Reading the Romancero: A journey from the score to the sound with a non-professional choir

This case study focuses on the processes involved in co-constructing an interpretation of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Romancero Gitano with a non-professional choir. Rehearsals began in April 2018 and culminated with a performance in June 2018. In order to develop an understanding of the individual and collective processes involved, data were generated through autoethnography and journaling. These texts tracked our regular weekly rehearsals, any extra individual practice, and the performance experience. Seven journals were subsequently compiled and analyzed together with my autoethnography. The findings show that the bulk of the writings focused on technical questions like correctly executing the information contained in the score, with significantly fewer references to other aspects of musical interpretation, such as timbre, or personal reflections regarding our perception of the music and our journey in learning and performing the work. Furthermore, the texts reveal a hierarchical structure within the choir, especially related to perceived levels of musical literacy and/or institutionalized knowledge. In this article, I discuss the various experiences relating to the process of co-constructing a musical interpretation, together with the potential of journaling to develop reflexive, conscious, and inclusive processes of collective musical development within the context of a non-professional choir.

Facets of interaction between the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Culture of France in the musical and educational space

The problem of research. The relevance of the research is due to the urgent need to find new approaches to the musical development of students in general education, which makes it significant to refer to the experience of France in connection with the existence in the country of an original model of musical education with an established system of multifaceted partnerships controlled by the bodies of the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Culture of France. The purpose of the article: scientific and practical justification of the need to develop a Russian strategy of musical development based on the interaction of educational and cultural organizations. Materials and methods. As a methodological basis, a system-structural approach was used, which made it possible to conceptualize the data obtained as a result of the analysis of sources, as well as in the process of personal communication with French colleagues. The results of the study. The mechanism of the studied interaction in various forms of educational, extracurricular and out-of-school musical activities is based on a clearly structured scheme of cooperation between schools and partner structures in the field of culture and art at the state (conceptual), academic (coordination) and local (performing) levels. The impetus for the construction of this system of partnerships was the recognition by the pedagogical community and the authorities of France of the priority of musical education as a powerful stimulant for the development of personal, intellectual and creative abilities of students necessary for successful implementation in any field of activity. Discussion and conclusion. The initial impulse to the emergence of the concept of attracting artistic and cultural structures in the musical and educational field was the introduction in the early 80s of the twentieth century of the original system of professional and amateur musical training of students in the framework of general education in college and lyceum. In the future, the experience of partnership interaction in the field under study gradually spread not only to academic, but also to extracurricular and out-of-school activities. As an important "breakthrough" of the French musical and educational project, a significant contribution to the educational activities of musical and cultural centers of global importance should be recognized. The far-sighted policy of the French authorities aimed at substantial support of artistic, especially musical culture as the basis for the development of the whole society can serve as a strategic guideline for the modernization of the music education system in Russia in terms of developing management schemes and educational technologies based on the interaction of educational institutions with cultural and art institutions.

role of the Chinese piano school in the formation of the Chinese piano art

The relevance of the study is that the integrative role of compulsory piano learning in music education acquires the knowledge and skills of conscious work, which is considered the mainstream of the formation of the art of pianism in China. Most of it is conducted and implemented in territorially different environments of music schools to acquire knowledge, themes of perception of musical text, recognizing the degree of use of inherent potential of additional piano features related to increasing the effectiveness of learning activities. In the context of piano schools, a large number of students perceive the subject only as a hobby. For them, these measures are often reduced to the implementation of appropriate programmes. The piano, like any other subject, develops musicality and promotes reflection on the music piece. For some, the musical art of pianism acts as the only way to stimulate the harmonious imagination through which it is possible to learn to listen to chords. The piano is a unique source of inspiration for further musical development. The aim of the study is to reveal and examine the role of the Chinese piano school in the formation of Chinese art of pianism.

Musical Development Of Barongan Turonggo Laras Through Additional Instrument In Kendal Regency

This study aims to determine, describe, and analyze the development of the Barongan work of the Turonggo Laras group in Kendal Regency. The method used is descriptive qualitative with a musicological approach. Data collection techniques include observation, interviews, and documentation. The results showed that the development of working on Barongan Turonggo Laras music was in the form of adding western musical instruments, such as drums and keyboards in collaboration with gamelan. The use of the keyboard is intended as a filler for the main melody in campursari songs. This is because there are tones in the campursari song that does not exist on the gamelan instrument but exist on the keyboard. The addition of drums in the show is intended to lift the mood and strengthen the trance scene. The drum play tends to follow the dynamics of the kendang when accompanying the performance.

Didaktična literatura za violino Dušana Vodiška / Didactic violin literature by Dušan Vodišek

The article discusses didactic violin literature by violinist and pedagogue Dušan Vodišek. Covering the period between 1966 and 2016, his oeuvre represents a bridge between didactic violin literature of the previous century and contemporary didactic violin literature. Over these 50 years, he significantly enriched didactic violin literature in Slovenia with his works, which include a violin book for beginners, children’s compositions for violin and piano, youth compositions for violin and piano, compositions for chamber ensemble and string orchestra, and two textbooks on position changing. These materials provide original solutions to challenges concerning individual elements of violin playing and the musical development of students. Therefore, they also represent an important contribution to the development of violin pedagogy and violin playing in Slovenia.

The emergence of musical structures in instrumental free play of toddlers

The field of children’s free play instrumental musical expression seems to lack a theory on the developmental aspect in toddlerhood. The case studies presented here were part of a larger study aimed at helping to fill that gap. In the present study, five children aged 14‐22 months played freely on a metallophone and a pair of bongos in six sessions over nineteen months. The results exemplify the toddlers’ process of developing the ability to structure well-formed musical ideas, starting with short patterns that gradually grow and using repetition-based structures. The insights can contribute to the fields of early childhood musical development, music education and childcare.

Pirate mentality: How London radio has shaped creative practice in grime music

Grime music is an Afrodiasporic performance form originating in London. While artists such as Stormzy and Skepta are now international stars, its gestation took place within a grounded network of record shops, radio stations and raves. This article argues for grime pirate radio’s role as both an oppositional channel and site of creative practice. Based on empirical work undertaken from 2017 to 2019 in London’s grime scene, it demonstrates how artists harness radio’s communicative power to engender a Black counterpublic, before outlining a framework for creative agency: afforded by a network of stations and practitioners; made meaningful through its community of listeners; and realized through improvisatory practice. Existing studies focusing on pirate radio often present these fora as domains for dissemination. In grime, however, its creative function highlights the potentiality of radio as a performance medium: a space for quotidian belonging and co-presence, but also for musical development and grassroots practice.