Brydie-Leigh Bartleet FAHA | Griffith University (original) (raw)

Papers by Brydie-Leigh Bartleet FAHA

Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 2024

Issue Addressed: There is an urgent need to investigate innovative and creative approaches in hea... more Issue Addressed: There is an urgent need to investigate innovative and creative approaches in health promotion that support work towards health equity. In response, this study explores the potential for arts, and community music specifically, to strengthen individual and collective well-being. Methods: This study used a qualitative case study methodology that involved interviews, focus groups and ethnographic observation with participants (N = 13), facilitator (N = 1) and support staff (N = 2) of an established community music initiative

Social justice research, Feb 19, 2024

This article presents outcomes from a critical interpretive synthesis inquiry exploring whether c... more This article presents outcomes from a critical interpretive synthesis inquiry exploring whether community music can contribute to more equitable societies. Drawing on 74 cross-disciplinary articles, we identify equity-related outcomes across three key categories: outcomes to improve the immediate wellbeing and life trajectories for individuals experiencing disadvantage; outcomes relating to the development of skills, knowledge and understandings empowering individual participants to enact positive social change within their communities; and outcomes with the potential to affect the root causes of social inequity. This review provides a solid foundation for further conceptual and theoretical development within and beyond the fields of social justice research and community music. Our findings will also be helpful for translating the creative and cultural benefits that community music practice could bring to addressing social justice issues in a wide range of complex contexts.

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Nov 14, 2009

In this article I consider how music can expand the creative possibilities of autoethnography. Li... more In this article I consider how music can expand the creative possibilities of autoethnography. Likewise, I also explore how autoethnography can offer musicians a means to reflect on their creative work in culturally insightful ways. In order to 'play out' these disciplinary considerations, I craft an autoethnographic narrative that centers on my own creative practice as a conductor. Moving between description and action, dialogue and introspection, my narrative reveals some of the complexities of reflecting and writing about music in this way. While this narrative is grounded in

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Jul 1, 2009

A modern conductor's relationship to the concept of authorship is particularly problematic when v... more A modern conductor's relationship to the concept of authorship is particularly problematic when viewed from a postmodern perspective. Its current incarnation remains narrowly conceived as a didactic relationship between a subservient interpreter and his or her obedient followers, and an all-significant composer. Because such relationships have been modelled on modern and pre-modern concepts of the self, tradition, knowledge and authority, they remain somewhat antithetical to postmodern concerns. Surprisingly, the marked mismatch between such manifestations of these relationships and postmodern perspectives has remained un-critiqued. Following the work of theorists such as Foucault and Barthes, this paper unpacks the lingering dualistic and hierarchical relationship that conductors currently have towards authorship. In light of Foucault's critique of the connection between the author and the text (score), it examines the way in which the author 'functions' as a part of the discourse itself, and how this then relates to conductors. It also critiques the myth of authorial authority and the 'knowable text' according to Barthes' work, and considers the pleasures and opportunities for creative revision and interplay with and beyond the text.

Routledge eBooks, Jul 21, 2021

International Journal of Community Music

This article outlines a conceptual framework for sharpening how we understand and articulate the ... more This article outlines a conceptual framework for sharpening how we understand and articulate the social impact of community music. Frequently community music programmes speak about bold social impact intentions, especially in areas relating to social justice, with little explanation about the processes that could lead to such changes and patchy details about the extent to which those changes have actually occurred. This is not to say these programmes are not having a positive social impact in communities. Rather, there is an opportunity for our field to sharpen how we conceptualize, identify, evaluate and communicate these outcomes. This article builds on a mounting evidence base of research in our field that documents the multifarious benefits that come from participating in community music. However, it takes this research a step further by providing a conceptual framework for critically thinking through how these positive outcomes can lead to the kinds of macro, systemic changes n...

Australian Journal of Social Issues

The arts remain largely absent from place-based policy, planning and programming in Australia, de... more The arts remain largely absent from place-based policy, planning and programming in Australia, despite a long history of working in place-based ways to create positive social change in communities. This systematic review aimed to address this absence, by providing a synthesis of evidence about the role that place-based arts can play in advancing social equity and addressing social disadvantage. Findings reveal a potential for the arts to create change across individual, community and societal levels, yet empirical evidence to support this potential is weak. Stronger evaluation frameworks that can support capturing the impact of localised place-based arts initiatives for translation into policy and practice are discussed.

Community music is flourishing in every imaginable location in Australia, from bustling urban cen... more Community music is flourishing in every imaginable location in Australia, from bustling urban centres to remote outback towns, and millions of people are participating on a weekly basis. Those are among the findings from the Sounds Links project, writes Brydie-Leigh Bartleet, researcher at the Queensland Conservatorium.

Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 2024

Social justice research, Feb 19, 2024

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Nov 14, 2009

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Jul 1, 2009

Routledge eBooks, Jul 21, 2021

International Journal of Community Music

Australian Journal of Social Issues

Navigating Music and Sound Education has been specifically written for pre-service teachers who a... more Navigating Music and Sound Education has been specifically written for pre-service teachers who are studying music education curriculum or pedagogy subjects. It features the voices of leading international academics in the field to illuminate issues of importance in preparing pre-service teacher education students. The engaging examples provided in each chapter are drawn from real-life educational settings, and enable readers to critically explore the perspectives presented by the authors and consider the application of such perspectives in their future practice.

Autoethnography is an autobiographical genre that connects the personal to the cultural, social, ... more Autoethnography is an autobiographical genre that connects the personal to the cultural, social, and political. Usually written in the first-person voice, autoethnographic work appears in a variety of creative formats; for example, short stories, music compositions, poetry, photographic essays, and reflective journals. Music Autoethnographies explores an intersection of autoethnographic approaches with studies of music. Written through the eyes, ears, emotions, experiences and stories of music and autoethnography practitioners, this edited collection showcases how autoethnography can expand musicians' awareness of their practices, and how musicians can expand the creative and artistic possibilities of autoethnography. The chapters in this ground-breaking volume stand independently as “musical lines” within themselves, and represent a diverse range of creative, performative, pedagogical and research contexts. When read together, they form a “harmonious counterpoint,” with common themes and contours, as well as contrasting rhythms and textures. Together these chapters produce a compelling story that shows how music can inspire autoethnography to sing, and how autoethnography can inspire musicians to reflect on the personal aspects of music creation and production.

Community Music in Oceania: Many Voices, One Horizon makes a distinctive contribution to the fiel... more Community Music in Oceania: Many Voices, One Horizon makes a distinctive contribution to the field of community music through the experiences of its editors and contributors in music education, ethnomusicology, music therapy, and music performance. Covering a wide range of perspectives from Australia, Timor-Leste, New Zealand, Japan, Fiji, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Korea, the essays raise common themes in terms of the pedagogies and practices used, pointing collectively toward one horizon of approach. Yet, contrasts emerge in the specifics of how community musicians fit within the musical ecosystems of their cultural contexts. Book chapters discuss the maintenance and recontextualization of music traditions, the lingering impact of colonization, the growing demands for professionalization of community music, the implications of government policies, tensions between various ethnic groups within countries, and the role of institutions such as universities across the region. One of the aims of this volume is to produce an intricate and illuminating picture that highlights the diversity of practices, pedagogies, and research currently shaping community music in the Asia Pacific.

This book explores the power music has to address health inequalities and the social determinants... more This book explores the power music has to address health inequalities and the social determinants of health and wellbeing. It examines music participation as a determinant of wellbeing and as a transformative tool to impact on wider social, cultural and environmental conditions. Uniquely, in this volume health and wellbeing outcomes are conceptualised on a continuum, with potential effects identified in relation to individual participants, their communities but also society at large. While arts therapy approaches have a clear place in the text, the emphasis is on music making outside of clinical contexts and the broader roles musicians, music facilitators and educators can play in enhancing wellbeing in a range of settings beyond the therapy room. This innovative edited collection will be of great interest to scholars and practitioners of music, social services, medical humanities, education and the broader health field in the social and medical sciences.

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.

Community music educators worldwide face the challenge of preparing their students for working in... more Community music educators worldwide face the challenge of preparing their students for working in increasingly diverse cultural contexts. These diverse contexts require distinctive approaches to community music- making that are respectful of, and responsive to, the customs and traditions of that cultural setting. For many community musicians
this might mean engaging with forms of community music- making that sit outside their own cultural traditions, comfort zones, or commonly used facilitation techniques.
Engaging in these different cultural environments can also prompt these community musicians to critically reflect on, problematize, and deepen their understandings of the field of community music and its core principles.
The challenge for community music educators then becomes finding pedagogical approaches and strategies that both facilitate these sorts of intercultural learning experiences for their students, and engage with communities in culturally appropriate ways.
This chapter unpacks these challenges and possibilities, and explores how the pedagogical strategy of community service learning can facilitate these sorts of dynamic intercultural learning opportunities. Specifically, it focuses on engaging with Australian First Peoples, and draws on eight years of community service learning in this field.

This volume offers educators, higher education institutions, communities and organizations critic... more This volume offers educators, higher education institutions, communities and organizations critical understandings and resources that can underpin respectful, reciprocal and transformative educative relationships with First Peoples internationally. With a focus on service learning, each chapter provides concrete examples of how arts-based, community-led projects can enhance and support the quality and sustainability of First Peoples’ cultural content in higher education. In partnership with communities across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada and the United States, contributors reflect on diverse projects and activities, offer rich and engaging first-hand accounts of student, community and staff experiences, share recommendations for arts-based service learning projects and outline future directions in the field.

At the heart of this project has been the desire to enhance the way in which Aboriginal and Torre... more At the heart of this project has been the desire to enhance the way in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural content is embedded in higher education arts curricula. It comes at a time when higher education institutions are facing growing pressure to make curriculum content more representative of and responsive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. In response, many Australian universities have established formal initiatives to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and intercultural competency across the curriculum. This has taken the form of policies and reconciliation action plans, community engagement initiatives, networks and councils of Elders. Despite the proliferation of such initiatives, the incorporation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into higher education curricula and cultures remains a challenging political, social and practical task. This project has sought to address this challenging task by positioning arts based service learning (ABSL) as a strategy through which Australian higher education institutions can promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural content for students in ways that also directly support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

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.

Director of Griffith’s innovative Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre (QCRC), and world lea... more Director of Griffith’s innovative Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre (QCRC), and world leading expert on community music, Professor Brydie-Leigh Bartleet explores how music can bring about social change and play a critical role in addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time. Drawing on work from recent national and international projects she has worked on and the latest research emerging from Griffith’s QCRC, she examines the critical role musicians, educators and researchers are playing in hospitals, prisons, war zones, post conflict settings, cultural reconciliation, aged care and environmental conservation. If you’re a community musician, educator, researcher or music lover, connected to the music industry, or if you work in other professions and are interested in the latest developments in music research, you will enjoy watching this.

International Journal of Community Music, 2023

Health Promotion International, 2023

This article reports on findings that indicate how First Nations musical activities function as c... more This article reports on findings that indicate how First Nations musical activities function as cultural determinants of health. Drawing on early findings from a 3-year Australian Research Council funded project titled The Remedy Project: First Nations Music as a Determinant of Health, we detail Australian and Ni Vanuatu First Nations musicians' reported outcomes of musical activity using a First Nations cultural determinants of health framework. The broader findings indicate that our respondents see musical activity as actively shaping all known domains of cultural health determinants, and some surrounding political and social determinants. However, this paper focusses specifically on the political and economic determinants that emerged in analysis as the most dominant subthemes. We argue that this study provides strong impetus for continued investigation and reconceptualization of the place of music in cultural health determinant models. Lay summary This article looks at how making and performing music, recording music and listening to music helps the health of First Nations peoples in Australia and Ni Vanuatu. Music is an important part of the lives of First Nations peoples from these places and so research was done to try to understand why it is meaningful. Music can be used as an outlet for personal feelings, and can also be a way that groups of people can express common concerns. First Nations musicians talked about how music makes them feel, and how music is used to strengthen relationships between people, and between people and their culture. Musicians also talked about how music helps them express their political and economic goals. The findings backed up existing First Nations' models of health that say that health for First Nations People's needs to be thought about in a holistic way. The findings also showed that the relationship between music and health needs to be studied more so that we can better understand how it helps maintain links with the past, gives a guide for the present and opens options for the future.

International Journal of Cultural Policy, 2022

Although UNESCO has a stated aim to incorporate culture into all development policies, culturally... more Although UNESCO has a stated aim to incorporate culture into all development policies, culturally integrated approaches to realising the United Nations' (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are arguably yet to gain widespread traction. Focusing on cultural practices relating to music and sound, this article explores the role of culture and cultural policy in advancing the SDGs in the Asia-Pacific, through three case studies. In Indonesia, a local project to document and sustain the music of the Indigenous Marapu people is generative positive health and wellbeing (SDG3), equality (SDG10) and community sustainability (SDG11) outcomes. In Australia, River Listening shows how artistic uses of underwater soundscapes can encourage local communities to learn about, and take action to support, life below water (SDG 14), while also increasing climate awareness and action (SDG13) and advancing sustainable cities and communities (SDG11). In Vanuatu, the Leweton Cultural Village is a community-led cultural enterprise advancing climate justice (SDG13), gender equality (SDG5), culturally appropriate education (SDG4), and economic prospects (SDG8) for the community, as well as increasing its resilience (SDG3). The authors consider how these and other examples might inspire deeper integration of culture, particularly cultural practices featuring music and sound, into policy efforts to achieve the SDGs in the Asia-Pacific.

International Journal of Music Education, 2020

Music higher education institutions are increasingly recognising the educational value of intercu... more Music higher education institutions are increasingly recognising the educational value of intercultural learning experiences. Delivering such learning experiences in a way that provides music students with a rich cultural and musical learning experience, rather than a superficial one, can be a challenging task, particularly in the case of short-term 'mobility' or 'study-abroad' programs. This paper explores ways to address this challenge by reflecting on student learnings from a suite of international study experiences, or 'global mobility programs', at one Australian tertiary music institution, run in collaboration with community partners, universities and NGOs in the Asia Pacific. Focusing on how intercultural music-making in the context can enhance students' musical practices and identities, we first outline the sociocultural contexts of our music global mobility programs in Cambodia, China and India, and explore the different modes of music-making these experiences afforded. We then draw on Coessens' "web of artistic practice" to explore site-specific examples of the ways in which global mobility programs can enhance students' musical practices and identities. These findings hold particular relevance for music educators and higher education institutions in justifying, designing and carrying out such intercultural experiences to maximise student learning and success.

Music Connects aims to activate youth (ages 15- 24) through state-of-the-art rock music education... more Music Connects aims to activate youth (ages 15-
24) through state-of-the-art rock music education, production, and promotion programs in Kosovo and North Macedonia. Music Connects features a carefully developed approach that seeks to build sustainable social inclusion and participation opportunities with young musicians leading the way. This evaluation
has examined the social difference that this program makes to participating youth and their communities. This evaluation has investigated the extent to which inclusion and connection among divided youth in Kosovo and North Macedonia have been achieved
in the programs delivered in three rock schools. Specifically, it has considered the outcomes of Music Connects in relation to social connections, inclusion, changing of perspectives and mobility, and the practices, values, and strategies that facilitate these. This report identifies factors that influence the depth of bonds that may be created, and it foregrounds the voices and perspectives of the young musicians involved, who are the frontline beneficiaries of the program.