Monday, March 11, 2024

Fwd: [DMRN-LIST] Society for Music Production Research Inaugural Conference September 12-14, 2024 • Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK



Call for Proposals

Society for Music Production Research Inaugural Conference

September 12-14, 2024 • Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK

 

Deadline for abstracts: March 15, 2024

Change and Continuity: Traditions, Tensions and Transformations in Music Production

 

The deadline to submit for the inaugural SMPR Conference, scheduled for the 12th-14th September 2024 at Leeds Beckett University (UK), has been extended to the 15th March 2024 (Midnight 12:am EST).

 

The call for papers and submission form is available via this link: https://bit.ly/SMPR2024CFP. Submission types include:

 

Individual Papers – 20-minute presentations with 10-minute Q&A. Submit an abstract of up to 300 words. Include the Title, Author(s), contact information, and 3-5 keywords. Abstracts should summarize the context and argument of the paper and a brief conclusion.

Organized Panels - up to 2 hours consisting of a moderated presentation with 4-6 participants. Submit an abstract of up to 300 words describing the panel theme, rationale, and goals. Include a list of participants, designated moderator, and a list of 3-5 keywords.

Themed Session – up to 2 hours consisting of 3-4 papers. Submit an abstract of up to 300 words describing the panel's theme, list of proposed papers, rationale, and goals and a list of 3-5 keywords.

Alternative Presentations – up to 2 hours. Submit an abstract of up to 300 words describing the theme, rationale, and goals of a non-standard presentation. Include a list of 3-5 keywords, the delivery format, and any special requirements.

Virtual Presentation - For colleagues who are unable to travel to the conference but still wish to present their work, there will be a very limited number of virtual presentation slots. Slots will be a 15-minute video presentation to be submitted BEFORE the conference with 10-minute online Q&A. Submit an abstract of up to 300 words. Include the Title, Author(s), contact information, and 3-5 keywords. Abstracts should summarize the context and argument of the paper and a brief conclusion.

 

The conference will include the first annual meeting and election, and we'll be welcoming contributions from colleagues across the wide spectrum of music, and from various other organisations, including the Art of Record Production (ARP), the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) and the Audio Engineering Society (AES). We'll be announcing keynote speakers and more information on the event shortly but please spread as widely as you can across your own networks.

 

 

If you have any questions, please get in touch and we look forward to your contributions!

 

Conference committee: 

  • Alex Stevenson, Course Director for BA Music Performance and Production & BA Music Industries Management a.s.stevenson@leedsbeckett.ac.uk 
  • Paul Thompson, Reader in Popular Music, p.a.thompson@leedsbeckett.ac.uk 
  • William Moylan,  Professor Emeritus of Music and Sound Recording Technology, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Samantha Bennett, Professor of Music, Australian National University


Monday, March 4, 2024

Fwd: [DMRN-LIST] PhD position: Interactive Sound Spaces - Deep Learning Architectures for Creative Sound Practices and Musical Applications

How do we make music with wicked sounds generated by Deep Learning architectures?


We are looking for candidates for a PhD position, in the project Interactive Sound Spaces - Deep Learning Architectures for Creative Sound Practices and Musical Applications at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. We will research and develop novel Deep Learning tools for various musical interaction modalities and possibilities, to thereby help, guide, and enable creative practitioners in the novel ways of exploring, selecting, designing, and performing sound. Please find the more details of the project at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/ypyjxz83


The deadline for applications is April 15th, 2024.


This position is part of a broad call for up to five fully funded PhD positions in Computer Science and Engineering covering areas such as: data science, logic and types, natural language processing, formal methods, software engineering, interaction design, computer graphics, and networks and systems. Candidates choose a project from a list of various topics in Computer Science fields to apply. If you would like to work in Deep Learning architectures for experimental music and sound practices, 


Please state in your cover letter that you are applying for the project DSAI01 - Kivanc Tatar - Interactive Sound Spaces - Deep Learning Architectures for Creative Sound Practices and Musical Applications. More info about the application procedure is below.


Please submit your application using the button at the end of the official call page at the link below


https://www.chalmers.se/en/about-chalmers/work-with-us/vacancies/?rmpage=job&rmjob=12588&rmlang=UK


Qualifications

To qualify as a PhD student, by the starting date, you must complete the requirements for a master's level degree of at least 240 higher education credits in Computer Science and Engineering or in a study program relevant to your chosen research area.


The working language at the department is English, the position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English.



Contract terms

Full-time employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.


We offer

Chalmers offers a cultivating and inspiring working environment in the coastal city of Gothenburg. Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.


Swedish is not a pre-requisite for applying. If you wish to learn Swedish, Chalmers offers Swedish courses to support your integration in Swedish society.


Application procedure

The application must include the following materials:

  • Selection of minimum one and maximum two of the projects indicating, which of the two is the preferred project to work on.

  • A cover letter explaining the merits of the candidate and describing clearly their suitability to the first ranked project. The cover letter must not exceed two pages. In the case of candidates who have not completed their required qualifications, the letter should include a clear statement as to their expectations to complete their qualifications.

  • A CV detailing previous experience including links to additional materials such as theses, publications, previous projects, or similar.

  • Certificates of previous degrees and transcripts of courses the student passed and their grades.

The application is to be written in English. The interview and assessment process will include:

  1. Shortlisting:

    1. Shortly after the application deadline, suitable candidates will be contacted by the respective supervisors.

    2. Candidates should be ready to present a previous project at a master level within at a short notice of about a week.

  2. Interview:

    1. Shortlisted candidates will be asked prior to the interview to complete a small take-home assignment related to the project they have selected.

    2. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online interview of about 1 hour, including a discussion of their assignment and other relevant questions.


If you have questions, please feel free to contact:

Regarding employment, application procedures, and positions: Sanna Staf (sanna.staf@cse.gu.se)

Regarding the projects and other questions: Nir Piterman (piterman@chalmers.se)


Thank you,


Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Fwd: [DMRN-LIST] CfP Listen to the Web


Dear DMRN, 

Please find embedded a link to a Call for Papers for a workshop on "How do we listen to the Web?". We invite presentations, demos, and papers about experiences or provocations in this area as a workshop that will run on 21st May, 2024 as part of the Web Science conference programme.


Topics include, but not limited to:

  • Sonification, musification or audification

  • Modelling

  • Designs and patterns

  • Inclusive Design Approaches

  • Uncertain and Incomplete Data

  • Temporality

  • Machine Listening

  • Tools and techniques

  • Explaining Computational Models, not limited to Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning

  • Sonic Epistemology

  • Listening

  • Sonifying the usage and evolution of the Web in a global context

Activities

The session will begin with short presentations, such as paper or audio of about 10 minutes before moving to a working session to develop resources and links.


The abstract submission deadline is April 4th.

If you have any further questions about the event, please do email me. 

Thanks, 

Iain


Iain Emsley
Research Software Engineer
Iain.Emsley@warwick.ac.uk

Fwd: [DMRN-LIST] Call For Papers: Commercial Electronic Musical Instruments in 21st Century Music Practice

Call For Papers: Commercial Electronic Musical Instruments in 21st Century Music Practice

The 21st Century Music Practice Research Network's 2024 Two Day Conference is on Mon & Tue, 9th & 10thSeptember 2024 at the University of West London, St. Mary's Road, Ealing, London W5 5RF.

2024's C21MP network event is themed around Pete Townshend's long-term loan to UWL of his extraordinary collection of commercially produced electronic musical instruments. Presenters who wish to use one or more of the instruments from UWL's Townshend Studio in their video or in the session should contact the organisers to discuss the possibilities (see list below).

The format of the conference is a repeat of last year in that it is inspired by the format of the 'flipped classroom':

  • Themed panels involve three 'presenters' and a discussant / moderator. Presenters must be able to attend in person on 9th & 10th September 2024.
  • Each presenter produces a 20 minute video of their presentation in advance of the conference which are available online for attendees (and the public) two weeks in advance. All presenters and moderators must watch all three videos in advance of their 'in person' session.
  • During the session, each presenter gives a five minute summary / abstract which is followed by 75 minutes of discussion between the four panellists and with audience involvement, led by the discussant / moderator. 
  • Presentations can involve practical demonstration, musical examples and performance but must address a research question and point towards or provide answers / new knowledge. If you want to use one or more of the instruments in UWL's Townshend Studio please contact the organisers.

300 word abstracts using the format outlined below should be submitted to 2024conference@c21mp.org by 5pm GMT on 28th April 2024 and selected abstracts will be notified by 26th May 2024.

Selected abstracts will submit 20 minute videos by 5pm GMT on Monday 12th August 2024

Proceedings will be published on the website.

There will be eight panels based on the following:

Conference Themes

1.     Music technology - discussions about the nature of Commercial Electronic Music Instruments (CEMIs) - their unique sounds and the types of interfaces both for triggering the sounds and for editing them. How are sampling and synthesis being used to create new instruments? Are there alternatives to speaker-based electronic instruments?

2.     Creative entrepreneurship - how are developments in CEMIs playing out in the economy? What products and services are being developed? For whom? Where? And Why? How are music consumers engaging with electronic music in different ways to the ways they 'normally' engage? How can music makers and instrument makers work better together?

3.     Composition and song writing - approaches to using CEMIs for composing, song writing and arranging. Why and How is it different? How do the sounds make a difference to what is or can be written or produced? How do the interfaces and instrument design make a difference to what is or can be written or produced?

4.    Diversity and Access - how do different forms of privilege (socio-cultural and economic) play out differently through CEMIs? How and why have these technologies been situated in professional, educational, industrial, amateur and domestic settings? What can we do to improve things and how can we use them as tools to improve equality, diversity and inclusion? Who are the 'outsiders' in these art forms and what are they doing that is different?

5.     Methodology and practice - given the amazing collection that Pete Townshend has given us access to, what can and should we be doing with it and why? What are the issues for conservation that flow from his insistence that these are instruments that need to be used? What are the wider implications of this?

6.     Collaboration - what are the creative possibilities for collaboration with CEMIs that are different to those for acoustic instruments? Why are there so few electronic orchestras and what kind of repertoire do and/or should they be performing? 

7.     Pedagogy – as the evidence about the benefits of music education mounts up and its support in formal education decreases, what can CEMIs offer to help this alarming situation? Can they help with engaging children with logical thinking and STEM subjects? What do we know about the way that people first encounter CEMIs has an influence on their engagement? 

8.     Performance – the growth in modular synthesis has seen an explosion in new forms of electronic music performance. What are the differences and possibilities that electronic instruments offer? What other possibilities do CEMIs offer in terms of control and expression? 

Abstract Format

Your abstract will be assessed on the following criteria:

·       You have clearly identified the theme / panel you wish to be considered for and why.

·       There is a clear research question or problem and an explanation of how it might produce new knowledge or understanding

·       The abstract provides a clear idea of the form your presentation will take.

·       It is clear how this presentation will contribute towards a meaningful discussion of the theme.

List of Equipment in the Pete Townshend Collection

This is a preliminary list. More will be added to the list when we take delivery of the additional items:

·       Yamaha GX-1 Electone

·       Linn Drum LM-1

·       ARP 2500

·       Roland Jupiter 8

·       Prophet 10

·       Yamaha CS-80

·       Moog Model 15

·       Moog System 35

·       Wurlitzer student electronic piano

·       Fender Rhodes Eighty Eight

·       ARP Avatar guitar synth

·       Analogue Solutions Colossus


Monday, February 26, 2024

Fwd: MSc/PhD scholarships: Song/speech across cultures (CompMusic Lab, University of Auckland)


Dear colleagues (with apologies for cross-posting),

We are delighted to announce the availability of 1-2 fully funded MSc/PhD scholarships on cross-cultural relationships between song and speech in the School of Psychology, University of Auckland. Successful applicants will be working in the CompMusic Lab under the supervision of Dr. Patrick Savage and Prof. Suzanne Purdy (Te Rarawa, Ngāi Takoto) 

The closing date for applications is: Sunday 31st March 2024.

Details of the scholarship application and eligibility requirements are available here

Please contact Dr. Patrick Savage at patrick.savage@auckland.ac.nz (informal enquiries welcome).


Ngā mihi / Regards / よろしくお願いします
Dr. Patrick Savage (he/him)
Director, CompMusic Lab
Senior Research Fellow, School of Psychology, University of Auckland / Waipapa Taumata Rau (Room 302.349)
Associate Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University


Fwd: [DMRN-LIST] Opportunity to win a Fellowship at the Centre for Digital Music

Both the Royal Society (Royal Society Newton International Fellowships) and British Academy (International Fellowships ) have open calls for applicants to win funding that can be used to work with us at Queen Mary's Centre for Digital Music. If you are interested, please drop a line to the most appropriate academic host (from our list of faculty here: https://www.c4dm.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/people/) and start a discussion.

 

The 2-year fellowship scheme is for non-UK researchers who are at an early stage of their career (normally no more than 7 years postdoctoral experience) and wish to conduct research in the UK, working with an established independent researcher who will be the 'sponsor'.

 

Because applications must be submitted by 13th March 2024, there isn't a huge amount of time until the deadline. If you are interested in applying could you please get in touch as soon as possible.

 

Best wishes       

-- 

professor mark sandler, FREngCEng, FIEEE, FAES, FIET

director of the centre for digital music (c4dm)

school of electronic engineering and computer science
queen mary university of london

mark.sandler@qmul.ac.uk | +44 (0)20 7882 7680

 

Monday, February 19, 2024

Fwd: [DMRN-LIST] music AI creativity 2024


Call for Participation

The Conference on AI and Music Creativity is an annual conference bringing together a community working on the application of AI in music practice. The AI and Music research focus is highly interdisciplinary with topics ranging from performance systems, computational creativity, machine listening, robotics, sonification, and more.

The 2024 conference will take place September 9-11 at Oxford University where we will be joined by two distinguished speakers: Dr Maya Ackerman Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Santa Clara University, and CEO/Co-Founder of musical AI startup, WaveAI, and London-based pianist, composer and technologist Dr. Zubin Kanga


The theme of the conference will be the Interconnections between Music AI and other fields, where we are interested in how the Music AI community considers connections and intersections with other fields of research and practice. We encourage authors, composers, performers, and artists to examine the intersection between their work in AI and other fields - see below for indicative topics. We encourage contributions that articulate not only how other fields inform Music AI research and practice, but how Music AI contributes or may contribute to other fields.

Dates

March 10th submission closes

April 30th - notification to authors

July 15th - Camera ready version of submissions

September 9 conference opens


All submissions will be created on pubpub.org while the review process will be handled through a conference management systems. Detailed instructions about the process will be available under the Call tab in the conference webpages (link above). Paper submission should be anonymised. This is not required for music or workshop/tutorials submissions.



Sunday, February 18, 2024

iMerc Newsletter — Vol. 5, February 2024

 



UCL iMerc Newsletter — Vol. 5, February 2024

About us

Since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, we have been meeting regularly to share new research and insights related to diverse topics in music education, broadly conceived. We are a group of researchers at doctoral and post-doctoral levels, as well as senior researchers, with a shared curiosity and interest in advancing basic and applied research. Our monthly seminars are also designed to foster a sense of community amongst colleagues who are based in the UK, mainland Europe (Portugal, Germany, Greece), Asia (China, including Hong Kong) and Australia. Opportunity is taken each month to update current research projects and also to listen to the latest research from our invited speakers. If you would like to know more or to join us, please contact us.

 

Our upcoming research seminar is on Wednesday, 21st February 2024, 11.00-13.00 UK Time. This will be held on Zoom only. We are very happy to have Professor David-Emil Wickström, Pak Hang Wan, and YiYing Pei speak to us. Please join us by clicking the Zoom link HERE. Everyone is welcome!

In This Issue

      Previous iMerc Research Seminar, January 2024

      Event: 'The Bruce' Opera Premiere in Scotland

      Presentation: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Musical Behaviour – the Significance of Context and Implications for Pedagogy

      Tech Column: Embracing Music Tech in Early Years

      Newly published: The Impact of Three Key Paradigm Shifts on Disability, Inclusion, and Autism in Higher Education in England: An Integrative Review

      iMerc Research Seminar, February 2024

      In Conversation with Dr Can Lu, January 2024

      Upcoming Research Seminar, March 2024

      Contact us

Previous iMerc Research Seminar, January 2024

1 - Presentation cover slide presented by Alice Bowmer

Alice Bowmer (abowm001@gold.ac.uk) updated us about her PhD project at Goldsmiths College, London. Her presentation was titled Supporting hard-to-reach parents through intervention: Does parental singing facilitate infant language behaviours? In this presentation, Alice shared the challenges and research findings to date. The study is seeking to test empirically whether singing classes supported infant language skills more than similarly designed physical/cognitive classes. Further evidence was collected on parents’ use of singing in the home.

2 - Presentation cover slide presented by Dr. Gregory Boardman

Dr Gregory Boardman (gregory.boardman.15@ucl.ac.uk) shared his ongoing UCL doctoral study update with a presentation titled musical meaning-making in the later stages of Primary education. In this presentation, Greg shared videos of his projects working with students in Primary schools. Greg also guided us in exploring participation in instrumental music-making, barriers to access and meaning-making in relation to historical, dominant, and progressive models of musical learning. Greg also shared his reflections on the implications of multimodality on classroom practitioners—if words alone fail to capture what might be observed.

3 - Presentation cover slide presented by Dr Jeehye Hwang

Dr Jeehye Hwang (jeehye.hwang.18@alumni.ucl.ac.uk) talked about her recent UCL PhD study. The presentation titled How do older adults perceive and engage in active music-making in the digital age? - Exploring lived experiences of instrumental learning and playing after retirement in South Korea. The presentation highlighted the importance of meaningful music participation in the lives of retired older adults, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of ageing and challenging societal perceptions. Key findings suggested that motivations for musical engagement intersected with life transitions associated with retiring from full-time work, demonstrating a desire for social and emotional benefits during this period.

Event: 'The Bruce' Opera Premiere in Scotland

4 - Rakihat-Bi Abdyssagin's new opera premiere poster front

5 - Rakihat-Bi Abdyssagin's new opera premiere poster back

'The Bruce', Rakhat-Bi Abdyssagin's New Opera World Premieres Scotland Tour

Rakhat-Bi is an Affiliate Academic at UCL and a member of the International Music Education Research Centre.

Trailer to the premieres: https://vimeo.com/910581005

Glasgow Cathedral, Saturday, 17th February 2024, 7 pm

St Giles' Cathedral Edinburgh, Wednesday, 21st February 2024, 7.30 pm

University of St Andrews, St Salvator's Chapel, Saturday, 24th February 2024, 5.30 pm

Dunfermline Abbey, Sunday, 3rd March 2024, 5 pm

Contact: Rakhat-Bi Abdyssagin (rahatbiabd@mail.ru)

Presentation: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Musical Behaviour the Significance of Context and Implications for Pedagogy

Speakers: Dr Eva Wilde and Professor Graham Welch

 

The presentation reported evidence of recent research into ADHD and music education, highlighting the potential benefits of structured personalised music education (Wilde & Welch, 2022) and also music therapy (Martin-Maratinos et al, 2023). The research findings suggest that, notwithstanding ADHD-related symptoms, individuals can engage successfully in music and acquire musical skills. Moreover, ADHD is not a static condition in music, but variable according to pedagogical and musical context. For details, please read HERE from the Voice Study Centre.

Contact: Dr Eva Wilde (evawilde63@gmail.com)

Tech Column from Music Teacher Magazine: Embracing Music Tech in Early Years

Featuring: Christie Haddad

This is an interview from Music Teacher Magazine in which Christie Haddad chats with Bradley Smith about her UCL PhD research. Christie discussed the barriers to embedding technology into early years practice and shared some top music tech recommendations for Early Year Foundation Stage (EYFS) educators. For details, please read HERE from Music Teacher Magazine.

Contact: Christie Haddad (christie.haddad.18@ucl.ac.uk)

Newly published: The Impact of Three Key Paradigm Shifts on Disability, Inclusion, and Autism in Higher Education in England: An Integrative Review

Authors: Eunice Tang, Dr Austin Griffiths, Professor Graham Welch

Abstract:

In the past two decades, students have been more willing to disclose their disability status when entering higher education (HE) in the United Kingdom (UK). Concurrently, higher education institutions (HEIs) have adopted disability policies and service teams for enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion in the UK. The purpose of this integrative review is to understand the basis of these trends. The article suggests that there have been three major key paradigm shifts that underpin this cultural change: (1) There was a paradigm shift in terms of changing the dominant models for conceptualising disability from a medical model of disability to a social model of disability and to an affirmative model of disability, together with a debate and policy development demonstrating a concern for greater social inclusion and exclusion; (2) with a massive increase in students entering HE and the rising importance of league tables and ranking systems, universities experienced a paradigm shift from teacher-centred learning (TCL) to inclusive student-centred learning and teaching (SCLT); and (3) the increase in autism disclosure in HE signifies a shift in a conceptualisation of autism from a disorder to a disability and an example of neurodiversity.

 

Reference: Tang, E. S. Y., Griffiths, A., Welch, G. F. (2024). The Impact of Three Key Paradigm Shifts on Disability, Inclusion, and Autism in Higher Education in England: An Integrative Review. Trends High. Educ. 3(1), 122-141. https://doi.org/10.3390/higheredu3010007

Contact: Euncie Tang (eunice.tang@ucl.ac.uk)

iMerc Research Seminar, February 2024

6 - Guest Speaker: Professor David-Emil Wickström

Guest Speaker: Professor David-Emil Wickström

Topic: From Exclusion to Inclusion - The Roles of Music in Inclusion

Professor David-Emil Wickström (david-emil.wickstroem@popakademie.de)

David-Emil Wickström studied Scandinavian studies, musicology and ethnomusicology at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, University of Bergen and University of Copenhagen. His areas of research include the revival of Norwegian traditional vocal music, post-Soviet popular music (especially in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Germany) as well as higher music education. Currently employed as a Professor of popular music history at the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg he is also the program director for the artistic Bachelor degree programs “Pop Music Design” and "World Music”. He is a member of the research group "Russian Space? Concepts, Practices, Representations (RSCPR)” at UiT Noregs arktiske universitet. In addition, he chairs the editorial board of the AEC project "Power relations in Higher Music Education”.

David-Emil's Abstract:

Children in kindergartens and schools in central Europe reflect the cultural complexity of a population that today is definitely not homogeneous. But do the musical contents taught reflect this complexity? Music can play several roles in an (early) musical education, such as training coordination skills or promoting teamwork through communal singing. Another important point would be to establish musical acquaintance with other cultures and thus an understanding of difference and diversity in the population among children. In other words, promoting respect and tolerance. In order to create a sense of belonging, music can only act as a communication bridge if it does not come (exclusively) from a Christian-European hegemonic perspective. The musics and religions of the actual children in a class or group must be taken into account. Music is - similar to a language - a semiotic system that has to be learned. This is not only about understanding other musical traditions. It also includes learning the languages of the musics that are based on Central European art music or Anglo-American popular music. Thus, in addition to the question of inclusion and as a sign of respect, listening to other musical systems is essential in order to understand and comprehend them.

7 - Speaker: Pak Hang Wan

Speaker: Pak Hang Wan

Topic: An Ethnographic Study of Music Engagement Programmes in London and Their Social Impact

Pak Hang Wan (pak.wan.20@ucl.ac.uk)

As an educator who has also worked in classical music marketing, administration, and academic publishing, I would like to make a contribution towards educational programmes offered by government and nonprofit organisations in music. My aim is to investigate the differences in programme design, implementation and most notably, the social impact for future development between organisations with varying levels of resources. I hope my empirical research will result in cross-fertilisation of good practices.

Pak's Abstract:

Young people have been exposed to music from school lessons and extracurricular activities since it was introduced to mainstream compulsory education. As demographic structure changes after WWII, many educators influenced by sociological theories have been attempting to democratise music education, making it more inclusive for all. With more professional and nonprofit organisations joining the field of music engagement, the division between formal and informal learning is becoming fuzzier in recent years. By exploring the inner-workings of music engagement programme providers in some of the most socially diverse areas in London, this ethnographic study is an exploratory journey to discover practitioners’ authentic attitude and how they navigate in an ecology of social change and government policies.

8 - Speaker: Yiying Pei

Speaker: Yiying Pei

Topic: Culture, Taste, and Identity: Young People’s Family Music Cultivation and Instrument Learning Experience

Yiying Pei (peiyy1223@163.com)

Yiying Pei is a PhD student from East China Normal University majoring in the Sociology and Cultural Studies of Education. She holds a Master of Education from the same university. She explored the instrument learning experience of young people during her master's study. The findings indicate a connection between family music cultivation and cultural reproduction and how music activities in school and daily life influence young people’s musical identity. Her research interests focus on music education, sociology of education, youth culture studies, and media studies.

Yiying's Abstract:

Instrument learning as a family parenting practice is beneficial to children’s development. More and more children begin to learn an instrument when they are young. The long-lasting instrument learning experience is interwoven with their family and school life, forming part of their lived experience and has an impact on their everyday life and development. The research intends to discover young people's instrument learning experience through semi-structured interview under the instruction of the methodology of narrative inquiry.

It is found that instrument learning is a strategy of cultural reproduction which helps pass on cultural capital through the family in a hidden or conscious way. Parents’ participation, expectation, and decision on children’s education affect the way of reproduction. The musical instrument grading exam defines the standard of musical ability. Through the training of the body, young people not only grasp music skills but also obtain a sense of music, which influences their music taste and judgement. Instrument learning is embedded in young people’s education and is reflected in their musical practices. It has an impact on their school education and daily life. In the process of socialization, the value of instrument learning is constructed, which turns out to be paradoxical. Some gain help from music learning, while others suspend music learning because of academic pressure and find it hard to obtain a musical identity in school. The experience of instrument learning cultivates young people’s aesthetics and disposition, brings them opportunities as they grow up, helps them obtain emotional healing in their daily lives, and constructs their musical identity.

In Conversation with Dr Can Lu, February 2024

9 - First picture of Dr Can Lu's son

10 - The beautiful lake view from Jiangsu, China

Dr Can Lu passed her doctoral viva on 11 January 2024 with minor corrections. We were fortunate to interview her before she welcomed a new member into her family— her son was born on 3 February 2024 at 10.39 am in Jiangsu, China. Can is currently in good hands under the care of her family. Here is an interview about her doctoral experience. Warmest congratulations to Can for her double happiness!

1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hello. My name is Can Lu (can.lu.16@alumni.ucl.ac.uk). When I was a child, my mother always thought that I have a musical talent, and my teacher thought the same way, so I’ve always been provided a lot of opportunity of music training or performances. I went to high school, where I studied folk music, and later went to a music college for a bachelor’s degree. Then I went to University of York to study community music and music education. After that, I started working with Professor Welsh for my PhD. I thought maybe I should start with something basic. I guess singing is a good topic to start. So there’s a very nice programme called Sing Up, which is a national programme in the UK. I started thinking, maybe I can do something similar in China. I then started to do this research with my supervisors. But I didn't realise it was a huge programme then. It's a national programme. And it’s just only me in my study. I didn't realise the programme was a huge one. So it took so many years to finish. And now, finally, I finished it.

2. Congratulations! Can you share your doctoral experience with us?

I didn't know a lot of things about research at the beginning. When I started my PhD, I knew nothing about research. So I took a lot of courses, but I didn't really know why I should take them, and I didn't know how to choose. So, I spent a lot of time taking some courses that were unnecessary. But anyway, it's a journey.

In the first two years, I didn't know what to do. I had no clear plan, so the progress was very slow. After the upgrade, I then started to collect data. And that data was huge compared with other doctoral colleagues: I had over 1,000 participants across six schools. I enjoyed the progress of data collection. It was nice to talk to children and their teachers. And then I came back to the UK to analyse my data. It was a huge amount of data set, and how we measured it was quite subjective. In order to ensure the reliability of my study, I measured all the data 3 times until I thought the analyses were reliable. When I measured each data, it would take around one and a half or two months. It's a very time-consuming process. Finally, when I finished the data measurement, I had no idea how to analyse them in a more efficient way. It was because I had limited knowledge about statistical analysis. I started reading books and texts and taking some courses, but still, it was quite difficult because I wasn’t sure whether it was a good way or the right way to analyse them.

After discussing it with my supervisor, I thought we could analyse the data differently. So, we started exploring a new tool. Because the tool was not really available at the time. Eventually, we found the tool, and it was also time-consuming to use the tool. Don’t get me wrong. It's a very good one. I couldn’t remember how many times I spent using this tool to analyse my data. The data was very rich. It’s just time-consuming and takes lots of patience. It's quite easy to give up at that stage. And yeah, finally, I believe that I finished it. In the first three years, I thought I should do this national project. One day, I realised, Oh, my God, it's too huge! I couldn't do this in one PhD. I couldn't manage this on time. So, I decided to focus on one section, which was the first section on children's singing performance for this PhD. I was more focused by then. And the workload was much reduced. I just focused on that part and did the analysis. I started to write my analyses in my fourth year. My English was very limited, so that was another challenge. I was very pleased that I didn't give up, although it's a huge amount of effort and time for each step of my PhD journey. It's just time-consuming. I spent eight years finishing my PhD. I didn't know what other people had done. Anyway, this is what I have done and what I experienced.

"Never give up— just keep going. You will get there one day. For international students, it’s important to be independent, practise your English, work on yourself, and understand your topic well."

3. Were you doing the PhD full-time or part-time?

I was doing it full-time.

4. I see. Do you have any advice for those who just started their PhDs?

First of all, the project shouldn't be too big. If you have a big sample and just focus on one thing, then it will be good. Having foundation knowledge for research would be beneficial before starting a doctoral journey. Life would be much easier.

5. Any tips about preparing viva?

I was asked: What is your contribution to knowledge? What is your favourite finding in your study? These are the common ones. Based on my experience, the examiner picked up something I didn't explain clearly, or they may have different opinions or thoughts. You really need to know the process, especially for the methodology section. You need to know what you have done, what, and why.

6. What do you like most about the IOE?

I would like to take this chance to thank my supervisors, Professor Graham Welch and Dr Jo Saunders, for their professional support and kindness. I felt well-supported and confident in exploring things that I was interested in. I could ask any questions, sometimes they might be silly ones! Also, I really enjoyed the library. It is a very powerful one. I can find anything from there, anything I want— it made me feel I was supported. There were a lot of courses at the IOE, and most of them were free [which were included in the fees], except statistical analysis. And yeah, the library, I think, is by far my favourite. Also, my classmates were excellent and talented, with many ideas. Overall, it’s been great.

7. Do you have any advice for our doctoral colleagues?

Never give up— just keep going. You will get there one day. For international students, it’s important to be independent, practise your English, work on yourself, and understand your topic well.

8. How did you cope with the Covid period during your doctoral journey?

I was staying with my landlady in London. Sometimes, I felt lonely, but I could manage it most of the time. I was very calm at that time and focused on what I needed to do, so the quality of my writing actually improved. My landlady and her friends helped me a lot in terms of coping with cultural differences. They helped me correct my English for free, which was brilliant. I was grateful for their support.

9. How's everything with you in Jiangsu, China?

I’m living with my parents-in-law, where there is a nice lake and a beautiful view. The biggest challenge is the food because I'm from Hunan Province. We love spicy food. But people here [in Jiangsu] like sweet food. So, I struggled at the beginning. And now I feel much better. Hopefully, the baby will be born in a healthy condition. I’ll then start looking for a job in a few months.

Upcoming Research Seminar

Please pencil in our next research seminar on Zoom, which will be held on Wednesday, 20th March 2024, from 11-1 pm. More details soon!

Contact Us

Visit us on the website at http://www.imerc.org

Professor Graham Welch: graham.welch@ucl.ac.uk 

Professor Evangelos Himonides: e.himonides@ucl.ac.uk 

Ms Eunice Tang: eunice.tang@ucl.ac.uk