Gaze patterns of expert and amateur sight-readers with particular focus on the cognitive underpinnings of reading key and time signatures
- Authors: Viljoen, Jacobus Frederick
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Sight-reading (Music) , Eye tracking , Cognition , Musical notation , Tonality , Musical meter and rhythm
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190908 , vital:45040 , 10.21504/10962/190908
- Description: Over the last decade, eye-tracking technology has provided researchers with specific tools to study the process of reading (language and music) empirically. Most of these studies have focused on the “Eye-Hand Span” phenomenon (the ability to read ahead of the point of playing). However, little research investigates the cognitive implications of specific aspects of musical notation when performed in real time. This research aimed to observe the fixations patterns of sight-readers in order to investigate the cognitive underpinnings of key and time signatures in music scores. This research project is a quantitative study using a quasi-experimental research design. Tobii eye-tracking equipment and software were used to record the eye movements of 11 expert and 7 amateur keyboard sight-readers. Two key aspects of music notation, key and time signatures, were selected as the main focus of the study. To investigate these aspects, eighteen research participants were provided with seventeen sight-reading examples for one hand (low complexity) and two hands (high complexity) composed specifically by the researcher. Several examples contained one or more unexpected aspects (accidentals or changes of time signature) to test their effect on fixation count and duration. Two variables (fixation count and fixation duration) were utilised to analyze fixation patterns on the selected aspects of the scores. Three main results emerged from the data analysis: 1) Expert sight-readers performed with much greater accuracy than experts in both tests; 2) Expert sight-readers exhibited a higher fixation count on entire scores in complex examples; 3) Both expert and amateur sight-readers fixate more and for longer on certain notational aspects such as key and time signatures than other notational aspects such as deviations or individual notes. This selection of focused attention suggests that both expert and amateur sight-readers cognitively process music scores in a hierarchical order. In conclusion, key and time signatures appear to require more and longer fixations by both groups of readers than other aspects of the score. This supports previous research which suggests that sound musical knowledge may play a positive role in performers’ sight-reading skills, thereby contributing to more successful sight-reading performances. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Viljoen, Jacobus Frederick
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Sight-reading (Music) , Eye tracking , Cognition , Musical notation , Tonality , Musical meter and rhythm
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190908 , vital:45040 , 10.21504/10962/190908
- Description: Over the last decade, eye-tracking technology has provided researchers with specific tools to study the process of reading (language and music) empirically. Most of these studies have focused on the “Eye-Hand Span” phenomenon (the ability to read ahead of the point of playing). However, little research investigates the cognitive implications of specific aspects of musical notation when performed in real time. This research aimed to observe the fixations patterns of sight-readers in order to investigate the cognitive underpinnings of key and time signatures in music scores. This research project is a quantitative study using a quasi-experimental research design. Tobii eye-tracking equipment and software were used to record the eye movements of 11 expert and 7 amateur keyboard sight-readers. Two key aspects of music notation, key and time signatures, were selected as the main focus of the study. To investigate these aspects, eighteen research participants were provided with seventeen sight-reading examples for one hand (low complexity) and two hands (high complexity) composed specifically by the researcher. Several examples contained one or more unexpected aspects (accidentals or changes of time signature) to test their effect on fixation count and duration. Two variables (fixation count and fixation duration) were utilised to analyze fixation patterns on the selected aspects of the scores. Three main results emerged from the data analysis: 1) Expert sight-readers performed with much greater accuracy than experts in both tests; 2) Expert sight-readers exhibited a higher fixation count on entire scores in complex examples; 3) Both expert and amateur sight-readers fixate more and for longer on certain notational aspects such as key and time signatures than other notational aspects such as deviations or individual notes. This selection of focused attention suggests that both expert and amateur sight-readers cognitively process music scores in a hierarchical order. In conclusion, key and time signatures appear to require more and longer fixations by both groups of readers than other aspects of the score. This supports previous research which suggests that sound musical knowledge may play a positive role in performers’ sight-reading skills, thereby contributing to more successful sight-reading performances. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Performing Emil Hartmann – The Importance of Musical Contextualisation: A practice-based research project
- Authors: Robertson, Garreth Damon
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Hartmann, Emil, 1836-1898 , Hartmann, Emil, 1836-1898 Criticism and interpretation History 19th century , Practice (Philosophy) , Research Methodology , Contextualism (Philosophy) , Music Denmark History and criticism , Music appreciation , Musical analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190771 , vital:45026
- Description: When embarking on a journey of preparing a musical work for performance, a contextualisation process is undertaken which informs the performer/s of the factors which govern the parameters of the work. In this study, the author performed Emil Hartmann’s piano trio op. 10 as a part of an integrated master’s degree program. As the composer was not a part of mainland European musical society, information on his life and work was difficult to access, which presented the performer with a contextualisation problem. This study aimed to highlight the process of contextualisation, in the absence of sufficient literary material, through the lens of Emil Hartmann’s piano trio op. 10. The research used a three-pronged methodological approach in order to construct the narrative around Hartmann’s life and composition. Through a structured process of using practice-based research to analyse the creative process undertaken by the practitioners, alongside a micro-historical and analytical methodology, the study builds layers of understanding to inform Hartmann’s narrative, and thus provides interpretational insight into the execution of the work. The research finds that, although it is possible to interpret a musical work based on the musical score, there are layers of depth which cannot be accessed without a contextual understanding of the composer and the conditions in which the composition was written. Through forming the narrative on Emil Hartmann and his piano trio, the research uses the methodology to highlight a method which can be undertaken in the absence of contextual knowledge, and thus presents a contextual understanding of Emil Hartmann’s narrative. With the constructed knowledge, the author uses the findings based on the methodological approaches to weave a narrative around the life of Emil Hartmann. Applying the information discovered in the findings, interpretational approaches are discussed to inform future performances of the work. , Thesis (MMus) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Robertson, Garreth Damon
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Hartmann, Emil, 1836-1898 , Hartmann, Emil, 1836-1898 Criticism and interpretation History 19th century , Practice (Philosophy) , Research Methodology , Contextualism (Philosophy) , Music Denmark History and criticism , Music appreciation , Musical analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190771 , vital:45026
- Description: When embarking on a journey of preparing a musical work for performance, a contextualisation process is undertaken which informs the performer/s of the factors which govern the parameters of the work. In this study, the author performed Emil Hartmann’s piano trio op. 10 as a part of an integrated master’s degree program. As the composer was not a part of mainland European musical society, information on his life and work was difficult to access, which presented the performer with a contextualisation problem. This study aimed to highlight the process of contextualisation, in the absence of sufficient literary material, through the lens of Emil Hartmann’s piano trio op. 10. The research used a three-pronged methodological approach in order to construct the narrative around Hartmann’s life and composition. Through a structured process of using practice-based research to analyse the creative process undertaken by the practitioners, alongside a micro-historical and analytical methodology, the study builds layers of understanding to inform Hartmann’s narrative, and thus provides interpretational insight into the execution of the work. The research finds that, although it is possible to interpret a musical work based on the musical score, there are layers of depth which cannot be accessed without a contextual understanding of the composer and the conditions in which the composition was written. Through forming the narrative on Emil Hartmann and his piano trio, the research uses the methodology to highlight a method which can be undertaken in the absence of contextual knowledge, and thus presents a contextual understanding of Emil Hartmann’s narrative. With the constructed knowledge, the author uses the findings based on the methodological approaches to weave a narrative around the life of Emil Hartmann. Applying the information discovered in the findings, interpretational approaches are discussed to inform future performances of the work. , Thesis (MMus) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
The Effects of Monaural Beat Technology on Learners' Experiences of Music Performance Anxiety (MPA)
- Authors: Flanagan, Jayson Edward
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Performance anxiety Alternative treatment , School music South Africa Makhanda , Music students South Africa Makhanda Examinations , Beats (Acoustics) Psychological aspects , Monaural Beat Technology
- Language: English
- Type: Masters theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/188419 , vital:44752
- Description: Music performance anxiety (MPA) is related to the experience of persisting, distressful, apprehensions about and/or actual impairment of performance skills in a public context, to a degree unwarranted given the individual’s musical aptitude, training and level of preparation (Salmon 1990). This research project set out to investigate learners’ subjective experiences of the effects of monaural beat (MB) vibrational frequencies on their experiences of MPA. The research project was a qualitative study based on a phenomenological research paradigm, which fundamentally aims to explore an experience in its own terms (Smith et al. 2009). The research participants consisted of four subject music pupils at St Andrew’s College and The Diocesan School for Girls and were interviewed through in-depth, semi-structured interviews over two practical examinations. The results suggested that various factors contribute to the experience of music performance anxiety, such as the performers’ perceptions of audience reactions, as well as the context of the performance. Self-esteem and the performer’s fragile sense of self-worth and self-confidence also play an important role in influencing their music performance anxiety. However, listening to monaural beats during a performance has the ability to lower levels of music performance anxiety by eliciting the following effects: an improved sense of confidence within the listeners; a sense of calm; the monaural beats working on a passive awareness level that allows the beat to operate at a sub-conscious level; the ability to focus better on the task at hand as well as benefit the listener in non-musical contexts such as studying; general concentration or ordinary tasks such as gardening or going for a run. The research suggests that listening to monaural beats during a musical performance can benefit the performer by lowering levels of MPA. As a result, the performer will experience an improved sense of confidence, calmness and the ability to focus better on the task at hand. Monaural beats have also shown to be a useful method of dealing with MPA instead of resorting to pharmaceutical drugs or other methods of coping such as playing games for distraction. , Thesis (MMus) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Flanagan, Jayson Edward
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Performance anxiety Alternative treatment , School music South Africa Makhanda , Music students South Africa Makhanda Examinations , Beats (Acoustics) Psychological aspects , Monaural Beat Technology
- Language: English
- Type: Masters theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/188419 , vital:44752
- Description: Music performance anxiety (MPA) is related to the experience of persisting, distressful, apprehensions about and/or actual impairment of performance skills in a public context, to a degree unwarranted given the individual’s musical aptitude, training and level of preparation (Salmon 1990). This research project set out to investigate learners’ subjective experiences of the effects of monaural beat (MB) vibrational frequencies on their experiences of MPA. The research project was a qualitative study based on a phenomenological research paradigm, which fundamentally aims to explore an experience in its own terms (Smith et al. 2009). The research participants consisted of four subject music pupils at St Andrew’s College and The Diocesan School for Girls and were interviewed through in-depth, semi-structured interviews over two practical examinations. The results suggested that various factors contribute to the experience of music performance anxiety, such as the performers’ perceptions of audience reactions, as well as the context of the performance. Self-esteem and the performer’s fragile sense of self-worth and self-confidence also play an important role in influencing their music performance anxiety. However, listening to monaural beats during a performance has the ability to lower levels of music performance anxiety by eliciting the following effects: an improved sense of confidence within the listeners; a sense of calm; the monaural beats working on a passive awareness level that allows the beat to operate at a sub-conscious level; the ability to focus better on the task at hand as well as benefit the listener in non-musical contexts such as studying; general concentration or ordinary tasks such as gardening or going for a run. The research suggests that listening to monaural beats during a musical performance can benefit the performer by lowering levels of MPA. As a result, the performer will experience an improved sense of confidence, calmness and the ability to focus better on the task at hand. Monaural beats have also shown to be a useful method of dealing with MPA instead of resorting to pharmaceutical drugs or other methods of coping such as playing games for distraction. , Thesis (MMus) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
The prominence of choral music in the search for, and preservation of, an African identity: A study focusing on the role of choral composers in the formation of black nationalism during and after the colonial era in South Africa
- Authors: Nelani, Athenkosi
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Choral music South Africa , Choral singing South Africa , Black people Race identity South Africa , Black nationalism South Africa , Composers, Black South Africa , Amakwaya
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190965 , vital:45045
- Description: In South Africa, choral music has been prominent in schools, churches, and community choirs since the 19th century. However, the majority of South Africans know little of the history of indigenous choral music. This study investigates the origins of South African indigenous choral music, its canonic figures, and their contribution to this genre in promoting an African identity among the indigenous people of South Africa. Using the methodological lens of historical ethnomusicology, this thesis explores the genesis of choral music in South Africa. Choral music was introduced to the region when it was first colonised by the Dutch East India Company in 1652. Missionaries established institutions in the villages of the local people and translated the Bible and hymn books into the local languages. These actions had lasting consequences for music, and choral singing was greatly advanced. In addition, in this work early composers of South African indigenous choral music are recognised in an effort to establish a choral canon. Three definitive choral periods are recognised, namely those of the first-generation, second-generation, and post-colonial composers. Using this historical framework, this thesis investigates the social and political influence these composers had on African identity during the liberation struggles in the late colonial era and during the early apartheid period. The history and compositions of the composers are discussed, including how they used their compositions as political tools and as mouthpieces to communicate societal issues of concern to the indigenous people during and after the colonial era. , Thesis (MMus) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Nelani, Athenkosi
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Choral music South Africa , Choral singing South Africa , Black people Race identity South Africa , Black nationalism South Africa , Composers, Black South Africa , Amakwaya
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190965 , vital:45045
- Description: In South Africa, choral music has been prominent in schools, churches, and community choirs since the 19th century. However, the majority of South Africans know little of the history of indigenous choral music. This study investigates the origins of South African indigenous choral music, its canonic figures, and their contribution to this genre in promoting an African identity among the indigenous people of South Africa. Using the methodological lens of historical ethnomusicology, this thesis explores the genesis of choral music in South Africa. Choral music was introduced to the region when it was first colonised by the Dutch East India Company in 1652. Missionaries established institutions in the villages of the local people and translated the Bible and hymn books into the local languages. These actions had lasting consequences for music, and choral singing was greatly advanced. In addition, in this work early composers of South African indigenous choral music are recognised in an effort to establish a choral canon. Three definitive choral periods are recognised, namely those of the first-generation, second-generation, and post-colonial composers. Using this historical framework, this thesis investigates the social and political influence these composers had on African identity during the liberation struggles in the late colonial era and during the early apartheid period. The history and compositions of the composers are discussed, including how they used their compositions as political tools and as mouthpieces to communicate societal issues of concern to the indigenous people during and after the colonial era. , Thesis (MMus) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Traversing Sonic Spaces: Expressions of Identity, Gender, and Power in the Musical Traditions of the Nupe in Northern Nigeria
- Authors: Njoku, Obianuju Akunna
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192886 , vital:45276
- Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Njoku, Obianuju Akunna
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192886 , vital:45276
- Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
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