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Among three sections that follow the Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT), many test takers find listening comprehension section is the most difficult. Thus, in this research the researcher aims to explore how students learn PBT's listening comprehension section effectively through song technique. This sounds like a more interesting and engaging way to learn language because music is a very powerful motivational tool for learning language. To reach the goal of this study, the researcher applied the grammar approach. It is an appropriate approach since the main idea of grammar-based listening exercises is to analyze the language by its components and reconstruct an incomplete text. Besides, the researcher employed an English song as the media the researcher uses the top-down model for the Listening Process. In this research, the writer tries to share his experience in teaching listening in English department of Teknokrat College by implementing song technique

Funded by the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) grant, this national study examines arts-based adult education organizations involved in dance, music, drama, and visual arts with a philosophical perspective aligned with a multiliteracies theoretical framework. Multiliteracies considers how cultural and linguistic diversity must be fostered to encourage adults to thrive in all learning environments and recognizes that multimodality provides an expanded way to engage in literacy practices. Utilizing Carey Jewitt's four theoretical tenets to characterize multimodality serves to structure the analytical framework for the findings and discussion of this paper. Multiple case studies and constructivist grounded theory were used for the methodology. Some of the sites discussed in this paper include an art gallery; an immigration museum; and a chamber music organization that offers interactive performances. Participants included adult educators and learners who had options around face-to-face interviews; observations; document analysis of lesson plans or exemplars; or secondary data analysis of original ¿lm footage shot in these spaces. This research has found that arts-based approaches can infuse the work of adult educators to engage adult learners in inclusive pedagogy and active citizenship.

A standalone literature review was conducted to ascertain the extent and status of research on the practical inclusion of Chinese music in Western educational contexts. The study identified a body of journal articles and postgraduate theses on the topic. The papers were analysed to discern what might constitute best practice classroom approaches to teaching and learning Chinese music. Based on the review's criteria for inclusion -- papers were in English, praxis-oriented, peer-reviewed and published over the past three decades -- the study found that the number of publications was limited (19) and that in terms of established pedagogical approaches they engaged, some gaps existed, certain pedagogies were minimally represented and some were perhaps too recent to have been trialled. Even so, the study concluded that while best practice is an elusive notion, Chinese music forms and styles appear to be compatible with a range of educational settings and Western-oriented music teaching and learning approaches.

The Library of Congress announces the acquisition of a collection of major cultural significance, the music manuscripts and papers of renowned contemporary American composer, conductor, and writer John Adams. Recognized [...]

This study illustrates the ways in which the practices of two instructors in an arts-based, after-school literacy program serving Somali youth provide insights for teaching urban immigrant students. It draws on a qualitative self-study that examines the experiences and practices of the researchers in the development and implementation of a program called Pen 2 Paper 2 Power. It illuminates the difficulties of using culturally relevant pedagogy with immigrant youth, given the complexity of immigrant youth cultures, formed at the intersection of ethnic culture, youth culture, and popular culture. The research also examines the pedagogical implications of practicing culturally relevant hip-hop pedagogy with urban immigrant youth. (Contains 1 figure and 1 note.)

Old Songs, New Discoveries: Selected Papers from the 2018 Folk Song Conference Steve Roud and David Atkinson (eds). London: The Ballad Partners, 2019. 162 pp. ISBN 978-1-9161424-1-1. 12 [pounds sterling] [...]

This paper suggests that some refinements might need to be considered to current codes of ethics for dissemination of research. The growth of research in music education over the last decade is reviewed, with examples from new journals, conferences and professional associations. It is argued that nowadays researchers have to address a multidisciplinary number of audiences and this should be taken into account in the regulations for conferences and publications with the incorporation of guidelines for contributors to address their specific audience and to explain any previous dissemination. The authorship of papers is also considered, in particular issues arising from multiple authorship, as well as the research participants' contribution to the final report. Some of these issues are discussed with reference to studies focussed on a particular topic (creativity in music education) within the context of music education research, but it is acknowledged that the discussion also applies to other fields of the humanities and social sciences.

The not-so-bygone worlds of music and colonialism in the twentieth century have yielded a wealth of scholarly 'paper knowledge' in the twenty-first of which to build off new archival-musicological work. This article takes a particular archiving direction by turning to paper itself – and pivots the postcolonial pen around the texts and textures of re-engaging colonial history in postcolonial music scholarship. I explore these writing stakes through my adopted narrative of 'the post/colonial music archive', as shaped by paper and paper's sounding elements of tone and voice. Crisscrossing between the colonial moment and the postcolonial pen, I straddle this developing narrative of the archive, and the registers and inflections of extant source narration for what they can jointly vocalize about the music making of the Municipal Brass Band in 1930s treaty port Shanghai, and the Sino-British Club in postwar colonial Hong Kong – two ostensible musical worlds of 'Britain in China' in the twentieth century, here thrown into disarray by the post/colonial archive's own inchoate, counter-tales. Ultimately, in this process, postcolonial music scholarship gains further traction and meaning as a multi-articulating inquiry – and a turn of mind that does not let colonial history and its persistent challenges for writing go askew. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By the 1870s music printing and publishing in Austro-Hungary was under considerable competitive pressure from major firms based in Leipzig and elsewhere in Germany. Using more recent printing techniques (most notably printing from engraved plates by transfer lithography) and often a more integrated system of production, firms such as Breitkopf & Härtel and Edition Peters were playing an increasing important role in the European market for classical music. By the late 1880s it had become apparent that this trend was being challenged by an innovative Viennese firm run by a lithographer from the Czech lands, Josef Eberle, who had built up a printing business that included a skilled and well-organised music department that could rival German competitors in the printing of complex scores. Moreover, Eberle sought to challenge German publishers’ dominance in the supply of music by Viennese composers of the Classical period: although this project failed commercially, it highlighted the challenges that the Universal-Edition would face a decade or so later. Despite this setback Eberle continued to publish major works, notably the music of Anton Bruckner, though not under his own imprint. At the same time, he established a brand of manuscript paper that was used by two or more generations of composers. Eberle’s career was notable in its own right, and tracing some of his activities sheds light on many less familiar aspects of the music business in Vienna, 1880–1920.

The present study examined the cross-modal cueing effect of musical rhythmic beats on non-native speech rhythm production. Two groups of Chinese learners of French were cued respectively with rhythmic beats that either matched (matching group) or mismatched (mismatching group) the rhythm patterns of the target French sentences. The participants were asked to produce the target sentences after cueing and their speech production was compared with their baseline condition in which no cueing was used. The results showed that the matching group produced the target French rhythm significantly better after cueing with musical rhythmic beats that matched the French rhythm, in contrast to the mismatching group where no significant improvement was found. Individual differences in auditory short-term memory and rhythmic skills were not related to improvement in producing French rhythm after cueing. The results suggest that musical rhythmic cueing can be used to improve non-native speech rhythm production, further indicating a close link between speech and music in the temporal domain., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

This article examines the NAfME Position Statement on Sacred Music in Schools, which has not been significantly updated since it was first published in 1984. Using genealogical inquiry, the author examines the conditions surrounding the construction of this document in relation to the conditions in the present. Relationships between the history of school prayer, the archive of "Music Educators Journal," and relevant case law are investigated. Postsecularsim is described and explored as a possible theoretical framework for a future revision of the position statement.

Interviews Kim Stanley Robinson, a well-known science fiction author. Discusses his reasons for writing science fiction, his writing influences, and writing techniques. Explains his interest in science and the relationship between music and his writing. (PM)

The Music Division of the Library of Congress has acquired the papers of renowned composer Charles Wuorinen (1938-2020). Collection materials acquired from the composer's estate are remarkably complete; they span [...]

English language education nowadays is not merely about the instruction and acquisition of linguistic knowledge and skills. Instead, it has progressed to the real-life applications of the target language, which further requires a mastery of cultural knowledge and skills. In terms of culture, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, compared to native speakers of English, own their unique native culture. Yet, since language teachers tend to focus on the delivery of English cultural knowledge, EFL learners' native culture is sometimes shadowed in the mainstream English classrooms worldwide. To this end, this exploratory paper aims to advocate attention to the importance of EFL learners' native culture awareness and share some practical teaching and learning experiences in an English course called "Multimedia and Foreign Language Learning." The paper outlines the pedagogical design of the course in China, providing classroom examples and practical suggestions to course designers, educators and instructors. We expect to give insights into integrating native culture into foreign language education in university settings.

In a sample of students, preference for country and western music was not associated with depression or suicidal preoccupation as has been suggested by Stack and Gundlach. However, preference for heavy metal music was associated with prior suicidal ideation. Stronger associations were found between music preferences and measures of psychoticism and extraversion.

This article offers the transcript of Robyn Archer's address at the Australian Society for Music Education (ASME) Conference in Canberra in September 2013. Archer is a singer, writer, director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, mainly in Australia though her reach is global. This lecture is the second of six addresses Archer gave in the second half of the Canberra Centenary year. She used each lecture to focus on different parts of the Centenary Program. Together these lectures act as a chronicle of the year. The present lecture focuses on the music that has been heard, and is still to be heard in Canberra in 2013, the year in which Australians celebrate the naming on March 12, 1913, of a new capital for a newly federated nation. Throughout her lecture, she illustrates how the national capital is an illuminating example of the passion of Australians for all kinds of music.

The New Music Network established the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Address in 1999 in honour of one of Australia's great international composers. It is an annual forum for ideas relating to the creation and performance of Australian music. In the spirit of the great Australian composer Peggy Glanville-Hicks, an outstanding advocate of Australian music delivers the address each year, challenging the status quo and raising issues of importance in new music. In 2013, Genevieve Lacey was guest speaker presenting her Address entitled "Learning to Listen" at the Sydney Conservatorium and Deakin Edge Federation Square in Melbourne. The transcripts are reproduced with permission by Genevieve Lacey and the New Music Network.

Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky in 1993 found that listening to a Mozart sonata temporarily enhanced performance on the spatial reasoning task from the Stanford-Binet scale. The present study was designed to replicate those results using the Revised Minnesota Paper Form Board Test. 30 women and 21 men were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In one condition, subjects listened to a Mozart sonata for 10 min., while in the control condition subjects meditated in silence for 10 min. Immediately following these manipulations all subjects worked on the spatial task, the Revised Minnesota Paper Form Board Test, for 10 minutes. After factoring out SAT scores and gender, there was no significant difference in the mean test scores for the two groups. The results are discussed in terms of Gustafsson's 1984 factor analysis of intellectual abilities in which he identified three separate visuospatial factors. The task used here may have had a substantially different factor loading than the dependent variable used by Rauscher and associates.

Haydn and His Contemporaries II. Selected Papers from the Fifth Biennial Conference of the Society for Eighteenth-Century Music at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, 13-15 April 2012. Edited [...]

The autopsy description of Beethoven's nephropathy is so typical of renal papillary necrosis, that the diagnosis is as near to certain as is possible, in the absence of a histological examination. A review of the symptoms and clinical course of Beethoven's final illness is consistent with this diagnosis. It is proposed that the cause was an acute onset diabetes mellitus, complicating chronic pancreatitis. Beethoven's case appears to be the first report in the literature of an autopsy proven case of renal papillary necrosis.

The increasing digital skill made manifest in the development of instrumental music is reviewed and supports the hypothesis that the fifth digit was belatedly used even when a suitable instrument had already become established. With notable exceptions, such as the harp, it appears that progressive improvements in instrument design was influenced by the need to utilize the fifth digits. Its greater use was accomplished in overlapping stages of increasing dexterity, of which the highest is exemplified by the left hand of the violinist. The apparent evolutional background of these observations is discussed. It is proposed that man has an inherent atavistic tendency to ignore the fifth digit and this view agrees with its neglect in gesture and sign language.

The composer, author, and teacher, John Cage, was exercised by our 'inability' to truly listen when approaching sound. In exploring the influences on Cage's avant-garde style, specifically the spiritual discipline found in both Zen Buddhism and Chance operations, this paper attempts to distinguish his philosophy (and use) of "silence" and "chance" as an aesthetic pedagogy. In accordance with Dewey's aesthetic theory and Shusterman's Somaesthetics, resolving the inability to listen is aesthetically conceived as somatic 'attuning' to the occurrence of chance sounds in the ambience of the world. By maintaining Cage's spiritually informed approach as a compositional framework, this paper highlights how his philosophy of silence is pedagogically illustrative of the "active" engagement we can have with the world. This approach is most apparent in Cage's "4'33"," where the 'musicalizing' of everyday sounds erodes the boundaries between art and life, creating a continuity with the world. Somewhat problematically, Cage attempted to make this possible by channelling experience into a state of immersion, unifying art and life by 'letting go' of subjectivity. But as is shown by the Fluxus artists who were inspired by Cage's teachings, the possibility for negotiating Cage's terms brings with it an opportunity to theoretically reflect on the educational processes that underpin Cage's approach to sound.

This paper explores the use of testimonio methodology, born from Chicana/Latina feminist thought and epistemologies as a way of exploring the languaging and knowledge production practices of minoritized communities as a platform to share their/our wisdom/voices in applied linguistics. As such, testimonio is a methodology that allows racialized scholars and accomplices to foreground their/our languaging and knowledges and thus disrupt deficit framings. This paper explores the benefits of using testimonios in applied linguistics as one way of disrupting epistemological racism. Drawing on examples from three different youth who took part in a multiyear culturally sustaining systemic functional linguistics oriented program we show the power of using various types of testimonios to examine/understand the languaging and literacies practices of racialized youth. Implications indicate that the co-creation of knowledge/understanding is what makes testimonios a powerful and insightful methodology.

Unique music therapy interventions are discussed from a clinical educational and research perspective, demonstrating a current position on music therapy for people living with dementia and their carers. The position paper, adapted from the keynote lecture given at the workshop “Music Selves and Societies” at Cambridge University in 2018, outlines current research and practice across music and music therapy fields, focussing upon embedding music in daily life and care for people living with dementia. Worldwide, around 50m people have dementia; this is estimated to increase to 75.6m in 2030 and 135.5m in 2050. This results in increased demand for long-term care and a need for heightened awareness and capacity for home care in local settings. Distinctions between interventions delivered by music therapists (direct music therapy) and interventions delivered by musicians or carers arising from training from music therapists (indirect music therapy) are discussed. Political and strategic developments for music and dementia are summarized, highlighting the need for increased training in the field and access to music at all stages of dementia. Case study examples are presented to highlight emerging practices and research; for example, couples attending music therapy groups in a rural community setting (Together in Sound) improved relationships and attitudes for people living with dementia. An international trial investigating reading and music interventions for people living with dementia and their homebased family carers (Homeside) is introduced, alongside practice and research in care homes where music therapy had been found to reduce agitation and improve carers’ well-being. Research shows music therapy interventions address personalized needs linked to daily lived experiences. However, indirect music therapy is needed to reach all who can benefit from music and are living with dementia. It is concluded that high quality, accessible music interventions should be embedded in care, and further research is needed to ascertain best practice.

This research paper aimed to develop a training curriculum to enhance the competency of music teachers in Buriram Province who graduated from Rajabhat University and became professional teachers in active learning management. The study involved 50 music teachers who participated in workshops and academic exchange forums. The training curriculum consisted of eight components, including the development of active learning unit plans and lesson plans. The research instruments used were the training curriculum, the active learning unit plan assessment form, and the active learning lesson plan assessment form. The use of the curriculum resulted in positive outcomes, with most of the active learning unit plans receiving high assessment scores, and the academic exchange forums effectively showcased best practices. This study provides insights into the development of a training curriculum aimed at enhancing the competencies of music teachers in active learning management, which can be adapted to other teaching fields.

Categorizing music pieces by composer is a challenging task in digital music processing due to their highly flexible structures, introducing subjective interpretation by individuals. This research utilized musical data from the MIDI and audio edited for synchronous tracks and organization dataset of virtuosic piano pieces. In this work, pitch and duration were the musical features of interest. The goal was to innovate an approach to representing a musical piece using SentencePiece and Word2vec, which are natural language processing-based techniques. We attempted to find correlated melodies that are likely to be formed by single interpretable units of music via co-occurring notes, and represented them as a musical word/subword vector. Composer classification was performed in order to ensure the efficiency of this musical data representation scheme. Among classification machine learning algorithms, k-nearest neighbors, random forest classifier, logistic regression, support vector machines, and multilayer perceptron were employed to compare performances. In the experiment, the feature extraction methods, classification algorithms, and music window sizes were varied. The results were that classification performance was sensitive to feature extraction methods. Musical word/subword vector standard deviation was the most effective feature, resulting in classification with a high F1-score, attaining 1.00. No significant difference was observed among model classification performances., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

The article examines the scientific work of one of the prominent representatives of the 20th century Azerbaijani piano performing school, Honored Art Worker, Professor Nigar Usubova (1914–1994). N. Usubova devoted an important part of her life to pedagogical activity, raising a generation of talented pianists. She made an exceptional contribution to the development of the Azerbaijani piano school and the definition of its future directions. N. Usubova’s pedagogical principles are reflected in her dissertation work and methodical manual. As it is known, N. Usubova studied in the class of A. Goldenweiser and wrote these scientific works under the guidance of the prominent pianist. An important part of these scientific works is devoted to the study of A. Arensky’s piano creative activity. Here, the musician touched upon the features of the composer’s piano performing, as well as the characteristic features of his music. The research also provides performing characteristics of the works analyzed and covering various genres. The purpose of the research is to study the fundamental results and main performing principles in the scientific works dedicated to A. Arensky’s piano creative work by Nigar Usubova, a brilliant representative of the Azerbaijani piano school of the twentieth century. In these scientific research works, N. Usubova touched upon the features of the prominent composer’s piano creative work, performing principles, circle of images; moreover, analyzed the form, genre, tone and other aspects and conducted research on the background of characteristic features of Russian music. We would like to bring to your attention that N. Usubova’s scientific works have not been published. This raises the scientific significance and relevance of the topic more. These scientific works are the first research work dedicated to the study of A. Arensky’s piano music in the Azerbaijani science of music. The research methodology is based on analytical and theoretical analysis, as well as on the source research method (work with archival materials). The main principle is the study and analysis of the fundamental results obtained by N. Usubova in the study of piano music by A. Arensky The scientific novelty of the research is that for the first time the scientific works of the outstanding pianist Nigyar Usubov are studied, their scientific significance, as well as the issues reflected in those works, are revealed. We would like to bring to your attention that these scientific works reflect N. Usubova’s method of approach to A. Arensky’s piano pieces as a pianist. For this reason, these scientific works are a valuable recommendation for every pianist who turns to A. Arensky’s piano creative work. Conclusions. Nigar Usubova is the author of two scientific works and her scientific creative activity is devoted to the definition of performing features of A. Arensky’s piano creative work. Each of these scientific-methodical works was written under the guidance of a prominent representative of the Russian piano school, pedagogue A. Goldenweiser. In these works, N. Usubova worked on A. Arensky’s creative work in a comprehensive and detailed way. According to the author, A. Arensky’s piano creative work is characterized by the clarity of form and texture, the richness of melodic material, which brings him closer to Tchaikovsky’s chamber music. Although the composer prefers miniature forms in his piano creative work, it is also possible to find virtuoso pieces, etudes, scherzos and capriccios. These works, in particular, influenced the formation of S. Rakhmaninov’s and A. Scriabin’s creative activity. The main characteristic features here are polyphonism, polymelodism and polyrhythmics of the piano texture. Simultaneously, N. Usubova thoroughly studied the influence of Western European composers on the formation of A. Arensky’s creative activity.

Researchers working within the field of music and society often comment that they wish to use their research for the betterment of society and individuals, wherever possible. In many cases, this process of betterment requires some sort of behavioral change—whether this is changing poor habits to promote healthy living and thinking or changing destructive behavior in order to lead more productive and connected lives. It can increasingly be seen in the world today that social behavior has a complex array of influences and motivations and rarely is empirical evidence one of them. No amount of thoroughly researched evidence or logically developed arguments influences this behavior. Brexit and the Trump administration are two examples of this phenomenon. What seems to influence this seemingly bizarre social behavior is a collective belief in a narrative. The narrative needs to speak to common emotions, senses of identities and memories, but it does not need to necessarily be supported by empirical evidence to be effective. There is a need to understand this power of narrative in the public discourse if we are to truly influence how public policy engages with music.

Objective: Music is a very crucial art form that can evoke emotions, and the harmonious presence of the human voice in music is an impactful part of this process. As a result, vocals have had some significant effects on contemporary music. The mechanism behind the cochlear implant (CI) recipients perceiving different aspects of music is clear; however, how well they perceive vocal tuning within music it is not well known. Hence, this study evaluated the mistuning perception of CI recipients and compared their performance with normal-hearing (NH) listeners., Study Design, Setting, and Patients: A total of 16 CI users (7 cisgender men, 9 cisgender women) and 16 sex-matched NH controls with an average age of 30.2 (±10.9; range, 19-53) years and 23.5 (±6.1; range, 20-37) years, respectively, were enrolled in this study. We evaluated the mistuning ability using the mistuning perception test (MPT) and assessed self-perceived music perception and engagement using the music-related quality-of-life questionnaire. Test performance was measured and reported on the item-response theory metric with a z score ranging from -4 to +4., Results: A significant difference in the MPT scores was found between NH and CI recipients, whereas a significant correlation was noted between the music-related quality-of-life questionnaire-frequency subscale and MPT scores. No significant correlations were found between age, CI age, and CI usage duration and MPT performance., Conclusions: This study revealed that musical mistuning perception is a limitation for CI recipients, similar to previously evaluated aspects of music perception. Hence, it is important to consider this aspect in the assessment of music perception, enjoyment, and music-based auditory interventions in CI recipients, as vocals are paramount in music perception and recreation. The MPT is a convenient and accessible tool for mistuning assessment in CI and hearing-aid users., Competing Interests: The authors disclose no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023, Otology & Neurotology, Inc.)

Effective arts learning requires the development of important literacies. While investigation of discipline-specific literacies has filtered the literature, it is unclear if these literacies are acknowledged, understood, and/or taught. In this paper, we share the classroom discourse of two arts teachers in early and middle years across visual art and music--to determine how discipline-specific literacies are used and taught. Findings show that these teachers intuitively and consistently share age-appropriate arts-literacies and use semiotic metalanguage with their students to express and make meaning through arts practices. With contemporary research in the field of literacy consistently acknowledging the diverse ways we communicate and the importance of creative thinking and aesthetic-artistic reasoning, it is critical that classroom data, such as shared in this paper, is considered for future curriculum development. We conclude by recommending strategies and considerations for arts teachers when planning and implementing arts literacies to improve students' applied understanding.

Mutational signature analysis is a recent computational approach for interpreting somatic mutations in the genome. Its application to cancer data has enhanced our understanding of mutational forces driving tumorigenesis and demonstrated its potential to inform prognosis and treatment decisions. However, methodological challenges remain for discovering new signatures and assigning proper weights to existing signatures, thereby hindering broader clinical applications. Here we present Mutational Signature Calculator (MuSiCal), a rigorous analytical framework with algorithms that solve major problems in the standard workflow. Our simulation studies demonstrate that MuSiCal outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms for both signature discovery and assignment. By reanalyzing more than 2,700 cancer genomes, we provide an improved catalog of signatures and their assignments, discover nine indel signatures absent in the current catalog, resolve long-standing issues with the ambiguous 'flat' signatures and give insights into signatures with unknown etiologies. We expect MuSiCal and the improved catalog to be a step towards establishing best practices for mutational signature analysis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)