When worlds collide: How a classically trained cellist integrates a heavy metal music camp into her learning ecology

Abstract

The creation of connections between learning spaces is a central dimension of music learning. However, these connections do not arise automatically, but require specific efforts from the learners. In this article, we look at these efforts, focusing in particular on the conflicts that can arise, often due to the association of places with certain genres. As an example, we attend to a classically trained cellist participating in the Wacken Music Camp, a learning space for heavy metal music. Among other things, our findings can help music educators to understand the alienation many students feel from school music lessons, and we also offer perspectives on how to address this alienation productively.