MusicBeing as an entanglement of ideas and practices in ecology, resilience, spirituality, and well-being. A meta-narrative review

Facing a nexus of multiple crises, societies seem on the verge of transformation. Music education needs a transformative approach as societies do, being essentially situated in and contributing to this social change. To reflect upon a possible transformative vision, a closer look at the fundamentals seems crucial. Having read widely on music’s role across disciplines, we understood that music is a way of being present in the world and coined a term for this state: MusicBeing. We conceptualise the neologism MusicBeing from the perspective of music as ubiquitous intra-action under the premises of a fundamental relationality of all being. Thus, humans intra-act as musical affectors within dynamic, highly entangled eco-systems. We consider that while societies generally emphasise individuals’ merits, the notion of musical intra-action mirrors a shift of perspective from ego-system to eco-system. How is this eco-systemic relationality depicted in music education literature? We systematically analyzed a wide-ranging body of studies through a multi-layered, structured approach. We present preliminary findings of this meta-narrative review as an ongoing process of inquiry into MusicBeing.