This book has been written for musicians who want to engage with audiences beyond the concert hall and other traditional venues. The study is equally worthwhile for conservatoires and music academies aiming to change the increasingly unrealistic goal of training young musicians solely for the stage. When taking the changing music profession and its market opportunities seriously, higher music education institutions can become aware of creative opportunities for establishing professional music practices in areas in society that are remote from concert halls and big festivals, from public media and stardom, and instead look for settings which reach out to various kinds of audiences. This does not mean, of course, that the results presented here wish to diminish the wonderful gift of being an accomplished soloist or chamber musician, but they would like to show that the role of music can be exhaustive, where artistic connection can bring about strong communication between people. Music can make a difference and be deeply influential, especially in social fields of illness and suffering, weakness and depression. ‘Music and dementia’ is the challenging topic of this book. It is not about educational suggestions to care staff to sing well-known children's songs in care homes for residents with dementia, just to lift the mood. Through engaging in music as a participatory process, its goal is to make the person behind the dementia visible again. The project presented in this study not only shows that this idea can be realised for people with dementia and their caregivers, but it has also opened up learning processes for the musicians involved which nobody would have expected before, nurturing their professional lives and development. The project has changed their understanding of the place of music in people’s lives; it has touched their personality and stimulated deep reflections about their identity. This positive effect should benefit young musicians in their music education. However, musicians are not the only target group. The discoveries of the study are also helpful and inspiring for caregivers of people with dementia and for families of a loved one living with dementia. The book explores the interaction between music and dementia through the stories of people who have been working closely together: three musicians, eight women living with dementia, five caregivers, a staff development practitioner, a project coordinator and three scientific observers. The result is a book in which all of them have participated in their own way. It consists of field observations, reflective journals, conversations, interviews and careful scientific analyses. If it can be read by many people at a profit, the project has worked. There will be, in the words of Clifford Geertz, a 'thick description' of a new friendship between music and dementia, a story about a fascinating practice that will stimulate and bolster committed people.
DOCUMENT
Stress is increasingly being recognized as one of the main factors that is negatively affecting our health, and therefore there is a need to regulate daily stress and prevent long-term stress. This need seems particularly important for adults with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) who have been shown to have more difficulties coping with stress than adults without intellectual disabilities. Hence, the development of music therapy interventions for stress reduction, particularly within populations where needs may be greater, is becoming increasingly important. In order to gain more insight into the practice-based knowledge on how music therapists lower stress levels of their patients with MID during music therapy sessions, we conducted focus group interviews with music therapists working with adults with MID (N = 13) from different countries and clinical institutions in Europe. Results provide an overview of the most-used interventions for stress reduction within and outside of music. Data-analysis resulted in the further specification of therapeutic goals, intervention techniques, the use of musical instruments, and related therapeutic change factors. The main findings indicate that music therapists used little to no receptive (e.g., music listening) interventions for stress reduction, but preferred to use active interventions, which were mainly based on musical improvisation. Results show that three therapy goals for stress relief could be distinguished. The goal of “synchronizing” can be seen as a sub goal because it often precedes working on the other two goals of “tension release” or “direct relaxation,” which can also be seen as two ways of reaching stress reduction in adults with MID through music therapy interventions. Furthermore, the tempo and the dynamics of the music are considered as the most important musical components to reduce stress in adults with MID. Practical implications for stress-reducing music therapy interventions for adults with MID are discussed as well as recommendations for future research.
DOCUMENT
AI tools increasingly shape how we discover, make and experience music. While these tools can have the potential to empower creativity, they may fundamentally redefine relationships between stakeholders, to the benefit of some and the detriment of others. In this position paper, we argue that these tools will fundamentally reshape our music culture, with profound effects (for better and for worse) on creators, consumers and the commercial enterprises that often connect them. By paying careful attention to emerging Music AI technologies and developments in other creative domains and understanding the implications, people working in this space could decrease the possible negative impacts on the practice, consumption and meaning of music. Given that many of these technologies are already available, there is some urgency in conducting analyses of these technologies now. It is important that people developing and working with these tools address these issues now to help guide their evolution to be equitable and empower creativity. We identify some potential risks and opportunities associated with existing and forthcoming AI tools for music, though more work is needed to identify concrete actions which leverage the opportunities while mitigating risks.
MULTIFILE
Students in Higher Music Education (HME) are not facilitated to develop both their artistic and academic musical competences. Conservatoires (professional education, or ‘HBO’) traditionally foster the development of musical craftsmanship, while university musicology departments (academic education, or ‘WO’) promote broader perspectives on music’s place in society. All the while, music professionals are increasingly required to combine musical and scholarly knowledge. Indeed, musicianship is more than performance, and musicology more than reflection—a robust musical practice requires people who are versed in both domains. It’s time our education mirrors this blended profession. This proposal entails collaborative projects between a conservatory and a university in two cities where musical performance and musicology equally thrive: Amsterdam (Conservatory and University of Amsterdam) and Utrecht (HKU Utrechts Conservatorium and Utrecht University). Each project will pilot a joint program of study, combining existing modules with newly developed ones. The feasibility of joint degrees will be explored: a combined bachelor’s degree in Amsterdam; and a combined master’s degree in Utrecht. The full innovation process will be translated to a transferable infrastructural model. For 125 students it will fuse praxis-based musical knowledge and skills, practice-led research and academic training. Beyond this, the partners will also use the Comenius funds as a springboard for collaboration between the two cities to enrich their respective BA and MA programs. In the end, the programme will diversify the educational possibilities for students of music in the Netherlands, and thereby increase their professional opportunities in today’s job market.
This PD project aims to gather new knowledge through artistic and participatory design research within neighbourhoods for possible ways of addressing and understanding the avoidance and numbness caused by feelings of vulnerability, discomfort and pain associated with eco-anxiety and chronic fear of environmental doom. The project will include artistic production and suitable forms of fieldwork. The objectives of the PD are to find answers to the practice problem of society which call for art that sensitises, makes aware and helps initiate behavioural change around the consequences of climate change. Rather than visualize future sea levels directly, it will seek to engage with climate change in a metaphorical and poetic way. Neither a doom nor an overly techno-optimistic scenario seem useful to understand the complexity of flood risk management or the dangers of flooding. By challenging both perspectives with artistic means, this research hopes to counter eco-anxiety and create a sense of open thought and susceptibility to new ideas, feelings and chains of thought. Animation and humour, are possible ingredients. The objective is to find and create multiple Dutch water stories, not just one. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop new methods for selecting and repurposing existing impactful stories and strong images. Citizens and students will be included to do so via fieldwork. In addition, archival materials will be used. Archives serve as a repository for memory recollection and reuse, selecting material from the audiovisual archive of the Institute of Sound & Vision will be a crucial part of the creative work which will include two films and accompanying music.
Codarts, as a University of the Arts, develops practice-oriented research to enhance artistic development, the arts practice and arts education. Performing arts, specifically dance, music and circus, enable us to communicate beyond geographical, cultural, linguistic and religious boundaries and helps us connect our common values and dreams. The performing arts are universal in their capacity to unite and inspire, providing an excellent opportunity for us to expand our research to an international level. However, the current research strategy at Codarts does not sufficiently match our European research ambitions, even though our education is inherently international and there are multiple strong connections to relevant themes in the European Research Area. Accordingly, with this project, we aim to bridge the gap between our current national research activities and our European ambitions by aligning our research focus with the European Research Area. The aim is to develop a strategy that enriches the arts practice, arts education and our research, creating a stronger connection to the European Research Area and to relevant European networks. Expanding the scope of our practice-oriented research towards European projects is essential to increase research opportunities, improve the applicability and societal impact of our research outcomes and provide more opportunities for students, teachers and researchers to learn and exchange knowledge and insights. Additionally, it is necessary to create a sustainable future for our institution. Strategic brainstorm sessions, benchmark studies, detailed action plans and viability assessments need to make sure that we become aware of our current position in the European research field, as well as identify potential partners and networks to collaborate with. This project will eventually work towards participation in a relevant European project proposal as the first step towards strengthening our position as a leading University of the Arts in Europe.
