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access to Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education
Being a Musician: M
and the Adolescent
Melissa Mills
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland
ABSTRACT
This study investigated six adolescents' (ages 12-14) perceptions of musical ident
participation in a community children's choir. Research questions focused on th
tor, peers, and ensemble participation on students' musical identities. Data coll
group interviews and individual interviews with choristers, their parents, the
one former choir member. Through an embedded analysis of student definitio
an interesting dichotomy emerged. Despite participating in a rich musical e
did not equate these experiences with improving their individual musiciansh
gent themes included the chorister's strong opinions on the connection betwee
expressions) and internal (e.g., feeling the music) expressions of musicianship, a
to be perceived as "normal" while maintaining their emerging musical identi
INTRODUCTION
Most music teachers strive to provide rich musical experiences for
hope that their students are influenced in positive, lasting ways t
ences. Throughout this process, teachers often encourage their stud
cal identities (i.e., to perform and think like musicians). Research
connection between identity and music from a variety of psych
and social psychological perspectives. James (1890), Cooley (1902
laid the early foundation for research highlighting the social con
Later, social theories, including Festingers (1954) theory of soc
Tajfel and Turner's (Tajfel, 1978, 1981; Tajfel, Billig, Bundy, & Fl
& Turner, 1979, 1986; Turner, 1982, 1985) theories of social ide
egorization, emphasized the ways in which individuals compare th
order to further differentiate their emerging identities.
Research connecting social theories of identity and music oft
constructions of identity. The increasing amount of research on mu
construction (Colwell & Richardson, 2002) is one example of the fo
construction. Important contributions include Froehlichs (2007) m
a variety of sociology perspectives - especially interactionism - to
and Ballantine s (2002) discussion of connections between the soc
43
Paul and Ballantine agree with Froehlich's assessment that relatively little research has
been done that specifically connects theories of sociology with that of music education,
but states that in the past ten years, the amount of research connecting these topics has
increased (Paul & Ballantine, 2002).
Another sociological influence on musical identity construction is the influence of
technology. In this increasingly technologically advanced world, individuals can down-
load and distribute music instantly over the internet, and store and play this music on
portable lightweight devices such as iPods. Because iPods and other devices can store so
many songs, an individual can carry an entire personal library of music with him or her
at all times. In addition, a wide variety of music is available at any time on television
stations, the internet, and radio. Staggering amounts of a variety of music are avail-
able to individuals, in a variety of formats, practically instantaneously. This fairly new
development in technology is part of an increasingly noticeable phenomenon known
as musical self-socialization.
Musical self-socialization occurs as individuals make choices about their music
44
RESULTS
The purpose of this study was to explore students' perceptions of being
the context of their experiences in a children's choir. Questions for the st
"What does it mean to be a musician," "What are the ways, if any, that ch
musicianship," and "What is the relationship you perceive between mu
being a musician," invited students to discuss a variety of issues relating
45
Defining "Musician"
Charlie: To be a musician, you have to... you can't just play or sin
That's not being a musician. What being a musician means is ph
beauty. Beauty.
Ingrid: Preparing.
Ciafara: You have to feel it. You have to feel the music. So you don
play it, you have to feel it. . .
Ingrid: Feel the power! "You are the music in me" [breaking into s
Ciafara] [laughter].
Nova: I think what being a good musician is... is, a good musician
you live, breathe, and practically take it from the inner soul of the
you really express it. You take it in as if it means the most ever. Re
when we sang "Winds of Peace"? We had to literally live it, breat
think of what those people were going through while they were wri
song because that was basically about kids going through a war,
wanted it to end and they wanted peace. So we had to basically
music to actually show that we wanted the piece.
Ingrid: That was the same thing with the "Voices of a Vanished Wo
Ciafara: But I think you don't have to be the one who's creating th
be a musician. I guess that sounds kind of weird, but you just ha
don't know, I guess you do have to [laughter]. You just have to
respect it and feel it, 'cause music is just sounds being put toget
think everyone's a musician because they've all had experience in t
46
MM: I.D.K?
Mia: Yeah, because I practically knew a lot... I mean, I learned how to read
music in band, and I learned really all the dynamics and all the music in
band, so I didn't really learn that much in choir.
Ingrid: I agree with Mia because this is my eighth year of piano, so I have been
studying all that stuff since second grade, so it's really nothing new to me.
Ciafara: Yeah. I don't think we work on that much stuff in choir, musically
Once in awhile we go over what a crescendo is and half notes and stuff,
but we're pretty much expected to know that when we come into the choir.
Ciafara's comment, "I don't think we work on that much stuff in choir, musical
illustrates that, according to Ciafara, "musically" refers to "what a crescendo is an
notes and stuff." In her earlier comment that, "Well, choir teaches me everything
cally," she also uses the term "musically" to refer to music- reading skills. She doe
47
Ciafara: Yeah... pretty much every time. Sometimes I'm totally like, "I have
no idea" but sometimes I'm like, "Oh yeah, we didn't hold that note. And
we were sharp and stuff."
Ciafara: Like 75%, which I know is not that much, but sometimes it's hard to
know what she's thinking.
Putting herself in the conductor's shoes in this informal way gives Ciafara a richer
perspective on the music-making process. Close observation such as this provides a
reservoir of experience for future teaching endeavors, should she choose to pursue a
career in teaching. Putting Ciafara's comment in context with her earlier comment that,
"I don't think we work on that much stuff in choir, musically" indicates that although
she is aware of what she is doing in rehearsal, she does not perceive that these activities
are influencing her musicianship in specific ways, particularly the development of aural
skills, problem-diagnosing skills, and teaching skills.
Like Ciafara, Nova also considers choir from Mrs. Talbot's perspective. A self-
proclaimed future music teacher-in-training, Nova is particularly motivated to closely
observe Mrs. Talbot. Nova takes her observations one step further than Ciafara, indi-
cating that if she had the chance, she would talk individually with Mrs. Talbot about
teaching. In the following excerpt, Novas questions reveal her determination to decon-
struct the complexities she perceives in teaching a choral ensemble. Her comments also
illustrate her growing awareness of the conductor's motivations, and factors related to
conducting and repertoire selection.
48
Nova: ...I can learn a lot from Mrs. Talbot. I mean, she
much already that I just want to be there and be like,
interview you?" I really want to say that.
Nova: I would ask her why she got into this business. W
teach the children to sing? Why not adults? I'm sure sh
part of their developing musical self-concept, and part of being a musician. Although
Ciafara does not realize it, by observing Mrs. Talbot so closely, both she and Nova are
advancing the development of skills that they can use to enhance not only their own
performance in the choir, but also enhance their teaching in the future.
Christine attributes this understanding of having a passion for music largely to chil-
dren's choir, saying, "I guess from what I first said, especially about having a passion
49
for it, I think that was really instilled in children's choir, yeah. That
definitely taught in children's choir."
Several of the choristers raise the idea of a connection between
for music and being musically talented. In the same conversation,
discussion comparing what it means to be musically talented as o
good musician. As the choristers discuss what it means to (a) be a
be musically talented, (c) have a passion for music, their definition
vague, sometimes overlapping and sometimes separating. The choris
constructs seem related. Despite the confusion in terms, the point of
is that an individual may be musically talented, but that the indivi
sess a passion for music in order to find satisfaction in music-making
MM: What does it mean to be musically talented?
Mia: Mia thinks that in a way they come together. If you're music
beatwise or you're playing an instrument, I think your tone
to come naturally and I don't know. I just think that they com
Mia: I mean, you're better if you like it. If you don't really like it,
you're really as good as you could be if you did like it. It just com
If you like it, you're gonna do better at it than if you don't like
Nova: Mine's sort of like Charlie. I would describe musician sort of like tal-
ented would basically be. I'll use my uncle for an example. You could be
really good at playing the drums but you might not be able to read notes,
so it just depends on how everything comes in together. If you really love
music and you are willing to learn, then that means that your talents will
go farther, and if you don't like music and you really don't want to learn it,
then you'll stay at where you are.
Facial Expressions
At the end of this part of the conversation, Jade brings up an aspect of musicianship
that moves the discussion in an entirely new direction. Jade begins by agreeing with
the choristers that having a passion or "natural love for music" is related to musical
50
Ciafara: That you really enjoy it... yeah. People who don't have good facial
expressions, sometimes they really, really love it, and people who do, don't,
so I don't think you can judge how much you love music by your face.
In rehearsal, Mrs. Talbot uses an activity in which she tells the choristers to close
their eyes, put their hands up in front of their eyes and on the count of three, open
their hands and their eyes wide as though they are opening the shutters to a camera. The
purpose of this activity appears to be to encourage the choristers to raise their eyebrows
and look more engaged in their singing. Mrs. Talbot calls on individual choristers in
rehearsal and either compliments them on their facial expressions or tells them that they
need to "show more" on their faces. Although from an audience perspective the children
look animated and engaged in the performance, the choristers' comments here suggest
that there is some resentment about having to "act" engaged. Ciafara's comment that,
"I don't think you can judge how much you love music by your face," indicates that she
feels that facial expressions do not always accurately represent the true emotions of the
singers, so it is not fair to judge an individual's involvement based on that aspect alone.
Her comments also point to a belief that loving the music should be the first priority,
and transmission of those feelings should come in second in priority. Although Mrs.
Talbot may share these priorities, the choristers nevertheless express anxiety over having
to produce satisfactory facial expressions.
Being "Normal"
When asked if choir friends encourage each other to become better musicians, Mia
responded with a long hum: "Mmmmmm...Mrs. Talbot thinks we do, but we really
don't. We mainly talk about our lives, not musically related." Ciafara pounced on the
chance to add, "We're kids! We're not gonna be like, 'Oh, that 'd' scale, whoa, yeah, that
'd' scale was pretty nifty!' [everyone laughs]. We're not gonna do that." Mia enjoined,
"We're middle schoolers and high schoolers. We don't talk about that sort ofthing." Mia
then explained that on the occasions when Mrs. Talbot invites the choristers to discuss
with each other the meaning of the music, "...we [the choristers] maybe talk about it
for a minute or two and then we start talking about, 'What did you do after school
today?' type of thing." Ciafara summed up the choristers' lack of musical conversation
by explaining that, "We're not special children. We like everything that normal people
like. We're just in a choir."
51
DISCUSSION
The choristers in this study have some understanding of what
and they routinely demonstrate many different musical skills
cussion, and from rehearsal observations, it is obvious that m
ity comes directly from their involvement in choir. Yet, when
their musicianship, they struggle to find a response, ultimatel
of how they do not learn much about music in choir becaus
notation) in band or in private lessons.
There is a discrepancy between what the choristers know
say about musicianship. In his investigation of community b
(2007) encountered a similar situation. Kruse found that alt
ingly volunteered to participate in a musical ensemble, often h
music, and had at least a basic understanding of the compone
did not consider themselves to be musicians. According to the
cian involves creating beauty and phrasing and loving the m
for it, but at other times, being a musician involves little mor
crescendo symbol. The choristers understand that the choir c
but do not describe how the attention to nuance and minutia in rehearsal makes this
product possible. Conductors might discuss in greater detail with their choristers how
rehearsal techniques refine and polish a piece.
The choristers do not express an understanding of the connection between rehears-
al and the development of musicality. Ciafara commented:
I don't think we work on that much stuff in choir, musically. Once in awhile
we go over what a crescendo is and half notes and stuff, but we're pretty
much expected to know that when we come into the choir.
52
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