Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Research Publications
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 4 of 4
-
ItemNo Preview AvailableProfessional Pathways for Musicians with Disability in Victoria, Australia(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2022-01-02)The work of disabled musicians has become the focus on of an increasingly large body of academic work; however, existing literature rarely provides details about the educational experiences of these musicians, or how disability impacted these experiences. This study interviewed eleven performing musicians living with disability in Australia to elucidate the barriers and enablers that they faced in their music educations and careers. We developed a ‘nested model’ based on a qualitative narrative analysis which identified barriers and enablers coming from ‘the musician’, ‘the self’, ‘other people’, and ‘the system’. We used this model to draw out further themes and counter-themes across the interviews to begin to illuminate the barriers. Each of our participants was able to identify numerous barriers to access, which they had experienced during their musical careers. Despite this, ten of our eleven participants continued to find ways to participate and express their creativity in musical activities, and they provided many practical suggestions for improving access. Future studies that seek perspectives from disabled music students, or those who are in the early stages of their careers, may provide further insights to better understand barriers and enablers.
-
ItemNo Preview AvailableReflective Lullaby Writing with two mother--infant dyads who recently experienced an admission to a neonatal intensive care unit(GRIEG ACADEMY, 2023-05-27)Introduction: Having a premature baby is a complex experience for parents, especially where an admission to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) after birth is required. Regardless of length of admission, parents likely confront mixed emotions related to their concerns for their baby’s physical health and development, which are often still present in the months and years after their baby’s discharge. Supporting parents to emotionally process their experience presents unique challenges, and a deeper understanding of how to facilitate this process is needed. Method: The purpose of this research project was to explore parents’ experiences of engaging in individualised parent--infant music therapy in their home setting after their baby’s discharge from a NICU setting. Interviews were conducted with two mothers and descriptive phenomenology guided the immersive process of data analysis and explicating the prominent themes. Results: Four shared themes were identified. Songwriting was experienced as being distinctly therapeutic, and mothers described the value of intentionally creating lyrics which captured what they wanted to remember about their NICU and parenting journey. Both mothers valued reconnecting with aspects of their previous selves from before their NICU experience. Discussion: The composition of a personal song using therapeutic techniques offered mothers the opportunity to reflect on, and to begin to process their parenting experiences. Reflective Lullaby Writing is articulated as a novel approach to support post-NICU families. The findings of this pilot study will inform future studies in this area of practice which has not yet been well-established in the current discourse.
-
ItemStructure, agency and community: Using online music gatherings to support social inclusion for people with disabilities in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic(GRIEG ACADEMY, 2022-05-27)Introduction: In the wake of COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns in the southern states of Australia, many community music and music therapy projects shifted to an online format. This paper discusses the formation and creation of four online music groups aimed at people with disability, including two groups for children and two for adults. The aim of the study was to explore the use of online technologies to support social inclusion and wellbeing when participants were physically isolated. Method: This study positioned group participants as co-researchers to recognize the expertise many people with disability hold from being housebound or socially isolated. We adopted an action research framework in which participants provided ongoing reflections on the use of technology, access, musical foci and social interaction to iteratively develop the sessions through cycles of reflexive action. These data were triangulated with data collected through participant observation and individual interviews. Results: The structured format of the sessions created online spaces for people with different disability, age and gender identities to explore their creativity together. Far from limiting participants’ autonomy and safety, the structured setting promoted their agency in decision-making and shaping the groups to meet their needs. Discussion: Many participants interacted with the group or adapted to the online experiences in ways which the authors had not anticipated. While we were expecting our cohort to have expertise with social isolation, we found that they also had high levels of expertise as passionate musicians, which they used to frame the activities of the online gatherings.
-
ItemExamining how music therapists describe providing safety for children and adolescents who have had traumatic experiences: A Critical interpretive synthesis(Australian Counselling Association, 2020-12-18)This paper presents the result of a critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) that examines how safety is created, explained and represented in the current literature of music therapy trauma recovery programs. Creating a sense of safety is fundamental when providing programs for people who have had traumatic experiences. However, minimal music therapy literature has presented detailed descriptions of constructing safety in the program. The investigators examined a total of twenty-two manuscripts with the intention of gathering multiple perspectives on how safety is described. We first identified the meaning of safety and different vocabulary used by the authors to represent safety taking account of the clients’ state of mind, the relationship with the therapist and/or the peers, and the environment. We discovered that the therapists’ decisions about using different engagement strategies might have the most impact on creating a sense of safety in programs. These engaging strategies included providing structure, active listening, giving the participants control over the activities and offering choices. Moreover, it appears that when a trusting relationship was established in the program, a sense of safety may be created. However, there was little information provided in the manuscripts describing or evaluating the participants’ responses and feedback about their feelings of safety. To conclude, we suggest the lack of detailed descriptions of how safety is created demonstrates the need for more studies to understand the phenomenon better.