Becoming an Irish Traditional Musician: Learning and Embodying Musical Culture

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