Journal of Music, Technology & Education - Volume 5, Issue 1, 2012

This article is concerned with issues of perceived live-ness in fragile.flicker.fragment (2010), an electroacoustic suite in nine movements composed by the author. The role and recording of instrumental sounds is discussed with reference to Bridger's metaphoric/metonymic perception of sounds in electroacoustic music and Dellaira's three modes of recording. The final section situates our perception of the composition within an understanding of Richard Allen's notion of cinematic projective illusion.

Mixed-music is an interesting site for testing concepts and limitations of direct causality in liveness. The nature of liveness in mixed-music is examined here with respect to practical issues of acoustic blending, and practical issues of what is live in mixed-music. The aesthetics of experimental music are explored as valorizing a different model of performance authenticity that is less reliant on direct instrumental causality. Three case studies are presented of my own works that deliberately undermine the causality model of liveness.

This article argues that ensemble playing forms the backbone of transferable skills development in higher education music courses, and demonstrates how laptop ensembles, as well as being musically engaging projects in their own right, can be a useful way of integrating such skill development into more technologically oriented music degrees. The fact that such ensembles have few established modes of practice allows them to be particularly open to student engagement in a variety of roles and can help to promote an active learning environment. Approaches to structuring the organization of such an ensemble to promote these pedagogical aspects are discussed and related to the four stages laid out by David Kolb's experiential learning model.

This study explores the music practices and learning strategies of nine popular electronic musicians (DJs, turntablists, hip hop and dance music producers) through the consideration of current literature in empirical music studies, trends in music education and the theme of musical enculturation as a key component of a popular electronic musician's development. Following the investigation into the learning practices employed by the musicians, as they gather the necessary skills and knowledge to compose, arrange, produce and perform dance and hip hop genres of electronic music, the article goes on to consider whether the learning practices and values expressed by the musicians could be realistically adapted or included within formal music education.

The point of departure for this article is the observation that increasing numbers of people are using technologies to create music. This rise in activity correlates directly with the proliferation of increasingly miniaturized music technologies which, in turn, implies an increasingly fluid level of mobility. As technologies get smaller and lighter, locations previously unusable for musico-technology creativity become available. We assert that the context of creativity (including sociocultural and local-architectural dimensions) is inextricably entwined with the nature of creativity. We set out a theoretical view that can trace and capture the relationship between the context and nature of creativity using an approach informed by phenomenology and critical realism. By understanding the essence of the invariant characteristics of musico-technological creativity, the connecting sinews between the more familiar, centralized enactments (recording a drum kit in a studio) and the less localized, less formalized enactments (making a track from scratch on the train platform with a mobile phone) can be drawn out.

This article is the initial foray into a long-term comprehensive collaborative investigation of online music teaching and learning. We considered representative YouTube videos (N=40) from five folk/traditional music websites for pedagogical and musical content. Video selection and categorization included banjo (n=10), fiddle (n=10), guitar (n=10) and mandolin (n=10) lessons. Content analysis factors took account of (1) video characteristics (length, teacher talktime), (2) instructor characteristics (gender, age, ethnicity), (3) musical content and (4) teaching methods. Results indicated that the majority of the selected videos were geared towards beginners and that instructors tended to be white, middle aged males. Videos also included many forms of aural reinforcement, modelling, technique-based instruction and physiological prompts. Opportunities for improvisation, however, were infrequent.

This article explores the dynamic interaction of sound and image creativity through technology. Focusing on the potential significance of the blurring of boundaries between the visual and the auditory in artistic perception and creative procedure, and more fluid approaches to collaboration and artistic interaction through technology and virtual environments, issues are explored through the development and exhibition of original artwork. Developing mixed-media outcomes, reflections of particular aspects of human interaction with physical spaces emerged as a persistent theme in collaborative work, technology providing an adaptable mechanism and medium of craft, as well as an influence on perspective and artistic perception. This article develops a contextual evaluation of the project, whilst focusing on the implications of technology for artistic practice and higher education. With an emphasis on the development and understanding of musical creativity, the virtualization of compositional process and potential for enrichment of pedagogy and artistry are considered.

AN INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC TECHNOLOGY, DAN HOSKEN (2010) New York: Routledge, 400 pp., ISBN: 978-0-415-99729-4, p/bk, £25.99

THE MUSIC INSTINCT: HOW MUSIC WORKS AND WHY WE CAN'T DO WITHOUT IT, PHILIPBALL (2011) London: Vintage, 452 pp., ISBN: 978-0-099-53544-7, p/bk, £9.99

IF MUSIC ISNT A LUXURY, WHAT IS IT?

SONIC BODIES: REGGAE SOUND SYSTEMS, PERFORMANCE TECHNIQUES AND WAYS OF KNOWING, JULIAN HENRIQUES (2011) New York: Continuum International, 352 pp., ISBN: 978-1-4411-4429-4, p/bk, £17.99