Adaptations, Code-Switching, and Novelty With Cultural Integrity: Musicians Performing and Learning Musical Instruments in Different Musical Traditions

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to examine musicians’—who already have extensive training in a familiar musical style—intensive, hands-on, performance-based learning experience of different musical traditions based on the theoretical frameworks of bi-musicality and interactive constructivism. Through chain sampling, I conducted interviews with eight musicians from multiple countries. Participants had a shared experience of the phenomenon shaped by their roles, including an undergraduate music student, a music education doctoral student, a private music teacher, a retired music teacher, a higher education professor, a music therapist, a children’s community choir director, and a music producer. Following epoché, bracketing, horizontalization, and phenomenological reduction, three themes emerged: (a) adapting skills and knowledge from previous learning, (b) setting aside techniques that express cultural differences, and (c) exploring novelty intuitively through experimentation with cultural integrity. The three themes encapsulated the essence of musicians’ experiences across musical traditions as adaptations, code-switching, and novelty with cultural integrity. The findings of this study may suggest implications for how music teachers and students broaden their music experiences beyond their familiar style to encompass diverse musical traditions in their formal and informal music learning settings.