Navigating Identities: The Musical Lives of Four Second-Generation Immigrant Children

Abstract

This collective case study explored the musical lives of second-generation immigrant children in Miami, Florida, USA, to gain greater insight into music’s role in the negotiation, construction, and expression of their “identities in music” and “music in identities.” Four children between the ages of 8 and 12 who had at least one parent born outside of the United States participated in the study. Data were collected through participant-created artifacts, observations, and semistructured interviews with the children and other key figures in their homes and communities. Findings suggest that the children explored and evaluated their musical identities through a continuous cycle of musical experiences and social comparisons and that formal, informal, and nonformal music experiences in school, at home, and with the media informed the children’s understandings and expressions of musical identities. Additionally, music allowed the children to explore the values, traditions, and expectations of particular social groups. Children’s musical experiences also served as a source for understanding, maintaining, and expressing their ethnic, gender, and youth identities.