“Come! Just hold the violin like this and look straight ahead” - what can children teach us about making music (and anthropology)?

Abstract

In 2013, a family of young musicians in the state of Ceará started a music education project in their community. Operating in their own home, in a popular neighborhood called Novo Mondubim, located at the southwestern outskirts of Fortaleza, the Cruz family organizes its eight members (mother, father and six siblings) to teach classical music to other kids in their neighborhood. Through discussing the ethnography of the daily life in this project, when all sorts of play take place, this essay proposes an approach to this classical music making that considers the kid’s experience and their own narratives about what it is to play and how they, in their own ways, reflect upon the musical practice that takes place there.

Keywords:
anthropology of children; musical anthropology; social projects; music education