specific technique in piano performance, it is possible to suggest the precise indicators for the performance assessment and classification by applying to learning application or system [4]. Moreover, insights gained from this research can help develop AI-driven music performance evaluation tools, making them more precise and nuanced. Overall, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between technical skill, expressiveness, and musical interpretation in piano performance. This study also provides valuable insights about the science and art of musical performance.

Reference

[1] E. Nakamura, K. Yoshii, H. Katayose, “Performance Error Detection and Post-Processing for Fast and Accurate Symbolic Music Alignment,” In Proc. ISMIR, pp. 347-353, 2017. [2] T. Kim, S. Fukayama, T. Nishimoto, S. Sagayama, “Statistical approach to automatic expressive rendition of polyphonic piano music,” Guide to Computing for Expressive Music Performance, pp. 145-179, 2013. [3] M. Bernays1, C. Traube, “Investigating pianists’ individuality in the performance of five timbral nuances through patterns of articulation, touch, dynamics, and pedaling,” Frontiers in Psychology 5, 157, 2014. [4] S. Kim, JM. Park, S. Rhyu, J. Nam, K. Lee, “Quantitative analysis of piano performance proficiency focusing on difference between hands,” PLoS One, 16(5), 2021.

ABSTRACT. Background

Capturing emotional experiences is an ongoing goal for researchers with several models, from discrete to constructionist, being successfully applied. Recently, the Episode Model was developed to offer a holistic perspective, situating a listener’s prior emotional experience within a context of what the function of the music is for the listener (Eerola, Kirts, & Saarikallio, in review). Operationalizing the Episode Model, measuring its constructs and episodes, will allow researchers to empirically test predictions made by the model. Commonly, distinct-state and/or dimensional measurements are utilized by researchers to measure the emotional experience of their participants (Ekkekakis, 2013). However, This research focuses on the initial psychometric construction and the evaluation of items for the Episode Model.

Aim

The aim is to develop a self-report measure which identifies a type of emotional episode the participant is experiencing while listening to music at a certain point in time.

Methods

Based on psychometric construction principles (Boateng et al., 2018), several stages of development are required to build a robust tool. Of which, the first stage consists of three parts, 1) items are generated using existing literature, 2) content validity is evaluated by a panel of experts for the relevance and representativeness of each item, 3) items are pre-tested to assess face-validity with a target population as well as determine measurement error. A deductive method of item generation was done, wherein, items were revised from existing measures under guidelines for Episode Model constructs. Step 1 is complete, with steps 2 and 3 scheduled to finish before May.

Results

Due to steps 2 and 3 being in-progress, step 1 results are reported here. From 13 prior instruments and literature concerning the constructs, an initial pool of N = 275 items were identified. To fill conceptual gaps, not accounted for by existing instruments, researcher constructed items (N = 220) were added. A total of 495 items have been identified which account for a majority of domain specific content for various constructs. These items were then modified to fit a uniform reflective style. Evaluation results from steps 2 and 3 will be assessed with content validity related indices and general agreement indices.

Discussion

Constructed emotional episodes to music need to be measured in order for further empirical testing. With the addition of contextualized functions of music listening, measurement for emotional episodes needs to develop past dimensional and distinct-state metrics. In doing so, the approach needs to account for music specific adaptational needs as regulatory functions, among other descriptive schemes common in emotion research (Eerola, Kirts, & Saarikallio, in review). For the field, music-emotion measurement also necessitates a tool which is valid for both the lab and real world. The scope, predictive ability, and ongoing construction principles of the tool being developed will be discussed, with theoretical and practical utility in mind.

References

Boateng, G. O., Neilands, T. B., Frongillo, E. A., Melgar-Quiñonez, H. R., & Young, S. L. (2018). Best Practices for Developing and Validating Scales for Health, Social, and Behavioral Research: A Primer. Frontiers in Public Health, 6.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00149

Eerola, T., Kirts, C., Saarikallio, S., (in-review). Episode Model: the Functional Approach to Emotional Experiences of Music.

Ekkekakis, P. (2013). The Measurement of Affect, Mood, and Emotion: A Guide for Health-Behavioral Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511820724