Becoming an Irish Traditional Musician: Learning and Embodying Musical Culture
- Author: Cawley, Jessica
Becoming an Irish Traditional Musician: Learning and Embodying Musical Culture
- Author: Cawley, Jessica
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About
Coupling the narratives of twenty-two Irish traditional musicians alongside intensive field research, Becoming an Irish Traditional Musician explores the rich and diverse ways traditional musicians hone their craft. It details the educational benefits and challenges associated with each learning practice, outlining the motivations and obstacles learners experience during musical development. By exploring learning from the point of view of the learners themselves, the author provides new insights into modern Irish traditional music culture and how people begin to embody a musical tradition. This book charts the journey of becoming an Irish traditional musician and explores how musicality is learned, developed, and embodied.
Contents
- Introduction: Exploring the Journey of Musical Enculturation
- Irish Traditional Music as a Community of Practice
- Constructing this Ethnography
- The Transmission of Irish Traditional Music: Key Features
- 1 Passing it on: Connecting with a Community of Practitioners
- Mentors
- Peers
- Family
- Enthusiasts
- Entering the Community of Practice
- 2 Transmission, Inspiration, and Social Tensions in Irish Traditional Music Sessions
- Acquiring Repertoire
- Developing Technique and Personal Style
- Situated Learning
- Troubleshooting: Challenges to Learning in Sessions
- The Session: Who is it for?
- 3 Organized Informality: Teaching and Institutionalizing Irish Traditional Music
- The Teaching of Irish Traditional Music
- Schooling
- Community Music Organizations
- Gateways into the Community of Practice
- 4 Musicking at Festivals, Summer Schools, and Live Events
- Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann
- Scoil Eigse
- Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy
- Ceilidhs, Sing-songs, and Concerts
- 5 Technology and Irish Traditional Music Culture
- Part 1: Old Media
- The Role of Literacy in an Oral Practice
- The Phonographic Revolution
- Film, Television, and Video Technology
- Part 2: New Media
- Traditional Music in a Digital Age: The Role of the Internet
- The Dawning of the Postdigital Day
- Conclusion: The Lifelong Process of Becoming an Irish Traditional Musician
- Searching for Patterns of Musical Enculturation
- The Job of Journeywork: Navigating Multiple Paths
