LAUIL601 - PRIMARY RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE - CONCLUSION

FORMAL CONCLUSION DRAWN FROM 14 PARTICIPANT QUESTIONNAIRES

Having carried out a primary research investigation, I have been able to collate a range of opinions on the topics most influential to my work. I have chosen to carry out this research towards the end of my project in order to seek validation for the decisions I have made and to see if my research project is substantiated by the concerns of my participants.

On the issue of what it means to be part of a brass band, or why people may join,  the most common themes raised were the camaraderie and community spirit offered by one. Community was acknowledged in the form of a collective identity, sharing a common goal, and feeling a joint fulfilment from entertaining the surrounding community. Whilst this sense of community is through a social hobby, it seems to resonate with the sense of collectivism attributed to industrial communities. 

Family and local tradition or culture was also raised as a reason behind the practice, and something celebrated as a benefit of brass bands over other musical outlets. Participants discussed the sense of tradition and history behind brass bands and how these often achieve a real connection with their communities, particularly from the point of view of them being accessible to players and audiences from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds.

Whilst my research focuses on the role of brass bands in working-class industrial communities, this is a context that was raised by only three of fourteen participants, perhaps revealing the loss of context and identity surrounding modern brass bands.

The issue of identity brought up a clear collective opinions. Associations with industry, the cloth-cap image, the North, and the working-class, were observations raised by most, corroborating my contextual research.

An observation that was raised, which opened up a new avenue of thought, was the duty the band has to its modern community; offering a multi-generational social activity, promoting community cohesion, offering entertainment for local people, by local people. These roles perhaps suggest the importance of re-appraising that collective identity embodied in the mining communities, but for the purpose of community cohesion, supporting my endeavour to modernise the visual language of mining banners. One participant also acknowledged the role of certain, more established bands, in upholding links to heritage, being the one familiar thing a community can celebrate in relation to their shared past and heritage. 

The practice of carrying out this research questionnaire helped to substantiate some concerns already explored in my research, but also raised new concerns which fell into a similar need for a collective visual identity. From both my primary and secondary research, it is clear that the brass band has a duty of care to its community, as an emblem of tradition and heritage, but also as an advocate of collectivism and pride, suggesting that to have an object such as the mining banners, would create a central object around which the practice would evolve.