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“In-Between” is the title of this conference. If I am right, it focuses on the role of the artist as a middle-man, or middle-woman, between art and learner. It focuses, maybe, on the way artists are capable to transfer knowledge, skills, attitudes, insights, emotions of an artistic nature. And it focuses, maybe, on the way experiences from the domain of the arts may be transferred through the mechanism inherent in the domain of education; two domains which sometimes seem to have a rather problematic relation because the arts are seen as a domain of beauty, of expressivity, of individuality, of freedom, of creativity, whereas education is seen as the domain of standardization, of group work, of compliance to rules, and of mastering the existing.
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Article on the basis of the keynote given at the 28th EAS conference, March 2021.
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"Objectives: Research on what matters most to people with dementia is crucial for developing tailored interventions and support. This study explored how people with dementia experience their everyday lives, providing insight into what is important to them to live the best they can at home. Methods: Inspired by a phenomenological approach, open interviews were conducted with 15 people with dementia, supplemented by home tours and walking interviews. Data collection included one to three sessions per participant. Data were analysed using descriptive content analysis and followed the phases of open, axial, and selective coding. A co‐researcher group of seven people with dementia was consulted during the analysis to help interpret the emergent findings. Findings: Six dimensions of what matters most in everyday life were identified: 1) Engaging in meaningful activities, which included routines, household chores, leisure, day activities, and volunteering or work; 2) Keeping a sense of connection, in relationships within the home, with family, friends, groups, and the neighbourhood; 3) Having a sense of belonging, which included attachments inside and outside the home, and to cherished objects; 4) Connecting to self, which included the ability to reflect on past experiences, live in the present moment and anticipate the future; 5) Adjusting to ongoing changes, which included alterations in sensory perceptions, perceptions of the physical environment, and navigating shifts in interpersonal dynamics; 6) Being open to help and support, from professionals, community and society. Conclusions: For people with dementia, everyday life is a continuous balancing act between what matters most and what can be achieved daily. This is not only related to dementia but is also embedded in the wider perspective of life history, relational networks, and the physical environment. This study highlights the importance of identifying what matters most to people with dementia to provide person‐centred support."
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Introduction to a special issue of the IASPM journal. This special issue on fan studies aims to build a bridge with the study of popular music in order to inspire further investigation of music fandom.
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Hoe klonk het landschap van je jeugd? Welke geluiden zijn verbonden aan de plek waar je woont en leeft? Zijn er liedjes die herinneren aan belangrijke momenten? In dit deel van het onderzoeksproject Sound Soils onderzoeken we vanuit het lectoraat Music in Context van de Hanzehogeschool Groningen de samenhang tussen muziek en geluiden en de plekken waar mensen opgroeien, leven en een identiteit ontwikkelen. Het lectoraat Music in Context doet praktijkgericht onderzoek naar muziekpraktijken die zich nadrukkelijk verbinden aan maatschappelijke contexten en/of thematieken.Geluiden en muziek zijn op meerdere manieren verbonden met de leefomgeving en identiteit van mensen. Geluiden en liedjes die sterk verbonden zijn met de plek waar je opgroeit, kunnen eraan bijdragen dat een plek betekenis voor je krijgt en dat je je ergens ‘thuis’ voelt: ‘Zoals het klokje thuis tikt, tikt het nergens,’ luidt niet voor niets een bekend spreekwoord.
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The present study attempts to explore the field of creative music workshops with the elderly. A growing amount of research has been carried out into running (creative) workshops, and besides we know a lot about the elderly and ageing. The aim of this research is to gather knowledge on the merging of both subjects, creative music workshops with the elderly in the so-called ‘fourth age’. In particular, this research project has been carried out as a study of a potential professional field for musicians and music educators. For this reason the research objective is focused on the position of the workshop leader and what is needed to run creative music workshops with elderly in residential homes for the elderly successfully. We therefore aim to explore aspects connected to this practice such as entrepreneurship, musicianship and leadership.
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This study focuses on the uses and functions of music in the life of individuals in the province of Groningen at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The study is an ethnomusicological study representing the sub-discipline of ethnomusicology-at-home. It uses Andreas Reckwitz’ formulation of practice theory as a theoretical starting point and introduces methodological principles from the field of qualitative sociology. Central in the study is the individual. 30 theoretically sampled individuals recounted their musical biographies in narrative-biographical interviews, which were analyzed in detail and eventually led to a sufficiently suggested grounded theory of the uses and functions of music in Groningen AD 2010. The theory consists o three interrelated compartments. The first compartment contains a description o the uses o music a expressed b the interviewees. ‘Use’ refers t the ‘customary exercise o music’ i concrete musical social situations. The result o this study i of this study. The study describes how three cultural codes seem to be shared amongst many (though not all) of the interviewees: the codes of playing an instrument, craftsmanship, and musicality, together forming the supercode of the music specialist. These three more general codes are combined with two further codes to form the highly specific and culturally hegemonic musical subject culture of art music, expressing that music is a specialism; it is the craft of playing an instrument by talented individuals; that this craftsmanship must be combined with expressivity; and that through this form of specialized expression musical objects come into being which represent the ideal realm of the artistic. By discussing this attempt at a grounded theory of the uses and functions of music in Groningen AD 2010, a picture is delivered of how individuals become musical individuals. Through their musicking in the context of concrete musical social situations they use music for the functions of affirmation, connection and regulation of the self; and they do this in the context of a web of cultural codes labeling shared and disputed – and sometimes hegemonic – ways of doing and talking. An evaluation of the theory and methodology used in this study shows that both assist in further developing the field of ethnomusicology(-at-home); an evaluation of the results in the light of existing research shows that they contribute to further insights into the uses and functions of music. Four areas for further research are mentioned: typologizing the uses and functions of music, musical discourses, musical subject cultures, and the place of the musical subject order of art music in contemporary society. The study ends with a description of the possible implications for conservatoires. Conservatoires are recommended to encourage students to think of their future audiences in the broadest possible terms, taking into account the wide variety of uses and functions of music figuring in the daily lives of musicking individuals. They are encouraged to make students look upon themselves (also) as service providers, and as such to be open and non-judgmental in their relationships towards the musical other. Conservatoires are recommended to translate this into their curricula by devising transformative projects in which students meet ‘musical others’, and by encouraging their students to take their possible audiences into account consciously in any musical social situation they devise or find themselves in.
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In this article the work of power through discourse in music education in primary schools in the Netherlands is examined. After introducing the central concepts of culture, practice, discourse, and power, the current dominant musical discourse in the Netherlands is presented as expressed in three nested perspectives: the perspective of music as a specialist domain, the perspective of music as (essentially instrumental) performance, and the perspective of music as Art. Then, a central document in current music educational developments in Dutch primary schools is analyzed. It is demonstrated that specifically the perspectives of music as a specialist domain and (partly) music as (instrumental) performance have a strong presence in the document. The article finishes with calling for more attention to the workings of dominant musical discourse in music pedagogical debates.
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