Abstract: Baker, William J; Forbes, Anne-Marie; Earle, Jennifer Formed in 1965, and now including around 150 players and seven ensembles, the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra (TYO) is the oldest state-based youth orchestra in Australia. This paper presents the findings from a 2018 survey of TYO participants, as one part of a broader qualitative pilot project into the perceived benefits of participation in TYO. Using inductive thematic analysis techniques researchers identified the following four themes from these data, which, in order of significance, are that participation in their TYO group: 1) was strongly identified as an embodied and emotional experience; 2) enables the development of specific, identified musical skills; 3) contributes to the making of, and maintenance of, important friendships; and 4) results in the development of non-musical skills such as personal organisation and learned social skills. The research team also found that many respondents demonstrated "growth mindset" thinking (Dweck, 2006) and resilient behaviours, perhaps indicating that there may be something in their experience that enables them to employ these characteristics in their learning in TYO groups. Funding has been provided to extend this research beyond the pilot stage to develop research informed resources to support learning and teaching for resilience in youth Arts organisations.
Abstract: Mitchell, Elizabeth; Southcott, Jane In 1993 the Victorian Music Teachers' Association (VMTA) published a fund-raising cookbook, Prestissimo Food for Agitato Musicians. Community cookbooks provide social historians with valuable windows into the lives and personalities of the contributors. The VMTA cookbook is no exception, bringing individuals into sharp relief and including asides that delineate the life of a studio music teacher. This narrative historical research relies on primary and secondary sources that are analysed and interpreted to explore this more informal insight into past lives. The data reveal busy lives negotiating teaching schedules and competing demands, with humour and practicality. The glimpses into the lives of past studio teachers resonate with current practices in this somewhat conservative profession. In this research, we also recognise the contributions of past colleagues.
Abstract: Golding, Martina; Hannigan, Shelley Duoethnography and narrative inquiry are used to investigate the perspectives of two experienced teachers from contrasting curriculum specialities, one in music and the other in mathematics within a primary school setting. Initiated by the music teacher, research focuses on the usefulness of embodied and participatory forms of music-making for students in the upper primary school (generally 10-12 year age group). Themes emerge from the research that inform subsequent dialogue including the relationship between accessible participatory experience, minimising tedium for students, self-paced learning and student agency, psycho-social well-being, community of practice and life-long learning. Through a dialogic process, emergent ideas provoke dissonance that leads to re-framed thinking about the teaching and learning of music in the upper primary school context.
Abstract: Forrest, David; Watson, Amanda The article outlines the development and life-cycle of the national newsletter of ASME. It presents issues associated with the publication, including the need for the newsletter as a vehicle for communicating with members in pre-Internet times.
Abstract: Watkins, Jennifer M This research provides an account of the activities of the South Australian May Music Camp (SAMMC), identifying it as a significant extra-curricular activity in the calendar of music education opportunities open to children from nine to 23 years of age, between 1962 and 1986. This annual non-residential music camp took place during the two-week May school holidays. Students auditioned for SAMMC to engage in an intensive, graded music ensemble experience, receiving expert tuition from professional music educators, while being exposed to extensive orchestral, string and wind ensemble repertoire. The contribution of the National Music Camp Association in the establishment of state-based camps across Australia is acknowledged, specifically regarding SAMMC in Adelaide, and the subsequent formation of the South Australian Music Camp Association (SAMCA). This research notes the establishment of the South Australian Department of Education Music Branch, which resulted in an increased number of primary school students learning to play musical instruments, contributing to the need for further ensemble performance opportunities in South Australia. The research observes the actions of the SAMCA to evaluate and expand activities at SAMMC to accommodate these developments. This research provides evidence that SAMMC made an important contribution to South Australian music education history.
Abstract: Thorn, Benjamin; Brasche, Inga Good musical education has been shown to have benefits across the curriculum but its delivery in schools is still extremely variable. Part of the problem is that many primary teachers lack skills and/or confidence to offer engaging music programs. In an attempt to find possible solutions to this problem we ran a pilot program of a short series of professional development workshops and evaluated their impact on the participants. The five, hour and a half workshops covered most of the primary music curriculum but focused on singing and composition, as areas that are integral to the curriculum and in the case of composition the area of most trepidation amongst teachers. After the workshops we discovered noticeable improvements in confidence to deliver music programs in all areas but particularly in composition, probably mostly due to participants becoming aware of simple yet effective activities they could use. Some participants successfully tried out workshop ideas in their classrooms, while attending the workshops, suggesting that a close relationship between learning and implementation will enhance the learning experience. The pilot program demonstrated that even comparatively short programs can be effective and provided some indications of useful strategies for delivering supportive and efficacious programs and potentially useful content and resources.
Abstract: Bodkin-Allen, Sally; Swain, Nicola; West, Susan Singing is an activity fundamental to human existence, yet for many, the act of singing where others may hear them is confronting and can generate anxiety. The Music Outreach Principle (MOP) offers an approach that has singing at its heart, and is socio-altruistic music making. One aspect of the MOP involves taking groups into aged care facilities to sing with the residents. Known as Outreach Singing, the focus is on using music for another's benefit. This study uses the philosophy of the MOP to determine if one episode of Outreach Singing can have a difference on an individual's singing confidence. The participants were adults (n=140) who attended a workshop where they were introduced to the philosophy of the MOP and then partook in an Outreach at a local aged care facility. Data were gathered via two questionnaires prior to the workshop and post the Outreach. Participants were asked about their singing behaviour, and also whether or not they considered themselves 'tone-deaf'. The results indicate that the single Outreach session positively affected the way the participants thought about singing, and had an impact on the singing confidence of all participants. The greatest positive impact was for the group who considered themselves 'tone-deaf'.
Abstract: Chapman, Helen Kasztelan It is almost as if there are two Bartoks - the amiable collector of Hungarian folk music and the 'infernal' barbarian intent on destroying the music of the past (Gillies, 2010). These two sides of Bartok's character may be seen in such disparate works as The Miraculous Mandarin (1919) and his Suite No. 2, Op. 4 (1904-07). The confronting modernism and controversial subject matter of the former provide a stark contrast to the mild astringency and post-Romantic lyricism of the latter. The aim of this qualitative study is twofold: firstly, to gain a deeper understanding of why Bartok's music tends to be overlooked by Australian piano teachers and, secondly, to examine the technical aspects of teaching this music. Bartok's music has been described as elitist and difficult to understand (Alsop, 2007; Milne, 2010; Nissman, 2002; Oestreich, 1990; Suchoff, 2004) and the literature suggests that this may not be an exclusively Australian problem.
Abstract: Sealey, Lyndsay; Mitchell, Annie Composing Territory is a research project with two main aims. The first aim is to identify optimal composition and arrangement techniques for choral works written for female singers from various linguistic backgrounds in the Northern Territory whose voices are undergoing pubertal changes. The second aim is the creation of twelve choral compositions plus an accompanying teaching resource, to provide sequential delivery appropriate to the educational context of the region, wherein the majority of choral educators have no music training.
The diverse and transient nature of the Northern Territory's population and the lack of education training and resources for choral delivery make traditional choral works inaccessible and tonal homogeneity of choirs unlikely. By changing the way we compose choral works it may be possible to ensure student learning continues through the period of female vocal change, achieve more homogenous sounds from linguistically diverse choristers, and successfully establish choral blend.
Underpinning the compositional process with pedagogical considerations of linguistic differences and pubertal changes delivered through appropriate teaching strategies and resources will be significant outcomes of this projects. These outcomes could ensure non-music specialists are better equipped for choral delivery and student learning continues throughout voice change processes unhindered by individual linguistic background.
Abstract: Lee, Daniel; Baker, William; Haywood, Nick Research suggests graduates from music courses in Australian tertiary institutions typically undertake portfolio careers that include a combination of performing and teaching. Both of these activities could have ongoing artistic ripple effects on the musical communities the graduates inhabit. This paper reports on a qualitative post-graduate research study using Inductive Thematic Analysis to address the question: How do the pedagogical practices and curriculum content of Contemporary Popular Music (CPM) courses influence their graduates' performance practices and how, in turn, do the graduates influence the local music communities in which they perform and teach' With a specific focus on tertiary CPM guitar programs the study investigated how graduates are being influenced by Australian and non-Australian content, in the form of repertoire for ensembles and recitals, and course design. Also, how they are, in turn, influencing the local music communities through their activities. The sample for this research included current students, alumni and educators of Australian Bachelor level CPM courses. The British Invasion and the influence of the Afro-American Blues have had a lasting impact on Australian popular music. The study was designed to investigate if the pedagogical practices and curriculum content of Australian CPM courses intentionally continue to embrace this historical phenomenon, or if new advances in tertiary music education are creating new waves with further ripple effects.
Abstract: Cole, Amanda This article was inspired by a speaker at a music education conference who complained that performances get in the way of real learning. This complaint prompted me to ask what musicians understand performance to be and why performance is not considered part of the curriculum or 'real' work of a musician. I suggest a model of performance education that addresses several lacunae in music education and finish by giving a sample of the responses of professional musicians to this kind of training, offering ways around their initial resistance that lead to genuine learning and growth.
Abstract: Burrows, Joanne; Brown, Judith This paper describes the creation of an evaluative tool that aims to measure the degree to which constructivism is facilitated within the teaching materials created for older beginning piano students (twelve to seventeen years of age). Literature exploring the published teaching materials available for teaching piano includes content analysis, comparisons of tutor books and music reading approaches. The majority of research focuses on young children under eleven years of age, tertiary students and adult learners. Little research has critically examined the materials created for the older beginner piano student.
Additionally, research in music education has explored various forms of constructivism but this research is rarely piano specific and generally represented by qualitative or small quantitative studies. Constructivism related to teaching piano to students aged twelve to seventeen years has received little attention.
This paper unpacks the research and methodology that underpins the creation of an evaluative tool designed to explore the extent to which constructivism is facilitated and supported in the published teaching materials for older beginner piano students. The creation of an evaluation tool anchored in constructivism is central to a larger study exploring the resources used by Australian piano teachers when teaching older beginner students.
Abstract: Wilson, Emily Musical Futures is an approach thought to make classroom music more engaging for students by drawing their outside musical lives into their school experiences. Consisting of complementary approaches arising from out-of-school contexts, Musical Futures incorporates the learning processes of popular musicians and community musicians. It is characterised by learning that is student-driven with an emphasis on learning through immersion in music making. The larger study from which this article is drawn is an ethnographic investigation of teacher practice and student engagement. Research participants were two music teachers and four classes of children aged ten to sixteen years from two schools in the outer-south eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The teachers were previously identified as drawing on Musical Futures approaches following their participation in a professional learning workshop. Data was collected through participant-observation of music lessons, interviews and focus groups. This article presents selected findings related to the whole school assessment policies which were influential over the two teachers' day-to-day classroom practice. Summative assessment was an area of interest for the two teachers as their whole school policies were challenging to implement.
Abstract: Watson, Amanda; Forrest, David Successful House Concerts rely on an equal positive interaction between three groups of people: the musicians (or artists), the audience and the host, with the performance being the central activity. A concert facilitator may be engaged by the host to assist with organisation. Each has a participatory role to ensure that the House Concert performance is a rewarding and ongoing experience. House Concerts encompass a variety of music genres and involve musicians performing solo, in duos and trios and larger ensemble including small operatic casts. House Concerts vary from ad hoc to formal with levels of organisation ranging from casual to managed events. Musicians who participate in House Concerts may be acknowledged international performers in Australia and overseas, be starting out in a professional protean career, visiting from overseas in an arranged House Concert tour or amateur/semi professional musicians who have another career. Musicians (artistic companies) with a specific project to develop have used the House Concert concept as their choice of performance space to workshop and develop their ideas. House Concerts encourage the development of a musical community in a way that is different from the concert hall venue. This paper takes a focus on the differing perspectives of the host, audience and musician as they come together for a House Concert performance.
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