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242 Psychology of Music 39(2) Work-related alcohol consumption among musicians has been attributed to its role in maintaining group membership (Grønnerød, 2002; Raeburn, 1999; Wills & Cooper, 1984). Alcohol research has highlighted occupational cultures amongst journalists and naval officers (Cosper & Hughes, 1982) and manufacturing plant workers (Ames & Grube, 1999; Ames & Janes, 1987) where workrelated drinking ‘becomes normative behaviour that is interactive with the overall organizational culture of the workplace’ (Ames & Janes, 1992), playing an important role in the formation and maintenance of social networks. Data from Martin, Roman, and Blum’s (1996, p. 593) crossoccupational sample indicated that ‘participation in a work-based drinking network ... emerged as a powerful predictor of problem drinking status’, with employees who regularly drank with colleagues more likely to view drinking as a means of coping with job dissatisfaction or job stress. Wills and Cooper (1988) focused on the sources of occupational stress faced by popular musicians, considering the effects of musicians’ lifestyles on well-being and mental health. While financial security and sporadic working patterns were significant sources of stress, the greatest sources of pressure originated from maintaining standards of playing to a level that met the musicians’ own ideals. However, this study’s tendency to finely categorize the types of musician working within the popular field (using player categories such as ‘jazz/gig’, ‘commercial/gig’ and ‘commercial/session’) does not adequately reflect the current need for both popular and classical freelance musicians to be as adaptable as possible to ensure financial survival in a competitive work environment (Bennett, 2007; Cottrell, 2007). This is particularly the case for jazz musicians, who are often less well remunerated than popular musicians performing in other styles (Cottrell, 2004), with the ‘jazz life’ characterized as one of ‘relative poverty and hard work’ (MacDonald & Wilson, 2005, p. 405). From a predominantly classical perspective, research has begun to address the health problems of conservatoire students (e.g., Ginsborg, Kreutz, Thomas, & Williamon, 2009; Williamon & Thompson, 2006), and their experiences of the often difficult transition between amateur and professional states (Burland & Davidson, 2002). In research concerned with fully professional musicians, Marchant-Haycox & Wilson (1992) attributed classical musicians’ high levels of stress to a competitive work environment, constant criticism from external sources, and unconventional working patterns. The ICSOM survey of 2,212 orchestral musicians’ health, which encompassed both physical and psychological problems, found that medical problems were most prevalent among string players (Fishbein et al., 1988). While an existing body of research focuses on the internal psychological workings of string quartets (Davidson & Good, 2002; Murnighan & Conlon, 1991; Young & Colman, 1979), research has neglected to consider freelance string players, whose livelihood might involve negotiating the demands of both orchestral and chamber music performance within a larger portfolio of work. The present study gathers data from freelance jazz musicians and string players to explore the challenges and stressors involved in young freelance musicians’ work and associated lifestyles. It aims to use the differences in the work of these two groups of musicians to gain a rich picture of freelance life, and simultaneously aims to gain perspectives on performers’ experiences of their tertiary education. Method Participants Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants: nine jazz musicians (coded J1–J9) and nine freelance string players (S1–S9). Their ages ranged from 21 to 34. Overall, the Downloaded from pom.sagepub.com at University of Sheffield on November 2, 2011
Dobson 243 Table 1. Participant profiles Code Age Gender Status Instrument(s) Jazz J1 21 Male University UG 1 (3rd year) Trumpet J2 22 Male University PG 2 (1st year) Piano J3 21 Male Conservatoire UG (4th year) Drums J4 28 Female Professional Singer J5 25 Male Professional Bass guitar J6 31 Male Professional Saxophone J7 26 Male Professional Piano, bass J8 25 Male Professional Piano J9 34 Female Professional Piano Strings S1 22 Female University UG (3rd year) Violin S2 22 Male University PG (1st year) Cello S3 21 Male Conservatoire UG (4th year) Violin S4 22 Female Conservatoire PG (1st year) Cello S5 23 Female Conservatoire PG (1st year) Viola S6 22 Male Conservatoire PG (2nd year) Violin S7 26 Female Professional Viola S8 24 Male Professional Violin S9 28 Female Professional Cello Note: 1 UG = Undergraduate; 2 PG = Postgraduate. sample consisted of 11 men and seven women. This imbalance stemmed from the jazz group: only two of the nine jazz participants were women, while the string group comprised five women and four men. A more balanced sample was initially sought, but difficulties were encountered identifying female jazz musicians to interview, and time limitations on a research trip to London meant that a better matched sample could not be pursued. The participants’ educational and professional statuses spanned a continuum, beginning with university music students already undertaking paid freelance work and hoping to embark on performance careers, followed by students at London conservatoires, and ending with professional musicians (see Table 1). The ambiguity between these states must be noted, however, as in some cases the boundaries between student and professional were distinctly blurred, with some ‘student’ participants working professionally as much as any other ‘professional’ might expect to. 3 As a string player, the author accessed potential interviewees through peer networks. While some participants were known to the author as friends, others were previously only ‘known of’, and some were completely unknown: in these cases contact was established via telephone numbers provided by mutual acquaintances. It is likely that the varying degrees of acquaintance between the author and participants affected the course of the interviews, although ascertaining (or generalizing) the nature of these effects is difficult. The participants who viewed the author as a friend may have been more open to discussing sensitive topics. Alternatively, because their interview was part of an ongoing association with the author, rather than a one-off encounter, the elements of formality inherent in a semi-structured interview may have been more noticeable, leading them to feel less, rather than more, at ease within the interview context. These participants may have been more likely to actively censor their responses so that they did not include details which they would not wish the author to know. However, as all participants were accessed through peer networks, it is plausible that this may be the case, in varying Downloaded from pom.sagepub.com at University of Sheffield on November 2, 2011
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Page 19 and 20: Dobson 257 Jamison, K. R. (1989). M
Page 21 and 22: Dobson 259 Appendix Interview sched

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