Investigating Musical Life Histories

Dr Stephanie Pitts

My recent research with adults who are musically active has shown that music makes a valuable contribution to a fulfilling, sociable and enjoyable life:

• Regular concert goers find that the experience of listening amongst friends enhances their musical enjoyment, and express a strong sense of loyalty to events where they feel actively involved as participant listeners.
• Members of performing societies gain pleasure from working together in pursuit of shared performance goals, expressing aspects of their personality that might go unnoticed in other areas of their lives, and meeting personal and musical challenges amongst like-minded friends.
• Amateur composers value the opportunity to express themselves creatively, and often couple this with an interest in education and politics, and a desire to encourage young people into active music-making.

I´m now interested in how and where the foundations for adult engagement with music are laid: the influence of school, home and wider society on people´s developing musical attitudes and expertise. Adults looking back at their school years often have stories of inspiring music teachers, or of significant moments in their performing or listening experience – taking part in a school production, perhaps, or going to a live concert for the first time. Some had supportive parents, who tolerated the presence of a drum kit in the house, gave regular lifts to orchestra rehearsals, or shared their own love of music by singing or playing records. And then there are the tales of off-putting music teachers, of regret at not having done the piano practice that would have sustained a skill into adulthood, or of feeling excluded from school music activities. Music in childhood and adolescence undoubtedly has a strong and lasting influence, and I´d like to collect some of these musical life histories to find out what the messages are for schools, parents and arts organisations seeking to encourage the present generation of children into active musical engagement.

If you have stories of your own musical experiences that could help contribute to this discussion, please complete the downloadable survey following the link in the 'Downloads' box. If you´re willing to be contacted further, or if you´d like to receive information about how this project develops, then do include your name and contact details: if not, anonymous submission of your stories is fine. Either way, all the writing I collect will be treated in confidence, and used anonymously in publications resulting from this study. Many thanks for your participation.

Related publications on musical participation
Pitts, S. E. (2005) Valuing Musical Participation. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Pitts, S. E. (2005) What makes an audience? Investigating the roles and experiences of listeners at a chamber music festival. Music and Letters, 86 (2): 257-269.
Pitts, S. E. (2004) "Everybody wants to be Pavarotti": the experience of music for performers and audience at a Gilbert & Sullivan Festival. Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 129 (1): 143-160.
Pitts, S. E. (2004) Lessons in learning: learning, teaching and motivation at a music summer school. Music Education Research, 6 (1): 81-95. Last updated: 8 March 2011