Browsing by Author "Stevens, Catherine"

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    ‘Like Pots and Pans Falling Down the Stairs’. Experience of Music Composed for Listeners with Cochlear Implants in a Live Concert Setting
    (Routledge, 2014-06-12) Schubert, Emery; Marozeau, Jeremy; Stevens, Catherine; Innes-Brown, Hamish
    This study investigated whether music specially written for people with cochlear implants (CIs) could be used to better pinpoint how the music listening experience for a CI was different to a normal hearing listener (NH). After the specially arranged live concert, focus groups were formed from audience volunteers (two groups each of CIs, NHs and people with a range of hearing assistant devices). The theme of musical features (MF) was reported most frequently for both NHs and CIs. Valence analysis identified no significant difference in positive comments aboutMFby CIs thanNHsfor the specially commissioned works. Spatialization, although reported infrequently, was considered important by some CI, NH and bimodal listeners (who use a cochlear implant and a hearing aid). Rhythm was enjoyed by both NH and CI groups, and percussion instruments liked more than other musical instruments, but more so by CIs. Bilateral and bimodal CIs expressed interest in optimizing the hearing assistance settings, but on several occasions, the optimization ended with turning the contralateral hearing aid off. The study identifies the possible critical role of familiarity in music enjoyment.
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    Music for the cochlear implant: Audience response to six commissioned compositions.
    (Thieme Medical Publishers, 2012-11) Au, Agnes; Marozeau, Jeremy; Innes-Brown, Hamish; Schubert, Emery; Stevens, Catherine
    Although cochlear implant (CI) users enjoy good speech understanding, music perception is still difficult or unpleasant for many. This study aimed to assess cognitive, engagement, and auditory responses to new music composed specifically for CI users. From 407 concertgoers who completed a questionnaire, responses from groups of normally hearing listeners (n = 44) and CI users (n = 44), matched in age and musical ability, were compared to determine whether specially commissioned works would elicit similar responses from both groups. No significant group differences were found on measures of interest, enjoyment, and musicality, whereas ratings of understanding and instrument localization and recognition were significantly lower for CI users. Overall, ratings of the music were typically higher for percussion pieces. The concert successfully elicited similar responses from both groups in terms of interest, enjoyment, and musicality, although technical aspects, such as understanding, localization, and instrument identification, continue to be problematic for CI users.