Files
Download Full Text (38 KB)
Abstract
For my Culminating Experience project, Shifting Perspectives: A Musical Exploration of My Experience as a Woman in Jazz Education, I wrote, arranged, and recorded five compositions reflecting on my experience growing up as a young female trumpet player. The narrative of these compositions present an alternative to the narrative of jazz standards from the “Great American Songbook”. My objective with this project is to create space for young women to see their stories as important enough to be a part of jazz music.
I wanted to address issues with the “Great American Songbook”, the tunes I grew up learning, the misrepresentation of the role of women in jazz history, and the unacknowledged social system that I experienced in jazz education, that resulted in the isolation of young women in these spaces. I decided to write music that explores these issues, and drives a shift in perspective.
The compositions in my project speak to who young women are in their lives now—their feelings, worries, and dreams of who they want to become. This project will show young women their stories are important, and how they can be part of the tradition of storytelling through improvised music.
Publication Date
7-1-2024
Campus
Boston Campus
Recommended Citation
Thompson, Bell. “Shifting Perspectives: A Musical Exploration of My Experience as a Woman in Jazz Education.” Master's thesis, Berklee College of Music, 2024. https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-global-jazz/174.