Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T15:45:57.940Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Identity in crisis: The role of work in the formation and renegotiation of a musical identity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2013

Jane Oakland ,
Raymond MacDonald  and
Paul Flowers
Jane Oakland
Affiliation:
Glasgow Caledonian University, UKjane.oakland@btinternet.com
Raymond MacDonald
Affiliation:
The University of Edinburgh, UKRaymond.MacDonald@gcu.ac.uk, P.Flowers@gcu.ac.uk
Paul Flowers
Affiliation:
The University of Edinburgh, UKRaymond.MacDonald@gcu.ac.uk, P.Flowers@gcu.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study presents a qualitative investigation into the effects of enforced occupational change on a professional musical identity. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is used to explore the meaning of redundancy for six professional opera choristers. The paper highlights aspects of career disruption that are unique to singers who make their living using a biologically embedded instrument. Findings show the ‘opera singer’ identity to be a professional identity which consists of several subjective sub-identities. Adaptation to change is dependent on the salience given to these subjective identities. It is suggested that if more attention is given to these subjective sub-identities during a professional career, musicians may be better prepared for unexpected disruption to an established career pattern.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , July 2013 , pp. 261 - 276
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ALFERMANN, D., STAMBULOVA, N. & ZEMAITYTE, A. (2004) Reactions to sport career termination: a cross cultural comparison of German, Lithuanian and Russian athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 5, 61–75.Google Scholar
BAILLIE, P. H. F. & DANISH, S. J. (1992) Understanding the career transition of athletes. The Sport Psychologist, 6, 77–91.Google Scholar
BAUMEISTER, R. F. (1986) Identity: Cultural Change and the Struggle for Self. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
BEIJAARD, D., MEIJER, P. C. & VERLOOP, N. (2004) Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20, 107–128.Google Scholar
BENNETT, D. (2007) Utopia for music performance graduates. Is it achievable and how should it be defined? British Journal of Music Education, 24, 179–189.Google Scholar
BENNETT, D. (2008) Understanding the Classical Music Profession. The Past, the Present and Strategies for the Future. Aldergate: Ashforth.Google Scholar
BENNETT, D. (2009) Academy and the real world: developing realistic notions of career in the performing arts. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 8, 309–327.Google Scholar
BREWER, B. W., VAN RAALTE, J. L. & LINDER, D. E (1993) Athletic identity: Hercules’ muscle or Achilles’ heel? International Journal of Sport Psychology, 24, 237–254.Google Scholar
BRODSKY, W. (2006) In the wings of British orchestras: a multi-episode interview study among symphony players. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 79, 673–690.Google Scholar
BURLAND, K. & DAVIDSON, J. W. (2004) Tracing a musical life transition. In Davidson, J. (Ed.), The Music Practitioner. Research for the Music Performer, Teacher and Listener (pp. 225–249). Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
BURLAND, K. & PITTS, S. (2007) Becoming a music student: Investigating the skills and attitudes of students beginning a music degree. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 6, 289–308.Google Scholar
CALLERO, P. M. (1985) Role identity salience. Social Psychology Quarterly, 48, 203–215.Google Scholar
CERULO, K. A. (1997) Identity construction: new issues, new directions. Annual Review of Sociology, 23, 385–409.Google Scholar
CONNELLY, F. M. & CLANDININ, D. J. (Eds.) (1999) Shaping a Professional Identity: Stories of Educational Practice. New York: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
COULSON, S. (2010) Getting capital in the music world. British Journal of Music Education, 27, 255–270.Google Scholar
CREECH, A., PAPAGEORGI, I., DUFFY, C., MORTON, F., HADDON, E., POTTER, J., DE BEZENAC, C., WHYTON, T., HIMONIDES, E. & WELCH, G. (2008) From music student to professional: the process of transition. British Journal of Music Education, 25, 315–331.Google Scholar
DAVIDSON, J. W. (2002) The solo performer's identity. In MacDonald, R. A. R., Hargreaves, D.J. & Miell, D. (Eds.), Musical Identities (pp. 97–113). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
DAVIDSON, J. W. (2005) Bodily communication in musical performance. In Miell, D., MacDonald, R. & Hargreaves, D. J. (Eds.), Musical Communication (pp. 215–238). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
DAYKIN, N. (2005) Disruption, dissonance and embodiment: creativity, health and risk in music. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 9, 67–87.Google Scholar
DOBSON, M.C. (2011) Insecurity, professional sociability and alcohol: young freelance musicians’ perspectives on work and life in the music profession. Psychology of Music, 39, 240–260.Google Scholar
FOUAD, N. A. & BYNNER, J. (2008) Work transitions. American Psychologist, 63, 241–251.Google Scholar
FRYER, D. & FAGAN, R. (2003) Towards a critical community psychological perspective on unemployment and mental health research. American Journal of Community Psychology, 32, 89–96.Google Scholar
HALL, D. T. (1976) Careers in Organisations. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman.Google Scholar
HARGREAVES, D. J., MIELL, D. E. & MACDONALD, R. A. R. (2002) What are musical identities and why are they important. In MacDonald, R. A. R., Hargreaves, D. J. & Miell, D. (Eds.), Musical Identities (pp. 1–16). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
HAYS, T. & MINICHIELLO, V. (2005) The meaning of music in the lives of older people: a qualitative study. Psychology of Music, 33, 437–451.Google Scholar
JENKINS, R. (2008) Social Identity. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
KOKOTSAKI, D., DAVIDSON, J. W. & COIMBRA, D. (2001) Investigating the assessment of singers in a music college setting: the students’ perspective. Research Studies in Music Education, 16, 15–33.Google Scholar
MACDONALD, R. A. R., HARGREAVES, D. J. & MIELL, D. E. (Eds.) (2002) Musical Identities. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
MANTURZEWSKA, M. (1990) A biographical study of the life-span development of professional musicians. Psychology of Music, 18, 112–139.Google Scholar
MEAD, G. H. (1934) Mind, Self and Society. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
MILLER, P. S. & KERR, G. (2002) Conceptualising excellence: past, present and future. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 140–153.Google Scholar
MILLS, J. (2004) Working in music: becoming a performer-teacher. Music Education Research, 6, 245–261.Google Scholar
MILLS, J. (2006) Working in music: the pianist. Music Education Research, 8 (2), 1–15.Google Scholar
MONKS, S. (2003) Adolescent singers and perception of vocal identity. British Journal of Music Education, 20, 243–256.Google Scholar
MOUSTAKES, C. (1990) Heuristic Research: Design, Methodology and Applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
NORTH, A. C. & HARGREAVES, D. J. (2008) The Social and Applied Psychology of Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
OAKLAND, J. (2010) Giving voice: exploring enforced occupational change in opera choristers. Unpublished dissertation, Glasgow Caledonian University.Google Scholar
OAKLAND, J., MACDONALD, R. A. & FLOWERS, P. (2012) Re-defining ‘Me’: exploring career transition and the experience of loss in the context of redundancy for professional opera choristers. Musicae Scientiae, 16, 135–147.Google Scholar
PARKER, K. B. (1994) ‘Has-beens and wanna bes’: transition experiences of former major college football players. The Sport Psychologist, 8, 287–384.Google Scholar
PERRNA, F. M., AHLGREN, R. L. & ZAICHKOWSKY, L. (1999) The influence of career planning, race and athletic injury on life satisfaction among recently retired collegiate male athletes. The Sport Psychologist, 13, 144–156.Google Scholar
ROGERS, R. (2002) Creating a Land with Music: the Work, Education and Training of Professional Musicians in the 21st Century. London: Youth Music.Google Scholar
SANDGREN, M. (2005) Becoming an opera singer: health, personality and skills. Doctoral dissertation, Stockholm University.Google Scholar
SAVICKAS, M. L., NOTA, L., ROSSIER, J., DAUWALDER, J. P., DUARTE, M. E., GUICHARD, J., SORESI, S., ESBROECK, R. V. & VAN VIANEN, A. E. M. (2009) Life designing: A paradigm for career construction in the 21st century. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 75, 231–250.Google Scholar
SCHLOSSBERG, N. K. (1981) A model for analysing human adaptation to transition. The Counselling Psychologist, 9 (2), 2–17.Google Scholar
SINCLAIR, D. A. & ORLICK, T. (1993) Positive transitions from high performance sport. The Sport Psychologist, 7, 138–150.Google Scholar
SMITH, J. A., FLOWERS, P. & LARKIN, M. (2009) Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research. London: Sage.Google Scholar
STRYKER, S. & BURKE, P. J. (2000) The past, present and future of an identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63, 284–297.Google Scholar
TAJFEL, H. (Ed.) (1978) Differentiation between Social Groups: Studies in the Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
TRIANTAFYLLAKI, A. (2010) Performance teachers’ identity and professional knowledge in advanced music teaching. Music Education Research, 12, 71–88.Google Scholar
WATERS, L. (2007) Experiential differences between voluntary and involuntary job redundancy on depression, job search activity, affective employee outcomes and re-employment quality. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 80, 279–299.Google Scholar
WELCH, G. F. (2005) Singing as communication. In Miell, D., MacDonald, R. & Hargreaves, D. J. (Eds.), Musical Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
WERTHNER, P. & ORLICK, T. (1996) Retirement experiences of successful Olympic athletes. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 17, 337–363.Google Scholar
WISE, A. J. & MILLWARD, L. J. (2005) The experiences of voluntary career change in 30 ‘somethings’ and implications for guidance. Career Development International, 10, 400–417.Google Scholar