Traditional games are recovered from generation to generation

Communities, neighborhoods, and other environments are currently immersed in a series of situations and problems that have favored the deterioration of social, cultural and spiritual values, which are essential for harmony with oneself, others, and the environment. Stereotypes have captured minds and settings have been reduced to indoor spaces, hemmed in by security bars and protective devices.  Peace, fraternity and happiness are diminishing.  It is at this point that the social, spiritual and professional work of specialists in the recreational field contributes to rescue and restructure society. Traditional games and singing games are then the tools used to facilitate relationships, contribute to the learning process, and exhibit skills.  They are fundamental in a person’s life since they are a social and cultural expression of how humans have adapted to their environment (Maestro, 2005).  They do not take ethnicity, age, sex or social conditions into consideration.  Traditional games are also a way of promoting health, improving motor, cognitive and emotional skills and a means of encouraging creativity and imagination and developing a sense of rhythm.  Their goal is to attain a state of personal well-being.  They are a way to release tension and accumulated energy and to get away from the daily routine.  They represent a bridge to learn about oneself, the environment, values, habits, and traditions. In this document, readers will learn how traditional games are transmitted, what their characteristics are, why they are an important tool in today’s society, how they are prepared, and how they can be revived and preserved.

O ator que canta um conto: a manipulação de parâmetros musicais na voz do ator

This research started with an investigation about the theatrical speaking. Through an empirical methodology that analyzed a practical experience of creating a play and bibliographical research, the actress/researcher investigated ways to manipulate musical parameters as tools in the creation process of the actor s voice. The actress/researcher attempted to connect theory and practice, moved by the desire to find a vocal expression in theater that unfolds as living and transforming movement. This dissertation also contains the report of pedagogical experiences, in which the actress/researcher explored strategies to teach the appropriation of musical parameters in the construction of the vocal work of the actor. Considering that speaking in theater is closer to singing than everyday speech, she concluded that the actor may compose music as a music composer does in the elaborating process of building vocal scores. Therefore, she demonstrated that it is of fundamental importance a musical training in the development of the actor.

Herramienta para mejorar la afinación vocal en Android

In this paper, a tool to improve vocal tuning in Android devices is presented. This application aims to offer exercises to practice and improve singing skills. The designed tool includes two main functionalities: sound synthesis, to provide with singing sound references, and fundamental frequency analysis, to analize the sound and check if the user sings the right musical note. The well-known Yin algorithm has been selected to perform the fundamental frequency analysis. Three different singing exercises are included: sing single notes, sing intervals and sing a note in order to complete a chord. The system also includes a graphical interface in which musical notation is employed to write down the singing sound. The system has been evaluated in order to test out its correct performance regarding both the analysis and synthesis of musical sounds.

Music Learning Tools for Android Devices

In this paper, a musical learning application for mobile devices is presented. The main objective is to design and develop an application capable of offering exercises to practice and improve a selection of music skills, to users interested in music learning and training. The selected music skills are rhythm, melodic dictation and singing. The application includes an audio signal analysis system implemented making use of the Goertzel algorithm which is employed in singing exercises to check if the user sings the right musical note. This application also includes a graphical interface to represent musical symbols. A set of tests were conducted to check the usefulness of the application as musical learning tool. A group of users with different music knowledge have tested the system and reported to have found it effective, easy and accessible.

Community music making and philanthropy: with One Voice choirs

Across the globe there are numerous philanthropic organizations that support community music engagement. Philanthropy is the desire to promote the welfare of others and is generally supported by the generous donation of money to good causes. One such group situated in Melbourne is Creativity Australia who oversees the With One Voice choirs. This program offers weekly community choirs that are led by a professional conductor. Each meeting is followed by supper. The choirs are supported by public sponsorship and currently around 68% of the choir members are subsidised. In this multiple case study we interviewed stakeholders, conductors and members of several of the choirs. This research is part of a larger joint research project, begun in 2008, Well-being and ageing: community, diversity and the arts in Victoria. Data were gathered from documentary sources and by individual and focus group semi-structured interviews (2014-2015) and were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. This paper explores the intersections of community music making and philanthropy

Community music: making social, community and music connections in Australia

Choirs are an important part of the social and cultural tapestry of any community. Participating, learning music and performing are key factors to joining music organisations such as choirs. Singing in a choir as a music activity within communities is found to be participatory and voluntary, providing an opportunity for civil expression, identity and connectedness. The focus of this paper involves three choirs from my wider research project ‘Spirituality and Wellbeing: Music in the community’ that started in 2013, in Melbourne (Australia). In May 2014, I visited three choirs for a week in the city of Warnnambool, a regional district in Victoria (Australia). I draw on Yin’s (2003) categorisation of case study methodology that is explanatory, exploratory and descriptive. I draw on observation notes and focus group semi-structured interviews to analyse and code the data using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The findings include why people join choirs in regional towns, what they enjoyed that contributed to their wellbeing and why they want to sing about issues that make connections to social justice, the environment and the community. Though generalisations cannot be made to other towns or choirs, it is hoped that the findings may provide a vehicle for further dialogue where

O enquadramento da disciplina de Canto no Ensino Artístico Especializado em Portugal desde o século XVIII até à atualidade

Este trabalho tem como principal objetivo a investigação e reflexão do ensino da música, designadamente do ensino de Canto, analisando não apenas a prática vocal, mas primordialmente a experiência pedagógica praticada ao longo dos últimos anos. Num primeiro momento, é apresentada uma contextualização histórica do ensino da música em Portugal, em meados do século XVIII. Este percurso pretende ainda expor a evolução do ensino musical desde a criação do primeiro Conservatório de Música de Lisboa em 1835 até à atualidade, identificando as especificidades pedagógicas mais recentes no que respeita à disciplina de Canto. Em segundo lugar, são identificados os aspetos progressivos e regressivos do ensino de Canto, através da análise de todos os diplomas legais aplicáveis. Relativamente à apreciação evolutiva desta disciplina, o presente estudo centra-se na Escola Artística do Conservatório de Música de Coimbra (EACMC) e nos seus 30 anos de existência. Neste sentido, são mencionadas as principais causas de sucesso e/ou insucesso da referida disciplina, apresentando algumas soluções para os problemas identificados.

Star struck

With poems ranging from the confessional to the mock-autobiographical, from imagism to a strange storytelling, from the comic and satirical to the plangent and disturbing, Star Struck startles us with the many faces of lyric poetry.This book of poems by the award-winning poet David McCooey is made up of four sections. The first documents an alienating encounter with a life-threatening illness. The second plays out an unforgettable obsession with darkness and light. The third brings together popular music and the ancient literary mode of the pastoral. In this highly original sequence we find, among other things, Bob Dylan singing Virgil, Joni Mitchell reflecting on life in Laurel Canyon, a lab monkey pondering the sound of music, and a bitter, surreal rewriting of ‘Down Under’ for our times. In the final section, narrative poetry is cast in an intensely new and uncanny light.

Avian responses to an emergent, wetland weed

African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum Solanaceae) is a Weed of National Significance in Australia. It is particularly problematic in Victoria and is thought to not only threaten native wildlife but also provide important habitat, particularly to birds, when there is no native alternative. In a wetland ecosystem such as a saltmarsh, boxthorn has the potential to increase structural complexity because it can stand as an emergent above surrounding vegetation. We compared bird assemblages and behaviour in saltmarsh vegetation with and without boxthorn in a coastal wetland in south-east Australia. Species assemblage, but not richness, changed with the presence of boxthorn. The presence of singing honeyeaters (Lichenostomus virescens) and white-fronted chats (Epthianura albifrons), the two most common native bird species (based on numerical and spatial dominance), appeared to drive these differences; singing honeyeaters preferred boxthorn while white-fronted chats avoided it. The presence of boxthorn increased the seasonal availability of fruit and flowers, which was reflected by a high frequency of foraging for fruit and nectar where boxthorn was present. In saltmarshes without boxthorn, there was a higher frequency of foraging for insects. Some, but not all, species responded to increased structural complexity and fruit/floral resources provided by boxthorn. Consequently, management by reducing boxthorn is likely to alter bird communities and the usage of sites by some native species, thus management success should consider fine-scale biodiversity objectives, such as managing for particular types or species of birds.

Les impacts d’un programme de chant choral sur le bien-être et la cognition de personnes âgées en perte d’autonomie

Résumé : Le chant choral serait bénéfique à tout âge : cette étude choisit d’en mesurer les impacts auprès de personnes très âgées. Un devis quantitatif quasi-expérimental à trois groupes fut adopté : la Chorale, l’Hebdo-Bistro (ateliers et conférences, groupe de comparaison), et le groupe Témoin. L’étude longitudinale, intergénérationnelle, comporta trois saisons. La cognition (Mattis, 3MS, Trail Making, empan numérique, fluences formelle, catégorielle), l’humeur (bien-être général, dépression (GDS)), l’autoefficacité (GSES) et l’autonomie (QAF) furent mesurées à trois reprises (pré, post, 2e post). En outre, des mesures hebdomadaires furent administrées concernant la santé physique (consultations médicales, médicaments, chutes) et la participation sociale (activités). L’analyse intergroupe ne rapporta aucune différence significative. Les comparaisons intragroupe montrèrent une amélioration significative pour la Chorale (3MS et activités sociales), et une tendance d’amélioration pour la Chorale et l’Hebdo-Bistro (fluence formelle). Bien que le petit échantillon (n=21) exclue toute généralisation, les résultats demeurent inspirants en contexte de vieillissement populationnel.

Estudo e análise técnica e interpretativa do papel principal de tenor nas óperas Lucia di Lammermoor (Edgardo) e L' Elisir d' Amore (Nemorino) de Gaetano Donizetti

Nesta dissertação pretendemos analisar a interpretação do papel do tenor nas óperas Lucia di Lammermoor e L´Elisir d´Amore de Gaetano Donizetti, estudando os principais fatores que influenciaram a interpretação do papel do tenor e como esta mudou ao longo dos anos, por comparação de gravações destas óperas com 50 anos de intervalo entre si. O período do bel canto está associado à linha de canto ornamentada para exprimir emoções, o que, em conjunto com outros aspetos, fez com que a voz de tenor passasse a ter uma emissão distinta, especialmente no registo agudo. O contexto histórico e musical desta época, bem como os desenvolvimentos técnicos que se verificaram, influenciaram a forma de cantar e introduziram o tenor como papel principal nas óperas, com todos os desafios de cantar na zona de passagem, de domínio da respiração e de respeito pelas diversas formas de expressão musical que os compositores do período do bel canto usavam como veículos de interpretação e expressão dos sentimentos. A escolha destas duas óperas de Donizetti assenta num gosto pessoal e no meu interesse em estudar os contrastes dos personagens Edgardo e Nemorino, que são apresentados nesta dissertação sob o ponto de vista interpretativo, analisando a problemática de cada papel e a forma como o percurso tonal destas obras influencia as performances dos intérpretes; Abstract: STUDY AND ANALYSIS TECHNICAL-INTERPRETATION OF THE LEADING ROLE OF THE TENOR IN THE OPERAS LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (EDGARDO) AND L´ELISIR D´AMORE (NEMORINO) OF GAETANO DONIZETTI In this dissertation we analyze the interpretation of the tenor role in the operas Lucia di Lammermoor and L´Elisir d´Amore by Gaetano Donizetti, studying the major factors that influenced the tenor role interpretation and how it developed along the years, by comparing two recordings of these operas recorded 50 years apart from each other. The period of the bel canto is associated with the vocal ornamentation to express emotions which, as a consequence and together with other aspects, required technical changes to the tenor voice, in particular the high register. The historic and musical context of this time, as well as the technical developments that happened then, influenced the way of singing and introduced the tenor as the main role in operas, with all the challenges to sing in the passagio, to master the breathing process and to use all the forms of musical expression that the bel canto composers used as vehicles to interpret and express feelings. The choice of these two operas by Donizetti is based on personal taste and also on the interpretative contrasts between the roles of Edgardo and Nemorino, studied in this dissertation in terms of their interpretation, their problematic and how the harmony of these operas influences the interpretation of the singers.