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Abstract Header

Portraits of a Wonderful Musician: Exploring the Intersection of Graduate Music Student Experiences and Mental Health Through Poetic Inquiry

Coursey, Sandra Jean
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1719163538865544

Abstract Details

2024, Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), Bowling Green State University, Contemporary Music.
This paper explores the intersection of U.S. graduate music student experiences and mental health. A literature review discussing nineteenth-century mechanist piano pedagogy practices, Carl Seashore’s Measures of Musical Talent, the impact of neoliberal capitalism on students, and an overview of current U.S. studies on university music student mental health underscore the need for further inquiry into the student experience. I held eight semi-structured interviews with current or former U.S. graduate music students focused on their experiences as a music major. Through poetic inquiry and qualitative content-coding, the interview transcripts were analyzed and organized into poetic portraits representing the collective essence of the lived experiences of the interviewees. The set of eight poems, “Portraits of a Wonderful Musician,” explores uncovered codes including: identity, self-perception, pressure, expectations, urgency, anxiety, the pursuit of perfection, guilt, depression, criticism, comparison, and burnout. Grounded in phenomenology, this paper foregrounds the subjective lived experiences of those interviewed and demonstrates how these rich understandings can inform current music education trends and practices. Poetic inquiry and coding revealed a correlation between traditionalist pedagogical practices and students exhibiting fixed mindset traits, which are associated with the negative lived student experiences. Influenced by the historical, social, and cultural constraints of music pedagogies, teachers and students can benefit from student-centered learning approaches, deliberate practice strategies, and modeling growth mindsets to proactively challenge detrimental traditions.
Solungga Liu, D.M.A. (Committee Chair)
Monica Longmore, Ph.D. (Other)
Ryan Ebright, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Laura Melton, D.M.A. (Committee Member)
117 p.
American Studies; Education; Education History; Education Philosophy; Educational Sociology; Educational Tests and Measurements; Epistemology; Higher Education; Mental Health; Music; Music Education; Pedagogy; Performing Arts; Philosophy; Social Research; Sociology
graduate music students; poetic inquiry; arts-based research; phenomenology; student-centered; mental health; music and mental health; student mental health; higher music education; carl seashore; talent; music talent; measures of musical talent;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Coursey, S. J. (2024). Portraits of a Wonderful Musician: Exploring the Intersection of Graduate Music Student Experiences and Mental Health Through Poetic Inquiry [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1719163538865544

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Coursey, Sandra. Portraits of a Wonderful Musician: Exploring the Intersection of Graduate Music Student Experiences and Mental Health Through Poetic Inquiry. 2024. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1719163538865544.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Coursey, Sandra. "Portraits of a Wonderful Musician: Exploring the Intersection of Graduate Music Student Experiences and Mental Health Through Poetic Inquiry." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1719163538865544

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1719163538865544
131
© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.