Music and Disability: A Critical Investigation into Popular Musicians with Limbs and/or Digits which are Absent (LDA)

McDermott, Robbie (2023) Music and Disability: A Critical Investigation into Popular Musicians with Limbs and/or Digits which are Absent (LDA). Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

This thesis explores music-making by people with LDA (limbs and/or digits which are absent). LDA ranges from a partially-absent digit to a fully-absent limb. Therefore, a musician with LDA needs to negotiate their impairment by bypassing their absence or using alternative limbs and digits. Otherwise, the musician uses their affected LDA on their musical instrument directly or through an adapted prosthetic device. The study is framed by (music) disability studies, disability representational studies, approaches to LDA musicality, and organisational and institutional support encompassing LDA musicality.

The research is informed by a mixed-method approach through textual analysis, case studies, thematic analysis, semi-structured interviews, and surveys. The thesis is structured around three empirical chapters. The first involves the media and musical representation of four prominent famous musicians with LDA. Each musician navigates their personal, musical, and medical histories and may present their LDA in numerous ways across various music and media settings. The focus then turns to grassroots, professional musicians with LDA and the wide range of playing approaches that LDA musicality possesses. In addition, the investigation includes the organisational support available to assist musicians with LDA incorporating the origins, remit, mission statement, personnel employed, funding and how its distributed, and the most notable projects of the music and disability organisations studied. To supplement this information, representative figures from UK-based music education hubs are surveyed to understand the broader landscape of LDA musicality. Finally, the main findings are drawn together, highlighting the need (and demand) for greater sharing and connectivity to improve solutions within LDA musicality. This discovery is followed by the much-discussed potential of a centralised knowledge base which, although ambitious, could facilitate this common goal.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Art, Media and American Studies (former - to 2024)
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	18 Dec 2024 09:49
Last Modified:	19 Dec 2024 11:09
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98024
DOI:

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