Minerva Elements Records
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ItemLiminality: transformation through music performance( 2011)The purpose of this thesis is: (1) to define performance in broad terms, (2) to define liminality, (3) to define silence as it relates to music performance, (4) to examine the possibility of transformation or transportation of both audience and musician through the liminal experience of performance, and (5) to present guidelines and suggestions for music teachers and students to assist them in the development of a deeper understanding and practical experience of performance. In the first chapter, important terms including silence and liminality are defined, and Richard Schechner’s Whole Performance Sequence is employed as a template for a definition of performance. This sequence is divided into three main areas: pre-liminal - concerned with the experience and development of the musician; liminal - the period of time understood for the purposes of this study, as the performance; and post-liminal - the period immediately after a performance that continues beyond the participant’s reintegration with usual social routines. Victor Turner’s definition of the liminal process as the experience of becoming, (as opposed to a transition) provides the point of departure for an exploration into the possibility that increased awareness of and in the performance experience can create an environment for transformation and transportation for performer and audience. The anthropological notion that the liminal state may be achieved through participation in traditional, ritualised performance is compared to the liminal experience that unites contemporary musicians and audiences. The final chapter suggests a series of processes for the development of reflection and strategies for the establishment of a stronger relationship between audience and musician.