Music can be understood in many ways. This has important implications for music education. The research reported here explored how groups of people conceptualise musical understanding and what they believe supports its acquisition. In... more
Music can be understood in many ways. This has important implications for music education. The research reported here explored how groups of people conceptualise musical understanding and what they believe supports its acquisition. In this study 463 participants completed two statements: “Musical understanding is” and “You learn to understand music through”. Understanding music was viewed as complex and multidimensional with two overarching themes: personal musical understanding in context and understanding as process, with 10 main sub-themes of understanding: communication, kinaesthetic, emotional, personal, knowledge about music, critical evaluation, musical elements, analysis and comparison of music, internal representations, and creating music. Understanding was believed to be acquired through love and enjoyment of music, physical responses, emotional engagement, analytic processes, active engagement with music, education or guidance in formal or informal contexts, exposure to m...
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Most research on musical performance anxiety has focused on musicians coming from a classical background, and performance anxiety experiences of musicians outside the western classical genre remain under-researched. The aim of this study... more
Most research on musical performance anxiety has focused on musicians coming from a classical background, and performance anxiety experiences of musicians outside the western classical genre remain under-researched. The aim of this study was to investigate perceived performance anxiety experiences in undergraduate and professional musicians and to explore whether musical genre specialization (Western classical, jazz, popular, Scottish traditional) affected musicians’ performance anxiety experiences. The study addressed questions exploring the perceived intensity of performance anxiety, the perceived contributing factors, changes in perceived anxiety levels as performances approached (one hour before, immediately before and during performance) and the perceived impact of performance on the quality of performance. Participants were 244 musicians, 170 undergraduates and 74 portfolio career musicians. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey. Findings suggested that performanc...
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Parents and children are genetically related but not genetically identical, which means that their genetic interests overlap but also diverge. In the area of mating, this translates into children making mate choices that are not in the... more
Parents and children are genetically related but not genetically identical, which means that their genetic interests overlap but also diverge. In the area of mating, this translates into children making mate choices that are not in the best interest of their parents. Parents may then resort to manipulation in order to influence their children's mating decisions in a way that best promotes the former's interests. This paper attempts to identify the structure of manipulation tactics that parents employ on their daughters and sons, as well as on their daughters' and sons' mates, and also to estimate their prevalence. On the basis of the structure of the derived tactics, four hypotheses are tested: Mothers are more willing than fathers to use manipulation tactics; parents are willing to use more manipulation on their daughters than on their sons; the personality of parents predicts the use of tactics on their children and on their children's mates; and the personalit...
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Research on musical performance to date has tended to focus on adult musicians. Although there is anecdotal evi- dence that problems can begin at a younger age, with ado- lescence being a particularly critical period, there has been no... more
Research on musical performance to date has tended to focus on adult musicians. Although there is anecdotal evi- dence that problems can begin at a younger age, with ado- lescence being a particularly critical period, there has been no systematic research into the condition in younger performers. The results of a research study exploring how performance anxiety affects adolescent instrumental musi- cians are presented. A new self-reporting questionnaire was piloted and administered to 410 adolescent musicians aged 12-19 years old in the UK and Cyprus. Principal components factor analysis was conducted to explore stu- dent approaches to instrumental learning and performance and to investigate the potential influence of performance anxiety. The analysis revealed four components that repre- sented both positive and negative approaches. Positive approaches were 'evidence for achievement, positive musi- cal identity and effort' and 'tendency for self-reliance and intrinsic...
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Most research on musical performance anxiety has considered this in relation to the internal characteristics of the performer, the extent of their preparedness for the performance, and factors in the immediate performing environment. The... more
Most research on musical performance anxiety has considered this in relation to the internal characteristics of the performer, the extent of their preparedness for the performance, and factors in the immediate performing environment. The approach to its alleviation has generally been clinical in nature. Little research has been situated within an explicit overarching conceptual framework. This article proposes a theoretical framework that portrays anxiety within a musical performance context as a process that has an explicit time dimension (pre-, during- and post-performance). The model illustrates the likely processes that occur once a performer agrees to participate in a particular performance and explains how these might give rise to either maladaptive or adaptive forms of performance anxiety. The potential longer-term effects on the performer are also discussed. A detailed description of the model and the theories behind its development is followed by a consideration of model...
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The aim of this article was to compare musicians’ views on (a) the importance of musical skills and (b) the nature of expertise. Data were obtained from a specially devised web-based questionnaire completed by advanced musicians... more
The aim of this article was to compare musicians’ views on (a) the importance of musical skills and (b) the nature of expertise. Data were obtained from a specially devised web-based questionnaire completed by advanced musicians representing four musical genres (classical, popular, jazz, Scottish traditional) and varying degrees of professional musical experience (tertiary education music students, portfolio career musicians). Comparisons were made across musical genres (classical vs. other-than-classical), gender, age and professional status (student musicians vs. portfolio career musicians). Musicians’ ‘ideal’ versus ‘perceived’ levels of musical skills and expertise were also compared and factors predicting musicians’ self-reported level of skills and expertise were investigated. Findings suggest that the perception of expertise in advanced musical learners is a complex phenomenon that relates to each of four key variables (gender, age, musical genre and professional experience)....
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This article addresses the question of whether higher education music courses adequately prepare young musicians for the critical transition from music undergraduate to professional. Thematic analyses of interviews with 27 undergraduate... more
This article addresses the question of whether higher education music courses adequately prepare young musicians for the critical transition from music undergraduate to professional. Thematic analyses of interviews with 27 undergraduate and portfolio career musicians representing four musical genres were compared. The evidence suggests that the process of transition into professional life for musicians across the four focus genres may be facilitated when higher education experiences include mentoring that continues after graduation, the development of strong multi-genre peer networks, the provision of many and varied performance opportunities and support for developing self-discipline and autonomy in relation to the acquisition of musical expertise. Implications for higher education curricula are discussed.
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Participants The participants for the research (baseline and post-intervention evaluation) were drawn from eighty-one schools located across England. The schools were in major cities and adjacent population centres across the South-East... more
Participants The participants for the research (baseline and post-intervention evaluation) were drawn from eighty-one schools located across England. The schools were in major cities and adjacent population centres across the South-East (Greater London), East have not witnessed before. It is the most elemental form of music making, and is within the grasp of all of us, whatever our ability. It is a powerful community activity binding individuals and community together.'
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The 'Sing Up'National Singing Programme for primary schools in England was launched in November 2007 under the UK government's 'Music Manifesto'.'Sing Up'is a four-year programme whose overall aim is to... more
The 'Sing Up'National Singing Programme for primary schools in England was launched in November 2007 under the UK government's 'Music Manifesto'.'Sing Up'is a four-year programme whose overall aim is to raise the status of singing and increase opportunities for children throughout the country to enjoy singing as part of their everyday lives, in and out of school. As part of the Programme's research evaluation, a key focus has been to build an initial picture of singing in primary schools across England.
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Most research on musical performance anxiety has focused on musicians coming from a classical background, and performance anxiety experiences of musicians outside the western classical genre remain under-researched. The aim of this study... more
Most research on musical performance anxiety has focused on musicians coming from a classical background, and performance anxiety experiences of musicians outside the western classical genre remain under-researched. The aim of this study was to investigate perceived performance anxiety experiences in undergraduate and professional musicians and to explore whether musical genre specialization (Western classical, jazz, popular, Scottish traditional) affected musicians' performance anxiety experiences. The study ...