Music Saved Them, They Say

Music Saved Them, They Say: Social Impacts of Music-Making and Learning in Kinshasa (DR Congo) explores the role music-making has played in community projects run for young people in the poverty-stricken and often violent surroundings of Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The musicians described here – former gang members and so-called "witch children" living on the streets – believe music was vital in (re)constructing their lives. Based on fieldwork carried out over the course of three-and-a-half years of research, the study synthesizes interviews, focus group sessions, and participant observation to contextualize this complicated cultural and social environment. Inspired by those who have been "saved by music", Music Saved Them, They Say seeks to understand how structured musical practice and education can influence the lives of young people in such difficult living conditions, in Kinshasa and beyond."... a tribute to the persistence, engagement and courage of the people in these projects, who can be proud that their work is now exposed to a global audience, not just of researchers but also to practitioners around the world who could learn from and be inspired by these hitherto unknown projects."—John Sloboda, Research Professor, Guildhall School of Music & Drama"This book is very moving but never sentimental, one of the best accounts of music's real transformative capacities that I have come across."—Lucy Green, Emerita Professor of Music Education, University College London Institute of Education

"It has been a notable feature of Pairon’s approach to his research that it has been conducted with and for his participants. Their voices are so vivid, brought to life with a plethora of detailed quotes that one can almost feel present in the room as they make and discuss their music. In this way, the book is also a tribute to the persistence, engagement and courage of the people in these projects, who can be proud that their work is now exposed to a global audience, not just of researchers but also to practitioners around the world who could learn from and be inspired by these hitherto unknown projects. Accordingly, the language of this book is accessible and non-technical to promote maximum engagement."—John Sloboda, Research Professor, Guildhall School of Music & Drama"Lukas Pairon has given us an exhilarating and incisive read, one in which he systematically dismantles the many myths that glorify music's 'magical powers' to change lives and replaces them with insightful, analytical assessments that allow the voices of the participant musicians to be heard in more ways than one. Through the process, he powerfully demonstrates how music can realistically change people's lives, in ways that are both limited but also profound. This book is very moving but never sentimental, one of the best accounts of music's real transformative capacities that I have come across."—Lucy Green, Emerita Professor of Music Education, University College London Institute of Education, "It has been a notable feature of Pairon’s approach to his research that it has been conducted with and for his participants. Their voices are so vivid, brought to life with a plethora of detailed quotes that one can almost feel present in the room as they make and discuss their music. In this way, the book is also a tribute to the persistence, engagement and courage of the people in these projects, who can be proud that their work is now exposed to a global audience, not just of researchers but also to practitioners around the world who could learn from and be inspired by these hitherto unknown projects. Accordingly, the language of this book is accessible and non-technical to promote maximum engagement."—John Sloboda, Research Professor, Guildhall School of Music & Drama"Lukas Pairon has given us an exhilarating and incisive read, one in which he systematically dismantles the many myths that glorify music's 'magical powers' to change lives and replaces them with insightful, analytical assessments that allow the voices of the participant musicians to be heard in more ways than one. Through the process, he powerfully demonstrates how music can realistically change people's lives, in ways that are both limited but also profound. This book is very moving but never sentimental, one of the best accounts of music's real transformative capacities that I have come across."—Lucy Green, Emerita Professor of Music Education, University College London Institute of Education

Lukas Pairon is the co-founder and director of the international research platform SIMM (Social Impacts of Making Music).