• Complexity of Relationships

For some respondents, these disruptions to the orthodox relationship between performer and audience were an artistic justification for their involvement in participatory settings, with one commenting, "I've always been drawn to musical situations in which the divide between performer and audience is blurred" (Q-8). The blurring of conventional performance boundaries was also described in situational terms, as another level of complexity requiring awareness, attention and reflexivity:

There might be some settings where there's a clear separation between performers and audience. And some settings where everyone's either participants or potential participants. And sometimes there are situations where people have to move fluidly between those. (FG-5)

Through the experience of shared music making, this blurring of performance boundaries also enabled musicians to encounter other people as unique individuals, rather than as "representatives" of a more homogeneous grouping such as an "audience member" or a "participant":

Sharing the experience of making music has allowed me to get to know people who I would probably not have otherwise met, which has generally been very rewarding. (Q-4)

This sense of musicking as a form of "bridging" social capital in order to "generate broader identities and reciprocity" (Putnam 2001, p. 23) was also discussed in terms of the personal motivations, values and capabilities of those who sought out this kind of musical experience:

I do feel that often community musicians, people who want to do this kind of thing, feel able to connect with other people and communicate music and musical ideas towards groups that other musicians who don't go into community music may feel unable to. (FG-4)

For some, participatory music provided opportunities to explore music from a very different perspective, as a "performance" of relationship, where the impact can be profound:

Understanding the impact this might have on you as a musician is understanding the complex way that relationships form within different musical settings. (FG-7)
