by Xiaoqing Wang. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-45). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgments --- p.ii / Abstract --- p.iii / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2 --- The General Architecture of the VoD System and the Related Issues --- p.4 / Chapter 2.1 --- A Brief Description of VoD System --- p.4 / Chapter 2.2 --- Why Video Streams in VoD Service are VBR in Nature? --- p.6 / Chapter 2.3 --- The Video Storage Media in the VoD Systems --- p.8 / Chapter 2.4 --- The Data Placement Scheme in the VoD System --- p.9 / Chapter 2.5 --- An Overview of Disk Scheduling in VoD System --- p.10 / Chapter 2.6 --- The Admission Control in VoD System --- p.12 / Chapter 3 --- Our Admission Control Algorithm for VoD System --- p.14 / Chapter 3.1 --- QoS Requirements We Choose --- p.14 / Chapter 3.2 --- System Model --- p.15 / Chapter 3.3 --- The Admission Control for the Storage Sub-system --- p.19 / Chapter 3.4 --- The Admission Control for Network Sub-system --- p.21 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Preliminaries --- p.22 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- The Admission Control Algorithm for Network Sub-system --- p.27 / Chapter 4 --- Experiment --- p.33 / Chapter 5 --- Conclusion and Future Work --- p.41 / Chapter 5.1 --- Conclusion --- p.41 / Chapter 5.2 --- Future Work --- p.42

The use of the Alexander Technique in teaching, performing and practicing the flute is investigated, in order to determine how to apply the Technique to the art of producing a good flute tone. The author's application of the Alexander Technique to teaching and playing the flute is described. Knowledge was acquired both through doing case studies on two flute pupils, and through the integration of personal experience, gained through taking Alexander Technique lessons, into flute lessons. This is set out in detail. The decision to work intensively on the technique of sound production on the flute, made the author aware of the fact that we. as teachers and performers, encounter a large number of different problems in teaching and playing. Matters are complicated by a pupil's eagerness and "wanting to do things right". This can cause a certain amount of apprehension and even anxiety. Often the habits which inhibit progress prove very difficult for the teacher to correct. This study is aimed at detecting and solving these problems by using the Alexander Technique; hopefully leading to a better understanding of how the Technique can be applied to flute teaching and playing. Posture, breathing and embouchure control are specifically addressed. For the teacher or performer who has little understanding of his/her own problems in playing the flute - e.g. in coping with the loss of a good tone caused by stage fright and other anxieties - the use of the Alexander Technique can mean the creation a new sense of physical freedom and mental flexibility. A knowledge of how to work on changing faulty habits and the creating of new and better means of body use, can be gained through the taking of Alexander IV Technique lessons. The general principles and various applications of the Technique are described. The problems musicians face - e.g. postural problems from sitting or standing for hours while practicing the instrument, instrument-specific problems such as pain in the arms or shoulders, or physical tension caused by anxiety - are all habitual difficulties which can be detected, weakened and, hopefully, even erased through the use of the Alexander Technique. This study aims to show that mind-body awareness work is fundamental for the teacher, the pupil and the performer. Very often, what appear to be simple problems in musical performance are bound to deeply-felt and long-standing emotions and experiences. Therefore, the seemingly simple problems associated with producing a good flute tone cannot be addressed without dealing with the person as a whole. It is thus crucial for us as musicians to attend to the whole person - as we practice, perform and teach. This study attempts to lead musicians to a better understanding of all facets of themselves and others, through the application of the Alexander Technique. / Dissertation (MMus (Performing Arts))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Music / unrestricted

Music performance anxiety (MPA) is primarily described as stage fright concerning musicians and performers and affects orchestral and professional musicians severely (Brugués, 2009; Plummer, 2007). As a result, literature on MPA focuses extensively on how it affects professional and adolescent musicians, but limited resources emphasise how it affects brass instrumentalists. The aim of the study is to investigate the occurrence and experience of MPA in brass players. Further, it aims to explore prominent symptoms in this population and what coping strategies are most effective against MPA. Ten brass (five French horn, three trumpet and two trombone) players, of whom eight are professional and two semi-professional musicians, with varying performance experience, participated in this study. The study uses a qualitative research approach and falls into the interpretive paradigm. A multiple case study design was followed. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, probing each participant’s reported experiences and coping strategies. MPA inhibits a brass player’s musical performance in areas such as musical expression, technical proficiency, physical endurance, tone quality and enjoyment. The results suggest that most of the participants experienced MPA since childhood, regardless of the starting age, and experiences of this condition varied over time throughout adulthood. The symptoms of MPA manifests physiologically (shaking, dry mouth, increased heart rate, sweating), behaviourally (muscle tension, shaking, dry lips), and cognitively (negative thought processes). First-time experiences of a musically demanding task such exams and Eisteddfods, with intimidating audiences, impacted early signs of severe MPA symptoms such as shaking and had a blunting effect on performance quality. Increased task difficulty, limited performance opportunities, auditions, recitals, and orchestral environments, which exposed the player’s performing ability under pressure, had a profound influence on recent experiences of MPA. These situations evoked multiple symptoms such as dry mouth, accelerated heartbeat, shortness of breath, negative thoughts/feelings and self-doubt. Symptoms such as a dry mouth, accelerated heartbeat, shortness of breath, and shaking affects a brass player’s musical performance severely, since it inhibits tone quality and influences musical spontaneity. Therefore, these symptoms affect technical proficiency among brass players negatively since performing these instruments are physically demanding. The results also showed that teachers gave useful advice concerning performing a brass instrument under pressure. The advice was useful among the participants’ lived experiences of MPA, particularly regarding early-experienced symptoms. The experiences of MPA in high demanding performance settings resulted in a better understanding of the situation over time, and led to the reported coping strategies against MPA, which enhanced optimal performance and reduced symptoms. The study concludes that MPA adversely affects brass instrumentalists, particularly the physiological manifestation of the condition. More research is needed to identify symptoms unique to this instrument group and the most effective coping strategies. / Mini Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Music / MMus / Unrestricted

The early stage of piano students' training is one of the most important, because it is then that they establish their habits for life. Those who teach beginners need clear principles for developing a solid technical foundation and for preventing bad technical habits. One of the most difficult principles to inculcate in young students is that of tone production and quality. The primary purpose of this study is to provide a pedagogical guide to help piano teachers teach tone production to elementary-level students. To accomplish this purpose, the strategies of the twentieth-century pedagogues Josef Lhévinne, Josef Hofmann, and Heinrich Neuhaus are examined, and applied to the elementary-level piano literature. This study offers practical training suggestions to teachers of elementary piano students as well as musical examples from high-quality piano literature to accompany these suggestions.