Adam is a music psychologist, who devised 'zygonic theory' to explain how music makes sense to us all. He has a particular interest in researching and working with children and young people with exceptional musical abilities or needs.
Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta: Molecular Basis Of Disease, Sep 1, 2020
Vision loss, dementia, and motor and speech declines all impact the educational experience of ind... more Vision loss, dementia, and motor and speech declines all impact the educational experience of individuals with Batten disease and can adversely impact effective learning. There are as yet limited data to support evidence-based approaches to meeting the educational needs of affected individuals. This paper provides an overview of recent work to evaluate and address educational issues with a life-long perspective relevant to individuals with juvenile-onset neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL) and the professionals that provide them with educational support. In particular, several main activities of the recently completed ‘JNCL and Education’ project are summarised, including a survey of parents, educational professionals and social/health workers, development of a formative assessment tool to identify and respond to an individual student’s strengths and needs in the learning environment, and proposed strategies for prolonging literacy and language skills. A key concept that should be emphasised in the educational plan for students with JNCL is that of of ‘proactive’ and ‘hastened’ learning, that is, providing an early emphasis on adaptive skills that will be required in the later stages of disease progression when new learning will be more difficult to achieve. An additional key concept is participation in real-life activities to maintain skills and quality of life, particularly in the later stages of disease progression.
This is a theoretical article, building on one of Irène Deliège's major areas of inte... more This is a theoretical article, building on one of Irène Deliège's major areas of interest in the field of music psychology: the perception of similarity between groups of notes. Here the issue is concurrence: what are the cognitive and music-structural consequences when groups of musical sounds occur simultaneously, in whole or in part? Couched in the context of ‘zygonic’ theory, a taxonomy is presented of how musical events of discernible duration can relate in time, and what forms such relationships can take. A distinction is drawn between perceptual similarity and functional similarity. There is an extended discussion of the capacity of concurrent groups to exist within a single line of music, which entails a fresh look at the notion of hierarchy in musical structures and the Schenkerian notion of prolongation, using a phenomenological approach based on the thinking of Edmund Husserl. In this context, the music-theoretical concept of the appoggiatura is examined, and is shown to result from a cross-domain hierarchical anomaly. The article concludes with a consideration of the reality of hierarchical ‘depth’ in music, in relation to listening, compositional and analytical grammars.
A growing number of autistic pupils attend mainstream schools which raises questions around their... more A growing number of autistic pupils attend mainstream schools which raises questions around their educational and social inclusion. The current study explored the benefits of participating in a novel music and dance programme for autistic children and their peers, aged 5–8 years. It sought to discover whether music and dance tasks can be memorable and motivating, thus promoting active engagement and social inclusion among the pupils. A total of 42 pupils (seven autistic), in seven groups, took part in the 6‐week programme. Repetition of task and pre and post observation checklists, completed by the class teachers, were used. Video observation facilitated the collection of data and analysis of the repetition of task. Music was found to be a positive cue for pupils to remember and perform the tasks, thus enhancing their engagement and inclusion in the group. The activities also offered opportunities for interaction, promoting co‐operation and inclusion.
This article argues that music psychology overlaps with a number of other disciplines, including ... more This article argues that music psychology overlaps with a number of other disciplines, including music education, therapy, ethnomusicology, and music theory and analysis. There are tensions in each case, but benefits too for those who are prepared to explore with an open mind. Ultimately, however, music psychology cannot be extended beyond the boundaries of its epistemological box, always granted that the sides are flexible and subject to change: indeed, such movement is likely to come about through the influence of adjacent disciplines.
Foreword Preface RATIONALE AND THEORETICAL CONTEXT 1. Introduction 2. Music Theory and the Zygoni... more Foreword Preface RATIONALE AND THEORETICAL CONTEXT 1. Introduction 2. Music Theory and the Zygonic Approach APPLYING ZYGONIC THEORY TO INVESTIGATE MUSIC EDUCATION, THERAPY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT 3. Gauging Intentionality in Musical Interaction in Educational, Therapeutic and Diagnostic Contexts 4. From Intentionality to Influence: Gauging the Impact of One Performer on Another in Improvised Musical Dialogues 5. Modelling Musical Development in Children with Complex Needs: The Sounds of Intent Project APPLYING ZYGONIC THEORY TO EXPLORE EXCEPTIONAL MUSICAL ABILITIES 6. On Absolute Pitch, and the Disaggregation of Chords 7. Exploring Learning, Memory and Creativity in a Musical Savant APPLYING ZYGONIC THEORY TO PROBE MUSIC-STRUCTURAL COGNITION 8. Why Knowing What's Going to Happen Next Makes Anticipation in Music All the Sweeter 9. Can Music Survive without Listening Grammars? Studies in the Perception of Atonality THE FUTURE OF APPLIED MUSICOLOGY 10. Conclusion
Like all fields of human artistic endeavour, music is constrained by our cognitive processing req... more Like all fields of human artistic endeavour, music is constrained by our cognitive processing requirements and limitations (Swain, 1986; Lerdahl, 1988; Huron, 2001). This articleconsiders particular forms of constraint pertaining to the relationships that the structure-seeking mind (subconsciously) fabricates between perceived musical events. It is proposed that 2±1 may be a universal limitation pertaining to the level of relationships so ideated. That is, in terms of Lewin'S (1987) theoretical framework in which “intervals” can be intuited between the “elements” of musical “spaces”, it is posited that the cognition of musical structure occurs either through intervals (level 1), through intervals between these (level 2), or — in some circumstances — through intervals between these(level 3). This proposition is explored through the psychomusicological model developed by Ockelford (1991, 1993, 1999), which too analyses musical structure in terms of the relationships that may be cognised between its discrete perceptual components. In particular, the model identifies a type of cognitive link through which events (at any level) arefelt to imply others the same or similar — through so-called “zygonic” relationships. This theory suggests a further general principle: that the highest level of relationship inoperation at any given point must be zygonic if the music is to be structurally coherent. Evidence for this, and for the limit on the level of relationships of 2±1, is offeredthrough a series of musical examples, which illustrate a variety of musical organisation in action. Finally, empirical work is suggested to explore further the theoretical ideas that arepresented here.
Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta: Molecular Basis Of Disease, Sep 1, 2020
Vision loss, dementia, and motor and speech declines all impact the educational experience of ind... more Vision loss, dementia, and motor and speech declines all impact the educational experience of individuals with Batten disease and can adversely impact effective learning. There are as yet limited data to support evidence-based approaches to meeting the educational needs of affected individuals. This paper provides an overview of recent work to evaluate and address educational issues with a life-long perspective relevant to individuals with juvenile-onset neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL) and the professionals that provide them with educational support. In particular, several main activities of the recently completed ‘JNCL and Education’ project are summarised, including a survey of parents, educational professionals and social/health workers, development of a formative assessment tool to identify and respond to an individual student’s strengths and needs in the learning environment, and proposed strategies for prolonging literacy and language skills. A key concept that should be emphasised in the educational plan for students with JNCL is that of of ‘proactive’ and ‘hastened’ learning, that is, providing an early emphasis on adaptive skills that will be required in the later stages of disease progression when new learning will be more difficult to achieve. An additional key concept is participation in real-life activities to maintain skills and quality of life, particularly in the later stages of disease progression.
This is a theoretical article, building on one of Irène Deliège's major areas of inte... more This is a theoretical article, building on one of Irène Deliège's major areas of interest in the field of music psychology: the perception of similarity between groups of notes. Here the issue is concurrence: what are the cognitive and music-structural consequences when groups of musical sounds occur simultaneously, in whole or in part? Couched in the context of ‘zygonic’ theory, a taxonomy is presented of how musical events of discernible duration can relate in time, and what forms such relationships can take. A distinction is drawn between perceptual similarity and functional similarity. There is an extended discussion of the capacity of concurrent groups to exist within a single line of music, which entails a fresh look at the notion of hierarchy in musical structures and the Schenkerian notion of prolongation, using a phenomenological approach based on the thinking of Edmund Husserl. In this context, the music-theoretical concept of the appoggiatura is examined, and is shown to result from a cross-domain hierarchical anomaly. The article concludes with a consideration of the reality of hierarchical ‘depth’ in music, in relation to listening, compositional and analytical grammars.
A growing number of autistic pupils attend mainstream schools which raises questions around their... more A growing number of autistic pupils attend mainstream schools which raises questions around their educational and social inclusion. The current study explored the benefits of participating in a novel music and dance programme for autistic children and their peers, aged 5–8 years. It sought to discover whether music and dance tasks can be memorable and motivating, thus promoting active engagement and social inclusion among the pupils. A total of 42 pupils (seven autistic), in seven groups, took part in the 6‐week programme. Repetition of task and pre and post observation checklists, completed by the class teachers, were used. Video observation facilitated the collection of data and analysis of the repetition of task. Music was found to be a positive cue for pupils to remember and perform the tasks, thus enhancing their engagement and inclusion in the group. The activities also offered opportunities for interaction, promoting co‐operation and inclusion.
This article argues that music psychology overlaps with a number of other disciplines, including ... more This article argues that music psychology overlaps with a number of other disciplines, including music education, therapy, ethnomusicology, and music theory and analysis. There are tensions in each case, but benefits too for those who are prepared to explore with an open mind. Ultimately, however, music psychology cannot be extended beyond the boundaries of its epistemological box, always granted that the sides are flexible and subject to change: indeed, such movement is likely to come about through the influence of adjacent disciplines.
Foreword Preface RATIONALE AND THEORETICAL CONTEXT 1. Introduction 2. Music Theory and the Zygoni... more Foreword Preface RATIONALE AND THEORETICAL CONTEXT 1. Introduction 2. Music Theory and the Zygonic Approach APPLYING ZYGONIC THEORY TO INVESTIGATE MUSIC EDUCATION, THERAPY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT 3. Gauging Intentionality in Musical Interaction in Educational, Therapeutic and Diagnostic Contexts 4. From Intentionality to Influence: Gauging the Impact of One Performer on Another in Improvised Musical Dialogues 5. Modelling Musical Development in Children with Complex Needs: The Sounds of Intent Project APPLYING ZYGONIC THEORY TO EXPLORE EXCEPTIONAL MUSICAL ABILITIES 6. On Absolute Pitch, and the Disaggregation of Chords 7. Exploring Learning, Memory and Creativity in a Musical Savant APPLYING ZYGONIC THEORY TO PROBE MUSIC-STRUCTURAL COGNITION 8. Why Knowing What's Going to Happen Next Makes Anticipation in Music All the Sweeter 9. Can Music Survive without Listening Grammars? Studies in the Perception of Atonality THE FUTURE OF APPLIED MUSICOLOGY 10. Conclusion
Like all fields of human artistic endeavour, music is constrained by our cognitive processing req... more Like all fields of human artistic endeavour, music is constrained by our cognitive processing requirements and limitations (Swain, 1986; Lerdahl, 1988; Huron, 2001). This articleconsiders particular forms of constraint pertaining to the relationships that the structure-seeking mind (subconsciously) fabricates between perceived musical events. It is proposed that 2±1 may be a universal limitation pertaining to the level of relationships so ideated. That is, in terms of Lewin'S (1987) theoretical framework in which “intervals” can be intuited between the “elements” of musical “spaces”, it is posited that the cognition of musical structure occurs either through intervals (level 1), through intervals between these (level 2), or — in some circumstances — through intervals between these(level 3). This proposition is explored through the psychomusicological model developed by Ockelford (1991, 1993, 1999), which too analyses musical structure in terms of the relationships that may be cognised between its discrete perceptual components. In particular, the model identifies a type of cognitive link through which events (at any level) arefelt to imply others the same or similar — through so-called “zygonic” relationships. This theory suggests a further general principle: that the highest level of relationship inoperation at any given point must be zygonic if the music is to be structurally coherent. Evidence for this, and for the limit on the level of relationships of 2±1, is offeredthrough a series of musical examples, which illustrate a variety of musical organisation in action. Finally, empirical work is suggested to explore further the theoretical ideas that arepresented here.
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Papers by Adam Ockelford