Abstract
This narrative sounding contains the musical, social, and contextual findings extrapolated from an assortment of observations and interviews conducted with Appalachian folk musicians in the mountains of North Carolina. Participants’ stories focus on the benefits and motivations surrounding mountain music traditions, the perceptions of how musicians view their own learning, and the means by which mountain music culture and customs are preserved and disseminated in a modern world. Issues of identity, self-concept, spiritual connectedness, the survival and endurance of Appalachian folk music, and the marked sense of dignity in carrying on a living history told through music are chronicled through the participants’ voices. Implications for incorporating informal modes of music-making in conventional classroom settings are also discussed, as folk music traditions may be an interesting model to consider as music education endeavours to broaden the perspectives of music teaching and learning.
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Notes
- 1.
It is important to note that the first part of this chapter is not entirely new, as it consists of a brief summative reexamination of previously published material on community music-making among adult musicians (Kruse 2008). This provides the impetus for the second, larger part of the chapter, in which original data, findings, and subsequent discussion are documented. In essence, the latter is an outgrowth of the former, and they are combined here to illustrate their complementary relationship.
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Kruse, N.B. (2012). “Sheer Spine”: Evoking Past and Present in the Southern Highlands. In: Barrett, M., Stauffer, S. (eds) Narrative Soundings: An Anthology of Narrative Inquiry in Music Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0699-6_5
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