PAISAJE DESPUÉS DE LA PANDEMIA

La pandemia generada por la COVID-19 está teniendo una incidencia global inusitada, y se puede suponer que nada después de ella va a seguir siendo exactamente igual. La lengua está acogiendo nuevos términos para designarla, y revitalizando otros que estaban en desuso. Y en el lenguaje de los políticos se introducen términos bélicos inconfundibles para referirse a esta nueva peste. Las prácticas sociales utilizadas para expresar las relaciones humanas se están viendo extremadamente condicionadas. Y como emblema de la situación emerge la máscara, cuyos orígenes materiales están en el teatro griego y a partir de esta lengua dio lugar al concepto semióticamente muy interesante de persona. En cuanto a las bellas artes, la literatura no sufre el condicionamiento pandémico de la distancia social que perjudica la realización de las actividades teatrales y musicales. Si bien, lo que Benjamin denominaba “la época de la reproductibilidad técnica” ofrece algunas soluciones al respecto. Abstract: The pandemic generated by COVID-19 is having an unusual global incidence, and it can be assumed that nothing after it will remain exactly the same. The language is accepting new terms to designate it, and revitalizing others that were in disuse. And in the language of politicians, unmistakable warlike terms are introduced to refer to this new plague. The social practices used to express human relationships are being extremely conditioned. And as an emblem of the situation emerges the mask, whose material origins are in the Greek theater and from this language gave rise to the semiotically very interesting concept of person. As for the fine arts, literature does not suffer from the pandemic conditioning of social distance that impairs the performance of theatrical and musical activities. But what Benjamin called “the era of technical reproducibility” offers some solutions in this regard.

Music and African Diplomacy at the Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres, Dakar, 1966

To celebrate independence from France and promote better understanding between “continents, races, and cultures,” in 1966 Senegal produced the World Festival of Negro Arts. Forty-five nations participated. At its core were diplomatic goals involving music. Not only could music help Africans recover their pre-colonial heritage, it encouraged dialogue among cultures and cultural development fueling liberation from the colonial past. Listening for what was shared, as in jazz, and cooperating internationally, as in the Gorée spectacle and recordings competition, encouraged mutual understanding, the basis of alliances world-wide, essential for prosperity. By including African Catholic music, anglophone as well as francophone contributions, and radio broadcasts across Africa, the festival promoted inter-African alliances, necessary for lasting peace in Africa. Here, amid the cold war and this diverse soundscape of musical activities in Dakar, an African mode of diplomacy found its voice and its power. Dialogue, exchange, and cooperation would inspire a new future.

Parent-child nonverbal engagement during read versus sung book-sharing in preschoolers with and without ASD

Providing natural opportunities that scaffold interpersonal engagement is important for supporting social interactions for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Musical activities are often motivating, familiar, and predictable, and may support both children and their interaction partners by providing opportunities for shared social engagement. We assessed multiple facets of nonverbal social engagement—child and caregiver visual attention and interpersonal movement coordination—during musical (song) and non-musical (picture) book-sharing contexts in caregiver–child dyads of preschoolers with ( n = 13) and without ( n = 16) ASD. Overall, children with ASD demonstrated reduced visual attention during the book sharing activity, as well as reduced movement coordination with their caregivers, compared to children with typical development. Children in both diagnostic groups, as well as caregivers, demonstrated greater visual attention (gaze toward the activity and/or social partner) during song books compared to picture books. Visual attention behavior was correlated between children and caregivers in the ASD group but only in the song book condition. Findings highlight the importance of considering how musical contexts impact the behavior of both partners in the interaction. Musical activities may support social engagement by modulating the behavior of both children and caregivers.

Shared musical activity and perceptions of relationship commitment

Sharing music with another person involves the potential for profound emotional connection, rhythmic synchronization and coordination, and the expression of shared social and political values (among other things). We explore whether experiences of shared musical activity are associated with perceptions of communication and positive outcomes in friendships and romantic relationships, using reports from one member of the dyad. Reports of musical activities in the relationship were associated with higher levels of commitment to the relationship, with those effects mediated by perceptions of interpersonal coordination and positive communication. Surprisingly, structured musical activities (e.g., actively playing music together) were associated with lower levels of commitment, both directly and via interpersonal coordination, positive communication, and shared social values. All findings persist when controlling for other forms of shared relationship activities, thus demonstrating effects that are unique to shared musical engagement. The findings are discussed in a framework of music’s potential relational power—the Shared Musical Activities in Relationships (SMAR) model.

Interpersonal Musical Synchronization and Prosocial Behavior in Children: No Effects in a Controlled Field Experiment

Prosocial effects of music have recently attracted increased attention in research and media. An often-cited experiment, carried out by Kirschner and Tomasello in 2010 under laboratory conditions, found that children at the age of four years were more willing to help each other after they had engaged in synchronous musical activities. The aim of the current study was to replicate this research under controlled field conditions in the children's social environment, and to disentangle the musical synchronization effect by introducing a verbal interaction (singing together) and a motor interaction (tapping together) task, contrasted by an asynchronous control condition. In a between-participants design, no effects of musical synchronization nor the children's gender were found. Furthermore, age was not related to prosocial behavior. Explanations are systematically discussed, yet it remains possible that the original effect found in 2010 might be overestimated and less consistently reproducible as previously assumed.

Survival of musical activities. When do young people stop making music?

Although making music is a popular leisure activity for children and adolescents, few stay musically engaged. Previous research has focused on finding reasons for quitting musical activities, pedagogical strategies to keep students engaged with music, and motivational factors of musical training. Nonetheless, we know very little about how the proportion of musically active children changes with age and what traits influence the survival of musical engagement. This study used longitudinal data from secondary school students in the UK and Germany aged between 10 and 17 years. A survival analysis was applied to investigate the trajectories of musical activities across this age span. Other factors like type of learned instrument, gender, personality and intelligence were taken into account for further analyses using generalized linear models. Results indicate that about 50% of all students drop out of music lessons and other musical activities by the time they turn 17 years old, with most students quitting between the ages of 15 and 17. Musical home environment is an important factor that is associated with lower drop out rates while conscientiousness and theory of musicality showed smaller significant associations.

Psychology for Musicians

Throughout time, human beings have been fascinated with music. Research in music psychology has revealed how musicians acquire the ability to convey emotional intentions as sounded music, how listeners perceive it as feelings and moods, and how this powerful process relates to social and cultural dynamics. Of course, people who identify as musicians have special interest in these matters. In recent years, a psychological perspective has gained increasing acceptance in the education provided to musicians: teachers, performers, and “creatives” alike. The first edition of Psychology for Musicians: Understanding and Acquiring the Skills (2007, Oxford University Press) was a well-cited volume over the years. This new edition draws on the greater insights provided by recent research in music psychology. It combines academic rigor with accessibility to offer readers research-supported ideas that they can readily apply in their musical activities.

Mass Perception about Music during Lockdown in Nepal

Engaging along with music during lockdown is a kind of common behavior of human beings. This article mirrors the mass perception of music during the specific situation of lockdown in Nepal. The descriptive online survey design was used by taking 136 participants from Fine Arts Campus by purposive sampling technique. Frequency, percentage, and presentation of chars were major statistical techniques used in this research. The finding indicates that most of the participants were enjoying by listening and participating in musical activities during the pandemic. Whatever the purpose of listening, singing, dancing, composing, recording, playing the musical patterns, mass people knowingly-unknowingly connected with music during a lockdown. So, concluded that almost all respondents voted for the need for musical activities and varieties of music for managing their stress.

Ensemble musicians’ health and wellness

Relationships between music, health, and wellness are complicated: music can promote health and wellness, but musicians are vulnerable to problems caused or exacerbated by musical activities. With a view towards preventing such problems and promoting musicians’ health and wellness, researchers have mostly focused on individual musicians’ physical and psychological capabilities; however, insights from behavior change science indicate that it is vital to consider the extent to which environmental factors affect musicians’ opportunities to engage in health-promoting behaviors. This chapter focuses on four aspects of ensemble environments that can affect performers’ biological, psychological, and social health and wellness: (1) venue characteristics and configurations; (2) rehearsal organization, goals, and flow; (3) ensemble culture and social norms; and (4) social support and competition. Recommendations for addressing these aspects are presented, based on studies conducted with professional, pre-professional, and amateur ensemble musicians performing instrumental and vocal music from a range of genres.