Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Research Publications

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    The MT-VR Solution: A Novel Telehealth Approach to Delivering Online Group Singing Therapy for People with Quadriplegia
    Tamplin, J ; Loveridge, B ; Li, Y ; Clarke, K ; Berlowitz, D (World Federation of Music Therapy, 2020)
    People living with quadriplegia are disproportionately rurally and regionally located, at high risk for social isolation, and face numerous barriers to accessing music therapy (MT). They also face significant risk of illness due to paralysis of the primary breathing muscles. Face-to-face group singing therapy can improve breathing, voice, mood, and social connectedness for people with quadriplegia (Tamplin et al 2013). Online delivery of group singing interventions may be a viable solution to improve access, however latency is a significant barrier to synchronous music performance over the Internet. Our research group has been working to find an acceptable solution to this issue, with implications for MT practise more widely due to the current high demand for telehealth MT solutions due to COVID-19.
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    Music therapy responds to societal challenges – Music therapy for geriatric care
    Wosch, T ; Blauth, L ; Clark, I ; Eickholt, J ; Fachner, J ; Grandjean, D ; Mühling, T ; Thurn, T ; Warnke, S (University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt, 2021)
    Music Therapy in the care of older adults, in dementia care and for families with people with special needs is located in the comprehensive field of music-therapy- and interdisciplinary research. Conference proceedings present and discuss current developments and evaluations of music therapy interventions in PhD-research projects, furthermore outcomes on quality of relationship of caregivers, relevant brain research on music and emotion, musical entrainment and social brain in music therapy and for people living with dementia, relevant health technology assessment models in Germany and UK, and sociological research on homebased family caregivers of researchers and research centers of FHWS, Germany, Australia, Switzerland and UK.
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    Video Feedback to Support Student Assessment when Teaching Music Online
    Blackburn, A ; Johnson, C (The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, 2021)
    The use of video when teaching music online is not a new endeavour. However, the implementation of consistent use of video as a feedback mechanism in music performance studies has yet to be fully researched. In tertiary music performance classes, students are subject to formative assessment to advance their musical artistry. These feedback mechanisms for music are more than text-based commentary. Often, they are visual and aural exchanges between a master performer (i.e., teacher) and student to support the essential development of musical artistry and artistic performance of the student’s voice or instrument through social construction. The question of how music teachers can provide online feedback that supports the authenticity of music assessment is now key for technology-enhanced music learning in tertiary music classes. This presentation will outline the challenges and opportunities of embedding video feedback in music classes to support students in developing music performance skills.
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    The Online Music Teaching Toolkit
    Johnson, C (Piano Inspires, 2021-07-28)
    Invited PEdX Speaker for NCKP 2021: The Piano Conference
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    Post-secondary online music course offerings prior to COVID-19: An Australian context
    Johnson, C (Australian Society for Music Education, 2021-09-30)
    The landscape of post-secondary music performance teaching and music education entered a pedagogical shift towards teaching music online prior to COVID-19. In post-secondary music courses, research indicates that over 40% of post-secondary American music schools within the National Association of Schools of Music offered at least one online music course at the bachelor level (Johnson, 2017). This strongly suggests that prior to COVID-19, American music programs were already shifting away from the traditional music pedagogy of face-to-face teaching to begin embracing the opportunities provided by teaching music online. However, the extent to which this was occurring outside of North America was not yet identified. To evidence further shifts in the global landscape towards post-secondary online music course availability, this research study explored the following research questions within the Australian context: 1) What online music courses are currently being offered at higher education institutions across Australia? 2) What, if any, are the significant changes happening in these Australian offerings over time? Data were examined using a historical methodology of documentation analyses of public-facing websites from all universities (n=43) within Australia. Findings specific to universities, course offerings, and changes over time will be highlighted in the presentation. Implications from this study suggest that differing rates of adoption in online teaching may have provided insight for decisions made during the COVID-19 transitions to online music teaching regarding effective leadership models and professional development models. Future recommendations on further research will also be highlighted. Acknowledgement: The author would like to thank SEMPRE for the funding of this research study.
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    Virtual Writing Groups: Collegial support in developing academic writing capacity
    Johnson, C ; Lock, J ; Brown, M (Dublin City University, 2020)
    It is expected that academic staff at research intensive higher education institutions are capable and competent academic writers. Yet, where and how do early career academics develop this writing capacity outside of their doctoral or postdoctoral writing experiences? Various forms of workshops and mentorships can be implemented. They can involve formal or informal gatherings of people committed to achieving writing goals within a specific period of time (Badenhorst et al., 2016). For academic writing, Olszewska and Lock (2016) identified two models - “Structured and Guided Process” (p. 136) and “Open Forum with Retreat” (p. 137). Further, what role can a virtual writing group play in developing academic writing capacity? The authors developed and implemented three iterations of a virtual writing group series. Initially, the pilot study of the writing group began with a senior and early career academic located in Canada and Australia. In the additional iterations, the senior academic, along with a group of early career academics, engaged in the virtual writing group experience. Personal writing goals were identified prior to commencement of each eight-week series. Members met weekly for 30-minute synchronous meetings wherein they talked about their writing. Meeting topics were generative in nature to support the needs of the participants. During the week, each member was committed to personal writing time (e.g., up to two hours). An integral component of the writing group was peer editing. Together, the virtual writing group initiative was strategic to support prioritizing writing. For each iteration, a research study was conducted to gain insight into the participants’ experiences, and to learn of personal academic writing development. The findings resulted in five major themes: 1) Attributes that impact success; 2) Supportive characteristics; 3) Supportive processes; 4) Challenges; and 5) Benefits. The findings from the study suggest that it is possible for early career researchers to continue their writing development through accessible online means, while having the flexibility to allocate their own personal writing time. From the study focus on the practical application of a virtual writing group. It is recommended that future study explore how different forms of technology supports community development within the group, as well as members’ influence on the replication of virtual writing group models with their own students.
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    Video feedback in tertiary music performance classes
    Johnson, C ; Blackburn, A (University of New England, Armidale, 2021)
    Video feedback can be an important and key mechanism for supporting online student learning in higher education. In the context of online music teaching, video feedback provides a necessary audio and visual element to support music students’ learning of music performance practice. A predecessor to a larger study in video feedback, this pilot study sought to explore instructor perceptions of the use of video feedback in music performance teaching classes. Using self-study methodology, findings suggest that video feedback can effectively complement individualised online music teaching within an undergraduate performance class and a Master of Music Performance Teaching group music class, provide supportive scaffolding for self-regulated learning, and offer students opportunities to create meaningful student-instructor connections and community. Strategies for effective implementation by way of self-regulation and communication are also addressed.
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    Ethical considerations for sustainable music training using VR technology: a case study of performance anxiety.
    Osborne, M ; Glasser, S ; Loveridge, B ( 2022-04-08)
    Presentation given at the 2022 Teaching Music Online in Higher Education (TMOHE) and Music, Education and Technology (MET) online international conference. INTRODUCTION Simulation training is used to develop performance skills in various disciplines, particularly where in-situ training is either impossible or unsafe to implement (Renganayagalu et al., 2021). Such training enables learners to acclimatise to real-life stressors and anxiety-inducing scenarios in a physically and/or psychologically safe environments, to protect against performance decrements which reveal themselves in high pressure contexts rather than low-stress practice sessions. BACKGROUND Recent work using immersive virtual reality (VR) provides preliminary evidence of the capacity of this technology to evoke music performance anxiety (Fadeev et al., 2020; Fanger et al., 2020). In this study, we explore the capacity of VR to assist music students to develop technical and psychological competence to perform at their best under pressure implemented within tertiary music institution settings. METHOD Richie’s Plank Experience (Toast VR, 2016) was used to approximate the physiological symptoms of high-stress performance in a single case pilot study with a highly trained violinist. Prior to exposure, a performance psychologist taught the participant a pre-performance routine with demonstrated utility in musicians (Osborne et al., 2014). The psychologist subsequently guided the participant remotely through the routine via Zoom, whilst the participant was immersed in the VR environment. Heart rate, subjective units of distress, and confidence measurements were taken across five levels of exposure which varied the integration of instrument and intervention. FINDINGS The plank task induced a notable stress response. Additionally, the musician was receptive to pre-performance routine instructions to downregulate their stress response. This created a performance focus when in the VR environment, demonstrated by decreased anxiety and increased confidence ratings across performance tasks. IMPLICATIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS We provide preliminary evidence for the capacity of immersive VR to induce the situational stress required to trigger a cascade of physical and psychological responses. The benefits of this technology need to be considered alongside areas such as privacy, storage, access, and accessibility