The Everyday Organization of "the Individual"

An Auto-ethnography of "Hesitation" and "Decision" with a Musical Instrument

Abstract

This paper explores solitary activities as one of the activities that form part of the social life of musicians. By doing so, the paper attempts to reconsider relational music research. "The individual" seems to be one of the concepts connected with solitary activities. This paper specifies and characterizes "the individual" at the level at which it is oriented and organized in everyday practice. Specifically, the paper analyzes the "hesitations" and "decisions" found in the field notes that describe the author's activity of selecting strings for a musical instrument. The paper shows that the process of orchestrating solitary activities is organized as a result of their active execution and as a removal of doubt concerning the capabilities of the individual. Drawing on this finding, the paper argues for the importance of the exploration of the everyday world as a condition for relational music research.