Is bone kinesthetic adaptation of bone innervation plastically developed in fingers and correlated joints of violist and pianist after long term practice?

Bone cells might be considered in response to the distribution of nerves in the periosteum, epiphysis and bone marrow.The sensory and sympathetic neurotransmitters have trophic effects critically on normal osteogenic differentiation and bone metabolism in bone development and regeneration. It could modulate bone regeneration, bone remodeling, and articular cartilage homeostasis to their classic neurological actions. With touching and hearing mediated osseoperception, sensation can be adapted from the mechanical stimulation of a bone-anchored prosthesis. Investigations of the influence of music on the human brain showed structural and functional cerebro-neuroplasticity emerge as a result of long-term musical practice, which may cause cognitive differences between non-musicians and musicians. Meanwhile, the physical mechanical hits and touch strings and keys of instruments hypothetically were considered to cause adaptability for professional musicians in their peripheral tissues, especially bone sensation of fingers and correlated joints. Music practice is bone-strengthening activity. We hypothesis that it produces sensation adaptation in the fingers and correlated joints of instrument players, especially musicians after tremendous training and practice. Both the bone, correlated joint and its innervation are adapted by neuroplasticity for something part of “hardware constructing” to accomplish music performance. We thought that neuroplasticity occurred both in central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. Besides of developed in soft tissues of subcutaneous, connective tissue, muscle, inter-tissue coordination through neuro-network may occur in bone innervation coupled with correlated joint for specialized music-practice-oriented neuroplasticity. Soft tissues, such as muscle and tendon cannot directly hit instrument with stiffness to generate sound and rhythmic. Functionally, innervated-bone as bio-mechanical device becomes sensory musical target bone.

Thinking Time in Music Practice

We asked school- and college-aged instrumentalists ( N = 32) to imagine an ideal performance of a brief passage of music, record a performance of the passage, and describe discrepancies they noticed between their imagined and actual performances. The more experienced participants took at least as much time to imagine their idealized performances as it took to perform them; less experienced participants took less time to imagine what they were about to play. There were no differences among experience levels in the numbers or types of discrepancies identified. The differences between more and less experienced participants were also evident in a subsequent practice period. More experienced musicians’ practice included more frequent moments of pause, whereas school-aged participants seldom paused and tended to address performance issues other than those identified in their commentaries.

Music, Migration, and Public Space: Syrian Street Music in the Political Context

Due to the lack of social systems supporting the cultural productions of migrant societies in Turkey, the venues and opportunities to which migrant musicians have access for the maintenance of their musical practices are limited. Under the given circumstances, especially in the first years after their arrival, street musicianship emerged as a new musical practice for Syrian musicians in Istanbul, and Beyoğlu District, the city’s cultural and political center, has become the venue for street musicians’ performances. Despite undergoing a rapid neoliberal transformation, Beyoğlu district, with Taksim Square and Istiklal Avenue, is a venue of interaction among locals, tourists, and various migrant groups from diverse social classes and identities. As such, it still possesses the potential to be the public sphere which can operate as the space of “a democratic ideal.” For migrant musicians, the street music practices, which fill the very heart of city with their voices and sounds, are means of claiming their existence in the city as potential actors of this public sphere. However, conducting the interaction with the other public space actors and the state officials through street music is not an easy task for Syrian musicians, and it requires the use of tactics from them. In this article, I summarize the given circumstances of Syrian street music performances and discuss the Beyoğlu district in the frame of being—or not being—a public space. I propose street music practice as political action, a “social non-movement”, as Asef Bayat calls it, and situate migrant musicians as political actors who are possible allies of other subaltern groups in Turkey.

The effects of group keyboard music making on the mood states of college students

Our pilot study explored the effects of a new, five-session group keyboard music-making protocol on the mood states of non-musician college students. Twenty-five math and engineering students participated in a keyboard music-making program without the expectation or need for extensive technical preparation or regular music practice. To assess changes in mood states before and after music-making activities, we administered the Profile of Mood States-Short Form (POMS-SF) questionnaire. Here, we show significant and lasting improvements in participant’s negative and positive mood states, which were more robust than mood improvements reported with other Recreational Music Making (RMM) protocols, suggesting a strong therapeutic potential of our group keyboard music-making program.

Personalizing HRI in Musical Instrument Practicing: The Influence of Robot Roles (Evaluative Versus Nonevaluative) on the Child’s Motivation for Children in Different Learning Stages

Learning to play a musical instrument involves skill learning and requires long-term practicing to reach expert levels. Research has already proven that the assistance of a robot can improve children’s motivation and performance during practice. In an earlier study, we showed that the specific role (evaluative role versus nonevaluative role) the robot plays can determine children’s motivation and performance. In the current study, we argue that the role of the robot has to be different for children in different learning stages (musical instrument expertise levels). Therefore, this study investigated whether children in different learning stages would have higher motivation when assisted by a robot in different supporting roles (i.e., evaluative role versus nonevaluative role). We conducted an empirical study in a real practice room of a music school with 31 children who were at different learning stages (i.e., beginners, developing players, and advanced players). In this study, every child practiced for three sessions: practicing alone, assisted by the evaluative robot, or assisted by the nonevaluative robot (in a random order). We measured motivation by using a questionnaire and analyzing video data. Results showed a significant interaction between condition (i.e., alone, evaluative robot, and nonevaluative robot) and learning stage groups indicating that children in different learning stage groups had different levels of motivation when practicing alone or with an evaluative or nonevaluative robot. More specifically, beginners had higher persistence when practicing with the nonevaluative robot, while advanced players expressed higher motivation after practicing with a robot than alone, but no difference was found between the two robot roles. Exploratory results also indicated that gender might have an interaction effect with the robot roles on child’s motivation in music practice with social robots. This study offers more insight into the child-robot interaction and robot role design in musical instrument learning. Specifically, our findings shed light on personalization in HRI, that is, from adapting the role of the robot to the characteristics and the development level of the user.

Now in the Network

Network technologies have played an increasingly prominent role in sound art practices over the last forty years. The consequent creative possibilities associated with space and locality are clearly apparent: networks enable connections between geographically remote locations, and allow the creation of new virtual spaces for sound art to inhabit. Less immediately apparent—though equally significant—are the ways in which network technologies have enabled artists to explore temporal relationships in their work. In particular, network technologies inevitably involve latency—a short time delay between the moment a signal is created at one location and the moment it is perceived at another. Taking traditional notated music practice as a point of reference, this chapter considers a number of case studies in which sound artists have explored new types of temporal relationships in their work, as a consequence of their use of network technologies. This investigation is framed in the context of Bergson’s concept of durée and Clarke’s concept of subject position.

“Music Has No Borders”: An Exploratory Study of Audience Engagement With YouTube Music Broadcasts During COVID-19 Lockdown, 2020

This exploratory study engages with eight case studies of music performances broadcast online to investigate the role of music in facilitating social cohesion, intercultural understanding and community resilience during a time of social distancing and concomitant heightened racial tensions. Using an online ethnographic approach and thematic analysis of video comments, the nature of audience engagement with music performances broadcast via YouTube during COVID-19 lockdown of 2020 is explored through the lens of ritual engagement with media events and models of social capital. The eight case studies featured virtual choirs, orchestras and music collaborations of various genres, including classical, pop and fusion styles drawing from European, Asia Minor, South African, West African, North African, Arabic, South Asian, and East Asian cultural origins. Five overarching themes resulted from thematic analysis of video comments, including Interaction, Unity, Resilience, Identity, and Emotion. The paper contributes important theorisation that ritual engagement and social learning fosters intercultural understanding through engaging with music both cognitively and emotionally, which can in turn shape both individual and collective identity. Online platforms provide scope for both bonding and bridging opportunities. Community resilience is supported through the sharing of knowledge, sustaining music practice during social distancing, as well as emotional support shared among audience participants, with potential wellbeing outcomes.

Digital Platform's: Investigations in the Application of Music Practice Learning

One of the competencies that must be possessed in the 21st century is digital literacy skills. This ability must be possessed by every student and lecturer in integrating digital platforms into learning, especially in the current pandemic era. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a digital platform in its application to practical courses. Researchers use google classroom as a sample of the many types of digital platforms. This type of research is descriptive qualitative using a case study approach. The object of this research were 26 active students who took music ensemble courses, while the variable being investigated was the use of google classroom in learning. Data collection was carried out by means of questionnaires, observations, and interviews. The results show that digital platforms can be used as an alternative solution to carry out online learning in the midst of a pandemic. However, it is not optimal for the music ensemble course because of several factors, including the location of the student's residence which is difficult to get a signal, material that students find difficult, the availability of their own musical instruments, and the student's ability to play music.