I met Dr. Murciano at the University of Miami today. We have been in contact through e-mail for several months and he was nice enough to find some time to meet with me this afternoon. I explained my research project to him, and he was able to provide me with many contacts in the Miami area. He also helped guide my research project in a different direction. Ever since I got to Miami, I have felt like I am in the right place, but have the wrong topic. What I mean is that I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to travel to Miami and study/immerse myself in Cuban music and culture. What I have been unsure about is my focus on Cuban Music Education. This is a very obscure topic, and while it has merit, I don't feel that it is the right topic for me to explore at this moment. If I pursue that topic, I would not be able to delve as deeply to Cuban music history and other information that is readily available to me in Miami. What I really want to do is understand the history of Cuban Music over the past 100 years or so and determine the characteristics (harmonic, melodic, lyrics, etc.) that make Cuban music what it is. I am not exactly sure as of yet how these topics will fit together into a specfic research question, but I do feel that this is more on the right track of what I want to study. I can also incorporate my experiences with taking private Cuban music lessons, which could be the incorporation of the Music Education aspect of my original idea.
In any event, while I may still be unsure of exactly the question I would like to answer at the conclusion of my research, I have a better idea of the niche I would like to explore with my research. I am confident that with some more exploration and investigation, I will create a specific research question that will guide my project now and in the Fall when I am writing my research paper. In the meantime, I will continue to do what I have been doing thus far: listen to music, talk to Cuban musicians and scholars, explore the city of Miami, and constantly reassessing my purpose for being in Miami. I am quite confident that I will come upon a wonderful research question over the next several days!
Hi Jeff,
ReplyDeleteWhat great insights you already have into your research project and its continuing evolution! Keep at it -- the final research questions will surface with time. In the meantime, explore everything as widely as you can.
As you are interested in the music itself, maybe the impact that Miami has had will become clear. What about the interactions of Cubans among each other, their impact on each other? If you are doing interviewing of some 90+ year old musicians, what has been the impact of their coming to Miami on their lives generally, their families?
Take care, travel safely,
Sarah Sharp
Sarah makes very good questions. I personally thing that what you are focusing on now is much more interesting and fun than music education itself; even though when I think of it Music Education in Cuba would still be an interesting Topic. I never thought of it as having a cultural difference.
ReplyDeleteI love how your experience is taking you from one place to the other not only physically but intellectually. You will surely mature a lot from this and grow.