This article proposes an art-cycle model based on autoethnographical practice aiming toward the sustainable development of the performer’s agency through documenting, evaluating, and understanding their musical practice and experiences. Literature relating to the evaluation of the performer’s musical practice tends to rely on external parameters, rarely focusing on whether the performer’s needs are met. Furthermore, there appears to be a dichotomy between the rehearsal process and the live performance experience, as they are frequently treated as separate entities, whereas we argue that musical practice is a cyclical process, an art-cycle, with phases of rehearsal punctuated by moments of performance that are followed by rehearsals. In order to address issues relating to the academic validity of the artist’s experiences and the development of the performer’s agency as an artist/researcher, the art-cycle model is based on autoethnography, affording a sustainable and flexible means of investigating the art-cycle from the performer’s perspective. Therefore, we suggest that the proposed model could be incorporated into the performer’s practice in order to analyse, evaluate, and disseminate their experiences through an interaction between critical self-reflection with art-making and artistic output, producing new and pertinent knowledge compatible with both artistic subjectivity and academic prerogatives.
autoethnography; artistic methodologies; performance optimization; evaluation in music performance; artists’ agency
