Using poetry as data representation to explore music opportunities parents provide for their children at home

Abstract

This article presents poetry as data and reports on how this poetry was used to present themes that emerged in interviews with three parents of children under the age of 5 in a study of the music activities they chose to initiate in the home following a musical parenting workshop conducted by the researcher. Poetry written by the researcher was used to present interview ‘data’; that is themes that emerged from interviews. This was done because the interviewees showed no interest in reading transcripts of the interviews and discussing further issues that emerged. Poetry proved to further engage interviewees with themes that emerged through initial interviews, namely that the musical parenting workshop provided parents with new ideas for music making in the home, it engaged them as parents in listening more closely to what their children were doing musically, as well as having them able to identify the benefits of providing a wide range of music activities for their children.