The significance of the 'physicality' involved in learning to play a musical instrument and the essential role of teachers are areas in need of research. This paper explores the role of gesture within teacher-student communicative interaction in one-to-one piano lessons. Three teachers were required to teach a pre-selected repertoire of two contrasting pieces to three students studying piano grade 1. The data was collected by video recordings of piano lessons and analysis based on the type and frequency of gestures employed by teachers in association to teaching behaviours specifying where gestures fit under (or evade) predefined classifications.Spontaneous co-musical gestures were observed in the process of piano tuition emerging with similar general communicative purposes as spontaneous co-verbal gestures and were essential for the process of musical communication between teachers and students. Observed frequencies of categorised gestures varied significantly between different teaching behaviours and between the three teachers. Parallels established between co-verbal and co-musical spontaneous gestures lead to an argument for extension of McNeill's (2005) ideas of imagery-language-dialectic to imagery-music-dialectic with relevant implications for piano pedagogy and fields of study invested in musical communication. KeywordsInstrumental music teaching, musical learning, gesture, bodily movement, non-verbal communication, education. Context, aims and scopeThe human experience of engagement with music listening, performing, teaching and learning would not be possible without a bodily interface, through which movement and music can be physically produced, experienced and understood. Physical gestures form a central part of the communication established between the dyad teacher-student relationship, and in the communication of symbolic and functional musical knowledge. However, a host of issues relating to teacher/student gestural interaction remain as absent chapters in the Firstly, research on the one-to-one applied music studio instruction setting has focused on verbal communicative channels, denying due importance to the role of non-verbal communication for teaching and learning process (for a review see Kennell, 2002 andParkes, 2009). The first study that solely examined non-verbal communication observed that successful voice teachers performed the following non-verbal behaviours during lessons: steady eye contact, forward posture, head nodding, smile and laughter, appropriate touch, animated facial expressions and the use of expressive gestures (Levasseur, 1994). These observations paved the way for the following findings: that verbal and non-verbal teaching behaviours are equally important (Wang, 2001); that non-verbal sensitivity plays a significant role in the teaching of music performance (Kurkul, 2007); and that piano teachers who performed more non-verbal behaviours are considered by students as most effective (Carlin, 1997).Secondly, despite early work that would eventually contribute to the f...

Communicating musical knowledge through gesture: piano teachers' gestural behaviours across different levels of student proficiency Version 3 The final, definitive version of this paper (Version 4) has been published in Psychology of

Research in various fields has shown that students benefit from teacher action demonstrations during instruction, establishing the need to better understand the effectiveness of different demonstration types across student proficiency levels. This study centres upon a piano learning and teaching environment in which beginners and intermediate piano students (N=48) learning to perform a specific type of staccato were submitted to three different (group exclusive) teaching conditions: audio-only demonstration of the musical task; observation of the teacher's action demonstration followed by student imitation (blockedobservation); and observation of the teacher's action demonstration whilst alternating imitation of the task with the teacher's performance (interleaved-observation). Learning was measured in relation to students' range of wrist amplitude (RWA) and ratio of sound and inter-sound duration (SIDR) before, during and after training. Observation and imitation of the teacher's action demonstrations had a beneficial effect on students' staccato knowledge retention at different times after training: Students submitted to interleaved-observation presented significantly shorter note duration and larger wrist rotation, and as such, were more proficient at the learned technique in each of the lesson and retention tests than students in the other learning conditions. There were no significant differences in performance or retention for students of different proficiency levels. These findings have relevant implications for instrumental music pedagogy and other contexts where embodied action is an essential aspect of the learning process.

Glass and glass-ceramic samples of metastable lithium thiophosphates with compositions of 70Li2S-30P2S5 and Li7P3S11 were controllably prepared by using a rapid assisted-microwave procedure in under 30 min. The rapid preparation times and weak coupling of the evacuated silica ampules with microwave radiation ensure minimal reactivity of the reactants and the container. The microwave-prepared samples display comparable conductivity values with more conventionally prepared (melt quenched) glass and glass-ceramic samples, on the order of 0.1 and 1 mS cm–1 at room temperature, respectively. Rietveld analysis of synchrotron X-ray diffraction data acquired with an internal standard quantitatively yields phase amounts of the glassy and amorphous components, establishing the tunable nature of the microwave preparation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy confirm the composition and the appropriate ratios of isolated and corner-sharing tetrahedra in these semicrystalline systems. Solid-state 7Li nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy resolves the seven crystallographic Li sites in the crystalline compound into three main environments. The diffusion behavior of these Li environments as obtained from pulsed-field gradient NMR methods can be separated into one slow and one fast component. The rapid and tunable approach to the preparation of high quality “Li7P3S11” samples presented here coupled with detailed structural and compositional analysis opens the door to new and promising metastable solid electrolytes.

The primary purpose of this article is to review the potential therapeutic value of freely available VR content as an addition to the practitioners ‘toolkit’. Research has shown that virtual reality (VR) may be useful to extend existing guided imagery-based practices found in traditional mental health therapy. However, the use of VR technology within routine mental health practice remains low, despite recent reductions in equipment costs. A systematic scoping review and interdisciplinary analysis of freely available VR experiences was performed across two popular online databases (SteamVR and Oculus.com). A total of 1785 experiences were retrieved and screened for relevance with 46 meeting the inclusion criteria. VR content was then reviewed for potential therapeutic value by an interdisciplinary panel with experience across a number of therapeutic interventions including cognitive behavioural therapy, Rogerian counselling, mindfulness-based therapies. and family therapy. Eleven (22%) of the 50 freely available VR experiences were reported to have therapeutic potential as tools to support routine mental health therapy. These included support with the following mental health issues—low mood, social anxiety, stress reduction and fear of heights. Guidance of a qualified mental health practitioner was recommended in all cases to maximise the benefit of the VR experiences retrieved. While the quality is variable, freely available VR experiences may contain valuable content that could support mental health therapy. This includes as a homework activity or as an initial setting for case formulation and behavioural experiments.

Performance without Barriers research group, and currently Programme Manager at Drake Music NI. Koichi is a music researcher and electronic musician. He completed his PhD research on inclusive music in a collaborative study with Drake Music NI and Sonic Arts Research Centre, Queen's University Belfast. His current research and work focus now is in music and social inclusion, creative economy and music technology. Franziska Schroeder is the founder of the 'Performance without Barriers' research group, based at the Sonic Arts Research Centre, Belfast. Funding for ongoing work has been received by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), allowing the group to benefit from PhD and post-doctoral researchers and to expand work into emerging technological fields.Franziska is a saxophonist, improviser and senior lecturer at Queen's University Belfast where she teaches digital performance, improvisation, and critical theories. Performance without Barriers: improvisation and accessible digital musical instruments in inclusive music makingThe 'Performance without Barriers' 1 research group (PwB), based at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's University Belfast has been exploring the potential of sonic arts practices and music improvisation for enhancing social inclusion. To date the group has primarily focussed on research activities related to the inclusive potential of providing access to music improvisation for people with physical disabilities via the use of digital technologies. In this paper we discuss the critical thinking behind our work which draws together the social and connective functions of music making, the open and relational practice of music improvisation and technological solutions utilising open, adaptable and accessible digital technologies. Three case studies of our work are discussed and the voices and experiences of participants in these projects are introduced.In this article we argue that activities in music improvisation have inclusive potential for opening constructive dialogues between performers, their instruments and people of different backgrounds and abilities. Furthermore, as we have approached our research activities reflexively, we reflect on the contradictions, dilemmas and points of learning we have discovered when engaging in collaborative and public engagement work between researchers working in a university context and the wider society.

Visually impaired and blind (VIB) people as a community face several access barriers when using technology. For users of specialist technology, such as digital audio workstations (DAWs), these access barriers become increasingly complex—often stemming from a vision-centric approach to user interface design. Haptic technologies may present opportunities to leverage the sense of touch to address these access barriers. In this article, we describe a participant study involving interviews with twenty VIB sound creatives who work with DAWs. Through a combination of semi-structured interviews and a thematic analysis of the interview data, we identify key issues relating to haptic audio and accessibility from the perspective of VIB sound creatives. We introduce the technical and practical barriers that VIB sound creatives encounter, which haptic technology may be capable of addressing. We also discuss the social and cultural aspects contributing to VIB people’s uptake of new technology and access to the music technology industry.

This paper explores ecological perspectives of human activity in the use of digital musical instruments and assistive technology. While such perspectives are relatively nascent in DMI design and evaluation, ecological frameworks have a long-standing foundation in occupational therapy and the design of assistive technology products and services. Informed by two case studies, the authors' critique, compare and marry concepts from each domain to guide future research into accessible music technology.The authors discover that ecological frameworks used by occupational therapists are helpful in describing the nature of individual impairment, disability and situated context. However, such frameworks seemingly flounder when attempting to describe the personal value of music-making.