Music Learning via Electronic Gaming

British organization Youth Music has released an interesting report by Andrew Missingham entitled Why Console Games are Bigger than Rock and Roll. The report examined the following questions:

• Are young people being attracted to making music via these games?
• Do music-games add value to or replace other ways that young people make and listening to music?
• Are young people making music, or learning about music, on consoles instead of on “traditional” instruments?
• Are people starting on games consoles, then going on to other more "traditional” music making methods?
• What can games developers and console and peripheral manufacturers do improve music-games?

A copy of the full report may be downloaded here:

Download Why console games are bigger than Rock and Roll
(709KB PDF)

Here is a link to a related article in the UK’s Telegraph entitled Computer Games Inspire Children to Learn Musical Instruments:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/3566594/Computer-games-inspire-children-to-learn-musical-instruments.html

In 1995 I conducted a study on karaoke and Japanese youth culture with sociolinguist Shigeru Taneda, the initial results of which were published in the Yamanashi Gakuin Journal of General Education. More than 12 years ago, Professor Taneda and I expressed our astonishment regarding the creative ways that Japanese youth were using many of the technologies that have only recently been popularized in North America, the UK and elsewhere. These include what was called in 1995 the Karaoke Battle Station, a device that assigned scores to competing singers, as well as games that required dancing, performance on taiko drums, and various rock instruments. Some of these music technologies have still not been marketed for personal ownership outside of Japan, and new devices have continued to be developed.

This is among the various topics that I will examine further during the summer of 2009 at Nichibunken, the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, in Kyoto.

International Lectures

In 2009, I will be giving lectures and workshops on music at universities and conservatories in 10 nations. These will be for music institutions in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the United States, Japan, Mexico, and France.

Click HERE for a tentative schedule.

Click HERE to view my current homepage at Sibelius Academy.

Nordic Research in Music Technology

In 2009, the Nordic Network for the Integration of Music Informatics, Performance and Aesthetics will hold a week-long masters-level course in Esbjerg, Denmark:

http://www.sdu.dk/~/media/Files/Om_SDU/Institutter/Ifpr/Cynthia/MIPA.ashx

I am giving a lecture and interactive workshop there on new music technologies in Japan and the USA.

Recently, I am also designing a proposal for a multi-national research project on the use of new music technologies in targeted urban centers of Europe, Asia, and North America.

Kampin Laulu and Panula

Last night I sang for a recording session with the Kampin Laulu Chamber Choir at Jorma Panula’s house. We recorded Panula’s recent choral works for small men’s chorus. Panula is one of Europe’s most respected conducting pedagogues, and his former students serve as conductors for several of the world’s leading symphony orchestras and choirs. Panula’s new works feature attractive harmonies and textures – a challenge to sight read, but well worth the effort. I have been singing as a member of Kampin Laulu for about 2 months, and we have concerts coming up in a few weeks.

Related websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorma_Panula

http://www.jormapanula.com/

http://www.kampinlaulu.fi/

At its next concert, Kampin Laulu will perform some very attractive and interesting new choral pieces by Finnish composer Tapani Lansio: http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/mainframe?readform&lansio+tapani

More information on Finnish music may be obtained from the Finnish Music Information Centre:
http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/naviframe?readform&f=mic1f3.htm&m=5.1&ct=0

Globalisation and Identity in Music Education

In mid-November 2008, the Sibelius Academy Music Education Department will be hosting the conference Globalisation and Identity in Music Education.

Click HERE for the programme of this event.

Professor Lucy Green (University of London) will be one of the keynote speakers.


Click HERE for a programme of the related event for school music teachers, Classroom Rock Band as a Learning Environment.

This conference is offered with the generous support of Nordplus through the Pan-Nordic coalition of advanced music institutions Musikkpedagogisk Nettverk: Nordic Network for Music Education.
http://www.hib.no/studier/internasjonalisering/program/Musikkpedagogisknettverk.htm

Click HERE for a link to the 2009 Nordic Network conference now being planned in Sweden.

Finland’s former President Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Today the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari.

Click here for further information:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/10/healthscience/11nobel-fw.php

In addition to his work as a leading peace negotiator, Ahtisaari is the major patron of international music projects through the MIAGI (Music Is A Great Investment) program.

Click here for further information:
http://www.miagi.co.za/about.html

International Presentations in October

In a few weeks I will present a lecture in Sweden entitled “Musical Creativity and Identity among Three Māori Women Songwriters” for the seminar on Song and Music in Minority Regions, as part of the Liet Lavlut festival [http://www.liet.nl/home.php?l=7]. According to Birger Winsa, “Liet Lavlut is the biggest cultural festival for minority languages in Europe, lasting four days, from Thursday - Sunday October 16-20, 2008.” On Saturday is the festival’s academic seminar Song and Music in Minority Regions (09.00 - ca 16.00).

Here is a PDF file of the program for the seminar: http://www.liet.nl/admin/upload/pdf/musikseminarium-pitea-080903_34.pdf.

The seminar is arranged by the Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research and other partners, including the Music School of Piteå, SWEBLUL and Joensuu University.

At the end of October, I will also give two presentations in the United States for the Society for Ethnomusicology 53nd Annual Conference at Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut (October 25-28, 2008) [http://www.indiana.edu/~semhome/2008/index.shtml].

The first is a general session paper presentation entitled “Intercultural Music Transmission in the History of New Zealand Brass Bands.”

The second presentation is a brief lecture for the Historical Ethnomusicology Special Interest Group session entitled “Reconciling Emic/Etic Paradox in Glocal Music Historiography.” This presentation will highlight the implications of some findings I discussed earlier at the De-Canonizing Music History conference.