Understanding motivation and practice quality in elite music performance. This project examines motivation and practice quality in elite music performance. It applies major theoretical explanations from other domains where optimising motivation and practice quality has consistently been found to increase performance, persistence, learning, creativity, and wellbeing. The expected outcomes of the project address the competitiveness of Australian musicians, particularly in light of significantly lo ....Understanding motivation and practice quality in elite music performance. This project examines motivation and practice quality in elite music performance. It applies major theoretical explanations from other domains where optimising motivation and practice quality has consistently been found to increase performance, persistence, learning, creativity, and wellbeing. The expected outcomes of the project address the competitiveness of Australian musicians, particularly in light of significantly lower funding for music institutions compared to international counterparts. The research endeavours to inform understandings about the nature of motivation and practice more generally, by extending conceptions that have until now been formed largely through research in non-artistic domains of human accomplishment.Read moreRead less
An interaction model for human–machine creative collaboration. The project aims to demonstrate how interactive systems can enhance creative productivity, through the development and evaluation of a model for how humans and AI can interact while creating. This is expected to generate new strategies for effective, intelligent, and domain-general creativity support. These new strategies will be validated in the domains of drawing and music composition by rigorous human-centred prototyping technique ....An interaction model for human–machine creative collaboration. The project aims to demonstrate how interactive systems can enhance creative productivity, through the development and evaluation of a model for how humans and AI can interact while creating. This is expected to generate new strategies for effective, intelligent, and domain-general creativity support. These new strategies will be validated in the domains of drawing and music composition by rigorous human-centred prototyping techniques. The principal anticipated outcome of the project is a model for how to enhance creative work through interacting with AI, an opportunity that is currently largely unexplored. Benefits will include an increase in the rate of creative outputs, both within the creative industries and throughout the economy.Read moreRead less
Policing Australian Popular Music. This project will be the first comprehensive study of the relationship between policing and popular music in Australia. An interdisciplinary approach brings together criminology, music, history, social work, cultural, and music education research to investigate the processes by which certain forms of popular music and affiliated communities have been criminalised, and the ways musicians and musical communities have voiced resistance to police and state power. T ....Policing Australian Popular Music. This project will be the first comprehensive study of the relationship between policing and popular music in Australia. An interdisciplinary approach brings together criminology, music, history, social work, cultural, and music education research to investigate the processes by which certain forms of popular music and affiliated communities have been criminalised, and the ways musicians and musical communities have voiced resistance to police and state power. Through innovative interview and arts-practice based methodologies, the project will generate new knowledge on the historic and contemporary relations between state governance and creative cultural expression to inform policy and practice in policing as well as cultural investments. Read moreRead less
Stage acoustical quality in auditoria: measurement, simulation, prediction and design. This project asks what acoustic qualities make a concert hall stage outstanding for musicians, and how can these qualities be achieved? It involves a collaboration between acoustics researchers in Australia and Korea, with complementary expertise in lab and field studies of auditorium stages.
Musical resilience within marginal groups in culturally diverse societies. This project aims to examine and compare the music of minorities in one Western and one non-Western culturally diverse society to better understand how certain musics thrive. This project will improve understanding of the musical and social lives of minority communities in culturally diverse societies. By exploring how communities perceive and handle challenges to musical practices, it will expand knowledge of the ways th ....Musical resilience within marginal groups in culturally diverse societies. This project aims to examine and compare the music of minorities in one Western and one non-Western culturally diverse society to better understand how certain musics thrive. This project will improve understanding of the musical and social lives of minority communities in culturally diverse societies. By exploring how communities perceive and handle challenges to musical practices, it will expand knowledge of the ways that music can enhance the lives of minority peoples and our society. The outcomes will include practical guidance that can inform community activities and policy at a range of levels, and benefit society through positive social change.Read moreRead less
Loudness moves! Roles of changing acoustic intensity in the perception of music. Changing loudness of a sound is an urgent cue for object location, and an emotional cue in speech and music. With new empirical techniques, we will identify roles of loudness in perception of structure, arousal and emotion in music. The work has application in inter-personal communication, sonic information display and, and in music selling online.
Physical musicality: Optimising lived experience among older adults . The aim of this project is to investigate how music-supported exercise, called physical musicality (PM), can promote wellbeing, quality of life, and cognitive-motor function in older adults, beyond the benefits of exercise or music listening alone. To achieve this aim, we will (a) conduct randomised control trials on PM programs; (b) isolate the ingredients and mechanisms underlying the benefits of PM; and (c) design culturall ....Physical musicality: Optimising lived experience among older adults . The aim of this project is to investigate how music-supported exercise, called physical musicality (PM), can promote wellbeing, quality of life, and cognitive-motor function in older adults, beyond the benefits of exercise or music listening alone. To achieve this aim, we will (a) conduct randomised control trials on PM programs; (b) isolate the ingredients and mechanisms underlying the benefits of PM; and (c) design culturally appropriate programs that optimise wellbeing and cognitive-motor function for older adults. Our research will reveal simple, non-medical steps that all adults of advancing age can take to maintain their wellbeing and cognitive functions so they can lead productive and successful lives into older age. Read moreRead less
Social cohesion and resilience through intercultural music engagement. This project aims to identify, evaluate and develop theoretical and practical ways in which intercultural music engagement can facilitate social cohesion and enhance community resilience and intercultural empathy. There is growing evidence that music is a powerful stimulus for wellbeing and interpersonal connection and it is increasingly applied to promote intercultural understanding. This project will use detailed observatio ....Social cohesion and resilience through intercultural music engagement. This project aims to identify, evaluate and develop theoretical and practical ways in which intercultural music engagement can facilitate social cohesion and enhance community resilience and intercultural empathy. There is growing evidence that music is a powerful stimulus for wellbeing and interpersonal connection and it is increasingly applied to promote intercultural understanding. This project will use detailed observational, participatory and experimental strategies to elucidate the psychosocial processes underpinning intercultural music engagement, isolating variables that promote social cohesion. The project will develop best practice guidelines for organisations seeking to use cultural exposure and interaction to promote positive multicultural experiences.Read moreRead less
Violent music: social, psychological, and neurological implications. This project will examine the forms and prevalence of violent music; its short- and long-term effects on aggression, emotional states and cognitive function; and neurological correlates of engagement with violent music. Music with violent themes is often blamed for antisocial or criminal behaviour, but we have little scientific understanding of the extent to which violent music interacts with social attitudes, emotions, actions ....Violent music: social, psychological, and neurological implications. This project will examine the forms and prevalence of violent music; its short- and long-term effects on aggression, emotional states and cognitive function; and neurological correlates of engagement with violent music. Music with violent themes is often blamed for antisocial or criminal behaviour, but we have little scientific understanding of the extent to which violent music interacts with social attitudes, emotions, actions and cognitive functions in musicians and fans. The project is expected to develop an empirically driven model of the pathways between violent music, thought and action, and to test hypotheses for how negative consequences of exposure to violent music can be minimised and social and psychological benefits maximised.Read moreRead less
The shock of the old: Rediscovering the sounds of bel canto 1700-1900. Bel canto—beautiful singing—describes a forgotten tradition (1700–1900), epitomising clear communication of expression and meaning of text. This project aims to generate new research-based knowledge of bel canto sound vocabulary, music, and history through implementation of a multi-modal method—working with an international community of singers—to produce multi-faceted outputs that inform future scholarship and creativity in ....The shock of the old: Rediscovering the sounds of bel canto 1700-1900. Bel canto—beautiful singing—describes a forgotten tradition (1700–1900), epitomising clear communication of expression and meaning of text. This project aims to generate new research-based knowledge of bel canto sound vocabulary, music, and history through implementation of a multi-modal method—working with an international community of singers—to produce multi-faceted outputs that inform future scholarship and creativity in singing. Modern classical singing fails to communicate the meaning of the text in bel canto repertory. Expected outcomes are revitalisation of global practices to produce classical singers better equipped to convey the text, increasing audience engagement, and the sustainability of the classical music industry.Read moreRead less