Band Members Research Articles

Human Factors in Musicians: Design Proposals

The physical and mental aspects of musical performance practice create high demand for this kind of research. The study was conducted with 55 subjects all of them are members of youth Band of Zapopan and Guadalajara. A questionnaire was used, which was focused on the habits of practice, injury symptoms, use of furniture and/or accessories, knowledge about musculoskeletal disorders risk factors, and awareness of any preventive education. Fourteen musical instruments were reported among, which the most frequently played instrument was the violin (49%). Regarding practice habits almost 77.4% of musicians warm up. About pain or discomfort, the musicians reported back discomfort “sometimes” with about 43.4%. Almost 35% have an injury or pain. They also reported back and hands as the most problematic areas. Concerning risk perception, the 56.4% of the respondents believe that they have the same possibilities of suffering musculoskeletal disorders because of their activities. Regarding the location of diseases and its relation to the type of instrument played, we found significant differences, also we identify many musicians do not use auxiliary objects or special furniture (70%) and around 70% believe they are not necessary.

Profiles in History

1899–1992 1923–2012 Hans Jenny at a site along the Ecological Staircase during the 1984 UC–Davis Soils 105 Field Course. Discussing the presence of a mollic epipedon in an ustic aridic soil moisture regime on the Perdiz Conglomerate, Presidio County, TX. From left, Drs. Susan Casby-Horton, Beatrix Haggard, Nelson Rolong, B.L. Allen (rock hammer in hand), and David Weindorf. Hans Jenny stands next to a soil monolith on a marine terrace above the Pacific Ocean in the Ecological Staircase in Northwestern California. He is explaining soil relationships to University of California–Davis students during the summer 1984 Field Studies of Soils in California Ecosystems, Soil Science 105 course. His career in soil science extended almost 70 years, and he maintained a lifelong devotion to education about soils. He was born in Switzerland in 1899 and came to the United States in 1926. He was appointed to a professor position at University of California–Berkeley in 1936. His passion for education about soils became readily apparent to the world after he authored the iconic book Factors of Soil Formation. A System of Quantitative Pedology in 1941. This book has been cited as a reference for soil science publications ever since and shows no signs of abating. He retired in 1967 but continued to pursue his passion for research and education about soil until his death in 1992. The life of Hans Jenny has had a far reaching influence not only on soil science and related disciplines, but also in universities, high schools, and elementary schools where the basic concepts of his system utilizing factors of soil formation are being taught to students. Hans Jenny and his wife Jean pursued their passion for preservation of unique and diverse soils and landscapes in the pygmy forest of Mendocino County, California, which was named the Hans Jenny Pygmy Forest Reserve. Sources: Photo and information courtesy of Kerry Arroues, retired USDA-NRCS Soil Scientist, Hanford, CA. Dr. B.L. Allen was born in Hillsboro, TX in 1923. He taught soil science courses at Texas Tech University (TTU) in Lubbock, TX for almost 50 years and was involved in pedology research at TTU until his passing in 2012 at the age of 88. He was an exceptional combination of a knowledgeable, persistently inquisitive soil scientist and a direct, dapper gentleman. Dr. Allen was most especially a field soil scientist. He was recognized worldwide for his work on arid and semiarid soils, particularly in the areas of soil genesis, soil morphology, soil micromorphology, soil mineralogy (especially pedogenic calcite, gypsum, and silica), and clay mineralogy (particularly sepiolite and palygorskite). He worked closely with range scientists to document and understand the relationships between range vegetation and soils in drier climates. Although his research was focused on the Southern High Plains and the Chihuahuan Desert, he was interested in similar environments worldwide. He was honored with several prestigious awards, including the Soil Science Education Award and Soil Science Distinguished Service Award (both conferred by the Soil Science Society of America). Dr. Allen also coached the TTU Soils Judging Team for 40 years, leading them to five National Collegiate Soil Judging Championships. Dr. Allen received his B.S. in Agronomy (Soils Option) from TTU and both his M.S. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University majoring in Soil Science (Geology Minor), receiving his doctorate degree in 1959. While completing his graduate studies, Dr. Allen also served as an Instructor and Assistant Professor of Agriculture at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM. More than anything, Dr. Allen's students are his professional body of work. Dr. John Jacob, who completed his M.S. degree under Dr. Allen, commented that “he took a personal and abiding interest in each one of us. If he took you on as a student, you became a real ‘project’ for him. He saw much more in me than I saw in myself. I am forever indebted.” It is safe to say that this sentiment is echoed by all members of the loyal band of “Dr. Allen's students.” Contributed by Dr. Susan Casby-Horton, TTU Adjunct Professor, retired USDA-NRCS Soil Scientist and Dr. Nelson Rolong, Assistant State Soil Scientist, USDA-NRCS, Little Rock, AR.

Study Shapes and Alignments of Rotational States in Some Rare-Earth Nuclei

The ground state rotational band members for the studied nuclei have been identified and their energies calculated to about 0.3%. These energies provide good test of various models for rotational bands, and impressive agreement is observed with a theoretical calculations by the variable moment of inertia (VMI) model and cubic polynomial (CP) formula. In addition to giving an excellent fit to the excitation energy of the ground-band levels in all nuclei. Also reproduces a critical spin Ic beyond which the square rotational frequency ω2 decreases although the moment of inertia ℑ keeps on increasing, thus resulting in back bending in I -ω2 plot for some of the studied nuclei. This feature is predicted to appear not only in the deformed nuclei but also at quite low spins in nearly spherical nuclei as well. Also the formula contains the low and high spin behavior in agreement with the available experimental data.

Gender and Musical Instrument Stereotypes in Middle School Children

Previous studies have established that gender stereotypes are associated with children’s choice of musical instrument. Though some have suggested that these gender stereotypes may be trending toward change, other studies have indicated that gender stereotypes are long-standing and still very much at issue. This descriptive study of middle school band students ( N = 99) examined instrument gender stereotypes using improved methods of measurement and found evidence that instrument gender stereotypes remain entrenched and pose a persisting problem facing music educators. Importantly, younger and more inexperienced band members may be more open to counterstereotypical views. Suggested changes in research methods and directions for future study are discussed, as are implications for music educators.

Systematics of fine structure in the α decay of deformed odd-mass nuclei

We present a detailed analysis of the a-decay fine structure in 32 deformed odd-mass nuclei from Z = 93 to Z = 102. The α-decay half-lives are systematically calculated within the multichannel cluster model (MCCM), which turns out to well reproduce the experimental data and show the neutron deformed shell structure. The branching ratios for various daughter states are investigated in the MCCM and in the WKB barrier penetration approach, respectively. It is found that the MCCM results agree well with the experimental data, while the WKB results have relatively large deviations from the experimental data for the α transitions to the high-lying members of the rotational band.

When Tomorrow Began Yesterday: Kraftwerk's Nostalgia for the Past Futures

The Kraftwerkian rediscovery and revival of the “past futures” of the early 20th century was not primarily in order to predict or envision the future. Rather, Kraftwerk constructed a cultural and historical space that worked as an imaginary utopian/nostalgic refuge in the cultural situation of 1970s West Germany. This article demonstrates that Kraftwerk's nostalgic reflections were neither superficially imposed nor understandable within the narrow scope of “simple nostalgia.” Kraftwerk's futuristic nostalgia is a special way of creating historical narratives and images; it excludes sentimentality and rejects the idea of a Golden Age but, instead, re-imagines the past as a continuum of progressive development and as a source of inspiration and ideas. The imagined past becomes a nostalgic refuge, a space that has both restorative and reflective potential. Kraftwerk's retro-futurism and technological utopianism had a strong undercurrent that effectively employed nostalgic recollections from the adolescent years of the band members and revived some poignant experiences that were shared by an entire generation. Furthermore, Kraftwerk purposefully attempted to visualize and point out times and places in German history that could be identified without feelings of guilt, shame, and remorse. This article employs the concepts of restorative (utopian) nostalgia and reflective (ironic) nostalgia, both elaborated by Svetlana Boym. The primary material consists of four Kraftwerk albums released in 1974–78 and a selection of the published interviews of the band members.

Music and the Divine

In this article I discuss the way in which the Acid Tests, multimedia parties organized by author Ken Kesey in 1965 and 1966, were interpreted by the Grateful Dead, who played at the Acid Tests and were one of the most successful of the bands to emerge from the 1960s psychedelic scene in rock. In examining the construction of the meaning and significance of the Tests that band members created, we see a group that in many ways resembles a new religious movement struggling to create, make sense of, and free itself from its foundation story—a struggle repeated by many groups before and since.

Different collectivity in the two signatures of the i13/2 stemming band in 167Yb

Six lifetimes have been determined in the 5/2+ [642] band from vi13/2 parentage in 167Yb by means of Recoil distance Doppler-shift (RDDS) measurements carried out at the Cologne FN tandem. The deduced transition strengths and the level scheme are reasonably described by Particle plus triaxial rotor model (PTRM) calculations except for the behavior of the quadrupole collectivity in the two signatures of the 5/2+[642] band. In that band, the quadrupole collectivity of the favored signature is appreciably larger than this of the unfavored signature. The effect increases with increasing the spin. Naturally, the rigid PTRM cannot explain these features, but the structure of its wave functions suggests a possible solution. It is associated with the enhanced contribution of low-Ω orbitals from vi13/2 parentage in the favored signature compared to the unfavored one. This could selectively increase the deformation of the favored signature band members and give rise to a dynamic shape coexistence taking place between the two signatures which needs quantitative explanation by future theoretical work.

Breaking up is hard to do: the resilience of the rock group as an organizational form for creating music

Though there is a long tradition of band members quitting the group or taking a hiatus, the rock group as an organization to produce music continues to be both popular and economically viable. The research question addressed in this paper is whether or not it is a good idea to quit or take a hiatus from the group. We begin with a discussion of the framework for understanding why groups are formed and why they may be difficult to keep together. We then discuss differences between groups in the decade of the 1960s versus today. We argue that there is something unique about the output of the group even with the changes in the structure of contracts, compensation, and consumer focus on the artist that explain the resilience of the rock band as an organizational form within which to create music. We compare the charting success of bands that have members leave the group with the charting success of the members who left the group. We identified the groups in five representative years: 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, and 2005. We then analyzed the entire Billboard Hot 100 charting careers of those groups and the artists who quit those groups. Our main finding is that when charting success is divided equally among members, going solo pays off—there is a clear economic rationale because solo acts have greater average charting success than the original bands they started in. The other ensuing side projects: duos, collaborations, and other groups are not as lucrative as the original bands. These findings are valid for members of charting groups from each of the 5 years examined. Despite the difficulties in keeping a rock band together, there are fewer band breakups today and remaining with the group generally results in a longer and more productive charting career. Thus, the rock group remains an important organization for producing contemporary music. However, there remains a compelling incentive to go solo. Superstars may benefit from solo projects, but for the average, non-superstar group member, in many circumstances it is better for the band to stay together if the income is divided equally.

'I Know That Face' Murundak: Songs of Freedom and the Black Arm Band

‘This black armband view of our history’ was a phrase used by Prime Minister John Howard in a 1996 Sir Robert Menzies Lecture. Howard used the phrase, first coined by historian Geoffrey Blainey, to counter the arguments of opponents who were insisting that the post-contact treatment of the Aboriginal people must be recognised and included in Australian historical discourse and public forms of remembrance. The musical ensemble that is the subject of Natasha Gadd and Rhys Graham’s documentary film, Murundak: Songs of Freedom (2011) developed its name and its intention in protest against Howard’s dismissive rhetoric. This article examines the ways in which the film extends the platform for the Black Arm Band’s performances of cultural-political intervention begun in their highly successful murundak concerts. We argue that the film constructs an alternative Australian history through strategies that authorise the personal memories disclosed by the Aboriginal band members – the film’s protagonists – and enable them to be gathered into a form of collective, social memory. Songs and song-writing provide the focal point for this work of remembrance, and the unifying thread that weaves a regenerative narrative through three major stages of Aboriginal history: the struggle to survive; the process of healing; and reconnection with kin, country and language.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: The Resilience of the Rock Group as an Organizational Form for Creating Music

Though there is a long tradition of band members quitting the group or taking a hiatus, the rock group as an organization to produce music continues to be both popular and economically viable. The research question addressed in this paper is whether or not it is a good idea to quit or take a hiatus from the group. We begin with a discussion of the framework for understanding why groups are formed and why they may be difficult to keep together. We then discuss differences between groups in the decade of the 1960s versus today. We argue that there is something unique about the output of the group even with the changes in the structure of contracts, compensation, and consumer focus on the artist that explain the resilience of the rock band as an organizational form within which to create music. We compare the charting success of bands that have members leave the group with the charting success of the members who left the group. We identified the groups in five representative years: 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2005. We then analyzed the entire Billboard Hot 100 charting careers of those groups and the artists who quit those groups. Our main finding is that when charting success is divided equally among members, going solo pays off – there is a clear economic rationale because solo acts have greater average charting success than the original bands they started in. The other ensuing side projects: duos, collaborations and other groups are not as lucrative as the original bands. These findings are valid for members of charting groups from each of the five years examined. Despite the difficulties in keeping a rock band together, there are fewer band breakups today and remaining with the group generally results in a longer and more productive charting career. Thus the rock group remains an important organization for producing contemporary music. However, there remains a compelling incentive to go solo. Superstars may benefit from solo projects, but for the average, non-superstar group member, in many circumstances it is better for the band to stay together if the income is divided equally.

Singers take center stage! Personality traits and stereotypes of popular musicians

Despite some evidence that performing musicians tend to have distinct personality characteristics, there is little understanding of how specific positions in bands might be correlated with certain traits. Moreover, there is the possibility that such correlations are exaggerated via stereotypic social perception. In an online sample of popular musicians (including 87 bassists, 48 drummers, 115 guitarists, and 30 vocalists), we evaluated (a) differences in self-reported personality characteristics along the Big Five dimensions; and (b) perceptions of each kind of musician in terms of social category membership (e.g., “What are guitar players like?”). Singers were significantly more extraverted than bassists, and more open to experience than drummers. Whereas there were few differences among other musicians in self-reported personality, the various categories evinced stereotypes that were moderated by participants’ own positions in the band. For example, bass players were generally seen as the most agreeable band members, but this was especially true in the eyes of the bassists themselves. Results are interpreted with reference to biases associated with social categorization and group membership.

Using the elements of cooperative learning in school band classes in the United States

The purpose of this article is to answer the question of how we might use the elements of cooperative learning in school band classes in the United States. Current school band programs use age-old traditions that overemphasize group and individual competitiveness, stress large ensemble performance at the expense of all other activities, are teacher/director-centered, content/repertoire-driven, and rarely educate band members to be independent musicians capable of deeply understanding, creating, or responding to the art of music. Cooperative learning strategies provide music teachers with a theory- and research-based approach to education that promises students will learn more, like school better, like each other better, and learn more effective social skills when the approach is used. Over 50 years of empirical research reveals that when comparing cooperative learning to competitive and individualistic classroom efforts in the three broad categories of effort to achieve, interpersonal relationships, and psychological health, cooperative learning is the more effective approach. Cooperative learning elements may be implemented in band classes using small chamber music ensembles, small-group sectionals, and the formation of small cooperative learning groups. The implementation of the approach will naturally require additional effort on the part of the band director and a shift away from the traditional competitive performance emphasis of band programs.

Deformation and clustering in excited states of 42Ca

The coexistence of various low-lying deformed states in |$^{42}$|Ca and the |$\alpha $|–|$^{38}$|Ar correlations in those deformed states have been investigated using deformed-basis antisymmetrized molecular dynamics. Wave functions of the low-lying states are obtained via parity and angular momentum projections and the generator coordinate method (GCM). Basis wave functions of the GCM calculation are obtained via energy variations with constraints on the quadrupole deformation parameter |$\beta $| and the distance between |$\alpha $| and the |$^{38}$|Ar clusters. The rotational bands built on the |$J^\pi = 0_2^+$| (1.84 MeV) state as well as the |$J^\pi = 0_3^+$| (3.30 MeV) state are both reproduced. The coexistence of two additional |$K^\pi = 0^+$| rotational bands is predicted; one band is shown to be built on the |$J^\pi = 0_3^+$| state. Members of the ground-state band and the rotational band built on the |$J^\pi = 0_3^+$| state contain |$\alpha $|–|$^{38}$|Ar cluster structure components.

Improvement in South African students' outlook due to music involvement

In the spring of 2009, we started a concert band programme at a high school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In the fall of 2011, we returned to the school to measure the impact of participating in a concert band on the students' attitude and outlook. During our initial and return visits, we measured feelings of self-esteem, optimism, positive affect, negative affect, motivation to avoid losses and motivation to seek gains. We compared participants in our music group to a group of same-age students at the same school who were not part of the music programme. At the second testing, the band members, and not members of the control group, showed increased levels of optimism and motivation to seek gains. The music programme appears to have certain psychosocial benefits, improving aspects of attitude and outlook for participants in the band.

This Music Leaves Stains: The Complete Story of the Misfits by James Greene Jr (review)

This Music Leaves Stains: The Complete Story of the Misfits. By James Greene Jr. Lanham, MD: Scare - crow Press, 2013. [xii, 181 p. ISBN 9780810884373. $55.] Illustrations, notes, bibliography, annotated discography, index.The preface to James Greene Jr.'s This Music Leaves Stains: The Complete Story of the Misfits acknowledges the practical and conceptual difficulties in constructing an authoritative biographical account of any popular music group, but particularly that of a punk band that came into prominence in the 1980s, much of whose affective power lies in the mystique of the undocumented tales told about them, as well as in the ephemeral accounts of their performances-musical and otherwise. One of the central methodological concerns for Greene is one that many music scholars will find familiar: How does one write about a musical group in whom one is currently interested, but after the group's seminal musical output has long since been released, and is no longer part of the group's live performance? Further, the methodological difficulties faced by Greene are compounded by the lack of traditional documentary evidence often used to construct a standard historical account of musical performance and production. Greene recalls that his first sonic experience of the Misfits occurred over a decade after the release of the some of band's most infamous songs like Die, Die My Darling and Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight? as well as over a decade after the departure of founding member Glenn Anzalone (Glenn Danzig) from the group. Nonethe - less, Greene cultivated an intimate relationship with the music primarily through listening to Misfits albums. The cult magnetism of the Misfits's music, combined with the lack of verifiable accounts of the events surrounding the band's performances and the details of the members' lives, served as the locus of desire for Greene to publish this text. As such, he suggests that his book should be understood as a glimpse into the mysterious history of the Misfits and their music. Rather than attempt to construct a comprehensive history of the band-an untenable task-Greene suggests that [n]ot every mystery regarding this legendary band is solved in the pages that follow (which I suppose is just as well, lest these figures lose their entire sense of intrigue), but light is certainly shed on numerous aspects of the Misfits story . . . and the music is finally given what I hope is its full critical shake (p. xii). As we are propelled into the body of Greene's work, this gesture seems fitting as it recalls the title of the book in relation to the discursive practices of popular music research. Minute as it may be, the choice to call his text the complete story of the rather than the complete history, seems appropriate. A story, after all, suggests an embrace of fantasy, of the mysterious ethos of the Misfits, even if there remains an unverifiable truth-value to such accounts. With this, Greene sets out into the murky waters in search of a story to tell us about the legendary punk band the Misfits.The nine relatively brief chapters in This Music Leaves Stains form a structure that Greene's writing traverses by jumping from node to node, switching between discussions of a cobbled-together chronology of the Misfits, the personal backgrounds of specific band members, performance history and analysis, and the myriad stories of the interpersonal drama that seemed to constantly erupt between the different band members, as well as between the band and their audience, the press, or anyone else they encountered. In addition, particular attention is given to Glenn Danzig's post-Misfits musical projects, Samhain and Danzig, and brief mention of some of the other Misfits's side projects are also included, such as the bass- and guitar-playing brothers Jerry and Paul Caiafa's ( Jerry Only and Doyle) short-lived Christian heavy metal band Kryst the Conqueror. Chapter 1 stands out as the only chapter in the book that does not discuss the Misfits as a band per se; rather, it sets the scene that culminated in the formation of the Misfits. …

Preseason Fitness Levels of Marching Band Members

Preseason Fitness Levels of Marching Band Members

Starting from scratch: Forming a community of practice in an Australian late starters’ wind

Abstract Musical participation is a powerful form of community engagement, offering agency in positive ageing. Community music endeavours usually involve active music-making and acquisition of musical skills and understandings. Participants in such programmes elect to become involved, often taking responsibility for the survival of the group. This case study explores the understandings of members of a community band, the Second Wind Ensemble, formed in 1998 in Adelaide, South Australia. Initially, the band offered late starters the opportunity to learn an instrument. The ensemble now has approximately 60 players with a regular programme of concerts, rehearsals, tutorials and social gatherings. The band conductor is a professional music educator. This study chronicles the development of a community of practice with the band members gradually assuming responsibility for their ensemble. This discussion considers only the first two years in the history of the ensemble, during which time the roles of participants evolved. In this case study, the founder, conductor, organizer and a number of participants were interviewed and data analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The themes identified from these multiple perspectives focus on well-being, active engagement with community, the development of musical skills and understandings, and the formation of a community of practice.

On Aggro Performance: Audience Participation and the Dystopian Response to the Living Theatre’s Paradise Now

On Aggro Performance: Audience Participation and the Dystopian Response to the Living Theatre’s Paradise Now James Penner (bio) During the 1960s, rock performance sometimes included volatile confrontations with the audience. In some cases, performers stopped singing and attempted to taunt and provoke the crowd. One of the most famous examples of confrontation involved Jim Morrison of the Doors. During a concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami on March 1, 1969, Morrison abruptly stopped singing “Five to One” and began mocking the audience and their ingrained passivity: “You’re all a bunch of…idiots. You’re a bunch of slaves, man. How long you think its gonna last? How long you gonna let it last? How long you gonna let them push you around?”1 Later in the performance, he exhorted them to come up on the stage: “I wanna see you people come up here and have some fun! Come on now, let’s get on up here! No limits! No laws! Come on. Come on! Let’s do it.”2 After the stage was cleared, the lead vocalist began to enact a mock striptease; he took off his shirt and dangled it like a matador’s cape in front of his crotch. Although no evidence suggests that Morrison disrobed while performing in Miami, a Florida jury found him guilty of misdemeanor counts of “indecent exposure” and “open profanity” in October of 1970.3 Although many people are familiar with Morrison’s 1970 trial, few are aware that his controversial performance in Coconut Grove was actually inspired by the Living Theatre’s production of Paradise Now. On February 28, the night before the Miami concert, the Doors’ lead vocalist had witnessed a performance of Paradise Now at the University of Southern California’s Bovard Hall. Morrison, a former theater arts major at Florida [End Page 75] State University and UCLA, was an enthusiastic supporter of the Living Theatre.4 The rock vocalist was intrigued by their confrontational tactics, especially the radical troupe’s willingness to verbally assault the audience and thereby dismantle the “fourth wall” that separates the audience from the performers.5 Morrison’s invocation “come on now, let’s get on up here! No limits! No Laws!” was taken directly from “The Rite of Guerilla Theatre” (Rung 1) of Paradise Now. This is the moment when the Living Theatre actors invite the spectators to join the performance and create “paradise now” throughout the performance space. In their respective memoirs about the Doors, John Densmore and Ray Manzarek describe how Morrison invited all of the band members to a performance of Paradise Now. Densmore and Morrison’s accounts of Paradise Now highlight an important trend in the avant-garde theater of the 1960s: the desire to involve the audience in the performance event. In a traditional theatrical performance, the audience sits in the dark and acts as a voyeur for the actor’s performance onstage. Although audience members may laugh or applaud during certain moments of the performance, their participation in the theatrical event is firmly circumscribed by their role as spectators. Their primary function is to observe the performance, even from a safe and comfortable distance. For this reason, audience members are typically described as “passive.” Morrison was enthusiastic about Paradise Now precisely because it rejected the voyeur mode of spectatorship. Most ex post facto scholarly accounts of Paradise Now focus on the utopian aspects of the production and the company’s subversive political message (anti-war, anti-repression, and anti-establishment); these accounts suggest that audience participation within the production of Paradise Now was generally peaceful and liberating. Their readings of Paradise Now tend to emphasize the spectator’s transformative experience on the stage.6 This essay acknowledges the Living Theatre’s utopian intentions, but is primarily interested in what might be described as non-utopian responses to Paradise Now—specifically, how the Living Theatre’s confrontational tactics also engendered hostile responses from the audience. [End Page 76] Aggro Performance Paradise Now was a groundbreaking production precisely because it could not be easily digested by the audience. It pushed them to react in some way. The Living Theatre’s desire for radical confrontation implies...

I Drum, Therefore I Am: Being and Becoming a Drummer by Gareth Dylan Smith (review)

Reviewed by: I Drum, Therefore I Am: Being and Becoming a Drummer by Gareth Dylan Smith Mandy Smith I Drum, Therefore I Am: Being and Becoming a Drummer. By Gareth Dylan Smith. (SEMPRE Studies in the Psychology of Music.) Farnham, Surrey, Eng.: Ashgate, 2013. [xiv, 209 p. ISBN 9781409447948. $99.95.] Illustrations, appendices, bibliography, discography, index. Relatively few scholars pursue the study of percussion instruments, likely because the primary instruments of most music scholars are voice, string, wind, or keyboard instruments. Similarly, popular music scholars often fail to include thoughtful discussion of drums. There are a few notable exceptions—Steven Baur, Theo Cateforis, and Ingrid Monson have each contributed to the conversation on the role of drums in popular music. The work of Gareth Dylan Smith (no relation to this reviewer) suggests that the tides are shifting. He successfully completes the difficult task of writing the first monograph concentrating exclusively on kit drummers in I Drum, Therefore I Am. Smith focuses on the identities of drum set players, seeking to answer the research question “how are drummers ‘drummers’ and how do they learn to play?” (p. 2). Adapting a new framework for discussing identity, which he terms the Snowball Self, Smith examines ways that learning, experience, gender, and ethnicity influence drummers’ self-conceptions. He employs various qualitative research methods; namely, he uses questionnaires and personal interviews to collect data from both teenage and adult drummers in and around London. The author combines ethnographic, sociological, and music education methods, along with pop culture sources that range from drummer biographies to the famous Troggs Tapes (a recording of in-studio banter containing heated arguments between band members), in order to paint a much-needed picture of what it entails to become and to be a drummer. A drummer himself from the age of thirteen, Smith is uniquely qualified to lead the way in drum-centric academic scholarship; trailblazers in the discipline are often practitioners of their subjects. Smith draws not only from his experiences of playing in bands but also from his involvement in education by including anecdotes about lessons and classes he has both taken and taught. In his first chapter, Smith not only outlines goals, methodologies, and background scholarship, but he also explores some of the myths and stereotypes attached to drummers, observing that they are among the most teased, ridiculed, and misunderstood instrumentalists. Chapter 2, “The Snowball Self,” serves as an in-depth description of Smith’s framework for theorizing identity. Drawing from G. W. F. Hegel (specifically Phenomenology of Mind [1807; reprint, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1910]), Etienne Wenger (Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity [New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998]), and others, Smith views identity formation as a cyclical process in which different levels of identities—meta-identities and contextual identities—grow and change through both active and passive forms of identity realization and learning realization. The diagram on page 22 excellently illustrates his theory, showing that all types of realizations can flow to and from one another, and that they all affect identity. The words “time,” “culture,” and [End Page 446] “space” appear in the background, reminding the audience that these three factors are at play in the Snowball Self. Smith’s model is particularly well suited to providing insights into how identity works because the theory allows for so many factors to both influence the active, dynamic nature of identity and highlight the individual nature of it. Smith then investigates how drummers get started in their trade in his third chapter, “Learning to Play Drums.” He demonstrates that drummers participate in most types of learning (including formal, informal, group, visual, and aural learning). Next, he explores how drummers negotiate a small canon of revered performers in order to position themselves among one another, showing the role of influences on drummers. In chapter 4, the author revisits the complexities of identity before explaining what drummers do and how that changes their self-understanding. The Snowball Self model reveals how multifaceted and complicated drummers’ identities can be, but Smith also points out trends in drummers’ lives to show similarities. For example, he notes that many players begin drumming in their teens, find the activity to be...