Melissa Forbes
Biographic Data
| ID | 703923 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Melissa Forbes |
| GIVEN NAMES | Melissa |
| FAMILY NAME | Forbes |
| SIGNATURE | FORBES M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Southern Queensland |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2528-9763 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 20 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 15 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Psychological Well-Being in Elite Performance
The technical mastery, sophisticated artistry, and reflective awareness of elite singers position them as valuable contributors to music performance science research. This exploratory study examined the lived experiences of seven female Broadway performers, seeking to understand how they navigate the artistic, psychological, and professional demands of contemporary musical theatre. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, interview data ge…
Beyond ‘making it easy’
Community music practitioners are commonly described as ‘facilitators’ when working in the interventionist mode, yet this terminology may inadvertently limit our understanding of this sophisticated role and its transformative impacts. Drawing on cognitive linguistics, this article examines how language shapes our conceptualization of community music practice. Etymological and linguistic analysis shows that ‘facilitation’ invokes the conceptual me…
Becoming singular
This study uses identity process theory to understand the social–psychological processes that motivate individuals to construct an identity in which music, singing, and singing teaching feature prominently. We conducted reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 10 Australian singing teachers (with an average age 60) to understand how they enacted identity principles that motivate identity construction and maintenance. Finding…
The experiential salience of music in identity for singing teachers
Professional musicians with strong identities in music may also have a high degree of music in their identities. Accordingly, a rigid identification with work may be problematic for musicians, particularly when forces beyond their control change their work circumstances. In this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 singing teachers, representing a subset of professional musicians, and used interpretative phenomenological analysi…
Choose your own adventure
Creativity in the form of musical improvisation has received growing attention from researchers informed by the literature on embodiment. To date, this research has focused on the embodied experiences of improvising instrumentalists rather than those of improvising singers. This article investigates the experience of embodiment during improvisation through a systematic analysis of the metaphorical language used by an artist-level jazz singer in h…
Introducing multi-sited focused ethnography for researching one-to-one (singing voice) pedagogy in higher education
One-to-one lessons based on the master-apprentice model are recognised in research and practice as an indispensable foundation for the training of professional musicians including singers. Given its primary importance to musician training, it is essential that researchers of this pedagogical model adopt methodologies and methods well-suited to illuminating the unique nature of one-to-one pedagogy. This article on methodology introduces multi-site…
Higher degree research supervision beyond expertise
This paper examines the function of ‘expertise’ in mediating the student–supervisor relationship in Higher Degree Research (HDR). Prevailing conceptualisations of expertise generally translate as disciplinary acumen and reference the supervisor’s specialist disciplinary and methodological knowledge. Beyond establishing the disciplinary ‘signatures’ of a discipline, this expertise also confers ‘symbolic capital’ within the disciplinary field. This…
Course enhancement conversations
This practice article describes the use of collaborative evaluation for institutional improvement leading to continuous learning at a regional university in Australia. The University of Southern Queensland’s Academic Quality Framework (2019–2022) was developed in response to external drivers to improve practices relating to the comprehensive and systematic analysis of academic data. One aspect of the response was to introduce ‘course enhancement …
“We’re pushing back”
This article explores spouse caregivers’ experiences of a community singing group for people with Parkinson’s disease and their carers. Previous studies have demonstrated the health and wellbeing benefits of group singing for a range of populations including people with Parkinson’s, however, caregivers’ experiences of these same groups remain under-researched. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six spouse caregivers who regularly atte…
Giving voice to jazz singers’ experiences of flow in improvisation
Jazz instrumentalists’ experiences of improvisation have informed psychological research on a range of topics including flow in improvisation, yet there is scant evidence of jazz singers’ improvising experiences. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study investigated the experiences of three professional Australian jazz singers who improvise extensively in their performance practice: How do these singers experience improvis…
Learning to make a difference
Thematic analysis
‘This circle of joy’
The complex realities of musicians’ portfolio careers highlight the need for research on musicians’ wellbeing. Musicians may include community work within their portfolio such as the facilitation of singing groups for health and wellbeing. Until recently, research on these groups has focused primarily on health and wellbeing outcomes for group participants with little discussion of these factors for the facilitators as professional musicians. We …
It’s much harder than I thought’
A university-based, international research project investigating the effects of regular singing group activities for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) provided a unique opportunity to capture the lived experience of three facilitators of Australian-based singing groups. Using a phenomenological approach, data were collected via facilitators’ reflective journals of singing group activities together with their oral reports at a symposium at the …
Moral values and market attitudes
Thematic analysis
Course enhancement conversations
This practice article describes the use of collaborative evaluation for institutional improvement leading to continuous learning at a regional university in Australia. The University of Southern Queensland’s Academic Quality Framework (2019–2022) was developed in response to external drivers to improve practices relating to the comprehensive and systematic analysis of academic data. One aspect of the response was to introduce ‘course enhancement …
Learning to make a difference
Moral values and market attitudes
Moral values and market attitudes
‘This circle of joy’
The complex realities of musicians’ portfolio careers highlight the need for research on musicians’ wellbeing. Musicians may include community work within their portfolio such as the facilitation of singing groups for health and wellbeing. Until recently, research on these groups has focused primarily on health and wellbeing outcomes for group participants with little discussion of these factors for the facilitators as professional musicians. We …
It’s much harder than I thought’
A university-based, international research project investigating the effects of regular singing group activities for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) provided a unique opportunity to capture the lived experience of three facilitators of Australian-based singing groups. Using a phenomenological approach, data were collected via facilitators’ reflective journals of singing group activities together with their oral reports at a symposium at the …
“We’re pushing back”
This article explores spouse caregivers’ experiences of a community singing group for people with Parkinson’s disease and their carers. Previous studies have demonstrated the health and wellbeing benefits of group singing for a range of populations including people with Parkinson’s, however, caregivers’ experiences of these same groups remain under-researched. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six spouse caregivers who regularly atte…
Giving voice to jazz singers’ experiences of flow in improvisation
Jazz instrumentalists’ experiences of improvisation have informed psychological research on a range of topics including flow in improvisation, yet there is scant evidence of jazz singers’ improvising experiences. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study investigated the experiences of three professional Australian jazz singers who improvise extensively in their performance practice: How do these singers experience improvis…
Learning to make a difference
Thematic analysis
Introducing multi-sited focused ethnography for researching one-to-one (singing voice) pedagogy in higher education
One-to-one lessons based on the master-apprentice model are recognised in research and practice as an indispensable foundation for the training of professional musicians including singers. Given its primary importance to musician training, it is essential that researchers of this pedagogical model adopt methodologies and methods well-suited to illuminating the unique nature of one-to-one pedagogy. This article on methodology introduces multi-site…
Higher degree research supervision beyond expertise
This paper examines the function of ‘expertise’ in mediating the student–supervisor relationship in Higher Degree Research (HDR). Prevailing conceptualisations of expertise generally translate as disciplinary acumen and reference the supervisor’s specialist disciplinary and methodological knowledge. Beyond establishing the disciplinary ‘signatures’ of a discipline, this expertise also confers ‘symbolic capital’ within the disciplinary field. This…
Course enhancement conversations
This practice article describes the use of collaborative evaluation for institutional improvement leading to continuous learning at a regional university in Australia. The University of Southern Queensland’s Academic Quality Framework (2019–2022) was developed in response to external drivers to improve practices relating to the comprehensive and systematic analysis of academic data. One aspect of the response was to introduce ‘course enhancement …
Choose your own adventure
Creativity in the form of musical improvisation has received growing attention from researchers informed by the literature on embodiment. To date, this research has focused on the embodied experiences of improvising instrumentalists rather than those of improvising singers. This article investigates the experience of embodiment during improvisation through a systematic analysis of the metaphorical language used by an artist-level jazz singer in h…
The experiential salience of music in identity for singing teachers
Professional musicians with strong identities in music may also have a high degree of music in their identities. Accordingly, a rigid identification with work may be problematic for musicians, particularly when forces beyond their control change their work circumstances. In this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 singing teachers, representing a subset of professional musicians, and used interpretative phenomenological analysi…
Becoming singular
This study uses identity process theory to understand the social–psychological processes that motivate individuals to construct an identity in which music, singing, and singing teaching feature prominently. We conducted reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 10 Australian singing teachers (with an average age 60) to understand how they enacted identity principles that motivate identity construction and maintenance. Finding…
Psychological Well-Being in Elite Performance
The technical mastery, sophisticated artistry, and reflective awareness of elite singers position them as valuable contributors to music performance science research. This exploratory study examined the lived experiences of seven female Broadway performers, seeking to understand how they navigate the artistic, psychological, and professional demands of contemporary musical theatre. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, interview data ge…
Beyond ‘making it easy’
Community music practitioners are commonly described as ‘facilitators’ when working in the interventionist mode, yet this terminology may inadvertently limit our understanding of this sophisticated role and its transformative impacts. Drawing on cognitive linguistics, this article examines how language shapes our conceptualization of community music practice. Etymological and linguistic analysis shows that ‘facilitation’ invokes the conceptual me…
Diverse Music Education Insights (10 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Pedagogy (6 works) · Art (5 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Musical (5 works) · Neuroscience and Music Perception (5 works) · Qualitative research (5 works) · Singing (5 works)