The Story of Method of Vienna (MoV) or exploring the epistemic idea of rethinking with a rediscovered concert format
(2024)
author(s): Susanne Abed-Navandi
published in: Research Catalogue
The following article presents the current status of the artistic research project Method of Vienna (MoV) and answers the questions:
How can I imagine the MoV initiative in detail?
Which methodological approach was chosen?
Which MoV events have been realized so far?
The presentation ends with a personal reflection after six years of commitment to Method of Vienna, in which current observations, conclusions and the future of the project are put up for discussion.
Mindfulness for violinists
(2023)
author(s): Sacha Paredes Sánchez
published in: KC Research Portal
An overabundance of mental distractions may prevent musicians’ minds from being in the moment while practicing. The present mixed-methods study examined the effects of three newly designed mindfulness meditations on six conservatory violinists’ levels of dispositional mindfulness, mind-wandering and respective variables. Thought probes were used before and after the intervention to examine frequency of mind-wandering and contextual variables (task difficulty, fatigue and stress, and motivation) during two hours of participants’ instrumental practice (one of technical work another of a new piece in their repertoire). FFQM (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire) and MfM (Mindfulness for Musicians) questionnaires were used to measure mindfulness levels before and after the intervention. Interviews and meditation logs were used as qualitative data. Results indicated that all participants became more mindful at the end of the meditation week for all mindfulness’ facets for the FFQM and MfM questionnaires. However, the improvements were particularly noticeable for the “Acting with Awareness” and “Non-Judge” facets for the FFQM and for “Describe” in the MfM. Results showed opposing trends in mind-wandering levels throughout the intervention. That is, some participants showed higher mind-wandering at the post-intervention and others lower. However, contextual variables such as fatigue, motivation or worry, may have also affected how much participants wandered while practicing (e.g. some of them showed more rumination when being more worried and having slept less). Overall, results from the experiment evidenced the importance of including mindfulness in violinists’ daily practice as a useful routine to become more aware and less distracted.
