‘Being in a womb’ or ‘playing musical chairs’ : the impact of place and space on infant feeding in NICUs

Background: Becoming a parent of a preterm baby requiring neonatal care constitutes an extraordinary life situation in which parenting begins and evolves in a medical and unfamiliar setting. Although there is increasing emphasis within maternity and neonatal care on the influence of place and space upon the experiences of staff and service users, there is a lack of research on how space and place influence relationships and care in the neonatal environment. The aim of this study was to explore, in-depth, the impact of place and space on parents’ experiences and practices related to feeding their preterm babies in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) in Sweden and England. Methods: An ethnographic approach was utilised in two NICUs in Sweden and two comparable units in England, UK. Over an eleven month period, a total of 52 mothers, 19 fathers and 102 staff were observed and interviewed. A grounded theory approach was utilised throughout data collection and analysis. Results: The core category of ‘the room as a conveyance for an attuned feeding’ was underpinned by four categories: the level of ‘ownership’ of space and place; the feeling of ‘at-homeness’; the experience of ‘the door or a shield’ against people entering, for privacy, for enabling a focus within, and for regulating socialising and the; ‘window of opportunity’. Findings showed that the construction and design of space and place was strongly influential on the developing parent-infant relationship and for experiencing a sense of connectedness and a shared awareness with the baby during feeding, an attuned feeding. Conclusions: If our proposed model is valid, it is vital that these findings are considered when developing or reconfiguring NICUs so that account is taken of the influences of spatiality upon parent’s experiences. Even without redesign there are measures that may be taken to make a positive difference for parents and their preterm babies.

A new voice in a new place: musical encounters with a difference

Australian education providers at the university level are being challenged to be more inclusive of cultural diversity and associated knowledge systems in their curricula. This article reports on some findings of a research study that aimed to evaluate the introduction of African music to primary teacher education students and to provide them with a context for assimilating African music into their own teaching practice. This paper reports on my work as a music educator in sharing my different worlds of experience ‘with one voice’ in order to expand students’ local knowledge base. It also discusses the nature and applications of African music and demonstrates some aspects that correlate with Western music. Through a study of both Western and African pedagogies and repertoire, students were able to gain a more holistic perspective of the role of music in society and were able to contextualize and transfer epistemological and pedagogical insights from one society to another.

Enhancing students' experience in music composition through music notation software

A project was undertaken in a Hong Kong primary school to investigate the role of music notation software in leaching music composition. The project was divided into three stages. During the first stage, appropriate hardware equipment and software applications were installed in the school music room, and four teaching plans were developed on the models and strategies derived from findings in the local and international literature. During the second stage, these teaching plans were implemented in Grade One, Grade Three, Grade Five and Grade Six classes of the school. During the third stage, the effectiveness of these teaching activities was evaluated by comparing the experiences from the second stage to the corresponding findings from similar projects undertaken in other Hong Kong primary schools, as well as to findings from the international literature. The results demonstrated that tile visual and audio stimulation created by computer"based technology can motivate students to successfully engage in music composition. Moreover, computer"based technology provides an opportunity for students to compose music in an atonal idiom. However, a large number of students were unable to demonstrate the concept of structural design in their musical products, and one of the findings from this investigation was that teachers need to be more purposeful in their teaching by directing students to employ the technique of repetition of interesting musical fragments or phrases in order to achieve a sense of unity in their pieces.

Using voice to make musical and social connections

Community music is a rich and ongoing activity-taking place in formal and informal settings around Australia. This small-scale phenomenological qualitative case study is part of my wider study Spirituality and Wellbeing: Music in the Community that began in 2013. This paper demonstrates that community music making in a regional district in Victoria (Australia) makes it possible for choirs to use their voice to make musical and social connections to self and community that enhances both personal and community wellbeing. In May 2014, I visited three choirs for a week in the city of Warnnambool. Drawing on observation, questionnaires and focus group semi-structured interviews, I analysed 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 and sustainability. Though generalisations cannot be made to other towns or choirs, the findings show the need, importance and benefits of connecting to each other and the wider community. Using voice can serve as an effective platform to promote issues in the community such as social justice and the environment. It is hoped that the findings may provide a vehicle for further dialogue where choirs in other settings may experience similar connections to their community.

Corporeidade e educação: sinfonia de saberes na educação musical

This study investigates the implications between the musical theory and pedagogical practice based on a study that questions the reasons why some students feel incapable of learning the music language, as well as, if the musical codes are truly so difficult to be apprehended by them. To answer these questions takes itself as reference, the classes I have minister while teaching the disciplines: Music Workshop and Music Language I in the Art Department, Scenic Art Course at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. I have searched the knowledge that constitutes the teacher formation based on the union between the pedagogical efficiency and sensibility, searching in the Corporality the theoretical port for my investigation. This way, advocating is a methodological principle for musical education originated from the experience of knowledge: creating, playing, feeling, thinking, and the interaction among them, conducting the students not only to music learning, but to a process of human formation. It adopts itself as methodological resource, amongst the qualitative methods, some of the techniques that are associated with the ethnographic research, for having as its main objective, to study the meaning of the actions and events of the investigated group. The analysis of the data leads to the conclusion that when the teacher displays his or her pedagogical knowledge in an environment constructed with affectivity, in a playful and pleasant form, the assimilation and construction of the musical concepts happen naturally and efficiently, surpassing the taboo that music learning is only possible to the especially well endowed people for music. Very aware that the scientific debate is important for the strengthening of formative programs involved in the growth and consolidation of the musical teaching and learning area, it is expected to promote this research discussions and reflections in the general educational field with this research, as well as, to contribute significantly to the specific growth of musical education

The effects of different styles of musical auditory stimulation on cardiac autonomic regulation in healthy women

The literature investigated the effects of chronic baroque music auditory stimulation on the cardiovascular system. However, it lacks in the literature the acute effects of different styles of music on cardiac autonomic regulation. To evaluate the acute effects of baroque and heavy metal music on heart rate variability (HRV) in women. The study was performed in 21 healthy women between 18 and 30 years old. We excluded persons with previous experience with music instrument and those who had affinity with the song styles. All procedures were performed in the same sound-proof room. We analyzed HRV in the time (standard deviation of normal-to-normal respiratory rate (RR) intervals, root-mean square of differences between adjacent normal RR intervals in a time interval, and the percentage of adjacent RR intervals with a difference of duration greater than 50 ms) and frequency (low frequency [LF], high frequency [HF], and LF/HF ratio) domains. HRV was recorded at rest for 10 min. Subsequently they were exposed to baroque or heavy metal music for 5 min through an earphone. After the first music exposure they remained at rest for more 5 min and them they were exposed again to baroque or heavy metal music. The sequence of songs was randomized for each individual. The power analysis provided a minimal number of 18 subjects. Shapiro-Wilk to verify normality of data and analysis of variance for repeated measures followed by the Bonferroni test for parametric variables and Friedman's followed by the Dunn's post-test for non-parametric distributions. During the analysis of the time-domain indices were not changed. In the frequency-domain analysis, the LF in absolute units was reduced during the heavy metal music stimulation compared to control. Acute exposure to heavy metal music affected the sympathetic activity in healthy women.

A importância do ensino da improvisação musical no desenvolvimento do intérprete

Pós-graduação em Música - IA

O imaginário dos professores de música acerca do cotidiano musical dos jovens: um estudo no contexto das escolas integrais de Barueri, SP

Pós-graduação em Música - IA

A escuta musical no Monismo de Triplo Aspecto

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Response of cardiac autonomic modulation after a single exposure to musical auditory stimulation

The acute effects after exposure to different styles of music on cardiac autonomic modulation assessed through heart rate variability (HRV) analysis have not yet been well elucidated. We aimed to investigate the recovery response of cardiac autonomic modulation in women after exposure to musical auditory stimulation of different styles. The study was conducted on 30 healthy women aged between 18 years and 30 years. We did not include subjects having previous experience with musical instruments and those who had an affinity for music styles. The volunteers remained at rest for 10 min and were exposed to classical baroque (64-84 dB) and heavy metal (75-84 dB) music for 10 min, and their HRV was evaluated for 30 min after music cessation. We analyzed the following HRV indices: Standard deviation of normal-to-normal (SDNN) intervals, root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), percentage of normal-to-normal 50 (pNN50), low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), and LF/HF ratio. SDNN, LF in absolute units (ms (2) ) and normalized (nu), and LF/HF ratio increased while HF index (nu) decreased after exposure to classical baroque music. Regarding the heavy metal music style, it was observed that there were increases in SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50, and LF (ms (2) ) after the musical stimulation. In conclusion, the recovery response of cardiac autonomic modulation after exposure to auditory stimulation with music featured an increased global activity of both systems for the two musical styles, with a cardiac sympathetic modulation for classical baroque music and a cardiac vagal tone for the heavy metal style.

Processo de desenvolvimento da imaginação na pré-escola: implicações de um programa de intervenção ludo-pedagógico a partir do gênero musical samba

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A brincadeira da cultura tradicional da infância na formação musical do pedagogo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The persistence of musical memories: A descriptive study of earworms

We describe some characteristics of persistent musical and verbal retrieval episodes, commonly known as "earworms." In Study 1, participants first filled out a survey summarizing their earworm experiences retrospectively. This was followed by a diary study to document each experience as it happened. Study 2 was an extension of the diary study with a larger sample and a focus on triggering events. Consistent with popular belief, these persistent musical memories were common across people and occurred frequently for most respondents, and were often linked to recent exposure to preferred music. Contrary to popular belief, the large majority of such experiences were not unpleasant. Verbal earworms were uncommon. These memory experiences provide an interesting example of extended memory retrieval for music in a naturalistic situation.

Mental concerts: Musical imagery and auditory cortex

Most people intuitively understand what it means to “hear a tune in your head.” Converging evidence now indicates that auditory cortical areas can be recruited even in the absence of sound and that this corresponds to the phenomenological experience of imagining music. We discuss these findings as well as some methodological challenges. We also consider the role of core versus belt areas in musical imagery, the relation between auditory and motor systems during imagery of music performance, and practical implications of this research.

Sight-reading of violinists: eye movements anticipate the musical flow

When sight-reading a piece of music the eyes constantly scan the score slightly ahead of music execution. This separation between reading and acting is commonly termed eye-hand span and can be expressed in two ways: as anticipation in notes or in time. Previous research, predominantly in piano players, found skill-dependent differences of eye-hand span. To date no study has explored visual anticipation in violinists. The present study investigated how structural properties of a piece of music affect the eye-hand span in a group of violinists. To this end eye movements and bow reversals were recorded synchronously while musicians sight-read a piece of music. The results suggest that structural differences of the score are reflected in the eye-hand span in a way similar to skill level. Specifically, the piece with higher complexity was associated with lower anticipation in notes, longer fixation duration and a tendency for more regressive fixations. Anticipation in time, however, remained the same (approximately 1 s) independently of the score played but was correlated with playing tempo. We conclude that the eye-hand span is not only influenced by the experience of the musician, but also by the structure of the score to be played.