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Jeanne Bamberger is most famous for her examination of the way humans learn music, shifting away from the “skill and drill” approach to music educational technology into a model that guides students in constructing musical knowledge from their own intuitive understanding.
She will visit UMass Lowell Nov. 12 through 14, thanks to funding through a National Science Foundation grant and support from the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the Department of Music, the Department of Computer Science, the Honors Program and the Provost’s Office/UMass Lowell Learning Community: Thinking With Things.
Bamberger believes that musical intuition is not innate, but learned. In an article for MIT’s Tech Talk, Bamberger said even 3-year-olds can divide musical melodies into separate segments.
“They can recognize phrases and even distinguish among the functions of phrases – for instance, those that sound ended in contrast to those that sound like there is more to come,” Prof. Bamberger wrote.
Following that discovery, Bamberger’s efforts centered on helping students use their intuitive sense of music to expand their own knowledge. By creating a software program called Impromptu, Bamberger has helped students compose music using the segments, or, as she terms them “tuneblocks,” in a way that sounds intuitively “right” to them.
Several events are scheduled, including performances, lectures, receptions and teacher outreach sessions.
“It is a wonderful honor to have Professor Bamberger visit our campus,” says Gena Greher, coordinator of music education. “Students and faculty will greatly benefit from the opportunity to listen to her ideas.”
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Greher at Gena_Greher@uml.edu.