An investigation into the value of developing an artistic programme which integrates the aesthetic, the praxial and the social dimensions of an art form, specifically music, and the implications of such development on the training of emerging music practitioners.
This report details the design, implementation and evaluation of a programme of action research undertaken by the author over a four-year period for the qualification of Professional Doctorate (DProf). It is an exploration of the kind of practical knowledge (praxis) which emerges through research into the practices and situation of a large cultural organisation, as witnessed through the perspective of the author’s professional role as Head of Higher Education and Research at Sage Gateshead, a large music organisation in the NE of the UK. An initial professional curiosity about the organisation’s artistic programme and organisational culture gives rise to a philosophical consideration of the broader value of music to people and society, and how it might be articulated more strongly.
The rise of the internet, and the digital distribution of music, has fundamentally changed how the music industry works, and what it means to be a musician in contemporary western society. The way that individual musicians, and music organisations, sustain themselves in the challenging economic situation brought about by these changes, requires them to think and act more creatively and entrepreneurially than ever before. As a relatively new organisation, Sage Gateshead is at the ‘sharp end’ of some of these dramatic changes. The nature of the action research undertaken is about developing a critical understanding of the organisation’s practices and artistic programme, and how the training of musicians within the organisation has been affected and influenced by its particular situation. The development of Sage Gateshead as an organisation – and as a building which hosts that organisation – has brought together two dimensions of music that have historically been considered as discrete fields in western culture, namely music performance and music Learning & Participation (L&P). The bringing together of these two dimensions of music into a single artistic programme where each dimension has equal weight – both philosophically and financially - represents a dialogic ‘creative tension’ (Wegerif 2012) which has resulted in an increase in value to both of its constituent parts, and emphasised an over-arching third dimension of music – namely, music’s social impact – as a unifying feature. I propose that this emergent ‘re-integrative’ model of ‘music in three dimensions’ represents a shift in emphasis of the value of music to people and society.
As well as articulating this ‘re-integrative’ perspective on music, I emphasise the notion of dialogue as a mediating force to help resolve the apparent contradictions and dichotomies of established fields of musical practice. My contribution to knowledge of such practices also concerns the matter of how to train musicians to practice professionally within this framework, emphasising the development of ‘praxis’ (Freire 1970; Elliott 1995; Elliott 2009; Bowman 2009a; Nelson 2013; Elliott & Silverman 2013) as a professional attitude vital to participation in that ongoing dialogue.
I suggest that this perspective on music is potentially quite unstable, as not only is it ‘emergent’, but it is viewed – or perhaps only glimpsed - from the situated context of a single music organisation - and by definition therefore only partial at best - and at a particular juncture of our cultural history where the music industry is in a state of flux. Changes in cultural policy, organisational culture or purpose, shifts in programme or artistic emphasis, might impede its development as a perspective.
The project has been undertaken within the principles of action research, as an investigation into the particular situation of the author’s professional role and responsibility within Sage Gateshead, and more broadly as a musician working across the fields of performance and participation, as illustrated within Donald Schön’s conception of reflective practice:
“The practitioner allows himself to experience surprise, puzzlement, or confusion in a situation which he finds uncertain or unique. He reflects on the phenomena before him, and on the prior understandings which have been implicit in his behaviour. He carries out an experiment which serves to generate both a new understanding of the phenomena and the change in the situation. When someone reflects in action, he becomes a researcher in the practice context. He is not dependent on the categories of established theory and technique, but constructs a new theory of the unique case.” (Schön 1984)