Showing papers in "Musicae Scientiae in 2014"
Journal Article•
183 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce the German version of the Gold-MSI inventory, a tool for evaluating self-reported musical abilities and musical expertise, based on the multidimensional construct of Musical Sophistication and build on the idea that musical expertise cannot only be developed through musical training on an instrument but also through active engagement with music in its many facets.
Abstract: The present study introduces the German version of the Gold-MSI inventory, a tool for evaluating self-reported musical abilities and musical expertise. The Gold-MSI is based around the multidimensional construct of Musical Sophistication and builds on the idea that musical expertise cannot only be developed through musical training on an instrument but also through active engagement with music in its many facets. The questionnaire was developed with a very large English sample (Mullensiefen et al., 2014) and comprises musical expertise with five factors as well as the general factor Musical Sophistication. The English Gold-MSI questionnaire was translated into German and evaluated with a German sample (N = 641). Using confirmative factor analysis the underlying factor structure was confirmed. Furthermore, the results show high reliabilities of the five sub-factors as well as the general factor Musical Sophistication (Cronbach’s alpha between .72 and .91.). Additionally, relationships between variables of ...
87 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored attendees' perceptions of the psychological and social benefits associated with their attendance of the Woodford Folk Music Festival in Queensland (Australia) based on the research findings, music festival management strategies are suggested to improve the design of festival experiences to better cater to the artistic, musical, social and psychological needs of attendees thereby increasing the impact and depth of the experience.
Abstract: Attendance and participation at popular music festivals has become an important and increasingly common experience for people in many Western societies, yet little is known about the kinds of benefits visitors perceive they gain as a result of attending. This research explores attendees’ perceptions of the psychological and social benefits associated with their attendance of the Woodford Folk Music Festival in Queensland (Australia). Based upon the research findings, music festival management strategies are suggested to improve the design of festival experiences to better cater to the artistic, musical, social and psychological needs of attendees thereby increasing the impact and depth of the experience.
80 citations
TL;DR: Music performance anxiety (MPA), a condition common among musicians, consists of an anxious state characterized by cognitive, psychological, and physiological arousal as discussed by the authors, which is a condition that is usually associated with music performances.
Abstract: Music performance anxiety (MPA), a condition common among musicians, consists of an anxious state characterized by cognitive, psychological, and physiological arousal. Musicians often establish str...
72 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the consequences of emotion regulation strategies used during music listening, in terms of hedonic outcomes, and associations with emotional health and well-being, were investigated.
Abstract: Music is frequently used to support emotional health and well-being, with emotion regulation the most commonly reported mechanism. Music-based emotion regulation has not yet been extensively investigated within the broader emotion regulation framework. The effects of music-based emotion regulation on emotional state and well-being outcomes have also rarely been tested in real time. The current study aimed to determine the consequences of emotion regulation strategies used during music listening, in terms of hedonic outcomes, and associations with emotional health and well-being. A sample of 327 participants used the MuPsych application (app), a mobile experience sampling methodology designed for the real-time and ecologically-valid measurement of personal music listening. Results revealed that using music to regulate a recently experienced emotion (response-focused strategies) yielded the greatest hedonic success, but was associated with poorer emotional health and well-being. Music-based emotion regulati...
69 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue for the importance of paying proper attention to phenomenological qualities of listeners' experiences, for the historically specific and changing nature of human subjectivity experienced through music, and for a dynamic and animated understanding of musical engagement.
Abstract: “Strong experiences of music”—to use Alf Gabrielsson’s (2011) term—commonly, but apparently paradoxically, seem to involve people in both losing themselves and finding themselves in music. How can this be? Who or what is lost, and, equally, who or what is found, and how can they both happen together? In this paper I offer an approach to these questions, framed within the perspectives of musical consciousness and musical subjectivity, that attempts to bring together perceptual, emotional and embodied components of musical experience, embedded in the ecology of everyday listening. In doing so, I also argue for the importance of paying proper attention to phenomenological qualities of listeners’ experiences, for the historically specific and changing nature of human subjectivity experienced through music, and for a dynamic and animated understanding of musical engagement.
60 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated how music-related mood regulation relates to psychopathology, specifically depression, anxiety, and stress, in young people, through examining the brain's response to music.
Abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate how music-related mood regulation relates to psychopathology – specifically depression, anxiety, and stress – in young people, through examining the ...
59 citations
TL;DR: The association between major/minor tonality and positive/negative emotional valence is psychologically robust, but without a single accepted explanation as mentioned in this paper, and six partially related theories are compared.
Abstract: The association between major/minor tonality and positive/negative emotional valence is psychologically robust, but without a single accepted explanation. I compare six partially related theories. ...
47 citations
TL;DR: For example, this paper found that music lessons increase children's performance on cognitive ability tests and promote academic achievement, and that the association between academic achievement and music lessons remains reliable even when...
Abstract: Music lessons increase children’s performance on cognitive ability tests and promote academic achievement. The association between academic achievement and music lessons remains reliable even when ...
33 citations
TL;DR: The extent to which musical progress is sequenced and orderly, and why some children's progress appears to appear chaotic, has been investigated in this article. But the authors focus on two fundamental issues.
Abstract: Music education researchers have sought to clarify two fundamental issues. The first concerns ‘the extent to which musical progress is sequenced and orderly, and why some children’s progress appear...
28 citations
TL;DR: The results show how the years between 40 and 50 are a time of change, and confirm the inverted J-curve that was described in previous studies on the topic of peak musical performance.
Abstract: The use of the lifespan perspective as a reference point for analysing and researching the musical and artistic development of professional musicians has only recently begun to attract more attenti...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the dynamics of stereotype activation in rock and hip-hop music, through the exposure of participants to priming (specific information of stereotypical nature, about the two music genres).
Abstract: The main objective of this research was examining the dynamics of stereotype activation in rock and hip-hop music, through the exposure of participants to priming (specific information of stereotypical nature, about the two music genres). The comparative experimental research was performed on a sample of 72 participants, aged between 19 and 21, using The Multidimensional Iowa Suggestibility Scale (short form) and The Lyrics Evaluation Scale. The research used a one-factorial experimental design with the two experimental conditions (absence or presence of priming) realized between groups. In the experiment, participants listened to eight songs belonging to the two music genres and evaluated the lyrics of the songs. The results have shown that stereotype activation occurs in the experimental group, through the more negative evaluation of the songs listened to, in comparison with the control group. The dynamics of stereotype activation is discussed in relation to theories postulated in the field. The implica...
Abstract: Songs that convey sorrowful emotions enjoy widespread popularity. The expressions and effects of negative emotions vary considerably across cultures and musical forms. This study explores the physi...
TL;DR: This paper focused on the affective experiences of listening to self-identified sad music and found that listening to sad music can affect the emotional state of the listener, but not the mood of the music.
Abstract: This study focuses on the affective experiences of listening to self-identified sad music. Previous studies have concentrated on the emotions induced by music by rationalizing and labelling emotion...
TL;DR: The authors explored how an expert period instrument musician makes musical decisions, focusing on the distinction between intuitive (Type 1) and deliberate (Type 2) processes as defined by dual-problems.
Abstract: This study explores how an expert period instrument musician makes musical decisions, focusing on the distinction between intuitive (Type 1) and deliberate (Type 2) processes as defined by dual-pro...
TL;DR: The way a song sounds depends on, among other things, what instruments are audible to the listener as discussed by the authors, and the systematic relationship between instrumentation or the particular combination of them.
Abstract: The way a song sounds depends on, among other things, what instruments are audible to the listener. We document the systematic relationship between instrumentation, or the particular combination of...
TL;DR: In this article, the PETTLEP model has been used to design imagery interventions for musicians to enhance their performance in sporting settings, and a model for designing imagery interventions has been discussed.
Abstract: Imagery is commonly used by both athletes and musicians as an additional training aid to enhance performance. Although considerable research attention has been paid to this psychological intervention technique in sporting settings, studies investigating the beneficial effects of imagery on musical performance are less common. Imagery research that has been conducted in musical settings has tended to show that imagery is beneficial in improving performance, although few guidelines exist in the music literature regarding how musicians could use imagery to improve their performance. In this article, we review the research which has investigated the use of imagery as a performance enhancing technique in musical settings to date. We then outline a model for designing imagery interventions (known as the PETTLEP model) which has produced beneficial performance effects when implemented in sporting settings, and discuss how it could be used by musicians to enhance performance.
TL;DR: In this article, a qualitative exploratory case study of compositional inspiration, thinking, and decision-making was conducted in natural settings in the composer's work studio during the compositional process.
Abstract: This article reports a qualitative exploratory case study of a composer’s compositional inspiration, thinking, and decision-making. The aim was to explore the dynamics and functions of intuitive and reflective modes of thinking, thus expanding the recent trend in composition research, which has given increasing attention to implicit, imaginative, and inspirational aspects of composition. The data of the study were collected in natural settings in the composer’s work studio during the compositional process. The data comprised stimulated recall interviews, as well as all of the manuscripts that the composer wrote concerning the process under scrutiny. The findings indicate the saliency of the composer’s germinal ideas into the compositional process. The composer elaborated, transcribed, and embodied his multimodal ideas, step-by-step, into musical passages of the evolving score. The process comprised two core procedures. First, compositional thinking was manifested as concrete representations, i.e., the man...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors considered personality as predictive of favorable music piracy attitudes and explored positive anti-piracy messages as a potential deterrent, with personality being a significant predictor of piracy attitudes.
Abstract: Addressing one of the principal lines of research on music piracy, the present study considers personality as predictive of favorable music piracy attitudes. Additionally, positive anti-piracy messages were explored as a potential deterrent. A total of 261 participants (45.60% male) with a mean age of 26.34 participated in an online questionnaire. Personality was measured using the 60-item version of the HEXACO PI-R (Lee & Ashton, 2004). The effects of positive verbal anti-piracy messages were measured using an existing research paradigm, with participants allocated to one of four conditions (“legal sales of music encourage future live performances”, “legal sales of music allow fans greater access to exclusive content”, “legal sales of music will incorporate charitable donations” and control) emphasizing different positive outcomes to legally purchasing recorded music. An original construct (AMP-12) measured attitudes towards music piracy. Personality was a significant predictor of piracy attitudes, with ...
TL;DR: In this article, a large sample of music performance criticism in the British classical music market through the analysis of reviews of Beethoven's piano sonata recordings (n=845) published in the magazine Gramophone between 1923 and 2010 was analyzed.
Abstract: The study offers an overview of a large sample of music performance criticism in the British classical music market through the analysis of reviews of Beethoven’s piano sonata recordings (n=845) published in the magazine Gramophone between 1923 and 2010. Reviews were collected from the Gramophone archive, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to explore the reviews’ metadata: issue, text length, repertoire, release status, pianists reviewed and critics. There were a large number of recordings (n=641) and pianists (n=216) considered during this period, with reviews provided by 52 critics. However, reviews were concentrated around only a small number of authors and performers. The most frequently published critics had long careers and a high level of familiarity with the repertoire and its interpretations. Comparisons between performances were found to be a characterizing trait of critical practice, and the most often reviewed pianists corresponded to those most frequently used for comparisons. Besides new recordings, there were many reviews of re-issues (n=2045), although this pattern decreased in later decades. The findings emphasize the importance of the comparative element for the evaluation of performances and the necessity to account for the peculiar nature of recorded versus live performance to understand the processes behind critical practice. Furthermore, taken together the results suggest that critics may have an important role as filters of choice in the musical market.
In the Western classical tradition, music criticism is a well-established practice with origins in the late seventeenth century (Cowart, 1981). Much more recent, however, is the emergence of music performance criticism – that is, criticism of live or recorded performances in which the main object is the realization of the work being performed, not the work itself.
This form of criticism developed during the course of the twentieth century, influenced by developments in recording technology, the decrease of in performances of new compositions and the establishment of a canon of classical music repertoire, and the consequent elevation of the performer from the status of executor to that of interpreter. Critics had suddenly a new challenge with which to cope: reviewing and comparing different interpretations of the same piece by different performers (Monelle, 2002). Performance criticism spread and entered newspapers as well as specialist magazines such as The Gramophone (now Gramophone), which was founded in 1923 and rose rapidly to become one of the most authoritative voices for criticism of classical music performance during the last century.
TL;DR: In this paper, 30 rhythmic music excerpts were presented to 60 individuals. Dance movements to each excerpt were recorded using an optical motion capture system, preference for each excerpt recorded on a 5-po...
Abstract: Thirty rhythmic music excerpts were presented to 60 individuals. Dance movements to each excerpt were recorded using an optical motion-capture system, preference for each excerpt recorded on a 5-po...
TL;DR: In this paper, music cognition is closely related with some types of nonmusical cognition, and music training improves musical cognitive abilities, and also influences non-musical abilities, especially motor skills.
Abstract: Music cognition is closely related with some types of nonmusical cognition. Music training improves musical cognitive abilities, and also influences nonmusical abilities, especially motor skills. T...
TL;DR: A graphical interface-based automated music composition (GBAMC) software program was developed, yielding enhanced usability, sequenced design, graphical technology, auditory learning, and intelligence.
Abstract: To facilitate music composition among children and students, this study examined the properties of automated music composition, attempting to leverage this advanced technique to provide children with an easy-to-learn and easy-to-accomplish method of composing music. Consequently, a graphical interface-based automated music composition (GBAMC) software program was developed, yielding enhanced usability, sequenced design, graphical technology, auditory learning, and intelligence. Learning satisfaction and attitude were surveyed among sixth-grade elementary school students (age = 12 years), indicating that students typically exhibited high levels of learning satisfaction and a positive learning attitude; learning satisfaction and attitude were also positively and significantly correlated in each dimension. Finally, recommendations were proposed for future studies to help users enjoy music composition without requiring an extensive background in musical theory.
TL;DR: Results have shown that each musical segment was more frequently paired with other segments of the same TSU category than with other TSU segments, and some TSU categories seemed to be more easily identifiable than others.
Abstract: Nineteen Temporal Semiotic Units (TSU) have been defined by musicians and researchers from the Laboratoire Musique et Informatique de Marseille (MIM) as categories of musical segments that acquire meaning through their temporal organization. The model of Parameterized Time Motifs (PTMs) provides a graphic modelling of TSUs, which is based on temporal functions and allows for their synthesis. The aim of the present study is to validate the model of PTMs through categorization. To do this, musician and non-musician participants were made to listen and group together three kinds of musical segments: TSUs taken from existing musical works, musical segments played on the piano that correspond to TSUs, and TSUs synthesized from the PTM model. Results have shown that each musical segment, whether synthesized from the PTM model or not, was more frequently paired with other segments of the same TSU category than with other TSU segments. No strong effect of musical expertise was observed. Finally, some TSU categories seemed to be more easily identifiable than others. The significance of these results is discussed in regard to the categorization theory and the effect of implicit learning on perception and knowledge.
TL;DR: In this article, a logistic regression analysis was calculated to quantify the predictability of final grades in the main instrument and music theory based on the respective entrance exam grades of students in a bachelor degree program (N = 63) over a period of three years.
Abstract: For successful admission to universities of music, prospective students have to pass entrance exams which assess the quality of their music-making and, in some instances, their abilities in music theory and aural training. However, only very little is known about the validity of such grades and the skill development of expectant professional musicians. For the first time, the present study analyzes the long-term development of grades of students in a bachelor degree program (N = 63) over a period of 3 years. As the grades were neither interval-scaled nor normally distributed, a logistic regression analysis was calculated to quantify the predictability of final grades in the main instrument and music theory based on the respective entrance exam grades. The prognostic validity was low for grades in both the main instrument and music theory/aural training (Nagelkerke R2 = .08 and .01). This result can be mainly attributed to two explanations: First, university grades are often inflated and subject to ceiling effects. Second, the curricula in music theory contain such variety that it is impossible to define what all students across the board learn. In order to better define expertise skill development in students, we suggest initiating regular competency-based assessments for professional musicians at a pre-collegiate and collegiate level.
TL;DR: According to the Hindustani music tradition, the ability of a song to induce certain emotions depends on the time of day: playing a song at the right time is said to maximise its emotional effect as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: According to the Hindustani music tradition, the ability of a song to induce certain emotions depends on the time of day: playing a song at the right time is said to maximise its emotional effect. The present exploratory study investigated this claim by combining findings in chronobiology, mood research and music perception. It has already been established that some aspects of our mood fluctuations follow a cyclical pattern. Besides, it is a known fact that our current mood influences our perception and assessment of emotions. However, these elements have never been linked together in a study examining the effect of mood cyclicity on perceived emotions in music. To test the hypothesis of a link between the two, Western film music excerpts were played to 36 participants at two different times (9 a.m. and 4 p.m.). Their task was to rate the perceived emotional content of each clip. The results showed that sad and tender clips were rated higher on sadness and tenderness in the morning compared to the afterno...
TL;DR: The 4th International Conference on Music & Emotion (ICME4) as mentioned in this paper was held at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland from 11-15 June 2014.
Abstract: One of the key reasons people engage with music, whether as listener or performer, therapist or researcher, is because of its emotional impact. Music comforts us when we’re sad, lifts us up in happier times, bonds us together. We use music to modify our mood, augment current feelings, release tension. Given the ever-growing presence of music in our everyday lives, the investigation of issues related to and subsequent dissemination of knowledge concerning music and emotion is becoming increasingly relevant. This special issue is based on work presented at the 3rd International Conference on Music & Emotion (ICME3) organised by the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Music Research at the Department of Music of the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, 11-15 June 2013. This five-day meeting, which followed previous ICME meetings in Durham, UK (2009) and Perth, Australia (2011), featured over 200 invited keynote addresses, papers, posters, and symposia presented by leading scientists, pedagogues, practitioners, and performers from 35 countries. Work presented at the conference explored many different facets of music and emotion, and when soliciting contributions for this special issue a major aim was to offer breadth of content while remaining inside the confines of the limited number of papers that could realistically be included in such a volume. Consequently, the papers presented herein cover a wide range of topics related to music and emotion, include both empirical and theoretical contributions, and are written by authors ranging from early stage scholars to established figures within the music and emotion community. The volume begins with a consideration of a fundamental yet understudied factor that might affect perception of emotion in music – time of day (Brabant et al.). This is followed by an examination of emotional outcomes derived from regulation strategies used during music listening (Randall et al.), and an exploration of spatial and bodily metaphors in descriptions of listening to sad music (Peltola et al.). A slightly different approach is taken by the guest editor and colleagues in an investigation of emotion-driven effects of music preferences and personality on musicrelated movement characteristics (Luck et al.). Emotional connotations of major-minor tonality are subsequently explored in the context of Schenkerin prolongation (Parncutt), and the volume is (rather fittingly) wrapped up with a paper that questions the suitability of the term ‘emotion’ to describe the wide range of music-related phenomena to which it is applied (Clarke). It gives me great pleasure to submit this special issue to the music and emotion community. For those whose appetite is sufficiently whetted, the 4th International Conference on Music & Emotion (ICME4), will be organised by the University of Geneva and the Geneva University of Music in 2015. 543751 MSX0010.1177/1029864914543751Musicae ScientiaeEditorial editorial2014
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the different types of skills and abilities that piano students use to memorize pieces during their education process, and they found that during students' education process it is important to implement different study s...
Abstract: The present study analyses the different types of skills and abilities that piano students use to memorise pieces. During students’ education process, it is important to implement different study s...
TL;DR: In this paper, the acoustic attributes of sound production techniques that are involved in the expansion of performance practice with the violin were analyzed and compared with the results of a single case study.
Abstract: This article will present a single case study of the acoustic attributes of sound production techniques that are involved in the expansion of performance practice with the violin. In this study, four elements were chosen from the multidimensional network involved in playing a normal tone, and then each was intentionally decoupled from ordinario. These elements (bow speed, bow placement, bow angle, and bow portion) were scaled between minimal and maximal values for any single parameter. Then, between minimal and maximal values, a series of scalar degrees were chosen to more or less uniformly link these extremes. This article will present acoustical attributes of these methods and discuss implications for musical usage. This study found that decoupling of any single parameter will result in perceptible differences that range from timbral to dynamical (sound) class change.