Kaylie Streit
Ethnomusicology, University College Cork
Abstract
This paper explores the potential for creative practice to inform ethnographic research through a case study of classical cellists who have transitioned into Irish traditional music performance. In my own creative practice, I transitioned from classical performance and negotiated Irish traditional music culture while playing a ‘non-traditional’ instrument. The musical and embodied knowledge gained enabled a deeper engagement with musicians’ experiences during fieldwork, allowing an exchange that went beyond verbal communication alone. Thus, in fusing creative practice and the traditional interview format I demonstrate that experiential and embodied knowledge deepens our understanding of how cellists transition from classical to Irish traditional music and how they negotiate and embody a new musical culture.
Keywords
Creative Practice; Embodied Knowledge; Irish Traditional Music; Cello, Auto-ethnography; Ethnomusicology
Author contact: 116221206 [at] umail.ucc.ie
Citation: Streit, K., 2019. “Knowing by Doing: Connecting to the Field in Irish Music through Creative Practice on the Cello”, Irish Journal of Anthropology, 22(1), 305-317.