Visiting the musicking space in-between music education and community music: The place where music-kings and queens hold sway

Abstract

Music-kings and -queens are musicians who facilitate experiences in spaces where community music (CM) and music education (MusEd) make music. These musicians lead and facilitate musicking to enrich people’s music, social and cultural lives. This paper specifically explores two diverse projects occupying in-between musicking spaces that have been created by CM musicians and school learners. By recording and analysing the views, opinions, thoughts, feelings and experiences of CM musicians about their experiences in the in-between space with a view to possible collaboration with MusEd teachers in schools, this narrative inquiry uses vignettes to investigate how these musical monarchs create musicking experiences. However more than teaching skills, how they build social capital and promote social justice by making musicking accessible to children that are often excluded from music education in formal settings. The outcome is the model of the musicking umbrella that illustrates the coalesence; interconnectedness and relational nature of the in-between space. The musicking umbrella overarches all three musicking spaces and highlights the role of the community musician or music educator. While the practice of musicking is the rationale for the existence of the in-between space where creativity, innovation, and collaboration fuse and transform, adopting the appropriate learning approach help achieve authentic learning. This is combined with building social capital through networking in the community to empower and nurture people and contribute to social justice.