Vinay Mishra and the Artistry of the Harmonium

Vinay Mishra is an accomplished Indian solo and accompanying harmonium player born and brought up in Benaras and currently residing in Delhi serving as a faculty member of the Department of Music, Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University of Delhi. The rigorous training of both vocal and instrumental music under veteran Hindustani Music virtuosos, the academic and scholarly scope built up till the degree of PhD in Music, the realizations, and understandings on music must have conspicuously made an impact of his practice and artistry as a harmonium player. Harmonium was originated in the west and adopted by Indian musicians in the colonial era which was brought up to the present day through many artistic, cultural and political controversies, and obstacles. This work focuses on discovering the insights of the harmonium art of Vinay Mishra. Hence, his academic background, musical training, musical career, his playing style as a soloist, general techniques and techniques of accompaniment, sense of machinery, perspectives on raga Taal, and thoroughly the tuning methods were studied in-depth through personal conversations and literature resources where it was observed that modern Hindustani harmonium artists favor a typical natural tuning method over the 12 equal temperaments of the common keyboard instruments. According to him, the stable sound of the harmonium was the reason to be vocal music- friendly in classical and light vocal music accompaniment which was only interrupted by the equal temperament earlier and was later overcome by the artists and harmonium makers. The idea was also raised that apart from gaining the basic command of an instrument, a Hindustani instrumentalist may learn and practice all other aspects of Hindustani music from the teachers of other forms too. Vinay Mishra’s thoughts of machinery, musical forms, compositions, applying Hindustani vocal, and plucking string instrumental ornamentations on the Harmonium were also reviewed.

Implementing Antiracism in Technical Services

It is a sad reality that racist bias is inherent in cataloging standards and collection development practices. Whether racism in cataloging and collection development practices is intentional or not, Technical Service librarians can be intentional about combatting it. This article presents three antiracist projects implemented to address racism in collection development and classification. Leslie Engelson discusses the results of an effort initiated by the music faculty to determine the representation of BIPOC in the music score collection at Waterfield Library. Brinna Michael demonstrates how racist language is represented in the Library of Congress Classification schedule and her efforts at Pitts Theology Library to update call numbers. Finally, Caitlin Soma details a diversity audit of the books assigned on course reserve at Candler School of Theology to identify potential collection gaps and to encourage faculty to develop curricula that include more diverse voices.

A Comparison of Self-Reported Anxiety and Depression Among Undergraduate Music Majors and Nonmusic Majors

The purpose of this exploratory research study was to compare anxiety and depression levels reported by music majors and nonmajors at a small, private liberal arts university. Study participants completed the Burns Anxiety Inventory and Burns Depression Checklist. Anxiety and depression levels were significantly higher among music majors, and there was a strong, positive relationship between anxiety and depression. Regardless of major, self-reports were not affected by year in school. Implications for additional mental health resources and strategies for improving music major health and self-care are discussed, along with a need for increased music faculty awareness of perceived anxiety and depression leading to modified programs of study.

Rethinking the Engagement of Ethnomusicologists with Performance and Applied Music Curricula

Music schools and conservatories in the United States and abroad focus primarily on training performers; one of the reasons ethnomusicologists have had such difficulty expanding their employment opportunities in such institutions is because they have not given enough thought to how they can productively contribute to performance curricula. The field of ethnomusicology has engaged creatively with many subdisciplines in the humanities and social sciences, of course. But while this focus has resulted in insightful publications, it has typically held little immediate relevance for performers. A surprising number of ethnomusicology programs do not encourage applied music-making of any sort as a required part of training in the discipline. In general, ethnomusicology does not dialogue sufficiently with applied music faculty or students. This chapter begins with reflection on what aspiring performers of the twenty-first century need to know in order to be professionally successful and continues with a consideration of how coursework offerings by ethnomusicologists can be retooled so as to contribute directly to the requirements of students in BM programs: to ear training, music theory, orchestration, junior and senior recitals, and so on. Lastly, the chapter covers an approach to teaching world music courses that focuses both on applied performance and on pressing contemporary issues (community outreach, social justice, financial exploitation, etc.) that link world traditions to other repertoires and make their relevance immediately apparent.

A Survey of Music Faculty in the United States Reveals Mixed Perspectives on YouTube and Library Resources

A Review of: Dougan, K. (2016). Music, YouTube, and academic libraries. Notes, 72(3), 491-508. https://doi.org/10.1353/not.2016.0009 Abstract Objective – To evaluate how music faculty members perceive and use video sharing sites like YouTube in teaching and research. Design – Survey Questionnaire. Setting – 197 music departments, colleges, schools, and conservatories in the United States. Subjects – 9,744 music faculty members. Methods – Schools were primarily selected based on National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) membership and the employment of a music librarian with a Music Library Association (MLA) membership. Out of faculty members contacted, 2,156 (22.5%) responded to the email survey. Participants were asked their rank and subspecialties. Closed-ended questions, ranked on scales of 1 to 5, evaluated perceptions of video sharing website use in classroom instruction and as assigned listening; permissibility as a cited source; quality, copyright, and metadata; use when items are commercially unavailable; use over library collections; comparative ease of use; and convenience. An open-ended question asked for additional thoughts or concerns on video sharing sites and music scholarship. The author partnered with the University of Illinois’ Applied Technology for Learning in the Arts and Sciences (ATLAS) survey office on the construction, distribution, and analysis of the survey data through SPSS. The open-ended question was coded for themes. Main Results – Key findings from closed-ended questions indicated faculty: used YouTube in the classroom (2.30 mean) more often than as assigned listening (2.08 mean); sometimes allowed YouTube as a cited source (2.35 mean); were concerned with the quality of YouTube recordings (3.58 mean) and accuracy of metadata (3.29 mean); and were more likely to use YouTube than library resources (2.62 mean), finding it easier to use (2.38 mean) and more convenient (1.83 mean). The author conducted further analysis of results for the nine most reported subdisciplines. Ethnomusicology and jazz faculty indicated a greater likelihood of using YouTube, while musicology and theory/composition faculty were more likely to use library resources than others. There was little significant difference among faculty responses based on performance subspecialities (e.g. voice, strings, etc.). Overall, open-ended faculty comments on streaming video sites were negative (19.3%), positive (19.3%), or a mixture of both (34.1%). Themes included: less use in faculty scholarship; a need to teach students how to effectively use YouTube for both finding and creating content; the value of YouTube as an audio vs. video source; concerns about quality, copyright, data, and reliability; and benefits like easy access and large amounts of content. Conclusion – Some faculty expressed concern that students did not use more library music resources or know how to locate quality resources. The study suggested librarians and faculty could collaborate on solutions to educate students. Librarians might offer instructional content on effective searching and evaluation of YouTube. Open-ended responses showed further exploration is needed to determine faculty expectations of library “discovery and delivery” (p. 505) and role as the purchaser of recordings. Conversations between librarians and faculty members may help clarify expectations and uncover ways to improve library resources and services to better meet evolving needs. Finally, the author recommended additional exploration is needed to evaluate YouTube’s impact on library collection development.

Teaching Applied Music

Chapter 10 is based on responses from applied music faculty around the country as well as responses from undergraduate students regarding applied lesson study. Quotes from both applied faculty and undergraduate students are included throughout the chapter. I have tried to represent the voice of the applied teacher in this chapter as a way of honoring the very specific culture that is created in each unique applied studio. Issues presented include scheduling logistics, pianists, choosing repertoire and materials, juries and auditions, practicing and motivation. Stories written by applied faculty as well as students from around the country are used to illustrate the characteristics of successful applied teachers.

Student voice and choice in modern band curriculum development

The perspectives and experiences of students should be considered first in the process of any significant curriculum reform. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to music education, and educators have a responsibility to design experiences that meet the needs of learners in their classroom. After hearing the individual voices of students in one New York State school district in the United States, the music faculty and authors developed modern band electives designed to increase access to school music and attract a greater diversity of students by race, ethnicity and musical preference. District-level enrolment data demonstrate how these courses impacted the demographic profile of secondary school music by increasing participation rates among racialized student populations. These modern band music classes counterbalanced the disproportionately white and higher SES enrolment in the traditional band, orchestra and chorus, resulting in a school music programme that was more representative of the overall school population.