The Sociomusical Projects: a Total Social Fact in the Spiral Flow of Time Between Roses and Thorns

Abstract

This article constitutes an updated synopsis of my doctoral research (Kleber 2006), which delved into musical practices within Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The empirical field encompassed two specific NGOs: the Meninos do Morumbi Association in São Paulo City and the Villa-Lobinhos Project in Rio de Janeiro City. Both entities were dedicated to socio-educational initiatives committed to musical education for children and youth residing in urban peripheries and/or favelas of their respective cities. The research objectives were focused on comprehending the configuration of these spaces of musical education within the socio-cultural context of musical education, conceptualized as a social phenomenon. Musical practices were analysed through the lens of their socio-cultural constitution (SHEPHERD E WICKE Shepherd e Wicke 1998), with the pedagogical-musical process being conceptualized as a "total social fact" (Mauss 2003). This emphasized its status as a social phenomenon characterized by systemic, structural, and complex traits, and consequently, pluridimensional in nature. The generation of socio-musical knowledge within NGOs was perceived as a product of the dynamic interplay of social forces that carve out spaces for the emergence of novel forms of knowledge