Rethinking experimental music within music education: Thoughts and feelings after a voyage through the Project INsono

Abstract

This paper tells the story of INsono, an interactive sound installation and workshop created by a group of musicians for the 6th edition of the Big Bang in Lisbon, Portugal. To tell this story I will present my findings throughout a narrative that evolves through the analysis and interpretations of interviews with the musicians and the curator of the Big Bang Lisbon, field notes taken during the creation and the presentation of INsono, and group interviews with children about their lived experiences during the workshop. Describing the process that led to the creation of the final sound installation, I will explore, on one side, what were the main concerns and ideas of the musicians and the curator of the festival in what regards concepts such as education, childhood, music, and art, and, on the other, the perspectives of children that participated in the workshop on their experiences of INsono. This will, hopefully, lead us to a discussion where we might rethink the potentialities of experimental music in both formal and non-formal contexts of learning; moreover, it might lead us also to look at the dynamics, strategies and tools that are used in non-formal contexts as a source of inspiration to reflect on pedagogical approaches in the classroom that might enrich the musical and artistic experiences of children.