Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa

Instructions for Authors

Full-length articles: The following factors are considered when evaluating a manuscript’s suitability for publication in Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa (JMAA):

•     The manuscript offers new, original insights or interpretations and is not merely a restatement of published ideas and views;

•     The manuscript makes a significant contribution to the field and extends the boundaries of musical arts discourse;

•     The manuscript is likely to arouse readers’ interest and stimulate debate;

•     The manuscript reflects sound scholarship and uses a research design with appropriate, correctly interpreted references to other authors and           works; or

•    Should the manuscript challenge the conventions and/or boundaries of published scholarly presentation, it is sufficiently credible                                and persuasive to warrant publication.

Reviews and review articles: Succinct, critical, evaluative reviews of professional books, texts and other resources, including computer software and audio and audio-visual recordings. Reviews should provide a descriptive and evaluative summary, briefly discussing the work’s significance in the context of current theory and practice. In addition to adopting conventional review formats, reviewers are encouraged to use alternative methods of presentation, such as critically engaging the author in a dialogue.

Compositions: Original compositions that are approximately 5–12 minutes long are considered for publication. Only works of which a recording is provided and endorsed by the composer and performers will be accepted. The audio file is published on an appended CD pasted on the back cover of the issue and an explication written by the composer appears inside the journal. The process of double-anonymized peer review is followed with the recording and score being sent to three peer reviewers. Once accepted for publication, only the recording will be published. The email detail of the composer is provided in the explication should a reader be interested in contacting the composer for a score. No Transfer of Copyright is required, only License to Publish. The composer must obtain the permission of the performers whose names are published in the explication.

Brief reports and summaries: Short reports on any aspect of theory and practice in academia (conferences, workshops, etc.). We encourage the submission of manuscripts that either showcase preliminary findings of research in progress or focus on larger studies.

Editorial policy: Papers submitted to JMAA will be reviewed by two appropriately qualified and experienced referees to ensure that all articles accepted for publication are methodologically and conceptually sound and make an original contribution to the field. The journal adheres strictly to a double-anonymized review process. Submission will be taken to imply transfer of copyright to the publishers, NISC (Pty) Ltd.

The editors of JMAA reserve the right to make editorial changes in any manuscript accepted for publication to enhance clarity or style. The author will be consulted only if the editing has been substantial. The views expressed by contributors to JMAA do not necessarily reflect those of the editors or the editorial board of JMAA.

General guidelines:
1. Papers are accepted for submission provided that:
•     The work is original;
•     The copyright is transferred to the publisher [NISC (Pty) Ltd];
•     The work has not previously been published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere;
•     The author has secured the permission of all named co-authors, who have agreed on the order of the names for publication;
•     The author has secured all permissions for reproducing original or derived material from copyright sources;
•     If the work includes statistical calculations, a declaration from an institution (e.g. a university department which offers statistical services) that the calculations and interpretation of the statistics are correct, has been included;
•     The work is accompanied by an abstract of not more than 200 words;
•     Full-length articles are between 3000–7000 words;
•     Reviews are between 1000–1500 words;
•     Brief reports are between 3000–4000 words;
•     The author-date system of referencing is used – see JMAA house style at the author information page available for download below.
•     UK spelling conventions are adopted;
•     Comments and cross-references appear as footnotes and not endnotes;
•     Abbreviations and acronyms are avoided;
•     Music examples are submitted in .jpg, .gif, .tif or .eps format and are legible and clear;
•     Scanned images are at least 300 dpi and saved as eps or tif files;
•     Manuscripts are prepared in MSWord document format;
•     Text is presented in 12 pt font with 1.5 line spacing and without text columns, creative formatting or unnecessary additional fonts;
•   Biographical note of 75 words with the name(s) of author(s), postal address, major publications, etc. is included on a SEPARATE sheet to enable anonymous reviewing.

2. The cost of colour printing must be borne by the author and should be discussed with the editors.

3. Contributors are reminded that the language and content of papers should be non-discriminatory, i.e. it should be non-sexist and non-racist:

(a) The notion that ‘man’ is a generic term which includes women is now unacceptable; thus when reference is to both sexes, ‘man’ and ‘men’ should be avoided. Some alternatives are ‘person’, ‘people’, ‘human beings’ or ‘men and women’.

(a) The notion that 'man' is a generic term which includes women is now unacceptable; thus when reference is to both sexes, 'man' and 'men' should be avoided. Some alternatives are 'person', 'people', 'human beings' or 'men and women'. The use of 'he' or 'him' can be avoided in most cases by using the plural forms 'they' or 'them'.

Examples of sexist and non-sexist formulations are: 

The child … he                              Children … they 

Man’s achievements                    Human achievements, people’s achievements 

Headmasters                                 Headteachers, Heads, Principals 

Wives/husbands                           Spouses/families

(b) In empirical research, avoid generalisations from a single sex group or an unrepresentative group to a broader category such as ‘youth’, ‘children’or ‘teachers’.

Manuscripts that do not conform to the requirements listed above will not be considered for publication.

For additional guidelines, please refer to the below documents available for download.

Submissions should be sent to:

Dr Wilhelm Delport
South African College of Music
University of Cape Town
South Africa
Email: wilhelmdelport.jmaa@gmail.com

Open access: Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa is a hybrid journal which allows authors the option of publishing their article Open Access for a set fee. Further details are given at the Open Access at NISC page.
 

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