Wonderbrass: Inclusive Musical Practice
- Submitting institution
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University of South Wales / Prifysgol De Cymru
: A - A – Faculty of Creative Industries, University of South Wales
- Unit of assessment
- 33 - Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies : A - A – Faculty of Creative Industries, University of South Wales
- Output identifier
- 5003580
- Type
- J - Composition
- Month
- -
- Year
- 2014
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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- Research group(s)
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C - Music
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- My research in this portfolio concerns compositional and performance approaches to musical practices which foster inclusivity, creative participation and co-creation from band members, all of whom have engaged with Wonderbrass, a community ensemble I co-founded in 1992 and for whom I am musical director. Via what I describe as inclusive musical structures, I compose pieces that are accessible to performers with different skill levels, with members facilitated to participate by finding material within compositions at a suitable level, eventually moving onto more technically demanding materials, including improvisation, which requires another level of musical skill and understanding than reading notation. Works submitted as part of my portfolio centre around a series of compositions, which have been structured in such a way so as to facilitate pan-skill musical participation and ‘ownership’—a philosophical approach adopted by Wonderbrass since its inception. These compositions are accompanied by a series of interviews, where participants discuss how their musicianship, enjoyment of music, and sense of personal identity and well-being have been impacted. Influenced by academics such as Harris Berger, Lucy Green and David Gauntlett, these interviews are ethnographic in nature. The portfolio also includes a contextual score and parts and a book chapter, which complement the interviews in showing how the band survives as a collective, how it is organised and how its bespoke compositions add value to the experience of musical participation. This added value revolves around creative participation, with members of the band also eventually learning how to compose and arrange material for the band. In summary, the research investigates my creation of inclusive musical structures and tests their reception and usefulness by examining the responses of band members.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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