Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Research Publications
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ItemPhenomenology, Technology and Arts Education: Exploring the Pedagogical Possibilities of Two Multimedia Arts Inquiry Projects(Inference, 2016)The relevance of phenomenology for arts education is explored through two multimedia arts inquiry projects. I begin by offering a brief outline of what arts inquiry and phenomenology entail. Following this, I consider a phenomenological study relevant to creative multimedia studies, and develop the relationship between phenomenology, critical pedagogy, and creative praxis in the arts. Drawing on these ideas, I then discuss the processes involved in creating the multimedia projects and consider possibilities for similar projects in educational contexts. Most importantly, I attempt to show how such projects might open arts educators and students to more reflective, imaginative and participatory ways of being-in-the-world, while simultaneously developing deeper historical, cultural, technical, and aesthetic understandings of the art forms they are engaged with.
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ItemOlder adults' music listening preferences to support physical activity following cardiac rehabilitation( 2016-01-01)Background: Music listening during exercise is thought to increase physiological arousal and enhance subjective experience, and may support physical activity participation among older adults with cardiac disease. However, little is known about how music preferences, or perceptions of music during exercise, inform clinical practice with this population. Objective: Identify predominant musical characteristics of preferred music selected by older adults, and explore participants' music listening experiences during walking-based exercise following cardiac rehabilitation. Methods: Twenty-seven participants aged 60 years and older (21 men, 6 women; mean age = 67.3 years) selected music to support walking over a 6-month intervention period, and participated in post-intervention interviews. In this two-phase study, we first identified predominant characteristics of participant-selected music using the Structural Model of Music Analysis. Second, we used inductive thematic analysis to explore participant experiences. Results: Predominant characteristics of participant-selected music included duple meter, consistent rhythm, major key, rounded melodic shape, legato articulation, predictable harmonies, variable volume, and episodes of tension with delayed resolution. There was no predominant tempo, with music selections ranging from slow through to medium and fast. Four themes emerged from thematic analysis of participant interviews: psycho-emotional responses, physical responses, influence on exercise behavior, and negative experiences. Conclusions: Findings are consistent with theory and research explaining influences from music listening on physiological arousal and subjective experience during exercise. Additionally, for older adults with cardiac disease, a holistic approach to music selection considering general well-being and adjustment issues, rather than just exercise performance, may improve long-term lifestyle changes and compliance with physical activity guidelines.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableOlder Adults' Music Listening Preferences to Support Physical Activity Following Cardiac Rehabilitation(OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC, 2016)BACKGROUND: Music listening during exercise is thought to increase physiological arousal and enhance subjective experience, and may support physical activity participation among older adults with cardiac disease. However, little is known about how music preferences, or perceptions of music during exercise, inform clinical practice with this population. OBJECTIVE: Identify predominant musical characteristics of preferred music selected by older adults, and explore participants' music listening experiences during walking-based exercise following cardiac rehabilitation. METHODS: Twenty-seven participants aged 60 years and older (21 men, 6 women; mean age = 67.3 years) selected music to support walking over a 6-month intervention period, and participated in post-intervention interviews. In this two-phase study, we first identified predominant characteristics of participant-selected music using the Structural Model of Music Analysis. Second, we used inductive thematic analysis to explore participant experiences. RESULTS: Predominant characteristics of participant-selected music included duple meter, consistent rhythm, major key, rounded melodic shape, legato articulation, predictable harmonies, variable volume, and episodes of tension with delayed resolution. There was no predominant tempo, with music selections ranging from slow through to medium and fast. Four themes emerged from thematic analysis of participant interviews: psycho-emotional responses, physical responses, influence on exercise behavior, and negative experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Findings are consistent with theory and research explaining influences from music listening on physiological arousal and subjective experience during exercise. Additionally, for older adults with cardiac disease, a holistic approach to music selection considering general well-being and adjustment issues, rather than just exercise performance, may improve long-term lifestyle changes and compliance with physical activity guidelines.
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ItemA theoretical framework and therapeutic songwriting protocol to promote integration of self-concept in people with acquired neurological injuries(The Grieg Academy Music Therapy Research Centre, 2016)A positive self-concept after neurological injury is associated with enhanced quality of life and good mental health. Therefore, effective reconstruction of identity is heralded as an important goal of rehabilitation. We have developed and tested a songwriting protocol for people with acquired brain injury and/or spinal cord injury (SCI) that focuses on six domains of self-concept (physical, personal, social, family, academic/work, and moral). Over 12 music therapy sessions, people create three songs that reflect their perception of their past, present, and future selves. The therapeutic process of creating these songs aims to integrate residual components of the past self with that of the present injured self. This article outlines the theoretical foundations for the use of songwriting as a medium for change and describes the protocol in detail. We then present a case study of a man with SCI to illustrate the application of the protocol and the ensuing changes in self-concept.
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ItemNo Preview Available"We've got a special connection": qualitative analysis of descriptions of change in the parent-child relationship by mothers of young children with autism spectrum disorder(GRIEG ACADEMY, 2015-01-02)Young children with autism spectrum disorder face many developmental challenges, most notably in the area of reciprocal social interactions with family and peers. Collaborating with the families of these children in therapy sessions is fast becoming best practice in many countries. This paper presents a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 11 mothers who participated in family-centred music therapy sessions along with their child. The interview questions focussed on changes to the nature of the parent–child relationship. Analysis of the interviews identified three aspects of positive change to the parent–child relationship, namely: the quality of the relationship; the parents’ perception of the child and the parents’ response to the child. The changes in the relationship with their child were valued and cherished by all of the mothers, and understanding the impact a family-centred approach might have on the nature of the parent–child relationship needs further exploration.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableMusic in everyday life by parents with their children with autism(Taylor and Francis Group, 2016)Abstract of the 10th European Music Therapy Conference. Background: Music therapy has a long history in working with children with autism in both traditional settings and those which include working with the parents. Recent studies show that music therapy programs aimed at supporting parent–child interaction have resulted in significant gains in social communication skills of children with autism, and improved parental competency perception. However, little is known about the amount or type of musical play that parents engage in with their child with autism, or whether parents use music as a facilitator in certain daily situations. Objective: The Music in Everyday Life (MEL) assessment, developed by Gottfried and Thompson, was confirmed with evidences of validity to assess the use of music in everyday life by parents with their children with autism, and was used within a large multisite research project (TIME-A) in four countries. Discussion: This round table brings together four expert clinicians and researchers from four countries, who will present the research and clinical applications of the MEL assessment, focusing on Music-Oriented Counselling, Family-centred MT, MT-based DIR parent coaching, and using musical-play in parent counselling.
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ItemA critical interpretive synthesis of the most commonly used self-report measures in Australian mental health research(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2016-10)OBJECTIVE: To critically examine the self-report measures most commonly used in Australian mental health research in the last 10 years. METHOD: A critical interpretive synthesis was conducted using seven outcome measures that were identified as most popular in 43 studies from three mental health journals. RESULTS: Results suggest that the amount and type of language used in outcome measures is important in both increasing the accuracy of the data collected and fostering positive experiences of data collection for participants. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that many of the measures most often used in Australian mental health research may not align with the current contemporary philosophy of mental health clinical practice in Australia.
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ItemContextualising the relationship between music, emotions and the well-being of young people: A critical interpretive synthesis(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2016-03)A convergent parallel design was used to interrogate two sets of literature produced by researchers investigating music, emotions and well-being: the first being 16 quantitative music psychology studies, the second being seven qualitative music therapy studies. A series of critical analyses examined some of the main assumptions that had influenced the design of the studies, largely related to the nomothetic or idiographic approaches adopted by the researchers, as well as beliefs about how music is best used for either emotion regulation or emotional expression. The results of the critical analyses were then synthesised into a set of three theoretical propositions describing how uses of music may vary across a well-being continuum, particularly noting that the same music can have a different effect depending on the state of well-being of the individual. It is proposed that when people use music to engage with strong emotions while distressed, qualitatively different experiences result that may require a supportive, even therapeutic context. The value of contextualising rather than generalising about music and emotions is therefore argued, particularly for vulnerable young people who might rely on ways of using music to engage with emotions that do not sufficiently account for their current state of well-being.
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ItemFrom Necker Cubes to Polyrhythms: Fostering a Phenomenological Attitude in Music Education(UNIV ALBERTA LIBRARIES, 2016-01-01)Phenomenology is explored as a way of helping students and educators open up to music as a creative and transformative experience. I begin by introducing a simple exercise in experimental phenomenology involving multi-stable visual phenomena that can be explored without the use of complex terminology. Here, I discuss how the “phenomenological attitude” may foster a deeper appreciation of the structure of consciousness, as well as the central role the body plays in how we experience and form understandings of the worlds we inhabit. I then explore how the phenomenological attitude may serve as a starting point for students and teachers as they begin to reflect on their involvement with music as co-investigators. Here I draw on my teaching practice as a percussion and drum kit instructor, with a special focus on multi-stable musical phenomena (e.g., African polyrhythm). To conclude, I briefly consider how the phenomenological approach might be developed beyond the practice room to examine music’s relationship to the experience of culture, imagination and “self.”
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ItemPerceptual Spaces Induced by Cochlear Implant All-Polar Stimulation Mode(SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2016-09-07)It has been argued that a main limitation of the cochlear implant is the spread of current induced by each electrode, which activates an inappropriately large range of sensory neurons. To reduce this spread, an alternative stimulation mode, the all-polar mode, was tested with five participants. It was designed to activate all the electrodes simultaneously with appropriate current levels and polarities to recruit narrower regions of auditory nerves at specific intracochlear electrode positions (denoted all-polar electrodes). In this study, the all-polar mode was compared with the current commercial stimulation mode: the monopolar mode. The participants were asked to judge the sound dissimilarity between pairs of two-electrode pulse-train stimuli that differed in the electrode positions and were presented in either monopolar or all-polar mode with pulses on the two electrodes presented either sequentially or simultaneously. The dissimilarity ratings were analyzed using a multidimensional scaling technique and three-dimensional stimulus perceptual spaces were produced. For all the conditions (mode and simultaneity), the first perceptual dimension was highly correlated with the position of the most apical activated electrode of the electrical stimulation and the second dimension with the position of the most basal electrode. In both sequential and simultaneous conditions, the monopolar and all-polar stimuli were significantly separated by a third dimension, which may indicate that all-polar stimuli have a perceptual quality that differs from monopolar stimuli. Overall, the results suggest that both modes might successfully represent spectral information in a sound processing strategy.