Cultural diversity in Australia : promoting the teaching and learning of South African music

Australian society is increasingly multicultural, and this article provides some theoretical perspectives on multiculturalism, cultural diversity and the teaching and learning of African music. It identifies the need for teachers, practitioners and artists to jointly work together to create a community of practitioners where pedagogy meets practice. Through reflection and interview data of an artist in schools, a primary music specialist and a tertiary music educator, the 'how' and 'why' about teaching South African music and culture is discussed through pedagogy. Whilst this article discusses a particular culture and music, it has implications for education within a wider sphere and calls for further investigation when using different music from diverse cultures.

Toka boot/the big jam : making music in rural East Timor

This article discusses a community music project in rural East Timor. Australian musician Gillian Howell lived for three months in the isolated town of Lospalos as an Asialink artist-in-residence, where she worked with local community members and visiting Australian musicians to share music and ideas, and to communicate across cultures. Three activities are described in detail: a songwriting project, a large-scale community music event and a series of informal jam sessions, particularly with respect to the context, teaching and learning models used. An evaluation of the impact of the project on participants, other community members and visiting musicians, indicated that stakeholders valued the project highly for a range of different reasons. These included fun and enjoyment, maintenance of cultural heritage, creative expression, English language learning and cross-cultural exchange. Learnings and recommendations for future similar cross-cultural collaborations include the value of integrating local music traditions with new participatory arts approaches.

Three Australian community choirs : ageing, singing and well-being

The promotion of social engagement amongst older Australians is a national priority. Music is a powerful social mechanism that allows individuals and communities to affirm identity, gain a sense of belonging, and share history and culture. Community choir membership offers older people opportunities to connect with others and share a sense of purpose that can enhance their sense of well-being and potentially reduce their experience of social isolation. This paper explores the understandings of well-being, positive ageing and community music making held by members of three choirs in Victoria; Australia. The choirs selected for this discussion are the Coro Furlan, the Skylarkers and the Bosnian Behar Choir. Data have been collected via semi-structured interview with members of the three choirs and analyzed using interpretative Phenomenological Analysis which employs a phenomenological approach that explores personal experience in the participant's life-world. analysis of the combined data identified two broad common themes: First is the personal impact that choir membership has for the individual which includes the building of friendships and opportunities to learn and share music. The second theme concerns the contribution that the choir can make to others in their local community. Thus older singers are provided with a way to be both engaged, validated and appreciated by their contemporary society. Choir participation is an effective way for individuals to express themselves, engage with each other, improve their quality of life, transmit cultural heritage, and build community.

Sharing ownership in multicultural music : a hands-on approach in teacher education in South Africa

South Africa prides itself in a rich and colorful array of the Arts where music plays a significant role in social regeneration, unity and reconciliation. Little research has been undertaken in teacher education courses in South Africa regarding the inclusion of African music within multicultural music practice. Using the theoretical frameworks of understanding multiculturalism, I report on the teaching and learning of multicultural music at Pretoria University. My narrative highlights what I had learned and reports on the interview data with the tertiary music educator in October 2010. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, two themes are discussed: the need for multicultural music and the inclusion of students as indigenous culture bearers. Lessons learnt at Pretoria University can be replicated elsewhere in Australia where the sharing of ownership in multicultural music as a hands-on approach is viewed positively, promoting understanding and respect in a shared space and place.

Finding a place for personal growth in an Australian community singing group for older people

As in many countries, Australia is faced with an aging population. This creates challenges for the maintenance of well-being which can be enhanced by active engagement in society. Music engagement encompasses a range of social participation and has the potential to recognise the contribution of older people to their local communities. Engagement in music by older people (50+) is positively related to individual and community well-being.  Music participation can contribute to a better quality of life, particularly in relation to health and happiness. The possible forms of music engagement are myriad.

This paper focuses on two members of a mixed voluntary singing group formed by older residents of an outer suburban community in Melbourne, Australia.  This study frames music as a positive way for older people to find a place for personal growth and fulfilment in a singing group. This phenomenological qualitative single case study focuses on two members of a small singing ensemble, the Skylarkers, formed to perform at retirement villages, nursing homes and facilities for senior citizens. In this study, data were gathered by interviews and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Two significant themes emerged. The first concerned the nature of the choir and its fluid membership and notions of self-identity. The second theme concerns the validation offered to individual members by active music participation through which they gained a sense of purpose, fulfilment and personal growth. This emphasis is unusual in discussions of community music engagement that ordinarily identify the importance of social connections. Groups such as the Skylarkers provide a place for members to continue their active engagement with music performance and music learning.

Tertiary educators' voices in Australia and South Africa: experiencing and engaging in African music and culture

Music tertiary educators can foster positive experiences that promote diversity, enhance intercultural and cross-cultural understanding through our teaching. Through findings of interview data of tertiary music educators’ understandings of multicultural music practice at two South African universities and at an Australia university, I used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyse the data. Two major themes emerged: why is it important to teach multicultural music like that of Africa, and what are some of the effective ways of preparing students to best teach it? The data provides insights into an appreciation of and respect for music and cultural diversity. In multicultural societies educators cannot deliver courses based solely on one’s own identity and cultural perspective. I argue that music education may be seen as an agent of social change where music teaching and learning can occur through exploring, experiencing, expressing and engaging in the music of our own culture and that of others.

Opportunities and challenges : preparing generalist teacher education students in music education in Australia

The Australian Curriculum ‘the Arts’ will be implemented across Australia from 2014. This curriculum is expected to replace existing State and Territory curricula where educators are given the opportunity to review, renew, and refresh their practice. Music tertiary educators are faced with opportunities and challenges to effectively prepare and engage pre-service teachers (PSTs) as generalist classroom teachers. This paper focuses on PSTs within the Bachelor of Primary Education course at Deakin University (Melbourne, Australia). Within this course PSTs undertake two Arts units as generalist teachers, in Trimester one where they are introduced to music elements and creative music making. In Trimester two they focus on pedagogical issues and classroom implementation. In 2013, I gained ethical permission to undertake a research project titled “Pre-service teacher attitudes and understandings of Music Education”. This case study draws on semi-structured interview data with music lecturers who taught in Trimester two at Deakin University in 2013 (10 x 3 hour workshops). Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis I analyzed and codified the interview data and report on two themes: ways of teaching and creative music making. This paper also highlights the challenges and opportunities sessional staff face when preparing PSTs in music education as generalist teachers.

The show must go on’ : older entertainers making music in the community in Melbourne, Australia

Globally countries are faced with an aging population and Australia is no different. This creates challenges for the maintenance of well-being which can be enhanced by active engagement in society. There is extensive research that confirms that engagement in music by older people is positively related to individual and community wellbeing. Music engagement encompasses a range of social participation and has the potential to recognise the contribution of older people to their local communities. Music participation can contribute to a better quality of life, particularly in relation to health and happiness. There are many possible forms of music engagement. This study is part of an on-going Deakin University and Monash University research project, Well-being and ageing: community, diversity and the arts in Victoria. This article focuses on three members of a mixed voluntary singing group formed by older residents of an outer suburban community in Melbourne, Australia. This group, The Skylarkers, were established in 1999 as a four-part choir. Over the years the nature of the choir has changed under subsequent music directors. Since 2009 the group has focused on music theatre repertoire and performance style. Membership of the group is fluid reflecting changing life circumstances of the members but the ensemble is resilient. This small amateur music theatre group is based in suburban Melbourne, rehearses weekly and performs regularly at retirement villages, nursing homes and facilities for senior citizens. This article presents a phenomenological qualitative single case study of members of the Skylarkers. In this study, interview data were gathered in 2011-2012 and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Two significant themes emerged that concern musical self-identity and gaining a sense of purpose and fulfilment. The Skylarkers are more than a choir; they are an amateur entertainment troupe that engages with each other and the wider community. This resilient group holds true to the motto ‘the show must go on’.

We did the how to teach it: music teaching and learning in higher education in Australia

The Australian Government recognizes that the Arts are acritical part of formal school education and it should not be viewedas subordinate or extra. This paper forms part of a wider researchproject titled “Pre-service teacher attitudes and understandings ofMusic Education” that started in 2013. The focus of this paperinvestigates music teaching and learning in a core unit within theBachelor of Education (Primary) course at Deakin University(Australia). Using questionnaire and interview data gathered in 2014,I employ Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to analyse andcodify the data. Three themes are discussed in relation to: Why it isimportant to include music in the primary school? What wasenjoyable and what aspects were challenging in the musicworkshops? What can students integrate as generalist teachers intotheir future classrooms? Though the findings focus on “we did thehow to teach it”, it also highlights some challenges and opportunitiesfor students and staff. Tertiary educators are challenged to raise thecapacity and status of music when preparing students to translate themusic curriculum into their future classrooms.

Promoting African music and enhancing intercultural understanding in teacher education

Australia is a culturally diverse nation. The Arts provide a pathway that contributes to the rich tapestry of its people. Tertiary music educators have the responsibility to provide opportunities to effectively prepare and engage pre-service teachers in becoming culturally responsive. The authors discuss the importance and need to include guest music educators as culture bearers when preparing pre-service teachers to teach multicultural music. Drawing on data from student questionnaires, author participant observation and reflective practice in 2014, the findings highlight the experiences and practical engagement of an African music workshop in teacher education courses. Generalisations cannot be made, however, the findings revealed the need, importance and benefits of incorporating guest music educators as culture bearers who have the knowledge, skills and understandings to contribute to multicultural music education. This experience may be similar to other educational settings and it is hoped that the findings may provide a platform for further dialogue in other teaching and learning areas.

Listening to music in the first, but not the last 1.5 km of a 5-km running trial alters pacing strategy and improves performance

We examined the effects of listening to music on attentional focus, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), pacing strategy and performance during a simulated 5-km running race. 15 participants performed 2 controlled trials to establish their best baseline time, followed by 2 counterbalanced experimental trials during which they listened to music during the first (M-start) or the last (M-finish) 1.5 km. The mean running velocity during the first 1.5 km was significantly higher in M-start than in the fastest control condition (p < 0.05), but there was no difference in velocity between conditions during the last 1.5 km (p > 0.05). The faster first 1.5 m in M-start was accompanied by a reduction in associative thoughts compared with the fastest control condition. There were no significant differences in RPE between conditions (p > 0.05). These results suggest that listening to music at the beginning of a trial may draw the attentional focus away from internal sensations of fatigue to thoughts about the external environment. However, along with the reduction in associative thoughts and the increase in running velocity while listening to music, the RPE increased linearly and similarly under all conditions, suggesting that the change in velocity throughout the race may be to maintain the same rate of RPE increase.

A Complementary Economy? National Markets and International Product in Early Australian Theatre Managements

The international circulation of commercial theatre in the early twentieth century was driven not only from the centres of Great Britain and the USA, but by the specific enterprise and habitus of managers in ‘complementary’ production sites such as Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. The activity of this period suggests a de-centred competitive trade in theatrical commodities – whether performers, scripts, or productions – wherein the perceived entertainment preferences and geographies of non-metropolitan centres were formative of international enterprise. The major producers were linked in complex bonds of partnerships, family, or common experience which crossed the globe. The fractures and commonalities displayed in the partnerships of James Cassius Williamson and George Musgrove, which came to dominate and shape the fortunes of the Australian industry for much of the century, indicate the contradictory commercial and artistic pressures bearing upon entrepreneurs seeking to provide high-quality entertainment and form advantageous combinations in competition with other local and international managements. Clarke, Meynell and Gunn mounted just such spirited competition from 1906 to 1911, and their story demonstrates both the opportunities and the centralizing logic bearing upon local managements shopping and dealing in a global market. The author, Veronica Kelly, works at the University of Queensland. She is presently undertaking a study of commercial stars and managements in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Australia, with a focus on the star performer as model of history, gender, and nation.