Books by Lee Higgins
Fusion Looked After Children Research Report, 2018
Commissioned by soundLINCS and funded by Youth Music, the purpose of this document is to articula... more Commissioned by soundLINCS and funded by Youth Music, the purpose of this document is to articulate the findings of an investigation focused on the efficacy of a training initiative which sought a greater understanding of music, and its value as a resource and intervention for Children’s Services Practitioners (CSPs) in Lincolnshire. The research team took part in a number of training days and engaged the participants in interviews and focus groups exploring the interaction between the Community Music Facilitator and the Children’s Services Practitioners, the music skills being passed on and their potential impact on the workforce. Questions included: What are the distinctive approaches to music development CPD in the soundLINCS project? What are each stakeholder group’s experiences of music development CPD? What is the perceived impact of music development CPD from the perspectives of each stakeholder group? What are the wider implications of the project?
Both responding and adding to the existing literature on Looked After Children and associated theoretical frameworks, workforce development, and projects that have previously engaged with music making the research findings suggested that (1) All participants on the training had a significant experience of music and were able to articulate its importance throughout their life journey; (2) A distinctive aspect of the soundLINCS training was to engage participants in a reflective dialogue of their music experience. Reflective practice was embedded in the training and resonated with the participants; (3) The training approach was effective and connected deeply with the Children’s Services Practitioners, aligning the personal to the professional. This created a springboard through which the workforce could employ music in developing relationships with the client group in the future; (4) The workforce valued the training and saw it as something different to the usual CPD offer; (5) The workforce indicated that working with music, in the way they were shown had the potential for supporting issues around behaviour and communication. In order to achieve greater impact they would need further resources, particularly technology based ones and importantly senior management support.
One of the objectives of the funding that supported the projected was to establish an evidence base that might be replicable beyond the geographic location. Because of the limited sample size and range of stakeholders engaged, this research can only point to the desirability to upscale the project. It is however clear that the primary research and literature point towards the potential benefits of rolling out CPD music training to the Looked After Children workforce.
Community music as a field of practice, pedagogy, and research has come of age. The past decade h... more Community music as a field of practice, pedagogy, and research has come of age. The past decade has witnessed an exponential growth in practices, courses, programs, and research in communities and classrooms, and within the organizations dedicated to the subject. The Oxford Handbook of Community Music gives an authoritative and comprehensive review of what has been achieved in the field to date and what might be expected in the future. This Handbook addresses community music through five focused lenses: contexts, transformations, politics, intersections, and education. It not only captures the vibrant, dynamic, and divergent approaches that now characterize the field, but also charts the new and emerging contexts, practices, pedagogies, and research approaches that will define it in the coming decades. The contributors to this Handbook outline community music's common values that center on social justice, human rights, cultural democracy, participation, and hospitality from a range of different cultural contexts and perspectives. As such, The Oxford Handbook of Community Music provides a snapshot of what has become a truly global phenomenon.
Engaging in Community Music: An Introduction focuses on the processes involved in designing, init... more Engaging in Community Music: An Introduction focuses on the processes involved in designing, initiating, executing and evaluating community music practices. Designed for both undergraduate and graduate students, in community music programmes and related fields of study alike, this co-authored textbook provides explanations, case examples and ‘how-to’ activities supported by a rich research base.
Book Chapters by Lee Higgins
A community musician facilitator’s toolkit of skills enables them to engage deeply with musicians... more A community musician facilitator’s toolkit of skills enables them to engage deeply with musicians on both an interpersonal and musical level. This distinctive approach to practice has developed in response to cultural environments in which the ever-increasing commercialization and commodification of music practices has resulted in people’s widespread disengagement from active music making. The purpose of this chapter is to explore community music practice as an “intervention” under the guidance of a music facilitator. Four case studies are used to illustrate
the central notions of this approach. Underpinning these four case studies is also the concept of musical excellence in community music interventions. This notion of excellence refers to the quality of the social experience – the bonds formed, meaning and enjoyment derived, and sense of agency that emerges for individuals and the group – considered alongside the musical outcomes created through the music making experience. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the ways in which community music opens up new pathways for reflecting on, enacting, and
developing approaches to facilitation that respond to a wide range of social, cultural, health, economic, and political contexts.
Initially an ‘alternative’ approach to formal education within developing countries, interest in ... more Initially an ‘alternative’ approach to formal education within developing countries, interest in non-formal education emerged from those who felt that formal education systems alone could not respond to the challenges of modern society. In this chapter I introduce the concept of non-formal education and describe how these approaches have been applied to understanding musical development and learning with young people through processes such as facilitation. Through five illustrations of practice including popular music in a youth club and samba in a school, I explore the experiences of young people and the processes that enable these experiences to become crucibles of musical expression. In conclusion I suggest that value and recognition be given to non-formal music education in the context of promoting life-long musical learning.
Although the term “community music” can be understood in a variety of ways, reflecting a myriad o... more Although the term “community music” can be understood in a variety of ways, reflecting a myriad of possible contexts and musical situations (Veblen, Messenger, Silverman, & Elliott, 2013), this chapter has its focus on community music as an active intervention between a music leader and the participants with whom he or she is working (Higgins, 2012). As a form of thoughtful disruption, intervention denotes an encounter with “newness,” a perspective that seeks to create situations in which new events innovate and interrupt the present toward moments of futural transformation (Bhabha, 1994). Although there might be a danger that those who intervene are seen as an all-knowing Other, my particular location of intervention follows postmodern thinking inasmuch as there is an insistence of the emergence of the in-between, of boundary crossing through negotiation. Actions of interventions, which could include leading workshops, facilitating discussions, or supporting groups in their musical endeavors, demand deliberate strategies that seek to enable people in finding self-expression through musical means. Using teaching concepts rooted in non-formal education (A. Rogers, 2004), such as facilitation (Hogan, 2002), the pedagogic approaches employed by community musicians place an emphasis on negotiation through collaboration, and thus learning takes place through a “bottom-up” rather than “top-down” approach. With a heart toward coauthorship, collaborative group work, and a belief in the creative potential of all sections of the community, those who work in, and advocate for, community music have attempted to transform attitudes, behaviors, and values toward music making through their practice. This in turn has led to critical questioning surrounding the appropriateness of current music education provision in areas such as inclusion, community responsibility, creative opportunities, diversity, and preparation for a life in music making. This chapter has its focus on the creation of musical spaces that are open to each individual participant. Through two illustrative cases and a conceptual framework informed by Jacques Derrida’s writings on justice, I reveal why these music projects can be understood as sites for social justice and thus examples of hospitable music making.
Papers by Lee Higgins
Libreria musicale italiana eBooks, 2020
Community music therapy and applied ethnomusicology represent approaches to music making that ena... more Community music therapy and applied ethnomusicology represent approaches to music making that enable a deeper understanding of community music. The purpose of this paper is to acknowledge and explore these two areas of musical discourse and, in doing, point toward possible connections, meeting points, and differences in order to invigorate future conversations and collaborations. In conclusion, I suggest that there are more opportunities in community music, more room for scholarly discourse and more open floor for international debate. This constitutes an opportunity to strengthen distinctive fields and through collaboration bolster their philosophical, and thus political, positions in the broader discourse of music education
Over the last few years community music has moved from an emergent practice to a fully fledged fi... more Over the last few years community music has moved from an emergent practice to a fully fledged field consolidated through recent publications. This has given community music a scholarly arm not previously seen and as such opened the practice toward other musical domains including music therapy, ethnomusicology, and music education. In this keynote address I will consider the following questions: What makes community music practices distinctive? Why is community music important? and Why should music educators care? After situating community music within an international field of practice I will illustrate why I think community music should play an important role in music education. By describing community music as an ‘act of hospitality’ I will unravel some of its pedagogical characteristics and suggest how community music might impact music education more generally.
21st Century Innovation in Music Education, 2019
Copyright in individual works within the repository belongs to their authors or publishers. You m... more Copyright in individual works within the repository belongs to their authors or publishers. You may make a print or digital copy of a work for your personal non-commercial use. All other rights are reserved, except for fair dealings or other user rights granted by the ...
Copyright in individual works within the repository belongs to their authors or publishers. You m... more Copyright in individual works within the repository belongs to their authors or publishers. You may make a print or digital copy of a work for your personal non-commercial use. All other rights are reserved, except for fair dealings or other user rights granted by the ...
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Books by Lee Higgins
Both responding and adding to the existing literature on Looked After Children and associated theoretical frameworks, workforce development, and projects that have previously engaged with music making the research findings suggested that (1) All participants on the training had a significant experience of music and were able to articulate its importance throughout their life journey; (2) A distinctive aspect of the soundLINCS training was to engage participants in a reflective dialogue of their music experience. Reflective practice was embedded in the training and resonated with the participants; (3) The training approach was effective and connected deeply with the Children’s Services Practitioners, aligning the personal to the professional. This created a springboard through which the workforce could employ music in developing relationships with the client group in the future; (4) The workforce valued the training and saw it as something different to the usual CPD offer; (5) The workforce indicated that working with music, in the way they were shown had the potential for supporting issues around behaviour and communication. In order to achieve greater impact they would need further resources, particularly technology based ones and importantly senior management support.
One of the objectives of the funding that supported the projected was to establish an evidence base that might be replicable beyond the geographic location. Because of the limited sample size and range of stakeholders engaged, this research can only point to the desirability to upscale the project. It is however clear that the primary research and literature point towards the potential benefits of rolling out CPD music training to the Looked After Children workforce.
Book Chapters by Lee Higgins
the central notions of this approach. Underpinning these four case studies is also the concept of musical excellence in community music interventions. This notion of excellence refers to the quality of the social experience – the bonds formed, meaning and enjoyment derived, and sense of agency that emerges for individuals and the group – considered alongside the musical outcomes created through the music making experience. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the ways in which community music opens up new pathways for reflecting on, enacting, and
developing approaches to facilitation that respond to a wide range of social, cultural, health, economic, and political contexts.
Papers by Lee Higgins
Both responding and adding to the existing literature on Looked After Children and associated theoretical frameworks, workforce development, and projects that have previously engaged with music making the research findings suggested that (1) All participants on the training had a significant experience of music and were able to articulate its importance throughout their life journey; (2) A distinctive aspect of the soundLINCS training was to engage participants in a reflective dialogue of their music experience. Reflective practice was embedded in the training and resonated with the participants; (3) The training approach was effective and connected deeply with the Children’s Services Practitioners, aligning the personal to the professional. This created a springboard through which the workforce could employ music in developing relationships with the client group in the future; (4) The workforce valued the training and saw it as something different to the usual CPD offer; (5) The workforce indicated that working with music, in the way they were shown had the potential for supporting issues around behaviour and communication. In order to achieve greater impact they would need further resources, particularly technology based ones and importantly senior management support.
One of the objectives of the funding that supported the projected was to establish an evidence base that might be replicable beyond the geographic location. Because of the limited sample size and range of stakeholders engaged, this research can only point to the desirability to upscale the project. It is however clear that the primary research and literature point towards the potential benefits of rolling out CPD music training to the Looked After Children workforce.
the central notions of this approach. Underpinning these four case studies is also the concept of musical excellence in community music interventions. This notion of excellence refers to the quality of the social experience – the bonds formed, meaning and enjoyment derived, and sense of agency that emerges for individuals and the group – considered alongside the musical outcomes created through the music making experience. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the ways in which community music opens up new pathways for reflecting on, enacting, and
developing approaches to facilitation that respond to a wide range of social, cultural, health, economic, and political contexts.