Perception and Modeling of Affective Qualities of Musical Instrument Sounds across Pitch Registers

PubMed Central

McAdams, Stephen; Douglas, Chelsea; Vempala, Naresh N.

2017-01-01

Composers often pick specific instruments to convey a given emotional tone in their music, partly due to their expressive possibilities, but also due to their timbres in specific registers and at given dynamic markings. Of interest to both music psychology and music informatics from a computational point of view is the relation between the acoustic properties that give rise to the timbre at a given pitch and the perceived emotional quality of the tone. Musician and nonmusician listeners were presented with 137 tones produced at a fixed dynamic marking (forte) playing tones at pitch class D# across each instrument's entire pitch range and with different playing techniques for standard orchestral instruments drawn from the brass, woodwind, string, and pitched percussion families. They rated each tone on six analogical-categorical scales in terms of emotional valence (positive/negative and pleasant/unpleasant), energy arousal (awake/tired), tension arousal (excited/calm), preference (like/dislike), and familiarity. Linear mixed models revealed interactive effects of musical training, instrument family, and pitch register, with non-linear relations between pitch register and several dependent variables. Twenty-three audio descriptors from the Timbre Toolbox were computed for each sound and analyzed in two ways: linear partial least squares regression (PLSR) and nonlinear artificial neural net modeling. These two analyses converged in terms of the importance of various spectral, temporal, and spectrotemporal audio descriptors in explaining the emotion ratings, but some differences also emerged. Different combinations of audio descriptors make major contributions to the three emotion dimensions, suggesting that they are carried by distinct acoustic properties. Valence is more positive with lower spectral slopes, a greater emergence of strong partials, and an amplitude envelope with a sharper attack and earlier decay. Higher tension arousal is carried by brighter sounds

Adult Perspectives of Learning Musical Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roulston, Kathryn; Jutras, Peter; Kim, Seon Joo

2015-01-01

This article reports findings from a qualitative study of adults' perceptions and experiences of learning musical instruments. Conducted in the south-east United States, 15 adults who were learning instruments were recruited via community music groups and private instrumental teachers. Analysis of transcripts of semi-structured interviews…

Experimenting with string musical instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LoPresto, Michael C.

2012-03-01

What follows are several investigations involving string musical instruments developed for and used in a Science of Sound & Light course. The experiments make use of a guitar, orchestral string instruments and data collection and graphing software. They are designed to provide students with concrete examples of how mathematical formulae, when used in physics, represent reality that can actually be observed, in this case, the operation of string musical instruments.

Kids with disabilities inspire a musical instrument

ScienceCinema

Daily, Dan; Pfeifer, Kent

2018-02-14

The Midiwing is a musical instrument that unites music and computer technology for those who lack the experience, physical ability, or maturity to play music with traditional instruments. To create the instrument, Dan Daily, Director of Musicode Innovations, reworked and recoded Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) technology and introduced ergonomic design. He applied to the New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) Program to receive help when he discovered the microcontroller he used was being phased out. Daily and Kent Pfeifer, an engineer at Sandia National Laboratories and musician himself, partnered to create a new state-of-the-art design.

Kids with disabilities inspire a musical instrument

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Daily, Dan; Pfeifer, Kent

The Midiwing is a musical instrument that unites music and computer technology for those who lack the experience, physical ability, or maturity to play music with traditional instruments. To create the instrument, Dan Daily, Director of Musicode Innovations, reworked and recoded Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) technology and introduced ergonomic design. He applied to the New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) Program to receive help when he discovered the microcontroller he used was being phased out. Daily and Kent Pfeifer, an engineer at Sandia National Laboratories and musician himself, partnered to create a new state-of-the-art design.

Instrumental Music...A Success Opportunity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roesene, Paul E.

1982-01-01

Discusses methods for teaching instrumental music skills to educable mentally handicapped children. The author advocates consistent rules for equipment handling and playing position, frequent positive feedback from teachers, private lessons, rote-learning of music, and group playing experiences. Appropriate music training significantly improved…

Applying Computer-Assisted Musical Instruction to Music Appreciation Course: An Example with Chinese Musical Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lou, Shi-Jer; Guo, Yuan-Chang; Zhu, Yi-Zhen; Shih, Ru-Chu; Dzan, Wei-Yuan

2011-01-01

This study aims to explore the effectiveness of computer-assisted musical instruction (CAMI) in the Learning Chinese Musical Instruments (LCMI) course. The CAMI software for Chinese musical instruments was developed and administered to 228 students in a vocational high school. A pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design with three…

Instrument classification in polyphonic music based on timbre analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Tong

2001-07-01

While most previous work on musical instrument recognition is focused on the classification of single notes in monophonic music, a scheme is proposed in this paper for the distinction of instruments in continuous music pieces which may contain one or more kinds of instruments. Highlights of the system include music segmentation into notes, harmonic partial estimation in polyphonic sound, note feature calculation and normalization, note classification using a set of neural networks, and music piece categorization with fuzzy logic principles. Example outputs of the system are `the music piece is 100% guitar (with 90% likelihood)' and `the music piece is 60% violin and 40% piano, thus a violin/piano duet'. The system has been tested with twelve kinds of musical instruments, and very promising experimental results have been obtained. An accuracy of about 80% is achieved, and the number can be raised to 90% if misindexings within the same instrument family are tolerated (e.g. cello, viola and violin). A demonstration system for musical instrument classification and music timbre retrieval is also presented.

Students' Attitudes towards Individual Musical Instrument Courses in Music Education Graduate Programs in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Önder, Gülten Cüceoglu

2015-01-01

The Individual Musical Instrument course is a compulsory part of the curriculum, in the Music Education Departments of universities in Turkey. The main purpose of the course is to ensure that each student is able to play a musical instrument and, use the instrument once they become music teachers. This study aims to determine the attitudes of…

Gender Associations with World Music Instruments by Secondary School Music Students from the USA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Steven N.; VanWeelden, Kimberly

2014-01-01

This article investigated possible gender associations with world music instruments by secondary school-age music students from the USA. Specific questions included: (1) Do the primary instruments played by the students influence gender associations of world music instruments? (2) Does age influence possible gender associations with world music…

Music: Instrumental Techniques, Strings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Philip

A course in music which emphasizes harmony is presented. The approach used is a laboratory one in which pupils will develop skill in playing orchestral string instruments, sing, listen to, read and compose music with emphasis on elementary concepts of harmony. Course objectives include: (1) The student will select the title of a familiar melody…

Music: Instrumental Techniques, Woodwinds.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Melvin

A course in introduction to music emphasizing modes and forms is presented. The approach used is a laboratory approach in which pupils will develop skill in playing wood-wind instruments, sing, listen to, read and compose music with emphasis on identification of elementary concepts of mode and form. Course objectives include: (1) pupil will select…

Contact dermatitis and other skin conditions in instrumental musicians.

PubMed

Gambichler, Thilo; Boms, Stefanie; Freitag, Marcus

2004-04-16

The skin is important in the positioning and playing of a musical instrument. During practicing and performing there is a permanent more or less intense contact between the instrument and the musician's skin. Apart from aggravation of predisposed skin diseases (e.g., atopic eczema or psoriasis) due to music-making, specific dermatologic conditions may develop that are directly caused by playing a musical instrument. To perform a systematic review on instrument-related skin diseases in musicians we searched the PubMed database without time limits. Furthermore we studied the online bibliography "Occupational diseases of performing artist. A performing arts medicine bibliography. October, 2003" and checked references of all selected articles for relevant papers. The most prevalent skin disorders of instrumental musicians, in particular string instrumentalists (e.g., violinists, cellists, guitarists), woodwind players (e.g., flautists, clarinetists), and brass instrumentalists (e.g., trumpeters), include a variety of allergic contact sensitizations (e.g., colophony, nickel, and exotic woods) and irritant (physical-chemical noxae) skin conditions whose clinical presentation and localization are usually specific for the instrument used (e.g., "fiddler's neck", "cellist's chest", "guitar nipple", "flautist's chin"). Apart from common callosities and "occupational marks" (e.g., "Garrod's pads") more or less severe skin injuries may occur in musical instrumentalists, in particular acute and chronic wounds including their complications. Skin infections such as herpes labialis seem to be a more common skin problem in woodwind and brass instrumentalists. Skin conditions may be a significant problem not only in professional instrumentalists, but also in musicians of all ages and ability. Although not life threatening they may lead to impaired performance and occupational hazard. Unfortunately, epidemiological investigations have exclusively been performed on orchestra musicians

Genetic influences on musical specialization: a twin study on choice of instrument and music genre.

PubMed

Mosing, Miriam A; Ullén, Fredrik

2018-05-09

Though several studies show that genetic factors influence individual differences in musical engagement, aptitude, and achievement, no study to date has investigated whether specialization among musically active individuals in terms of choice of instrument and genre is heritable. Using a large twin cohort, we explored whether individual differences in instrument choice, instrument category, and the type of music individuals engage in can entirely be explained by the environment or are partly due to genetic influences. About 10,000 Swedish twins answered an extensive questionnaire about music-related traits, including information on the instrument and genre they played. Of those, 1259 same-sex twin pairs reported to either play an instrument or sing. We calculated the odds ratios (ORs) for concordance in music choices (if both twins played) comparing identical and nonidentical twin pairs, with significant ORs indicating that identical twins are more likely to engage in the same type of music-related behavior than are nonidentical twins. The results showed that for almost all music-related variables, the odds were significantly higher for identical twins to play the same musical instrument or music genre, suggesting significant genetic influences on such music specialization. Possible interpretations and implications of the findings are discussed. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.

A Survey of Modes of Student Response Indicative of Musical Learning in Elementary Instrumental Music.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Molly A.

This master's thesis reports on a study of the frequency and modes of student responses that demonstrate musical learning in the elementary instrumental music class. Some advances must be made toward more definitive evaluation practices in elementary school instrumental music if instrumental programs are to be justified in terms of improved…

Music: Instrumental Techniques, Conducting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grozan, Carl

A course in introduction to the conducting of music groups of voices or instruments is presented. The approach used is a laboratory approach in which pupils will develop skills in score reading, physical gestures, rehearsal techniques, transpositions, voice and instrument ranges. Course objectives include: (1) The pupil will identify all…

Contact dermatitis and other skin conditions in instrumental musicians

PubMed Central

Gambichler, Thilo; Boms, Stefanie; Freitag, Marcus

2004-01-01

Background The skin is important in the positioning and playing of a musical instrument. During practicing and performing there is a permanent more or less intense contact between the instrument and the musician's skin. Apart from aggravation of predisposed skin diseases (e.g., atopic eczema or psoriasis) due to music-making, specific dermatologic conditions may develop that are directly caused by playing a musical instrument. Methods To perform a systematic review on instrument-related skin diseases in musicians we searched the PubMed database without time limits. Furthermore we studied the online bibliography "Occupational diseases of performing artist. A performing arts medicine bibliography. October, 2003" and checked references of all selected articles for relevant papers. Results The most prevalent skin disorders of instrumental musicians, in particular string instrumentalists (e.g., violinists, cellists, guitarists), woodwind players (e.g., flautists, clarinetists), and brass instrumentalists (e.g., trumpeters), include a variety of allergic contact sensitizations (e.g., colophony, nickel, and exotic woods) and irritant (physical-chemical noxae) skin conditions whose clinical presentation and localization are usually specific for the instrument used (e.g., "fiddler's neck", "cellist's chest", "guitar nipple", "flautist's chin"). Apart from common callosities and "occupational marks" (e.g., "Garrod's pads") more or less severe skin injuries may occur in musical instrumentalists, in particular acute and chronic wounds including their complications. Skin infections such as herpes labialis seem to be a more common skin problem in woodwind and brass instrumentalists. Conclusions Skin conditions may be a significant problem not only in professional instrumentalists, but also in musicians of all ages and ability. Although not life threatening they may lead to impaired performance and occupational hazard. Unfortunately, epidemiological investigations have

Music Teacher Knowledge: An Examination of the Intersections between Instrumental Music Teaching and Conducting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forrester, Sommer H.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the complexities of instrumental music teacher knowledge as they relate to the intersection between instrumental music teaching and conducting, and to explore how participants describe and perceive these intersections. The key research question guiding this study was, How do high school instrumental music…

Influence of musical instruments on tooth positions.

PubMed

Herman, E

1981-08-01

A 2-year longitudinal investigation was conducted at five New York City junior high schools on 11- to 13-year-old children starting instrumental music education to determine what tooth movement, if any, resulted from the playing of certain musical instruments. Questionnaires, interviews, oral examinations, and dental casts were used at the start of instrumental study, after one year, and then after a second year. Statistically significant anterior tooth movements occurred in an overwhelming majority of the instrumentalists, while negligible movements were recorded for the controls over this period. As a result of this study, certain recommendations can be made by dentists when they are asked to suggest instruments which are dentally suited for children. In most cases they can suggest more than one instrument which would be of benefit dentally to the individual child, especially in the increase or reduction of overjet and overbite. The playing of the correct musical instrument can serve as an adjunct to the dentist or orthodontist in trying to accomplish certain tooth movements.

Music@Home: A novel instrument to assess the home musical environment in the early years.

PubMed

Politimou, Nina; Stewart, Lauren; Müllensiefen, Daniel; Franco, Fabia

2018-01-01

The majority of children under the age of 5 appear to show spontaneous enjoyment of singing, being exposed to music and interacting with musical instruments, but whether variations in engaging in such activities in the home could contribute to developmental outcomes is still largely unknown. Critically, researchers lack a comprehensive instrument with good psychometric properties to assess the home musical environment from infancy to the preschool years. To address this gap, this paper presents two studies that describe the development and validation of the Music@Home questionnaire, which comprises two versions: Infant and Preschool. In Study 1, an initial pool of items was generated and administered to a wide audience of parents (n = 287 for the Infant, n = 347 for the Preschool version). Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify different dimensions comprising the home musical environment of both infants and pre-schoolers, and to reduce the initial pool of items to a smaller number of meaningful items. In Study 2, convergent and divergent validity and internal and test-retest reliability of the new instrument were established, using data from a different sample of participants (n = 213 for the Infant, n = 213 for the Preschool version). The second study also investigated associations between the Music@Home and musical characteristics of the parents, such as their musical education and personal engagement with music. Overall, the Music@Home constitutes a novel, valid and reliable instrument that allows for the systematic assessment of distinct aspects of the home musical environment in families with children under the age of 5. Furthermore, the Infant and Preschool versions of the Music@Home present differential associations with musical characteristics of the parents opening a new area of inquiry into how musical exposure and interaction in the home may vary across different developmental stages.

Music@Home: A novel instrument to assess the home musical environment in the early years

PubMed Central

Stewart, Lauren; Müllensiefen, Daniel; Franco, Fabia

2018-01-01

The majority of children under the age of 5 appear to show spontaneous enjoyment of singing, being exposed to music and interacting with musical instruments, but whether variations in engaging in such activities in the home could contribute to developmental outcomes is still largely unknown. Critically, researchers lack a comprehensive instrument with good psychometric properties to assess the home musical environment from infancy to the preschool years. To address this gap, this paper presents two studies that describe the development and validation of the Music@Home questionnaire, which comprises two versions: Infant and Preschool. In Study 1, an initial pool of items was generated and administered to a wide audience of parents (n = 287 for the Infant, n = 347 for the Preschool version). Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify different dimensions comprising the home musical environment of both infants and pre-schoolers, and to reduce the initial pool of items to a smaller number of meaningful items. In Study 2, convergent and divergent validity and internal and test-retest reliability of the new instrument were established, using data from a different sample of participants (n = 213 for the Infant, n = 213 for the Preschool version). The second study also investigated associations between the Music@Home and musical characteristics of the parents, such as their musical education and personal engagement with music. Overall, the Music@Home constitutes a novel, valid and reliable instrument that allows for the systematic assessment of distinct aspects of the home musical environment in families with children under the age of 5. Furthermore, the Infant and Preschool versions of the Music@Home present differential associations with musical characteristics of the parents opening a new area of inquiry into how musical exposure and interaction in the home may vary across different developmental stages. PMID:29641607

Neutrons and music: Imaging investigation of ancient wind musical instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Festa, G.; Tardino, G.; Pontecorvo, L.; Mannes, D. C.; Senesi, R.; Gorini, G.; Andreani, C.

2014-10-01

A set of seven musical instruments and two instruments cares from the 'Fondo Antico della Biblioteca del Sacro Convento' in Assisi, Italy, were investigated through neutron and X-ray imaging techniques. Historical and scientific interests around ancient musical instruments motivate an intense research effort for their characterization using non-destructive and non-invasive techniques. X-ray and neutron tomography/radiography were applied to the study of composite material samples containing wood, hide and metals. The study was carried out at the NEUTRA beamline, PSI (Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland). Results of the measurements provided new information on the composite and multi-scale structure, such as: the internal structure of the samples, position of added materials like metals, wood fiber displays, deformations, presence of adhesives and their spatial distribution and novel insight about construction methods to guide the instruments' restoration process.

Musical Intonation of Wind Instruments and Temperature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zendri, G.; Valdan, M.; Gratton, L. M.; Oss, S.

2015-01-01

Wind musical instruments are affected in their intonation by temperature. We show how to account for these effects in a simple experiment, and provide results in languages accessible to both physics and music professionals.

Musical intonation of wind instruments and temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zendri, G.; Valdan, M.; Gratton, L. M.; Oss, S.

2015-05-01

Wind musical instruments are affected in their intonation by temperature. We show how to account for these effects in a simple experiment, and provide results in languages accessible to both physics and music professionals.

Are Musical Instrument Gender Associations Changing?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abeles, Hal

2009-01-01

The researcher sought to examine gender associations across three decades to determine if changes in the sex stereotyping of musical instruments has occurred. First, the study examined the paired comparison gender-instrument rankings of 180 college students. The results confirmed a reduction of instrument gender associations reported in the 1990s.…

Towards a Transcultural Theory of Democracy for Instrumental Music Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Leonard

2014-01-01

At present, instrumental music education, defined in this paper as the teaching and learning of music through wind bands and symphony orchestras of Western origin, appears embattled. Among the many criticisms made against instrumental music education, critics claim that bands and orchestras exemplify an authoritarian model of teaching that does…

Musical instruments of Brazilian capoeira: Historical roots, symbolism, and use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilari, Beatriz

2002-11-01

This paper describes the historical roots, symbolism, and uses of musical instruments in capoeira. A martial art form of Afro-Brazilian origin, capoeira is rhythmically performed to music in a roda (i.e., circle). Capoeira is at times defined as a martial art form disguised as dance because it is rooted in the struggles of African slaves. Elements of music, dance, fight, and ritual are part of this unique martial art form, which has two main styles: Angola and Regional. Capoeira styles are important as they determine rhythmic patterns, chant, movement, and musical instrumentation in a roda. The leading instrument in all capoeira styles is the berimbau. The instrument dictates the rhythm and movement of capoeira players in a roda (Ilari, 2001). Made out of a wooden stick, a wire, and a gourd and played with a stick and a coin, the berimbau is considered a sacred instrument due to its association with the cry of the slaves. Other instruments used in capoeira are pandeiros, agogo bells, reco-recos, and atabaques. A discussion regarding the use of these instruments within the context of capoeira will be presented at the conference. The incorporation of these instruments into contemporary Brazilian music will also be considered.

A recent U.S. patent process for a musical instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baecker, James I.

2005-09-01

The ins and outs of going from a novel musical instrument concept to issuance of a U.S. patent. The technical work performed included the development of a musical instrument based on space-frame body construction and a definition of the instrument body's resonance characteristics. The result required a description of the invention and communication with the patent attorney and conveying a correct perception of the invention to the U.S. Patent Office. This presentation describes several technical, practical, legal, and commercial issues encountered during the patent process by the inventors and their business entity. On 7 September 2004, U.S. Patent No. 6,787,688 for a musical instrument was issued and assigned by the inventors to Harmos Music, Ltd.

The role of physics in shaping music

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Townsend, Peter

2015-07-01

Physics and technology have played a major role in shaping the development, performance, interpretation and composition of music for many centuries. From the twentieth century, electronics and communications have provided recording and broadcasting that gives access to worldwide music and performers of many musical genres. Early scientific influence came via improved or totally new instruments, plus larger and better concert halls. Instrument examples range from developments of violins or pianos to keyed and valved wood wind and brass that offer chromatic performance. New sounds appeared by inventions of totally new instruments, such as the saxophone or the Theremin, to all the modern electronic influence on keyboards and synthesisers. Electronic variants of guitars are effectively new instruments that have spawned totally original musical styles. All such advances have encouraged more virtuosic performance, larger halls, a wider range of audiences and a consequent demand and ability of composers to meet the new challenges. Despite this immense impact, the role of physics and technology over the last few centuries has mostly been ignored, although it was often greater than any links to arts or culture. Recorded and broadcast music has enhanced our expectations on performance and opened gateways to purely electronically generated sounds, of the now familiar electronic keyboards and synthesisers. This brief review traces some of the highlights in musical evolution that were enabled by physics and technology and their impact on the musical scene. The pattern from the past is clear, and so some of the probable advances in the very near future are also predicted. Many are significant as they will impinge on our appreciation of both current and past music, as well as compositional styles. Mention is made of the difference in sound between live and recorded music and the reasons why none of us ever have precisely the same musical experience twice, even from the same

Two centuries of French patents as documentation of musical instrument construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jean, Haury

2005-09-01

The French Patent Office I.N.P.I. has preserved the originals of ca. 12000 French patents filed between 1791 and present days that are concerned with music-related inventions. As an I.N.P.I. pilot project, these were identified, collected, and classified by the present author, and the actual database named ``Musique & Brevets'' is going to be expanded with English, American, and German material, bringing currently a knowledge base up to 1900. It is expected to be made available on an I.N.P.I. website. This is an unequaled initiative that covers all branches of musical instrument manufacture, mechanical musical instruments, early recording and reproducing of music, but also educational material and methods for printing music. There already exists a number of websites presenting inventions on musical instruments, but these are restricted to one particular instrument and its related patents. ``Musique & Brevets'' intends to be exhaustive and make links between patents filed in different countries at the same time. The paper will present the content of the database, the access to texts and drawings of the patents via specific links, and their importance for the study of history and construction of musical instruments.

Feedback control of acoustic musical instruments: collocated control using physical analogs.

PubMed

Berdahl, Edgar; Smith, Julius O; Niemeyer, Günter

2012-01-01

Traditionally, the average professional musician has owned numerous acoustic musical instruments, many of them having distinctive acoustic qualities. However, a modern musician could prefer to have a single musical instrument whose acoustics are programmable by feedback control, where acoustic variables are estimated from sensor measurements in real time and then fed back in order to influence the controlled variables. In this paper, theory is presented that describes stable feedback control of an acoustic musical instrument. The presentation should be accessible to members of the musical acoustics community who may have limited or no experience with feedback control. First, the only control strategy guaranteed to be stable subject to any musical instrument mobility is described: the sensors and actuators must be collocated, and the controller must emulate a physical analog system. Next, the most fundamental feedback controllers and the corresponding physical analog systems are presented. The effects that these controllers have on acoustic musical instruments are described. Finally, practical design challenges are discussed. A proof explains why changing the resonance frequency of a musical resonance requires much more control power than changing the decay time of the resonance. © 2012 Acoustical Society of America.

Beyond Guided Listening: Exploring World Musics with Classroom Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartolome, Sarah J.

2011-01-01

This article explores issues of authenticity related to adapting world music examples for classroom instruments and suggests ways to engage students in active, participatory music-making activities derived from diverse musical cultures. Several lesson plan segments are provided to aid general music specialists in implementing "play along"…

Wind-instrument reflection function measurements in the time domain.

PubMed

Keefe, D H

1996-04-01

Theoretical and computational analyses of wind-instrument sound production in the time domain have emerged as useful tools for understanding musical instrument acoustics, yet there exist few experimental measurements of the air-column response directly in the time domain. A new experimental, time-domain technique is proposed to measure the reflection function response of woodwind and brass-instrument air columns. This response is defined at the location of sound regeneration in the mouthpiece or double reed. A probe assembly comprised of an acoustic source and microphone is inserted directly into the air column entryway using a foam plug to ensure a leak-free fit. An initial calibration phase involves measurements on a single cylindrical tube of known dimensions. Measurements are presented on an alto saxophone and euphonium. The technique has promise for testing any musical instrument air columns using a single probe assembly and foam plugs over a range of diameters typical of air-column entryways.

Clinical and Epidemiological Correlates of Task-Specific Dystonia in a Large Cohort of Brazilian Music Players.

PubMed

Moura, Rita C; de Carvalho Aguiar, Patrícia Maria; Bortz, Graziela; Ferraz, Henrique Ballalai

2017-01-01

Musician's dystonia is a task-specific dystonia (TSD) worldwide disabling disorder, and most of the affected individuals may have severe difficulty to play their instrument. Many professional music players may have to quit working as a player. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and frequency of TSD in Brazilian music players and to promote awareness of this condition among musicians. We visited orchestras and music schools delivering lectures on TSD and about the scope of our survey. Musicians were invited to answer a questionnaire, and those with possible neurological dysfunction associated with musical performance were recorded by video while playing the instrument. We visited 51 orchestras and music schools in 19 Brazilian cities between March 2013 and March 2015. We collected 2,232 questionnaires, and 72 subjects with suspicion of dystonia were video recorded during specific tasks and evaluated regarding motor impairment. Forty-nine individuals (2.2%) were diagnosed as having TSD (mean age 36.4 years; 92% male). The instruments most associated with TSD were acoustic guitar (36.7%) and brass instruments (30.6%). We concluded that Brazilian TSD music players are mainly male, classical music professionals, around 30 years of age, with arms, hands, or oromandibular muscles affected. TSD is a neurological condition that can impair musical performance and should receive more attention from musicians, teachers, and health professionals.

Perceptually Salient Regions of the Modulation Power Spectrum for Musical Instrument Identification.

PubMed

Thoret, Etienne; Depalle, Philippe; McAdams, Stephen

2017-01-01

The ability of a listener to recognize sound sources, and in particular musical instruments from the sounds they produce, raises the question of determining the acoustical information used to achieve such a task. It is now well known that the shapes of the temporal and spectral envelopes are crucial to the recognition of a musical instrument. More recently, Modulation Power Spectra (MPS) have been shown to be a representation that potentially explains the perception of musical instrument sounds. Nevertheless, the question of which specific regions of this representation characterize a musical instrument is still open. An identification task was applied to two subsets of musical instruments: tuba, trombone, cello, saxophone, and clarinet on the one hand, and marimba, vibraphone, guitar, harp, and viola pizzicato on the other. The sounds were processed with filtered spectrotemporal modulations with 2D Gaussian windows. The most relevant regions of this representation for instrument identification were determined for each instrument and reveal the regions essential for their identification. The method used here is based on a "molecular approach," the so-called bubbles method. Globally, the instruments were correctly identified and the lower values of spectrotemporal modulations are the most important regions of the MPS for recognizing instruments. Interestingly, instruments that were confused with each other led to non-overlapping regions and were confused when they were filtered in the most salient region of the other instrument. These results suggest that musical instrument timbres are characterized by specific spectrotemporal modulations, information which could contribute to music information retrieval tasks such as automatic source recognition.

Concept Teaching in Instrumental Music Education: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Leonard

2017-01-01

This article is a review of research literature on the teaching of concepts in instrumental music education. It is organized in four parts (a) the value of concept teaching in large instrumental ensembles, (b) time spent teaching concepts during rehearsals, (c) approaches to concept teaching, and (d) implications for music education. Research has…

Instrumentational complexity of music genres and why simplicity sells.

PubMed

Percino, Gamaliel; Klimek, Peter; Thurner, Stefan

2014-01-01

Listening habits are strongly influenced by two opposing aspects, the desire for variety and the demand for uniformity in music. In this work we quantify these two notions in terms of instrumentation and production technologies that are typically involved in crafting popular music. We assign an 'instrumentational complexity value' to each music style. Styles of low instrumentational complexity tend to have generic instrumentations that can also be found in many other styles. Styles of high complexity, on the other hand, are characterized by a large variety of instruments that can only be found in a small number of other styles. To model these results we propose a simple stochastic model that explicitly takes the capabilities of artists into account. We find empirical evidence that individual styles show dramatic changes in their instrumentational complexity over the last fifty years. 'New wave' or 'disco' quickly climbed towards higher complexity in the 70s and fell back to low complexity levels shortly afterwards, whereas styles like 'folk rock' remained at constant high instrumentational complexity levels. We show that changes in the instrumentational complexity of a style are related to its number of sales and to the number of artists contributing to that style. As a style attracts a growing number of artists, its instrumentational variety usually increases. At the same time the instrumentational uniformity of a style decreases, i.e. a unique stylistic and increasingly complex expression pattern emerges. In contrast, album sales of a given style typically increase with decreasing instrumentational complexity. This can be interpreted as music becoming increasingly formulaic in terms of instrumentation once commercial or mainstream success sets in.

Instrumentational Complexity of Music Genres and Why Simplicity Sells

PubMed Central

Percino, Gamaliel; Klimek, Peter; Thurner, Stefan

2014-01-01

Listening habits are strongly influenced by two opposing aspects, the desire for variety and the demand for uniformity in music. In this work we quantify these two notions in terms of instrumentation and production technologies that are typically involved in crafting popular music. We assign an ‘instrumentational complexity value’ to each music style. Styles of low instrumentational complexity tend to have generic instrumentations that can also be found in many other styles. Styles of high complexity, on the other hand, are characterized by a large variety of instruments that can only be found in a small number of other styles. To model these results we propose a simple stochastic model that explicitly takes the capabilities of artists into account. We find empirical evidence that individual styles show dramatic changes in their instrumentational complexity over the last fifty years. ‘New wave’ or ‘disco’ quickly climbed towards higher complexity in the 70s and fell back to low complexity levels shortly afterwards, whereas styles like ‘folk rock’ remained at constant high instrumentational complexity levels. We show that changes in the instrumentational complexity of a style are related to its number of sales and to the number of artists contributing to that style. As a style attracts a growing number of artists, its instrumentational variety usually increases. At the same time the instrumentational uniformity of a style decreases, i.e. a unique stylistic and increasingly complex expression pattern emerges. In contrast, album sales of a given style typically increase with decreasing instrumentational complexity. This can be interpreted as music becoming increasingly formulaic in terms of instrumentation once commercial or mainstream success sets in. PMID:25551631

Affinity for Music: A Study of the Role of Emotion in Musical Instrument Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

StGeorge, Jennifer; Holbrook, Allyson; Cantwell, Robert

2014-01-01

For many people, the appeal of music lies in its connection to human emotions. A significant body of research has explored the emotions that are experienced through either the formal structure of music or through its symbolic messages. Yet in the instrumental music education field, this emotional connection is rarely examined. In this article, it…

Gender Differences in Musical Instrument Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallam, Susan; Rogers, Lynne; Creech, Andrea

2008-01-01

Historically, there have been differences in the musical instruments played by boys and girls, with girls preferring smaller, higher-pitched instruments. This article explores whether these gender preferences have continued at a time when there is greater gender equality in most aspects of life in the UK. Data were collected from the 150 Music…

Surface topography characterization of brass alloys: lead brass (CuZn39Pb3) and lead free brass (CuZn21Si3P)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reddy, Vijeth V.; Vedantha Krishna, Amogh; Schultheiss, Fredrik; Rosén, B.-G.

2017-06-01

Manufactured surfaces usually consist of topographical features which include both those put forth by the manufacturing process, and micro-features caused by disturbances during this process. Surface characterization basically involves study of these features which influence the functionality of the surface. This article focuses on characterization of the surface topography of machined lead brass and lead free brass. The adverse effect of lead on human health and the environment has led the manufacturing sector to focus on sustainable manufacturing of lead free brass, as well as how to maintain control of the surface integrity when substituting the lead content in the brass with silicon. The investigation includes defined areal surface parameters measured on the turned samples of lead- and lead free brass using an optical coherence scanning interferometer, CSI. This paper deals with the study of surface topography of turned samples of lead- and lead free brass. It is important to study the topographical characteristics of the brass samples which are the intermediate link between the manufacturing process variables and the functional behaviour of the surface. To numerically evaluate the sample’s surface topography and to validate the measurements for a significant study, a general statistical methodology is implemented. The results indicate higher surface roughness in turned samples of lead brass compared to lead free brass.

Instrument-Making as Music-Making: An Ethnographic Study of "Shakuhachi" Students' Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matsunobu, Koji

2013-01-01

Instrument-making is a powerful way to teach and learn music, especially world music. This case study looks at adult music learners whose engagement in music involves instrument-making and the long lasting practice of music. A case in point is Japanese and North American practitioners of Japanese bamboo flutes, especially the end-blown…

The EyeHarp: A Gaze-Controlled Digital Musical Instrument

PubMed Central

Vamvakousis, Zacharias; Ramirez, Rafael

2016-01-01

We present and evaluate the EyeHarp, a new gaze-controlled Digital Musical Instrument, which aims to enable people with severe motor disabilities to learn, perform, and compose music using only their gaze as control mechanism. It consists of (1) a step-sequencer layer, which serves for constructing chords/arpeggios, and (2) a melody layer, for playing melodies and changing the chords/arpeggios. We have conducted a pilot evaluation of the EyeHarp involving 39 participants with no disabilities from both a performer and an audience perspective. In the first case, eight people with normal vision and no motor disability participated in a music-playing session in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. In the second case 31 people qualitatively evaluated the EyeHarp in a concert setting consisting of two parts: a solo performance part, and an ensemble (EyeHarp, two guitars, and flute) performance part. The obtained results indicate that, similarly to traditional music instruments, the proposed digital musical instrument has a steep learning curve, and allows to produce expressive performances both from the performer and audience perspective. PMID:27445885

Instrumental Music for Dyslexics: A Teaching Handbook. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oglethorpe, Sheila

This book is a guide for music teachers whose students of instrumental keyboard music include those with dyslexia. Chapter 1 is on recognizing dyslexia, including primary and secondary symptoms, multisensory teaching, and teaching to strengths. Chapter 2 focuses on communication between pupil and teacher with sections on music as communication and…

Clinical and Epidemiological Correlates of Task-Specific Dystonia in a Large Cohort of Brazilian Music Players

PubMed Central

Moura, Rita C.; de Carvalho Aguiar, Patrícia Maria; Bortz, Graziela; Ferraz, Henrique Ballalai

2017-01-01

Musician’s dystonia is a task-specific dystonia (TSD) worldwide disabling disorder, and most of the affected individuals may have severe difficulty to play their instrument. Many professional music players may have to quit working as a player. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and frequency of TSD in Brazilian music players and to promote awareness of this condition among musicians. We visited orchestras and music schools delivering lectures on TSD and about the scope of our survey. Musicians were invited to answer a questionnaire, and those with possible neurological dysfunction associated with musical performance were recorded by video while playing the instrument. We visited 51 orchestras and music schools in 19 Brazilian cities between March 2013 and March 2015. We collected 2,232 questionnaires, and 72 subjects with suspicion of dystonia were video recorded during specific tasks and evaluated regarding motor impairment. Forty-nine individuals (2.2%) were diagnosed as having TSD (mean age 36.4 years; 92% male). The instruments most associated with TSD were acoustic guitar (36.7%) and brass instruments (30.6%). We concluded that Brazilian TSD music players are mainly male, classical music professionals, around 30 years of age, with arms, hands, or oromandibular muscles affected. TSD is a neurological condition that can impair musical performance and should receive more attention from musicians, teachers, and health professionals. PMID:28321203

Factors Affecting Literacy Achievement of Eighth Grade Middle School Instrumental Music Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurt, Johnny T.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this pretest-posttest comparative efficacy study was to analyze factors affecting literacy achievement of eighth grade middle school instrumental music students (n = 38) including (a) socioeconomic status (SES), (b) gender, (c) grade point average (GPA), (d) music motivation, (e) music involvement, and (f) instrument section. The…

Sex-Role Associations of Music Instruments and Occupations by Gender and Major.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griswold, Philip A.; Chroback, Denise A.

1981-01-01

Undergraduate music majors and nonmajors rated 17 musical instruments and two related musical occupations on a masculine/feminine scale. The harp, flute, and piccolo had high feminine ratings; the trumpet, string bass, and tuba had high masculine ratings. Instrument ratings were significantly different for major, but not for gender. (Author/SJL)

Using Longitudinal Scales Assessment for Instrumental Music Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simon, Samuel H.

2014-01-01

In music education, current assessment trends emphasize student reflection, tracking progress over time, and formative as well as summative measures. This view of assessment requires instrumental music educators to modernize their approaches without interfering with methods that have proven to be successful. To this end, the Longitudinal Scales…

From the Museum to the Music Classroom: Teaching the "Umrhubhe" as an Ensemble Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dontsa, Luvuyo

2008-01-01

While there is a keen interest in indigenous African instrumental music among South African university music students, indigenous music instruments such as the "umrhubhe" (musical bow without a calabash resonator) have not found their way into the classroom. Most music departments focus on the teaching and learning of western instruments…

The Case for Musical Instrument Training in Cerebral Palsy for Neurorehabilitation

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Recent imaging studies in cerebral palsy (CP) have described several brain structural changes, functional alterations, and neuroplastic processes that take place after brain injury during early development. These changes affect motor pathways as well as sensorimotor networks. Several of these changes correlate with behavioral measures of motor and sensory disability. It is now widely acknowledged that management of sensory deficits is relevant for rehabilitation in CP. Playing a musical instrument demands the coordination of hand movements with integrated auditory, visual, and tactile feedback, in a process that recruits multiple brain regions. These multiple demands during instrument playing, together with the entertaining character of music, have led to the development and investigation of music-supported therapies, especially for rehabilitation with motor disorders resulting from brain damage. We review scientific evidence that supports the use of musical instrument playing for rehabilitation in CP. We propose that active musical instrument playing may be an efficient means for triggering neuroplastic processes necessary for the development of sensorimotor skills in patients with early brain damage. We encourage experimental research on neuroplasticity and on its impact on the physical and personal development of individuals with CP. PMID:27867664

The Case for Musical Instrument Training in Cerebral Palsy for Neurorehabilitation.

PubMed

Alves-Pinto, Ana; Turova, Varvara; Blumenstein, Tobias; Lampe, Renée

2016-01-01

Recent imaging studies in cerebral palsy (CP) have described several brain structural changes, functional alterations, and neuroplastic processes that take place after brain injury during early development. These changes affect motor pathways as well as sensorimotor networks. Several of these changes correlate with behavioral measures of motor and sensory disability. It is now widely acknowledged that management of sensory deficits is relevant for rehabilitation in CP. Playing a musical instrument demands the coordination of hand movements with integrated auditory, visual, and tactile feedback, in a process that recruits multiple brain regions. These multiple demands during instrument playing, together with the entertaining character of music, have led to the development and investigation of music-supported therapies, especially for rehabilitation with motor disorders resulting from brain damage. We review scientific evidence that supports the use of musical instrument playing for rehabilitation in CP. We propose that active musical instrument playing may be an efficient means for triggering neuroplastic processes necessary for the development of sensorimotor skills in patients with early brain damage. We encourage experimental research on neuroplasticity and on its impact on the physical and personal development of individuals with CP.

A View of Current Evaluative Practices in Instrumental Music Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Amber Dahlén

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine how instrumental music educator skills are being evaluated in current undergraduate programs. While accrediting organizations mandate certain elements of these programs, they provide limited guidance on what evaluative approaches should be used. Instrumental music teacher educators in the College Music…

Who Gets to Play? Investigating Equity in Musical Instrument Instruction in Scottish Primary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moscardini, Lio; Barron, David S.; Wilson, Alastair

2013-01-01

There is a widely held view that learning to play a musical instrument is a valuable experience for all children in terms of their personal growth and development. Although there is no statutory obligation for instrumental music provision in Scottish primary schools, there are well-established Instrumental Music Services in Local Education…

Musical Expression: An Observational Study of Instrumental Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karlsson, Jessika; Juslin, Patrik N.

2008-01-01

Research has shown that both music students and teachers think that expression is important. Yet, we know little about how expression is taught to students. Such knowledge is needed in order to enhance teaching of expression. The aim of this study was thus to explore the nature of instrumental music teaching in its natural context, with a focus on…

Musical Instrument-Associated Health Issues and Their Management.

PubMed

Okoshi, Kae; Minami, Taro; Kikuchi, Masahiro; Tomizawa, Yasuko

2017-09-01

Playing musical instruments can bring joy to people, but can also cause a wide variety of health issues that range from mild disorders to potentially fatal conditions. Although sports medicine is an established medical subspecialty, relatively few studies have investigated the health issues associated with musical instruments. Here we present an overview of these health issues. These include infections due to microorganisms, allergic reactions, as well as mechanical injuries from sustained high pressures within the oral, mediastinal, thoracic, and abdominal cavities. For example, wind instruments can potentially harbor thousands of pathogenic organisms. If several players share the same instrument, these instruments present potential hazards in the spread of infections. A fatal case of hypersensitivity pneumonitis in a bagpiper is particularly noteworthy. Similarly, a case of gastrointestinal anthrax in an animal-hide drummer is a reminder of this rare but highly fatal disease. Although not fatal, hearing-related disorders, neuromuscular issues, musculoskeletal problems, and contact dermatitis are also very common among instrumentalists. This review aims to illuminate these under-recognized health issues by highlighting both the common conditions and the rare but fatal cases.

Instrumental-Music Study and Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heninger, Benjamin Thomas

2017-01-01

This quantitative study explained relationships among independent variables that included instrumental music participation and achievement on a standardized test by participants in the ninth grade at a western Wisconsin high school. The ACT "Aspire" (2017) test is a vertically articulated, standards-based system of assessments. Subtest…

Discrete-time modelling of musical instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Välimäki, Vesa; Pakarinen, Jyri; Erkut, Cumhur; Karjalainen, Matti

2006-01-01

This article describes physical modelling techniques that can be used for simulating musical instruments. The methods are closely related to digital signal processing. They discretize the system with respect to time, because the aim is to run the simulation using a computer. The physics-based modelling methods can be classified as mass-spring, modal, wave digital, finite difference, digital waveguide and source-filter models. We present the basic theory and a discussion on possible extensions for each modelling technique. For some methods, a simple model example is chosen from the existing literature demonstrating a typical use of the method. For instance, in the case of the digital waveguide modelling technique a vibrating string model is discussed, and in the case of the wave digital filter technique we present a classical piano hammer model. We tackle some nonlinear and time-varying models and include new results on the digital waveguide modelling of a nonlinear string. Current trends and future directions in physical modelling of musical instruments are discussed.

The Electronic Valve Instrument (EVI), an electronic musical wind controller for playing synthesizers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steiner, Nyle A.

2004-05-01

The Electronic Valve Instrument (EVI) is an electronic musical wind instrument with playing techniques similar to that of a trumpet. Invented by Nyle Steiner in the early 1970's, it was designed to give the performer control of dynamics from breath pressure and the ability to make a humanly generated vibrato. Other musical paramaters can be controlled as well. It has a playing range of seven octaves (similar to that of a piano). When musical lines are played using this instrument (controller) connected to an electronic music synthesizer, the sound is much more natural sounding and expressive than when a normal musical keyboard is used. The evolution of this instrument from the pre-Midi era to it latest Midi configuration, principles of operation, synthesizer programming, and its wide use in movie and TV scoring will be discussed. The EVI has played featured musical lines in many major movie soundtracks and TV shows such as Apocalypse Now, Witness, Dead Poets Society, Fatal Attraction, No Way Out, Gorillas in the Mist, and many others. The EVI design has also been adapted as an Electronic Woodwind Instrument (EWI) by Nyle Steiner and has been manufactured and sold worldwide by the AKAI Co. in Japan.

A Transcultural Theory of Thinking for Instrumental Music Education: Philosophical Insights from Confucius and Dewey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Leonard

2016-01-01

In music education, thinking is often construed in terms of acquiring conceptual knowledge of musical elements. Research has found, however, that instrumental music educators have largely neglected conceptual teaching and learning. This begs the following questions: What is the nature of thinking in instrumental music education? How should…

Structural and functional plasticity specific to musical training with wind instruments.

PubMed

Choi, Uk-Su; Sung, Yul-Wan; Hong, Sujin; Chung, Jun-Young; Ogawa, Seiji

2015-01-01

Numerous neuroimaging studies have shown structural and functional changes resulting from musical training. Among these studies, changes in primary sensory areas are mostly related to motor functions. In this study, we looked for some similar functional and structural changes in other functional modalities, such as somatosensory function, by examining the effects of musical training with wind instruments. We found significant changes in two aspects of neuroplasticity, cortical thickness, and resting-state neuronal networks. A group of subjects with several years of continuous musical training and who are currently playing in university wind ensembles showed differences in cortical thickness in lip- and tongue-related brain areas vs. non-music playing subjects. Cortical thickness in lip-related brain areas was significantly thicker and that in tongue-related areas was significantly thinner in the music playing group compared with that in the non-music playing group. Association analysis of lip-related areas in the music playing group showed that the increase in cortical thickness was caused by musical training. In addition, seed-based correlation analysis showed differential activation in the precentral gyrus and supplementary motor areas (SMA) between the music and non-music playing groups. These results suggest that high-intensity training with specific musical instruments could induce structural changes in related anatomical areas and could also generate a new functional neuronal network in the brain.

Structural and functional plasticity specific to musical training with wind instruments

PubMed Central

Choi, Uk-Su; Sung, Yul-Wan; Hong, Sujin; Chung, Jun-Young; Ogawa, Seiji

2015-01-01

Numerous neuroimaging studies have shown structural and functional changes resulting from musical training. Among these studies, changes in primary sensory areas are mostly related to motor functions. In this study, we looked for some similar functional and structural changes in other functional modalities, such as somatosensory function, by examining the effects of musical training with wind instruments. We found significant changes in two aspects of neuroplasticity, cortical thickness, and resting-state neuronal networks. A group of subjects with several years of continuous musical training and who are currently playing in university wind ensembles showed differences in cortical thickness in lip- and tongue-related brain areas vs. non-music playing subjects. Cortical thickness in lip-related brain areas was significantly thicker and that in tongue-related areas was significantly thinner in the music playing group compared with that in the non-music playing group. Association analysis of lip-related areas in the music playing group showed that the increase in cortical thickness was caused by musical training. In addition, seed-based correlation analysis showed differential activation in the precentral gyrus and supplementary motor areas (SMA) between the music and non-music playing groups. These results suggest that high-intensity training with specific musical instruments could induce structural changes in related anatomical areas and could also generate a new functional neuronal network in the brain. PMID:26578939

Spectral envelope sensitivity of musical instrument sounds.

PubMed

Gunawan, David; Sen, D

2008-01-01

It is well known that the spectral envelope is a perceptually salient attribute in musical instrument timbre perception. While a number of studies have explored discrimination thresholds for changes to the spectral envelope, the question of how sensitivity varies as a function of center frequency and bandwidth for musical instruments has yet to be addressed. In this paper a two-alternative forced-choice experiment was conducted to observe perceptual sensitivity to modifications made on trumpet, clarinet and viola sounds. The experiment involved attenuating 14 frequency bands for each instrument in order to determine discrimination thresholds as a function of center frequency and bandwidth. The results indicate that perceptual sensitivity is governed by the first few harmonics and sensitivity does not improve when extending the bandwidth any higher. However, sensitivity was found to decrease if changes were made only to the higher frequencies and continued to decrease as the distorted bandwidth was widened. The results are analyzed and discussed with respect to two other spectral envelope discrimination studies in the literature as well as what is predicted from a psychoacoustic model.

A Comparison Study of the California Test of Basic Skills between Fourth and Fifth Grade Instrumental Music Pullout Students and Students Not Involved in the Instrumental Music Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corral, S. Joseph

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an instrumental music pullout program on student achievement. Two hundred and twenty-three students were divided into 2 groups. The first group consisted of 46 instrumental music students in grades 4 and 5. The second group consisted of 177 students who did not participate in the instrumental…

Building Your Instrumental Music Program in an Urban School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mixon, Kevin

2005-01-01

MENC has recently, recapitulated its vision of "Music for All" in its strategic plan, which warns that "30 to 50 per cent of new teachers who work in urban areas leave the field in their first three years of service.'' This undoubtedly affects instrumental music instruction for urban children. Collegial sharing is one solution to problems…

Musique instrumentale 10-20-30: Instruments a vent et a percussion. (Instrumental Music 10-20-30: Wind and Percussion Instruments. Teaching Guide).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Language Services Branch.

The introduction for this Alberta (Canada) music education guide offers reasons for students to study the fine arts at the secondary school level. A philosophy of music education is presented along with 5 key outcomes and 11 music appreciation expectations for secondary students to attain. The volume features wind and percussion instruments. The…

Fundamentals of Embouchure in Brass Players: Towards a Definition and Clinical Assessment.

PubMed

Woldendorp, Kees H; Boschma, Hans; Boonstra, Anne M; Arendzen, Hans J; Reneman, Michiel F

2016-12-01

Brass players may experience problems producing an optimal sound (or range of sounds) in their instrument. Assessing and treating dysfunctional embouchure requires knowledge of functional embouchure, but peer-reviewed literature on dysfunctional and functional embouchure is scarce. This study aimed to provide a narrative overview of embouchure based on information from different scientific and clinical fields. This should be regarded as a first step in constructing a reliable, valid, and practical multi-item method to assess embouchure for brass players. Literature reviews were conducted concerning: 1) the definition of embouchure, 2) physics and acoustics of embouchure, 3) functioning of embouchure-related structures, and 4) instruments to assess embouchure. Also, embouchure experts (clinicians, scientists, and elite wind players) were consulted for information and discussion. A proposal for a new definition of embouchure, an overview of the relevant physics and acoustics, functions of embouchure-related body structures, and the main methods to measure embouchure in brass playing are presented. Peer-reviewed information about the fundamentals of dysfunctional embouchure is scarce and sometimes contradictory. A new definition for embouchure is proposed: embouchure is the process needed to adjust the amount, pressure, and direction of the air flow (generated by the breath support) as it travels through the mouth cavity and between the lips, by the position and/or movements of the tongue, teeth, jaws, cheeks, and lips, to produce a tone in a wind instrument. An integrative overview is presented which can serve as a transparent foundation for the present understanding of functional and dysfunctional embouchure and for developing an evidence-based multi-item assessment instrument.

Can Indian classical instrumental music reduce pain felt during venepuncture?

PubMed

Balan, Rajiv; Bavdekar, S B; Jadhav, Sandhya

2009-05-01

Local anesthetic agent is not usually used to reduce pain experienced by children undergoing venepuncture. This study was undertaken to determine comparative efficacy of local anesthetic cream, Indian classical instrumental music and placebo, in reducing pain due to venepuncture in children. Children aged 5-12 yr requiring venepuncture were enrolled in a prospective randomized clinical trial conducted at a tertiary care center. They were randomly assigned to 3 groups: local anesthetic (LA), music or placebo (control) group. Eutactic mixture of local anesthetic agents (EMLA) and Indian classical instrumental music (raaga-Todi) were used in the first 2 groups, respectively. Pain was assessed independently by parent, patient, investigator and an independent observer at the time of insertion of the cannula (0 min) and at 1- and 5 min after the insertion using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Kruskal- Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to assess the difference amongst the VAS scores. Fifty subjects were enrolled in each group. Significantly higher VAS scores were noted in control (placebo) group by all the categories of observers (parent, patient, investigator, independent observer) at all time points. The VAS scores obtained in LA group were lowest at all time points. However, the difference between VAS scores in LA group were significantly lower than those in music group only at some time-points and with some categories of observers (parent: 1 min; investigator: 0-, 1-, 5 min and independent observer: 5 min). Pain experienced during venepuncture can be significantly reduced by using EMLA or Indian classical instrumental music. The difference between VAS scores with LA and music is not always significant. Hence, the choice between EMLA and music could be dictated by logistical factors.

Developing a Scale for Strategies Used during the Practice and Learning of Instrumental Music

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uygun, Mehtap Aydiner; Kilinçer, Özlem

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable scale to identify the strategies students who study instrumental music use during the practice and learning of instrumental music based on their own responses. The study group comprised of 358 students studying music education in five universities in the academic year of 2015 to 2016.…

Children with Disabilities Playing Musical Instruments: With the Right Adaptations and Help from Their Teachers and Parents, Students with Disabilities Can Play Musical Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCord, Kimberly; Fitzgerald, Margaret

2006-01-01

In this article, the authors share the story of Stephanie, a dyslexic student who experiences problems reading music. The authors recommend for music teachers to share the list of students wanting to play an instrument with special educators to find out if there are students who are receiving special education services, what their strengths and…

Model-based approach to partial tracking for musical transcription

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sterian, Andrew; Wakefield, Gregory H.

1998-10-01

We present a new method for musical partial tracking in the context of musical transcription using a time-frequency Kalman filter structure. The filter is based upon a model for the evolution of a partial behavior across a wide range of pitch from four brass instruments. Statistics are computed independently for the partial attributes of frequency and log-power first differences. We present observed power spectral density shapes, total powers, and histograms, as well as least-squares approximations to these. We demonstrate that a Kalman filter tracker using this partial model is capable of tracking partials in music. We discuss how the filter structure naturally provides quality-of-fit information about the data for use in further processing and how this information can be used to perform partial track initiation and termination within a common framework. We propose that a model-based approach to partial tracking is preferable to existing approaches which generally use heuristic rules or birth/death notions over a small time neighborhood. The advantages include better performance in the presence of cluttered data and simplified tracking over missed observations.

Ancient music instrument in east java: study about continuity and change in the 10-15 century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pamungkas, H.; Thomas, N. A.; Nasution

2018-01-01

This research is included in art history, especially music art in East Java. The oldest evidence of musical instruments in this area is evidenced through the Jalatunda site, Trawas. On one of the relief panels found apsara (nymphs) plays vina (stringed instrument). This site was from the 10th century. Since then the relief of musical instruments more and more carved. This is apparent in some temples in East Java after the 11th century. Not only in terms of the number of instruments, but the type of musical instruments is also displayed more diverse. The inflatable instrument (xylophone), the percussion instrument (membraphone), or idiophone show diversity over time. The development is an interesting phenomenon in the life of music art. Problems in this research, whether within the period of 5 centuries (10-15 AD century) there is a change in how to play instrument. This research uses ethnographic analogy method. In the archaeological discipline, this method is used to reconstruct past lives through activities that can be found in temple reliefs in East Java.

What Does Music Sound Like for a Cochlear Implant User?

PubMed

Jiam, Nicole T; Caldwell, Meredith T; Limb, Charles J

2017-09-01

Cochlear implant research and product development over the past 40 years have been heavily focused on speech comprehension with little emphasis on music listening and enjoyment. The relatively little understanding of how music sounds in a cochlear implant user stands in stark contrast to the overall degree of importance the public places on music and quality of life. The purpose of this article is to describe what music sounds like to cochlear implant users, using a combination of existing research studies and listener descriptions. We examined the published literature on music perception in cochlear implant users, particularly postlingual cochlear implant users, with an emphasis on the primary elements of music and recorded music. Additionally, we administered an informal survey to cochlear implant users to gather first-hand descriptions of music listening experience and satisfaction from the cochlear implant population. Limitations in cochlear implant technology lead to a music listening experience that is significantly distorted compared with that of normal hearing listeners. On the basis of many studies and sources, we describe how music is frequently perceived as out-of-tune, dissonant, indistinct, emotionless, and weak in bass frequencies, especially for postlingual cochlear implant users-which may in part explain why music enjoyment and participation levels are lower after implantation. Additionally, cochlear implant users report difficulty in specific musical contexts based on factors including but not limited to genre, presence of lyrics, timbres (woodwinds, brass, instrument families), and complexity of the perceived music. Future research and cochlear implant development should target these areas as parameters for improvement in cochlear implant-mediated music perception.

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions in college music majors and nonmusic majors

PubMed Central

Henning, Rebecca L. Warner; Bobholz, Kate

2016-01-01

The presence and absence of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) as well as DPOAE amplitudes were compared between college music majors and a control group of nonmusic majors. Participants included 28 music majors and 35 nonmusic majors enrolled at a university with ages ranging from 18-25 years. DPOAEs and hearing thresholds were measured bilaterally on all the participants. DPOAE amplitudes were analyzed at the following f2 frequencies: 1,187 Hz, 1,500 Hz, 1,906 Hz, 2,531 Hz, 3,031 Hz, 3812 Hz, 4,812 Hz, and 6,031 Hz. Significantly more music majors (7/28) than nonmusic majors (0/35) exhibited absent DPOAEs for at least one frequency in at least one ear. Both groups of students reported similar histories of recreational and occupational noise exposures that were unrelated to studying music, and none of the students reported high levels of noise exposure within the previous 48 h. There were no differences in audiometric thresholds between the groups at any frequency. At DPOAE f2 frequencies from 3,031 Hz to 6,031 Hz, nonsignificantly lower amplitudes of 2-4 dB were seen in the right ears of music majors versus nonmajors, and in the right ears of music majors playing brass instruments compared to music majors playing nonbrass instruments. Given the greater prevalence of absent DPOAEs in university music majors compared to nonmusic majors, it appears that early stages of cochlear damage may be occurring in this population. Additional research, preferably longitudinal and across multiple colleges/universities, would be beneficial to more definitively determine when the music students begin to show signs of cochlear damage, and to identify whether any particular subgroups of music majors are at a greater risk of cochlear damage. PMID:26780957

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions in college music majors and nonmusic majors.

PubMed

Henning, Rebecca L Warner; Bobholz, Kate

2016-01-01

The presence and absence of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) as well as DPOAE amplitudes were compared between college music majors and a control group of nonmusic majors. Participants included 28 music majors and 35 nonmusic majors enrolled at a university with ages ranging from 18-25 years. DPOAEs and hearing thresholds were measured bilaterally on all the participants. DPOAE amplitudes were analyzed at the following f2 frequencies: 1,187 Hz, 1,500 Hz, 1,906 Hz, 2,531 Hz, 3,031 Hz, 3812 Hz, 4,812 Hz, and 6,031 Hz. Significantly more music majors (7/28) than nonmusic majors (0/35) exhibited absent DPOAEs for at least one frequency in at least one ear. Both groups of students reported similar histories of recreational and occupational noise exposures that were unrelated to studying music, and none of the students reported high levels of noise exposure within the previous 48 h. There were no differences in audiometric thresholds between the groups at any frequency. At DPOAE f2 frequencies from 3,031 Hz to 6,031 Hz, nonsignificantly lower amplitudes of 2-4 dB were seen in the right ears of music majors versus nonmajors, and in the right ears of music majors playing brass instruments compared to music majors playing nonbrass instruments. Given the greater prevalence of absent DPOAEs in university music majors compared to nonmusic majors, it appears that early stages of cochlear damage may be occurring in this population. Additional research, preferably longitudinal and across multiple colleges/universities, would be beneficial to more definitively determine when the music students begin to show signs of cochlear damage, and to identify whether any particular subgroups of music majors are at a greater risk of cochlear damage.

Analog-to-Digital Conversion to Accommodate the Dynamics of Live Music in Hearing Instruments

PubMed Central

Bahlmann, Frauke; Fulton, Bernadette

2012-01-01

Hearing instrument design focuses on the amplification of speech to reduce the negative effects of hearing loss. Many amateur and professional musicians, along with music enthusiasts, also require their hearing instruments to perform well when listening to the frequent, high amplitude peaks of live music. One limitation, in most current digital hearing instruments with 16-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) converters, is that the compressor before the A/D conversion is limited to 95 dB (SPL) or less at the input. This is more than adequate for the dynamic range of speech; however, this does not accommodate the amplitude peaks present in live music. The hearing instrument input compression system can be adjusted to accommodate for the amplitudes present in music that would otherwise be compressed before the A/D converter in the hearing instrument. The methodology behind this technological approach will be presented along with measurements to demonstrate its effectiveness. PMID:23258618

Analog-to-digital conversion to accommodate the dynamics of live music in hearing instruments.

PubMed

Hockley, Neil S; Bahlmann, Frauke; Fulton, Bernadette

2012-09-01

Hearing instrument design focuses on the amplification of speech to reduce the negative effects of hearing loss. Many amateur and professional musicians, along with music enthusiasts, also require their hearing instruments to perform well when listening to the frequent, high amplitude peaks of live music. One limitation, in most current digital hearing instruments with 16-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) converters, is that the compressor before the A/D conversion is limited to 95 dB (SPL) or less at the input. This is more than adequate for the dynamic range of speech; however, this does not accommodate the amplitude peaks present in live music. The hearing instrument input compression system can be adjusted to accommodate for the amplitudes present in music that would otherwise be compressed before the A/D converter in the hearing instrument. The methodology behind this technological approach will be presented along with measurements to demonstrate its effectiveness.

Hydraulophones: Acoustic musical instruments and expressive user interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janzen, Ryan E.

Fluid flow creates an expansive range of acoustic possibilities, particularly in the case of water, which has unique turbulence and vortex shedding properties as compared with the air of ordinary wind instruments. Sound from water flow is explained with reference to a new class of musical instruments, hydraulophones, in which oscillation originates directly from matter in its liquid state. Several hydraulophones which were realized in practical form are described. A unique user-interface consisting of a row of water jets is presented, in terms of its expressiveness, tactility, responsiveness to derivatives and integrals of displacement, and in terms of the direct physical interaction between a user and the physical process of sound production. Signal processing algorithms are introduced, which extract further information from turbulent water flow, for industrial applications as well as musical applications.

Another Perspective: The iPad Is a REAL Musical Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, David A.

2014-01-01

This article looks at the iPad's role as a musical instrument through the lens of a live performance ensemble that performs primarily on iPads. It also offers an overview of a pedagogical model used by this ensemble, which emphasizes musician autonomy in small groups, where music is learned primarily through aural means and concerts are…

Determination of Copper and Zinc in Brass: Two Basic Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fabre, Paul-Louis; Reynes, Olivier

2010-01-01

In this experiment, the concentrations of copper and zinc in brass are obtained by two methods. This experiment does not require advanced instrumentation, uses inexpensive chemicals, and can be easily carried out during a 3-h upper-level undergraduate laboratory. Pedagogically, the basic concepts of analytical chemistry in solutions, such as pH,…

The Relationship between Pre-Service Music Teachers' Self-Efficacy Belief in Musical Instrument Performance and Personality Traits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Girgin, Demet

2017-01-01

Purpose: Strong self-efficacy bring achievement in instrument education as in other disciplines. Achievement will increase the quality of instrument education, and it will be reflected in the professional lives of pre-service teachers and their students. This suggests that research on belief in musical instrument performance is necessary.…

The lightbulb project: New music for new percussion instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baumbusch, Brian

This thesis is about the process behind building, tuning, and composing music for a new set of metallophones called the "Lightbulb" instruments. This project began in 2011 and has continued to expand over the past two years: the first piece to be written for the instruments is titled Prana, and this thesis describes how the process of building and tuning the instruments informed the compositional process behind Prana. The premiere of Prana led to the formation of the Lightbulb Ensemble, which performs on these new instruments. The instruments and the group continue to develop.

Extrinsic Motivators Affecting Fourth-Grade Students' Interest and Enrollment in an Instrumental Music Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vasil, Martina

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate fourth-grade students' extrinsic motivators for joining and continuing in a school instrumental music program. Three research questions were investigated: (a) What extrinsic motivators have influenced fourth-grade students' initial interest and continuing participation in an instrumental music program?…

Akterations/corrections to the BRASS Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brand, S. N.

1985-01-01

Corrections applied to statistical programs contained in two subroutines of the Bed Rest Analysis Software System (BRASS) are summarized. Two subroutines independently calculate significant values within the BRASS program.

Predictors of Instrumental Music Teacher Job Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryant, Robert Louis, III

2012-01-01

Previous research studies related to teacher quality have found that teacher attrition rates are at an all-time high. Although much research has been conducted in the area of job satisfaction within the general teaching population, few studies of job satisfaction exist for instrumental music teachers. The purpose of this correlational study was to…

A comprehensive review of sensors and instrumentation methods in devices for musical expression.

PubMed

Medeiros, Carolina Brum; Wanderley, Marcelo M

2014-07-25

Digital Musical Instruments (DMIs) are musical instruments typically composed of a control surface where user interaction is measured by sensors whose values are mapped to sound synthesis algorithms. These instruments have gained interest among skilled musicians and performers in the last decades leading to artistic practices including musical performance, interactive installations and dance. The creation of DMIs typically involves several areas, among them: arts, design and engineering. The balance between these areas is an essential task in DMI design so that the resulting instruments are aesthetically appealing, robust, and allow responsive, accurate and repeatable sensing. In this paper, we review the use of sensors in the DMI community as manifested in the proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME 2009-2013). Focusing on the sensor technologies and signal conditioning techniques used by the NIME community. Although it has been claimed that specifications for artistic tools are harder than those for military applications, this study raises a paradox showing that in most of the cases, DMIs are based on a few basic sensors types and unsophisticated engineering solutions, not taking advantage of more advanced sensing, instrumentation and signal processing techniques that could dramatically improve their response. We aim to raise awareness of limitations of any engineering solution and to assert the benefits of advanced electronics instrumentation design in DMIs. For this, we propose the use of specialized sensors such as strain gages, advanced conditioning circuits and signal processing tools such as sensor fusion. We believe that careful electronic instrumentation design may lead to more responsive instruments.

A Comprehensive Review of Sensors and Instrumentation Methods in Devices for Musical Expression

PubMed Central

Medeiros, Carolina Brum; Wanderley, Marcelo M.

2014-01-01

Digital Musical Instruments (DMIs) are musical instruments typically composed of a control surface where user interaction is measured by sensors whose values are mapped to sound synthesis algorithms. These instruments have gained interest among skilled musicians and performers in the last decades leading to artistic practices including musical performance, interactive installations and dance. The creation of DMIs typically involves several areas, among them: arts, design and engineering. The balance between these areas is an essential task in DMI design so that the resulting instruments are aesthetically appealing, robust, and allow responsive, accurate and repeatable sensing. In this paper, we review the use of sensors in the DMI community as manifested in the proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME 2009–2013). Focusing on the sensor technologies and signal conditioning techniques used by the NIME community. Although it has been claimed that specifications for artistic tools are harder than those for military applications, this study raises a paradox showing that in most of the cases, DMIs are based on a few basic sensors types and unsophisticated engineering solutions, not taking advantage of more advanced sensing, instrumentation and signal processing techniques that could dramatically improve their response. We aim to raise awareness of limitations of any engineering solution and to assert the benefits of advanced electronics instrumentation design in DMIs. For this, we propose the use of specialized sensors such as strain gages, advanced conditioning circuits and signal processing tools such as sensor fusion. We believe that careful electronic instrumentation design may lead to more responsive instruments. PMID:25068865

Insights and Opinions of College Students on Classical Piano Instrumental Music

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pelayo, Jose Maria G., III

2013-01-01

Classical Piano Instrumental Music has been used for meditation hitherto. This study tried to discover the insights and opinions of individuals with no formal musical training and how it may affect their mood, emotions, feelings, imagination, attitude, perception in life, and personality. The researcher conducted this study in order to determine…

Tool-assisted rhythmic drumming in palm cockatoos shares key elements of human instrumental music

PubMed Central

Heinsohn, Robert; Zdenek, Christina N.; Cunningham, Ross B.; Endler, John A.; Langmore, Naomi E.

2017-01-01

All human societies have music with a rhythmic “beat,” typically produced with percussive instruments such as drums. The set of capacities that allows humans to produce and perceive music appears to be deeply rooted in human biology, but an understanding of its evolutionary origins requires cross-taxa comparisons. We show that drumming by palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) shares the key rudiments of human instrumental music, including manufacture of a sound tool, performance in a consistent context, regular beat production, repeated components, and individual styles. Over 131 drumming sequences produced by 18 males, the beats occurred at nonrandom, regular intervals, yet individual males differed significantly in the shape parameters describing the distribution of their beat patterns, indicating individual drumming styles. Autocorrelation analyses of the longest drumming sequences further showed that they were highly regular and predictable like human music. These discoveries provide a rare comparative perspective on the evolution of rhythmicity and instrumental music in our own species, and show that a preference for a regular beat can have other origins before being co-opted into group-based music and dance. PMID:28782005

Learning a Music Instrument in Early Childhood: What Can We Learn from Professional Musicians' Childhood Memories?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Wyverne

2008-01-01

Professional early childhood educators are often asked for advice about whether or when a young child should learn to play a music instrument. Many educators who do not have a background in music education may not be confident in providing such advice. A range of overseas research has supported learning a music instrument in the early childhood…

Neural networks for simultaneous classification and parameter estimation in musical instrument control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Michael; Freed, Adrian; Wessel, David

1992-08-01

In this report we present our tools for prototyping adaptive user interfaces in the context of real-time musical instrument control. Characteristic of most human communication is the simultaneous use of classified events and estimated parameters. We have integrated a neural network object into the MAX language to explore adaptive user interfaces that considers these facets of human communication. By placing the neural processing in the context of a flexible real-time musical programming environment, we can rapidly prototype experiments on applications of adaptive interfaces and learning systems to musical problems. We have trained networks to recognize gestures from a Mathews radio baton, Nintendo Power GloveTM, and MIDI keyboard gestural input devices. In one experiment, a network successfully extracted classification and attribute data from gestural contours transduced by a continuous space controller, suggesting their application in the interpretation of conducting gestures and musical instrument control. We discuss network architectures, low-level features extracted for the networks to operate on, training methods, and musical applications of adaptive techniques.

Instrumentalism in the Field of Music Education? Are We All Humanists?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varkoy, Oivind

2007-01-01

Oivind Varkoy discusses instrumentalism as a trend in educational politics and pedagogical thinking. Instrumentalism implies looking upon both school subjects and humans as instruments, as tools or means for reaching another goal or end. The discussion is related to philosophy of music education by focusing on aspects of philosophies of humankind,…

Responding to Culture in the Instrumental Music Programme: A Teacher's Journey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abril, Carlos R.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to examine how one music teacher responds to student's cultural backgrounds through a middle school instrumental music programme in the US. The study sought to uncover the events, situations and circumstances that served as catalysts for curricular change and the rationales that gave it purpose. It also examined…

The Impact of Instrumental Music Learning on Attainment at Age 16: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallam, Susan; Rogers, Kevin

2016-01-01

There is increasing international evidence that playing a musical instrument has a positive impact on attainment at school but little research has been undertaken in the UK. This study addresses this drawing on data on attainment at age 11 and 16 relating to 608 students, 115 of whom played a musical instrument. The fndings showed that the young…

School Music and Society: A Content Analysis of the Midwestern Conference on School Vocal and Instrumental Music, 1946-1996

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Chad

2013-01-01

This article provides an analysis of the session content presented in the first fifty years (1946-1996) of the (Michigan) state music education conference," The Midwestern Conference on School Vocal and Instrumental Music." The purpose of this study was to examine instructional techniques, technology, social/societal, and multicultural…

A Survey of Florida High School Instrumental Music Programs: Rationale for the Inclusion of Jazz Ensemble Experience in Music Teacher Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinkle, Jonathan R.

2011-01-01

During the past 60 years, jazz music has slowly become recognized as a genre worthy of study in high school music programs throughout the United States. Only a few researchers have analyzed large samples of jazz-related instruction in instrumental music programs, and of these studies no data were collected to investigate the inclusion of jazz in…

Effect of critical-band smoothing of musical instrument spectral data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beauchamp, James W.; Horner, Andrew B.

2005-04-01

It has been found that second-order harmonic smoothing of musical instrument spectral data can have a significant effect on timbral perception, depending on the instrument tested [McAdams et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 102, 882-897 (1999)]. With critical-band smoothing, the lower harmonics, since they are in different critical bands, retain their individual amplitudes and temporal envelopes. Thus, it is hypothesized that critical-band smoothing has a lesser perceptual effect on most instrument tones than harmonic smoothing. On the other hand, upper critical bands consist of groups of harmonics. It is hypothesized that it is difficult to hear out individual harmonics within critical bands. Thus, for each band the independent harmonic temporal envelopes can be replaced by a composite rms-amplitude envelope. Spectra within bands can be replaced by time-averaged spectra. Alternatively, time-dependent amplitude versus Bark-frequency spectral envelopes can be smoothed for each individual analysis frame. Further, amplitudes can be averaged in dB or linear units. Results for various processing combinations and various musical instrument sounds will be given and demonstrated.

Bi-Musicality and Dialogical Musicality: Influences of Javanese Gamelan Participation on Western Instrumental Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haddon, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

This qualitative research examines the influence of learning Javanese gamelan on aspects of musicianship, attitudes and approaches relating to the learning and performance of Western instruments experienced by a sample of UK university music students. In addition to benefits to musicianship, students delineated positive developments in attitudes…

Including Exceptional Students in Your Instrumental Music Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mixon, Kevin

2005-01-01

This article describes the method and adaptations used by the author in including students with special needs in an instrumental music program. To ensure success in the program, the author shares the method he uses to include exceptional students and enumerates some possible adaptations. There are certainly other methods and modifications that…

Trained Musical Performers' and Musically Untrained College Students' Ability to Discriminate Music Instrument Timbre as a Function of Duration.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnston, Dennis Alan

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of trained musicians and musically untrained college students to discriminate music instrument timbre as a function of duration. Specific factors investigated were the thresholds for timbre discrimination as a function of duration, musical ensemble participation as training, and the relative discrimination abilities of vocalists and instrumentalists. The subjects (N = 126) were volunteer college students from intact classes from various disciplines separated into musically untrained college students (N = 43) who had not participated in musical ensembles and trained musicians (N = 83) who had. The musicians were further divided into instrumentalists (N = 51) and vocalists (N = 32). The Method of Constant Stimuli, using a same-different response procedure with 120 randomized, counterbalanced timbre pairs comprised of trumpet, clarinet, or violin, presented in durations of 20 to 100 milliseconds in a sequence of pitches, in two blocks was used for data collection. Complete, complex musical timbres were recorded digitally and presented in a sequence of changing pitches to more closely approximate an actual music listening experience. Under the conditions of this study, it can be concluded that the threshold for timbre discrimination as a function of duration is at or below 20 ms. Even though trained musicians tended to discriminate timbre better than musically untrained college students, musicians cannot discriminate timbre significantly better then those subjects who have not participated in musical ensembles. Additionally, instrumentalists tended to discriminate timbre better than vocalists, but the discrimination is not significantly different. Recommendations for further research include suggestions for a timbre discrimination measurement tool that takes into consideration the multidimensionality of timbre and the relationship of timbre discrimination to timbre source, duration, pitch, and loudness.

Musical Performance Anxiety and the Relationship between Learning Styles and the Instrument and Singing Fields

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zahal, Onur

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between musical performance anxiety, learning styles, and the field of instrument and solo singing music teacher candidates. Musical performance anxiety has been investigated at various musical events, such as performance during exams, singing and playing on stage, or in front of judges for an…

An Investigation of the Relationships between Mathematics and Music Skills of Students Participating in Successful High School Instrumental Music Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deppe, Scott

2012-01-01

This exploratory phenomenological study was designed to investigate the relationships between mathematics and music skills of students participating in successful high school instrumental music programs. The participants of this study were purposefully selected and included one math educator or math department chairperson and the band or orchestra…

Verbal learning in the context of background music: no influence of vocals and instrumentals on verbal learning

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Whether listening to background music enhances verbal learning performance is still a matter of dispute. In this study we investigated the influence of vocal and instrumental background music on verbal learning. Methods 226 subjects were randomly assigned to one of five groups (one control group and 4 experimental groups). All participants were exposed to a verbal learning task. One group served as control group while the 4 further groups served as experimental groups. The control group learned without background music while the 4 experimental groups were exposed to vocal or instrumental musical pieces during learning with different subjective intensity and valence. Thus, we employed 4 music listening conditions (vocal music with high intensity: VOC_HIGH, vocal music with low intensity: VOC_LOW, instrumental music with high intensity: INST_HIGH, instrumental music with low intensity: INST_LOW) and one control condition (CONT) during which the subjects learned the word lists. Since it turned out that the high and low intensity groups did not differ in terms of the rated intensity during the main experiment these groups were lumped together. Thus, we worked with 3 groups: one control group and two groups, which were exposed to background music (vocal and instrumental) during verbal learning. As dependent variable, the number of learned words was used. Here we measured immediate recall during five learning sessions (recall 1 – recall 5) and delayed recall for 15 minutes (recall 6) and 14 days (recall 7) after the last learning session. Results Verbal learning improved during the first 5 recall sessions without any strong difference between the control and experimental groups. Also the delayed recalls were similar for the three groups. There was only a trend for attenuated verbal learning for the group passively listened to vocals. This learning attenuation diminished during the following learning sessions. Conclusions The exposure to vocal or

Music psychopathology. V. Objective features of instrumental performance and psychopathology.

PubMed

Steinberg, R; Fani, M; Raith, L

1992-01-01

Mental disease systematically impairs musical expression according to nosologic classification. This was demonstrated with a polarity profile of the instrumental performances of 60 inpatients and 14 controls matched for musical aptitude. Objective performance characteristics such as irregularities and playing faults were analyzed too. No meaningful correlation between these features and psychopathology resulted. This indicates that even in severe psychopathologic alterations performance features, which depend mainly on education and actual training, are not altered in a systematic manner, in contrast to expressive qualities.

Music. Grade 13. Curriculum S.16.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ontario Dept. of Education, Toronto.

GRADES OR AGES: Grade 13. SUBJECT MATTER: Music. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The central portion of the guide is divided into six units: voice, strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and theory and form. Each unit is in list form. The guide is offset printed and staple-bound with a paper cover. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES: A list of…

Towards automatic musical instrument timbre recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Tae Hong

This dissertation is comprised of two parts---focus on issues concerning research and development of an artificial system for automatic musical instrument timbre recognition and musical compositions. The technical part of the essay includes a detailed record of developed and implemented algorithms for feature extraction and pattern recognition. A review of existing literature introducing historical aspects surrounding timbre research, problems associated with a number of timbre definitions, and highlights of selected research activities that have had significant impact in this field are also included. The developed timbre recognition system follows a bottom-up, data-driven model that includes a pre-processing module, feature extraction module, and a RBF/EBF (Radial/Elliptical Basis Function) neural network-based pattern recognition module. 829 monophonic samples from 12 instruments have been chosen from the Peter Siedlaczek library (Best Service) and other samples from the Internet and personal collections. Significant emphasis has been put on feature extraction development and testing to achieve robust and consistent feature vectors that are eventually passed to the neural network module. In order to avoid a garbage-in-garbage-out (GIGO) trap and improve generality, extra care was taken in designing and testing the developed algorithms using various dynamics, different playing techniques, and a variety of pitches for each instrument with inclusion of attack and steady-state portions of a signal. Most of the research and development was conducted in Matlab. The compositional part of the essay includes brief introductions to "A d'Ess Are ," "Aboji," "48 13 N, 16 20 O," and "pH-SQ." A general outline pertaining to the ideas and concepts behind the architectural designs of the pieces including formal structures, time structures, orchestration methods, and pitch structures are also presented.

The Effects of Participation in School Instrumental Music Programs on Student Academic Achievement and School Attendance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davenport, Kevin O.

2010-01-01

This study examined whether or not students that participated in a school sponsored instrumental music program had higher academic achievement and attendance than students that did not participate in a school sponsor instrumental music program. Units of measurement included standardized test scores and attendance, without taking into consideration…

Do asthmatics benefit from music therapy? A systematic review.

PubMed

Sliwka, Agnieszka; Wloch, Tomasz; Tynor, Dariusz; Nowobilski, Roman

2014-08-01

To determine the effectiveness of music therapy in asthma. Searches for experimental and observational studies published between 01.01.92 and 31.12.13 were conducted through electronic databases: Medline/PubMed, Embase, SportDiscus, Cochrane Library, Teacher Reference Centre, Web of Science, Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, PEDro and Scopus. The selection criteria included any method of music therapy applied to patients with asthma, with respect to asthma symptoms and lung function. Two reviewers screened the records independently. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. Strength of recommendation was graded according to GRADE recommendation. The literature search identified 867 citations, from which 8 (three RCTs and five nRCTs) low and high risk of bias studies were included in the review. All RCTs used music listening as a form of complementary treatment. One RCT of the low risk of bias indicated positive effects on lung function in mild asthma. In two others, despite the decrease in asthma symptoms, music was not more effective than the control condition. In two nRCTs a decrease in asthma symptoms was reported as an effect of playing a brass or wind instrument; in two nRCTs the same effect was observed after music assisted vocal breathing exercises and singing. Mood improvement, decrease of depression and anxiety were also observed. The paucity, heterogeneity, and significant methodological limitations of available studies allow for only a weak recommendation for music therapy in asthma. This study highlights the need for further research of mixed methodology. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A group music intervention using percussion instruments with familiar music to reduce anxiety and agitation of institutionalized older adults with dementia.

PubMed

Sung, Huei-chuan; Lee, Wen-li; Li, Tzai-li; Watson, Roger

2012-06-01

This experimental study aimed to evaluate the effects of a group music intervention on anxiety and agitation of institutionalized older adults with dementia. A total of 60 participants were randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group. The experimental group received a 30-min music intervention using percussion instruments with familiar music in a group setting in mid afternoon twice weekly for 6 weeks, whereas the control group received usual care with no music intervention. The Rating of Anxiety in Dementia scale was used to assess anxiety, and Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory was used to assess agitation at baseline, week 4 and week 6. Repeated measures analysis of covariance indicated that older adults who received a group music intervention had a significantly lower anxiety score than those in the control group while controlling for pre-test score and cognitive level (F = 8.98, p = 0.004). However, the reduction of agitation between two groups was not significantly different. Anxiety and agitation are common in older adults with dementia and have been reported by caregivers as challenging care problems. An innovative group music intervention using percussion instruments with familiar music as a cost-effective approach has the potential to reduce anxiety and improve psychological well-being of those with dementia. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Grammatical Gender and Mental Representation of Object: The Case of Musical Instruments.

PubMed

Vuksanović, Jasmina; Bjekić, Jovana; Radivojević, Natalija

2015-08-01

A body of research shows that grammatical gender, although an arbitrary category, is viewed as the system with its own meaning. However, the question remains to what extent does grammatical gender influence shaping our notions about objects when both verbal and visual information are available. Two experiments were conducted. The results obtained in Experiment 1 have shown that grammatical gender as a linguistic property of the pseudo-nouns used as names for musical instruments significantly affects people's representations about these instruments. The purpose of Experiment 2 was to examine how the representation of musical instruments will be shaped in the presence of both language and visual information. The results indicate that the co-existence of linguistic and visual information results in formation of concepts about selected instruments by all available information from both sources, thus suggesting that grammatical gender influences nonverbal concepts' forming, but has no privileged status in the matter.

The Magic of Rhythm Instruments: Developing Musical Awareness in Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connors, Abigail

2006-01-01

Young children are natural-born musicians and rhythm instruments provide a wonderful bridge between a toddler's innate need to make noise and a child's true musical awareness and expressiveness. Rhythm instrument activities are so easy. With most of them, the child is simply copying one motion at a time. There is nothing to remember. Another…

Lived Experiences of Secondary Instrumental Music Teachers Who Teach Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vinciguerra, Salvatore

2016-01-01

Very little research is published on teaching music to students with learning disabilities. Nevertheless, federal law mandates that instruction of such students take place in all public schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate the lived experiences of four secondary instrumental music teachers who teach five students with learning…

Standing wave brass-PZT square tubular ultrasonic motor.

PubMed

Park, Soonho; He, Siyuan

2012-09-01

This paper reports a standing wave brass-PZT tubular ultrasonic motor. The motor is composed of a brass square tube with two teeth on each tube end. Four PZT plates are attached to the outside walls of the brass tube. The motor requires only one driving signal to excite vibration in a single bending mode to generate reciprocating diagonal trajectories of teeth on the brass tube ends, which drive the motor to rotate. Bi-directional rotation is achieved by exciting different pairs of PZT plates to switch the bending vibration direction. Through using the brass-PZT tube structure, the motor can take high magnitude vibration to achieve a high output power in comparison to PZT tube based ultrasonic motors. Prototypes are fabricated and tested. The dimension of the brass-PZT tube is 3.975mm×3.975mm×16mm. Measured performance is a no-load speed of >1000RPM, a stall torque of 370μNm and a maximum output power of 16 mW when a sinusoidal driving voltage of 50V is applied. The working frequencies of the motor are 46,050Hz (clockwise) and 46,200Hz (counter-clockwise). Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Instrumental Music Educators' Experiences in a Professional Development Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Draves, Tami J.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this research was to investigate the experiences of instrumental music teachers in Designing Arts Instruction, a 4-day professional development course in a large urban school district. Specifically, I was interested in which activities participants (a) found most relevant and applicable to their current teaching situation, (b)…

"Perhaps Irrelevant". The Iconography of Tycho Brahe's Small Gilt Brass Quadrant.

PubMed

Perkins, Emma L; Taub, Liba

2015-01-01

When Tycho Brahe published a description of his astronomical instruments in 1598 as part of a strategy to procure royal patronage, it was not with one of his grander, precision measurement tools that he opened his account, but rather a small brass quadrant with limited observational utility. The defining feature of this instrument was seemingly a small emblematic image inscribed within the arc of the quadrant. Through this symbolic motif Tycho conveyed a moralising message about the relative worth of astronomy. Considering a range of visual productions that may have influenced his iconography, the present paper situates the quadrant within the broader context of Renaissance visual culture and examines the significance of the quadrant in Tycho's wider instrument collection.

PubMed Central

DIRVEN, R.; JACOBI, I.; BREKEL, M.W.M.

2015-01-01

SUMMARY This study investigated whether trachea pressures during brass instrument play of laryngectomised patients are within the range of those measured during tracheoesophageal voicing, and whether application of an automatic speaking valve can 'free' both hands to play a brass instrument. Objective assessment of voicing and music playing parameters was carried out in 2 laryngectomised patients with a low-pressure indwelling voice-prosthesis able to play brass instruments (tenor horn and slide trombone): sound pressure levels in dB, maximum phonation time in seconds and trachea pressures in mmHg; videofluoroscopy, stroboscopy and digital high speed endoscopy to assess neoglottis vibration and opening. The dynamic range of the voice in the patients was 29 and 20 dB, and maximum phonation time was 22 and 19 sec, respectively; intratracheal pressures during voicing varied from 7 mmHg for the softest /a/ to 49 mmHg for the loudest /a/. For brass instrument play, the intratracheal pressures varied from 14 mmHg for the softest tone to 48 mmHg for the loudest tone. Imaging confirmed earlier findings that the neoglottis is closing and vibrating during voicing and remains 'open' without vibrations during music play, indicating good neoglottis control and innervation. From these objective measurements, we can conclude that trachea pressures during brass instrument play are within physiological ranges for tracheoesophageal voicing with a low-pressure indwelling voice-prosthesis. Furthermore, it was shown that application of a stable baseplate for retaining an automatic speaking valve and an additional customisable 'neck brace' makes bimanual play possible again. PMID:26246666

The Effects of Altering Environmental and Instrumental Context on the Performance of Memorized Music

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mishra, Jennifer; Backlin, William

2007-01-01

Three experiments investigated whether musical memory was context dependent. Instrumental musicians memorized music in one context and recalled in either the same or a different context. Contexts included atypical performing environments (Experiment 1: lobby/conference room) or commonly encountered environments (Experiment 2: practice room,…

BRASS MILL #72 SLITTER, OPERATED BY JOSEPH WAGNER, FORMERLY AN ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

BRASS MILL #72 SLITTER, OPERATED BY JOSEPH WAGNER, FORMERLY AN EMPLOYEE OF REPUBLIC STEEL IN BUFFALO. BRASS STRIP FROM THE SLITTE IS USED ON THE BUFFALO PLANT'S CONTINUOUS SEAMLESS TUBE LINE. - American Brass Foundry, 70 Sayre Street, Buffalo, Erie County, NY

Music psychopathology. VI. The course objective instrumental performance characteristics with psychiatric inpatients.

PubMed

Steinberg, R; Fani, M; Raith, L

1992-01-01

The impairment of musical expression due to mental disease is reversible with growing remission. This finding resulted from follow-up examinations of instrumental playings assessed by means of a polarity profile with 60 psychiatric inpatients and 14 controls. A follow-up comparison of objective performance characteristics as defined by careful analysis of the recordings did not reveal a meaningful variation. This is taken as a strong indication that even in severe psychopathologic alterations, learned motor patterns of music performance are fairly stable. A simple reduction in playing irregularities cannot explain the systematic influence of psychopathology on musical expression.

A Mixed Methods Portrait of Urban Instrumental Music Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitzpatrick, Kate R.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to learn about the ways that instrumental music teachers in Chicago navigated the urban landscape. The design of the study most closely resembles Creswell and Plano Clark's (2007) two-part Triangulation Convergence Mixed Methods Design, with the addition of an initial exploratory focus group component.…

Dynamic modal characterization of musical instruments using digital holography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demoli, Nazif; Demoli, Ivan

2005-06-01

This study shows that a dynamic modal characterization of musical instruments with membrane can be carried out using a low-cost device and that the obtained very informative results can be presented as a movie. The proposed device is based on a digital holography technique using the quasi-Fourier configuration and time-average principle. Its practical realization with a commercial digital camera and large plane mirrors allows relatively simple analyzing of big vibration surfaces. The experimental measurements given for a percussion instrument are supported by the mathematical formulation of the problem.

Portable musical instrument amplifier

DOEpatents

Christian, David E.

1990-07-24

The present invention relates to a musical instrument amplifier which is particularly useful for electric guitars. The amplifier has a rigid body for housing both the electronic system for amplifying and processing signals from the guitar and the system's power supply. An input plug connected to and projecting from the body is electrically coupled to the signal amplifying and processing system. When the plug is inserted into an output jack for an electric guitar, the body is rigidly carried by the guitar, and the guitar is operatively connected to the electrical amplifying and signal processing system without use of a loose interconnection cable. The amplifier is provided with an output jack, into which headphones are plugged to receive amplified signals from the guitar. By eliminating the conventional interconnection cable, the amplifier of the present invention can be used by musicians with increased flexibility and greater freedom of movement.

An Ethic of Care in High School Instrumental Music

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edgar, Scott N.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to apply Noddings' ethic of care to a qualitative inquiry of select instrumental music educators. In the first section I describe and define an ethic of care, considering specifically who is involved in a caring relationship, how an ethic of care can be taught, and strategies for educational implementation and…

Is there an association between temporomandibular disorders and playing a musical instrument? A review of literature.

PubMed

Attallah, M M; Visscher, C M; van Selms, M K A; Lobbezoo, F

2014-07-01

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) have a multifactorial etiology. Among others, parafunctions and oral habits have been suggested as important initiating and perpetuating factors. Playing a musical instrument that loads the masticatory system, like wind instruments and the violin or viola, has been suggested to be part of this group of etiological factors. However, the evidence base for this suggestion is lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to review the literature on the possible association between playing a musical instrument and developing and/or having a TMD. A PubMed search, using the query ['Music'(Mesh) AND 'Craniomandibular Disorders'(Mesh)], yielded 19 articles, 14 of which were included in this review. Six of 14 papers had a case-control or pre-test-post-test design; the remaining eight papers were case reports of expert opinions. The former papers were analysed and tabulated according to the PICO (Patient/population-Intervention-Control/comparison-Outcome/results) system; the latter ones were only summarised and tabulated. All articles with a case-control or pre-test-post-test design suggested a possible association between TMD and playing a musical instrument, especially the violin and viola. However, no clear-cut conclusion could be drawn as to whether playing a musical instrument is directly associated with TMD, or only in combination with other factors. More and better research on this topic is needed, as to enable a better counselling and possibly even a better treatment of the suffering musician. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Helium and Sulfur Hexafluoride in Musical Instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forinash, Kyle; Dixon, Cory L.

2014-11-01

The effects of inhaled helium on the human voice were investigated in a recent article in The Physics Teacher.1 As mentioned in that article, demonstrations of the effect are a popular classroom activity. If the number of YouTube videos is any indication, the effects of sulfur hexafluoride on the human voice are equally popular. However, there appears to be little information available on the effects of either of these gases on musical instruments.2 We describe here the results of a student project that involved measuring the frequency shifts in an organ pipe, a trumpet, and a trombone as the result of filling the instruments with these two gases. The project was one of several possible end-of-semester projects required in an elective science of sound course for non-science majors.

Approaches of High School Instrumental Music Educators in Response to Student Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edgar, Scott N.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this multiple instrumental case study was to explore approaches of four high school instrumental music educators assuming the role of facilitative teacher in responding to challenges affecting the social and emotional well-being of their students. This study utilized the framework of social emotional learning as a lens to view the…

Cosmogonic Perceptions in the Armenian Traditional Musical Instrument-crafting Culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pikichian, Hripsime

2015-07-01

Based on research data and materials recorded by folk musicians and craftsmen, the article presents the musical instrument-crafting in traditional culture, its contribution in to re-establishment of cosmic order. In this context, the several issues are reviewed in detail: individuality of craftsmen and musicians, the raw materials for the creation of instrument, the instrument structure, the manufacturing process, the ornaments and application. According to the traditional view, using the elements of nature and imitating the sounds of nature and human psychological states the master imitates God repeating the process of creation of the Universe. So, the Instrument is held capable to influence the society contributing to the eternity of life.

Solute effects on deformation and fracture of beta brass

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shea, M. M.; Stoloff, N. S.

1973-01-01

It is shown that the ductility of several ternary beta brass alloys in air and in several liquid metals can be related to the operative slip and grain boundary relaxation processes. Nickel and manganese were chosen as alloying elements because they are expected to respectively enhance and suppress cross slip in beta brass. Single-phase binary and ternary beta brass alloys were used in both polycrystalline and single crystal form.

The Aristocrat of Bands: A Historical Investigation of the Tennessee State University Instrumental Music Program and Its Directors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Reginald A.

2009-01-01

Instrumental music education, as it evolved in the segregated African American communities and their educational institutions, remains an under-investigated area of historical research. As a partial remedy to that circumstance, this study sought to document one of the more noteworthy of such accounts, the history of instrumental music ensembles at…

Predicting Preservice Music Teachers' Performance Success in Instrumental Courses Using Self-Regulated Study Strategies and Predictor Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ersozlu, Zehra N.; Nietfeld, John L.; Huseynova, Lale

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which self-regulated study strategies and predictor variables predict performance success in instrumental performance college courses. Preservice music teachers (N = 123) from a music education department in two state universities in Turkey completed the Music Self-Regulated Studying…

Identification of musical instruments by normal-hearing subjects listening through a cochlear-implant simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reich, Rebecca D.; Eddington, Donald

2002-05-01

Signal processing in a cochlear implant (CI) is primarily designed to convey speech and environmental sounds, and can cause distortion of musical timbre. Systematic investigation of musical instrument identification through a CI has not yet revealed how timbre is affected by the implant's processing. In this experiment, the bandpass filtering, rectification, and low-pass filtering of an implant are simulated in MATLAB. Synthesized signals representing 12 common instruments, each performing a major scale, are processed by simulations using up to 8 analysis channels. The unprocessed recordings, together with the 8 simulation conditions for 12 instruments, are presented in random order to each of the subjects. The subject's task is to identify the instrument represented by each item. The subjects also subjectively score each item based on similarity and pleasantness. We anticipate performance using the simulation will be worse than the unprocessed condition because of the limited information delivered by the envelopes of the analysis channels. These results will be analyzed as a confusion matrix and provide a basis for contrasting the information used by subjects listening to the unprocessed and processed materials. Understanding these differences should aid in the development of new processing strategies to better represent music for cochlear implant users.

A Comparison of the Basic Song Repertoire of Vocal/Choral and Instrumental Music Education Majors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prickett, Carol A.; Bridges, Madeline S.

2000-01-01

Explores whether the basic song repertoire of vocal/choral music education majors is significantly better than instrumental music education majors. Participants attempted to identify 25 standard songs. Reveals no significant difference between the two groups, indicating that neither had developed a strong repertoire of songs. (CMK)

Metallurgical characterization of brass objects from the Akko 1 shipwreck, Israel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ashkenazi, D., E-mail: dana@eng.tau.ac.il; Cvikel, D.; Stern, A.

2014-06-01

The Akko 1 shipwreck was a small Egyptian armed vessel or auxiliary naval brig built in the eastern Mediterranean at the beginning of the 19th century. During the underwater excavations, about 230 brass hook-and-eye closures were found, mainly in the bow area. In addition, 158 brass cases were found, mainly between midships and the aft extremity of the shipwreck. Metallurgical non-destructive and destructive characterizations of selected items were performed, including radiographic testing, XRF, lead isotope analysis, optical microscopy, SEM–EDS and microhardness tests. The hook-and-eye closures and the cases were both found to be made of binary copper–zinc alloy (about 30more » wt.% zinc). While the brass cases were made from rolled sheets, hand-made using simple tools, and joined by tin–lead soldering material, the brass hook-and-eye closures were hand-made from drawn brass wire, and manufactured from commercial drawn brass bars by a cold-working process. The lead isotope analyses suggest different provenances of the raw materials used for making the brass objects, thus the different origins of the ores may hint that the brass wire and sheet were imported to the workshops in which the objects were manufactured. - Highlights: • Brass cases and hook-and-eye closures were retrieved from the Akko 1 shipwreck. • Both types of objects were made of binary copper–zinc alloy (about 30 wt.% zinc). • The cases were hand-made from rolled sheets and joined by tin–lead soldering. • Hook-and-eye closures were made from drawn brass wire manufactured by cold-working. • Lead isotope analyses suggest that the origins of the raw material were diverse.« less

Wettability transition of laser textured brass surfaces inside different mediums

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Huangping; Abdul Rashid, Mohamed Raiz B.; Khew, Si Ying; Li, Fengping; Hong, Minghui

2018-01-01

Hydrophobic surface on brass has attracted intensive attention owing to its importance in scientific research and practical applications. Laser texturing provides a simple and promising method to achieve it. Reducing wettability transition time from hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity or superhydrophobicity remains a challenge. Herein, wettability transition of brass surfaces with hybrid micro/nano-structures fabricated by laser texturing was investigated by immersing the samples inside different mediums. Scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and surface contact angle measurement were employed to characterize surface morphology, chemical composition and wettability of the fabricated surfaces of brass samples. Wettability transition time from hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity was shortened by immersion into isopropyl alcohol for a period of 3 h as a result of the absorption and accumulation of organic substances on the textured brass surface. When the textured brass sample was immersed into sodium bicarbonate solution, flower-like structures on the sample surface played a key role in slowing down wettability transition. Moreover, it had the smallest steady state contact angle as compared to the others. This study provides a facile method to construct textured surfaces with tunable wetting behaviors and effectively extend the industrial applications of brass.

Music 4C, a multi-voiced synthesis program with instruments defined in C

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beauchamp, James W.

2003-04-01

Music 4C is a program which runs under Unix (including Linux) and provides a means for the synthesis of arbitrary signals as defined by the C code. The program is actually a loose translation of an earlier program, Music 4BF [H. S. Howe, Jr., Electronic Music Synthesis (Norton, 1975)]. A set of instrument definitions are driven by a numerical score which consists of a series of ``events.'' Each event gives an instrument name, start time and duration, and a number of parameters (e.g., pitch) which describe the event. Each instrument definition consists of event parameters, performance variables, initializations, and a synthesis algorithmic code. Thus, the synthetic signal, no matter how complex, is precisely defined. Moreover, the resulting sounds can be overlaid in any arbitrary pattern. The program serves as a mixer of algorithmically produced sounds or recorded sounds taken from sample files or synthesized from spectrum files. A score file can be entered by hand, generated from a program, translated from a MIDI file, or generated from an alpha-numeric score using an auxiliary program, Notepro. Output sample files are in wav, snd, or aiff format. The program is provided in the C source code for download.

An Instrument for Every Child: A Study on Long-Term Effects of Extended Music Education in German Primary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krupp-Schleußner, Valerie; Lehmann-Wermser, Andreas

2018-01-01

Does extended music education during primary school foster long-term musical participation? What other factors contribute to long-term musical participation? In our study on "Impacts and Long-Term Effects of Musical Participation," we investigate how the German programme "An Instrument for Every Child (JeKi)," which fosters the…

Teaching Instrumental Music to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hash, Phillip M.

2003-01-01

Many Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH) individuals have successfully participated in instrumental music programs for over 100 years. In spite of proven success, however, many directors are reluctant to involve students with hearing loss in school bands and orchestras. Reasons may include a lack of knowledge regarding the needs and capabilities of these…

Gender Associations for Musical Instruments in Nursery Children: The Effect of Sound and Image

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Nigel; Shibazaki, Kagari

2013-01-01

This paper reports on the results of a study carried out with 105 children, aged between three and four years in three nursery units in London and Surrey, UK. The aim of this study was to explore the level of association which young children have between various musical instruments, musical styles and a particular gender. However, we also aimed to…

Preservice Music Teachers' Attitudes toward Popular Music in the Music Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Springer, D. Gregory; Gooding, Lori F.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine preservice music educators' attitudes toward popular music in the music classroom. On a survey instrument designed by the investigators, participants ("N" = 82) rated (a) the effectiveness of popular music in addressing the National Standards for Music Education, (b) the appropriateness of popular…

Study unique artistic lopburi province for design brass tea set of bantahkrayang community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pliansiri, V.; Seviset, S.

2017-07-01

The objectives of this study were as follows: 1) to study the production process of handcrafted Brass Tea Set; and 2) to design and develop the handcrafted of Brass Tea Set. The process of design was started by mutual analytical processes and conceptual framework for product design, Quality Function Deployment, Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, Principles of Craft Design, and Principle of Reverse Engineering. The experts in field of both Industrial Product Design and Brass Handicraft Product, have evaluated the Brass Tea Set design and created prototype of Brass tea set by the sample of consumers who have ever bought the Brass Tea Set of Bantahkrayang Community on this research. The statistics methods used were percentage, mean ({{{\\overline X}} = }) and standard deviation (S.D.) 3. To assess consumer satisfaction toward of handcrafted Brass tea set was at the high level.

Mechanistic study of the rubber-brass adhesion interphase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashirgade, Akshay

Brass-plated steel tire cords form an essential strengthening component of a radial automobile tire. Adhesion between rubber compound and brass-plated steel tire cord is crucial in governing the overall performance of tires. The rubber-brass interfacial adhesion is influenced by the chemical composition and thickness of the interfacial layer. It has been shown that the interfacial layer consists mainly of sulfides and oxides of copper and zinc. This thesis discusses the effect of changes in the chemical composition and the structure of the interfacial layers due to addition of adhesion promoter resins. Grazing incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GIXRD) experiments were run on sulfidized polished brass coupons previously bonded to six experimental rubber compounds. It was confirmed that heat and humidity conditions lead to physical and chemical changes of the rubber-steel tire cord interfacial layer, closely related to the degree of rubber-brass adhesion. Morphological transformation of the interfacial layer led to loss of adhesion after aging. The adhesion promoter resins inhibit unfavorable morphological changes in the interfacial layer thus stabilizing it during aging and prolonging failure. Tire cord adhesion tests illustrated that the one-component resins improved adhesion after aging using a rubber compound with lower cobalt loading. Based on the acquired diffraction profiles, these resins were also found to impede crystallization of the sulfide layer after aging leading to improved adhesion. Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) depth profiles, SEM micrographs and AFM images strongly corroborated the findings from GIXRD. FTIR was utilized in a novel way to understand the degradation mechanism due to aging. A model for rubber and interfacial layer degradation is proposed to illustrate the effect of aging and the one-component resins. This interfacial analysis adds valuable new information to our understanding of the complex nature of the rubber-brass bonding

Catalogue of Wind and Percussion Solos and Ensembles and Recordings. American School Band Directors' Association, Research Committee Reports for the 26th Annual Convention, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1978.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berndt, William; Berndt, Arnold

This catalogue lists over 350 phonograph records which feature solo and ensemble music by wind and percussion instruments. Instruments heard on the records include oboe/English horn, flute, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet/cornet, French horn, trombone, baritone, tuba, saxophone, percussion, woodwind ensembles, and brass ensembles. The catalogue is…

The Effects of Orchestration on Musicians' and Nonmusicians' Perception of Musical Tension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silvey, Brian A.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of orchestration on musicians' and nonmusicians' (N = 40) perception of musical tension. Participants were asked to register their perceptions of tension using the Continuous Response Digital Interface dial while listening to three orchestrations (full orchestra, brass quintet, and solo piano)…

STAGNATION TIME, COMPOSITION, PH, AND ORTHOPHOSPHATE EFFECTS ON METAL LEACHING FROM BRASS

EPA Science Inventory

Plumbing products made of brass and similar alloys are the only lead containing materials still installed in drinking water systems and, by law, may contain up to 8% lead. Brass ranges in metal composition depending on its application. Brass is composed of approximately 60 to 80%...

Energy conserving schemes for the simulation of musical instrument contact dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatziioannou, Vasileios; van Walstijn, Maarten

2015-03-01

Collisions are an innate part of the function of many musical instruments. Due to the nonlinear nature of contact forces, special care has to be taken in the construction of numerical schemes for simulation and sound synthesis. Finite difference schemes and other time-stepping algorithms used for musical instrument modelling purposes are normally arrived at by discretising a Newtonian description of the system. However because impact forces are non-analytic functions of the phase space variables, algorithm stability can rarely be established this way. This paper presents a systematic approach to deriving energy conserving schemes for frictionless impact modelling. The proposed numerical formulations follow from discretising Hamilton's equations of motion, generally leading to an implicit system of nonlinear equations that can be solved with Newton's method. The approach is first outlined for point mass collisions and then extended to distributed settings, such as vibrating strings and beams colliding with rigid obstacles. Stability and other relevant properties of the proposed approach are discussed and further demonstrated with simulation examples. The methodology is exemplified through a case study on tanpura string vibration, with the results confirming the main findings of previous studies on the role of the bridge in sound generation with this type of string instrument.

A neurally inspired musical instrument classification system based upon the sound onset.

PubMed

Newton, Michael J; Smith, Leslie S

2012-06-01

Physiological evidence suggests that sound onset detection in the auditory system may be performed by specialized neurons as early as the cochlear nucleus. Psychoacoustic evidence shows that the sound onset can be important for the recognition of musical sounds. Here the sound onset is used in isolation to form tone descriptors for a musical instrument classification task. The task involves 2085 isolated musical tones from the McGill dataset across five instrument categories. A neurally inspired tone descriptor is created using a model of the auditory system's response to sound onset. A gammatone filterbank and spiking onset detectors, built from dynamic synapses and leaky integrate-and-fire neurons, create parallel spike trains that emphasize the sound onset. These are coded as a descriptor called the onset fingerprint. Classification uses a time-domain neural network, the echo state network. Reference strategies, based upon mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, evaluated either over the whole tone or only during the sound onset, provide context to the method. Classification success rates for the neurally-inspired method are around 75%. The cepstral methods perform between 73% and 76%. Further testing with tones from the Iowa MIS collection shows that the neurally inspired method is considerably more robust when tested with data from an unrelated dataset.

The Music Industry Conference Guide for Music Educators. A Supplement to the Music Educators Journal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Music Educators Journal, 1988

1988-01-01

This supplement is a comprehensive guide to the music industry designed for music teachers. Included are tips for contacting music businesses and suggestions on ordering music, robes, instruments, computer software, and other supplies. Includes an annotated directory of Music Industry Conference members. (JDH)

The power of a musical instrument: Franklin, the Mozarts, Mesmer, and the glass armonica.

PubMed

Gallo, D A; Finger, S

2000-11-01

In 1761 Benjamin Franklin invented the armonica (often referred to as the glass harmonica), an instrument designed to simplify the playing of the musical glasses. The instrument immediately became popular and inspired compositions by Wolfgang Mozart, who had the opportunity to hear and play one at the house of Franz Anton Mesmer. Armonica music was used by Mesmer in his séances, because he felt it could promote healing by propagating a mystical fluid that he called animal magnetism through the body. After Mesmer's theories were debunked by a highly respected panel of scientists, the armonica fell out of vogue. Because Franklin was on the panel that examined the discredited mesmerism, he indirectly contributed to his own invention's demise.

Teacher Educators' Visions of Pedagogical Training within Instrumental Higher Music Education. A Case in Finland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Juntunen, Marja-Leena

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the visions of teacher educators of instrumental pedagogy (n = 12) in higher music education regarding "good" teaching and instrumental student teacher preparation. The theoretical basis for the study was research on teachers' visions (Hammerness, 2006): teachers' own conceptions of ideal teaching…

The Effect of Teaching Experience and Specialty (Vocal or Instrumental) on Vocal Health Ratings of Music Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hackworth, Rhonda S.

2010-01-01

The current study sought to determine the relationship among music teachers' length of teaching experience, specialty (vocal or instrumental), and ratings of behaviors and teaching activities related to vocal health. Participants (N = 379) were experienced (n = 208) and preservice (n = 171) music teachers, further categorized by specialty, either…

Influence of videogames and musical instruments on performances at a simulator for robotic surgery.

PubMed

Moglia, Andrea; Perrone, Vittorio; Ferrari, Vincenzo; Morelli, Luca; Boggi, Ugo; Ferrari, Mauro; Mosca, Franco; Cuschieri, Alfred

2017-06-01

To assess if exposure to videogames, musical instrument playing, or both influence the psychomotor skills level, assessed by a virtual reality simulator for robot-assisted surgery (RAS). A cohort of 57 medical students were recruited: playing musical instruments (group 1), videogames (group 2), both (group 3), and no activity (group 4); all students executed four exercises on a virtual simulator for RAS. Subjects from group 3 achieved the best performances on overall score: 527.09 ± 130.54 vs. 493.73 ± 108.88 (group 2), 472.72 ± 85.31 (group 1), and 403.13 ± 99.83 (group 4). Statistically significant differences (p < .05) between group 3 and group 4 were found for overall score (p = .009) and for time of completion (p = .044). As regards experience with the piano, subjects from group 3 outperformed those from group 1 on overall score (496.98 ± 122.71 vs. 470.25 ± 92.31), but without statistically significant difference (p = .646). The present study suggests that the level of psychomotor skills in subjects exposed to both musical instrument playing and videogames is higher than that in those practicing either one alone. The effect of videogames appears negligible in individuals playing the piano.

Gender and Musical Instrument Stereotypes in Middle School Children: Have Trends Changed?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wrape, Elizabeth R.; Dittloff, Alexandra L.; Callahan, Jennifer L.

2016-01-01

Previous studies have established that gender stereotypes are associated with children's choice of musical instrument. Though some have suggested that these gender stereotypes may be trending toward change, other studies have indicated that gender stereotypes are long-standing and still very much at issue. This descriptive study of middle school…

Effect of Color-Coded Notation on Music Achievement of Elementary Instrumental Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, George L.

1991-01-01

Presents results of a study of color-coded notation to teach music reading to instrumental students. Finds no clear evidence that color-coded notation enhances achievement on performing by memory, sight-reading, or note naming. Suggests that some students depended on the color-coding and were unable to read uncolored notation well. (DK)

The effect of an interactive experience on music majors' perceptions of music for deaf students.

PubMed

Kaiser, K A; Johnson, K E

2000-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an interactive experience on music majors' perceptions of music experiences for deaf students. Twenty-three members of a pre-existing college brass ensemble served as subjects, and a 1-hour interactive concert/presentation for 10 deaf elementary children served as the independent variable. The interactive experience was designed to provide social, musical, and educational interactions between the college musicians and the deaf children. A pretest-posttest design was utilized, and the dependent variable was a questionnaire designed to examine the subjects' perceptions regarding music for deaf students, including how prepared, comfortable, and willing they felt to provide music experiences for deaf students. Results reveal that this single interactive experience had a significant effect on the subjects' perceptions of the value of music in the education of deaf children (p <.05). Although the pretest and posttest scores indicate that the subjects felt apprehensive about their preparedness to work with deaf students, the subjects felt significantly more positive about their preparedness following the interaction (p <.001). An analysis of open comments indicates that the subjects perceived the experience as (a) very positive, (b) increasing their knowledge and perception of music for deaf students, (c) helping them better relate to the deaf population, (d) promoting interest in similar experiences and in gaining more information, and (e) eliciting a feeling that future teachers should have similar experiences. Quotes from the subjects are given, and implications for teacher training/music therapy programs are discussed.

Key Competencies: Music Education and Instrumental Music, Secondary Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Philadelphia School District, PA. Office of Curriculum and Instruction.

This booklet identifies major competencies for each course offered in the secondary music education program in the Philadelphia school system. Music is seen to be a mode of expression in responding to and interpreting life and nature. It promotes the development of aesthetic judgment. The booklet outlines up to eight competencies for each of nine…

Topographical optimization of structures for use in musical instruments and other applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirkland, William Brandon

Mallet percussion instruments such as the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone have been produced and tuned since their inception by arduously grinding the keys to achieve harmonic ratios between their 1st, 2 nd, and 3rd transverse modes. In consideration of this, it would be preferable to have defined mathematical models such that the keys of these instruments can be produced quickly and reliably. Additionally, physical modeling of these keys or beams provides a useful application of non-uniform beam vibrations as studied by Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theories. This thesis work presents a literature review of previous studies regarding mallet percussion instrument design and optimization of non-uniform keys. The progression of previous research from strictly mathematical approaches to finite element methods is shown, ultimately arriving at the most current optimization techniques used by other authors. However, previous research varies slightly in the relative degree of accuracy to which a non-uniform beam can be modeled. Typically, accuracies are shown in literature as 1% to 2% error. While this seems attractive, musical tolerances require 0.25% error and beams are otherwise unsuitable. This research seeks to build on and add to the previous field research by optimizing beam topology and machining keys within tolerances that no further tuning is required. The optimization methods relied on finite element analysis and used harmonic modal frequencies as constraints rather than arguments of an error function to be optimized. Instead, the beam mass was minimized while the modal frequency constraints were required to be satisfied within 0.25% tolerance. The final optimized and machined keys of an A4 vibraphone were shown to be accurate within the required musical tolerances, with strong resonance at the designed frequencies. The findings solidify a systematic method for designing musical structures for accuracy and repeatability upon manufacture.

Low-cost coding of directivity information for the recording of musical instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braasch, Jonas; Martens, William L.; Woszczyk, Wieslaw

2004-05-01

Most musical instruments radiate sound according to characteristic spatial directivity patterns. These patterns are usually not only strongly frequency dependent, but also time-variant functions of various parameters of the instrument, such as pitch and the playing technique applied (e.g., plucking versus bowing of string instruments). To capture the directivity information when recording an instrument, Warusfel and Misdariis (2001) proposed to record an instrument using four channels, one for the monopole and the others for three orthogonal dipole parts. In the new recording setup presented here, it is proposed to store one channel at a high sampling frequency, along with directivity information that is updated only every few milliseconds. Taking the binaural sluggishness of the human auditory system into account in this way provides a low-cost coding scheme for subsequent reproduction of time-variant directivity patterns.

Instrument-independent analysis of music by means of the continuous wavelet transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olmo, Gabriella; Dovis, Fabio; Benotto, Paolo; Calosso, Claudio; Passaro, Pierluigi

1999-10-01

This paper deals with the problem of automatic recognition of music. Segments of digitized music are processed by means of a Continuous Wavelet Transform, properly chosen so as to match the spectral characteristics of the signal. In order to achieve a good time-scale representation of the signal components a novel wavelet has been designed suited to the musical signal features. particular care has been devoted towards an efficient implementation, which operates in the frequency domain, and includes proper segmentation and aliasing reduction techniques to make the analysis of long signals feasible. The method achieves very good performance in terms of both time and frequency selectivity, and can yield the estimate and the localization in time of both the fundamental frequency and the main harmonics of each tone. The analysis is used as a preprocessing step for a recognition algorithm, which we show to be almost independent on the instrument reproducing the sounds. Simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Laser Brazing Characteristics of Al to Brass with Zn-Based Filler

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Caiwang; Liu, Fuyun; Sun, Yiming; Chen, Bo; Song, Xiaoguo; Li, Liqun; Zhao, Hongyun; Feng, Jicai

2018-05-01

Laser brazing of Al to brass in lap configuration with Zn-based filler was performed in this work. The process parameters including laser power, defocused distance were found to have a significant influence on appearance, microstructure and mechanical properties. The process parameters were optimized to be laser power of 2700 W and defocusing distance of + 40 mm from brass surface. In addition, preheating exerted great influence on wetting and spreading ability of Zn filler on brass surface. The microstructure observation showed the thickness of reaction layer (CuZn phase) at the interface of the brass side would grow with the increase in laser power and the decrease in the laser defocusing distance. Moreover, preheating could increase the spreading area of the filler metal and induced the growth of the reaction layer. The highest tensile-shear load of the joint could reach 2100 N, which was 80% of that of Al alloy base metal. All the joints fractured along the CuZn reaction layer and brass interface. The fracture morphology displayed the characteristics of the cleavage fracture when without preheating before welding, while it displayed the characteristics of the quasi-cleavage fracture with preheating before welding.

The effect of vocal and instrumental music on cardio respiratory variables, energy expenditure and exertion levels during sub maximal treadmill exercise.

PubMed

Savitha, D; Sejil, T V; Rao, Shwetha; Roshan, C J; Roshan, C J

2013-01-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of vocal and instrumental music on various physiological parameters during submaximal exercise. Each subject underwent three sessions of exercise protocol without music, with vocal music, and instrumental versions of same piece of music. The protocol consisted of 10 min treadmill exercise at 70% HR(max) and 20 min of recovery. Minute to minute heart rate and breath by breath recording of respiratory parameters, rate of energy expenditure and perceived exertion levels were measured. Music, irrespective of the presence or absence of lyrics, enabled the subjects to exercise at a significantly lower heart rate and oxygen consumption, reduced the metabolic cost and perceived exertion levels of exercise (P < 0.05). There was faster recovery of systolic and diastolic blood pressures and exertion levels during the post exercise period. Music having a relaxant effect could have probably increased the parasympathetic activation leading to these effects.

A Case Study of an Instrumental Music Program and Its Influence on the Culture of a School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Womack, Anthony Terence

2017-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to examine how participation in a school-based instrumental music program contributed to the culture of a suburban high school. The questions guiding the research were: (1) How and why are multiple music programs supported by staff, students, parents and the community at this school? (2) What are the benefits of…

Benefits of a Classroom Based Instrumental Music Program on Verbal Memory of Primary School Children: A Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rickard, Nikki S.; Vasquez, Jorge T.; Murphy, Fintan; Gill, Anneliese; Toukhsati, Samia R.

2010-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated a benefit of music training on a number of cognitive functions including verbal memory performance. The impact of school-based music programs on memory processes is however relatively unknown. The current study explored the effect of increasing frequency and intensity of classroom-based instrumental training…

Musics of Oceania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Raymond F.

1972-01-01

Article examines the music and musical instruments of an area commonly referred to as the South Sea Isles. Author also points out the musical function and cultural meaning of specific musical styles. (RK)

The Relationship between Musical Instrumental Performance Skills and Postsecondary Musical Independence (How Important Are Scales, Etudes, Solos, Sight-Reading, Improvisation, Etc.?)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bobbett, Gordon C.; And Others

This study examines the relationships among a variety of secondary/postsecondary experiences and activities and postsecondary students' musical independence (MI). The paper reports on the impact Instrumental Performance Skills (IPSs) have on the students" MI development during private lessons, band rehearsal, and individual practicing. The study…

[Study of music electroacupuncture].

PubMed

Zhang, Jin; Zhang, Yi-hong; Bai, Yan

2005-08-01

To explore characteristics and advantages of music electroacupuncture instrument. Investigate clinical therapeutic effect and action mechanisms of the music electroacupuncture instrument, the relation of music therapy with improving looks and genes, and the links of music therapy with theories on 14 channels to prove its characteristics and advantages. Music electroacupuncture can overcome the decline of late therapeutic effects of pulse electroacupuncture and its disadvantages, beat of the local tissue of electroacupuncture. It is a generation of electroacupuncture of a new type.

Berimbau: A simple instrument for teaching basic concepts in the physics and psychoacoustics of music

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vilão, Rui C.; Melo, Santino L. S.

2014-12-01

We address the production of musical tones by a simple musical instrument of the Brazilian tradition: the berimbau-de-barriga. The vibration physics of the string and of the air mass inside the gourd are reviewed. Straightforward measurements of an actual berimbau, which illustrate the basic physical phenomena, are performed using a PC-based "soundcard oscilloscope." The inharmonicity of the string and the role of the gourd are discussed in the context of known results in the psychoacoustics of pitch definition.

Methods to improve the PVD coatability of brass by using diffusion barriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langer, Bernd

Previous work involving PVD coatings on brass has used a combination of multilayers consisting of electroplated films like nickel or chromium and deposited decorative PVD coatings like TiN, TiAIN or ZrN systems. The disadvantages of these systems are the combination of wet electrochemistry and high tech vacuum processes. Furthermore the allergic reaction to nickel and the toxic nature of Cr(VI) must be considered.There is a need for intermediate layers to 'seal-off the brass in order to avoid the evaporation of zinc in vacuum using a diffusion barrier. Furthermore the intermediate layers are required to act as a corrosion barrier.This thesis reports on the development of PVD coatings on heat sensitive brass substrate materials utilising ABS technology with Al, CuAl8 and Nb targets as vapour sources.The brass pretreatment includes careful grinding, polishing and cleaning steps as well as steered arc metal ion etching using the above target materials. The coatings are produced at temperatures between 100 and 250°C in the unbalanced magnetron mode, including layers made from Al, Al-Nb, CuA18, CuAl8-Nb and Nb.Scratch adhesion and Rockwell indentation tests are found not to be directly applicable to the system of soft brass and ductile coating(s). Therefore a new classification for both scratch and indentation tests was defined. The best adhesion was shown by the CuA18 coatings on brass. Corrosion tests showed good results for the Al coatings and poor results for the pure Nb coatings directly applied on brass. The best corrosion result was obtained with a CuAl8-Nb layer system. This layer system also offers very good barrier behaviour concerning Zn diffusion.Other investigations like Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy (GDOES), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) imaging, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) were undertaken to characterise the new coating systems for brass.

Physiology, anatomy, and plasticity of the cerebral cortex in relation to musical instrument performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tramo, Mark Jude

2004-05-01

The acquisition and maintenance of fine-motor skills underlying musical instrument performance rely on the development, integration, and plasticity of neural systems localized within specific subregions of the cerebral cortex. Cortical representations of a motor sequence, such as a sequence of finger movements along the keys of a saxophone, take shape before the figure sequence occurs. The temporal pattern and spatial coordinates are computed by networks of neurons before and during the movements. When a finger sequence is practiced over and over, performance gets faster and more accurate, probably because cortical neurons generating the sequence increase in spatial extent, their electrical discharges become more synchronous, or both. By combining experimental methods such as single- and multi-neuron recordings, focal stimulation, microanatomical tracers, gross morphometry, evoked potentials, and functional imaging in humans and nonhuman primates, neuroscientists are gaining insights into the cortical physiology, anatomy, and plasticity of musical instrument performance.

Phase synchronization of instrumental music signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukherjee, Sayan; Palit, Sanjay Kumar; Banerjee, Santo; Ariffin, M. R. K.; Bhattacharya, D. K.

2014-06-01

Signal analysis is one of the finest scientific techniques in communication theory. Some quantitative and qualitative measures describe the pattern of a music signal, vary from one to another. Same musical recital, when played by different instrumentalists, generates different types of music patterns. The reason behind various patterns is the psycho-acoustic measures - Dynamics, Timber, Tonality and Rhythm, varies in each time. However, the psycho-acoustic study of the music signals does not reveal any idea about the similarity between the signals. For such cases, study of synchronization of long-term nonlinear dynamics may provide effective results. In this context, phase synchronization (PS) is one of the measures to show synchronization between two non-identical signals. In fact, it is very critical to investigate any other kind of synchronization for experimental condition, because those are completely non identical signals. Also, there exists equivalence between the phases and the distances of the diagonal line in Recurrence plot (RP) of the signals, which is quantifiable by the recurrence quantification measure τ-recurrence rate. This paper considers two nonlinear music signals based on same raga played by two eminent sitar instrumentalists as two non-identical sources. The psycho-acoustic study shows how the Dynamics, Timber, Tonality and Rhythm vary for the two music signals. Then, long term analysis in the form of phase space reconstruction is performed, which reveals the chaotic phase spaces for both the signals. From the RP of both the phase spaces, τ-recurrence rate is calculated. Finally by the correlation of normalized tau-recurrence rate of their 3D phase spaces and the PS of the two music signals has been established. The numerical results well support the analysis.

The cryomechanical design of MUSIC: a novel imaging instrument for millimeter-wave astrophysics at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollister, Matthew I.; Czakon, Nicole G.; Day, Peter K.; Downes, Thomas P.; Duan, Ran; Gao, Jiansong; Glenn, Jason; Golwala, Sunil R.; LeDuc, Henry G.; Maloney, Philip R.; Mazin, Benjamin A.; Nguyen, Hien Trong; Noroozian, Omid; Sayers, Jack; Schlaerth, James; Siegel, Seth; Vaillancourt, John E.; Vayonakis, Anastasios; Wilson, Philip; Zmuidzinas, Jonas

2010-07-01

MUSIC (Multicolor Submillimeter kinetic Inductance Camera) is a new facility instrument for the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (Mauna Kea, Hawaii) developed as a collaborative effect of Caltech, JPL, the University of Colorado at Boulder and UC Santa Barbara, and is due for initial commissioning in early 2011. MUSIC utilizes a new class of superconducting photon detectors known as microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs), an emergent technology that offers considerable advantages over current types of detectors for submillimeter and millimeter direct detection. MUSIC will operate a focal plane of 576 spatial pixels, where each pixel is a slot line antenna coupled to multiple detectors through on-chip, lumped-element filters, allowing simultaneously imaging in four bands at 0.86, 1.02, 1.33 and 2.00 mm. The MUSIC instrument is designed for closed-cycle operation, combining a pulse tube cooler with a two-stage Helium-3 adsorption refrigerator, providing a focal plane temperature of 0.25 K with intermediate temperature stages at approximately 50, 4 and 0.4 K for buffering heat loads and heat sinking of optical filters. Detector readout is achieved using semi-rigid coaxial cables from room temperature to the focal plane, with cryogenic HEMT amplifiers operating at 4 K. Several hundred detectors may be multiplexed in frequency space through one signal line and amplifier. This paper discusses the design of the instrument cryogenic hardware, including a number of features unique to the implementation of superconducting detectors. Predicted performance data for the instrument system will also be presented and discussed.

Teaching Popular Music: Investigating Music Educators' Perceptions and Preparation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Springer, D. Gregory

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate in-service music teachers' perceptions of popular music in the classroom and to examine their own preparation to teach popular music. A sample of music teachers, drawn from two regional chapters of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, completed a researcher-designed survey instrument. Results…

BRASS FOUNDRY ROOM SHOWING GATE CUTTERS USED TO REMOVE RUNNERS ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

BRASS FOUNDRY ROOM SHOWING GATE CUTTERS USED TO REMOVE RUNNERS AND SPRUES FROM BRONZE CASTINGS TOO SOFT TO BE CLEANED IN TUMBLING MILLS. ALSO SHOWN ARE MOLD MACHINES AND THE SAND DELIVERY SYSTEM USED TO CREATE GREEN SAND MOLDS, POURED AT THE OTHER END OF THE GRAVITY CONVEYORS. - Stockham Pipe & Fittings Company, Brass Foundry, 4000 Tenth Avenue North, Birmingham, Jefferson County, AL

An Observational Study of Score Study Practices among Undergraduate Instrumental Music Education Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silvey, Brian A.; Montemayor, Mark; Baumgartner, Christopher M.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate instrumental music education majors' score study practices as they related to the effectiveness of their simulated conducting. Participants (N = 30) were video recorded in two sessions in which they completed a 20-min score study session and a simulated conducting performance. In the first…

Assessment of Whole-Class Instrumental Music Learning in England and the United States of America: An International Comparative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Daniel; Fautley, Martin

2017-01-01

Despite ostensibly sharing a common language, music education terminology as used in England and the United States has many different practical meanings and corresponding connotations. In this comparative study, the authors consider these differences in relation to whole-class learning of instrumental music, a comparative newcomer to the English…

Careers in the Music Industry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Peter J.; And Others

1982-01-01

Describes jobs in the music industry, including instrument designer, sales representative, instrument repair-person, retail music sales-person, recording engineer, and careers in the new video music industry. Educational requirements, personal qualifications, and the advantages and disadvantages of each job are discussed. (AM)

Investigation of composition dependence of the nanowire samples grown on brass on synthesis conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, Himanshu; Khooha, Ajay; Singh, Ajit; Ganguli, Tapas

2018-04-01

The study of the growth of nanowires on α-brass (Cu 65%, Zn 35%) substrate was done by annealing the substrates at different temperatures in air and varying flow of moist nitrogen. It was found that the surface composition of oxidized brass depended on the synthesis condition. Angle Dependent X-ray Fluorescence (ADXRF) measurements of the oxidized brass samples were done to study the variation of composition with the synthesis conditions and depth. The results showed that the cause of the compositional dependence on synthesis parameters is due to a process, inherent to the oxidation of brass.

Spontaneous sensorimotor coupling with multipart music.

PubMed

Hurley, Brian K; Martens, Peter A; Janata, Petr

2014-08-01

Music often evokes spontaneous movements in listeners that are synchronized with the music, a phenomenon that has been characterized as being in "the groove." However, the musical factors that contribute to listeners' initiation of stimulus-coupled action remain unclear. Evidence suggests that newly appearing objects in auditory scenes orient listeners' attention, and that in multipart music, newly appearing instrument or voice parts can engage listeners' attention and elicit arousal. We posit that attentional engagement with music can influence listeners' spontaneous stimulus-coupled movement. Here, 2 experiments-involving participants with and without musical training-tested the effect of staggering instrument entrances across time and varying the number of concurrent instrument parts within novel multipart music on listeners' engagement with the music, as assessed by spontaneous sensorimotor behavior and self-reports. Experiment 1 assessed listeners' moment-to-moment ratings of perceived groove, and Experiment 2 examined their spontaneous tapping and head movements. We found that, for both musically trained and untrained participants, music with more instruments led to higher ratings of perceived groove, and that music with staggered instrument entrances elicited both increased sensorimotor coupling and increased reports of perceived groove. Although untrained participants were more likely to rate music as higher in groove, trained participants showed greater propensity for tapping along, and they did so more accurately. The quality of synchronization of head movements with the music, however, did not differ as a function of training. Our results shed new light on the relationship between complex musical scenes, attention, and spontaneous sensorimotor behavior.

Music Program of Study: Educational Program Definition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West Virginia State Dept. of Education, Charleston.

The West Virginia music study program is a public school K-12 curriculum sequence. This program is divided into the four principal areas of: (1) general classroom music; (2) string instrumental music; (3) wind and percussion instrumental music; and (4) choral music. The general classroom music program is an early and middle childhood sequence of…

Music? I Can't Play a Note!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vahed, Zubeda

1982-01-01

Classroom activities for ESL that use music and musical instruments are suggested to develop locomotor skills, auditory discrimination, and reading and writing skills. Such activities could include using musical instruments, playing imagination games, writing lyrics, hearing ethnic music, and having music-related events and visitors. (MSE)

Achievement Identification and Evaluation of Musically Gifted Children in Lower Music School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arsic, Anica

2016-01-01

Music schools are specific educational institutions which teach children to understand musical language, the rules of musical writing and how to play an instrument. It is assumed that children who enroll in music school have a certain level of "musicality," i.e. possess musical ability. Starting from this premise, in this paper we wanted…

Arts Involvement Predicts Academic Achievement Only When the Child Has a Musical Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Laura N.; Cordes, Sara; Winner, Ellen

2014-01-01

We examined the associations between academic achievement and arts involvement (access to a musical instrument for the child at home, participation in unspecified after-school arts activities) in a sample of 2339 11-12-year-olds surveyed in the USA between 1998 and 2008. We compared the contributions of these variables to other kinds of cognitive…

Improved Digit Span in Children after a 6-Week Intervention of Playing a Musical Instrument: An Exploratory Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Guo, Xia; Ohsawa, Chie; Suzuki, Akiko; Sekiyama, Kaoru

2018-01-01

Previous studies have reported that music training not only improves children's musical skills, but also enhances their cognitive functions. However, there is a disagreement about what domain(s) might be affected. Moreover, effects of short-term (instrumental training have not been examined, although more basic studies have suggested neuroplasticity within several weeks. Consequently, the present exploratory pilot study investigated the effect of a six-week instrumental practice program (i.e., playing the keyboard harmonica) on children's cognitive functions using a randomized controlled trial. Forty children (aged 6–8 years) were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 20), which received a 6-week (12-session) keyboard harmonica curriculum, or an untrained control group (n = 20). Different from traditional instrumental training, the curriculum did not use musical scores to emphasize creating association between sound (auditory modality) and finger movement (somato-motor system). Cognitive measurements included verbal ability, processing speed, working memory, and inhibitory control, which were administered before and after the curriculum in both groups. After the 6-week training, only the experimental group showed a significant improvement in the Digit Span test (especially in the Digit Span Backward) that measures working memory. However, no significant influences were found on the other cognitive tests. The result suggests that several weeks of instrumental music training may be beneficial to improving children's working memory. In addition, we used an inexpensive and portable keyboard harmonica; therefore, our instructional method is easy to apply in classrooms or other circumstances. If the method is applied to music lessons in schools or in the community, it may help improve children's working memory. PMID:29358927

Improved Digit Span in Children after a 6-Week Intervention of Playing a Musical Instrument: An Exploratory Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Guo, Xia; Ohsawa, Chie; Suzuki, Akiko; Sekiyama, Kaoru

2017-01-01

Previous studies have reported that music training not only improves children's musical skills, but also enhances their cognitive functions. However, there is a disagreement about what domain(s) might be affected. Moreover, effects of short-term (instrumental training have not been examined, although more basic studies have suggested neuroplasticity within several weeks. Consequently, the present exploratory pilot study investigated the effect of a six-week instrumental practice program (i.e., playing the keyboard harmonica) on children's cognitive functions using a randomized controlled trial. Forty children (aged 6-8 years) were randomly assigned to either the experimental group ( n = 20), which received a 6-week (12-session) keyboard harmonica curriculum, or an untrained control group ( n = 20). Different from traditional instrumental training, the curriculum did not use musical scores to emphasize creating association between sound (auditory modality) and finger movement (somato-motor system). Cognitive measurements included verbal ability, processing speed, working memory, and inhibitory control, which were administered before and after the curriculum in both groups. After the 6-week training, only the experimental group showed a significant improvement in the Digit Span test (especially in the Digit Span Backward) that measures working memory. However, no significant influences were found on the other cognitive tests. The result suggests that several weeks of instrumental music training may be beneficial to improving children's working memory. In addition, we used an inexpensive and portable keyboard harmonica; therefore, our instructional method is easy to apply in classrooms or other circumstances. If the method is applied to music lessons in schools or in the community, it may help improve children's working memory.

Computers as Music Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Jack A.

1983-01-01

Peripheral components for music instruction include a music keyboard, a digital music synthesizer, and music listening devices. Computers can teach sight-singing, playing an instrument, dictation, and composition. Computer programs should be interactive with students. (KC)

How musical are music video game players?

PubMed

Pasinski, Amanda C; Hannon, Erin E; Snyder, Joel S

2016-10-01

Numerous studies have shown that formal musical training is associated with sensory, motor, and cognitive advantages in individuals of various ages. However, the nature of the observed differences between musicians and nonmusicians is poorly understood, and little is known about the listening skills of individuals who engage in alternative types of everyday musical activities. Here, we show that people who have frequently played music video games outperform nonmusicians controls on a battery of music perception tests. These findings reveal that enhanced musical aptitude can be found among individuals who play music video games, raising the possibility that music video games could potentially enhance music perception skills in individuals across a broad spectrum of society who are otherwise unable to invest the time and/or money required to learn a musical instrument.

Examination of Strategies Fine Arts High School Students Use during the Practice and Learning of Instrumental Music

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uygun, Mehtap Aydiner; Kilinçer, Özlem

2017-01-01

Like every field of learning, it is important to use various strategies in instrumental music to learn it easily and permanently and to attain the skills to learn independently. This requires determining the strategies used by students studying instrument education. The purpose of this study was to examine the strategies fine arts high school…

Confucian "Creatio in Situ"--Philosophical Resource for a Theory of Creativity in Instrumental Music Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Leonard

2016-01-01

In this philosophical essay, I propose a theory of creativity for instrumental music education inspired by Confucian "creatio in situ" ("situational creativity"). Through an analysis of three major texts from classical Confucianism--the "Analects," the "Zhongyong" ("Doctrine of the Mean"), and the…

Investigation of Music Student Efficacy as Influenced by Age, Experience, Gender, Ethnicity, and Type of Instrument Played in South Carolina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Norman

2010-01-01

The purpose of this research study was to quantitatively examine South Carolina high school instrumental music students' self-efficacy as measured by the Generalized Self-Efficacy (GSE) instrument (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1993). The independent variables of age, experience, gender, ethnicity, and type of instrument played) were correlated with…

On Practice, Skill and Competition: A Pragmatist Theory of Action for Instrumental Music Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Leonard

2017-01-01

Practice, skill and competition are important aspects of participating in school bands and orchestras. However, writers have questioned their value. In this philosophical paper, I mine the writings of the American pragmatists--in particular, their theories of habit and experience--to construct a theory of action for instrumental music education,…

Musical Chemistry: Integrating Chemistry and Music--A Nine-Part Tutorial for Generating Music from Chemical Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumbar, Mahadev

2007-01-01

This paper synopsizes a series of nine tutorials investigating how various chemical processes can be shown to have musical aspects. Both chemistry and music share a common language: mathematics. Interesting music can be created as chemical reactions--mediated by instrumentation and mathematics (e.g., spectrometry and discrete Fourier…

Determining the Attitudes of Undergraduate Students Having Vocational Music Education towards Individual Instrument Course According to Different Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uluçay, Taner

2017-01-01

This study was carried out in order to determine attitudes of undergraduate students who studied music vocationally towards the individual instrument course according to the variables of grade, gender, individual instrument and graduated high school type. The research data were obtained from 102 undergraduate students studying in Erzincan…

The Importance of Music: A National Plan for Music Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department for Education, 2011

2011-01-01

England is a world leader in music education. Provision has existed locally for over 50 years. Recent developments have added national funding to the picture so that all pupils have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. The number accessing regular weekly instrumental tuition has grown from 438,772 (8.4%) in 2005 to a projected figure of…

Instrument Modeling and Synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horner, Andrew B.; Beauchamp, James W.

During the 1970s and 1980s, before synthesizers based on direct sampling of musical sounds became popular, replicating musical instruments using frequency modulation (FM) or wavetable synthesis was one of the “holy grails” of music synthesis. Synthesizers such as the Yamaha DX7 allowed users great flexibility in mixing and matching sounds, but were notoriously difficult to coerce into producing sounds like those of a given instrument. Instrument design wizards practiced the mysteries of FM instrument design.

Motivations Impacting upon Music Instrument Teachers' Decisions to Teach and Perform in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parkes, Kelly A.; Daniel, Ryan

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore why highly trained musicians choose to teach in higher education. An international population from nine countries of music instrument teachers was sampled via online survey, to determine their reasons for teaching in higher education. Motivational constructs from the expectancy-value framework were used,…

Effect of ion irradiation on the surface, structural and mechanical properties of brass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, Shahbaz; Bashir, Shazia; Ali, Nisar; Umm-i-Kalsoom; Yousaf, Daniel; Faizan-ul-Haq; Naeem, Athar; Ahmad, Riaz; Khlaeeq-ur-Rahman, M.

2014-04-01

Modifications to the surface, structural and mechanical properties of brass after ion irradiation have been investigated. Brass targets were bombarded by carbon ions of 2 MeV energy from a Pelletron linear accelerator for various fluences ranging from 56 × 1012 to 26 × 1013 ions/cm2. A scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffractometer were utilized to analyze the surface morphology and crystallographic structure respectively. To explore the mechanical properties e.g., yield stress, ultimate tensile strength and microhardness of irradiated brass, an universal tensile testing machine and Vickers microhardness tester were used. Scanning electron microscopy results revealed an irregular and randomly distributed sputter morphology for a lower ion fluence. With increasing ion fluence, the incoherently shaped structures were transformed into dendritic structures. Nano/micro sized craters and voids, along with the appearance of pits, were observed at the maximum ion fluence. From X-ray diffraction results, no new phases were observed to be formed in the brass upon irradiation. However, a change in the peak intensity and higher and lower angle shifting were observed, which represents the generation of ion-induced defects and stresses. Analyses confirmed modifications in the mechanical properties of irradiated brass. The yield stress, ultimate tensile strength and hardness initially decreased and then increased with increasing ion fluence. The changes in the mechanical properties of irradiated brass are well correlated with surface and crystallographic modifications and are attributed to the generation, augmentation, recombination and annihilation of the ion-induced defects.

Diffusion phenomenon at the interface of Cu-brass under a strong gravitational field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ogata, Yudai; Tokuda, Makoto; Januszko, Kamila

2015-03-28

To investigate diffusion phenomenon at the interface between Cu and brass under a strong gravitational field generated by ultracentrifuge apparatus, we performed gravity experiments on samples prepared by electroplating with interfaces normal and parallel to the direction of gravity. For the parallel-mode sample, for which sedimentation cannot occur thorough the interface, the concentration change was significant within the lower gravity region; many pores were observed in this region. Many vacancies arising from crystal strain due to the strong gravitational field moved into the lower gravity region, and enhanced the atoms mobilities. For the two normal-mode samples, which have interface normalmore » to the direction of gravity, the composition gradient of the brass-on-Cu sample was steeper than that for Cu-on-brass. This showed that the atoms of denser Cu diffuse in the direction of gravity, whereas Zn atoms diffuse in the opposite direction by sedimentation. The interdiffusion coefficients became higher in the Cu-on-brass sample, and became lower in the brass-on-Cu sample. This rise may be related to the behavior of the vacancies.« less

Painting pictures and playing musical instruments: change in participation and relationship to health in older women.

PubMed

Liddle, Jeannine L M; Parkinson, Lynne; Sibbritt, David W

2012-12-01

To explore how changed participation in painting pictures or playing a musical instrument is related to change in physical and mental health in older women. Women enrolled in the 1921-1926 birth cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health were surveyed in 2005 and 2008. Changed participation in painting pictures or playing a musical instrument was considered in relation to changes in social activity, social support, health status and health-related quality of life. Data were available for 5058 women. Improvements in instrumental activities of daily living (odds ratio (OR) 1.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-1.2; P = 0.004) and role limitations due to emotional factors (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.0-2.5; P = 0.002) were associated with starting participation. Decline in mental health-related quality of life (OR 4.1, 95% CI 2.3-7.2; P < 0.0001) was associated with stopping. Changed participation was associated with change in functional capacity and tied to emotional well-being. © 2012 The Authors; Australasian Journal on Ageing © 2012 ACOTA.

Non-invasive identification of organic materials in historical stringed musical instruments by reflection infrared spectroscopy: a methodological approach.

PubMed

Invernizzi, Claudia; Daveri, Alessia; Vagnini, Manuela; Malagodi, Marco

2017-05-01

The analysis of historical musical instruments is becoming more relevant and the interest is increasingly moving toward the non-invasive reflection FTIR spectroscopy, especially for the analysis of varnishes. In this work, a specific infrared reflectance spectral library of organic compounds was created with the aim of identifying musical instrument materials in a totally non-invasive way. The analyses were carried out on pure organic compounds, as bulk samples and laboratory wooden models, to evaluate the diagnostic reflection mid-infrared (MIR) bands of proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, and resins by comparing reflection spectra before and after the KK correction. This methodological approach was applied to real case studies represented by four Stradivari violins and a Neapolitan mandolin.

[Musical Inactivity - A Risk Factor? A Short Questionnaire to Assess Musical Activity (MusA)].

PubMed

Fernholz, Isabel; Menzel, Juliane; Jabusch, Hans-Christian; Gembris, Heiner; Fischer, Felix; Kendel, Friederike; Kreutz, Gunter; Schmidt, Alexander; Willich, Stefan N; Weikert, Cornelia

2018-02-27

There is only a limited number of studies on associations between musical activity and health issues. It seems that musical activity has physiological and psychological benefits, as well as effects on the mental capacity, but this has been studied only in a few clinical and epidemiological studies. One reason might be that no appropriate survey instrument assessing musical activity is available. Here we provide an overview of survey instruments that assess musicality and musical activity. One focus is the presentation of a newly developed German questionnaire (MusA), which assesses musical activity (active music making and music reception) and was specifically developed for the "German National Cohort", a German health study. Through literature research, questionnaires were identified that assess musicality and / or musical activity. A new German questionnaire was developed from a panel of experts and tested in a small study (n=121, women and men age 18-70 years). In the literature research, 3 questionnaires were identified which focus on musicality and musical activity with different aspects (Gold-MSI, MUSE, MEQ). All 3 instruments may be characterized as large psychometric scales, which especially assess aspects of musicality in the English language. The Gold-MSI is additionally available in German. None of the existing questionnaires covers musical activities in detail. A new short German questionnaire consisting of 9 questions with a maximum filling time of 3-5 min has been developed. There are few questionnaires available for assessing musicality and musical activity with different aspects. The newly developed MusA in the German language focuses on the assessment of musical activity and is intended to be used in larger, population-based as well as clinical studies, to examine music activities and listening to music as independent factors in connection with prevention and therapy of chronic diseases. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

The enhancement of friction ridge detail on brass ammunition casings using cold patination fluid.

PubMed

James, Richard Michael; Altamimi, Mohamad Jamal

2015-12-01

Brass ammunition is commonly found at firearms related crime scenes. For this reason, many studies have focused on evidence that can be obtained from brass ammunition such as DNA, gunshot residue and fingerprints. Latent fingerprints on ammunition can provide good forensic evidence, however; fingerprint development on ammunition casings has proven to be difficult. A method using cold patination fluid is described as a potential tool to enhance friction ridge detail on brass ammunition casings. Current latent fingerprint development methods for brass ammunition have either failed to provide the necessary quality of friction ridge detail or can be very time consuming and require expensive equipment. In this study, the enhancement of fingerprints on live ammunition has been achieved with a good level of detail whilst the development on spent casings has to an extent also been possible. Development with cold patination fluid has proven to be a quick, simple and cost-effective method for fingerprint development on brass ammunition that can be easily implemented for routine police work. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Relationship between High School Music Activities and the College Student's Musical Independence. (How Musically Important Are All-State Band, Concert Festival, Private Lessons, Marching Contests, Etc.?).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bobbett, Gordon C.; And Others

This paper presents a study attempting to identify and evaluate high school activities that impact instrumental student outcome. High school music activities and their impact on student instrumental outcome from a variety of perspectives were examined. There is a subtle difference between musical independence and musical achievement. Musical…

Music Careers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alfaro, Daniel

1977-01-01

Careers in the music field for Hispanos are available for the industrious, competitive, and talented person. Among the careers are: composer, orchestrator-arranger, church musician, conductor, teacher, music librarian, tuner-technician, copyist, and instrument repairer. (NQ)

48 CFR 252.216-7007 - Economic price adjustment-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products-representation. 252.216-7007 Section 252....216-7007 Economic price adjustment—basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products... Steel, Aluminum, Brass, Bronze, or Copper Mill Products—Representation (MAR 2012) (a) Definitions. The...

48 CFR 252.216-7007 - Economic price adjustment-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products-representation. 252.216-7007 Section 252....216-7007 Economic price adjustment—basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products... Steel, Aluminum, Brass, Bronze, or Copper Mill Products—Representation (MAR 2012) (a) Definitions. The...

48 CFR 252.216-7007 - Economic price adjustment-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products-representation. 252.216-7007 Section 252....216-7007 Economic price adjustment—basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products... Steel, Aluminum, Brass, Bronze, or Copper Mill Products—Representation (MAR 2012) (a) Definitions. The...

Cross-cultural perspectives on music and musicality

PubMed Central

Trehub, Sandra E.; Becker, Judith; Morley, Iain

2015-01-01

Musical behaviours are universal across human populations and, at the same time, highly diverse in their structures, roles and cultural interpretations. Although laboratory studies of isolated listeners and music-makers have yielded important insights into sensorimotor and cognitive skills and their neural underpinnings, they have revealed little about the broader significance of music for individuals, peer groups and communities. This review presents a sampling of musical forms and coordinated musical activity across cultures, with the aim of highlighting key similarities and differences. The focus is on scholarly and everyday ideas about music—what it is and where it originates—as well the antiquity of music and the contribution of musical behaviour to ritual activity, social organization, caregiving and group cohesion. Synchronous arousal, action synchrony and imitative behaviours are among the means by which music facilitates social bonding. The commonalities and differences in musical forms and functions across cultures suggest new directions for ethnomusicology, music cognition and neuroscience, and a pivot away from the predominant scientific focus on instrumental music in the Western European tradition. PMID:25646519

Music Engineering as a Novel Strategy for Enhancing Music Enjoyment in the Cochlear Implant Recipient.

PubMed

Kohlberg, Gavriel D; Mancuso, Dean M; Chari, Divya A; Lalwani, Anil K

2015-01-01

Enjoyment of music remains an elusive goal following cochlear implantation. We test the hypothesis that reengineering music to reduce its complexity can enhance the listening experience for the cochlear implant (CI) listener. Normal hearing (NH) adults (N = 16) and CI listeners (N = 9) evaluated a piece of country music on three enjoyment modalities: pleasantness, musicality, and naturalness. Participants listened to the original version along with 20 modified, less complex, versions created by including subsets of the musical instruments from the original song. NH participants listened to the segments both with and without CI simulation processing. Compared to the original song, modified versions containing only 1-3 instruments were less enjoyable to the NH listeners but more enjoyable to the CI listeners and the NH listeners with CI simulation. Excluding vocals and including rhythmic instruments improved enjoyment for NH listeners with CI simulation but made no difference for CI listeners. Reengineering a piece of music to reduce its complexity has the potential to enhance music enjoyment for the cochlear implantee. Thus, in addition to improvements in software and hardware, engineering music specifically for the CI listener may be an alternative means to enhance their listening experience.

48 CFR 252.216-7000 - Economic price adjustment-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products. 252.216-7000 Section 252.216-7000 Federal... adjustment—basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products. As prescribed in 216.203-4-70(a), use the following clause: Economic Price Adjustment—Basic Steel, Aluminum, Brass, Bronze, or Copper...

Music appreciation and music listening in prelingual and postlingually deaf adult cochlear implant recipients.

PubMed

Moran, Michelle; Rousset, Alexandra; Looi, Valerie

2016-01-01

To explore the music appreciation of prelingually deaf adults using cochlear implants (CIs). Cohort study. Adult CI recipients were recruited based on hearing history and asked to complete the University of Canterbury Music Listening Questionnaire (UCMLQ) to assess each individual's music listening and appreciation. Results were compared to previous responses to the UCMLQ from a large cohort of postlingually deaf CI recipients. Fifteen prelingually deaf and 15 postlingually deaf adult cochlear implant recipients. No significant differences were found between the prelingual and postlingual participants for amount of music listening or music listening enjoyment with their CI. Sound quality of common instruments was favourable for both groups, with no significant difference in the pleasantness/naturalness of instrument sounds between the groups. Prelingually deaf CI recipients rated themselves as significantly less able to follow a melody line and identify instrument styles compared to their postlingual peers. The results suggest that the pre- and postlingually deaf CI recipients demonstrate equivalent levels of music appreciation. This finding is of clinical importance, as CI clinicians should be actively encouraging all of their recipients to explore music listening as a part of their rehabilitation.

High School Instrumental Music Students' Attitudes and Beliefs regarding Practice: An Application of Attribution Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schatt, Matthew D.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore high school band students' perspectives of instrumental music practice from within the attribution theory paradigm and to attempt to elucidate the secondary student's attitudes toward practice. High school band students from three Midwestern school districts (N = 218) completed a survey that was used to…

48 CFR 252.216-7000 - Economic price adjustment-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products. 252.216-7000 Section 252.216-7000 Federal... adjustment—basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products. As prescribed in 216.203-4-70(a)(1), use the following clause: Economic Price Adjustment—Basic Steel, Aluminum, Brass, Bronze, or Copper...

48 CFR 252.216-7000 - Economic price adjustment-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products. 252.216-7000 Section 252.216-7000 Federal... adjustment—basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products. As prescribed in 216.203-4-70(a)(1), use the following clause: Economic Price Adjustment—Basic Steel, Aluminum, Brass, Bronze, or Copper...

48 CFR 252.216-7000 - Economic price adjustment-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products. 252.216-7000 Section 252.216-7000 Federal... adjustment—basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products. As prescribed in 216.203-4-70(a)(1), use the following clause: Economic Price Adjustment—Basic Steel, Aluminum, Brass, Bronze, or Copper...

Cross-cultural perspectives on music and musicality.

PubMed

Trehub, Sandra E; Becker, Judith; Morley, Iain

2015-03-19

Musical behaviours are universal across human populations and, at the same time, highly diverse in their structures, roles and cultural interpretations. Although laboratory studies of isolated listeners and music-makers have yielded important insights into sensorimotor and cognitive skills and their neural underpinnings, they have revealed little about the broader significance of music for individuals, peer groups and communities. This review presents a sampling of musical forms and coordinated musical activity across cultures, with the aim of highlighting key similarities and differences. The focus is on scholarly and everyday ideas about music--what it is and where it originates--as well the antiquity of music and the contribution of musical behaviour to ritual activity, social organization, caregiving and group cohesion. Synchronous arousal, action synchrony and imitative behaviours are among the means by which music facilitates social bonding. The commonalities and differences in musical forms and functions across cultures suggest new directions for ethnomusicology, music cognition and neuroscience, and a pivot away from the predominant scientific focus on instrumental music in the Western European tradition. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Embouchure Dysfunction in Air Force Band Brass Musicians.

PubMed

Storms, Patrick R; Elkins, Candice P; Strohecker, Eric M

2016-06-01

Occupational injuries and medical problems in musicians are well described, but relatively less attention has been paid to orofacial and embouchure-related problems in professional brass players. This study addressed embouchure-related problems in Air Force Band members, a population of musicians with an intense practice and performance schedule. A survey was developed and distributed via the Air Force Survey Office to 599 active-duty Air Force Band members and 201 Air National Guard members. The survey assessed practice patterns, practice and performance venues, and presence of symptoms suggesting embouchure dysfunction. Responses were obtained from 167 Air Force Band brass players. Of the 157 responding to the question about embouchure dysfunction, 42% reported having experienced an embouchure problem at some point in the past, and 53% of those respondents reported that they were currently experiencing an embouchure problem. Forty-one percent of those with embouchure problems cited practice venues that were not conducive to effective and efficient practice at the time their embouchure problems began, and 48% of those with embouchure problems reported having to overblow in rehearsal at the time their problems began. Embouchure disorders were reported in a large proportion of Air Force Band brass survey respondents, and specific concerns related to practice venues and the need to overblow in practice settings suggest factors suitable to remediation and preventive strategies.

Is the audiologic status of professional musicians a reflection of the noise exposure in classical orchestral music?

PubMed

Emmerich, Edeltraut; Rudel, Lars; Richter, Frank

2008-07-01

The sound in classical orchestral music is louder than noise emissions allowed by national rules in industry. We wanted to assess the audiologic status of professional musicians at different ages of their careers and to look for a coherence of declined hearing ability and the sound emissions in order to substantiate advices for hearing protection and occupational medicine in musicians. Data from questionnaires (anamnestic data on sound exposure in profession and leisure times, use of hearing protection, self-evaluation of hearing function and hearing deficits), audiometric data and amplitudes of OAE were evaluated from 109 professional musicians aged 30-69 years from three major German orchestras and from 110 students of an academy of music (aged 11-19 years). Sound emissions of the whole orchestra and of single instruments/instrument groups were measured at the orchestra stages and pits during rehearsals and performances. None of the musicians was engaged in noisy hobbies and only a few used hearing protectors regularly. More than 50% of the musicians had a hearing loss of 15 dB(A) and more. Highest losses were found among the strings and the brass players. DPOAE amplitudes coincidently declined with the duration of performing music in the orchestras. Professional musicians aged older than 60 years had a significantly greater hearing loss at 4 and 6 kHz than those aged 30-39 years. Among the strings in one orchestra a dominant hearing deficit in the left ears was observed. Musicians need the same health care for their hearing as workers in noisy industry. A better education on the hearing hazards (use of hearing protectors) as well as sound protection in the rehearsal rooms is necessary. Hearing loss in professional musicians should be accepted as an occupational disease.

77 FR 23508 - Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-19

...)] Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan Determination On the basis of the record \\1... antidumping duty orders on brass sheet and strip from France, Germany, Italy, and Japan would be likely to... from France, Germany, Italy, and Japan: Investigation Nos. 731-TA-313, 314, 317, and 379 (Third Review...

Psychiatry and music

PubMed Central

Nizamie, Shamsul Haque; Tikka, Sai Krishna

2014-01-01

Vocal and/or instrumental sounds combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony and expression of emotion is music. Brain, mind and music are remarkably related to each other and music has got a strong impact on psychiatry. With the advent of music therapy, as an efficient form of alternative therapy in treating major psychiatric conditions, this impact has been further strengthened. In this review, we deliberate upon the historical aspects of the relationship between psychiatry and music, neural processing underlying music, music's relation to classical psychology and psychopathology and scientific evidence base for music therapy in major psychiatric disorders. We highlight the role of Indian forms of music and Indian contribution to music therapy. PMID:24891698

Musical Creativity in Slovenian Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rozman, Janja Crcinovic

2009-01-01

Background: The Slovenian music education curriculum for the first years of elementary school emphasises the following musical activities in the classroom: singing, playing instruments, listening to music, movement to music and musical creativity. In the field of musical creativity, there are two activities where students can be original and…

Playing-Related Health Problems Among Instrumental Music Students at a University in Malaysia.

PubMed

Lonsdale, Karen; Boon, Ong Kuan

2016-09-01

Musicians from a wide range of backgrounds experience playing-related health problems including musculoskeletal disorders, hearing loss, and performance anxiety. Few studies have focused specifically on the health concerns of musicians in Malaysia. This study aimed to investigate playing-related health problems among student musicians at a university in Malaysia as well as their knowledge and awareness of playing-related health problems. Instrumental music students enrolled in undergraduate and post-graduate university music courses (n=98) participated in a self-report online survey which addressed aspects such as educational background, playing experience, knowledge and awareness of musicians' health issues, history of physical problems, lifestyle factors, and prevention and management strategies. Of the total participants, 28.9% reported that they were currently experiencing playing-related pain in a body part, and 46.4% had experienced playing-related pain at some time. More than half (56.7%) felt that they have not received enough information or advice on playing-related health during their current studies. Musicians who experienced playing-related pain, tension, and discomfort reported the main problem sites to be the fingers and hands, arms, neck, and shoulders. The study results demonstrate that Malaysian university music students are affected by similar types of playing-related physical problems as their counterparts around the world. A greater awareness and knowledge of injury prevention and management strategies is needed so that these music students can sustain healthy playing careers.

Music Engineering as a Novel Strategy for Enhancing Music Enjoyment in the Cochlear Implant Recipient

PubMed Central

Kohlberg, Gavriel D.; Mancuso, Dean M.; Chari, Divya A.; Lalwani, Anil K.

2015-01-01

Objective. Enjoyment of music remains an elusive goal following cochlear implantation. We test the hypothesis that reengineering music to reduce its complexity can enhance the listening experience for the cochlear implant (CI) listener. Methods. Normal hearing (NH) adults (N = 16) and CI listeners (N = 9) evaluated a piece of country music on three enjoyment modalities: pleasantness, musicality, and naturalness. Participants listened to the original version along with 20 modified, less complex, versions created by including subsets of the musical instruments from the original song. NH participants listened to the segments both with and without CI simulation processing. Results. Compared to the original song, modified versions containing only 1–3 instruments were less enjoyable to the NH listeners but more enjoyable to the CI listeners and the NH listeners with CI simulation. Excluding vocals and including rhythmic instruments improved enjoyment for NH listeners with CI simulation but made no difference for CI listeners. Conclusions. Reengineering a piece of music to reduce its complexity has the potential to enhance music enjoyment for the cochlear implantee. Thus, in addition to improvements in software and hardware, engineering music specifically for the CI listener may be an alternative means to enhance their listening experience. PMID:26543322

Effects of a School-Based Instrumental Music Program on Verbal and Visual Memory in Primary School Children: A Longitudinal Study

PubMed Central

Roden, Ingo; Kreutz, Gunter; Bongard, Stephan

2012-01-01

This study examined the effects of a school-based instrumental training program on the development of verbal and visual memory skills in primary school children. Participants either took part in a music program with weekly 45 min sessions of instrumental lessons in small groups at school, or they received extended natural science training. A third group of children did not receive additional training. Each child completed verbal and visual memory tests three times over a period of 18 months. Significant Group by Time interactions were found in the measures of verbal memory. Children in the music group showed greater improvements than children in the control groups after controlling for children’s socio-economic background, age, and IQ. No differences between groups were found in the visual memory tests. These findings are consistent with and extend previous research by suggesting that children receiving music training may benefit from improvements in their verbal memory skills. PMID:23267341

Social and Musical Objectives or Experiences School Music Teachers Anticipate Their Students Will Achieve as a Result of Attending a Summer Music Camp

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, Eric W.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate specific social and musical objectives or experiences school music teachers anticipate their students will achieve as a result of attending a summer music camp. A survey instrument was developed to collect demographic data and responses to questions regarding 14 specific musical and social variables.…

For a Song: Music across the ESL Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lems, Kristin

This paper in the form of an outline addresses the use of songs and instrumental music throughout the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) curriculum. The rationale for using music in general, and specifically using popular songs and instrumental music, are noted. Criteria for selection of music for classroom use are listed, and a taxonomy is…

Software for Classroom Music Making.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ely, Mark C.

1992-01-01

Describes musical instrument digital interface (MIDI), a communication system that uses digital data to enable MIDI-equipped instruments to communicate with each other. Includes discussion of music editors, sequencers, compositional software, and commonly used computers. Suggests uses for the technology for students and teachers. Urges further…

Music: Comprehensive Musicianship Program. Grade 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burton, Leon H., Ed.; Thomson, William, Ed.

Forty-nine music lessons for use in sixth grade classes are presented. A number of these lessons feature songs and musical instruments from or about Hawaii, and lessons stress learning about tempos, accents, meters, notes, and rhythm patterns. The lessons introduce the history of instruments such as the ukulele, recorder, rhythm instruments, and…

The Vocal Tract Organ: A New Musical Instrument Using 3-D Printed Vocal Tracts.

PubMed

Howard, David M

2017-10-27

The advent and now increasingly widespread availability of 3-D printers is transforming our understanding of the natural world by enabling observations to be made in a tangible manner. This paper describes the use of 3-D printed models of the vocal tract for different vowels that are used to create an acoustic output when stimulated with an appropriate sound source in a new musical instrument: the Vocal Tract Organ. The shape of each printed vocal tract is recovered from magnetic resonance imaging. It sits atop a loudspeaker to which is provided an acoustic L-F model larynx input signal that is controlled by the notes played on a musical instrument digital interface device such as a keyboard. The larynx input is subject to vibrato with extent and frequency adjustable as desired within the ranges usually found for human singing. Polyphonic inputs for choral singing textures can be applied via a single loudspeaker and vocal tract, invoking the approximation of linearity in the voice production system, thereby making multiple vowel stops a possibility while keeping the complexity of the instrument in reasonable check. The Vocal Tract Organ offers a much more human and natural sounding result than the traditional Vox Humana stops found in larger pipe organs, offering the possibility of enhancing pipe organs of the future as well as becoming the basis for a "multi-vowel" chamber organ in its own right. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Why Do They Choose Their Instruments?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cantero, Irene Martínez; Jauset-Berrocal, Jordi-Angel

2017-01-01

Motivation is a key word in the arts and, especially, in music since it conveys collective, as well as individual, feelings. The beginning of musical instrument learning should be based on the student's musical interest but, due to the casual and improvised nature of everyday situations in which the choice of a musical instrument takes place, tend…

Music psychopathology. III. Musical expression and psychiatric disease.

PubMed

Steinberg, R; Raith, L; Rossnagl, G; Eben, E

1985-01-01

Musical expression of the instrumental playing of 61 mentally ill patients and 29 controls recorded several times was assessed by means of a short polarity profile. The performances were reversibly impaired in correlation with the psychopathology. Musical expression followed a systematic variation according to nosological classification. Endogenous-depressive patients could be clearly distinguished from neurotic-depressive patients due to weakened motoric qualities in their playing. In schizophrenia, motoricity did not seem to be so much involved, although the performances were altered in the dimension of musical logic and order. Maniform syndromes had the least effect on musical expression.

The musicality of non-musicians: an index for assessing musical sophistication in the general population.

PubMed

Müllensiefen, Daniel; Gingras, Bruno; Musil, Jason; Stewart, Lauren

2014-01-01

Musical skills and expertise vary greatly in Western societies. Individuals can differ in their repertoire of musical behaviours as well as in the level of skill they display for any single musical behaviour. The types of musical behaviours we refer to here are broad, ranging from performance on an instrument and listening expertise, to the ability to employ music in functional settings or to communicate about music. In this paper, we first describe the concept of 'musical sophistication' which can be used to describe the multi-faceted nature of musical expertise. Next, we develop a novel measurement instrument, the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI) to assess self-reported musical skills and behaviours on multiple dimensions in the general population using a large Internet sample (n = 147,636). Thirdly, we report results from several lab studies, demonstrating that the Gold-MSI possesses good psychometric properties, and that self-reported musical sophistication is associated with performance on two listening tasks. Finally, we identify occupation, occupational status, age, gender, and wealth as the main socio-demographic factors associated with musical sophistication. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical accounts of implicit and statistical music learning and with regard to social conditions of sophisticated musical engagement.

The Musicality of Non-Musicians: An Index for Assessing Musical Sophistication in the General Population

PubMed Central

Müllensiefen, Daniel; Gingras, Bruno; Musil, Jason; Stewart, Lauren

2014-01-01

Musical skills and expertise vary greatly in Western societies. Individuals can differ in their repertoire of musical behaviours as well as in the level of skill they display for any single musical behaviour. The types of musical behaviours we refer to here are broad, ranging from performance on an instrument and listening expertise, to the ability to employ music in functional settings or to communicate about music. In this paper, we first describe the concept of ‘musical sophistication’ which can be used to describe the multi-faceted nature of musical expertise. Next, we develop a novel measurement instrument, the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI) to assess self-reported musical skills and behaviours on multiple dimensions in the general population using a large Internet sample (n = 147,636). Thirdly, we report results from several lab studies, demonstrating that the Gold-MSI possesses good psychometric properties, and that self-reported musical sophistication is associated with performance on two listening tasks. Finally, we identify occupation, occupational status, age, gender, and wealth as the main socio-demographic factors associated with musical sophistication. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical accounts of implicit and statistical music learning and with regard to social conditions of sophisticated musical engagement. PMID:24586929

Math and Music: Harmonious Connections.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garland, Trudi Hammel; Kahn, Charity Vaughan

Mathematics can be used to analyze musical rhythms, to study the sound waves that produce musical notes, to explain why instruments are tuned, and to compose music. This book explores the relationship between mathematics and music through proportions, patterns, Fibonacci numbers or the Golden Ratio, geometric transformations, trigonometric…

A Response to Oivind Varkoy, "Instrumentalism in the Field of Music Education: Are We All Humanists?"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westerlund, Heidi

2007-01-01

Oivind Varkoy challenges music educators who start their educational work from well-defined learning outcomes and who then test and assess whether students have achieved these predefined ends. He argues that "ends-means-thinking," "assessment-thinking," and "some sort of market-philosophy" all relate to "instrumentalism" in which learners are…

The Perceptions of Cooperating Teachers Regarding the Skills and Knowledge of Student Teachers Working in Beginning and Middle School Instrumental Music Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoch, Christopher David

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to obtain the perceptions of cooperating teachers in beginning and middle school instrumental music regarding their student teachers' skills and knowledge both at the beginning and at the end of the student teaching experience. The related research has focused primarily on two areas of music teacher education. Program…

Measuring Supportive Music and Imagery Interventions: The Development of the Music Therapy Self-Rating Scale.

PubMed

Meadows, Anthony; Burns, Debra S; Perkins, Susan M

2015-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated modest benefits from music-based interventions, specifically music and imagery interventions, during cancer care. However, little attention has been paid to measuring the benefits of music-based interventions using measurement instruments specifically designed to account for the multidimensional nature of music-imagery experiences. The purpose of this study was to describe the development of, and psychometrically evaluate, the Music Therapy Self-Rating Scale (MTSRS) as a measure for cancer patients engaged in supportive music and imagery interventions. An exploratory factor analysis using baseline data from 76 patients who consented to participate in a music-based intervention study during chemotherapy. Factor analysis of 14 items revealed four domains: Awareness of Body, Emotionally Focused, Personal Resources, and Treatment Specific. Internal reliability was excellent (Cronbach alphas ranging from 0.75 to 0.88) and construct and divergent-discriminant validity supported. The MTSRS is a psychometrically sound, brief instrument that captures essential elements of patient experience during music and imagery interventions. © the American Music Therapy Association 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

An improved Brass correlational fertility model.

PubMed

Zhang, E; Chen, J

1995-01-01

Demographers have for years tried to establish a mathematical model capable of accurately describing patterns of fertility change. William Brass's Gompertz correlational fertility model is based upon a standard age-specific fertility pattern correlated to the age-specific fertility rate of the area under study with the purpose of simulating the actual age-specific fertility rate of the area. While the Brass correlational fertility model has solved many problems in quantitative studies of fertility and has been applied in population simulation and prediction, it has been unsatisfactory in analyzing fertility changes in China. The authors therefore developed a parity-specific correlational model to better reflect the situation of rapid fertility decline in China. This modified model better describes the impact of current family planning policy in China. Moreover, satisfactory results can be obtained by simulating and analyzing fertility in recent years, and major parameters can be identified by using demographically definite and readily manageable indicators. These indicators can clearly reflect the goals of the country's family planning policy, such as the average age at child-bearing, median age at child-bearing, early reproduction ratio, and percentage of the second child.

CREATION OF MUSIC WITH FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kato, Hayato; Takeuchi, Masaki; Ogura, Naoyuki; Kitahara, Yukiko; Okamoto, Takahisa

This research focuses on the Fiber Reinforcement Concrete(FRC) and its performance on musical tones. Thepossibility of future musical instruments made of this concrete is discussed. Recently, the technical properties of FRC had been improved and the different production styles, such as unit weight of binding material and volume of fiber in the structure, hardly affects the results of the acoustics. However, the board thickness in the FRC instruments is directly related with the variety of musical tone. The FRC musical effects were compared with those produced with wood on wind instruments. The sounds were compared with those produced with woodwind instruments. The sound pressure level was affected by the material and it becomes remarkably notorious in the high frequency levels. These differences had great influence on the spectrum analysis of the tone in the wind instruments and the sensory test. The results from the sensory test show dominant performances of brightness, beauty and power in the FRC instruments compared with those made of wood.

Music Teacher Educators' Visions of Music Teacher Preparation in Finland, Norway and Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thorgersen, Cecilia Ferm; Johansen, Geir; Juntunen, Marja-Leena

2016-01-01

In this study we investigated the visions of 12 music teacher educators who teach pedagogical courses called instrumental pedagogy and classroom music pedagogy in three music academies in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The data were collected through individual, semi-structured qualitative interviews. Drawing on Hammerness' concept of "teachers'…

Using MIDI: A Staff Development Program Designed To Increase Teacher Awareness of the Technological Applications of Musical Instrument Digital Interface in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neese, Charles Glen

This practicum report describes an instructional program designed to increase teacher awareness of the technological applications of musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) in the classroom. The primary goal of the study was to assist music teachers in becoming more informed about MIDI, and to enable them to effectively select the appropriate…

An Examination of Embedding Character Education into the Daily Functions of High School Instrumental Music Ensembles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sours, James P.

2009-01-01

This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of embedding character education into the daily functions of instrumental music ensembles at Franklin High School in Portland Oregon. The participants in the study were the students of the researcher which may have been a delimitation. Their ages were from 14 to 19 years. Students from…

Junior High Instrumental Music: Wind-Percussion Strings. [Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Design Branch.

This curriculum guide outlines a secondary music program for Alberta, Canada, that aims: (1) to develop skills in listening, performing, and using notation; (2) to encourage students to strive for musical excellence; (3) to enable students to appreciate music; (4) to foster self-expression and creativity; and (5) to make students aware of the…

Movin' to the Music: Simple--and Essential--Experiences for Preschoolers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oberg, Barbara

1997-01-01

Highlights the importance of inclusion of music in preschool curriculum. Promotes using a variety of musical activities to stimulate imagination including quiet listening, marching while clanging instruments, dancing, singing, and playing games. Provides suggestions on where to start, songs, rhythm instruments, musical props, stories and music,…

World Music Ensemble: Kulintang

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beegle, Amy C.

2012-01-01

As instrumental world music ensembles such as steel pan, mariachi, gamelan and West African drums are becoming more the norm than the exception in North American school music programs, there are other world music ensembles just starting to gain popularity in particular parts of the United States. The kulintang ensemble, a drum and gong ensemble…

Careers in Music.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Music Educators National Conference, Reston, VA.

A report on music-related careers is divided into two sections. Section 1 provides summaries of occupations, including studio teaching, elementary-secondary education, postsecondary teaching, performance, composing and directing, the music industry (including the fields of instrument manufacturing, tuning, radio broadcasting, and recording), music…

School Music Resource.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Music Educators Journal, 1988

1988-01-01

Provides a classified index to the companies and institutions that offer products and services for music educators. The list contains over 400 entries classified according to 19 categories such as books and textbooks, band uniforms, band instruments, multimedia learning materials, and music retailers. (JDH)

Determination of a brass alloy concentration composition using calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Achouri, M.; Baba-Hamed, T.; Beldjilali, S. A., E-mail: sidahmed.beldjilali@univ-usto.dz

2015-09-15

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a technique that can provide qualitative and quantitative measurements of the characteristics of irradiated metals. In the present work, we have calculated the parameters of the plasma produced from a brass alloy sample under the action of a pulsed Nd: YAG laser operating at 1064 nm. The emission lines of copper atoms (Cu I), zinc atoms (Zn I), and lead atoms (Pb I), which are elements of a brass alloy composition, were used to investigate the parameters of the brass plasma. The spectral profiles of Cu, Zn, and Pb lines have been used to extractmore » the electron temperature and density of the brass alloy plasma. The characteristics of Cu, Zn, and Pb were determined quantatively by the calibration-free LIBS (CF-LIBS) method considering for accurate analysis that the laser-induced ablated plasma is optically thin in local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions and the plasma ablation is stoichiometric. The Boltzmann plot method was used to evaluate the plasma temperature, and the Stark broadened profiles were used to determine the electron density. An algorithm based on the experimentally measured values of the intensity of spectral lines and the basic laws of plasma physics was developed for the determination of Cu, Zn, and Pb concentrations in the brass sample. The concentrations C{sub CF-LIBS} calculated by CF-LIBS and the certified concentrations C{sub certified} were very close.« less

Memory for music in Alzheimer's disease: unforgettable?

PubMed

Baird, Amee; Samson, Séverine

2009-03-01

The notion that memory for music can be preserved in patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) has been raised by a number of case studies. In this paper, we review the current research examining musical memory in patients with AD. In keeping with models of memory described in the non-musical domain, we propose that various forms of musical memory exist, and may be differentially impaired in AD, reflecting the pattern of neuropathological changes associated with the condition. Our synthesis of this literature reveals a dissociation between explicit and implicit musical memory functions. Implicit, specifically procedural musical memory, or the ability to play a musical instrument, can be spared in musicians with AD. In contrast, explicit musical memory, or the recognition of familiar or unfamiliar melodies, is typically impaired. Thus, the notion that music is unforgettable in AD is not wholly supported. Rather, it appears that the ability to play a musical instrument may be unforgettable in some musicians with AD.

77 FR 34937 - Brass Sheet and Strip From France: Notice of Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-12

..., LLC, of Global Brass and Copper, Inc., dba Olin Brass, Heyco Metals, Inc., Aurubis Buffalo, Inc., PMX Industries, Inc., and Revere Copper Products, Inc. (the Petitioners), the Department of Commerce (the...

Music, Technology, and an Evolving Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Brian

1992-01-01

Mechanical examples of musical technology, like the Steinway piano, are well known and accepted. Use of computers and electronic technology is the next logical step in developing art of music. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is explained, along with digital devices (such as synthesizers, sequencers, music notation software, multimedia,…

Cysteine as a green corrosion inhibitor for Cu37Zn brass in neutral and weakly alkaline sulphate solutions.

PubMed

Radovanović, Milan B; Petrović, Marija B; Simonović, Ana T; Milić, Snežana M; Antonijević, Milan M

2013-07-01

The aim of this study was to investigate electrochemical properties of brass in neutral and weakly alkaline solutions in the presence of cysteine as a nontoxic and ecological corrosion inhibitor. Potentiodynamic measurements, open circuit potential measurements, as well as chronoamperometric measurements were the methods used during investigation of the inhibitory effect of cysteine on the corrosion behaviour of brass. Potentiodynamic measurements showed that cysteine behaves as a mixed-type inhibitor in the investigated media. Based on polarization curves for brass in a weakly alkaline solution of sodium sulphate at varying cysteine concentrations, an interaction occurs between Cu(+) ions and the inhibitor, resulting in the formation of a protective complex on the electrode surface. The results of chronoamperometric measurements confirm the results obtained by potentiodynamic measurements. Optical microphotography of the brass surface also confirms the formation of a protective film in the presence of a 1 × 10(-4) mol/dm(3) cysteine. Adsorption of cysteine on the brass surface proceeds according to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm.

Photoelectron studies of machined brass surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potts, A. W.; Merrison, J. P.; Tournas, A. D.; Yacoot, A.

UV photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to determine the surface composition of machined brass. The results show a considerable change between the photoelectron surface composition and the bulk composition of the same sample determined by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence. On the surface the lead composition is increased by ˜900 G. This is consistent with the important part that lead is believed to play in improving the machinability of this alloy.

Musical Understanding, Musical Works, and Emotional Expression: Implications for Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliott, David J.

2005-01-01

What do musicians, critics, and listeners mean when they use emotion-words to describe a piece of instrumental music? How can "pure" musical sounds "express" emotions such as joyfulness, sadness, anguish, optimism, and anger? Sounds are not living organisms; sounds cannot feel emotions. Yet many people around the world believe they hear emotions…

Music experience influences laparoscopic skills performance.

PubMed

Boyd, Tanner; Jung, Inkyung; Van Sickle, Kent; Schwesinger, Wayne; Michalek, Joel; Bingener, Juliane

2008-01-01

Music education affects the mathematical and visuo-spatial skills of school-age children. Visuo-spatial abilities have a significant effect on laparoscopic suturing performance. We hypothesize that prior music experience influences the performance of laparoscopic suturing tasks. Thirty novices observed a laparoscopic suturing task video. Each performed 3 timed suturing task trials. Demographics were recorded. A repeated measures linear mixed model was used to examine the effects of prior music experience on suturing task time. Twelve women and 18 men completed the tasks. When adjusted for video game experience, participants who currently played an instrument performed significantly faster than those who did not (P<0.001). The model showed a significant sex by instrument interaction. Men who had never played an instrument or were currently playing an instrument performed better than women in the same group (P=0.002 and P<0.001). There was no sex difference in the performance of participants who had played an instrument in the past (P=0.29). This study attempted to investigate the effect of music experience on the laparoscopic suturing abilities of surgical novices. The visuo-spatial abilities used in laparoscopic suturing may be enhanced in those involved in playing an instrument.

Music Copyright Law in Education. Fastback 368.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woody, Robert Henley, III; Woody, Robert Henley, II

This booklet focuses on how copyright law applies to music in education, but the information is not restricted to the music specialist. Instrumental and vocal music specialists must rely on copyrighted material. Without sheet music, an ensemble could not rehearse or perform. But classroom teachers also use music when they sing songs with or play…

Predicting the need for institutional care shortly after admission to rehabilitation: Rasch analysis and predictive validity of the BRASS Index.

PubMed

Panella, L; La Porta, F; Caselli, S; Marchisio, S; Tennant, A

2012-09-01

Effective discharge planning is increasingly recognised as a critical component of hospital-based Rehabilitation. The BRASS index is a risk screening tool for identification, shortly after hospital admission, of patients who are at risk of post-discharge problems. To evaluate the internal construct validity and reliability of the Blaylock Risk Assessment Screening Score (BRASS) within the rehabilitation setting. Observational prospective study. Rehabilitation ward of an Italian district hospital. One hundred and four consecutively admitted patients. Using classical psychometric methods and Rasch analysis (RA), the internal construct validity and reliability of the BRASS were examined. Also, external and predictive validity of the Rasch-modified BRASS (RMB) score were determined. Reliability of the original BRASS was low (Cronbach's alpha=0.595) and factor analyses showed that it was clearly multidimensional. A RA, based on a reduced 7-BRASS item set (RMB), satisfied model's expectations. Reliability was 0.777. The RMB scores strongly correlated with the original BRASS (rho=0.952; P<0.000) and with FIM™ admission scores (rho=-0.853; P<0.000). A RMB score of 12 was associated with an increased risk of nursing home admission (RR=2.1, 95%CI=1.7-2.5), whereas a score of 17 was associated to a higher risk of length of stay >28 days (RR=7.6, 95%CI=1.8-31.9). This study demonstrated that the original BRASS was multidimensional and unreliable. However, the RMB holds adequate internal construct validity and is sufficiently reliable as a predictor of discharge problems for group, but not individual use. The application of tools and methods (such as the BRASS Index) developed under the biomedical paradigm in a Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine setting may have limitations. Further research is needed to develop, within the rehabilitation setting, a valid measuring tool of risk of post-discharge problems at the individual level.

SU-F-T-517: Determining the Tissue Equivalence of a Brass Mesh Bolus in a Reconstructed Chest Wall Irradiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shekel, E; Epstein, D; Levin, D

2016-06-15

Purpose: To determine the tissue equivalence of a brass mesh bolus (RPD) in the setting of a reconstructed chest wall irradiation Methods: We measured breast skin dose delivered by a tangential field plan on an anthropomorphic phantom using Mosfet and nanoDot (Landauer) dosimeters in five different locations on the breast. We also measured skin dose using no bolus, 5mm and 10 mm superflab bolus. In the Eclipse treatment planning system (Varian, Palo Alto, CA) we calculated skin dose for different bolus thicknesses, ranging from 0 to 10 mm, in order to evaluate which calculation best matches the brass mesh measurements,more » as the brass mesh cannot be simulated due to artefacts.Finally, we measured depth dose behavior with the brass mesh bolus to verify that the bolus does not affect the dose to the breast itself beyond the build-up region. Results: Mosfet and nanoDot measurements were consistent with each other.As expected, skin dose measurements with no bolus had the least agreement with Eclipse calculation, while measurements for 5 and 10 mm agreed well with the calculation despite the difficulty in conforming superflab bolus to the breast contour. For the brass mesh the best agreement was for 3 mm bolus Eclipse calculation. For Mosfets, the average measurement was 90.8% of the expected dose, and for nanoDots 88.33% compared to 83.34%, 88.64% and 93.94% (2,3 and 5 mm bolus calculation respectively).The brass mesh bolus increased skin dose by approximately 25% but there was no dose increase beyond the build-up region. Conclusion: Brass mesh bolus is most equivalent to a 3 mm bolus, and does not affect the dose beyond the build-up region. The brass mesh cannot be directly calculated in Eclipse, hence a 3mm bolus calculation is a good reflection of the dose response to the brass mesh bolus.« less

The Music within

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rajan, Rekha S.

2010-01-01

Providing opportunity for musical exploration is essential to any early childhood program. Through music making, children are actively engaged with their senses: they listen to the complex sounds around them, move their bodies to the rhythms, and touch and feel the textures and shapes of the instruments. The inimitable strength of the Montessori…

Exploring Shamanic Journeying: Repetitive Drumming with Shamanic Instructions Induces Specific Subjective Experiences but No Larger Cortisol Decrease than Instrumental Meditation Music

PubMed Central

Gingras, Bruno; Pohler, Gerald; Fitch, W. Tecumseh

2014-01-01

Exposure to repetitive drumming combined with instructions for shamanic journeying has been associated with physiological and therapeutic effects, such as an increase in salivary immunoglobulin A. In order to assess whether the combination of repetitive drumming and shamanic instructions is specifically associated with these effects, we compared the effect of listening to either repetitive drumming or instrumental meditation music for 15 minutes on salivary cortisol concentration and on self-reported physiological and psychological states. For each musical style, two groups of participants were exposed to two conditions: instructions for shamanic journeying or relaxation instructions. A total of 39 participants (24 females) inexperienced in shamanic journeying completed the experiment. Salivary cortisol concentrations were measured before and after exposure to music. In addition, participants filled out a mood questionnaire before and after the experiment and completed a post experiment questionnaire on their experiences. A significant decrease in the concentration in salivary cortisol was observed across all musical styles and instructions, indicating that exposure to 15 minutes of either repetitive drumming or instrumental meditation music, while lying down, was sufficient to induce a decrease in cortisol levels. However, no differences were observed across conditions. Significant differences in reported emotional states and subjective experiences were observed between the groups. Notably, participants exposed to repetitive drumming combined with shamanic instructions reported experiencing heaviness, decreased heart rate, and dreamlike experiences significantly more often than participants exposed to repetitive drumming combined with relaxation instructions. Our findings suggest that the subjective effects specifically attributed to repetitive drumming and shamanic journeying may not be reflected in differential endocrine responses. PMID:24999623

Transformations: Technology and the Music Industry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, G. David

2001-01-01

Focuses on the companies and organizations of the Music Industry Conference (MIC). Addresses topics such as: changes in companies due to technology, audio compact discs, the music instrument digital interface (MIDI) , digital sound recording, and the MIC on-line music instruction programs offered. (CMK)

Shape optimization techniques for musical instrument design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henrique, Luis; Antunes, Jose; Carvalho, Joao S.

2002-11-01

The design of musical instruments is still mostly based on empirical knowledge and costly experimentation. One interesting improvement is the shape optimization of resonating components, given a number of constraints (allowed parameter ranges, shape smoothness, etc.), so that vibrations occur at specified modal frequencies. Each admissible geometrical configuration generates an error between computed eigenfrequencies and the target set. Typically, error surfaces present many local minima, corresponding to suboptimal designs. This difficulty can be overcome using global optimization techniques, such as simulated annealing. However these methods are greedy, concerning the number of function evaluations required. Thus, the computational effort can be unacceptable if complex problems, such as bell optimization, are tackled. Those issues are addressed in this paper, and a method for improving optimization procedures is proposed. Instead of using the local geometric parameters as searched variables, the system geometry is modeled in terms of truncated series of orthogonal space-funcitons, and optimization is performed on their amplitude coefficients. Fourier series and orthogonal polynomials are typical such functions. This technique reduces considerably the number of searched variables, and has a potential for significant computational savings in complex problems. It is illustrated by optimizing the shapes of both current and uncommon marimba bars.

Selective impairment of living things and musical instruments on a verbal 'Semantic Knowledge Questionnaire' in a case of apperceptive visual agnosia.

PubMed

Masullo, Carlo; Piccininni, Chiara; Quaranta, Davide; Vita, Maria Gabriella; Gaudino, Simona; Gainotti, Guido

2012-10-01

Semantic memory was investigated in a patient (MR) affected by a severe apperceptive visual agnosia, due to an ischemic cerebral lesion, bilaterally affecting the infero-mesial parts of the temporo-occipital cortices. The study was made by means of a Semantic Knowledge Questionnaire (Laiacona, Barbarotto, Trivelli, & Capitani, 1993), which takes separately into account four categories of living beings (animals, fruits, vegetables and body parts) and of artefacts (furniture, tools, vehicles and musical instruments), does not require a visual analysis and allows to distinguish errors concerning super-ordinate categorization, perceptual features and functional/encyclopedic knowledge. When the total number of errors obtained on all the categories of living and non-living beings was considered, a non-significant trend toward a higher number of errors in living stimuli was observed. This difference, however, became significant when body parts and musical instruments were excluded from the analysis. Furthermore, the number of errors obtained on the musical instruments was similar to that obtained on the living categories of animals, fruits and vegetables and significantly higher of that obtained in the other artefact categories. This difference was still significant when familiarity, frequency of use and prototypicality of each stimulus entered into a logistic regression analysis. On the other hand, a separate analysis of errors obtained on questions exploring super-ordinate categorization, perceptual features and functional/encyclopedic attributes showed that the differences between living and non-living stimuli and between musical instruments and other artefact categories were mainly due to errors obtained on questions exploring perceptual features. All these data are at variance with the 'domains of knowledge' hypothesis', which assumes that the breakdown of different categories of living and non-living things respects the distinction between biological entities and

Gender and Instrument Associations, Stereotypes, and Stratification: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wych, Gina M. F.

2012-01-01

This literature review examines and synthesizes 30 years of research into the relationship between gender and musical instruments. Specifically, the review focuses on how this relationship affects instrument selection by grade school students entering a school music program. Topics include the gender typing of musical instruments, instrument…

Implications of technology in music therapy practice and research for music therapy education: a review of literature.

PubMed

Crowe, Barbara J; Rio, Robin

2004-01-01

This article reviews the use of technology in music therapy practice and research for the purpose of providing music therapy educators and clinicians with specific and accurate accounts of the types and benefits of technology being used in various settings. Additionally, this knowledge will help universities comply with National Association of Schools of Music requirements and help to standardize the education and training of music therapists in this rapidly changing area. Information was gathered through a literature review of music therapy and related professional journals and a wide variety of books and personal communications. More data were gathered in a survey requesting information on current use of technology in education and practice. This solicitation was sent to all American Music Therapy Association approved universities and clinical training directors. Technology applications in music therapy are organized according to the following categories: (a) adapted musical instruments, (b) recording technology, (c) electric/electronic musical instruments, (d) computer applications, (e) medical technology, (f) assistive technology for the disabled, and (g) technology-based music/sound healing practices. The literature reviewed covers 177 books and articles from a span of almost 40 years. Recommendations are made for incorporating technology into music therapy course work and for review and revision of AMTA competencies. The need for an all-encompassing clinical survey of the use of technology in current music therapy practice is also identified.

How the degree of instrumental practice in music increases perceptual sensitivity.

PubMed

Proverbio, Alice Mado; Bellini, Eleonora

2018-07-15

Literature has shown that playing a musical instrument is associated with the formation of multimodal audio visuomotor representations that are strongly instrument-specific. Here, we investigated the effect of increased motor practice on perceptual sensitivity in 32 professional musicians of comparable expertise but with different amounts of instrumental practice with piano (10,000 vs. 3000 estimated hours). Stimuli consisted of images of pianists' hands and piano arpeggio sounds. In half of the cases, the piano fingering and piano sounds were congruent, while they were incongruent in the other cases. ERPs were recorded from 128 sites while musicians performed a congruent vs. incongruent discrimination task. A fronto-central error-related negativity (ERN), mainly generated within the anterior cingulate cortex, was observed in response to incongruent videos only in pianists. Non-pianist musicians were able to carry out the task (with a worse performance) but exhibited a smaller response-related N400 to incongruent stimuli. Source reconstruction applied to ERP responses to incongruent stimuli indicated a less automatic mechanism for detecting sensory-motor deviance and a greater emphasis on visual rather than on acoustic features in non-pianists. Overall the data suggest a profound difference between the two populations of musicians and advise against considering "expert" populations to include those that undertook only a few weeks/months of training in a new discipline. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Donald Albert Kehrberg, "An Investigation of the Relationships between Musical Aptitude, General Music Achievement, Attitude toward Music, School Music Participation, School Music Achievement, and Students' outside-of-School Environment in a Rural Ethnic Community." A Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krueger, Reynold J.

1989-01-01

Critiques a doctoral dissertation that examined the relationships between out-of-school factors and five musical characteristics. Praises the care taken in research design, data collection and analysis, and writing the paper. Suggests that further research is needed on the design and validation of an instrument for measuring music attitude. (LS)

Live interactive computer music performance practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wessel, David

2002-05-01

A live-performance musical instrument can be assembled around current lap-top computer technology. One adds a controller such as a keyboard or other gestural input device, a sound diffusion system, some form of connectivity processor(s) providing for audio I/O and gestural controller input, and reactive real-time native signal processing software. A system consisting of a hand gesture controller; software for gesture analysis and mapping, machine listening, composition, and sound synthesis; and a controllable radiation pattern loudspeaker are described. Interactivity begins in the set up wherein the speaker-room combination is tuned with an LMS procedure. This system was designed for improvisation. It is argued that software suitable for carrying out an improvised musical dialog with another performer poses special challenges. The processes underlying the generation of musical material must be very adaptable, capable of rapid changes in musical direction. Machine listening techniques are used to help the performer adapt to new contexts. Machine learning can play an important role in the development of such systems. In the end, as with any musical instrument, human skill is essential. Practice is required not only for the development of musically appropriate human motor programs but for the adaptation of the computer-based instrument as well.

Strings in General Music: An Experience with Multiple Sequencing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Jeffrey

2012-01-01

Instrumental performance that approximates real-world models is one way in which a general music curriculum can encourage high levels of engagement and potential for lifelong musical activity. Although guitars, keyboards, and various folk instruments are useful for this purpose, orchestral instruments can also provide significant solo and ensemble…

Nevada Academic Standards in the Arts: Music.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nevada State Dept. of Education, Carson City.

Nevada's nine academic standards in music education call for specific educational outcomes in grades 3 and 5, as well as in middle school and secondary school. Nevada's standards relate to singing, playing instruments, listening to music, writing and reading music, and cultural and historical connections in music. The standards present performance…

The Role of Psychological Needs in Ceasing Music and Music Learning Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Paul; McPherson, Gary E.; Davidson, Jane W.

2013-01-01

This article addresses individuals' decisions to continue or cease playing a musical instrument from a basic psychological needs perspective. Participants began learning music 10 years prior to the study and were the subject of previous longitudinal research. They completed a survey investigating the three psychological needs of competence,…

Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders among icelandic music students: differences between students playing classical vs rhythmic music.

PubMed

Arnason, Kári; Arnason, Arni; Briem, Kristín

2014-06-01

Most research studies investigating the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders affecting musicians and music students have focused on classical music, while less is known about their prevalence in other music genres. The purpose of this study was to document cumulative and point prevalence of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD) among music students in Iceland and, specifically, to identify differences between those studying classical vs rhythmic music. We hypothesized that students of classical music would report more frequent and more severe musculoskeletal disorders than students involved in rhythmic music, as classical instruments and composition typically require more demanding, sustained postures during practice and performance. A total of 74 students from two classical music schools (schools A and B) and 1 rhythmic school (school C) participated in the study by answering a questionnaire assessing PRMDs. The results showed that 62% of participants had, at some point in their musical career, suffered a PRMD. The cumulative prevalence was highest in music school A (71.4%) and lowest in music school C (38.9%). A statistically significant difference was identified between the cumulative prevalence of PRMD from schools A and B combined compared to music school C (p=0.019). Over 40% of participants reported a "current PRMD," and a significant difference was identified between the three schools (p=0.011), with the highest point prevalence being registered in music school A (66.6%) and the lowest in music school C (22.2%). The prevalence of PRMDs among Icelandic music students was high. The difference found between students who play classical vs rhythmic music may be explained by different demands of the instruments and composition on playing posture.

Separation of musical instruments based on amplitude and frequency comodulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobson, Barry D.; Cauwenberghs, Gert; Quatieri, Thomas F.

2002-05-01

In previous work, amplitude comodulation was investigated as a basis for monaural source separation. Amplitude comodulation refers to similarities in amplitude envelopes of individual spectral components emitted by particular types of sources. In many types of musical instruments, amplitudes of all resonant modes rise/fall, and start/stop together during the course of normal playing. We found that under certain well-defined conditions, a mixture of constant frequency, amplitude comodulated sources can unambiguously be decomposed into its constituents on the basis of these similarities. In this work, system performance was improved by relaxing the constant frequency requirement. String instruments, for example, which are normally played with vibrato, are both amplitude and frequency comodulated sources, and could not be properly tracked under the constant frequency assumption upon which our original algorithm was based. Frequency comodulation refers to similarities in frequency variations of individual harmonics emitted by these types of sources. The analytical difficulty is in defining a representation of the source which properly tracks frequency varying components. A simple, fixed filter bank can only track an individual spectral component for the duration in which it is within the passband of one of the filters. Alternatives are therefore explored which are amenable to real-time implementation.

Analysis of the learning curve for transurethral resection of the prostate. Is there any influence of musical instrument and video game skills on surgical performance?

PubMed

Yamaçake, Kleiton Gabriel Ribeiro; Nakano, Elcio Tadashi; Soares, Iva Barbosa; Cordeiro, Paulo; Srougi, Miguel; Antunes, Alberto Azoubel

2015-09-01

To evaluate the learning curve for transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) among urology residents and study the impact of video game and musical instrument playing abilities on its performance. A prospective study was performed from July 2009 to January 2013 with patients submitted to TURP for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Fourteen residents operated on 324 patients. The following parameters were analyzed: age, prostate-specific antigen levels, prostate weight on ultrasound, pre- and postoperative serum sodium and hemoglobin levels, weight of resected tissue, operation time, speed of resection, and incidence of capsular lesions. Gender, handedness, and prior musical instrument and video game playing experience were recorded using survey responses. The mean resection speed in the first 10 procedures was 0.36 g/min and reached a mean of 0.51 g/min after the 20(th) procedure. The incidence of capsular lesions decreased progressively. The operation time decreased progressively for each subgroup regardless of the difference in the weight of tissue resected. Those experienced in playing video games presented superior resection speed (0.45 g/min) when compared with the novice (0.35 g/min) and intermediate (0.38 g/min) groups (p=0.112). Musical instrument playing abilities did not affect the surgical performance. Speed of resection, weight of resected tissue, and percentage of resected tissue improve significantly and the incidence of capsular lesions reduces after the performance of 10 TURP procedures. Experience in playing video games or musical instruments does not have a significant effect on outcomes.

Analysis of the learning curve for transurethral resection of the prostate. Is there any influence of musical instrument and video game skills on surgical performance?

PubMed Central

Yamaçake, Kleiton Gabriel Ribeiro; Nakano, Elcio Tadashi; Soares, Iva Barbosa; Cordeiro, Paulo; Srougi, Miguel; Antunes, Alberto Azoubel

2015-01-01

Objective To evaluate the learning curve for transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) among urology residents and study the impact of video game and musical instrument playing abilities on its performance. Material and methods A prospective study was performed from July 2009 to January 2013 with patients submitted to TURP for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Fourteen residents operated on 324 patients. The following parameters were analyzed: age, prostate-specific antigen levels, prostate weight on ultrasound, pre- and postoperative serum sodium and hemoglobin levels, weight of resected tissue, operation time, speed of resection, and incidence of capsular lesions. Gender, handedness, and prior musical instrument and video game playing experience were recorded using survey responses. Results The mean resection speed in the first 10 procedures was 0.36 g/min and reached a mean of 0.51 g/min after the 20th procedure. The incidence of capsular lesions decreased progressively. The operation time decreased progressively for each subgroup regardless of the difference in the weight of tissue resected. Those experienced in playing video games presented superior resection speed (0.45 g/min) when compared with the novice (0.35 g/min) and intermediate (0.38 g/min) groups (p=0.112). Musical instrument playing abilities did not affect the surgical performance. Conclusion Speed of resection, weight of resected tissue, and percentage of resected tissue improve significantly and the incidence of capsular lesions reduces after the performance of 10 TURP procedures. Experience in playing video games or musical instruments does not have a significant effect on outcomes. PMID:26516596

Burbank and Shkaplerov playing musical instruments

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-04-21

ISS030-E-267658 (21 April 2012) --- NASA astronaut Dan Burbank, Expedition 30 commander, plays a guitar, while Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, flight engineer, plays a musical keyboard during off-time in the Unity node of the International Space Station.

Burbank and Shkaplerov with musical instruments

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-04-21

ISS030-E-267652 (21 April 2012) --- NASA astronaut Dan Burbank (with guitar), Expedition 30 commander, and Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, flight engineer, are pictured at a musical keyboard during off-time in the Unity node of the International Space Station.

Burbank and Shkaplerov playing musical instruments

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-04-21

ISS030-E-267651 (21 April 2012) --- NASA astronaut Dan Burbank, Expedition 30 commander, plays a guitar, while Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, flight engineer, plays a musical keyboard during off-time in the Unity node of the International Space Station.

Peer Learning in Instrumental Practicing

PubMed Central

Nielsen, Siw G.; Johansen, Guro G.; Jørgensen, Harald

2018-01-01

In higher music education (HME), the notion of “private teaching, private learning” has a long tradition, where the learning part rests on the student's individual practicing between instrumental lessons. However, recent research suggests that collaborative learning among peers is beneficial in several aspects, such as sense of belonging, motivation and self-efficacy. This is consistent with the concept of vicarious learning. In this study, we conducted a survey among bachelor music students in church music, performance or music education programs enrolled in a music academy (N = 96), where parts of the questionnaire addressed peer learning and peer's influence on the students's instrumental practicing, and the degree of satisfaction with their practicing. These issues were seen in relation to gender, musical genre and study program. Overall, the students reported engaging in peer learning related to their instrumental practicing, to various degrees. This involved discussing practicing matters with peers, and practicing together with peers. However, student's reports of their views on peer learning, show that they perceive it more beneficial than the amount of time reported doing it would indicate. No significant gender differences were found, but students within improvised music/jazz engaged the most in peer learning, and church music students the least. Neither the degree of engaging in peer learning nor reported influence from peers correlated significantly with the degree of satisfaction. We discuss whether a general dissatisfaction is caused by being in a competitive learning environment combined with a privatized culture for learning. Finally, we suggest that collaborative forums for instrumental practicing within HME institutions can function as constructive and supportive arenas to enhance students learning and inner motivation. PMID:29599738

Demonstrating DREAM: A Digital Resource Exchange about Music

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Upitis, Rena; Boese, Karen; Abrami, Philip C.

2015-01-01

The Digital Resource Exchange About Music (DREAM) is an online tool for exchanging information about digital learning tools for music education. DREAM was designed by our team to encourage music teachers to learn about digital resources related to learning to play a musical instrument, both in classroom and independent music studio settings. In…

Sex-Types and Instrument Selection: The Effect of Gender Schemas on Fifth Graders' Instrument Choices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiedenfeld, Laura M.

2012-01-01

Since the mid-1970s, music education researchers studied and followed musicians' and non-musicians' views of music instrument gender stereotypes and associations. To understand instrument gender stereotypes, one must first understand the difference between sex and gender and gender's role in society. This research aims to study the views of…

Music: A Shared Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunn, Rosemary

1992-01-01

This paper describes how sixth form girls in England provided music experiences to young children (ages 3-9) with severe learning difficulties. The weekly sessions involve individual sessions and use of various instruments. The relationship of the music therapy program to the National Curriculum is noted. (DB)

Music mixing preferences of cochlear implant recipients: a pilot study.

PubMed

Buyens, Wim; van Dijk, Bas; Moonen, Marc; Wouters, Jan

2014-05-01

Music perception and appraisal are generally poor in cochlear implant recipients. Simple musical structures, lyrics that are easy to follow, and clear rhythm/beat have been reported among the top factors to enhance music enjoyment. The present study investigated the preference for modified relative instrument levels in music with normal-hearing and cochlear implant subjects. In experiment 1, test subjects were given a mixing console and multi-track recordings to determine their most enjoyable audio mix. In experiment 2, a preference rating experiment based on the preferred relative level settings in experiment 1 was performed. Experiment 1 was performed with four postlingually deafened cochlear implant subjects, experiment 2 with ten normal-hearing and ten cochlear implant subjects. A significant difference in preference rating was found between normal-hearing and cochlear implant subjects. The latter preferred an audio mix with larger vocals-to-instruments ratio. In addition, given an audio mix with clear vocals and attenuated instruments, cochlear implant subjects preferred the bass/drum track to be louder than the other instrument tracks. The original audio mix in real-world music might not be suitable for cochlear implant recipients. Modifying the relative instrument level settings potentially improves music enjoyment.

The Five-String Banjo in the Music Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Kenneth H.

2011-01-01

The banjo is an instrument of unique image and sound. It has a long history in North America from its arrival on slave ships from North Africa to its contemporary use in jazz and popular music. Adding the instrument to the general music classroom can open new realms of timbre and new avenues of exploration into the instruments of cultures around…

Surface study of films formed on copper and brass at open circuit potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Procaccini, R.; Schreiner, W. H.; Vázquez, M.; Ceré, S.

2013-03-01

The corrosion resistance of Cu-Zn alloys strongly depends on the quality of the protective passive film. This study focuses on the influence of Zn on the composition of oxide films on copper and brass (Cu77Zn21Al2) in borax 0.1 mol L-1 (pH 9.2) solution, where the solubility of copper oxides is minimal. The effect of the presence of chloride ions at low concentration (0.01 mol L-1) in the electrolyte was also evaluated. Both conditions were studied using a set of different electrochemical, optical and surface techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, differential reflectance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. A duplex Cu2O/CuO layer forms on copper at potentials positive to the open circuit potential (OCP), while in the case of brass, zinc compounds are also incorporated to the surface film. It also became evident that a surface film can be formed on these materials even at potentials negative to the OCP. Zn(II) species are the main constituents of the films growing on brass, while copper oxides are incorporated to the surface film when approaching the OCP. The presence of chloride ions at low concentrations contributes to the dissolution of the oxo-hydroxides formed during the early stages of the aging process at open circuit potential. Also, copper chloro-compounds are formed, as shown by Raman spectroscopy for both copper and brass electrodes.

Making music in a group: synchronization and shared experience.

PubMed

Overy, Katie

2012-04-01

To consider the full impact of musical learning on the brain, it is important to study the nature of everyday, non-expert forms of musical behavior alongside expert instrumental training. Such informal forms of music making tend to include social interaction, synchronization, body movements, and positive shared experiences. Here, I propose that when designing music intervention programs for scientific purposes, such features may have advantages over instrumental training, depending on the specific research aims, contexts, and measures. With reference to a selection of classroom approaches to music education and to the shared affective motion experience (SAME) model of emotional responses to music, I conclude that group learning may be particularly valuable in music pedagogy. © 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.

Music Education for Adults: A Swedish Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindholm, Inge

1987-01-01

Provides a brief review of the recent history of music education in Sweden. Details the reforms instituted in recent years focusing on the development of municipal music schools and related programs designed to provide free or low-cost instrumental music. (JDH)

The Impact of Scholastic Instrumental Music and Scholastic Chess Study on the Standardized Test Scores of Students in Grades Three, Four, and Five

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Edwin E.

2012-01-01

This study examines the impact of instrumental music study and group chess lessons on the standardized test scores of suburban elementary public school students (grades three through five) in Levittown, New York. The study divides the students into the following groups and compares the standardized test scores of each: a) instrumental music…

76 FR 42681 - Brass Sheet and Strip From Germany: Notice of Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-19

... Germany: Notice of Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review AGENCY: Import Administration... antidumping duty order on brass sheet and strip from Germany. The review covers one producer/exporter of brass sheet and strip from Germany, Wieland-Werke AG (``Wieland''). Based on a timely withdrawal of the...

76 FR 35910 - Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan; Notice of Commission Determinations...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-20

...)] Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan; Notice of Commission Determinations To..., Germany, Italy, and Japan AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY... duty orders on brass sheet and strip from France, Germany, Italy, and Japan would be likely to lead to...

Musical examination to bridge audio data and sheet music

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Xunyu; Cross, Timothy J.; Xiao, Liangliang; Hei, Xiali

2015-03-01

useful for teaching music lessons on the web. The developed system is evaluated with songs played with guitar, keyboard, violin, and other popular musical instruments (primarily electronic or stringed instruments). The Musicians Aid system is successful at both representing and analyzing audio data and it is also powerful in assisting individuals interested in learning and understanding music.

Injection Pharyngoplasty With Autologous Fat as Treatment for Stress Velopharyngeal Insufficiency in Brass and Woodwind Musicians.

PubMed

Syamal, Mausumi N; Bryson, Paul C

2017-02-01

Stress velopharyngeal insufficiency (SVPI) is an uncommon but often career-threatening condition affecting professional brass and woodwind musicians. To review the evaluation of and treatment for SVPI in professional musicians with lipoinjection to the posterior pharyngeal wall. A retrospective medical record and literature review. Two professional musicians with SVPI treated with autologous lipoinjection to the posterior pharyngeal wall were included. Nasopharyngoscopy was performed while patients played their instrument both before and after injection. To assess the effectiveness of autologous fat injection to the posterior pharyngeal wall to treat stress velopharyngeal insufficiency in 2 professional instrumentalists. Successful treatment was the absence of VPI during playing as visualized by flexible nasopharyngoscopy. After autologous lipoinjection of the posterior pharyngeal wall, 1 patient resumed full play with complete resolution, now 3 years after lipoinjection pharyngoplasty. The other patient received temporary resolution. Both had no surgical complications. Stress VPI is often a career-threatening condition for professional brass and woodwind musicians, with a cited incidence of 34%. Various treatment options in the literature include observation, speech and language pathology referral for pharyngeal strengthening, lipoinjection of the soft palate, and more invasive options, such as sphincter pharyngoplasty, pharyngeal flaps and V-Y pushback. Autologous fat injection pharyngoplasty of the posterior pharyngeal wall may be a less invasive treatment option for musicians with SVPI.

Exploring Music through Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willard, Joanne B.

1992-01-01

Describes a high school music technology course that uses a project-oriented approach to teach students about hardware and software tools for sequencing, arranging, multitrack recording, and mixing. Course equipment is listed, and the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is briefly described. Copyright guidelines for educational uses of…

Experimenting with woodwind instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lo Presto, Michael C.

2007-05-01

Simple experiments involving musical instruments of the woodwind family can be used to demonstrate the basic physics of vibrating air columns in resonance tubes using nothing more than straightforward measurements and data collection hardware and software. More involved experimentation with the same equipment can provide insight into the effects of holes in the tubing and other factors that make simple tubes useful as musical instruments.

Dynamical computation of constrained flexible systems using a modal Udwadia-Kalaba formulation: Application to musical instruments.

PubMed

Antunes, J; Debut, V

2017-02-01

Most musical instruments consist of dynamical subsystems connected at a number of constraining points through which energy flows. For physical sound synthesis, one important difficulty deals with enforcing these coupling constraints. While standard techniques include the use of Lagrange multipliers or penalty methods, in this paper, a different approach is explored, the Udwadia-Kalaba (U-K) formulation, which is rooted on analytical dynamics but avoids the use of Lagrange multipliers. This general and elegant formulation has been nearly exclusively used for conceptual systems of discrete masses or articulated rigid bodies, namely, in robotics. However its natural extension to deal with continuous flexible systems is surprisingly absent from the literature. Here, such a modeling strategy is developed and the potential of combining the U-K equation for constrained systems with the modal description is shown, in particular, to simulate musical instruments. Objectives are twofold: (1) Develop the U-K equation for constrained flexible systems with subsystems modelled through unconstrained modes; and (2) apply this framework to compute string/body coupled dynamics. This example complements previous work [Debut, Antunes, Marques, and Carvalho, Appl. Acoust. 108, 3-18 (2016)] on guitar modeling using penalty methods. Simulations show that the proposed technique provides similar results with a significant improvement in computational efficiency.

Motivation to Study Music in Australian Schools: The Impact of Music Learning, Gender, and Socio-Economic Status

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McPherson, Gary E.; Osborne, Margaret S.; Barrett, Margaret S.; Davidson, Jane W.; Faulkner, Robert

2015-01-01

This study extends an eight-country mapping exercise (McPherson & O'Neill, 2010; see "Research Studies in Music Education" issues 2010-2011) to include students' motivation to study music within the Australian context. It sought to determine whether music learners (students learning an instrument or voice), might be more motivated to…

Malaysian Children's Attitudes towards Learning Music

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghazali, Ghaziah Mohd.; McPherson, Gary E.

2009-01-01

A sample of 1060 Malaysian children were surveyed in order to examine differences in their motivation to study music in school and to learn a musical instrument outside of school. Adopting the expectancy-value motivation theory, the children were asked questions concerning their perception of music as being important, useful, interesting,…

Instrument-related Skin Disorders in Musicians.

PubMed

Patruno, Cataldo; Napolitano, Maddalena; La Bella, Serena; Ayala, Fabio; Balato, Nicola; Cantelli, Mariateresa; Balato, Anna

2016-01-01

Among artists, musicians may suffer from occupational skin problems; notwithstanding, these conditions have been rarely reviewed. The characteristics of individual performer and the type of instrument will determine the kind of disease. Moreover, the hours that the musician spent to advance artistic skill may influence the severity. The frequency and risk factors of instrument-related skin disorders in musicians from southern Italy were analyzed. An observational study was conducted in 628 musicians. A questionnaire including questions related to age, sex, instrument played, musical activity, previous or current skin disorders, and impact of skin symptoms on music making was submitted. Of 628 musicians, 199 (31.7%) reported suffering from at least 1 skin disease. Cutaneous diseases likely directly correlated with the use of the musical instrument were found in 129 (20.5%) of the 628 subjects. In particular, different patterns of irritant contact dermatitis were found. Skin conditions may be a significant problem in professional instrumentalists. They are mainly related to musical activity. Preventive measures should be established.

Music and the Brain in Childhood Development. Review of Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strickland, Susan J.

2002-01-01

Reviews literature on effects of music on the brain in childhood development. Areas include: (1) early synaptic growth; (2) nature versus nurture; (3) background music; (4) musical practice; (5) music learning and cognitive skills; (6) transfer of music learning; (7) musical instrument practice; (8) children and music; and (9) transfer effects.…

The Theremin in the Emergence of Electronic Music

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glinsky, Albert Vincent

1992-01-01

This study examines the invention and history of the Theremin electronic musical instrument in relation to the emergence of electronic music. After Lee De Forest invented the oscillator in 1915, revolutionizing the radio industry, Russian inventor Leon Theremin (born Lev Sergeyevich Termen, 1896), utilized this technology in 1919 to develop the first fully functional electronic musical instrument. Named after its inventor, the Theremin employed a unique operational configuration. Without touching the instrument, the player controlled pitch through relative proximity of the right hand to a vertical antenna, and volume through similar movements of the left hand in relation to a horizontal antenna. The instrument employed a heterodyne, or beat frequency system, and boasted a range of three to four octaves. On the invitation of Lenin, Theremin travelled throughout Russia, successfully demonstrating his instrument, and came to Europe in 1927, where his sensational presentations caused considerable excitement in Germany, France and England. Critics hailed his instrument as a revolution in music, and he quickly garnered international recognition. Later in 1927 Theremin travelled to the United States where he remained until 1938. His years in the U.S. brought public, professional and corporate support, and in 1929 he sold the patent rights to his instrument to the Radio Corporation of America which manufactured and sold 500 instruments between 1929 and 1931. The inventor collaborated with Leopold Stokowski on the development of a fingerboard Theremin which the conductor employed in the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1929 to 1931. Theremin performed as soloist with the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra, and frequently presented coast to coast broadcasts with his instrument. He attracted a loyal following of students, a few of whom performed extensively on his instrument across the U.S. and Europe. In his later years in America, Theremin

48 CFR 252.216-7000 - Economic price adjustment-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...-basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products. 252.216-7000 Section 252.216-7000 Federal... adjustment—basic steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, or copper mill products. As prescribed in 216.203-4-70(a... Mill Products (JUL 1997) (a) Definitions. As used in this clause— Established price means a price which...

Applied Music (Individual Study).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Education Agency, Austin.

Background information and resources to help students in grades 9-12 in Texas pursue an individual study contract in applied music is presented. To fulfill a contract students must publicly perform from memory, with accompaniment as specified, three selections from a list of approved music for their chosen field (instrument or voice). Material…

Incorporating Technology in Teaching Musical Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prodan, Angelica

2017-01-01

After discussing some of the drawbacks of using Skype for long distance music lessons, Angelica Prodan describes three different types of Artificial Reality (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed or Merged Reality). She goes on to describe the beneficial applications of technology, with results otherwise impossible to achieve in areas such…

Design of an efficient music-speech discriminator.

PubMed

Tardón, Lorenzo J; Sammartino, Simone; Barbancho, Isabel

2010-01-01

In this paper, the problem of the design of a simple and efficient music-speech discriminator for large audio data sets in which advanced music playing techniques are taught and voice and music are intrinsically interleaved is addressed. In the process, a number of features used in speech-music discrimination are defined and evaluated over the available data set. Specifically, the data set contains pieces of classical music played with different and unspecified instruments (or even lyrics) and the voice of a teacher (a top music performer) or even the overlapped voice of the translator and other persons. After an initial test of the performance of the features implemented, a selection process is started, which takes into account the type of classifier selected beforehand, to achieve good discrimination performance and computational efficiency, as shown in the experiments. The discrimination application has been defined and tested on a large data set supplied by Fundacion Albeniz, containing a large variety of classical music pieces played with different instrument, which include comments and speeches of famous performers.

Young Pianists Exploring Improvisation Using Interactive Music Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowe, Victoria; Triantafyllaki, Angeliki; Anagnostopoulou, Xristina

2015-01-01

The use of music technology in the enhancement of young pianists' musical improvisations has been scarcely explored in instrumental music teaching and learning research. In the present study, 19 piano pupils aged 6-10 from the UK and Greece used an interactive improvisation system called Musical Interaction Relying On Reflexion (MIROR)-Impro for…

The Influence of Temperature on the Frictional Behavior of Duplex-Coated Die Steel Rubbing Against Forging Brass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebrahimzadeh, I.; Ashrafizadeh, F.

2015-01-01

Improvement of die life under hot forging of brass alloys is considered vital from both economical and technical points of view. One of the best methods for improving die life is duplex coatings. In this research, the influence of temperature on the tribological behavior of duplex-coated die steel rubbing against forging brass was investigated. The wear tests were performed on a pin-on-disk machine from room temperature to 700 °C; the pins were made in H13 hot work tool steel treated by plasma nitriding and by PVD coatings of TiN-TiAlN-CrAlN. The disks were machined from a two-phase brass alloy too. The results revealed that the friction coefficient of this tribosystem went through a maximum at 550 °C and decreased largely at 700 °C. Furthermore, the formation of Cr2O3 caused the reduction of friction coefficient at 700 °C. PVD coatings proved their wear resistance up to 550 °C, well above the working temperature of the brass forging dies.

Saturday Morning Music: A Preservice Elementary Workshop.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Mary

1986-01-01

An exploratory music program, scheduled for a month of Saturday mornings for children in kindergarten, is described. The program is intended to provide preservice teaching experiences for college music education students. Classes are action-oriented and include varied experiences in singing, playing instruments, moving to music, listening, and…

Defining the spectral and amplitude domain of music---a window into audio

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nam, Myoung W.

In terms of 'visualizing music', this thesis presents the first critical measurements for the selected musical instruments (piano, violin, cello, flute, piccolo, drums, double bass, electric bass, and electric guitar) seeking to describe their place in the spectral and amplitude domain. All data presented as a part of this research were measured with Z-weighting (un-weighted) from 12.5Hz to 20kHz along the frequency axis, in 1/3 octave bands, evaluated statistically and in equivalent sound level. Measuring musical performances can be a very subjective process. Therefore, this research proceeded under some strategically chosen conditions and limitations. The measurements were made with each musician playing at several different intensities of musical performance. Chosen musical genres were classical, pop and jazz for the selected musical instruments. To obtain data representative of real world conditions, musical instrument measurements were made mostly in professional recording studios by professional players. The results seek to define the spectral and amplitude domain occupied by these instruments when playing typical works.

Music Instrument Teachers in Higher Education: An Investigation of the Key Influences on How They Teach in the Studio

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniel, Ryan; Parkes, Kelly A.

2017-01-01

In higher education music instrument teaching, there is a strong tradition of high-level performers being recruited to teach advanced students within the private studio despite the fact these educators often have no training in pedagogy. The studio environment also continues to be dominated by the one-to-one lesson format and the master-apprentice…

Morphology Controlled Fabrication of InN Nanowires on Brass Substrates

PubMed Central

Li, Huijie; Zhao, Guijuan; Wang, Lianshan; Chen, Zhen; Yang, Shaoyan

2016-01-01

Growth of semiconductor nanowires on cheap metal substrates could pave the way to the large-scale manufacture of low-cost nanowire-based devices. In this work, we demonstrated that high density InN nanowires can be directly grown on brass substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. It was found that Zn from the brass substrates is the key factor in the formation of nanowires by restricting the lateral growth of InN. The nanowire morphology is highly dependent on the growth temperature. While at a lower growth temperature, the nanowires and the In droplets have large diameters. At the elevated growth temperature, the lateral sizes of the nanowires and the In droplets are much smaller. Moreover, the nanowire diameter can be controlled in situ by varying the temperature in the growth process. This method is very instructive to the diameter-controlled growth of nanowires of other materials. PMID:28335323

On the effect of β phase on the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded commercial brass alloys.

PubMed

Heidarzadeh, Akbar; Saeid, Tohid

2015-12-01

Conventional fusion welding of brass (Cu-Zn) alloys has some difficulties such as evaporation of Zn, toxic behavior of Zn vapor, solidification cracking, distortion, and oxidation [1], [2], [3]. Fortunately, friction stir welding (FSW) has been proved to be a good candidate for joining the brass alloys, which can overcome the fusion welding short comes [4], [5], [6], [7]. The data presented here relates to FSW of the single and double phase brass alloys. The data is the microstructure and mechanical properties of the base metals and joints.

On the effect of β phase on the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded commercial brass alloys

PubMed Central

Heidarzadeh, Akbar; Saeid, Tohid

2015-01-01

Conventional fusion welding of brass (Cu–Zn) alloys has some difficulties such as evaporation of Zn, toxic behavior of Zn vapor, solidification cracking, distortion, and oxidation [1], [2], [3]. Fortunately, friction stir welding (FSW) has been proved to be a good candidate for joining the brass alloys, which can overcome the fusion welding short comes [4], [5], [6], [7]. The data presented here relates to FSW of the single and double phase brass alloys. The data is the microstructure and mechanical properties of the base metals and joints. PMID:26793745

77 FR 24932 - Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Italy, Germany and Japan: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Orders

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-26

...-704] Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Italy, Germany and Japan: Continuation of Antidumping Duty... Japan would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping, and the determinations by the... brass sheet and strip from France, Italy, Germany and Japan, pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff...

Agua Caliente and Their Music.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryterband, Roman

1979-01-01

Discusses the traditional music of the Agua Caliente band of California's Desert Cahuilla Indian tribe, including accompanying instruments, types of songs, thematic material, and performance routines. Exploring the structure of the music, the article describes meter, tempo, harmony and tonal gravitations, and use of words. (DS)

Teaching Physics with Music

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramsey, Gordon P.

2015-10-01

The uniting of two seemingly disparate subjects in the classroom provides an interesting motivation for learning. Students are interested in how these subjects can possibly be integrated into related ideas. Such is the mixture of physics and music. Both are based upon mathematics, which becomes the interlocking theme. The connecting physical properties of sound and music are waves and harmonics. The introduction of instruments, including the voice, to the musical discussion allows the introduction of more advanced physical concepts such as energy, force, pressure, fluid dynamics, and properties of materials. Suggestions on how to teach physics concepts in the context of music at many levels are presented in this paper.

Musical activity and emotional competence - a twin study.

PubMed

Theorell, Töres P; Lennartsson, Anna-Karin; Mosing, Miriam A; Ullén, Fredrik

2014-01-01

The hypothesis was tested that musical activities may contribute to the prevention of alexithymia. We tested whether musical creative achievement and musical practice are associated with lower alexithymia. 8000 Swedish twins aged 27-54 were studied. Alexithymia was assessed using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. Musical achievement was rated on a 7-graded scale. Participants estimated number of hours of music practice during different ages throughout life. A total life estimation of number of accumulated hours was made. They were also asked about ensemble playing. In addition, twin modelling was used to explore the genetic architecture of the relation between musical practice and alexithymia. Alexithymia was negatively associated with (i) musical creative achievement, (ii) having played a musical instrument as compared to never having played, and - for the subsample of participants that had played an instrument - (iii) total hours of musical training (r = -0.12 in men and -0.10 in women). Ensemble playing added significant variance. Twin modelling showed that alexithymia had a moderate heritability of 36% and that the association with musical practice could be explained by shared genetic influences. Associations between musical training and alexithymia remained significant when controlling for education, depression, and intelligence. Musical achievement and musical practice are associated with lower levels of alexithymia in both men and women. Musical engagement thus appears to be associated with higher emotional competence, although effect sizes are small. The association between musical training and alexithymia appears to be entirely genetically mediated, suggesting genetic pleiotropy.

Music and speech distractors disrupt sensorimotor synchronization: effects of musical training.

PubMed

Białuńska, Anita; Dalla Bella, Simone

2017-12-01

Humans display a natural tendency to move to the beat of music, more than to the rhythm of any other auditory stimulus. We typically move with music, but rarely with speech. This proclivity is apparent early during development and can be further developed over the years via joint dancing, singing, or instrument playing. Synchronization of movement to the beat can thus improve with age, but also with musical experience. In a previous study, we found that music perturbed synchronization with a metronome more than speech fragments; music superiority disappeared when distractors shared isochrony and the same meter (Dalla Bella et al., PLoS One 8(8):e71945, 2013). Here, we examined if the interfering effect of music and speech distractors in a synchronization task is influenced by musical training. Musicians and non-musicians synchronized by producing finger force pulses to the sounds of a metronome while music and speech distractors were presented at one of various phase relationships with respect to the target. Distractors were familiar musical excerpts and fragments of children poetry comparable in terms of beat/stress isochrony. Music perturbed synchronization with the metronome more than speech did in both groups. However, the difference in synchronization error between music and speech distractors was smaller for musicians than for non-musicians, especially when the peak force of movement is reached. These findings point to a link between musical training and timing of sensorimotor synchronization when reacting to music and speech distractors.

The Socio-Educational Model of Music Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacIntyre, Peter D.; Potter, Gillian K.; Burns, Jillian N.

2012-01-01

The well-established socio-educational model of second language learning motivation developed by R. C. Gardner was adapted and applied to study instrumental music learning motivation. The similarities between music and language suggested that the adaptation might lead to new insights in the study of music motivation. At the heart of the proposed…

Growth of surface structures correlated with structural and mechanical modifications of brass by laser-induced Si plasma ions implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, Shahbaz; Bashir, Shazia; Rafique, M. Shahid; Yousaf, Daniel

2017-04-01

Laser-produced Si plasma is employed as an ion source for implantation on the brass substrate for its surface, structural, and mechanical modifications. Thomson parabola technique is employed for the measurement of energy and flux of Si ions using CR-39. In response to stepwise increase in number of laser pulses from 3000 to 12000, four brass substrates were implanted by laser-induced Si plasma ions of energy 290 keV at different fluxes ranging from 45 × 1012 to 75 × 1015 ions/cm2. SEM analysis reveals the formation of nano/micro-sized irregular shaped cavities and pores for the various ion fluxes for varying numbers of laser pulses from 3000 to 9000. At the maximum ion flux for 12,000 pulses, distinct and organized grains with hexagonal and irregular shaped morphology are revealed. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) analysis exhibits that a new phase of CuSi (311) is identified which confirms the implantation of Si ions in brass substrate. A significant decrease in mechanical properties of implanted brass, such as Yield Stress (YS), Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS), and hardness, with increasing laser pulses from 3000 to 6000 is observed. However, with increasing laser pulses from 9000 to a maximum value of 12,000, an increase in mechanical properties like hardness, YS, and UTS is observed. The generation as well as annihilation of defects, recrystallization, and intermixing of Si precipitates with brass matrix is considered to be responsible for variations in surface, structural, and mechanical modifications of brass.

Teaching Music in the Age of MIDI.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordahl, Gregory

1988-01-01

Explores the combination of the microcomputer and a digital synthesizer which use the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). Discusses the evolution of MIDI, music classroom applications, and suggestions before purchasing a MIDI. (MVL)

Unit Planning Grids for Music--Grade 7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaware State Dept. of Education, Dover.

These unit planning grids for grade 7 music education in Delaware public schools outline nine standards for students to attain in music. Standards cited in the grids are: (1) students will sing, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (2) students will perform on instruments, independently, and with others, a varied repertoire…

Unit Planning Grids for Music--Grade 5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaware State Dept. of Education, Dover.

These unit planning grids for grade 5 music education in Delaware public schools outline nine standards for students to attain in music. Standards cited in the grids are: (1) students will sing, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (2) students will perform on instruments, independently, and with others, a varied repertoire…

Unit Planning Grids for Music--Grade 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaware State Dept. of Education, Dover.

These unit planning grids for grade 3 music education in Delaware public schools outline nine standards for students to attain in music. Standards cited in the grids are: (1) students will sing, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (2) students will perform on instruments, independently, and with others, a varied repertoire…

Unit Planning Grids for Music--Grade 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaware State Dept. of Education, Dover.

These unit planning grids for grade 4 music education in Delaware public schools outline nine standards for students to attain in music. Standards cited in the grids are: (1) students will sing, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (2) students will perform on instruments, independently, and with others, a varied repertoire…

Unit Planning Grids for Music--Grade 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaware State Dept. of Education, Dover.

These unit planning grids for grade 6 music education in Delaware public schools outline nine standards for students to attain in music. Standards cited in the grids are: (1) students will sing, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (2) students will perform on instruments, independently, and with others, a varied repertoire…

Unit Planning Grids for Music--Grade 8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaware State Dept. of Education, Dover.

These unit planning grids for grade 8 music education in Delaware public schools outline nine standards for students to attain in music. Standards cited in the grids are: (1) students will sing, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (2) students will perform on instruments, independently, and with others, a varied repertoire…

Communication of Expectations between Principals and Entry-Year Instrumental Music Teachers: Implications for Music Teacher Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edgar, Scott

2012-01-01

Assessment of arts educators, including music educators, has evolved into a high-stakes situation that drives teacher pay, promotion, and retention. This assessment process is driven by federal policy advocating for a value-added model based on student performance. Principals, who are often charged with assessing artistic musical performance,…

The effect of musical practice on gesture/sound pairing.

PubMed

Proverbio, Alice M; Attardo, Lapo; Cozzi, Matteo; Zani, Alberto

2015-01-01

Learning to play a musical instrument is a demanding process requiring years of intense practice. Dramatic changes in brain connectivity, volume, and functionality have been shown in skilled musicians. It is thought that music learning involves the formation of novel audio visuomotor associations, but not much is known about the gradual acquisition of this ability. In the present study, we investigated whether formal music training enhances audiovisual multisensory processing. To this end, pupils at different stages of education were examined based on the hypothesis that the strength of audio/visuomotor associations would be augmented as a function of the number of years of conservatory study (expertise). The study participants were violin and clarinet students of pre-academic and academic levels and of different chronological ages, ages of acquisition, and academic levels. A violinist and a clarinetist each played the same score, and each participant viewed the video corresponding to his or her instrument. Pitch, intensity, rhythm, and sound duration were matched across instruments. In half of the trials, the soundtrack did not match (in pitch) the corresponding musical gestures. Data analysis indicated a correlation between the number of years of formal training (expertise) and the ability to detect an audiomotor incongruence in music performance (relative to the musical instrument practiced), thus suggesting a direct correlation between knowing how to play and perceptual sensitivity.

Unit Planning Grids for Music: Grade 9-12 Advanced.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaware State Dept. of Education, Dover.

This unit planning grid outlines the expectations of Delaware high school students for advanced music studies. The grid identifies nine standards for music: (1) students will sing, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (2) students will perform on instruments, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (3)…

Unit Planning Grids for Music: Grade 9-12 Basic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaware State Dept. of Education, Dover.

This unit planning grid outlines the expectations of Delaware high school students for basic music studies. The grid identifies nine standards for music: (1) students will sing, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (2) students will perform on instruments, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (3)…

Comparison of torsional stability of 2 types of split crimpable surgical hooks with soldered brass surgical hooks.

PubMed

O'Bannon, Shawn P; Dunn, William J; Lenk, Jason S

2006-10-01

The purpose of this in-vitro study was to compare the torsional stability of split crimpable surgical hooks and soldered brass surgical hooks on a rectangular stabilizing archwire. Coated split crimpable hooks (Never-Slip Grip, TP Orthodontics, LaPorte, Ind), ribbed crimpable hooks (TP Orthodontics), and .032-in brass soldered hooks/notched electrodes (Ormco/Sybron Dental Specialties, Orange, Calif) were attached to a 0.019 x 0.025-in stainless steel archwire. The archwire/hook attachment assembly was secured into a dual contact jig and statically mounted to the base of a universal testing machine. The hooks were engaged by a wire loop attached to the upper load cell of the machine, which pulled the wire until the hook was torsionally displaced from the archwire. The mean forces, measured in newtons (N), required to dislodge the hooks were as follows: soldered brass surgical hooks (51.3 +/- 5.2 N), coated split crimpable hooks (49.9 +/- 6.6 N), and ribbed split crimpable hooks (31.3 +/- 5.4 N). Data were analyzed with 1-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD post-hoc tests at alpha = .05. Ribbed split crimpable hooks provided significantly less resistance to torsional displacement than the other types of hooks (P <001). There was no difference between coated split crimpable hooks and soldered brass surgical hooks (P >05). Under the conditions of this study, the results suggest that soldered brass surgical hooks and coated split crimpable hook attachments provide more stability to torsional dislodgement from a rectangular stabilizing archwire than ribbed split crimpable hooks.

Score-Informed Musical Source Separation and Reconstruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Han, Yushen

2013-01-01

A systematic approach to retrieve individual parts in a monaural music recording with its score is introduced. We are interested in isolating the accompaniment part by removing the solo part from a recording of concerto music in which a solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra. We require the music audio, the score, and optionally a sample…

Still Making Music: How Students with Traumatic Brain Injury Can Continue with Musical Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennington, Patrick M.

2017-01-01

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common in the United States. All age groups are at risk for TBI, but there is a larger occurrence among school-age children and young adults. No matter the severity of a student's injury, he or she can benefit from music education, whether listening to music, singing, or performing on an instrument. Students can…

Using MIDI Accompaniments for Music Learning at School and at Home

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kersten, Fred

2004-01-01

This article discusses how MIDI and other computer technologies can help students build their musical skills in the classroom and at home. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) has provided music teachers with increasing opportunity to use quality computer-developed musical accompaniments in teaching music to children. Standard MIDI files…

A Stereo Music Preprocessing Scheme for Cochlear Implant Users.

PubMed

Buyens, Wim; van Dijk, Bas; Wouters, Jan; Moonen, Marc

2015-10-01

Listening to music is still one of the more challenging aspects of using a cochlear implant (CI) for most users. Simple musical structures, a clear rhythm/beat, and lyrics that are easy to follow are among the top factors contributing to music appreciation for CI users. Modifying the audio mix of complex music potentially improves music enjoyment in CI users. A stereo music preprocessing scheme is described in which vocals, drums, and bass are emphasized based on the representation of the harmonic and the percussive components in the input spectrogram, combined with the spatial allocation of instruments in typical stereo recordings. The scheme is assessed with postlingually deafened CI subjects (N = 7) using pop/rock music excerpts with different complexity levels. The scheme is capable of modifying relative instrument level settings, with the aim of improving music appreciation in CI users, and allows individual preference adjustments. The assessment with CI subjects confirms the preference for more emphasis on vocals, drums, and bass as offered by the preprocessing scheme, especially for songs with higher complexity. The stereo music preprocessing scheme has the potential to improve music enjoyment in CI users by modifying the audio mix in widespread (stereo) music recordings. Since music enjoyment in CI users is generally poor, this scheme can assist the music listening experience of CI users as a training or rehabilitation tool.

Pre-Service Music Teachers' Piano Performance Self-Efficacy Belief Inversely Related to Musical Performance Anxiety Levels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egilmez, Hatice Onuray

2015-01-01

Many factors affect piano performance, including students' self-confidence and self-efficacy about playing an instrument. This study assessed piano performance self-efficacy beliefs in pre-service music teachers studying at the music education department of education faculty of Uludag University to a certain relationships between the strength of…

The "Missing Males" and Other Gender Issues in Music Education: Evidence from the "Music Supervisors' Journal," 1914-1924.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koza, Julia Eklund

1993-01-01

Reports on an analysis of gender-related references appearing in the "Music Supervisors' Journal" from 1914-24. Finds that both coeducational and single-sex musical organizations were discussed and that vocal and instrumental instruction for boys and girls was advocated. (CFR)

76 FR 58299 - Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan; Scheduling of a Full Five-Year...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-20

...)] Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan; Scheduling of a Full Five-Year Review Concerning the Antidumping Duty Order on Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan AGENCY... strip from France, Germany, Italy, and Japan would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of...

The Mental Representation of Music Notation: Notational Audiation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brodsky, Warren; Kessler, Yoav; Rubinstein, Bat-Sheva; Ginsborg, Jane; Henik, Avishai

2008-01-01

This study investigated the mental representation of music notation. Notational audiation is the ability to internally "hear" the music one is reading before physically hearing it performed on an instrument. In earlier studies, the authors claimed that this process engages music imagery contingent on subvocal silent singing. This study refines the…

Failure of the Hume-Rothery stabilization mechanism in the Ag(5)Li(8) gamma-brass studied by first-principles FLAPW electronic structure calculations.

PubMed

Mizutani, U; Asahi, R; Sato, H; Noritake, T; Takeuchi, T

2008-07-09

The first-principles FLAPW (full potential linearized augmented plane wave) electronic structure calculations were performed for the Ag(5)Li(8) gamma-brass, which contains 52 atoms in a unit cell and has been known for many years as one of the most structurally complex alloy phases. The calculations were also made for its neighboring phase AgLi B2 compound. The main objective in the present work is to examine if the Ag(5)Li(8) gamma-brass is stabilized at the particular electrons per atom ratio e/a = 21/13 in the same way as some other gamma-brasses like Cu(5)Zn(8) and Cu(9)Al(4), obeying the Hume-Rothery electron concentration rule. For this purpose, the e/a value for the Ag(5)Li(8) gamma-brass as well as the AgLi B2 compound was first determined by means of the FLAPW-Fourier method we have developed. It proved that both the gamma-brass and the B2 compound possess an e/a value equal to unity instead of 21/13. Moreover, we could demonstrate why the Hume-Rothery stabilization mechanism fails for the Ag(5)Li(8) gamma-brass and proposed a new stability mechanism, in which the unique gamma-brass structure can effectively lower the band-structure energy by forming heavily populated bonding states near the bottom of the Ag-4d band.

Achievement Goals, Learning Strategies and Instrumental Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nielsen, Siw Graabraek

2008-01-01

The current study is a survey of the achievement goals of music students and the manner in which their strategies and instrumental performance relate to these goals. In the context of advanced instrumental learning, the rationale for the present study was to contribute to the literature on motivation in music students, and thereby, help teachers…

Music Structure Analysis from Acoustic Signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dannenberg, Roger B.; Goto, Masataka

Music is full of structure, including sections, sequences of distinct musical textures, and the repetition of phrases or entire sections. The analysis of music audio relies upon feature vectors that convey information about music texture or pitch content. Texture generally refers to the average spectral shape and statistical fluctuation, often reflecting the set of sounding instruments, e.g., strings, vocal, or drums. Pitch content reflects melody and harmony, which is often independent of texture. Structure is found in several ways. Segment boundaries can be detected by observing marked changes in locally averaged texture.

Microstructure and Mechanical Characterization of Friction-Stir-Welded Dual-Phase Brass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramesh, R.; Dinaharan, I.; Akinlabi, E. T.; Murugan, N.

2018-03-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is an ideal process to join brass to avoid the evaporation of zinc. In the present investigation, 6-mm-thick dual-phase brass plates were joined efficiently using FSW at various tool rotational speeds. The microstructures were studied using optical microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The optical micrographs revealed the evolution of various zones across the joint line. The microstructure of the heat-affected zone was similar to that of base metal. The weld zone exhibited finer grains due to dynamic recrystallization. The recrystallization was inhomogeneous and the inhomogeneity reduced with increased tool rotational speed. The dual phase was preserved in the weld zone due to the retention of zinc. The severe plastic deformation created a lot of dislocations in the weld zone. The weld zone was strengthened after welding. The role of tool rotational speed on the joint strength is further reported.

Exploring Music Dynamics through Children's Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardany, Audrey Berger

2012-01-01

Language sometimes creates confusion when teaching music concepts to children. Incorporating children's literature may further enhance children's comprehension of music vocabulary when preceded by listening and moving experiences, as well as singing and playing instruments. "The Quiet Book," and its companion, "The Loud Book!" both authored by…

The "silent" imprint of musical training.

PubMed

Klein, Carina; Liem, Franziskus; Hänggi, Jürgen; Elmer, Stefan; Jäncke, Lutz

2016-02-01

Playing a musical instrument at a professional level is a complex multimodal task requiring information integration between different brain regions supporting auditory, somatosensory, motor, and cognitive functions. These kinds of task-specific activations are known to have a profound influence on both the functional and structural architecture of the human brain. However, until now, it is widely unknown whether this specific imprint of musical practice can still be detected during rest when no musical instrument is used. Therefore, we applied high-density electroencephalography and evaluated whole-brain functional connectivity as well as small-world topologies (i.e., node degree) during resting state in a sample of 15 professional musicians and 15 nonmusicians. As expected, musicians demonstrate increased intra- and interhemispheric functional connectivity between those brain regions that are typically involved in music perception and production, such as the auditory, the sensorimotor, and prefrontal cortex as well as Broca's area. In addition, mean connectivity within this specific network was positively related to musical skill and the total number of training hours. Thus, we conclude that musical training distinctively shapes intrinsic functional network characteristics in such a manner that its signature can still be detected during a task-free condition. Hum Brain Mapp 37:536-546, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A HAND FULL OF MUSIC.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION; DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

A BROCHURE HAS BEEN PREPARED TO GIVE TEACHERS OF EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN SOME INFORMATION ABOUT MANY INSTRUMENTS WHICH CAN BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM. IT IS NOTED THAT EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN, IN COMMON WITH THEIR NORMAL CLASSMATES, HAVE A LOVE OF BEAUTIFUL MUSIC AND INTRIGUING SOUNDS. MANY OF THEM HAVE SPECIFIC MUSICAL TALENTS, AND MOST OF THEM HAVE BEEN…

SU-E-T-501: Initial Orthovoltage Beam Profile Analysis of a Small Brass MLC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Loughery, B; Snyder, M

2015-06-15

Purpose To create brass leaves for an orthovoltage MLC and take initial beam profile measurements. Methods The low-energy MLC was designed in previous work. Brass was chosen for its self-lubrication and low cost. Stock brass rectangles (30cm × 1.0cm × 0.5cm) were ordered with pre-cut gear rack along the topmost long edges. Leaf designs were translated into G-code, then cut with a Tormach CNC-1100 mill. Intense bowing was observed in the beam direction, which required straightening via an in-house jig. Straightened leaves were placed into MLC assembly and mounted to a 320 kVp orthovoltage tube. EDR2 film was irradiated inmore » four situations: MLC open so one edge was isocentric, and MLC open more than isocentric, completely closed MLC, and an open field shot with the MLC removed. The first two scans tested penumbra for our rectangular edges due to unfocused design. The final two scans tested transmission and interleaf leakage. All four experiments were set to 120 kVp and 10 mA for two minutes. Results Transmission and interleaf leakage were found to be zero. Interleaf leakage is faintly visible on film, but undetected by our film scanner despite high spatial resolution. Penumbra at isocenter was found to be 0.72mm, which matched the penumbras of true field edges. Penumbra off-isocenter was 1.1mm. Mechanically, leaves are moving smoothly once straightened. Conclusion Beam profiles through our brass MLC are acceptable. Leaves attenuate and move as designed. Looking forward, we intend to animate our MLC to deliver more complicated treatment plans.« less

Evaluation Characterization of Mechanisms Controlling Fate and Effects of Army Smokes. (Transport, Transformations, Fate and Terrestrial Ecological Effects of Brass Obscurants).

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-08-29

0.5-cm lens of brass flake 2.20 I I (2.81 g/olumn) containing 7.5 mg (0.24- MBq 65Zn) of neutron -activated brass flake (specific3 activity 23.42 MBq ...associated with brass, most likely Zn, because of Its role as a cofactor In many respiratory enzymes, may be promoting a faster ra . 3 of growth...ae not to be construed as offcWa DepaRnment of tho Army position unless so designatod by other authatized documents I 9o S~I I DISCLAIMER This report

An investigation of prior knowledge in Automatic Music Transcription systems.

PubMed

Cazau, Dorian; Revillon, Guillaume; Krywyk, Julien; Adam, Olivier

2015-10-01

Automatic transcription of music is a long-studied research field with many operational systems available commercially. In this paper, a generic transcription system able to host various prior knowledge parameters has been developed, followed by an in-depth investigation of their impact on music transcription. Explicit links between musical knowledge and algorithmic formalism have been made. Musical knowledge covers classes of timbre, musicology, and playing style of an instrument repertoire. An evaluation sound corpus gathering musical pieces played by human performers from three different instrument repertoires, namely, classical piano, steel-string acoustic guitar, and the marovany zither from Madagascar, has been developed. The different components of musical knowledge have been successively incorporated in a complete transcription system, consisting mainly of a Probabilistic Latent Component Analysis algorithm post-processed with a Hidden Markov Model, and their impact on transcription results have been comparatively evaluated.

26. SOME CORES, SUCH AS THESE IN THE BRASS FOUNDRY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

26. SOME CORES, SUCH AS THESE IN THE BRASS FOUNDRY CA.1950, ARE DIPPED INTO A SOLUTION PRIOR TO BEING BAKED IN THE CORE OVEN BEHIND, TO SET THE RESIN AND CREATE A STRUCTURE STRONG ENOUGH TO HOLD UP AGAINST MOLTEN METAL. - Stockham Pipe & Fittings Company, 4000 Tenth Avenue North, Birmingham, Jefferson County, AL

Effect of chloride ion concentration on the galvanic corrosion of α phase brass by eccrine sweat.

PubMed

Meekins, Andrew; Bond, John W; Chaloner, Penelope

2012-07-01

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry measurement of the relative concentration of sodium, chloride, calcium, and potassium ions in eccrine sweat deposits from 40 donors revealed positive correlations between chloride and sodium (ρ = 0.684, p < 0.01) and chloride and calcium ions (ρ = 0.91, p < 0.01). Correlations between ion concentration and the corrosion of α phase brass by the donated sweat were investigated by visual grading of the degree of corrosion, by measuring the copper/zinc ratio using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and from a measurement of the potential difference between corroded and uncorroded brass when a large potential was applied to the uncorroded brass. An increasing copper/zinc ratio (indicative of dezincification) was found to correlate positively to both chloride ion concentration and visual grading of corrosion, while visual grading gave correlations with potential difference measurements that were indicative of the preferential surface oxidation of zinc rather than copper. © 2012 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Integrating Technology into the K-12 Music Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Olympia.

This guide is intended to provide resources for integrating technology into the K-12 music curriculum. The focus of the guide is on computer software and the use of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) in the music classroom. The guide gives two examples of commercially available curricula that integrate technology as well as lesson plans…

Effect of listening to Vedic chants and Indian classical instrumental music on patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: A randomized control trial.

PubMed

Padam, Anita; Sharma, Neetu; Sastri, O S K S; Mahajan, Shivani; Sharma, Rajesh; Sharma, Deepak

2017-01-01

A high level of preoperative anxiety is common among patients undergoing medical and surgical procedures. Anxiety impacts of gastroenterological procedures on psychological and physiological responses are worth consideration. To analyze the effect of listening to Vedic chants and Indian classical instrumental music on anxiety levels and on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and oxygen saturation in patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy. A prospective, randomized controlled trial was done on 199 patients undergoing upper GI endoscopy. On arrival, their anxiety levels were assessed using state and trait scores and various physiological parameters such as HR, BP, and SpO 2 . Patients were randomly divided into three groups: Group I of 67 patients who were made to listen prerecorded Vedic chants for 10 min, Group II consisting of 66 patients who listened to Indian classical instrumental music for 10 min, and Group III of 66 controls who remained seated for same period in the same environment. Thereafter, their anxiety state scores and physiological parameters were reassessed. A significant reduction in anxiety state scores was observed in the patients in Group I (from 40.4 ± 8.9 to 38.5 ± 10.7; P < 0.05) and Group II (from 41.8 ± 9.9 to 38.0 ± 8.6; P < 0.001) while Group III controls showed no significant change in the anxiety scores. A significant decrease in systolic BP ( P < 0.001), diastolic BP ( P < 0.05), and SpO 2 ( P < 0.05 was also observed in Group II. Listening to Vedic chants and Indian classical instrumental music has beneficial effects on alleviating anxiety levels induced by apprehension of invasive procedures and can be of therapeutic use.

[Music and Glaucoma].

PubMed

Plange, N

2017-02-01

Music may have multiple influences on the human organism. A possible therapeutic effect for patients with glaucoma has been postulated, aside from the known impact of music on the cardiovascular system, psychogenic effects and a short-term improvement in mental performance (Mozart effect). The higher level of mental stress in patients with glaucoma and type-A personality behaviour may be related to higher intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma. Relaxing music may have a positive impact in these patients, related to a reduction in intraocular pressure or its fluctuations. However, only limited data exist on the effects of music on intraocular pressure. No clinical studies have yet been performed to investigate the effect of music or music therapy on glaucoma progression. The music of Mozart may influence visual field examinations, possibly due to a positive short term effect on mental performance. This factor needs to be addressed in studies dealing with the effect of music in glaucoma. The relevance of intraocular pressure increases in professional wind instrument players is controversial. An increased level of care might be advisable in patients with advanced glaucoma. The influences of music on humans, altered personality profiles in patients with glaucoma and the studies showing some effect of stress on intraocular pressure stress the relevance of psychological support for glaucoma patients, who are confronted with a disease with a high longterm risk of blindness. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Collaborating and Creating on Music Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dillon, Teresa

2003-01-01

Across all UK secondary school subject areas the proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has changed the nature of learning. Music education now includes the use of digital tools, such as programmable keyboards and computers, as key learning and music making instruments. Despite such usage there is relatively little…

Microstructure, texture, and mechanical properties of friction stir welded commercial brass alloy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heidarzadeh, A., E-mail: ak.hz62@gmail.com

Microstructural evolution during friction stir welding of single-phase brass and corresponding mechanical properties were investigated. For this purpose, 2 mm thick brass plate was friction stir welded at a rotational speed of 450 rpm and traverse speed of 100 mm/min. The microstructure of the joint was studied using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped with electron back scattered diffraction system, and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The mechanical properties were measured using hardness and tensile tests. The formation of subgrains and their transformation into new grains in conjunction with existence of A{sub 1}{sup ⁎}, A{sub 2}{sup ⁎} and C texture componentsmore » revealed that the continuous dynamic recrystallization plays a dominant role in the microstructural evolution. However, grain boundary bulging, along with the formation of twin boundaries, and presence of the G texture component showed that the discontinues dynamic recrystallization may participate in the new grain formation. Furthermore, the different strengthening mechanisms, which caused the higher strength of the joint, were discussed. - Highlights: •Microstructural evolution during FSW of a single phase brass was investigated. •CDRX and DDRX were the main mechanisms of the grain structure formation during FSW. •GDRX and SRX were not contributed in grain structure formation. •The lamellas TBs were formed in the SZ of the joints. •Grain boundary, dislocation, and texture effects resulted in higher strength.« less

Impact of Noise Reduction Algorithm in Cochlear Implant Processing on Music Enjoyment.

PubMed

Kohlberg, Gavriel D; Mancuso, Dean M; Griffin, Brianna M; Spitzer, Jaclyn B; Lalwani, Anil K

2016-06-01

Noise reduction algorithm (NRA) in speech processing strategy has positive impact on speech perception among cochlear implant (CI) listeners. We sought to evaluate the effect of NRA on music enjoyment. Prospective analysis of music enjoyment. Academic medical center. Normal-hearing (NH) adults (N = 16) and CI listeners (N = 9). Subjective rating of music excerpts. NH and CI listeners evaluated country music piece on three enjoyment modalities: pleasantness, musicality, and naturalness. Participants listened to the original version and 20 modified, less complex versions created by including subsets of musical instruments from the original song. NH participants listened to the segments through CI simulation and CI listeners listened to the segments with their usual speech processing strategy, with and without NRA. Decreasing the number of instruments was significantly associated with increase in the pleasantness and naturalness in both NH and CI subjects (p < 0.05). However, there was no difference in music enjoyment with or without NRA for either NH listeners with CI simulation or CI listeners across all three modalities of pleasantness, musicality, and naturalness (p > 0.05): this was true for the original and the modified music segments with one to three instruments (p > 0.05). NRA does not affect music enjoyment in CI listener or NH individual with CI simulation. This suggests that strategies to enhance speech processing will not necessarily have a positive impact on music enjoyment. However, reducing the complexity of music shows promise in enhancing music enjoyment and should be further explored.

Insights into the varnishes of historical musical instruments using synchrotron micro-analytical methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Echard, J.-P.; Cotte, M.; Dooryhee, E.; Bertrand, L.

2008-07-01

Though ancient violins and other stringed instruments are often revered for the beauty of their varnishes, the varnishing techniques are not much known. In particular, very few detailed varnish analyses have been published so far. Since 2002, a research program at the Musée de la musique (Paris) is dedicated to a detailed description of varnishes on famous ancient musical instruments using a series of novel analytical methods. For the first time, results are presented on the study of the varnish from a late 16th century Venetian lute, using synchrotron micro-analytical methods. Identification of both organic and inorganic compounds distributed within the individual layers of a varnish microsample has been performed using spatially resolved synchrotron Fourier transform infrared microscopy. The univocal identification of the mineral phases is obtained through synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction. The materials identified may be of utmost importance to understand the varnishing process and its similarities with some painting techniques. In particular, the proteinaceous binding medium and the calcium sulfate components (bassanite and anhydrite) that have been identified in the lower layers of the varnish microsample could be related, to a certain extent, to the ground materials of earlier Italian paintings.

The Band Effect—Physically Strenuous Music Making Increases Esthetic Appreciation of Music

PubMed Central

Fritz, Thomas H.; Schneider, Lydia; Villringer, Arno

2016-01-01

The esthetic appreciation of music is strongly influenced by cultural background and personal taste. One would expect that this would complicate the utilizability of musical feedback in paradigms, such that music would only be perceived as a reward if it complies to personal esthetic appreciation. Here we report data where we assessed esthetic appreciation of music after 1. a physically strenuous music improvisation and 2. after passive music listening (where participants esthetically assessed similar music). Data are reported from two experiments with different patient groups: 1. Drug abuse patients, and 2. Chronic pain patients. Participants in both experiments performed Jymmin, a music feedback method where exercise equipment is modified in such a way that it can be played like musical instruments by modulating musical parameters in a composition software. This combines physical exertion with musical performance in a fashion that has previously been shown to have a number of positive psychological effects such as enhanced mood and reduced perceived exertion. In both experiments esthetic appreciation of musical presentations during Jymmin and a control condition without musical agency were compared. Data show that both patient groups perceived the musical outcome of their own performance as more esthetically pleasing than similar music they listened to passively. This suggests that the act of making music (when combined with physical exertion) is associated with a positivity bias about the perceived esthetical quality of the musical outcome. The outcome of personal musical agency thus tends to be perceived as rewarding even if it does not comply with personal esthetic appreciation. This suggests that musical feedback interventions may not always have to be highly individualized because individual taste may not always be crucial. The results also suggest that the method applied here may be efficient at encouraging music listeners to actively explore new musical

New paradigms for musical control-A decade of development at the MIT Media Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paradiso, Joseph A.

2004-05-01

As electronic musical instruments liberate the action and energy of control from physical sound production, they are free to mutate into many different forms-the constraints on instrument design have shifted from physics to ergonomics, applications, and aesthetics. Low-cost sensors enable stimuli of all types to act as input, and with a computer interposed between action and sound production, essentially any sonic or musical dynamic can be mapped onto any gesture or activity with an increasingly high degree of interpretation or ``mapping,'' Accordingly, the notion of a musical instrument is being redefined, and as possibilities broaden, some researchers and artists are striving to break boundaries while others work to quantify and understand expanded metrics for musical interaction. Over the past decade, the author and his colleagues have adapted a wealth of sensor technologies and developed many interaction paradigms to scratch away at the evolving frontier of electronic musical instruments [J. Paradiso, ``Electronic music interfaces: new ways to play,'' IEEE Spectrum 34(12), 18-30 (1997)]. This presentation will review the status of electronic music controllers, provide a snapshot of current issues that the field is facing, and present various examples of new musical interfaces developed at the MIT Media Lab.

POLOCAM: a millimeter wavelength cryogenic polarimeter prototype for MUSIC-POL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laurent, Glenn T.; Vaillancourt, John E.; Savini, Giorgio; Ade, Peter A. R.; Beland, Stephane; Glenn, Jason; Hollister, Matthew I.; Maloney, Philip R.; Sayers, Jack

2012-09-01

As a proof-of-concept, we have constructed and tested a cryogenic polarimeter in the laboratory as a prototype for the MUSIC instrument (Multiwavelength Sub/millimeter Kinetic Inductance Camera). The POLOCAM instrument consists of a rotating cryogenic polarization modulator (sapphire half-waveplate) and polarization analyzer (lithographed copper polarizers deposited on a thin film) placed into the optical path at the Lyot stop (4K cold pupil stop) in a cryogenic dewar. We present an overview of the project, design and performance results of the POLOCAM instrument (including polarization efficiencies and instrumental polarization), as well as future application to the MUSIC-POL instrument.

Self-Regulation Competence in Music Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ludovico, Luca Andrea; Mangione, Giuseppina Rita

2014-01-01

This work starts from a systematic review about music education and self-regulation during learning processes. Then the paper identifies those meta-cognitive strategies that music students should adopt during their instrumental practice. The goal is applying such concepts in order to rethink the structure of a didactic e-book for instrumental…

Apprehensive and Excited: Music Education Students' Experience Vernacular Musicianship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isbell, Daniel S.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine music education students' experiences (N = 64) in courses designed to develop vernacular musicianship and expand understandings of informal music making. Students participated in one of two classes (undergraduate/graduate), formed their own small ensembles, chose their own music and instruments, led their…

Music preferences of mechanically ventilated patients participating in a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Heiderscheit, Annie; Breckenridge, Stephanie J; Chlan, Linda L; Savik, Kay

2014-01-01

Mechanical ventilation (MV) is a life-saving measure and supportive modality utilized to treat patients experiencing respiratory failure. Patients experience pain, discomfort, and anxiety as a result of being mechanically ventilated. Music listening is a non-pharmacological intervention used to manage these psychophysiological symptoms associated with mechanical ventilation. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to examine music preferences of 107 MV patients enrolled in a randomized clinical trial that implemented a patient-directed music listening protocol to help manage the psychophysiological symptom of anxiety. Music data presented includes the music genres and instrumentation patients identified as their preferred music. Genres preferred include: classical, jazz, rock, country, and oldies. Instrumentation preferred include: piano, voice, guitar, music with nature sounds, and orchestral music. Analysis of three patients' preferred music received throughout the course of the study is illustrated to demonstrate the complexity of assessing MV patients and the need for an ongoing assessment process.

Music preferences of mechanically ventilated patients participating in a randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

Heiderscheit, Annie; Breckenridge, Stephanie J.; Chlan, Linda L.; Savik, Kay

2014-01-01

Mechanical ventilation (MV) is a life-saving measure and supportive modality utilized to treat patients experiencing respiratory failure. Patients experience pain, discomfort, and anxiety as a result of being mechanically ventilated. Music listening is a non-pharmacological intervention used to manage these psychophysiological symptoms associated with mechanical ventilation. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to examine music preferences of 107 MV patients enrolled in a randomized clinical trial that implemented a patient-directed music listening protocol to help manage the psychophysiological symptom of anxiety. Music data presented includes the music genres and instrumentation patients identified as their preferred music. Genres preferred include: classical, jazz, rock, country, and oldies. Instrumentation preferred include: piano, voice, guitar, music with nature sounds, and orchestral music. Analysis of three patients’ preferred music received throughout the course of the study is illustrated to demonstrate the complexity of assessing MV patients and the need for an ongoing assessment process. PMID:25574992

Music Facilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ontario Dept. of Education, Toronto. School Planning and Building Research Section.

The layouts and specifications in this booklet are intended to assist those involved in planning music facilities for elementary and secondary schools. Drawings, room plans, and text illustrate specifications for location; space relationship; combined and separate instrumental and vocal rooms; practice rooms; and auxiliary areas. Particular…

The effects of therapeutic instrumental music performance on endurance level, self-perceived fatigue level, and self-perceived exertion of inpatients in physical rehabilitation.

PubMed

Lim, Hayoung A; Miller, Karen; Fabian, Chuck

2011-01-01

The present study investigated the effects of a Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) sensory-motor rehabilitation technique, Therapeutic Instrumental Music Performance (TIMP) as compared to Traditional Occupational Therapy (TOT), on endurance, self-perceived fatigue, and self-perceived exertion of 35 hospitalized patients in physical rehabilitation. The present study attempted to examine whether an active musical experience such as TIMP with musical cueing (i.e., rhythmic auditory cueing) during physical exercises influences one's perception of pain, fatigue, and exertion. All participants were diagnosed with a neurologic disorder or had recently undergone orthopedic surgery. Investigators measured the effects of TOT and TIMP during upper extremity exercise of the less affected or stronger upper extremity. Results showed no significant difference on endurance measures between the 2 treatment conditions (TIMP and TOT). Statistically significant differences were found between TIMP and TOT when measuring their effects on perceived exertion and perceived fatigue. TIMP resulted in significantly less perception of fatigue and exertion levels than TOT. TIMP can be used foran effective sensory-motor rehabilitation technique to decrease perceived exertion and fatigue level of inpatients in physical rehabilitation.

Effects of Music Listening on Cortisol Levels and Propofol Consumption during Spinal Anesthesia

PubMed Central

Koelsch, Stefan; Fuermetz, Julian; Sack, Ulrich; Bauer, Katrin; Hohenadel, Maximilian; Wiegel, Martin; Kaisers, Udo X.; Heinke, Wolfgang

2011-01-01

Background: This study explores effects of instrumental music on the hormonal system (as indicated by serum cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone), the immune system (as indicated by immunoglobulin A) and sedative drug requirements during surgery (elective total hip joint replacement under spinal anesthesia with light sedation). This is the first study investigating this issue with a double-blind design using instrumental music. Methodology/Principal Findings: Patients (n = 40) were randomly assigned either to a music group (listening to instrumental music), or to a control group (listening to a non-musical placebo stimulus). Both groups listened to the auditory stimulus about 2 h before, and during the entire intra-operative period (during the intra-operative light sedation, subjects were able to respond lethargically to verbal commands). Results indicate that, during surgery, patients of the music group had a lower propofol consumption, and lower cortisol levels, compared to the control group. Conclusion/Significance: Our data show that listening to music during surgery under regional anesthesia has effects on cortisol levels (reflecting stress-reducing effects) and reduces sedative requirements to reach light sedation. PMID:21716581

Effects of Style, Tempo, and Performing Medium on Children's Music Preference.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LeBlanc, Albert

1981-01-01

Fifth-graders listened to a tape incorporating fast and slow vocal and instrumental excerpts within the generic styles of rock/pop, country, older jazz, newer jazz, art music, and band music. A preference hierarchy emerged favoring the popular styles. Across pooled styles, faster tempos and instrumentals were slightly preferred. (Author/SJL)

Choice and Effects of Instrument Sound in Aural Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loh, Christian Sebastian

2007-01-01

A musical note produced through the vibration of a single string is psychoacoustically simpler/purer than that produced via multiple-strings vibration. Does the psychoacoustics of instrument sound have any effect on learning outcomes in music instruction? This study investigated the effect of two psychoacoustically distinct instrument sounds on…

Inactivation of Escherichia coli and coliform bacteria in traditional brass and earthernware water storage vessels.

PubMed

Tandon, Puja; Chhibber, Sanjay; Reed, Robert H

2005-07-01

The detection and enumeration of indicator bacteria such as Escherichia coli is used to assess the extent of faecal contamination of drinking water. On the basis of this approach, the effectiveness of storing water contaminated with faecal indicator bacteria in brass or earthern vessels (mutkas) of the type used in rural India have been investigated. Suspensions of bacteria in sterile distilled water were maintained for up to 48 h in each vessel and enumerated by surface plate counts on nutrient agar (non-selective) and several selective coliform media at 37 degrees C either under standard aerobic conditions, or under conditions designed to neutralise reactive oxygen species (ROS), e.g. using an anaerobic cabinet to prepare plates of pre-reduced growth medium or by inclusion of sodium pyruvate in the growth medium, with incubation of aerobically-prepared plates in an anaerobic jar. The counts obtained for E. coli decreased on short-term storage in a brass mutka; counts for selective media were lower than for equivalent counts for non-selective medium, with ROS-neutralised conditions giving consistently higher counts than aerobic incubation. However, after 48 h, no bacteria were cultivable under any conditions. Similar results were obtained using water from environmental sources in the Panjab, and from rural households where brass and earthern mutkas are used for storage of drinking water, with enumeration on selective coliform media (presumptive total coliforms). In all cases results indicated that, while storage of water in a brass mutka can inactivate E. coli and coliforms over a 48 h period, standard aerobic plate counting using selective media may not be fully effective in enumerating sub-lethally damaged bacteria.

Organists and organ music composers.

PubMed

Foerch, Christian; Hennerici, Michael G

2015-01-01

Clinical case reports of patients with exceptional musical talent and education provide clues as to how the brain processes musical ability and aptitude. In this chapter, selected examples from famous and unknown organ players/composers are presented to demonstrate the complexity of modified musical performances as well as the capacities of the brain to preserve artistic abilities: both authors are active organists and academic neurologists with strong clinical experience, practice, and knowledge about the challenges to play such an outstanding instrument and share their interest to explore potentially instrument-related phenomena of brain modulation in specific transient or permanent impairments. We concentrate on the sites of lesions, suggested pathophysiology, separate positive (e.g., seizures, visual or auditory hallucinations, or synesthesia [an involuntary perception produced by stimulation of another sense]) and negative phenomena (e.g., amusia, aphasia, neglect, or sensory-motor deficits) and particularly address aspects of recent concepts of temporary and permanent network disorders. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Temporal modulations in speech and music.

PubMed

Ding, Nai; Patel, Aniruddh D; Chen, Lin; Butler, Henry; Luo, Cheng; Poeppel, David

2017-10-01

Speech and music have structured rhythms. Here we discuss a major acoustic correlate of spoken and musical rhythms, the slow (0.25-32Hz) temporal modulations in sound intensity and compare the modulation properties of speech and music. We analyze these modulations using over 25h of speech and over 39h of recordings of Western music. We show that the speech modulation spectrum is highly consistent across 9 languages (including languages with typologically different rhythmic characteristics). A different, but similarly consistent modulation spectrum is observed for music, including classical music played by single instruments of different types, symphonic, jazz, and rock. The temporal modulations of speech and music show broad but well-separated peaks around 5 and 2Hz, respectively. These acoustically dominant time scales may be intrinsic features of speech and music, a possibility which should be investigated using more culturally diverse samples in each domain. Distinct modulation timescales for speech and music could facilitate their perceptual analysis and its neural processing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effect of Some Key Changes in the Chemistry of Water in Relation to Copper and Brass Corrosion Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorovei, M. C.; Benea, L.

2018-06-01

Corrosion means the degradation of the metals or their alloys, under the action of chemical or electrochemical agents from the environment. The complex corrosion phenomenon has a destructive action, generating undesirable economic consequences: metals and labor losses, appreciable reduction in the lifetime of various metal constructions, insecurity in the operation of industrial machinery. Under the current conditions of accelerated growth in the production of material goods, one of the most important issues is the economy of raw materials and materials, energy and labor force. Copper, having a purity of over 99%, is used in the manufacture of gas and water pipes, roofing materials, utensils and ornamental objects. Brass is used in the manufacture of flexible tubes, pipes, coils, cartridges, various electrochemical parts, jewelry, etc. The aim of this research work was to evaluate the corrosion resistance of copper and brass in various solutions: with different chloride ions as 35 g/L NaCl, waste water and tap water. The corrosion behavior of copper and brass was analyzed by electrochemical methods, such as: open circuit potential (OCP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Pure copper exhibits more noble potential values than its alloy (brass), according to the evolution of free potential in all tested solutions. After performing the electrochemical assays, ex-situ investigations, by optical microscopy, were made and the results confirm that the chloride ions affect the corrosion behavior of copper and brass. Corrosion of materials is a very important process to consider when choosing a material that has to operate in a specific environment.

Assessing Musical Abilities Objectively: Construction and Validation of the Profile of Music Perception Skills

PubMed Central

Law, Lily N. C.; Zentner, Marcel

2012-01-01

A common approach for determining musical competence is to rely on information about individuals’ extent of musical training, but relying on musicianship status fails to identify musically untrained individuals with musical skill, as well as those who, despite extensive musical training, may not be as skilled. To counteract this limitation, we developed a new test battery (Profile of Music Perception Skills; PROMS) that measures perceptual musical skills across multiple domains: tonal (melody, pitch), qualitative (timbre, tuning), temporal (rhythm, rhythm-to-melody, accent, tempo), and dynamic (loudness). The PROMS has satisfactory psychometric properties for the composite score (internal consistency and test-retest r>.85) and fair to good coefficients for the individual subtests (.56 to.85). Convergent validity was established with the relevant dimensions of Gordon’s Advanced Measures of Music Audiation and Musical Aptitude Profile (melody, rhythm, tempo), the Musical Ear Test (rhythm), and sample instrumental sounds (timbre). Criterion validity was evidenced by consistently sizeable and significant relationships between test performance and external musical proficiency indicators in all three studies (.38 to.62, p<.05 to p<.01). An absence of correlations between test scores and a nonmusical auditory discrimination task supports the battery’s discriminant validity (−.05, ns). The interrelationships among the various subtests could be accounted for by two higher order factors, sequential and sensory music processing. A brief version of the full PROMS is introduced as a time-efficient approximation of the full version of the battery. PMID:23285071

Critical behavior of the order-disorder phase transition in β -brass investigated by x-ray scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madsen, A.; Als-Nielsen, J.; Hallmann, J.; Roth, T.; Lu, W.

2016-07-01

β -brass exhibits an archetypical example of an order-disorder transition with a critical behavior that was previously investigated by neutron scattering. The data were well described by the three-dimensional (3d) Ising model but the relatively crude experimental resolution prevented an in-depth examination of the single-length scaling hypothesis, a cornerstone in the theory of critical phenomena. With the development of synchrotron x-ray experiments, high-resolution data could be recorded and surprisingly it was found that the single-length scaling did not hold in most critical systems, possibly due to strain originating from surface defects and/or impurities. In this paper we demonstrate single-length critical behavior using high-resolution x-ray scattering in β -brass. The investigations confirm that β -brass behaves like a 3d Ising system over a wide range of length scales comprising correlated clusters of millions of atoms. To vary the surface sensitivity, experiments have been performed both in Bragg reflection and Laue transmission geometries but without any substantial differences observed in the scaling and critical behavior.

Now Hear This: Using Recorded Models in the Instrumental Music Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaffin, Charles R.

2011-01-01

Most teachers agree that a demonstration can be more effective than a verbal description. Math teachers model multiplication exercises, and physical education teachers model how to throw a ball. Likewise, music teachers model correct embouchure. Modeling can help students understand music concepts that are difficult to explain verbally, and visual…

By the Book: An Annotated Bibliography of Music-Based Picture Books.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sotherden, Emily

2002-01-01

Provides an annotated bibliography of music related picture books that can be used in the music classroom. Discusses the benefits of using picture books for all ages. Includes books in ten categories, such as instruments, ensembles, and styles of music. (CMK)

MUSIC TEMPO'S EFFECT ON EXERCISE PERFORMANCE: COMMENT ON DYER AND McKUNE.

PubMed

Nakamura, Priscila Missaki

2015-06-01

Dyer and McKune (2013) stated that music tempo has no influence on performance, physiological, and psychophysical variables in well-trained cyclists during high intensity endurance tasks. However, there are important limitations in the methodology of the study. The participants' music preferences and tempo change were not well measured. It is not possible to affirm that music tempo does not influence athletes' performance. Potential areas of future research include: (a) use of instruments to assess the qualities of music; (b) standardizing music of tempo according to exercise type (e.g., running, cycling, etc.); (c) considering training level of the participants (i.e., athletes and non-athletes); and (d) use of instruments to assess concentration during exercise.

An Attitude Scale on Individual Instrument and Individual Instrument Course: Validity-Reliability Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuçukosmanoglu, Hayrettin Onur

2015-01-01

The main purpose of this study is to develop a scale to determine students' attitude levels on individual instruments and individual instrument courses in instrument training, which is an important dimension of music education, and to conduct a validity-reliability research of the scale that has been developed. The scale consists of 16 items. The…

[Music therapy on Parkinson disease].

PubMed

Côrte, Beltrina; Lodovici Neto, Pedro

2009-01-01

This study is a result of a qualitative research, in the Gerontology and Music therapy scenario. It was analyzed the importance of alternative practices like playing an instrument (piano, violin, etc.), singing, or practicing a guided musical exercise as a therapy activity for elder people with Parkinson Disease. The analysis, systematization and interpretation of the data pointed: music therapy is an excellent way to improve the life of the patient that becomes more sociable, decreasing physical and psychological symptoms ('symptomatology') and the subject change for a singular and own position in the relation with your disease and the people around.

Musical learning in children and adults with Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Lense, M; Dykens, E

2013-09-01

There is recent interest in using music making as an empirically supported intervention for various neurodevelopmental disorders due to music's engagement of perceptual-motor mapping processes. However, little is known about music learning in populations with developmental disabilities. Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental genetic disorder whose characteristic auditory strengths and visual-spatial weaknesses map onto the processes used to learn to play a musical instrument. We identified correlates of novel musical instrument learning in WS by teaching 46 children and adults (7-49 years) with WS to play the Appalachian dulcimer. Obtained dulcimer skill was associated with prior musical abilities (r = 0.634, P < 0.001) and visual-motor integration abilities (r = 0.487, P = 0.001), but not age, gender, IQ, handedness, auditory sensitivities or musical interest/emotionality. Use of auditory learning strategies, but not visual or instructional strategies, predicted greater dulcimer skill beyond individual musical and visual-motor integration abilities (β = 0.285, sr(2) = 0.06, P = 0.019). These findings map onto behavioural and emerging neural evidence for greater auditory-motor mapping processes in WS. Results suggest that explicit awareness of task-specific learning approaches is important when learning a new skill. Implications for using music with populations with syndrome-specific strengths and weakness will be discussed. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, MENCAP & IASSID.

Rap-Music Attitude and Perception Scale: A Validation Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyson, Edgar H.

2006-01-01

Objective: This study tests the validity of the Rap-music Attitude and Perception (RAP) Scale, a 1-page, 24-item measure of a person's thoughts and feelings surrounding the effects and content of rap music. The RAP was designed as a rapid assessment instrument for youth programs and practitioners using rap music and hip hop culture in their work…

Multicultural Music Instruction in the Elementary School: What Can Be Achieved?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Kay L.

1998-01-01

Investigates fourth-grade students' achievement following a model unit on American Indian music that utilized four different instructional approaches. Suggests implications for instruction with American Indian music regarding instructional approach, authenticity of instrument materials, learning from a native guest artist, and music teacher…

Music-based interventions in neurological rehabilitation.

PubMed

Sihvonen, Aleksi J; Särkämö, Teppo; Leo, Vera; Tervaniemi, Mari; Altenmüller, Eckart; Soinila, Seppo

2017-08-01

During the past ten years, an increasing number of controlled studies have assessed the potential rehabilitative effects of music-based interventions, such as music listening, singing, or playing an instrument, in several neurological diseases. Although the number of studies and extent of available evidence is greatest in stroke and dementia, there is also evidence for the effects of music-based interventions on supporting cognition, motor function, or emotional wellbeing in people with Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, or multiple sclerosis. Music-based interventions can affect divergent functions such as motor performance, speech, or cognition in these patient groups. However, the psychological effects and neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effects of music interventions are likely to share common neural systems for reward, arousal, affect regulation, learning, and activity-driven plasticity. Although further controlled studies are needed to establish the efficacy of music in neurological recovery, music-based interventions are emerging as promising rehabilitation strategies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gaining Insight into Cultural Geography through the Study of Musical Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khalil, Alexander K.

2010-01-01

At present, the need for an understanding of both physical and cultural geography is increasingly urgent in America's schools. The present study explores using music as focus for the exploration of geography. Not only is music strongly linked to culture and environment but also its study provides an experiential understanding of a given culture in…

Making Simple Folk Instruments for Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cline, Dallas

1980-01-01

Instructions are provided for making these simple musical instruments from inexpensive materials: an Indian bull-roarer; bottle chimes; a ham can guitar; flower pot, box, and steel drums; a xylophone; a musical sawhorse; rattles; a melody box; and a box thumb harp. (SJL)

Music therapy assessment for severely emotionally disturbed children: a pilot study.

PubMed

Layman, Deborah L; Hussey, David L; Laing, Sarah J

2002-01-01

The purpose of this study was to pilot a music therapy assessment instrument for severely emotionally disturbed children. The subjects in this pilot were 20 children, 13 male and 7 female, at a residential treatment center in Cleveland, Ohio. After conducting an extensive literature review, the authors developed a music therapy assessment instrument measuring 4 relevant domains: behavioral/social functioning, emotional responsiveness, language/communication abilities, and music skills. Responses were coded into 3 categories: defensive/withdrawn, target behavior, and disruptive/intrusive. Results demonstrated that subjects displayed significantly more behaviors in the disruptive/intrusive domain. High inter-rater reliability scores of 91.5% for percent agreement and .808 for Cohen's kappa were achieved utilizing this assessment instrument.

Music Instruction and the Reading Achievement of Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huber, Juanita J.

2010-01-01

Comparative analysis examined responses on a descriptive questionnaire from 267 students in grades 6, 7, and 8. The study compared duration of and participation in music instruction, types of musical instruments learned, and experience in musical ensembles to scores from the state English language arts assessment. Analysis of results included…

Combat Service Support Model Development: BRASS - TRANSLOG - Army 21

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-07-01

throughout’the system. Transitional problems may address specific hardware and related software , such as the Standard Army Ammunition System ( SAAS ...FILE. 00 Cabat Service Support Model Development .,PASS TRANSLOG -- ARMY 21 0 Contract Number DAAK11-84-D-0004 Task Order #1 DRAFT REPOkT July 1984 D...Armament Systems, Inc. 211 West Bel Air Avenue P.O. Box 158 Aberdeen, MD 21001 8 8 8 2 1 S CORMIT SERVICE SUPPORT MODEL DEVELOPMENT BRASS -- TRANSLOG

Enhancement of numeric cognition in children with low achievement in mathematic after a non-instrumental musical training.

PubMed

Ribeiro, Fabiana Silva; Santos, Flávia H

2017-03-01

Studies suggest that musical training enhances spatial-temporal reasoning and leads to greater learning of mathematical concepts. The aim of this prospective study was to verify the efficacy of a Non-Instrumental Musical Training (NIMT) on the Numerical Cognition systems in children with low achievement in math. For this purpose, we examined, with a cluster analysis, whether children with low scores on Numerical Cognition would be grouped in the same cluster at pre and post-NIMT. Participants were primary school children divided into two groups according to their scores on an Arithmetic test. Results with a specialized battery of Numerical Cognition revealed improvements for Cluster 2 (children with low achievement in math) especially for number production capacity compared to normative data. Besides, the number of children with low scores in Numerical Cognition decreased at post-NIMT. These findings suggest that NIMT enhances Numerical Cognition and seems to be a useful tool for rehabilitation of children with low achievement in math. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learning How to Be a Research-Minded Teacher: Four Instrumental Music Education Students Investigate Good Music Teaching through Case Study Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sindberg, Laura K.

2016-01-01

Increasing evidence, both in general education and music education, points to the significance of inquiry as a part of teacher preparation. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the ways in which an introductory research project would help preservice music educators understand good "music teaching" and to discover the extent…

CREATIVE MUSIC EDUCATION. ORIGINAL COMPOSITION BY STUDENTS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MATHES, BERNADINE; AND OTHERS

THE GROWTH AND SUCCESS OF AN ORIGINAL COMPOSITION PROJECT DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE CREATIVE WORK IN MUSIC ARE DESCRIBED. THE MAJOR PURPOSE, BEYOND THE COMPOSITION OF SONGS OR INSTRUMENTAL WORKS, WAS THE IMPROVEMENT AND GROWTH OF THE STUDENT SOCIALLY, INTELLECTUALLY, AND CULTURALLY AS WELL AS MUSICALLY. MORE THAN 2,000 STUDENTS PARTICIPATED BY…

DISCO: An object-oriented system for music composition and sound design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kaper, H. G.; Tipei, S.; Wright, J. M.

2000-09-05

This paper describes an object-oriented approach to music composition and sound design. The approach unifies the processes of music making and instrument building by using similar logic, objects, and procedures. The composition modules use an abstract representation of musical data, which can be easily mapped onto different synthesis languages or a traditionally notated score. An abstract base class is used to derive classes on different time scales. Objects can be related to act across time scales, as well as across an entire piece, and relationships between similar objects can replicate traditional music operations or introduce new ones. The DISCO (Digitalmore » Instrument for Sonification and Composition) system is an open-ended work in progress.« less

Let physics substantiate music and music enhance physics- give principle to the other disciplines.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Hui-Yiing

2006-03-01

A conventional practice in K-12 education is to synchronize the arts and the sciences. Physics, traditionally been considered the mother of the sciences, and music, the mother of the arts, are interdependent and help to establishing a complete understanding of the other disciplines. Intense musical expression is attained when progression aims towards infinity. Motions are made in curves across time, imitating physical phenomena. The meaning of each element is enhanced according to the relative duration and dynamics of its context. Complete musical expression considers the three dimensions of space- length, breadth and height- and the three dimensions of time- past, present and future when balancing the instrumental parts and developing the structural elements. Overall, equilibrium is sought for like gravitational forces as expressed in equations. In learning processes, sensing precedes reasoning. Music attunes one to sensitive reactions towards the environment while physics substantiates the concepts by imposing a hierarchical order, the highest form of which is elegantly beautiful and most effectively expressed in music.

The Influence of Distracting Familiar Vocal Music on Cognitive Performance of Introverts and Extraverts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Avila, Christina; Furnham, Adrian; McClelland, Alastair

2012-01-01

This study investigates the effect of familiar musical distractors on the cognitive performance of introverts and extraverts. Participants completed a verbal, numerical and logic test in three music conditions: vocal music, instrumental music and silence. It was predicted that introverts would perform worse with vocal music, better with…

Benefits of music training are widespread and lifelong: a bibliographic review of their non-musical effects.

PubMed

Dawson, William J

2014-06-01

Recent publications indicate that musical training has effects on non-musical activities, some of which are lifelong. This study reviews recent publications collected from the Performing Arts Medicine Association bibliography. Music training, whether instrumental or vocal, produces beneficial and long-lasting changes in brain anatomy and function. Anatomic changes occur in brain areas devoted to hearing, speech, hand movements, and coordination between both sides of the brain. Functional benefits include improved sound processing and motor skills, especially in the upper extremities. Training benefits extend beyond music skills, resulting in higher IQs and school grades, greater specialized sensory and auditory memory/recall, better language memory and processing, heightened bilateral hand motor functioning, and improved integration and synchronization of sensory and motor functions. These changes last long after music training ends and can minimize or prevent age-related loss of brain cells and some mental functions. Early institution of music training and prolonged duration of training both appear to contribute to these positive changes.

Comparison of secondary neutron dose in proton therapy resulting from the use of a tungsten alloy MLC or a brass collimator system.

PubMed

Diffenderfer, Eric S; Ainsley, Christopher G; Kirk, Maura L; McDonough, James E; Maughan, Richard L

2011-11-01

To apply the dual ionization chamber method for mixed radiation fields to an accurate comparison of the secondary neutron dose arising from the use of a tungsten alloy multileaf collimator (MLC) as opposed to a brass collimator system for defining the shape of a therapeutic proton field. Hydrogenous and nonhydrogenous ionization chambers were constructed with large volumes to enable measurements of absorbed doses below 10(-4) Gy in mixed radiation fields using the dual ionization chamber method for mixed-field dosimetry. Neutron dose measurements were made with a nominal 230 MeV proton beam incident on a closed tungsten alloy MLC and a solid brass block. The chambers were cross-calibrated against a (60)Co-calibrated Farmer chamber in water using a 6 MV x-ray beam and Monte Carlo simulations were performed to account for variations in ionization chamber response due to differences in secondary neutron energy spectra. The neutron and combined proton plus γ-ray absorbed doses are shown to be nearly equivalent downstream from either a closed tungsten alloy MLC or a solid brass block. At 10 cm downstream from the distal edge of the collimating material the neutron dose from the closed MLC was (5.3 ± 0.4) × 10(- 5) Gy/Gy. The neutron dose with brass was (6.4 ± 0.7) × 10(- 5) Gy/Gy. Further from the secondary neutron source, at 50 cm, the neutron doses remain close for both the MLC and brass block at (6.9 ± 0.6) × 10(- 6) Gy/Gy and (6.3 ± 0.7) × 10(- 6) Gy/Gy, respectively. The dual ionization chamber method is suitable for measuring secondary neutron doses resulting from proton irradiation. The results of measurements downstream from a closed tungsten alloy MLC and a brass block indicate that, even in an overly pessimistic worst-case scenario, secondary neutron production in a tungsten alloy MLC leads to absorbed doses that are nearly equivalent to those seen from brass collimators. Therefore, the choice of tungsten alloy

Keyboard Laboratory, Course Number: Music: 5633.32

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pomerko, Doris; And Others

A course in introduction to music emphasizing modes and forms is presented. A laboratory approach in which pupils are to develop skill in playing keyboard instruments, sing, listen to, read and compose music with emphasis on identification of elementary concepts of mode and form is used. Course objectives include: (1) The student will select the…

Uprighting Bilateral Impacted Mandibular Permanent Second Molars with the Brass Wire Technique: A Case Report.

PubMed

Perdigão, João Paulo Veloso; Lustosa, Romulo Maciel; Tolentino, Elen de Souza; Iwaki Filho, Liogi; Iwaki, Lilian Cristina Vessoni

2016-01-01

Revalence of impaction of mandibular permanent second molars is between 0.06 and 2.3 percent. In order to reduce treatment time and complications associated with tooth impaction, intervention should take place once the problem is detected. The usual treatment options consists of surgical exposure, luxation of the impacted tooth, extraction of adjacent third molar, orthodontic treatment, and uprighting with brass wires or mini-screws. The present paper reports a case of bilateral impaction of mandibular permanent second molars ' (MM2s) treated with extraction of the mandibular third molars (MM3s) and surgical-orthodontic uprighting with the brass wire technique. The MM3s were removed, and the impacted MM2s were surgically exposed. Brass wire was placed apicaly to the mesial of the MM2 from the lingual tissue out toward the buccal. The lingual end of the wire was bent over the area of contact and twisted with the buccal end Monthly wire tightening gradually moved the MM2s distally and towards the occlusal plane. Uprighting was achieved in 4-5 months, with discrete pain caused by activation of the wire. This technique proved to be a simple, low-cost, and quick treatment option for uprighting impacted mandibular permanent second molars.

The Relation of Culture and Musical Play: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soccio, Alison

2013-01-01

Children express the cultures they bring into the classrooms through musical play. When children are left to their own devices they dance, create songs, and play instruments. Campbell emphasizes how children are immersed in musical activity throughout the entirety of their day; they use music for self-expression, to interact with others, and to…

The sound of friction: Real-time models, playability and musical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serafin, Stefania

Friction, the tangential force between objects in contact, in most engineering applications needs to be removed as a source of noise and instabilities. In musical applications, friction is a desirable component, being the sound production mechanism of different musical instruments such as bowed strings, musical saws, rubbed bowls and any other sonority produced by interactions between rubbed dry surfaces. The goal of the dissertation is to simulate different instrument whose main excitation mechanism is friction. An efficient yet accurate model of a bowed string instrument, which combines the latest results in violin acoustics with the efficient digital waveguide approach, is provided. In particular, the bowed string physical model proposed uses a thermodynamic friction model in which the finite width of the bow is taken into account; this solution is compared to the recently developed elasto-plastic friction models used in haptics and robotics. Different solutions are also proposed to model the body of the instrument. Other less common instruments driven by friction are also proposed, and the elasto-plastic model is used to provide audio-visual simulations of everyday friction sounds such as squeaking doors and rubbed wine glasses. Finally, playability evaluations and musical applications in which the models have been used are discussed.

Foundation, Organization, and Purpose of the National Consortium for Computer-Based Musical Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hofstetter, Fred T.

1976-01-01

This paper begins with a look at the present state of computer applications to music education. Instructional systems for instrumental music, music fundamentals, ear-training, set theory, composition, analysis, information retrieval, automated music printing and computer-managed instruction are discussed. The functions of the NCCBMI are described.…

Describing Preservice Instrumental Music Educators' Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Millican, J. Si

2016-01-01

In this descriptive study, I investigated the pedagogical content knowledge of 206 undergraduate music education students by presenting video recordings of beginning band students playing excerpts from their class method books. I asked these preservice educators to identify performance problems and offer potential solutions to the causes of those…

Music and Careers for the Junior High Student.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Bruce

The curriculum guide describes an exemplary project designed to provide junior high school students with an opportunity to explore careers related to the world of music. The units present objectives, activities, and resources related to the following occupations: pop music artist, professional musician (union), instrumental and vocal music…

Using the Musical Score to Perform: A Study with Spanish Flute Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marin, Cristina; Echeverria, Ma Puy Perez; Hallam, Susan

2012-01-01

Musical scores constitute a key element in the development of expertise in musicians from western tonal traditions, since they act as a mediator between the performer and the music itself. Our aim was to study the role of musical scores in instrumental performance practice by analysing the process of learning a new piece of music, as well as the…

The stringing of Italian keyboard instruments c.1500- c.1650. Part One: Discussion and bibliography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wraight, Ralph Denzil

1997-12-01

The problem of deciding which stringing materials were used on Italian string keyboard instruments is approached in two ways, by examination of documentary evidence and through the evidence of the instruments. Information on 748 instruments is presented in a catalogue which examines and describes the original condition. 89 new attributions of instruments are presented. From this comprehensive pool of information on the compasses and string lengths of the instruments made it is argued that previous authors worked with too little information to enable accurate conclusions to be drawn. Documentary evidence alone is held to be inconclusive in showing which string material was used for particular instruments at specific periods, and not as useful as argued by some previous authors. The scaling design of instruments is considered and conclusions are advanced that most virginals were designed to be strung with iron wire. It is also argued that most 16th-century harpsichords were intended to be strung with iron wire. A change to brass- scaled designs took place from about 1600-1650, and this also coincided with a loss of popularity of designs employing a 4' stop. The orientation of the first and last notes of Italian compasses on c and f notes is argued to be a consequence of music theory and not a sure indication of pitch level. There were some 16th-century harpsichords made for a pitch a fourth lower than other 8' instruments, but it is argued that there were not two groups a fourth apart in pitch. The string lengths used in the cities of Venice, Florence, Rome, Milan, and Naples are listed and show that a normal 8' range covering a whole tone was in use in all areas at various times. The evidence of the string lengths suggests that instrument makers organised the pitches of instruments into 1/3 tone steps, a scheme which may be related to the apparent use of a 1/3 comma meantone tuning system in an organ of 1494 and clavichord of 1543, before it was described in print

A comparison of music education and music therapy majors: personality types as described by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and demographic profiles.

PubMed

Steele, Anita Louise; Young, Sylvester

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop both personality and demographic profiles for students who are interested in majoring in music education or music therapy. Two primary questions were addressed in the study: (a) Are there similarities and differences in the personality types of music education and music therapy majors as measured by the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI )? (b) Are there similarities and differences in demographic characteristics of music education and music therapy majors in regard to (i) principal instrument studied in college, (ii) grade point average, (iii) scholarship awards, (iv) high school participation in private study and (v) ensembles, (vi) church/community participation, and (vii) volunteerism in high school?

Embouchure dystonia--Portrait of a task-specific cranial dystonia.

PubMed

Frucht, Steven J

2009-09-15

Focal task-specific dystonia (FTSD) is an unusual disorder of motor control, which typically affects the hand but may also involve the face, jaw, and tongue. We report 89 musicians with dystonia of the embouchure (ED), the muscles of the lower face, jaw, and tongue used to control the flow of air into the mouthpiece of a woodwind or brass instrument. Symptoms of ED began at an average age of 36, were typically painless and only rarely were preceded by trauma. Specific musical techniques commonly triggered dystonia, often in one instrumental register. Task-specific embouchure tremor and lip-pulling ED phenotypes were common among high-register brass players (trumpet and French horn), whereas lip-locking occurred exclusively in low-register brass players (trombone and tuba). Jaw and tongue ED phenotypes occurred predominantly in woodwind players, and once present, frequently spread to speaking or eating. Six percent of all ED patients had coincident writer's cramp, suggesting a possible genetic predisposition to develop dystonia. We assessed two-point sensory discrimination in the upper lip, lower lip, and hand in ED patients, normal musicians, and nonmusician age-matched controls--there were no differences between groups. Once present, symptoms of ED did not remit and often disrupted careers and livelihoods. Better treatments are urgently needed for this unusual disorder of oral motor control.

Practiced musical style shapes auditory skills.

PubMed

Vuust, Peter; Brattico, Elvira; Seppänen, Miia; Näätänen, Risto; Tervaniemi, Mari

2012-04-01

Musicians' processing of sounds depends highly on instrument, performance practice, and level of expertise. Here, we measured the mismatch negativity (MMN), a preattentive brain response, to six types of musical feature change in musicians playing three distinct styles of music (classical, jazz, and rock/pop) and in nonmusicians using a novel, fast, and musical sounding multifeature MMN paradigm. We found MMN to all six deviants, showing that MMN paradigms can be adapted to resemble a musical context. Furthermore, we found that jazz musicians had larger MMN amplitude than all other experimental groups across all sound features, indicating greater overall sensitivity to auditory outliers. Furthermore, we observed a tendency toward shorter latency of the MMN to all feature changes in jazz musicians compared to band musicians. These findings indicate that the characteristics of the style of music played by musicians influence their perceptual skills and the brain processing of sound features embedded in music. © 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.

Analysis of copper and brass coins of the early roman empire.

PubMed

Carter, G F

1966-01-14

X-ray fluorescence analysis of 14 copper and brass coins of the early Roman Empire shows differences in composition between coins minted in Rome and in France. Concentrations of tin, lead, and antimony are nearly always less than in coins minted before 29 B.C. or after 54 A.D. Older coins were not melted to make copper coins of the early empire.

Music therapy in neurological rehabilitation settings.

PubMed

Galińska, Elżbieta

2015-01-01

The neurologic music therapy is a new scope of music therapy. Its techniques deal with dysfunctions resulting from diseases of the human nervous system. Music can be used as an alternative modality to access functions unavailable through non-musical stimulus. Processes in the brain activated by the influence of music can be generalized and transferred to non-musical functions. Therefore, in clinical practice, the translation of non-musical therapeutic exercises into analogous, isomorphic musical exercises is performed. They make use of the executive peculiarity of musical instruments and musical structures to prime, cue and coordinate movements. Among musical components, a repetitive rhythm plays a significant role. It regulates physiologic and behavioural functions through the mechanism of entrainment (synchronization of biological rhythms with musical rhythm based on acoustic resonance). It is especially relevant for patients with a deficient internal timing system in the brain. Additionally, regular rhythmic patterns facilitate memory encoding and decoding of non-musical information hence music is an efficient mnemonic tool. The music as a hierarchical, compound language of time, with its unique ability to access affective/motivational systems in the brain, provides time structures enhancing perception processes, mainly in the range of cognition, language and motor learning. It allows for emotional expression and improvement of the motivation for rehabilitation activities. The new technologies of rhythmic sensory stimulation (i.e. Binaural Beat Stimulation) or rhythmic music in combination with rhythmic light therapy appear. This multimodal forms of stimulation are used in the treatment of stroke, brain injury, dementia and other cognitive deficits. Clinical outcome studies provide evidence of the significant superiority of rehabilitation with music over the one without music.

Music and the brain - design of an MEG compatible piano.

PubMed

Chacon-Castano, Julian; Rathbone, Daniel R; Hoffman, Rachel; Heng Yang; Pantazis, Dimitrios; Yang, Jason; Hornberger, Erik; Hanumara, Nevan C

2017-07-01

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) neuroimaging has been used to study subjects' responses when listening to music, but research into the effects of playing music has been limited by the lack of MEG compatible instruments that can operate in a magnetically shielded environment without creating electromagnetic interference. This paper describes the design and preliminary testing of an MEG compatible piano keyboard with 25 full size keys that employs a novel 3-state optical encoder design and electronics to provide realistic velocity-controlled volume modulation. This instrument will allow researchers to study musical performance on a finer timescale than fMRI and enable a range of MEG studies.

Musical memory in a patient with severe anterograde amnesia

PubMed Central

Cavaco, Sara; Feinstein, Justin S.; van Twillert, Henk; Tranel, Daniel

2014-01-01

The ability to play a musical instrument represents a unique procedural skill that can be remarkably resilient to disruptions in declarative memory. For example, musicians with severe anterograde amnesia have demonstrated preserved ability to play musical instruments. However, the question of whether amnesic musicians can learn how to play new musical material despite severe memory impairment has not been thoroughly investigated. We capitalized on a rare opportunity to address this question. Patient SZ, an amateur musician (tenor saxophone), has extensive bilateral damage to his medial temporal lobes following herpes simplex encephalitis, resulting in a severe anterograde amnesia. We tested SZ’s capacity to learn new unfamiliar songs by sight-reading following three months of biweekly practices. Performances were recorded and then evaluated by a professional saxophonist. SZ demonstrated significant improvement in his ability to read and play new music, despite his inability to recognize any of the songs at a declarative level. The results suggest that it is possible to learn certain aspects of new music without the assistance of declarative memory. PMID:23036073

Redesign and initial validation of an instrument to assess the motivational qualities of music in exercise: the Brunel Music Rating Inventory-2.

PubMed

Karageorghis, Costas I; Priest, David-Lee; Terry, Peter C; Chatzisarantis, Nikos L D; Lane, Andrew M

2006-08-01

In the present study, a measure to assess the motivational qualities of music in exercise was redesigned, extending previous research efforts (Karageorghis et al., 1999). The original measure, the Brunel Music Rating Inventory (BMRI), had shown limitations in its factor structure and its applicability to non-experts in music selection. Redesign of the BMRI used in-depth interviews with eight participants (mean age 31.9 years, s = 8.9 years) to establish the initial item pool, which was examined using a series of confirmatory factor analyses. A single-factor model provided a good fit across three musical selections with different motivational qualities (comparative fit index, CFI: 0.95-0.98; standardized root mean residual, SRMR: 0.03-0.05). The single-factor model also demonstrated acceptable fit across two independent samples and both sexes using one piece of music (CFI: 0.86-1.00; SRMR: 0.04-0.07). The BMRI was designed for experts in selecting music for exercise (e.g. dance aerobic instructors), whereas the BMRI-2 can be used both by exercise instructors and participants. The psychometric properties of the BMRI-2 are stronger than those of the BMRI and it is easier to use. The BMRI-2 provides a valid and internally consistent tool by which music can be selected to accompany a bout of exercise or a training session. Furthermore, the BMRI-2 enables researchers to standardize music in experimental protocols involving exercise-related tasks.