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Arts & Communication Inclusive musicking: A narrative inquiry

education” (p. 56). Nevertheless, in Japan, music curricula suitable because of its focus on ideal relationships between
in schools and preschools are considered as “general infinite combinations of people, places, and sounds.
music,” which emphasizes collective ensemble playing Similarly, Golden suggested that the characteristic
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In addition, in Japan, there is a critical issue in music function of musicking is its suitability for addressing the
education where the majority of the musical activities in root causes of social and ecological problems by focusing
schools rely on collective listening, singing, instrumental on the active process of engaging and connecting with
playing, and the creation of simple tunes based on ourselves. This view was echoed by Lamb, who insisted
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textbooks. The curriculum is also unified, such that every that music has always been cultivated and fostered in the
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first grader learns the same tune on a melodeon while third relationship between people and society. By synthesizing
graders and higher learn the recorder through collective the reflections from the participants, this study offered
instruction. 16 insights into musicking, the intuitive nature of musical
This practice is especially problematic because large communication, and the transformative potential of my
ensembles represent the vast majority of the music approach in achieving an inclusive musicking model.
profession’s resources and are often the most visible aspect Acknowledgments
of public music education, which goes beyond the field’s
utilitarian functionalism. Meanwhile, instead of sharing I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the
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the experience of learning among students and teachers, research participants, including the students in the class,
the teacher receives unilateral authority. Conversely, in the homeroom teachers, the university students, and
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musicking, “such ideas held in common are about how especially Dr. A. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to the
people ought to relate to one another…” (p. 95). Thus, various representatives of the Arts and Communication
music is used as an act of community affirmation. 34 department at the school.
As stated earlier, most of the musical activities in Funding
schools rely on collective listening, singing, instrumental
playing, and the creation of simple tunes. In this study, This research was funded by the Japan Society for the
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the practitioner-researcher and teachers were able to Promotion of Science Grants-in-Aid for Scientific
effectively share the new direction and strategies of Research: KAKEN (No. 20K02841).
musicking in which the students played music together. Conflict of interest
By the end of the session, the children shared learning The author declares no conflicts of interest.
activities and played music together. The aforementioned
narrative showed that “musicking-like” interactions Author contributions
between students and teachers can be effective for
embodying kyosei and promoting a universal design. 16 This is a single-authored article.
5. Conclusion Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study examined the use of musicking in a Japanese This research was approved by the Institutional Review
special needs classroom, focusing on its foundation and Board (IRB) of Ritsumeikan University, Japan: 衣笠-
specifically emphasizing inclusion. The research approach 人-2023-36.
employed in this study leveraged my extensive practical Consent for publication
experience in musicking and narrative inquiry within
the realm of music education. The study presented a Participants gave consent to publish their data in this study.
co-constructed narrative illustrating my designed method
of using musicking as a learning tool in a Japanese Availability of data
elementary school special needs classroom. This project Data used in this work are available from the corresponding
also used multivocal ethnography to determine how author upon reasonable request.
co-constructing learning environments with teachers,
students, and the practitioner-researcher through the art References
of musicking and creative communication allowed us to 1. Small C. Musicking: The Meaning of Performing and
include all the participants. Listening. Wesleyan: Wesleyan University Press; 1998.

From a sociological perspective, Frierson-Campbel 2. Dissanayake E. Arts and Intimacy: How the Arts Began.
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suggested that Small’s theory of musicking is particularly Washington: University of Washington Press; 2000.

Volume 2 Issue 4 (2024) 8 doi: 10.36922/ac.2747