• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.67-83
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• 2016

This study investigated the tonal characteristics in Korean emotion words by analyzing the pitch patterns transformed from word utterance. Participants were 30 women, ages 19-23. Each participant was instructed to talk about their emotional experiences using 4-syllable target words. A total of 180 utterances were analyzed in terms of the frequency of each syllable using the Praat. The data were transformed into meantones based on the semi-tone scale. When emotion words were used in the middle of a sentence, the pitch pattern was transformed to A3-A3-G3-G3 for '즐거워서(joyful)', C4-D4-B3-A3 for '행복해서(happy)', G3-A3-G3-G3 for '억울해서(resentful)', A3-A3-G3-A3 for '불안해서(anxious)', and C4-C4-A3-G3 for '침울해서(frustrated)'. When the emotion words were used at the end of a sentence, the pitch pattern was transformed to G4-G4-F4-F4 for '즐거워요(joyful)', D4-D4-A3-G3 for '행복해요(happy)', G3-G3-G3-A3 and F3-G3-E3-D3 for '억울해요(resentful)', A3-G3-F3-F3 for '불안해요(anxious)', and A3-A3-F3-F3 for '침울해요(frustrated)'. These results indicate the differences in pitch patterns depending on the conveyed emotions and the position of words in a sentence. This study presents the baseline data on the tonal characteristics of emotion words, thereby suggesting how pitch patterns could be utilized when creating a melody during songwriting for emotional expression.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2016

This study examined the correlation between the rhythm reproduction performance and cognitive function of school-aged children. A total of 59 third grade elementary students participated in this study. An iPad-based rhythm reproduction task, the Digit Span Test (DST), the Children's Color Trails Test (CCTT), and a self-paced tapping task via a MIDI keyboard were conducted for each participant. The results demonstrated that scores at each stage of the iPad-based rhythm reproduction test showed different patterns of correlation with cognitive function test scores. This result suggests that accuracy of a simple rhythm task is correlated to speed of self-paced tapping (second). Also cognitive function may affect rhythm grouping ability. Results of this analysis for each of 20 rhythm items showed that there was a common rhythm characteristics that correlated with executive function, working memory or self-paced tapping speed. These results indicate that rhythm ability is related to, and predictive of, the level of cognitive functioning in elementary school students and can be used as an useful parameter when examining cognitive function of school-aged children in multifaceted dimensions.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.89-110
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• 2016

This study examined the effect of an interactive instrument playing program on the social interaction of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A single subject design with multiple baselines across participants was applied, and three adults with severe ASD in their late 20s living at a group home participated in this study. Participants received a total of 25 group sessions. During the intervention, participants engaged in structured instrument playing in which initiation and response to socially interactive behaviors were musically cued, and target behaviors were reinforced in the musical environment. At pre- and posttest, the frequency of initiation of and responding to social interaction behaviors were recorded and analyzed. The results of this study showed that the frequency of both initiation of, and response to, social interaction increased for all participants during the intervention phase, compared to the baseline phase. This result demonstrates that interactive instrument playing increased social behaviors of adults with ASD. It also shows that musically delivered social information can facilitate adults with ASD understanding the intention of social partners in social contexts and motivate this population to engage in social interaction.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.71-90
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to compare immediate differences in fatigue and motor performance during instrumental playing in patients with chronic stroke depending on whether singing task was concurrently presented. A total of 12 patients with chronic stroke were recruited from community and daycare centers for older adults in Seoul. Six subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental group and six to the comparison group. The experimental group was asked to sing while playing the electronic drum, and the comparison group only played the drum. The results of this study showed that statistically significant differences in perceived fatigue and exertion were found between the two groups, while no significant group differences were found in level of engagement in playing or force of tapping during drum playing. This study supports the inclusion of a singing task in instrument playing rehabilitation to effectively decrease perceived fatigue and level of intensity of exercises, although this may not lead to immediate changes in motor function or level of target exercises. The results indicate that singing while instrument playing may help stroke patients shift their attention from the executed motor movements to singing and alleviate the attentional and emotional load from intense movements. This study presents implications for how to select and pattern target movements in music therapy intervention for better motor outcomes.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.21-37
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• 2014

The significant role of joint attention in the development of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has highlighted the importance of early intervention. With the emphasis on the effective cueing and reinforcer for orienting to social stimuli in improving responding to joint attention (RJA) of children with ASD, the use of musical cue was hypothesized. This study aimed to examine the occurrence of RJA behaviors depending on the attentional cue, which differed in the level of information and type of auditory modality. Nine children with ASD participated in this study. The use of eight different joint attention cues were analyzed in terms of the frequency and accuracy of RJA behaviors elicited. The results of the study showed that RJA behaviors occurred more frequently with musical cues than with verbal cues and the mean accuracy rate of RJA was higher with musical cues (p = .047). Musically delivered eliciting and directing cues accompanied with pointing elicited the highest attentional shift and RJA accuracy. The significant increases in RJA with the use of musical cues indicated that incorporating musical elements into an attentional cue may provide more accurate cue information, enough to improve RJA behaviors of children with autism.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.51-75
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• 2024

This case study aimed to develop a therapeutic rap protocol based on narrative components for improving discourse skills of adolescents with mild intellectual disability (ID) and to explore its applicability. The protocol matched narrative elements (background, initiating event, internal response, attempts, and reaction) with rap components (verse, hook, and interjections), guiding participants to narrate their experiences in a connected discourse form. The protocol was also structured to gradually increase in difficulty, considering the developmental levels of adolescents with ID and it included steps for understanding discourse structures, applying narrative elements to content creation, and expanding narratives. Post-intervention analysis of the stories and rap lyrics created by participants to express their real-life experiences showed that participants increased the length of their stories and rap compositions, with notable improvements in rhythmicity and the inclusion of narrative elements. These findings suggest that, instead of constructing rap from random utterances, providing a structured framework reflecting discourse structure enhanced participants' understanding of event context and logical connections. Furthermore, the various elements and rhythmic features of rap can strengthen motivation and organization in discourse. This study highlights the therapeutic potential of rap in addressing the unique developmental needs of adolescents with mild ID, thereby diversifying and systematizing music therapy interventions for this population.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.104-114
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• 2007

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop and evaluate a dementia prevention intervention program for the elderly with mild cognitive disorder. Methods: The study was nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The subjects of the study were a total of 68 elderly who ranged from 21 to 24 of total scores of K-MMSE, aged over 65, in home. The program consisted of music therapy, humor therapy, art therapy, dancing therapy, recreation, and health education to enhance brain function. The program was applied to the experimental group twice a week, ninety minutes per session for eight weeks. The data were analysed by using chi-square test and t-test. Results: The variables measured in the experimental group and the control group before the intervention were not significantly different in the homogeneity test. The dementia prevention program improved the cognition(t=9.243, p<.001), self-esteem(t=.4.336, p<.001), quality of life(t=8.375, p<.001) and reduced depression(t=-3.913, p<.001). Conclusion: These findings confirmed that the dementia prevention program made a contribution to improving cognitive function, self-esteem, and quality of life and also to reduce depression in the elderly with mild cognition disorder. Therefore, it is recommended that this program could be used in clinical practice as an effective nursing intervention for the elderly with mild cognitive disorder.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.1-17
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• 2007

Huge growth in developmental level, new accomplishment, and The period of adolescents is not only the transition stage but also improvement of academic level. In this level of stage, adolescents have difficulties in development, so they show psychological abnormality such as stress and depression. They could develop mental disorder such as depression or anxiety if they do not overcome the abnormality. According to the situation of the insufficiency of the decent program for adolescents' mental health in the current society, we are strongly requested to develop the psycho-therapeutic program for them. Therefore, in this study, we examined the effect of the musical activities as blues music structure on the improvement of the Self-Efficacy in the female middle school students who have depressive tendencies as well as what they experienced through the activities. The 3 participants were selected out of 70 students in the first year at the "D" middle school in Seoul by being tested with Child Depression Inventory(CDI) and Self-Efficacy Scale(SES). The musical activities were built with 3 steps. Of which, the first one was the introduction to each other, the formation of rapport, and induction of their interests to the musical activities through blues. The second one was letting participants learn the blues music structure by practice and play assigned music(including improvisation) during later 5 sessions with different difficulties at each session. The third one was giving them opportunities to play a music out of the acquired ones during the session or creative music by their own, which results in maximizing musical activities and an acquired experience. As a result, first of all, the scores of CDI test of 3 participants in 10 time sessions showed slight changes, suggesting the negative correlation between CDI and SES even though changes were not big differences. Secondly, the scores of SES test of 3 subjects in 10 time sessions were all changed and especially preference for tasking was significant. Thirdly, the scores of SES for musical playing test of 3 participants in 10 time sessions were all changed and especially preference for musical tasking was significant shown. Finally, according to answers of 3 participants in 10 time sessions for the after questionnaire on musical activities, participants experienced affirmative self-confidence and positive emotion. Taken together, it was suggested that musical activities using blues music structure could be promising therapeutic intervention method.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.75-83
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to examine how a singing program using self-voice monitoring for children with cochlear implants (CI) influences on the intonation and the accuracy of pitch production. To verify and estimate the effectiveness, a program was conducted with participants of 7 prelingual CI users, whose aged between 4 years and 7 years. The program adopted three stages from the self-voice monitoring: Listen, Explore, and Reproduce (LER stage). All participants received 8 singing sessions over 8 weeks, including pre-test, intervention, and post-test. For the pre and post-test, participants' singing of an excerpt of a song "happy birthday" and speaking three assertive sentences and three interrogative sentences were recorded and analyzed in terms of the intonation slopes at the end of the sentences and the melodic contour. From the sentence speeches, we found that the intonation slopes of the interrogative sentences significantly improved as they showed similar patterns with that of the average normal hearing group. Also, in regard to singing, we observed that the melody contour had progressed, as well as the range of pitch production had extended. The positive result from the intervention indicates that the singing program was effective for children with CI to develop the intonation skill and accuracy of pitch production.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.1-18
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• 2014

This study investigated the performance patterns in percussion improvisation of adolescents with behavior problems. A total of 40 middle school students participated in this study. Based on prescreening test results, the participants were assigned to either the impulsive tendency or depressive tendency groups. Both groups received two 45-minute group percussion improvisation. During the improvisation, all playing behaviors were recorded and analyzed in terms of rhythm pattern, instrument selection, intensity, and tempo of performance and performance duration. The results showed that while they were differences in improvised rhythm patterns between the two groups, the groups showed a similar tendencies in their instrument selection. With regard to performance parameters, the two groups showed significant difference in the tempo and duration of performance, but no significant difference was found in terms of intensity. This indicates that adolescents who exhibit behavior problems may be different in their playing patterns depending on their behavioral tendencies. Based on the results, music therapists can have a better understanding of how musical features expressed by this population relate to their inherent emotional and behavioral traits and how therapists should facilitate musical expression of these adolescents to address their needs.