Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Forward And Up: An Exploration Of Implementations Of The Alexander Technique In Post-Secondary Music Institutions, Mei Lee

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Music performance is a psychophysical affair. Like athletes, musicians need to be physically, mentally, and emotionally fit in order to meet the demands and challenges of training and performing. For over half a century, post-secondary music institutions have been utilizing the Alexander Technique to address young musicians’ psychophysical coordination and playing-related challenges. This unique mind-body method teaches individuals how to move efficiently and carry out activities with freedom and ease by recognizing and changing counterproductive habits. It has noted beneficial effects on posture and coordination, pain relief, and stress management, and its relevance to music performance studies is endorsed by …

"It's Obvious Who Plays An Instrument And Who Doesn't": Using Doxa And Illusio To Explore Inequities In English School Music Education, Alison Butler

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis investigates Bourdieu’s concepts of doxa and illusio in English secondary school music education, using data collection from a comparative case study undertaken at two contrasting schools in a rural county, Stonefarm High School and Friars Hall School. Data were gathered over five months in 2018, using lesson observations, student focus groups and teacher interviews. Three classes were invited to participate at each school.

The data were analysed using Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice (1977), especially the field mechanisms of doxa and illusio. Doxa, the unwritten rules of a field, and illusio, belief in the game being played in the …

Performing Identities, Performing Possibilities: A Music-Centered And Relational Perspective On Performance In Community Music Therapy And Music Education, Elizabeth Mitchell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

All humans are born with musical capacity, yet many individuals have minimal access to active music-making and its affordances. This integrated-article dissertation explores the impact of participation in musical performance as it pertains to self-identity and relationship for participants who face barriers in accessing artistic engagement. Drawing upon music-centered theory from music therapy, this research celebrates the fundamentally performed and relational nature of musicking and the self and explores implications for music therapy and music education.

The first two articles explore the “Coffee House”, a community music therapy event at an adolescent mental health facility, through the voices of youth …