Exploring the ‘I’ in musician: investigating musical identities of professional orchestral musicians
dc.contributor.advisor
MacDonald, Raymond
en
dc.contributor.advisor
Miell, Dorothy
en
dc.contributor.author
Renfrew, Mary Claire
en
dc.date.accessioned
2018-04-17T14:39:01Z
dc.date.available
2018-04-17T14:39:01Z
dc.date.issued
2016-06-25
dc.description.abstract
The
lived
experiences
of
professional
orchestral
musicians
are
under-‐researched
by
scholars
in
both
music
and
psychology,
who
are
interested
in
the
world
of
the
professional
orchestra
and
the
careers
of
classical
musicians.
Framed
within
a
Social
Constructionist
paradigm,
the
research
in
this
thesis
is
concerned
with
investigating
the
subjective
meanings
and
individual
experiences
of
a
group
of
ten
classical
orchestral
musicians.
Interpretative
Phenomenological
Analysis
was
the
methodological
framework
chosen
to
design
and
analyse
a
set
of
open-‐
ended
interviews
with
the
musicians,
which
allowed
reflexivity
and
flexibility
throughout
the
research
process.
Three
superordinate
themes
were
identified
from
a
close
reading
and
IPA
analysis
of
the
interview
data:
‘Musical
Foundations’,
‘Struggle:
“The
Never
Ending
Quest”’
and
‘Thank
You
For
The Music’. ‘Musical
Foundations’
examines
the
process
of
musical
identity
construction
for
the
ten
participants,
from
its
early
beginnings
in
childhood,
through
adolescence
and
their
time
in
the
professional
orchestra.
Different
facets
of
musical
identity
construction
are
outlined
and
becoming
an
orchestral
musician
is
viewed
as
essentially
a
social
process
shaped
by
social
interactions,
building
on
a
sense
of
possessing
certain
‘innate’
characteristics.
‘Struggle:
‘The
Never
Ending
Quest”’
illustrates
the
challenges
the
musicians
encountered
within
the
profession
and
the
impact
that
being
a
professional
orchestral
musician
had
on
other
aspects
of
their
lives
(e.g.
personal
and
social). The
fear
and
conflict
the
ten
musicians
experienced
is
outlined
and
how
the
musicians
coped
and
‘survived’
within
the
professional
orchestra
is
demonstrated.
In
addition,
the
central
importance
of
the
identity
of
‘orchestral
musician’
within
the
participants’
lives
is
illustrated.
The
last
theme,
‘Thank
You
For
The
Music’
outlines
why
the
musicians
continued
within
the
profession
despite
the
struggles
summarised
by
the
previous
theme.
This
chapter
highlights
the
autonomy
and
control
the
musicians
felt
they
gained
within
their
orchestras
and
the
physiological
and
emotional
connections
they
experienced
with
both
the
profession
and
classic
music
itself.
Common
to
all
three
superordinate
themes
is
their
reported
power
struggle
between
the
musicians
and
the
orchestra,
and
between
the
individual
and
the
collective.
Another
common
issue
was
how
central
the
identity
of
‘orchestral musician’
was
for
all
participants,
impacting
all
aspects
of
their
lives.
The
professional
musicians
constructed,
negotiated
and
maintained
their
musical
identities
in
accordance
with
both
their
own
expectations
and
those
of
the
classical
music
genre
itself.
The
research
in
this
thesis
raises
awareness
of
the
importance
of
the
orchestral
musician
identity
in
the
musicians’
lives
and
how
an
understanding
of
this
can
help
gain
an
insight
into
other
aspects
of
the
participants’
lives.
Recommendations
are
made
for
further
research
regarding:
the
lived
experiences
of
classical
music
students,
investigation
of
current
teaching
practices
in
conservatoires
and
further
exploration
of
the
professional
structures
within
an
orchestra.
en
dc.identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/1842/29570
dc.language.iso
en
dc.publisher
The University of Edinburgh
en
dc.subject
musical identities
en
dc.subject
music psychology
en
dc.subject
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
en
dc.title
Exploring the ‘I’ in musician: investigating musical identities of professional orchestral musicians
en
dc.type
Thesis or Dissertation
en
dc.type.qualificationlevel
Doctoral
en
dc.type.qualificationname
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
en
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