Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Research Publications

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    Becoming [published Score]: for soprano, countertenor, bass voices, shakuhachi and string quartet
    Selleck, J (Australian Music Centre, 2024)
    This published score of ‘Becoming’ was published by the Australian Music Centre in 2023. It complements the CD of the same work released by Move Records in 2022. 'Becoming' is a song cycle for 3 voices, shakuhachi, and string quartet (duration of one hour). The work is based on research into two forms of Japanese poetry, haiku and renga, and uses poetry in 3 languages (English, French, and Tibetan). The text is based around the four seasons and explores the human-nature connection. This publication of ‘Becoming’ is the culmination of approx. 20 years of research into different approaches to setting haiku to music. This process began with a study of the Japanese masters of haiku, which I undertook as an undergraduate student at the University of Melbourne studying with Professor Brenton Broadstock. The first movement of ‘Becoming’ formed part of my PhD composition folio (2006). After this, I continued to develop the work through practice-based research via multiple performances (outlined below). The early stages of my research involved experimentation with setting individual haiku for various instrumental combinations and voice. This also incorporated research into different compositional techniques and allowed me develop the knowledge and skills to embark on a full-scale song cycle (5-movement composition) exploring the programmatic and psychological elements of song using a diversity of compositional techniques in a cross-cultural context.
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    HOMESIDE-A home-based family caregiver-delivered music and reading intervention for people living with dementia: A randomised controlled trial.
    Baker, F ; Odell-Miller, H ; Wosch, T ; Stensaeth, K ; Bukowska, A ; Clark, I (Wiley, 2021-12)
    BACKGROUND: Pharmacological interventions to address behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) can have undesirable side effects, therefore non-pharmacological approaches to managing symptoms may be preferable. Past studies show that music therapy can reduce BPSD, and other studies have explored how formal caregivers use music in their caring roles. However, no studies have examined the effects on BPSD of music interventions delivered by informal caregivers (CGs) in the home setting. Our project addresses the need for improved informal care by training cohabiting family CGs to implement music interventions that target BPSD, and the quality of life (QoL) and well-being of people with dementia and CGs. METHODS: An international three-arm parallel-group randomised controlled trial has so far randomised 130 of the target 495 dyads from Australia, Germany, UK, Poland and Norway. Dyads are randomised equally to standard care (SC), a home-based music programme plus SC, or a home-based reading programme plus SC for 12 weeks. The primary outcome is BPSD of people with dementia (measured using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire). Secondary outcomes examine relationship quality between CG and people with dementia, depression, resilience, competence, QoL for CG and QoL for people with dementia. Outcomes are collected at baseline, at the end of the 12-week intervention and at 6 months post randomisation. Resource Utilisation in Dementia captures economic data across the life of the intervention and at 6-month follow-up. Our presentation will briefly outline the study protocol and describe the caregiver training protocol and interventions in detail with video footage illustrating how the intervention looks in practice.
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    From Acoustic Scenery to Sonic Dramaturgy: Music in Radio-Specific Drama of Weimar Republic Germany
    Gabriel, J ; Verhulst, P ; Mildorf, J (Brill, 2023)
    Weimar Republic Germany (1919–1933) witnessed the development of experimental dramatic forms created specifically for the radio, celebrated for their technical and dramaturgical innovation, including the Hörfolge, which montaged pre-recorded sounds, narration, and dramatic scenes in a non-linear narrative, and the Tonfilm, in which sound was recorded on the film used for audiovisual sound film, but without images. I argue that these dramatic forms also emerged out of the practice and discourse of music in earlier, more conventional genres such as radio-specific opera (Funkoper) and the fully musical radio play (musikalisches Hörspiel). First, I examine the discourse surrounding early radio plays and the way music shaped ideas about creating drama specifically for the radio. Second, I analyze Walter Goehr’s Malpopita (1931), Walter Gronostay’s Mord () and Glocken (1930s) and Eugen Kurt Fischer’s Trommel, Trommel, Gong (1932) as examples of early radio play productions.
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    By myself but not alone: Agency, creativity, and extended musical historicity
    Schiavio, A ; Ryan, K ; Moran, N ; van der Schyff, D ; Gallagher, S (Routledge, 2022-11)
    In this paper we offer a preliminary framework that highlights the relational nature of solo music-making, and its associated capacity to influence the constellation of habits and experiences one develops through acts of musicking. To do so, we introduce the notion of extended musical historicity and suggest that when novice and expert performers engage in individual musical practices, they often rely on an extended sense of agency which permeates their musical experience and shapes their creative outcomes. To support this view, we report on an exploratory, qualitative study conducted with novice and expert musicians. This was designed to elicit a range of responses, beliefs, experiences and meanings concerning the main categories of agency and creativity. Our data provide rich descriptions of solitary musical practices by both novice and expert performers, and reveal ways in which these experiences involve social contingencies that appear to generate or transform creative musical activity. We argue that recognition of the interactive components of individual musicking may shed new light on the cognition of solo and joint music performance, and should inspire the development of novel conceptual and empirical tools for future research and theory.
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    Editorial: Community Series: Towards a Meaningful Instrumental Music Education. Methods, Perspectives, and Challenges – Volume II
    Schiavio, A ; Nijs, L ; van der Schyff, D ; Juntunen, M-L (Frontiers Media S.A., 2023-11-02)
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    Eudaimonia and Music Learning
    van der Schyff, D ; Smith, GD ; Silverman, M (Frontiers in Psychology; Frontiers in Education; Frontiers in Cultural Psychology, 2021-08-18)
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    How accurate are self-evaluations of singing ability?
    Yeom, D ; Stead, KS ; Tan, YT ; McPherson, GE ; Wilson, SJ (WILEY, 2023-12)
    Research has shown that people inaccurately assess their own abilities on self-report measures, including academic, athletic, and music ability. Evidence suggests this is also true for singing, with individuals either overestimating or underestimating their level of singing competency. In this paper, we present the Melbourne Singing Tool Questionnaire (MST-Q), a brief 16-item measure exploring people's self-perceptions of singing ability and engagement with singing. Using a large sample of Australian twins (n = 996), we identified three latent factors underlying MST-Q items and examined whether these factors were related to an objective phenotypic measure of singing ability. The three factors were identified as Personal Engagement, Social Engagement, and Self-Evaluation. All factors were positively associated with objective singing performance, with the Self-Evaluation factor yielding the strongest correlation (r = 0.66). Both the Self-Evaluation factor and a single self-report item of singing ability shared the same predictive strength. Contrary to expectations, our findings suggest that self-evaluation strongly predicts singing ability, and this self-evaluation is of higher predictive value than self-reported engagement with music and singing.
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    Home-based family caregiver-delivered music and reading interventions for people living with dementia (HOMESIDE trial): an international randomised controlled trial
    Baker, FA ; Soo, VP ; Bloska, J ; Blauth, L ; Bukowska, AA ; Flynn, L ; Hsu, MH ; Janus, E ; Johansson, K ; Kvamme, T ; Lautenschlager, N ; Miller, H ; Pool, J ; Smrokowska-Reichmann, A ; Stensaeth, K ; Teggelove, K ; Warnke, S ; Wosch, T ; Odell-Miller, H ; Lamb, K ; Braat, S ; Sousa, TV ; Tamplin, J (ELSEVIER, 2023-11)
    BACKGROUND: Music interventions provided by qualified therapists within residential aged care are effective at attenuating behavioural and psychological symptoms (BPSD) of people with dementia (PwD). The impact of music interventions on dementia symptom management when provided by family caregivers is unclear. METHODS: We implemented a community-based, large, pragmatic, international, superiority, single-masked randomised controlled trial to evaluate if caregiver-delivered music was superior to usual care alone (UC) on reducing BPSD of PwD measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q). The study included an active control (reading). People with dementia (NPI-Q score ≥6) and their caregiver (dyads) from one of five countries were randomly allocated to caregiver-delivered music, reading, or UC with a 1:1:1 allocation stratified by site. Caregivers received three online protocolised music or reading training sessions delivered by therapists and were recommended to provide five 30-min reading or music activities per week (minimum twice weekly) over 90-days. The NPI-Q severity assessment of PwD was completed online by masked assessors at baseline, 90- (primary) and 180-days post-randomisation and analysed on an intention-to-treat basis using a likelihood-based longitudinal data analysis model. ACTRN12618001799246; ClinicalTrials.govNCT03907748. FINDINGS: Between 27th November 2019 and 7th July 2022, we randomised 432 eligible of 805 screened dyads (music n = 143, reading n = 144, UC n = 145). There was no statistical or clinically important difference in the change from baseline BPSD between caregiver-delivered music (-0.15, 95% CI -1.41 to 1.10, p = 0.81) or reading (-1.12, 95% CI -2.38 to 0.14, p = 0.082) and UC alone at 90-days. No related adverse events occurred. INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggested that music interventions and reading interventions delivered by trained caregivers in community contexts do not decrease enduring BPSD symptoms. FUNDING: Our funding was provided by National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia; The Research Council of Norway; Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany; National Centre for Research and Development, Poland; Alzheimer's Society, UK, as part of the Joint Programme for Neurodegenerative Diseases consortia scheme.
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    Understanding the impact of international music therapy student placements on music therapy practice and professional identity
    Bolger, L ; Murphy, M (Taylor and Francis Group, 2023)
    Introduction: In this article, authors present and contextualise findings from a research project examining the experience and impact of participation in an international music therapy student placement for nine Australian music therapists. Research participants reflect on the impact both at the time of the student placement, and subsequently on their professional lives as music therapists. Method: Researchers used qualitative thematic analysis to analyse nine open-ended interviews with the research participants. Themes were articulated over three iterations of analysis and were developed into a series of narratives that reflected various perspectives on key emerging themes. Results: Researchers interpreted five broad areas of learning from the data: Placement structure; challenges and supporting factors on placement; learning opportunities identified within the placement; future impact on individuals; and broader insights for the international development music therapy literature. Discussion: Learning from across these five areas is considered in relation to the context of international development as an emerging practice area in music therapy. Researchers suggest how key data points may inform future approaches to music therapy practice. A critical lens is used to consider some ethical considerations related to this area of work, and to propose ways that research learning may inform future music therapy practice in international development.
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    Editorial: Community series: towards a meaningful instrumental music education. Methods, perspectives, and challenges, volume II
    Schiavio, A ; Nijs, L ; Schyff, DVD ; Juntunen, M-L (Frontiers Media SA, 2023)
    Our Community Series introduces a comprehensive and dynamic perspective within the evolving field of instrumental music education. The first volume of this series, entitled Towards a meaningful instrumental music education: methods, perspectives, and challenges, examined a range of pivotal topics including technology, meaning, and expression. Likewise, the 11 contributions to this second volume are collaborative and draw upon a diverse spectrum of perspectives—they integrate empirical insights, engage robust theoretical frameworks, and develop reflective insights from pedagogical practice. In doing so, they enrich our comprehension of music's role within broader pedagogical contexts and showcase possibilities for catalyzing transformative shifts within music education itself. Like the first volume, this Research Topic provides insights that resonate with educators, researchers, and students alike.