Effects of dopaminergic and subthalamic stimulation on musical performance.

Although subthalamic-deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is an efficient treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD), its effects on fine motor functions are not clear. We present the case of a professional violinist with PD treated with STN-DBS. DBS improved musical articulation, intonation and emotional expression and worsened timing relative to a timekeeper (metronome). The same effects were found for dopaminergic treatment. These results suggest that STN-DBS, mimicking the effects of dopaminergic stimulation, improves fine-tuned motor behaviour whilst impairing timing precision.

A preparação para performance musical de quarteto de violões

Pós-graduação em Música - IA

Carimbó do Santo Preto: a presença negra na performance musical da festividade do Glorioso São Benedito em Santarém Novo (PA)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Carimbó do Santo Preto: a presença negra na performance musical da festividade do Glorioso São Benedito em Santarém Novo (PA)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

O corpo na interpretação musical

Esta comunicação será dividida em duas partes: na primeira parte e feita a abordagem teórica sobre questões relacionadas com o corpo enquanto responsável pelos aspectos mecânicos e expressivos da interpretação; na segunda parte são apresentadas demonstrações práticas e sua avaliação sob um ponto de vista empírico. A apresentação teórica tem como base um trabalho da autora, intitulado "The Body in Musical Performance", que analisa o comportamento corpor.al desde a percepção musical pré-natal e ao longo das várias fases de crescimento, até às subtis interacções não verbais entre intérpretes de um mesmo grupo e destes com o público. As demonstrações práticas abordarão o seguinte: - gestualidade, expressão corporal e expressividad.e não verbal no pianista solista e seu significado; - a comunicação e expressividade corporal entre membros de um quarteto de cordas desde o ensaio até à apresentação pública.

Ansiedade na performance: causas e possíveis curas

I - Este relatório pretende descrever o estágio especializado em ensino de música realizado no âmbito do mestrado em Ensino de Música na Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa. Este estágio decorreu no Instituto Gregoriano de Lisboa e no Conservatório de Música, de Dança e de Arte Dramática de Lisboa, duas escolas de ensino oficial especializado. Sendo a primeira pública e a segunda privada, estas escolas apresentam realidades muito diferentes do ponto de vista organizacional e de gestão, que resultam em situações heterogéneas e dependentes de vários factores que serão mencionados ao longo deste relatório. A análise SWOT efectuada para cada uma destas organizações descreve mais objectivamente os factores e variáveis que permitiram construir este relatório. Foram caracterizados três alunos, um de cada curso: preparatório, básico e secundário. A Maria M. é a aluna do 2º ano do curso preparatório, o Pedro R. é aluno de 3º grau do curso básico de instrumento e o Diego M. é aluno de 7º grau. Foram aprofundadas as práticas pedagógicas desenvolvidas com cada um dos alunos e os avanços e metas atingidas por cada um destes alunos. Este estágio resulta numa reflexão sobre a prática pedagógica aplicada e as suas motivações.

Music performance anxiety among full-time music students

Introduction Music performance anxiety (MPA, often referred to as "stage fright") is one of the leading severe medical problems among musicians. For about 15-25% of musicians MPA is a serious problem. Particularly high levels of MPA are observed among music students. Musical performance can induce negative emotions, including anxiety, which in some individuals can approach extreme levels of terror and take the form of panic attack, impair the quality of the performance, lead to avoidance of performance situations, and consequently have debilitating effects on the career. Coping efforts used by musicians in their attempts to manage MPA, such as sedatives, alcohol, and β-blockers can have deleterious health side-effects. Music ranks high in the cultural and economic life of Switzerland. In ten university music schools, students from all around the world are educated to become professional musicians. Despite the importance of musical education in Switzerland, data concerning the phenomenon of MPA are largely lacking. Goal and Methods The main goal of this research was to survey the occurrence, experience, and management of MPA among full-time music students in French Swiss conservatories. A questionnaire was developed based on the literature and interviews with music students and teachers and distributed to all the students of the conservatories of Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, and Neuchâtel in the spring 2007. 194 students (61% women) returned the questionnaire. Results The size of the problem: MPA is a major problem for 1/3 of the students (ranks 3 and 4). The consequences of MPA: 22% and 35% of the students think that they have failed exams and auditions, respectively, because of MPA. Further, 25% of the students have already avoided performing and 11% have interrupted public performances because of MPA. Coping with MPA: 90% of the students have never used alcohol prior to performing, whereas 97% and 81%, respectively, have never used recreation drugs and medication. The majority of students use relaxation exercises, respiratory exercises, and meditation techniques to prepare themselves. About ¾ of the students think that the use of alcohol and recreational drugs to manage MPA is never justified. 53% of the students think that the use of medication is justified on some occasions. Need for information and support: 66% of the students would like to receive more support and help to cope with music performance situations. This support should mainly come from their teachers and specialists. 53% of the students know nothing or little about possible means for the management of MPA. About 50% consider themselves not at all or little informed about the possible risks associated with the consumption of alcohol, recreational drugs, and medication for the management of performance situations. 89% would like to know more about MPA and 94% think that this topic should be discussed much more in their musical education at the conservatory. Conclusions The results of this survey indicate that MPA is a major problem for 1/3 of the students with serious consequences on their career. There is a huge need for more information and support on how to manage the stress due to performance situations. The use of alcohol, recreational drugs, and medication is modest but the students are poorly informed about possible side-effects of these coping strategies. It seems clear that more should be done in the French Swiss conservatories about music performance anxiety to inform, educate, and prepare the students for their future professional career.

L’alè del clarinet : la respiració en la interpretació musical amb el clarinet

El projecte és una proposta d’exploració i reflexió personal sobre la respiració en la interpretació musical amb el clarinet i els aspectes corporals i pedagògics relacionats que fan possible l’estat psicofísic necessari per a una interpretació fluïda, creativa i amb veu pròpia. Per al seu desenvolupament, s’ha aprofundit en el coneixement de l’anatomia i fisiologia de la respiració, així com en la consciència corporal per aplicar-ho a la interpretació amb el clarinet i desenvolupar unes eines per a la seva didàctica. El mètode de treball consta de tres fases: la documentació, les entrevistes i les sessions didàctiques. Tot plegat ha significat un profund aprenentatge a nivell personal.

The expression and production of piano timbre : gestural control and technique, perception and verbalisation in the context of piano performance and practice

La version intégrale de cette thèse est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (http://www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU).

Postmodernism, culture and feminism: the aesthetics of space and performance in Rock Follies and Rock Follies of '77

This article discusses the aesthetic and spatial representational strategies of the popular studio-based musical television drama serials Rock Follies and Rock Follies of ’77. It analyses how the texts’ themes relating to women and the entertainment industry are mediated through their postmodern ironic mode and representation of fantastic spaces. Rock Follies’ distinctive stylised aesthetic and mode of caricature are analysed with reference to the visual intentions and ‘voice’ of the writer, Howard Schuman. Through considering the programmes’ various spatial strategies, the article draws attention to the importance of visual and performance style in their postmodern discourse on culture, fantasy, gender and subjectivity. Analysis of the spaces of musical performance, characters’ domestic environments and simulated entertainment spaces reveals how a dialectic is established between the escapist imaginative pleasures of fantasy and the manipulative and exploitative practices of the culture industry. The shift from the optimism of the first series, when the LittleLadies first form, to the darker mood of the second series, in which they are increasingly divided by industry pressures, is traced through changes in the aesthetics of space and characterisation. As a space of artifice, performance and electronic visual manipulation that facilitates the texts’ reflexive representation of culture and feminised fantasy, the studio’s unique aesthetic strengths emerge through this case study.

Performance analysis and analysis for performance : a study of Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9

This study of Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9 aims at gaining insight into the decision-making processes of translating a score into a musical performance. Chapter I presents a discussion of selected issues related to interpretative analysis. Chapter II is an overview of the approaches to recording comparison deemed relevant to the present study. Chapter III is a comparative study of the vocal and string versions of Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9, while Chapter IV offers a structural analysis of the work. Chapter V compares four recordings: the composer’s own with the Orchestre National de La Radiodiffusion Française—EMI 7243 5 66964 2 6; Odaline de la Martinez and the BBC Singers, LNT 102; Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony —RCA 09026-68538-2; and my own CD, Construção, Orquestra de Câmara Theatro São Pedro- Limited Edition (live recording made on December 11, 1995 in Bayreuth, Germany). This comparison utilizes data obtained with the software Tempo. The tabulation of these results is shown in graphs that compare how matters of tempo flexibility affect each performance. This multi-faceted study shows that although painstaking analysis can lead to insightful solutions, the fleeting nature of musical performance requires an open mind and imagination to deal with the often contradictory directives of the score.

A sonoridade do violão na execução musical : um estudo sobre os seus aspectos formadores e análise de duas gravações das Quatro Peças Breves de Frank Martin

A sonoridade é um aspecto importante para a execução violonística. Esse trabalho tem por objetivo estudar a sonoridade com um elemento da execução musical, entender os seus aspectos formadores dentro do âmbito técnico, textual e perceptivo, utilizando-se como exemplo duas gravações das Quatro Peças Breves de Frank Martin. Os resultado são discutidos à luz do embasamento teórico, fazendo-se considerações a respeito das possibilidades de execução musical e como a sonoridade do violão atua nesse contexto.

Transcrição musical: um estudo critíco do repertório para instrumentos de cordas dedilhadas

Pós-graduação em Música - IA

A importância do ensino da improvisação musical no desenvolvimento do intérprete

Pós-graduação em Música - IA