Crafting successful music careers: Insights from the professional lives of Australian pianists

2021 ◽  
pp. 1321103X2110346
Author(s):  
Katie Zhukov ◽  
Jennifer Rowley
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Contemporary Music ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Piano Solo ◽  
Undergraduate Study ◽  
Professional Careers ◽  
World Class ◽  
Full Time Employment ◽  
Study Overseas

This study investigates the careers of 28 classical pianists in Australia to develop greater understanding of skills needed to build professional music careers and to highlight implications for higher music education training. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed for emerging themes using Subotnik and Jarvin’s scholarly productivity or artistry (SP/A) model, looking for connections between distinct skills developed during education and their role in the building of professional careers. Participants in this study began learning to play the piano at an early age and pursued lessons during primary education, developing their technique, learning numerous works, and participating in competitions. In high school, the pianists learned to play other instruments, studied more complex and demanding piano solo repertoire, and participated in extra-curricular music activities. During performance-focused undergraduate study, all concentrated on improving technique, building solo and collaborative repertoire (including contemporary music), and exploring other music-related areas. Postgraduate study overseas and concertizing broadened their understanding of world-class standards. The participants undertook casual music jobs at the start of their careers, but eventually many achieved permanent full-time employment. Hard work, ability to learn quickly, natural gifts/talent, and passion for music helped these pianists build successful portfolio careers. The findings reveal that today’s tertiary music graduates will require diverse music and entrepreneurial skills, and a positive attitude. The implications highlight the need for the development of wide-ranging playing skills beyond solo performance and entrepreneurial competency as important factors for music careers.

Practice and performance management strategies of emerging professional musicians in preparation for orchestra auditions

2022 ◽  
pp. 1321103X2110546
Author(s):  
Jolan Kegelaers ◽  
Lotte Hoogkamer ◽  
Raôul RD Oudejans
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Collective Case Study ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Full Time Employment ◽  
Performance Strategies

Orchestra auditions form a critical career challenge for many aspiring classical musicians. Hence, emerging professional musicians—defined as promising musicians entering the professional circuit without having yet established full-time employment—require effective practice and performance strategies to manage the demands of auditions. The purpose of this collective case study was to gain an in-depth and contextualized understanding of such practice and performance management strategies in relation to mock orchestra auditions. Data were collected using an intensive qualitative approach, combining semi-structured interviews with regular structured monitoring interviews, with eight musicians. Content analysis revealed that participants, on average, engaged in 33 hr of music-related activities per week, during which they adopted self-regulating strategies (i.e., strategic goal setting, structuring practice, monitoring practice, and reflecting on progress) to a varying degree. Furthermore, participants used different performance management strategies to cope with the pressure of auditions (i.e., practicing under pressure, imagery, relaxation, cognitive reframing, routines, attentional control, and substance use). Overall, the data suggest that the emerging musicians possessed several different practice and performance strategies but showed great variation in the use of such strategies and had a preference for long practice hours. Potential implications for music education organizations aiming to prepare students for auditions are discussed.

Characterizing the health experience of Tuvaluan migrants in Auckland, New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Paul Emont ◽  
Seipua O’Brien ◽  
Vili Nosa ◽  
Elizabeth Terry Toll ◽  
Roberta Goldman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Health Care ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Full Time Employment

Purpose It is predicted that increasing numbers of citizens of the Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu will migrate to New Zealand in the coming decades due to the threat of climate change. Tuvaluans currently living in New Zealand face disparities in income, education and health. This study aims to understand the views of recent Tuvaluan immigrants to Auckland, New Zealand on health behaviors, health care and immigration. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews and participant observation using a focused ethnography methodology. Findings Participants explained that Tuvaluans in New Zealand do not fully use primary care services, have a poorer diet and physical activity compared to those living in Tuvalu, and struggle to maintain well-paying, full-time employment. Practical implications As Tuvaluan immigration to New Zealand continues, it will be important to educate the Tuvaluan community about the role of primary health-care services and healthy behaviors, facilitate the current process of immigration and provide job training to recent immigrants to improve their opportunities for full-time employment and ensure cultural survival in the face of the threat of climate change. Originality/value This paper contributes to a greater understanding of the challenges to be faced by Tuvaluan environmental migrants in the future and features a high proportion of study participants who migrated due to climate change.

scholarly journals Importance of Intuition in Music Education

Pedagogika ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-220
Author(s):  
Rasa Kirliauskienė
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
School Teacher ◽  
Contemporary Music ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
Full Time

Communication of music is firstly based on intuitive intonational thinking. Thus, according to Z. Rinkevičius (2009), it is quite natural that appropriate use of music may efficiently stimulate intuitive thinking, reserves of unknown to us subconsciousness, and through them, those of consciousness. Therefore, music facilitates improvement of spiritual powers and intellect more than any other kinds of art. Research object: importance of intuition in music education. Research aim: to reveal importance of intuition in music education. Methods of research and sample: analysis of scientific literature sources, interview. Qualitative research data are described applying content analysis. The scheme of categorization was not planned in advance and it was devised on the basis of the received data. The research was carried out in October 2013 and January 2014. The people related to the analysed problem (key informants) were chosen in the first stage of the research: 3 teachers with sufficient pedagogical experience working at school. The semi-structured (oral) interview was employed. The focus of this stage of research was on subjective opinion of the informants about importance of intuition in music education. They also were asked in what way, according to the informants, intuition is manifested in their work as a phenomenon. Attempts were also made to identify the musical activities, where use of intuition is evidenced. The second stage of the research included 28 fourth year (full-time and part-time) students. The semi-structured interview (written) was used in this stage. The question about importance of intuition in musical education was not presented to future teachers of music with the acquired sufficient knowledge of pedagogy, psychology and other theories, speciality - related abilities and skills of observational and performance practices. They were asked to express their opinion about the content of the role of a contemporary music teacher. The question about significance of intonation was not presented to the informants making attempts to envisage the vision of the young generation (i.e., music teachers to be) about what a school teacher should be like and then the researcher searched for certain links to substantiate own theory. Conclusions • The research revealed that music teachers frequently act under influence of intuition, change plans when new ideas emerge and get overwhelmed with an impulse of creativity. According to them, manifestations of intuition in music activities are mostly expressed in music creation, listening to music, music playing and musical thinking. • The research data identified the content of the role of a music teacher pointing out its 5 aspects: educator (education for humanity: humanity, communication, playing music together); authority (competent specialist: example for school learners, profound knowledge of study subject, universality); importance of teacher’s personality (aspects of teacher’s personality: ability to arouse learners’ interest, ability to be a friend, teacher’s charismatic personality, flexibility); creativity (manifestations of creativity: teacher’s creativity, ability to develop students’ creativity, improvisation, revelation of students’ personality through creative expression) and value-based aspects (enlightener of students’ souls, nurturer of beauty of life, provision of sense to new impressions, expression of emotions). • The content of the role of a contemporary music teacher revealed during the research substantiates possibilities of intuition in music education and expands its boundaries.

Working Long Hours and Its Impact on Family Life: Experiences of Women Professionals and Managers in Sri Lanka

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thilakshi Kodagoda
Keyword(s):  
Family Life ◽  
Women Professionals ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Full Time Employment ◽  
Experiences Of Women

Worldwide studies of professional and managerial dual-earner couples in specific professions have indicated that with the double burdens of work and family, working long hours limit women’s career aspirations. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 40 respondents, this article examines how long working hours in the banking and health sectors impact professional and managerial mothers’ family life and health, and how the latter perceive motherhood roles. Though there was evidence of negative effects of long hours especially on childcare and children’s cognitive development, while rationalising their decision on combining motherhood and paid work, mothers interviewed valued their full-time employment.

scholarly journals From Policy to Practice: Women's Experiences of Breastfeeding-Friendly Worksites, Part 2

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Cheyney ◽  
Margaret Henning ◽  
Holly Horan ◽  
Marit L. Bovbjerg ◽  
Maryanne Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Return To Work ◽  
New England ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Potential Solution ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Wage Work ◽  
Returning To Work ◽  
Full Time Employment ◽  
Disproportionate Burden

IntroductionMaintaining lactation after returning to work is imperative for overall breastfeeding success, yet mothers who return to full-time employment outside the home are unlikely to meet their breastfeeding goals. Breastfeeding-friendly worksites are one potential solution.MethodUsing semi-structured interviews with employees in one rural New England town (N = 18), we aimed to better understand the barriers and supports to continued lactation at “breastfeeding-friendly” worksites.ResultsFive key themes emerged from participants' narratives; two built environment-focused themes are discussed here.DiscussionFindings expose the disproportionate burden placed on women when care- and wage-work are combined, even in worksites at least theoretically committed to supporting lactation following a return to work.

Australian business graduates’ perceptions of non-technical skills within the workplace

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 457-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Roepen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Technical Skills ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Task Completion ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Graduates ◽  
Full Time Employment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore non-technical skills from the perspective of Australian business graduates who had recently made the transition from higher education into full-time employment. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach was applied through the use of an online survey containing closed and open-ended questions pertaining to graduates’ perceptions of the relative importance of non-technical skills, as well as graduates’ overall confidence levels in displaying these skills within the workplace. Data were analysed and further explored through 12 follow-up qualitative semi-structured interviews by using a constant comparative approach to identify common themes and factors. Findings The study revealed that the non-technical skill of self-management was reported as the most important skill for graduates who were managing the transition from higher education into the workforce. The non-technical skills which were classified to be associated with workplace socialisation and familiarisation were rated higher than those which were classified as being related to task completion. Practical implications Graduates commencing employment within a new workplace environment can benefit from the strategies reported, which assisted with the processes of workplace socialisation and familiarisation. Originality/value Perceptions of non-technical skills, from the perspective of graduates who are managing the transition process from higher education into full-time employment remains a relatively unexplored area within existing literature. This study reveals new insights into the experiences of graduates who are likely to be engaged with the issues surrounding the disparity between the expectations of higher education, industry, and the graduates themselves.

Meeting the Needs of Gifted Learners Who Just Don’t ‘Fit’: Parent Perspectives

2019 ◽  
pp. 6-16
Author(s):  
Nadine Ballam ◽  
Anne Sturgess
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Gifted Education ◽  
Support Staff ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Parent Perspectives ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Gifted Learners ◽  
Initial Cohort ◽  
Data Informed

In February 2018, a full-time provider of gifted education opened in New Zealand with its initial cohort of children. This provider catered for learners from ages 1-15 years who did not ‘fit’ in mainstream education settings. This paper reports on a research project that focused on the effectiveness of the learning approach at this school in its inaugural year. Two sources of data informed this research, including semi-structured interviews with parents and learning and support staff, and an analysis of documents related to the philosophy, curriculum, and learning approach. This paper reports on benefits and limitations of the learning approach identified by the parent participants in the study.

Coping experiences of graduate students on full-time employment and full-time academic programmes

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 605-618
Author(s):  
Samuel Amponsah ◽  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah ◽  
Stephen O. Adjapong ◽  
Chris Olusola Omorogie
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Full Time Employment

Developing 21st-Century Musicianship: Tablet-based Music Production in the General Music Classroom

2021 ◽  
pp. 104837132110344
Author(s):  
Jason Fick ◽  
Chris Bulgren
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Contemporary Music ◽  
Music Instruction ◽  
Technology Skills ◽  
General Music ◽  
Music Classroom ◽  
Music Production ◽  
Essential Skills

Increased availability of tablets at home and in classrooms provides educators access to a powerful tool for music instruction. Music production lessons on tablets offer alternate approaches to developing music literacies while teaching valuable technology skills. These activities are ideal for general music education because they align with contemporary music practices and are adaptable to a variety of learning environments (in person, remote, and hybrid). This article will present a model for tablet-based music production instruction in the general music classroom that aligns with the National Core Arts Standards and accompanying process components grounded in five essential skills: sequencing, recording, editing, effects processing, and mixing.

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