Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Research Publications
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Item“Can’t live without music”: Engaging and disengaging from music listening.( 2021-07-28)Poster presented at ICMPC-ESCOM2021, https://icmpc2021.sites.sheffield.ac.uk.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableReimagining the performance experience through the establishment of a virtual performance hall.( 2021-10-27)Paper presented as part of the symposium "Reimagining Performance with Immersive Reality Technologies" at ISPS 2021, 27-30 October, Montreal, Canada.
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ItemDesign principles for immersive reality to enhance creativity and performance through transdisciplinary collaboration.( 2021-10-27)Paper presented as part of the symposium "Reimagining Performance with Immersive Reality Technologies" at ISPS 2021, 27-30 October, Montreal, Canada.
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ItemReimagining music performance with immersive reality technologies.( 2021-11-05)NowNet Arts Conference 2021 Network Arts: Transformation of Distance.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableExploring opportunities for musician’s health and performance enhancement using VR simulation training.( 2021-10-07)Paper presented at Games for Change Asia-Pacific Festival 2021, 5-7 October, online conference.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableEthical considerations for sustainable music training using VR technology: a case study of performance anxiety.( 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
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ItemNo Preview AvailableFFAM Virtual Performance Lab.( 2021-04-23)Presentation given at the Scholarship of Technology Enhanced Learning conference, University of Melbourne.
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ItemSynesthesia and Music Performance(Oxford University Press, 2022-02-17)
Abstract: Synesthesia is a rare neurological condition that occurs more frequently in populations of artistic professionals, with many well-known examples in music. For musicians with synesthesia, their musical journey and development are shaped by the way they connect music and sounds with color, shape, taste, or any other perceptual modality. This chapter therefore attempts to provide information on the impact of synesthesia on music performance by describing musicians’ lived experiences and highlighting the multiplicity of experiences and behavioral outcomes of this group of artists. Six key features are reviewed: preference for specific musical styles, choice of repertoire or music listening, compositional choices, choice of instrument or instrumentation, musical interpretation, and instrumental technique. By studying the impact of synesthesia on various aspects of music performance and describing the lived-world experiences of a unique section of the musical population, the chapter provides both synesthete and non-synesthete musicians with insights into this condition and the range of perceptual responses to music that musicians experience, and what synesthesia may reveal about musical development more generally.
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ItemPerceiving Music Through the Lens of Synaesthesia and Absolute Pitch(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2021-07-31)Synaesthesia and absolute pitch (AP) are two rare conditions that occur more frequently within populations of artistic professionals. Current thinking surrounding synaesthesia and AP and their relationship to music perception form the focus of this article. Given that synaesthesia has rarely been discussed in the music literature, the article surveys and consolidates general neurobiological, psychological, and behavioural evidence to summarise what is currently known on this topic, in order to link this back to the conditions that most relate to music. In contrast, research on AP is now well established in the music literature, but the important gap of linking AP to other conditions such as synaesthesia has yet to be fully explored. This article investigates the potential relationship between synaesthesia and AP for musicians who possess both conditions by systematically comparing the definitions, classifications, prevalence, diagnoses, and impacts on music perception of synaesthesia and AP and provides insights into the varying states of the literature and knowledge of both conditions. In so doing, this article aims to facilitate a greater understanding of music and auditory forms of synaesthesia and their interaction with AP and encourage increased research effort on this important topic.
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ItemAugmenting Function with Value: An Exploration of Reasons to Engage and Disengage from Music Listening(SAGE Publications, 2021-01-01)Investigations of music in everyday life are dominated by a functional perspective, drawn from work using the theory of Uses and Gratifications. In so doing, we may have neglected to fully appreciate the value people place on music listening. Therefore, the present study considered if, and why, people value music listening and probed instances when they may not want to listen to music in everyday life. A sample of 319 university students residing in Australia (76.50% female, M age = 20.64) completed an online questionnaire, on which they were asked to provide short responses to open-ended questions directly addressing two research questions. Inductive thematic analysis yielded 13 themes synthesizing how participants valued listening to music, such as appreciation, emotion, time and engagement, cognitive factors, and mood regulation. Reasons for not listening to music were summarized by eight themes dominated by interference with activities that required focus or concentration, followed by environmental context, affective responses, music engagement and inversely, a preference for silence or other auditory stimuli. Fifteen percent of participants stated there was never a time they did not want to listen to music. The findings provide a novel perspective on the value of music listening beyond that considered by uses and gratifications with regard to the function of listening to music in everyday life.