Musical Belonging: A Scoping Review on Interpersonal Relationships within Music Ensembles

Abstract

A sense of belonging and community are features that are often hailed as benefits of participation in musical ensembles. The interactions between directors and musicians and amongst musicians have been examined in a wide range of contexts, in attempts to better understand what aspects of these relationships may contribute to teaching, learning, music-making, and belonging. In this scoping review, we examined the extent of the research on this topic published between 2003 to 2023. Thematic analysis of keywords pertaining to relationships within the 166 identified studies resulted in seven emergent themes: 1) Belonging and Connection, 2) Leadership, 3) Social and Pedagogical Interactions, 4) Atmosphere and Environment, 5) Identity, 6) Well-being, and 7) Director Traits. Findings highlight both a strong base of literature on the topic of relationships, as well as clear gaps that warrant a systematic review.

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