Saltari, Rengina; (2023) The Benefits of Multimodal Analyses for Children’s Musical Games: Case Studies from Greek School Playgrounds. In: Proceedings of the 29th International Seminar of the ISME Research Commission. (pp. pp. 162-171). ISME International Society for Music Education

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Abstract

Children’s multimodal encounters of musical games in the playground have been attracting growing attention in the field of music education research. The multi-layered ways of communication, which children develop during their performances, have been examined through close observation and interviews with the participants. Very recent research has also drawn on social semiotics and multimodality as an analytical tool to make sense of children’s musical activities in groups. The research focus is on the meaning that participants create and receive in diverse ways, such as through body, face, gaze, and gestures, as well as speech. This paper presents findings from a new multimodal analysis of children’s musical games in Greek school playgrounds. The study draws on a larger ethnographic doctoral research that took place in nine primary school playgrounds in Greece. Data were collected during daily school visits over a 6-month period through observation of children’s musical play during breaktimes, plus semistructured interviews with 53 participants (aged 8 to 11 years old) and video recordings of their musical performances. A multimodal framework was developed to analyse the video recordings and examine children’s multiple ways of communication in their musical games. Four modes were identified: a) the visual mode, including players’ and observers’ visual contact and gaze; b) the kinaesthetic mode, including body posture, facial expressions, and gestures; c) the haptic mode, including distance between the players, personal spaces, and tension in touch; and d) the aural mode, including rhythm, melody or unpitched chant, text of the game and participants’ speech. The material was inserted in a table which allowed for a detailed, frame-by-frame analysis. Then, a rich corpus of narrative data with the description of events in the musical games was produced. An illustrative, example case study is reported to provide a better understanding of children’s multimodal musical and socio-cultural encounters. The findings suggest that the participant children used a variety of modes to express feelings and deal with hierarchy issues during the games. They negotiated their performative and social roles exploring their musical and social identities respectively. The structure of the games allowed for participants’ entrainment, thus ensuring the flow of the performances despite the occasional interruptions. Implications from this study include allowing for multimodal expression in the music class, providing opportunities for intra-personal and inter-personal exploration, and using musical games to foster interaction among students in multicultural environments.

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