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Arts & Communication Japanese children’s musical flow

and metallic materials; (iii) participants engaged in free During the workshop, children were observed as they freely
play with the instruments and alongside the practitioner explored sounds produced by technological instruments
researchers. created by Professor Yutaka Nakanishi of Shujitsu
University, as well as violins and metallic musical materials
2.3.1. Data collection prepared by specialists in metallic materials. The workshop
For data collection, Custodero’s FIMA was applied to capture comprised 120 min of free play for students to explore each
children’s flow experiences during workshop activities, sound, followed by music-making sessions facilitated by
especially during the free exploration of instruments and practitioner researchers.
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materials. In addition, the session was recorded using four
video cameras while the children engaged in instrumental 3. Results and discussion
playing. The FIMA was then utilized for descriptive analysis The findings from this study included interpretations
of the video recordings. A total of 89 video clips were of children’s flow experiences when exploring different
9
collected for analysis, captured by four assistants trained materials and sounds.
to capture children’s flow in a musical context. Selected
portions of the video data underwent additional analysis 3.1. Technology
and transcription. Caregivers, teachers, and practitioner- In this activity, self-assignment behavior was noticed
researchers provided contextual insight into children’s among children, as many of them were observed pressing
flow experiences through their interpretations of the video buttons randomly multiple times. This behavior was
evidence. observed across all age groups. Nevertheless, the activity
This study implemented a semi-structured strategy typically lasted <30 s, often stopping after 15 s as children
for video data collection, involving both researchers and pressed the button several times and moved on to the next
participants. The primary video operators were instructed activity. Self-correction was primarily observed when the
to start recording whenever children began playing with the technology specialist provided instructions on playing
devices, instruments, or objects, and to continue recording music with the device to create musical phrases on time.
until the children finished playing and moved on to However, instances of self-correction were limited overall,
different activities. In general, adult participants, including as controlling buttons posed little difficulty for the children.
researchers and caregivers, were encouraged to minimize In this activity, the absence of gestures and anticipation
verbal instructions and interventions while children were can be attributed to the system’s design, which aimed
involved in their musical interactions and play. During for universal accessibility. Even students with severe and
the sessions, two assistants, each with experience in early multiple disabilities were expected to use it. Consequently,
childhood music education, took field notes to document these behaviors were not observed. Children generally
the overall lesson structure and the children’s experiences, gravitate toward metallic objects before engaging with
including contextual influences. In addition, parents were technology. Expansion behavior was observed only when
asked to maintain an informal journal to record their a 10-year-old boy volunteered to play music by pressing
observations of their children’s play during the sessions. the buttons in time to accompany the younger children’s
play with metallic objects and violins. His parents later
Custodero’s definitions and examples observed in mentioned his enjoyment of helping younger children by
school-aged children’s group violin learning are listed in playing music with the technology. However, extension
Table 1. 9 behavior was not observed. Awareness of others, one of
the flow indicators, was observed when the boy supported
2.4. Data analysis and interpretation
younger children by playing the instrument. Otherwise,
Studies utilizing data generation techniques such as the indicator was not apparent. In short, there were limited
observation, field logs, and caregiver journaling provide flow indicators observed in this activity.
deep insights into the nature and extent of young children’s Self-assignment was the only indicator that was
engagement in musical play within their musical and social noticeable in this booth. A 3-year-old girl exhibited
contexts. In this study, data gathered from multiple excitement as she pressed one of the buttons, occasionally
9,10
perspectives involved the participation of researchers, applying all her weight to the button and jumping to push
assistants, and caregivers, each contributing to constructing it. Nevertheless, she remained fixated on the buttons she
the final descriptions.
was pressing and did not capture the sound produced.
The assistants underwent three training sessions, each Her enjoyment stemmed from the action and reaction
lasting 40 min, led by one of the researchers with over of pressing the button rather than the resulting sound.
17 years of experience in flow study and assessment. After approximately 4 min of repeated button pressing,

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2024) 3 doi: 10.36922/ac.1782