Carl Maria von Weber College of Music

Background Emotion regulation is an important part of effective goal pursuit. Functional accounts of emotion regulation suggest that the attainment of challenging goals may be supported by regulating emotions which promote utilitarian over hedonic outcomes. When pursuing the challenging, long-term goal of acquiring expert musical skills and knowledge, musicians may wish to prioritise whichever emotions are most conducive to attaining this goal, even if those emotions are not necessarily positive. Methods Via an online questionnaire, musicians (N = 421) answered questions concerning their musical experience and their expertise-related practice goals. They also reported how strongly they experienced different emotions during practice, and how strongly they desired to either increase or decrease the intensity of those same emotions. Data were analysed using inferential frequentist statistics and Bayesian mixed effects models. Evidence ratios (ER) > 19 were considered strong evidence in favour of an effect. Results Our analysis showed that musicians experienced and desired strong levels of positive emotions in their practice. In addition, they reported greater desire to intensify positive compared to negative emotions [paired t (420) = 58.13, p < 0.001]. Our Bayesian mixed effects model provided strong evidence that greater desire to intensify anger increased the probability that an observation derived from a musician with stronger expertise-related goals [Est = 0.70; Odds (Est > 0) > 9,999]. In addition to anger, higher levels of expertise-related goals were increasingly predicted by less strong desire to intensify guilt and gloom and greater desire to reduce downheartedness (all ER > 19). Discussion Overall, musicians had a strong, general desire to intensify positive emotions during their musical practice. However, musicians with higher levels of expertise-related goals increasingly indicated a nuanced approach regarding how they desired to regulate certain negative emotions. Findings suggest that musicians engage in selective and sophisticated emotion regulation behaviour that aligns with their long-term commitment to develop musical expertise. They may prioritise emotions which may be functionally beneficial, whilst avoiding emotions which may be counterproductive or undermine efforts. Findings from this study contribute to our understanding of expertise-related, domain-specific emotion regulation behaviour and may inform the design of prioritised musical practice strategies.

Musical activities (MA) such as singing, playing instruments, and listening to music may be associated with health benefits. However, evidence from epidemiological studies is still limited. This study aims at describing the relation between MA and both sociodemographic and health-related factors in a cross-sectional approach. A total of 6717 adults (50.3% women, 49.7% men, median age: 51 years (IQR 43–60) were recruited from the study center Berlin-Mitte of the German National Cohort (NAKO), a population-based prospective study. This study is based on a sample randomly selected from the population registry of Berlin, Germany, aged 20 to 69 years. 53% of the participants had been musically active at least once in their life (56.1% women, 43.9% men). Playing keyboard instruments (30%) and singing (21%) were the most frequent MA. Participants listened to music in median 90 min per day (IQR 30.0–150.0). Musically active individuals were more likely to have a higher education, higher alcohol consumption, were less likely to be physically active, and had a lower BMI compared to musically inactive individuals. This large population-based study offers a comprehensive description of demographic, health, and lifestyle characteristics associated with MA. Our findings may aid in assessing long-term health consequences of MA.

Introduction Emotion regulation is an important part of optimising performance and successful goal pursuit in practice-based tasks such as making music. Musicians may regulate their own emotions during the course of their musical practice in order to improve their performance and ultimately attain their practice-related goals. The specific emotions they target may depend upon their personality traits but may also relate to the nature of their goal orientation, and the interaction between the two. This study investigates whether the emotions desired by musicians in their musical practice were dependent on their personality traits and Mastery goal orientation (the desire to master musical and technical skills). Methods Via an online questionnaire, 421 musicians completed a personality scale and answered questions relating to their mastery practice goals. They also completed emotion scales indicating how strongly they desired to increase or decrease the intensity of specific emotions when practicing. Results Overall, musicians preferred to up-regulate positive rather than negative emotions [ paired t (420) = 58.13, p < 0.001]. Bayesian Mixed Effects models showed that personality traits affected musicians’ desire to regulate specific emotions. For example, higher levels of Agreeableness predicted greater desire to increase positive but not negative emotions, whereas Extraversion predicted greater desire to increase anger [ Est . = 0.05, SE = 0.03, Odds (Est. > 0) = 43.03] but not positive emotions. The inclusion of Mastery goal orientation either amplified or mitigated these effects in several cases, and also introduced new trait-emotion relationships. Findings confirm a general hedonic principle underlying the emotions musicians desired in their musical practice. However, predicted by personality traits, musicians also sometimes sought to increase the intensity of unpleasant emotions. Discussion These findings complement existing research that suggests that some Mastery-oriented musicians may seek an emotional state consisting of both positive and negative emotions. This and future studies on this topic may contribute to a better understanding of individual differences in emotion regulation ability as a potential aspect of individualised musical practice strategies.

Objective/hypothesis: The aim of the study was to measure the morphology of the epilaryngeal tube during sustained phonation as a function of loudness variation and to compare subjects of different genders. Study design: This is a prospective study. Methods: Five female and five male classically trained singers were recorded by magnetic resonance imaging with simultaneous audio recordings while sustaining phonation at three different loudness conditions. Three-dimensional subsections of the vocal tract were segmented on multi-image-based cross-sections. Different volume and area measures were determined and their relation to sound pressure level and loudness condition was analyzed. Results: Male singers tended to narrow the epilaryngeal tube when increasing sound pressure level whereas female singers did not. Conclusion: Strategies of vocal tract adjustments during loudness variation in classical singing appear to be gender specific.

Savage et al. make a compelling case, Mehr et al. less so, for social bonding and credible signalling, respectively, as the main adaptive function of human musicality. We express general advocacy for the former thesis, highlighting: (1) overlap between the two; (2) direct versus derived biological functions, and (3) aspects of music embedded in cultural evolution, for example, departures from tonality.

Background: High-speed drumming requires precise control over the timing, velocity, and magnitude of striking movements. Aim: To examine effects of tempo and expertise on unaccented repetitive drumming performance using 3D motion capture. Methods: Expert and amateur drummers performed unimanual, unaccented, repetitive drum strikes, using their dominant right hand, at five different tempi. Performance was examined with regard to timing variability, striking velocity variability, the ability to match the prescribed tempo, and additional variables. Results: Permutated multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) revealed significant main effects of tempo (p < .001) and expertise (p <.001) on timing variability and striking velocity variability; low timing variability and low striking velocity variability were associated with low/medium tempo as well as with increased expertise. Individually, improved precision appeared across an optimum tempo range. Precision was poorest at maximum tempo (400 hits per minute) for precision variables. Conclusions: Expert drummers demonstrated greater precision and consistency than amateurs. Findings indicate an optimum tempo range that extends with increased expertise.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01360.].

Numerous technological solutions have been proposed to promote piano learning and teaching, but very few with market success. We are convinced that users’ needs should be the starting point for an effective and transdisciplinary development process of piano-related Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (TaHIL) applications. Thus, we propose to include end users in the initial stage of technology development. We gathered insights from adult piano teachers and students through an online survey and digital interviews. Three potential literature-based solutions have been visualized as scenarios to inspire participants throughout the interviews. Our main findings indicate that potential end users consider posture and body movements, teacher–student communication, and self-practice as crucial aspects of piano education. Further insights resulted in so-called acceptance requirements for each scenario, such as enabling meaningful communication in distance teaching, providing advanced data on a performer’s body movement for increased well-being, and improving students’ motivation for self-practice, all while allowing or even promoting artistic freedom of expression and having an assisting instead of judging character. By putting the users in the center of the fuzzy front end of technology development, we have gone a step further toward concretizing TaHIL applications that may contribute to the routines of piano teaching and learning.

Emotion regulation literature often emphasizes that individuals regulate their emotions for hedonic reasons. However, there is increasing support for an instrumental approach to emotion regulation. This approach suggests that emotions are regulated if they are believed to be beneficial to the pursuit of personally relevant goals. When pursuing a long-term goal, an individual may forego immediate, hedonic emotional reward in order to maximize the instrumental benefits of emotions. The current study investigates emotion regulation behaviour in the context of musical practice. We examine whether musicians adopt specific, regulated emotional stances which support their goal orientation, and which are in line with their beliefs regarding the functional impact of emotions. Via an online questionnaire, 421 musicians reported their goal-orientation, meta-emotion beliefs, and affect-regulation strategies. Participants then completed a scale assessing specific emotions they would regulate in order to support their musical practice. Data were analysed using PCA, MANOVA, subgroup analysis and categorical regression. Musicians reported using affect-improvement strategies more often than affect-worsening strategies in order to influence how they felt during musical practice. Greater reported use of affect-worsening strategies was associated with stronger meta-emotion beliefs supporting the possible instrumental benefits of unpleasant emotions (F = 30.33; p < 0.01; ηp2 = 0.06). Musicians who strongly endorsed this belief more strongly pursued mastery goals in contrast to enjoyment goals. In terms of specific targeted emotions, musicians generally sought to reduce unpleasant emotions, and increase pleasant, energizing emotions in order to support their musical practice. However, a subgroup of mastery- rather than enjoyment-oriented musicians may seek a mixed emotional state, increasing anger and nervousness in conjunction with a number of pleasant emotions (Wilks λ1,420 = 14.42; p < 0.01; ηp2 = 0.50). Musicians who pursue expert musical skills may be motivated to experience emotions that combine the instrumental and hedonic benefits of emotions. Musicians who practice for enjoyment may prioritize emotions that maximize only the hedonic benefits. Future research should aim to identify the regulated emotional states that best support specific musical practice outcomes in an individual. It will also be important to understand on all levels, including music performance quality as well as health and well-being, the outcomes that may be associated with the use of affect-worsening strategies and unpleasant emotions. Research in this field may equip musicians with novel skills for better pursuit of their goals, and may help to maximize health and well-being in musical practice.

Dieser Beitrag wirft einen Blick auf 100 Jahre Grundschule aus allgemein grundschulpädagogischer Sicht sowie aus verschiedenen fachdidaktischen Perspektiven. Dabei werden historische Linien nachgezeichnet, die über das Gründungsjahr 1919 hinausreichen, aber auch aktuelle Tendenzen und ihre Bedeutung für zukünftige Entwicklungslinien aufgezeigt.

Background At present only little information is available concerning the acquisition of skilled movements in musicians. Although optimally a longitudinal study of changing movement patterns during the process of increasing expertise is required, long-term follow up over several years is difficult to manage. Therefore, in the present cross-sectional study a comparative kinematic analysis of skilled movements in drummers with different levels of expertise was carried out. Aims The aim of the investigation was (1) to analyze the kinematic differences between beginners, students and expert drummers, and (2) to deduce from the results general rules related to the acquisition of drumming expertise and (3) to discuss the implications for drum teaching. Method Two highly skilled experts, eight professional drumming students and five beginners participated in the experiment. Fast repetitive drumming movements were assessed using an active infrared measurement setup (SELSPOT-System). Recording was obtained from LEDs positioned over the shoulder-, elbow-, wrist- and MCP-joints and close to the tip of the stick at a sampling rate of 300 Hz. Kinematic analysis included calculation of angles, velocities and accelerations and assessment of the relation between velocity and acceleration as phase diagrams. Results Temporal accuracy of the drumming movements was related to expertise. In contrast to beginners, experts and students revealed a high degree of self-similarity of movements and a predominant use of low-mass distal joints, resulting in a whiplash-like movement when hitting the pad. Conclusion Intense training in students and experts results in economic utilization of forces. Percussion teachers can take advantage of the kinematic analysis and improve their instructions according to the student’s observed motor pattern.

Background and Aim: Drumming requires excellent motor control and temporal coordination. Deploying specific muscle activation patterns may help achieve these requirements. Muscle activation patterns that involve reciprocal contraction of antagonist muscles are particularly favorable as they enable a high level of muscular economy while maintaining performance. In contrast, simultaneous contraction of antagonist muscles is an inefficient muscle activation pattern. In drumming, co-contraction can lead to increased movement variability and greater fatigue over time. In this study we examine how muscle activation patterns develop with increased drumming expertise. Methods: Eleven expert drummers (ED) and eleven amateur drummers (AD) were recorded using 3D motion capture while performing five different uni-manual and bi-manual repetitive drumming tasks across different tempi. Electromyography was used to record muscle activation of wrist flexor and extensor muscles. Results: Findings indicate that reduced co-contraction resulted in more even drumming performance. Co-contraction also increased in extremely slow and very high tempi. Furthermore, regardless of task or tempo, muscle co-contraction was decreased in participants with higher levels of expertise. In addition to anti-phasic activity of wrist flexor and extensor muscles, expert drummers exhibited a flexor dominance, suggesting more efficient usage of rebound. Conclusion: Taken together, we found that higher levels of drumming expertise go hand in hand with specific muscle activation patterns that can be linked to more precise and efficient drumming performance.

Background It has been shown in the literature that the Valsalva manoeuvre influences ocular perfusion by changing intraocular pressure and central retinal venous pressure (CRVP). High-resistance wind instrument (HRWI) playing is a common situation resembling a Valsalva manoeuvre. The aim of this investigation was to explore the influence of amateur trumpet playing on CRVP. Methods The left eyes of 20 healthy non-professional trumpet players (median age 26, range 19–52 years; 17 males, 3 females) were included in this investigation. Subjects, sitting at a slit lamp, were asked to play the tone b’ flat with their own mouthpiece on the same trumpet for at least 30 s with moderate loudness. The following data were obtained: intraocular pressure (IOP) by applanation tonometry before and during playing, CRVP by contact lens dynamometry before and during playing, airway pressure (AirP) using a pressure sensor during playing and blood pressure and heart rate using the common cuff method before and during playing. Results The results are presented as the medians before vs during playing: a calculated mean ophthalmic artery pressure of 66 vs 72 mmHg, heart rate of 76 vs 82 beats per minute, airway pressure of 0 vs 17 mmHg, IOP 12 vs 13 mmHg and CRVP of 24 vs 55 mmHg (Wilcoxon test: p = 0.00009), respectively. A correlation between the CRVP during playing and the height of the spontaneous CRVP is noted (Spearman rank correlation coefficient: ρ = 0.68). Conclusions Amateur trumpet playing increases CRVP, airway pressure and IOP. The increase in CRVP is greater than that of the intraocular pressure. The increase in CRVP seems to be more important for retinal perfusion changes during trumpet playing than the increase of IOP. It can be hypothesised that high airway pressure during playing may cause a permanent increase in CRVP, at least in a subgroup of trumpet players.

Zusammenfassung Nervenkompressionssyndrome bei Musikern sind in der Musikerambulanz häufige Krankheitsbilder. Ungünstige Instrumentenergonomie und dysfunktionale Haltungen, lange Übezeiten und psychologische Stressfaktoren tragen zur hohen Prävalenz bei. Die klassischen Nervenkompressionssyndrome, das Karpaltunnelsyndrom und die Ulnaris-Neuropathie, sind oft durch ungünstige Handgelenks- und Ellbogenhaltungen verursacht und können gut konservativ durch Haltungsumstellungen behandelt werden. Auch das Thoracic-Outlet-Syndrome kann meist konservativ mit ergonomischen Maßnahmen, z. B. Rucksackgurten ausheilen. Seltener treten das Pronator-Teres-Syndrom und das Interosseus-Anterior-Syndrom sowie die digitalen Kompressionssyndrome auf. Die meisten Nervenkompressionssyndrome können klinisch leicht erkannt werden, wenn die Untersuchung am Instrument erfolgt und die spezifische Haltearbeit sowie mechanische Kompression analysiert wird. Die Diagnose kann durch Nervenleitgeschwindigkeits-messungen und durch die Neurosonographie gesichert werden, wobei in der sehr sensiblen Patientengruppe häufig die Symptome im Frühstadium elektrophysiologisch nicht objektiviert werden können.

Zusammenfassung Musizieren auf professionellem Niveau ist eine der komplexesten menschlichen Leistungen. Extrem schnelle und komplexe, zeitlichräumlich präzis definierte Bewegungsmuster müssen mit hoher Zuverlässigkeit gelernt, gespeichert und abgerufen werden, um die Erwartungen der Zuhörer zu erfüllen. Um diese Fähigkeiten zu erwerben, müssen Musiker über viele Jahre hinweg intensiv üben. Steigende Arbeitsbelastung am Instrument kann zu maladaptiver Plastizität des Zentralnervensystems führen und motorische Störungen, wie z. B. die Musikerdystonie auslösen. Die Musikerdystonie ist durch den permanenten Verlust der Kontrolle hoch präziser Bewegungen beim Spielen eines Musikinstruments gekennzeichnet. Sie betrifft etwa 1–2% der Berufsmusiker. Pathophysiologisch liegen gestörte Inhibition und sensomotorische Integration, möglicherweise auf dem Boden einer genetischen Veranlagung vor. Als „dynamisches Stereotyp” wird eine zunächst vorübergehende Verschlechterung der Feinmotorik bezeichnet, die häufig durch psychologische Stressoren oder Müdigkeit ausgelöst wird und als Vorform der Dystonie betrachtet werden kann. Die Behandlung der motorischen Störungen bei Musikern umfassen ergonomische Anpassungen, Anticholinergika, Retraining, und lokale Injektionen mit Botulinumtoxin. Präventionsstrategien in der Ausbildung junger Berufsmusiker sollten auf ein gesundes Arbeitsverhalten, Selbstmanagement, und psychologisch unterstützenden Unterricht ausgerichtet sein.

Psychological abnormalities have been reported in patients with musician's dystonia. To further differentiate these abnormalities, we evaluated personality traits in musician's dystonia and compared them to those in other isolated focal dystonias. Therefore patients with musician's dystonia (n = 101) and other isolated focal dystonias (n = 85) underwent the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Women with musician's dystonia had higher NEO-FFI neuroticism scores, and men significantly higher openness scores compared to women and men with other isolated focal dystonias, respectively. There were negative correlations in men with musician's dystonia between duration of dystonia and the NEO-FFI openness and extraversion scores and between age and extraversion scores. Women with other isolated focal dystonias showed correlations between age and agreeableness and conscientiousness scores. Patients with musician's dystonia are characterized by a specific personality profile with increased neuroticism and openness compared to other isolated focal dystonias. Whether this profile can be traced back to specific underlying disease mechanisms should be further investigated.

Recently, 3D printing has been increasingly used to create physical models of the vocal tract with geometries obtained from magnetic resonance imaging. These printed models allow measuring the vocal tract transfer function, which is not reliably possible in vivo for the vocal tract of living humans. The transfer functions enable the detailed examination of the acoustic effects of specific articulatory strategies in speaking and singing, and the validation of acoustic plane-wave models for realistic vocal tract geometries in articulatory speech synthesis. To measure the acoustic transfer function of 3D-printed models, two techniques have been described: (1) excitation of the models with a broadband sound source at the glottis and measurement of the sound pressure radiated from the lips, and (2) excitation of the models with an external source in front of the lips and measurement of the sound pressure inside the models at the glottal end. The former method is more frequently used and more intuitive due to its similarity to speech production. However, the latter method avoids the intricate problem of constructing a suitable broadband glottal source and is therefore more effective. It has been shown to yield a transfer function similar, but not exactly equal to the volume velocity transfer function between the glottis and the lips, which is usually used to characterize vocal tract acoustics. Here, we revisit this method and show both, theoretically and experimentally, how it can be extended to yield the precise volume velocity transfer function of the vocal tract.

Voice range profile (VRP) and evaluation using the dysphonia severity index (DSI) represent essentials of instrument-based objective voice diagnostics and are implemented in different standardized registration programs. The respective measurement results, however, show differences. The aim of the study was to prove these differences statistically and to develop a new parameter, the Vocal Extent Measure (VEM), which is not influenced by the measurement program. VRPs of 97 subjects were recorded by two examiners using the established registration programs DiVAS (XION medical) and LingWAVES (WEVOSYS) simultaneously. The VEM was developed on the basis of VRP area and perimeter. All 194 VRP files were analyzed for various parameters and gender independence. The registration programs exhibited significant differences in several vocal parameters. A significant gender influence for DSI was found with DiVAS ( p<0.01 ), but not with LingWAVES. The VEM quantified the dynamic performance and frequency range by a unidimensional, interval-scaled value without unit, mostly between 0 and 120. This novel parameter represents an intelligible and user-friendly positive measure of vocal function, allows simple and stable VRP description, and seems to be suitable for quantification of vocal capacity. In contrast to DSI, the VEM proved to be less susceptible to registration program and gender.

Background: There is only a limited number of studies on associations between musical activity and health issues. It seems that musical activity has physiological and psychological benefits, as well as effects on the mental capacity, but this has been studied only in a few clinical and epidemiological studies. One reason might be that no appropriate survey instrument assessing musical activity is available. Aim of the study: Here we provide an overview of survey instruments that assess musicality and musical activity. One focus is the presentation of a newly developed German questionnaire (MusA), which assesses musical activity (active music making and music reception) and was specifically developed for the "German National Cohort", a German health study. Method: Through literature research, questionnaires were identified that assess musicality and / or musical activity. A new German questionnaire was developed from a panel of experts and tested in a small study (n=121, women and men age 18-70 years). Results: In the literature research, 3 questionnaires were identified which focus on musicality and musical activity with different aspects (Gold-MSI, MUSE, MEQ). All 3 instruments may be characterized as large psychometric scales, which especially assess aspects of musicality in the English language. The Gold-MSI is additionally available in German. None of the existing questionnaires covers musical activities in detail. A new short German questionnaire consisting of 9 questions with a maximum filling time of 3-5 min has been developed. Conclusion: There are few questionnaires available for assessing musicality and musical activity with different aspects. The newly developed MusA in the German language focuses on the assessment of musical activity and is intended to be used in larger, population-based as well as clinical studies, to examine music activities and listening to music as independent factors in connection with prevention and therapy of chronic diseases.