Title The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among wind instrument players Objectives The aim of this thesis is to determine the prevalence of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD) in players on wind instruments in the Czech Republic, to determine their consequences and to identify related factors. Methods This thesis has the character of a cross-sectional study with a questionnaire survey. The study included 308 players on wind musical instruments. Outcomes The prevalence of PRMD was 55 % for the whole music group and 62 % for professional players. The higher prevalence of PRMD was statistically significantly associated with the student status (p=0.001), female sex (p=0.026), playing time on the dominant instrument weekly (p=0.001), and earlier incidence of PRMD (p=0.000). 31 % of players confirmed wrist/hand problems, 31 % confirmed problems in the neck area and 28 % confirmed problems in the upper back area. Because of PRMD, participants most frequently visited a health specialist such as a physical therapist and when dealing with their difficulties alone, most often they did some kind of physical activity. Conclusion The prevalence of PRMD in professional players was at a lower level than in foreign literature. Students, women, players playing more hours per week and players...

This dissertation uses multi-sited ethnography to explore how the technological manipulation of sound in live jazz performance conditions the meanings, feelings, and politics of racial difference. Situated primarily in two multi-room jazz venues, Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) and the Montreux Jazz Festival, I analyze three years of participant observation with musicians, audio technicians, acousticians, and sound system designers. I analyze four main categories of technology: (1) physical acoustics; (2) sound isolation, (3) sound reinforcement (amplification); and (4) digital measurement, prediction, and manipulation technologies. My overarching goal is to provide new ways to understand live performance with more attention to the technologies, architectural designs, and human labor crucial to any sonic event. I show not only how the built physical spaces and technologies I observed are inscribed with human judgments about music and sound, but how the spaces themselves exhibit their own agentive force in conditioning social behavior. I thus rethink live performance as a dynamic network of materials, technologies, and human and nonhuman practices and meanings. My second intervention uses the figure of jazz—and, more specifically, the sound of jazz—to investigate how the intersection of technology and sound exposes new ways to think through questions of human difference. Focusing primarily on race, I show how ideals of scientific objectivity and “pure and clean” aesthetics challenge racial tropes of Black sound as “noisy” or disordered while complicating jazz’s political force as an agent of oppositional energy and Black cultural distinctiveness. Chapter one, “‘Some Rooms Make You Shout’: Physical Acoustics and the Sound of Jazz,” shows how the designers of JALC’s Rose Theater, a prestigious 1,300-seat concert hall, acoustically encoded musical and social values into the physical materials of the room and the building that surrounds it. Namely, I show how particular aspects of the hall’s physical acoustics reveal overlapping investments in western aesthetic values and Afro-diasporic priorities, including call and response, participatory interaction, and heterogenous timbral palettes. Chapter two, “‘Some Rooms Make You Whisper’: The Art of Isolation and the Racial Politics of Quiet,” focuses on Rose Theater’s acoustic isolation, accomplished through a rare and expensive “box-in-box” construction that physically disconnects the hall from any vibratory connection with the outside world. This unique architecture fosters an uncannily quiet, sequestered aural environment that counters a range of histories of racist white listening that associate Blackness, Black bodies, and Black spaces with various forms of “noisy” sonic excess. The hall’s extraordinary quietness also reinforces a culture of attentive listening that enmeshes the sound of jazz with western ontologies of aesthetic musical autonomy. Relatedly, chapter three, “‘Make Yourselves Invisible’: Transparency, Fidelity, and the Illusion of Natural Sound,” demonstrates how ideals of fidelity and transparency are embedded within electroacoustic sound systems, and how my interlocutors design and operate such systems to foster a “pure and clean” aural environment. I show how my interlocutors aspire to an illusion of a “natural,” technology-free sonic experience but deploy an array of technological systems to do it. My analysis challenges traditional notions of fidelity—and sonic mediation itself—by revealing musical experience as a constellation of vibrant interactions between acoustic vibrations, amplified sound energy, and physical human bodies. Chapter four, “Tuning the Room: On the ‘Arts’ and ‘Sciences’ of Sound and Space,” analyzes how my interlocutors design and calibrate sound systems using state-of-the-art digital equipment to foster what they call a neutral, “colorless” sonic environment with “the same sound everywhere.” This process of “tuning the room” conjures novel ontologies of sound and space as objects of detached observation and technoscientific manipulation. In chapter five, “Black Boxes, Pink Noise, and White Listening: Rationalizing Race, Gender and Jazz,” I demonstrate how the objectification of sound and space is entangled with raced and gendered epistemologies of scientific knowledge production. I further analyze these approaches to sound and space for their underlying entanglements with what Lipsitz calls a “white spatial imaginary”: an ostensibly neutral environment conducive to discriminatory systems of capital accumulation. These and other entanglements complicate the oppositional, counter-hegemonic potential of jazz and other forms of Black performance.

Female trombonists are underrepresented throughout the United States especially in collegiate teaching positions. Is the underrepresentation of female trombonists as professional musicians and teachers causing less females to pursue playing the trombone? After discussing the expected roles of females and acceptable instruments for women to play during the 1800’s, this document mentions many women who were able to surpass the norms of female musicians and make their own musical choices. The purpose of this study is to discover if there is any relevance of gender bias towards female trombonists in society today and potentially determine how these biases affect their musical opportunities. This study and the survey questions were inspired by Melissa Ewing’s dissertation, Examining the Under-Representation of Female Euphonium Players in the USA, which examined the lack of female euphonium players in the United States. In order to create a trombone-centered survey, I used questions from Ewing’s survey as a guide while adding other questions to help gain useful information from trombone professors and female-identifying trombone students in the USA. The names of college trombone professors in the United States were collected from the College Music Society directory and this determined the professors who were surveyed and asked to provide their studio gender ratio and questions about identifying as female when applicable. In addition, the professors forwarded the student survey invitation to female-identifying students in their studios to provide their individual experiences as female trombonists in college. This document will serve as a resource for future studies on female-identifying trombonists and gender studies in general regarding music education and performance.

Perception of dichotic chords (free recall and directed recall), nonsense syllables (CVs), and three-pair digits was assessed on 24 musicians and 24 nonmusicians. On the dichotic-CV and dichotic-digit free-recall tasks, there was a significant right-ear advantage, but there were no group differences. With the dichotic-chords, free-recall condition, a significant left-ear advantage was observed but no group difference. For the dichotic-chords, directed-recall conditions, the musicians performed significantly better by 10 percent than the nonmusicians. Unexpectedly, for the dichotic chords, the 62-72 percent correct performances were better on the free-recall condition than the 42-55 percent performances on the directed-recall conditions. These differences between the two response modes were attributed to the difficulty of the dichotic-chord listening tasks and the probabilities associated with the closed-set response paradigms. The findings suggest that the dichotic-chord paradigm used in this study should not be included in clinical protocols used to assess auditory perceptual abilities.

Many professional musicians change careers, and yet there is little research on this topic. The experiences of post-professional musicians are largely unknown, their stories untold and uncelebrated. Informed by phenomenology, this dissertation explores the experiences of professional musicians who leave successful careers as performing artists. It looks at the challenges, beauty and complexity of their musical life stories. Out of this phenomenological inquiry, the mystery of composing a new life story emerges. Guided by hermeneutic phenomenology, this inquiry centers on story-crafting as a means of allowing meaning to reveal itself, while affirming the role of the inquirer in the story crafting process. Central to this study are the ways in which encounters with its insights occur and are held in a state of wonder. The semi-structured phenomenological interview serves as the primary source of data collection. A digital journal functions as a secondary source. The role of the researcher is accounted for through movement within the hermeneutic circle. It is here that the effect of both the inquirer’s fore-sights / fore-conceptions, ranging from personal biases to knowledge of the literature, and presence (Dasein – being there) are addressed. Data exploration (analysis) and reflection (synthesis) are approached through nuanced readings for apparent insights in which the essence of the phenomenon might reveal itself. Study findings are rendered through five musical life stories. In addition, a general narrative forms a composite description of all five stories, and a general description relays the structure of the composite experience. Findings reveal that all five participants experienced successful careers as professional musicians, while simultaneously maintaining interests in other endeavors. Considerations that moved them toward a decision to leave their music careers varied: from health or physiological challenges to the desire to increase earning potential or from a growing sense of fatigue relative to the effort required to remain competitive to a sense of having accomplished everything anyone in a music career could reasonably expect to accomplish. Another consideration for some of them centered on a sense of restlessness and no longer feeling sufficiently challenged. Once established in a new career, all became once again successful, as evidenced by fast career trajectory and increased earning potential. All participants have made a new post-performance life defined largely by music-listening and inter-arts engagement. For the most part, they no longer play their primary instrument. With one exception, when they do make music, it is on their secondary instrument, and it is non-performative, meditative, participatory or for leisure. They have lived their dreams of becoming and being a professional musician and find themselves now living out the realization of a new dream. Summary reflections consider the costs of building, maintaining and leaving a music career and the benefits of setting clear intentions in the context of leisure music making. Recommendations center on questions for music educators and topics for related future study. They imagine a more dynamic role of composing a musical life story throughout a music educative experience.

Musicians tend to suffer from a broad range of problematics related to their playing, from muscle/tendon injuries, to joint injuries, nerve compression disorders and central nervous system disorders. The purpose of this essay was therefore to explore methods used for health and wellbeing of guitarists. The research question was: Which actions are described to support guitarists to recover from injuries and/or maintain health? A qualitative approach was used to collect and analyse the data that were acquired through in-depth interviews and analysis of annotations of musicians who have been patients or were at the time of the interview been following a rehabilitation program in those centres. The analysis of the data produced eight common actions used by both the institutes. The result showed that there is a common ground between the two schools which could be a start for the development of further treatment strategies.

Abstract Background: Musculoskeletal discomfort is common among professional orchestra musicians and according to the literature some anatomical areas, such as the neck, upper back and upper extremities, seem to be more frequently affected than others. There are also suggestions made that general joint hypermobility could be a potential risk factor for musculoskeletal discomfort among musicians. Furthermore, there seems to be a higher perceived feeling of psychosocial demands and stress among musicians in comparison to the general workforce. Aim: Investigate the prevalence of, and associations between, musculoskeletal discomfort, general joint hypermobility, psychosocial factors and stress among Swedish big band musicians. A further aim was to investigate associations between musculoskeletal discomfort, general joint hypermobility, psychosocial factors and stress, respectively. Method & Material: This study was part of a larger national survey on professional orchestra musicians in Sweden. This study focused on professional jazz musicians and included data from all three professional big bands in Sweden. The study presents the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort, general joint hypermobility, psychosocial factors and stress among professional Swedish big band musicians. 32 musicians completed the survey. Results: The study showed a high prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort and general joint hypermobility. There were no statistically significant relationships between musculoskeletal discomfort and general joint hypermobility but between psychosocial demands and musculoskeletal discomfort in the anatomical subgroup low back/hip, and between negative stress and musculoskeletal discomfort in the anatomical subgroup low back/hip. Conclusion: In accordance with existing studies on classical orchestra musicians, this study found a high prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort and general joint hypermobility among Swedish big band musicians. There was a statistically significant association with the relationship between psychosocial demands and musculoskeletal discomfort in the anatomical subgroup low back/hip and between negative stress and musculoskeletal discomfort in the anatomical subgroup low back/hip. Key words: big band musicians, musculoskeletal discomfort, general joint hypermobility, psychosocial factors, stress.

No description available.

A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (in Music Research). Johannesburg, March 2016 / The thesis entitled Wherefore Musician? is a critical engagement with the experiences of musicians who were involved in dramatic theatre productions at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg between 2010 and 2014. The study is a narrative inquiry, which uncovers the lived experiences of musicians from their narration of select collaborative encounters. The narratives speak to integrated cross-disciplinary models of theatre making, where various signifiers and performance texts contribute towards a cohesive production. / MT2017

Public performance is often a central component of music education for young musicians, and the demands of performing in festivals, exams, auditions, and recitals can cause young performers to experience music performance anxiety (MPA: Boucher & Ryan, 2011; Thomas & Nettelbeck, 2014). The current dissertation explored MPA in young musicians from a variety of perspectives, using four main research purposes. The first article examined the relationship between MPA and self-efficacy in young musicians and investigated the extent to which gender moderates the relationships between MPA, age, and self-efficacy in young musicians (aged 7-17 years). The results of statistical analyses indicated that while gender did not moderate the relationship between age and MPA, age had a significant main effect on MPA. There was no significant difference between males’ and females’ levels of self-reported MPA. Additionally, there were no significant main effects of age or gender on self-efficacy, or an effect of gender on the relationship between age and self-efficacy. A strong negative relationship between self-efficacy and MPA indicates that students with low levels of self-efficacy are more likely to have high levels of MPA. Next, the MPA/self-efficacy and MPA/age-related findings from article one led to the second and third articles of this dissertation which investigated a self-modeling intervention designed to target MPA and self-efficacy in adolescent musicians. Article two examined the relational changes between MPA, self-efficacy, performance quality, and behavioural anxiety in five adolescent piano students over a six-week intervention. The study also explored the effects of a positive self-review self-modeling intervention on adolescent musicians using quantitative methods. Results indicated that the relational changes between MPA, self-efficacy, and performance quality are complex. There were no observed relationships between MPA and self-efficacy or performance, suggesting that MPA can have both debilitative and facilitate effects on these variables. Additionally, there was no relationship between MPA and behavioural anxiety, suggesting that students may appear less anxious than they feel. Finally, the results suggest that self-modeling has individual effects on musicians, meaning that self-modeling can provide teachers with a versatile strategy for reducing MPA, improving performance quality, and/or increasing performance confidence. Article three expanded on the self-efficacy results of article two and investigated how Bandura’s (1977) four sources of efficacy influenced self-efficacy beliefs in adolescent musicians within a six-week self-modeling intervention. The study also explored the effects of a positive self-review self-modeling intervention on musician self-efficacy using qualitative methods. Results indicated that mastery experience was most influential on self-efficacy beliefs in participants. Observing similarly skilled models, receiving positive feedback, and feeling calm or focused prior to performance increased self-efficacy in participants, while observing advanced models, making negative comparisons, and feeling anxious, distracted, or fatigued decreased self-efficacy. These results provide music teachers with several practical strategies that may facilitate stronger self-efficacy beliefs in students. Additionally, the self-modeling video increased self-efficacy when participants liked and related to their video or used the video to facilitate performance improvements, suggesting that both the performance and strategic functions of modeling may be beneficial to musicians. Finally, the fourth and final article of the dissertation explored MPA from music teachers’ perspectives by identifying and describing common coping strategies teachers use to support students with MPA. A quantitative content analysis of scientific and non-scientific MPA literature identified preparation, open communication, realistic expectations, exposure therapy, and deep breathing as the five most common coping strategies mentioned in the literature. Qualitative thematic analyses of literature and semi-structured interview transcripts with piano teachers provided descriptions of the five commonly identified strategies. A comparison of literature and interview results suggests a gap between research knowledge of MPA and practical teaching application. While music teachers employ a variety of strategies to help students cope with MPA, they may also benefit from formal MPA training opportunities grounded in research to provide additional resources for effectively managing students with MPA. The four articles of the dissertation combine to give an overview of MPA in young musicians from several different perspectives. Findings from article one help identify students who may be more at risk to suffer from MPA, while self-modeling findings from articles two and three provide musicians and teachers with a viable strategy to help reduce MPA and increase self-efficacy. Finally, given that teachers can act as a front-line defense against MPA (Liu, 2016), findings from article four help identify areas where researchers can provide teachers with further MPA training, which will in turn help fortify young musicians against MPA.