Open AccessBackground Music: Using Narrative Inquiry to Explore the Hidden Aspects of Musicians’ Career Development
Author(s) -
Nicole Canham
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
action, criticism, and theory for music education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1545-4517
DOI - 10.22176/act20.4.146
Subject(s) - narrative , active listening , identity (music) , narrative inquiry , portrait , vulnerability (computing) , career development , psychology , aesthetics , sociology , pedagogy , visual arts , art , communication , literature , computer security , computer science
The COVID-19 global pandemic has delivered a significant career shock at every level of the music sector, bringing with it renewed recognition of the vulnerability of many creative people. Multiple research approaches are needed to understand the consequences of the pandemic for musicians as workers and the ways in which musicians frame and describe their career choices. In this paper, I offer a way to amplify our listening to musicians’ stories through combining narrative inquiry with a narrative therapy lens as a means of tuning into musicians’ background music—the guiding beliefs that shape professional identity development and artistic practice. Simon’s narrative portrait forms the centrepiece of this article. Through exploring how his approach to informal learning developed and sustained his professional identity, Simon’s story demonstrates how a convergence framework of narrative inquiry and narrative therapy can be harnessed to understand identity continuity in musicians’ careers and the ways in which musicians respond to career development challenges.