Musicality in human vocal communication: An evolutionary perspective

Studies show that specific vocal modulations, akin to those of infant-directed speech and perhaps music, play a role in communicating intentions and mental states during human social interaction. Based on this, we propose a model for the evolution of musicality –the capacity to process musical information– in relation to human vocal communication. We suggest that a complex social environment, with strong social bonds, promoted the appearance of musicality-related abilities. These social bonds were not limited to those between offspring and mothers or other carers, although these may have been especially influential in view of altriciality of human infants. The model can be further tested in other species by comparing levels of sociality and complexity of vocal communication. By integrating several theories, our model presents a radically different view of musicality, not limited to specifically musical scenarios, but one in which this capacity originally evolved to aid parent-infant communication and bonding, and even today plays a role, not only in music but also in infant-directed speech (IDS), as well as some adult-directed speech (ADS) contexts.

NOISY SOUNDS! It’s a Listening Affair: Jazz Aesthetic, Improvisation, and Womanism in M. NourbeSe Philip’s She Tries Her Tongue, Her Silence Softly Breaks

Black writers adapted jazz music to “say the unsayable” or employed the “jazz aesthetic,” which includes improvisation, citation, and variation as a stylistic device to distance their literature from European forms of narration. These elements can also be found in M. NourbeSe Philip’s poetry collection She Tries Her Tongue, Her Silence Softly Breaks (1988) which rigorously challenges the way language and words are perceived. Philip denounces the Western ideology of non-ambiguity, dichotomies, and narration altogether by engaging the reader as jazz musicians engage their audience. What role did music play in the Black resistance? What is the “jazz aesthetic” and how is it incorporated into Black diasporic literature? How does jazz music create community and how did Black female musicians speak up in a rather hypermasculine jazz universe? How does Philip incorporate the jazz aesthetic, improvisation, and womanist thoughts in her poems? And what is the intention of noise, dissonance, and (musical) violence?

Brand tune up: building value for brands through strategic sonic planning

While often overlooked, sound and music play an important role in marketing communications strategies. To stand out in today’s competitive marketplace, top companies are investing in strategic sonic planning to build value for their brands. This paper will investigate the role of sonic branding in marketing communications, and how brands can authentically and cost effectively integrate music and sound into their overall communications strategy. Looking at the history and future of sonic branding and the impact of sound and music on brands and consumers, this paper will seek to define a practical guideline for marketers and practitioners of sonic branding. The paper concludes that although it is difficult to quantify the impact of a sonic strategy, brands that embrace the principles of sonic branding can more effectively reach customers across all touch points. Moreover, the paper asserts that best practices for creating customized audio solutions differ from culture to culture.

Brand tune up: building value for brands through strategic sonic planning

While often overlooked, sound and music play an important role in marketing communications strategies. To stand out in today’s competitive marketplace, top companies are investing in strategic sonic planning to build value for their brands. This paper will investigate the role of sonic branding in marketing communications, and how brands can authentically and cost effectively integrate music and sound into their overall communications strategy. Looking at the history and future of sonic branding and the impact of sound and music on brands and consumers, this paper will seek to define a practical guideline for marketers and practitioners of sonic branding. The paper concludes that although it is difficult to quantify the impact of a sonic strategy, brands that embrace the principles of sonic branding can more effectively reach customers across all touch points. Moreover, the paper asserts that best practices for creating customized audio solutions differ from culture to culture.

The Development of Music Expertise: Applications of the Theories of Deliberate Practice and Deliberate Play

Musicians and athletes share many common traits. Both groups learn a combination of physical and mental skills to attain expert status. In this literature review, I provide a short history of research on expertise development and two models: Bloom’s model of expertise development and the Developmental Model of Sport Participation. The Bloom model categorizes learning activities between combinations of free play and deliberate practice throughout the three stages of development. However, Developmental Model of Sport Participation includes a new category, deliberate play, which combines aspects of play and deliberate practice. Research indicating music learning through deliberate practice, deliberate play, and music play is presented. If students are able to learn through the more enjoyable deliberate play and music play, teachers should consider including these activities to better match developmental stages and potentially improve retention. Implications for future research and music teachers are discussed.

Digital Music Play in Early Childhood

The chapter describes how mobile technology is firmly planted in young children’s everyday lives as they watch YouTube videos and play with apps that entertain and educate. Yet the question remains, What is the role of mobile technology in early childhood music education? There is concern that technology will compromise the active, playful musicking of young children. Mobile devices, however, can be used to support music development, with digital music play working in tandem with traditional music play in the form of converged music play. This chapter describes the ways in which early childhood teachers can incorporate mobile technology into their practice, extending its use to young children’s musicking in early childhood music settings, at home and in play spaces.

Phenomenology

This chapter argues that phenomenology can be methodologically enriched by engaging in second-person methods, exemplified by this chapter’s interviews with the Danish String Quartet about “losing oneself” in music. It points to the importance of relinquishing control in order to enter into an intense absorption and “losing oneself.” The chapter criticizes existing accounts of expertise and absorption for getting stuck on the question of whether one can reflect while performing, at the expense of overlooking the sense of relinquishing control or “letting the music play itself.” It elucidates the meaning of this relinquishing by pointing to the importance of bodily habitualities, the sense of agency, and affective intentionality, and concludes how this perspective can account for the conditions of possibility of playing sophisticated music while having “lost oneself.”