Autoethnography of a Composer witha New Composing Method / Malcolm Philip Brooks.
(Book - Regular Print)

ProQuest Document ID: 1423058000

Advisor: Rick Medrick

Dissertation (Ph.D) -- Prescott College, 2013

This auto ethnography examines how a timid young boy grew up to become a confident music composer and how he developed a method of auto ethnographic songwriting. Through a process of systematic narrative inquiry and hermeneutic analysis, the study uncovers personal insights in self-awareness and in compositional technique. The study examines how the author reacted to personal and professional failures, regained emotional equilibrium through creative expression, and developed a method of transforming spoken text into complete songs. The study also considers how educational practices and cultural expectations in the late twentieth century American affected the composer's musical upbringing and sense of belonging. Additionally, the study recounts how the composer trained his own mind and body to perceive tempo and syncopation in order to compensate for a lack of an innate sense of rhythm. The study illuminates the transforming effect that acts of creativity had on this individual's belief system and how they helped him sustain his enthusiasm for life.