Educación musical: Investigamos, luego avanzamos

Este texto hace referencia al importante avance experimentado en el campo de la investigación en educación musical en estos últimos años, avance que nos ha proporcionado importantes transformaciones en la manera de organizar la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la música. Se insta sobre la necesidad de apoyar a los profesionales de la música que tengan interés por adquirir capacidad investigadora, así como de potenciar el trabajo conjunto entre el profesorado perteneciente a las enseñanzas especializadas de música y a las enseñanzas de música universitarias. Todo ello contribuirá a un mejor y más profundo conocimiento de nuestras áreas de estudio y al crecimiento y fortalecimiento de las mismas.

Panorama de la música a Mallorca des del final del segle XIX fins al XXI.

Aquest article pretén mostrar d’una manera general la situació musical a la Mallorca de final del segle XIX i durant el segle XX. Analitzarem, de manera general, el panorama de la música a Mallorca en els diversos aspectes: agrupacions musicals, músics i compositors, l’educació musical… i tendrem una visió de la situació musical en què es trobava Mallorca en aquest període analitzat, perquè serveixi de pauta en els diversos treballs de recerca que a partir d’aquest estudi puguin sorgir. No pretenem fer-ne una anàlisi exhaustiva, això ho deixam per a futures investigacions, sinó donar a conèixer la situació musical a Mallorca abans esmentada.

Reactions of Persons with Dementia to Caregivers Singing in Morning Care Situations

Music therapeutic caregiving', when caregivers sing for or together with persons with severe dementia during care situations, has been suggested as a way to reduce problematic behaviors in dementia care. The present study implemented this technique as an intervention in dementia care. Six caregivers participated in group interviews about their experiences of morning care situations without and with'Music therapeutic caregiving'. Through a qualitative content analysis two themes emerged.'Being in a different reality' was based on'usual' morning care situations. The caregivers' experienced the persons with dementia as absent-minded; communication and cooperation were difficult. The second theme,'Being present', was based on morning care situations with the intervention. The caregivers described communication as enhanced; the persons with dementia expressed themselves more appropriately, making cooperation possible. The results indicate that'Music therapeutic caregiving' might lead to a more positive experience of the person with dementia and seems to increase receptivity to caregiving.  

Experiencing change: an inside view from the outside

As a South African of Indian descent I bring to education in Victoria an intimate knowledge of 'change in progress' and seek to use that for the benefit of my disciplines as a practitioner and teacher, primarily of music at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. In this article, I discuss some of the gains made by Australian teachers through using African music in their settings, and also describe what some of their teaching and learning needs are. This article arises from two research projects that I undertook: with students at Deakin University (2002-2003) and with music teachers who are currently teaching African music in Melbourne, Australia (2004). The student project investigated the potential for using African music to enhance the generic musical experiences, learning, motivation, interest, confidence and competence of non-specialist primary pre-service teachers. The teacher project explored why teachers are embracing change through the use of African music, what type of African music is taught and how it is being taught. In a world that is in a state of almost constant flux, teachers face the challenge to maintain the relevance of the curriculum and to promote openness to the cultural diversity represented in our contemporary Australian society. Both groups report highly positive changes.

'Does the meaning mean a thing?' Johnny Young's hit songs of the 60s-70s

This article challenges the conventional narratives of Australian popular music history, recognising this as an element of a wider cultural history, using the songwriting career of Johnny Young in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In doing so it refers to the actual song content; ways in which songs and their performers were written about at the time they were released; and the way in which these works have subsequently been regarded and discussed in the conventional historical narrative. It also suggests that Young's own crafted persona, as well as the way he and pop music are typically regarded, have veiled the innovative and radical elements of some of his songs, not only the very well-known 'The real thing', but also hits such as, 'Smiley' and 'The star' .

Different rhythms to similar tunes: African beats in action across two continents

In this article I present some theoretical perspectives on reflective practice and African music. As reflection is a voyage of on-going self-discovery and change, and most challenging, I consider the teaching of African music across two continents and institutions. After a recent visit to South Africa (August-October 2006), I describe and discuss some similarities that I as a music educator at Deakin University, share with a music educator from the University of the North West, South Africa regarding the teaching and learning of African music. Through observation and interview data with my colleague, I offer some thoughts on what is African music and why we teach different rhythms to similar tunes across two continents at our tertiary institutions. I see this as a way forward to transmit and promote togetherness in a multicultural society where we respect diversity and the notion of 'other'.

Reflections of teacher education students learning of rhythm: Orff to an African beat

This article reports on students' reflections, gathered from questionnaire and interview data, on their learning of rhythm and on their attitudes and  motivation from having engaged with African music as non-music specialists using the Orff approach. The "traditional" Orff approach to classroom music was supplemented with African repertoire which builds on the nexus, identified by Amoaku (1 982), between the Orff method and the traditional way of music learning in African cultures. This article describes my experience as a South African working with Australian non-specialist primary teacher students of predominantly Anglo-Celtic background within the context of a music education unit at Deakin University's Melbourne (Burwood) Campus. As Nketia (1988) points out, I - like many expatriate music educators - have selected music from my own country of origin as the foundation to develop curriculum materials teaching rhythm through non-Western music. The results demonstrate worthwhile experiences and outcomes for both the students and myself.

Analogue stress

Made from reworked and reanimated found industrial and discarded personal footage. The main focus is the soundtrack which has been reconstructed from scratches, pen marks, Letraset strips and the music and phrases of found films.

Published versions: #1, #2, #3 are all slightly different to each other.

Towards an integration of theories of achievement motivation

This thesis investigated children's school achievement in terms of an integration of three theories of achievement motivation. The three theoretical outlooks were expectancy-value theory (EVT), implicit theories of intelligence (ITI), and flow theory (FT). The first of two studies was an exploratory investigation of the effectiveness of each theory independently and combined to predict children's achievement in four school subjects. The subject areas were maths, reading, instrumental music and sport. Participants were 84 children (40 females and 44 males) aged 9 to 10 years, one of each child's parents, and school teachers of each child in the four subject areas. All data were collected through questionnaires based on the three models. The results indicated that EVT and FT but not ITI accounted for a significant amount of the variance in children's achievement, including effects for subject area and gender. A second confirmatory study tested EVT, FT and an integrated model for the prediction of achievement in maths, reading and instrumental music. The participants were a further 141 children (74 females and 67 males) aged 10 to 11 years, and a parent and teachers of each child. Data collection using questionnaires occurred early in the school year (Timel) and approximately five months later (Time2). For EVT, children and parents’ competence beliefs were significant predictors of children's achievement in each subject area. Females tended to believe themselves more competent at reading and instrumental music and also valued these subjects more highly than boys. Modeling results for flow theory indicated that children's emotional responses to classes (happiness and confusion) were significant predictors of achievement, the type of emotion varying between subject areas and time periods. Females generally had a more positive emotional reaction to reading and instrumental music classes than males did. The integrated model results indicated significant relationships between EVT and flow theories for each subject area, with EVT explaining most achievement variance in the integrated model. Children's and parents’ competence beliefs were the main predictors of achievement at Timel and 2, Subject area and gender differences were found which provide direction for future research. Anecdotal reports of parents and teachers often attest to individual differences in children's involvement in various school domains. Even among children of apparently similar intelligence, it is not uncommon to find one who likes nothing better than to work on a mathematics problem while another much prefers to read a novel or play a musical instrument Some children appear to achieve good results for most of the activities in which they are engaged while others achieve in a less consistent manner, sometimes particularly excelling in one activity. Some children respond to failure experiences with a determination to improve their performance in the future while others react with resignation and acceptance of their low ability. Some children appear to become totally absorbed in the activity of playing sport while others cannot wait for the game to end. The primary research objective guiding the current thesis is how children's thoughts and feelings about school subjects differ and are related to their school achievement. A perusal of the achievement motivation literature indicates several possible models and concepts that can be applied to explain individual differences in children's school achievement. Concepts such as academic self-concept, multiple intelligences, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, self-beliefs, competence beliefs, subjective task values, mastery and performance goals, ‘Flow’ experiences and social motivation are just some of the constructs used to explain children's achievement motivation, both within and between various activity domains. These constructs are proposed by researchers from different theoretical perspectives to achievement motivation. Although there is much literature relevant to each perspective, there is little research indicating how the various perspectives may relate to each other. The current thesis will begin by reviewing three currently popular theoretical orientations cited in achievement motivation research: subjective beliefs and values; implicit theories of intelligence, and flow experience and family complexity. Following this review, a framework will be proposed for testing the determinants of children's school achievement, both within each of the three theoretical perspectives and also in combination.

Putting theory into practice : moving from student identity to teacher identity

As teaching is a highly skilled and complex profession, pre-service teachers’ need to develop a series of attributes for their practice in relation to pedagogy, content, student learning, classroom management and their ability to engage in reflection. Through reflective narrative, this article seeks to share how a tertiary music educator prepares her generalist primary pre-service teachers to engage, explore and experience music education within the Bachelor of Education (Primary) course at Unnamed University. It also presents one pre-service teacher’s experience of teaching music during her school placements in 2009 in what she calls ‘putting theory into practice’ moving from student identity to teacher identity. Although the ‘hands-on’ approach to teaching and learning on-campus and when on school placement provide pre-service teachers with knowledge, skills and understanding, the continued support of professional learning is well recognised and will be an ongoing process as pre-service teachers create their own professional identity.

A 'game of nomenclature'? Performance-based sonic practice in Australia

 Robin Fox, Anthony Pateras, Lloyd Barrett and Joel Stern are artists who are influential in the Australian sound art and experimental music scenes, are interviewed. The interconnected and vibrant Australian artistic community, fertile with cross-collaboration and significantly engaged with each others work, they illustrate both the small size and artistic fertility of the Australian crossover between sound art and experimental music.

Songs for community

Songs for community 2 is a series of piano and instrumental music recorded at Deakin University in 2012.

The end of the rainbow

The End of the Rainbow is a documentary film about music, about community and a very special place. When the live music venue “The Rainbow Hotel” in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy is forced to close down publican Chickk sets out to accommodate the many musicians and customers grieving its closure with a final week of musical activity in which there is organisational chaos, dancing, laughs, beer (lots of), and great music. It is a week of celebration as musicians pay homage to mark “the End of an Era”, but it is also a statement about community places and a protest against property development at the expense of cultural heritage, specifically Australian live music. It’s also a love story with a dramatic twist...

Who is he now? The unearthly David Bowie

The question that has led and organised this special edition on David Bowie draws provocative attention to the way his career has been narrated by the constant transformation and recasting of his star image. By asking who is he now? the edition recognises that Bowie is a chameleon figure, one who reinvents himself in and across the media and art platforms that he is found in. This process of renewal means that Bowie constantly kills himself, an artistic suicide that allows for dramatic event moments to populate his music, and for a rebirth to emerge at the same time or shortly after he expires. Bowie has killed Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, Halloween Jack, Aladdin Sane, and the Thin White Duke to name but a few of his alter-egos. In this environment of death and resurrection, Bowie becomes a heightened, exaggerated enigma, a figure who constantly seems to be artificial or constructed and yet whose work asks us to look for his real self behind the mask – to ask the question, is this now the real Bowie that faces us? Of course, the answer is always no because Bowie is a contradictory constellation of images, stories and sounds whose star image rests on remaining an enigma, and like all stars in our midst, exists as a representation. Nonetheless, with Bowie - with this hyper- schizophrenic, confessional artist – the fan desire to get to know him, to immerse oneself in his worlds, fantasises, and projections - is particularly acute. With the unexpected release of The Next Day ((Iso/Columbia) on the 8th March 2013, the day of his 66th birthday, Bowie was resurrected again. The album and subsequent music videos drew explicitly on the question of who Bowie was and had been, creating a media frenzy around his past work, fan nostalgia for previous Bowie incarnations, and a pleasurable negotiation with his new output. In this special edition, edited by life-long Bowie fans, with contributions from die-hard Bowie aficionados, we seek to find him in the fragments and remains of what once was, and in the new enchantments of his latest work.

D.A. Pennebaker: Interviews

This wide-ranging and insightful collection of interviews with D. A. Pennebaker (b. 1925) spans the prolific career of this pioneer of observational cinema. From the 1950s to the present day, D. A. Pennebaker has made documentary films that have revealed the world of politics, celebrity culture, and the music industry. Following his early collaborations with Robert Drew on a number of works for television, his feature-length portrait of Bob Dylan on tour in England in 1965 (the landmark film Dont Look Back) established so-called direct cinema as a form capable of achieving broad theatrical release. With Monterey Pop, Pennebaker inaugurated the popular mode of rock concert film (or "rockumentary"), a style of filmmaking he has expanded on through a number of films, including Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Depeche Mode: 101. Pennebaker has always regarded collaboration as an integral part of his filmmaking methods. His long-running collaboration with Richard Leacock and subsequently his work with Chris Hegedus have enriched his approach and, in the process, have instituted collaboration as a working practice integral to American direct cinema. His other collaborations, in particular, with Jean-Luc Godard and Norman Mailer, resulted in innovative combinations of observational techniques and fictional aesthetics. Such films as The War Room, which was about the 1992 Democratic primaries and was nominated for an Academy Award, and the 2009 Kings of Pastry continue to explore the capacities of observational documentary. In 2012 Pennebaker was the first documentary filmmaker to be awarded an Academy Honorary Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.