Ways of doing ethnomusicology: challenges and limits

Abstract

My research journey is defined by a progressive adoption of dialogic, collaborative and participatory research practices in collaboration with the people of the fieldwork universe. In 2022, the Skopeofonia team will celebrate ten years of the creation of the project, the first clearly and intentionally applied project in ethnomusicology in Portugal. After Skopeofonia, the team developed Project SOMA (2018-2022). Both projects have some common characteristics: the integration of non-academic researchers into the team, the use of shared research practices and a strong collaboration with non-academic institutions. In previous publications, I analyzed the limits of ethnography in participatory projects. At the root of the problem was the fact that I had a double role in the project: a PhD candidate who could not submit a collective thesis and a researcher that was trying to establish different ways of doing research in ethnomusicology in Portugal. The tenth anniversary of Skopeofonia and the conclusion of the SOMA Project in July 2022 constitute a perfect and necessary moment to reflect on ways of doing ethnomusicology. In this paper, I and non-academic researchers of the team will discuss the challenges and limits of research practices in participatory projects. The discussion will be presented through an individual and collective perspective.