Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine information seeking behaviour targeted to music information seeking by amateur musicians, accompanied with empirical evidence from a survey on a community concert band. While several studies in the literature have examined information seeking in the context of hedonic motives (e.g. entertainment oriented), music information can also be used for utilitarian purposes by providing amateur musicians the necessary tools to improve their skill and become better in their practice.

A review of the literature on music information seeking and an empirical study on members of an amateur concert band are presented. The theoretical construct of the survey is informed by Wilsons’ macro model of information seeking behaviour. This is employed in order to understand information motives and needs, as well as obstacles in information seeking of musicians.

Musicians seek information not only for entertainment but for educational purposes as well as for the acquisition of certain music works. The use of the internet for information seeking as well as the gradual adoption of online social networks has provided access to new musical resources within the digital music networks.

A person-centred approach for information seeking behaviour is studied and adapted for musicians. The survey provides new information behaviour results for designers of music information spaces which in turn are creating a new model of the relationship between music and society.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the connection between musicians’ information seeking behaviour and the creative process in music, providing a framework for understanding the role of information needs satisfaction in musical creativity. A number of studies in information science literature have been carried out attempting to model cognitive, affective, behavioural and contextual factors associated with music information seeking behaviour. However, only few studies have addressed the relationship between information seeking behaviour and musical creative activities such as composition, performance and improvisation, listening and analysis.

The focus of this paper is to provide a framework for the study of information seeking behaviour for the purposes of satisfying musical creativity information needs, combining the theoretical basis of an established model of information behaviour developed by Wilson and the theoretical perspectives of a music creative thinking model proposed by Webster. The key features of the two models are synthesized in a unified model of information seeking behaviour for musical creativity and enriched with research findings identified in the literature of both musical information seeking and musical creativity.

The proposed conceptual framework offers an integrated interpretation of the combinations of information needs, information resources and environmental/personal barriers, which enable musical creativity. In the authors’ approach “musical creativity” is treated as a musician’s aim or ambition or drive for expression and is influenced by the way musicians seek information for that purpose. Therefore, musical creativity is an intentional behaviour which acts as motivator for information seeking and is affected by the available information and the musician’s information seeking profile. The current study include three important findings: first, the design and development of music library and information services for musical creativity; second, the development of music information literacy skills for creativity; and third, the information seeking behavioural perspective for universal musical creativity, and the implications for cultural musical heritage diffusion around the world.

An integrated information seeking behaviour model which includes musical creativity is developed through the synthesis of two already existing approaches, that of Wilson for information seeking behaviour and that of Webster for creative thinking in music. The present conceptual study presents a three stage pattern or process for modelling information seeking for musical creativity: the process initiates with the intention-motivation for creativity, then proceeds to information seeking behaviour and then concludes with the musical creativity outcomes. This is the first study that seeks to understand the relationships between creativity and information seeking behaviour.

A need to renew music-related information notions arises from both information-seeking models and literature of musical semiotics. The purpose of this paper is to create a music information typology, which aims at facilitating the examination of music information types at varying levels of abstraction in the context of information seeking.

Literature of musical semiotics and information seeking are juxtaposed to develop a novel approach to music-related information. The grounding concepts are Bruner’s enactive, iconic and symbolic modes of representation. The modes of representation offer a universal scheme of knowledge that is applied to the domain of music by defining their content through Tarasti’s Theory of Musical Semiotics.

This conceptual paper results in a music information typology ranging from the enactive music information representations to the abstract ones as follows. Music making as the first mode of enactive representations; music listening as the second mode of enactive representations; iconic representations of music; technological models of music as the first mode of symbolic representations; and ideological models of music as the second mode of symbolic representations.

The present paper develops a music information typology that encompasses broadly different music information facets by categorizing music information sources according to their level of abstraction. When applied into empirical research, the typology opens a new window into the perceived roles of music information types in the context of information seeking.

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the picture of situational relevance by examining how modes of music information are viewed as situationally relevant at different stages of information-seeking processes among music students.

Empirical data of the present longitudinal study were collected in two phases by utilizing questionnaire and interview methods. Informants comprised of 14 university-level music students representing the fields of music performance, music education and music theory and composition. Modes of music information were approached through the information typology presented by Rousi, Savolainen and Vakkari.

The findings indicate that not only the modes of music information were seen as situationally relevant for different reasons by the three participating music student groups when at the beginning of their tasks, but also that the perceived situational relevance of the information modes underwent changes as their tasks progressed to focus formulation and post-focus stages.

Due to the small number of participants, further research is needed to verify the results concerning the differences in information-seeking processes between diverse music student groups.

The paper showcases that approaching music information through frameworks that classify information sources at diverse levels of abstraction enables an accurate description of information-seeking processes and illuminates context-sensitive development of situational relevance of music information of diverse modes.

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the picture of situational relevance of music information from a performing musician’s point of view by delving into its diverse layers within the context of Doctor of Music students’ information seeking.

Music-related information is approached through six modes that categorize music information sources based on their levels of abstraction. Situational relevance of the modes of music information is examined in relation to the situational requirements of accomplishing a dissertation on music task consisting of both a series of concerts and a written thesis. The empirical material was collected by interviewing Finnish doctoral students in the field of music performance.

A set of situational relevance types related to each mode of music information were identified. As a whole, the differences between the perceived importance of the modes varied a little.

The goal of the present paper is not to create a generalizable list of situational relevance types suggested by modes of music information, but to show that the modes may suggest diverse situational relevance types of their own when evaluated by performing musicians.

The present paper provides a rare account on performing musicians’ vocational and school-related information seeking. For studies of music information retrieval, the present paper offers new contextual facets explaining why diverse music information could be relevant to musicians. For studies of music-related information seeking, the present study offers new insights on why performing musicians have information needs regarding certain types of music information sources.

This study aims to examine the motivations of a group of music fans of the Eurovision Song Contest to seek information about the competition and to participate in a virtual community of fans.

The study draws from the uses and gratifications framework to understand the needs that a particular mass medium fulfills for its users. Fifteen Eurovision fans were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interviewees were asked to talk about how they seek information about the competition, to relate their engagement and participation with the virtual community and to reflect on the role that the community of fans and the Eurovision have in their lives.

Content analysis revealed four themes that reflect the motivations that shape many aspects of participants lives, relating to seeking information about the Eurovision Song Contest, fulfilling the need for serious leisure, making social connections, finding a sense of belonging and forming an identity.

The study examines the motivations of a group of people who share a common interest that shaped the ways the seek information, related to others, view themselves and construct their identity and make social connections, all to satisfy their love and admiration for the competition, and this regardless of the societal stigma that the competition might carry.

This study extends the literature on serious leisure information seeking by exploring the role that information and social media play in different aspects serious leisure activities.

Social question and answer (social Q&A) sites have become a popular tool for obtaining music information. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what users ask about, what experience the questions convey, and how users specify their questions.

A total of 3,897 music questions from the social Q&A site Yahoo! Answers were categorized according to their question type, user experience, and question specification.

The music questions were diverse with (dis)approval (42 percent), factual (21 percent), and advice (15 percent) questions as the most frequent types. Advice questions were the longest and roughly twice as long as (dis)approval and factual questions. The user experience associated with the questions was most often pragmatic (24 percent) or senso-emotional (12 percent). Pragmatic questions were typically about the user’s own performance of music, while senso-emotional questions were about finding music for listening. Notably, half of the questions did not convey information about the user experience but the absence of such information did not reduce the number of answers. In specifying the questions, the most frequent information was about the music context and the user context.

This study suggests a division of labor between social Q&A sites and search engines for music information retrieval. It should be noted that the study is restricted to one social Q&A site.

Social Q&A sites provide an opportunity for studying what information real users seek about music and what information they specify to retrieve it, thereby elucidating the role of social Q&A in music information seeking.

This paper seeks to explore how and via what tools music students are identifying, locating, and accessing music materials – specifically scores and recordings – for use in their music studies. It also aims to examine similarities and differences in the information seeking behavior of students in various music sub‐disciplines and students at different points in their academic tenure.

The study employed survey and focus groups methodologies.

It was found that students use myriad library and non‐library tools to discover and access scores and recordings. It identified the frequency and specificity with which students seek scores and recordings. There are more similarities between performers and music educators than musicologists or other areas, and graduate and upperclass students have different behaviors than underclass students, who are more likely to use library resources. This study also identified some of the reasons students become frustrated in searching for music materials and from where they seek help.

The response rate to this survey was only 11 percent and surveys are not the best indicator of actual behavior. While the use of focus groups did offset this to a degree, a more widespread survey and user studies would be merited to understand any wider patters of music student behaviors.

With the findings from this study libraries serving music students can tailor their instruction and marketing efforts. They can also focus their collections and resources appropriately for the various types of patrons served by their library.

Little previous research has been done on the general information seeking behaviors of music students. Other work has focused on music faculty, specific sub‐disciplines in music, or on issues specific to finding music in library catalogs.

International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML) aims to promote activities and cooperation between music libraries worldwide. IAML configures policies affecting to set up their working framework as well as music information services at national and international level. Furthermore, IAML’s function promotes the role of music libraries linking the cultural life of every place, fostering musical creativity. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present the crucial role of IAML’s function in enhancing musical creativity.

The paper provides theoretical and practical issues on topics related to music information employed for musical creativity in the context of music librarianship. It presents the function of music information management organizations and especially that of IAML as a mechanism for enhancing musical creativity, and at the same time it discusses suggestions and practices for the interrelation between them. More specifically, it discusses perspectives about educational programs on information literacy for musical creativity, the enhancement of the digital presence of all musical trends (the long tail to the demand of music information services), the strengthening of the culture of openness to a wider scale and the use of music information management software, as well as the linkage and stimulation of synergies between music information management organizations for the benefit of various music communities.

The outcomes of the study set up a theoretical connection between music librarianship issues and musical creativity, in terms of identifying that musical creativity is directly linked to music information and to the operation of the music libraries, and it can also be influenced by the availability of music information services and the information profile of the musicians involved.

The significance and originality of the study should be emphasized since it is the first study providing theoretical and practical issues linking music librarianship with musical creativity.

This paper investigates the information behaviour of creative DJs, a group previously not considered from the perspective of information studies. The practice of DJing is a musically creative process, where a performance can draw on a vast range of music to create a unique listening and dancing experience. The authors study what are the information behaviour processes involved in creative DJing and what roles embodied information play in DJing practice.

From a set of semi-structured interviews with 12 experienced DJs in Scotland, UK, that were subjected to inductive thematic analysis, the authors present a model of how DJs undergo the process of planning, performing and evaluating a DJ performance.

From this study, a model of creative DJs’ information behaviour is presented. This three-stage model describes the information behaviours and critical factors that influence DJs’ planning, decision-making and verification during the pre-performance, performance and post-performance stages, with particular emphasis on DJs’ performances as a rich site of embodied information interactions.

This research provides insight into a new activity in information behaviour, particularly in the use of embodied information, and presents a model for the information behaviour of creative DJs. This opens the way for future studies to consider minorities within the activity, the audience as opposed to the performer, as well as other creative activities where physicality and performance are central.