The Case
of the Musical Codeswitchers
Daniel
S. Isbell, Ithaca College
Ann
Marie Stanley, Eastman School of Music
Appeals
to bridge academic music study with dynamic and diverse musical communities
outside of school are common in contemporary calls for reform (e.g. Campbell et al., 2014). Many have suggested that
musicians who are experienced and skilled making music in a variety of formal
and informal ways—and in multiple genres—will be better prepared to
prosper in the musical worlds of tomorrow (Choate, 1968; Dunbar-Hall &
Wemyss, 2000; Feichas, 2010; Folkestad, 2006; Green, 2008; Author, 2015).
Building on the work of the Critical Examination of the Curriculum ASPA, we
wonder how the music teacher preparation curriculum might aid students in
developing these wide-ranging, widely applicable musical abilities.
However,
there is little documentation of precisely how and when musicians learn the
skills and dispositions that facilitate transfer between musical genres and
locations. To that end, we wanted to closely examine the social, musical, and
attitudinal attributes of college-aged musicians who have already solidified
their ability to toggle between various types of performing groups and musical
styles, inside and outside of school. The purpose of this study was to examine
the experiences and perceptions of musicians who have demonstrated skill and
comfort switching between formal school of music ensembles and popular
ensembles outside school.
Research
has shown strong relationships between speech and musical skill acquisition
(Gordon, 2003). Therefore, we felt more insight on the phenomenon of switching
between various ways of being musical might be gleaned from linguistics. The
term code-switching is to refer to the use of more than one manner of speaking:
between two separate languages, between native and formal speaking, or in
different social situations (Blom and Gumperz, 1972; Heller, 1998). Another
helpful parallel in the field of sociocultural linguistics is the concept of
diglossia, a language situation involving the use of two dialects, a vernacular
one and another learned in formal education but not used by any section of the
community for ordinary conversation (Ferguson, 1959). These theories provided a
framework for analyzing our data and helped us uncover deeper understandings of
how musicians Òcode-switchÓ between diverse musical activities.
Research
questions were:
1.What
are participantsÕ perceptions of their code-switching skills?
2.Where
do participants believe they learned and refined musical code-switching?
3.How
do the strategies and skills for successful code-switching differ from those
learned in traditional experiences in the studio, classroom, or large ensemble?
Eleven
college musicians who have been successful playing in both educational and
out-of-school contexts completed a questionnaire, were interviewed, and
observed performing in a variety of ensembles inside and outside of school.
Results
indicate that the participants all had frequent, authentic opportunities to
perform on multiple instruments from a young age, valued learning music by ear,
were keenly aware of ensemble social dynamics, and had significant
encouragement and support from family members and teachers. These findings
provide practical insights into the source and development of flexible
musicianship, the culture of music in and outside of schools, and how educators
might facilitate studentsÕ efforts to bridge gaps between diverse musical
worlds.
References
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