Contexts for Music Learning and

Participation: Developing and

Sustaining Musical Possible Selves 1st
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Contexts for
Music Learning
and Participation
Developing and Sustaining
Musical Possible Selves
Andrea Creech · Maria Varvarigou
Susan Hallam
Contexts for Music Learning and Participation
Andrea Creech • Maria Varvarigou  
Susan Hallam

Contexts for Music

Learning and
Participation
Developing and Sustaining Musical
Possible Selves
Andrea Creech Maria Varvarigou
Schulich School of Music Mary Immaculate College
McGill University University of Limerick
Montreal, Canada Limerick, Republic of Ireland

Susan Hallam
UCL Institute of Education
London, UK

ISBN 978-3-030-48261-9    ISBN 978-3-030-48262-6 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48262-6

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature
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 Contents

1 Introduction  1

2 Shaping Musical Possible Selves in the Early Years 23

3 Emergent Musical Possible Selves in Primary School 43

4 Secondary Schools and Their Role to Play in Musical

Possible Selves 61

5 The Role of Further and Higher Education in Shaping

Musical Possible Selves 81

6 Musical Possible Selves in Extra-­Curricular Ensembles

and Instrumental and Vocal Tuition103

7 Lifelong Musical Possible Selves: Adult Music Learning

and Participation123

8 Supporting Musical Possible Selves in Programmes

With Social Aims143

v
vi Contents

9 The Emergence of Musical Possible Selves Through

Musical Learning in the Home163

10 Peer Learning and the Construction of Musical

Possible Selves181

11 Musical Possible Selves and Self-­directed Music

Learning Across the Lifespan203

12 Developing Musical Possible Selves Through

Learning with Technology and Social Media223

Postscript239

References243

Index275
 List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Dimensions, modes and levels of learning and facilitation

(derived from Heron, 1999, 2009). (Created by John
Martzoukos—graphic designer) 10
Fig. 1.2 Developing and sustaining ‘manifold musical possible selves’.
(Created by John Martzoukos—graphic designer) 17
Fig. 9.1 Parental support woven in to a positive musical possible self 169
Fig. 9.2 Limited parental support woven in to a negative musical
possible self 170

vii
 List of Boxes

Box 2.1 Creativity for Wellbeing—The Haringey Nursery Schools

Consortium Lullaby Project 33
Box 2.2 Music Early Learning Programmes (MELPs) 35
Box 3.1 Bam Bam Drumming Circle (Mackinlay, 2014, p. 223) 48
Box 3.2 Developing Rich Narratives of a Possible Self as Musician
Through Participation in LSO Discovery 56
Box 4.1 A Teachers’ Perspective on Promoting Student Agency 67
Box 4.2 Technology as a Medium for Exploring Musical Possible Selves 72
Box 4.3 Assessment Within a UK Musical Futures Champion School 75
Box 5.1 Shaping Musical Possible Selves with Experiential Learning
within Further Education 84
Box 5.2 A Cooperative Approach in Conservatoire Education 90
Box 5.3 An Autonomous Orientation to Curriculum within a Popular
Music Programme 93
Box 6.1 Musical Opportunities Framed by PYD 109
Box 6.2 Creative Youth Development in Extra-Curricular Music
Learning112
Box 6.3 Confronting Resistance to Unfamiliar Ways of Learning in an
Extra-Curricular Context 114
Box 6.4 One-to-One Instrumental Lessons in an Extra-Curricular
Residential Music Course 115

ix
x List of Boxes

Box 7.1 Selection, Optimisation and Compensation in Developing

Musical Possible Selves among Adults 128
Box 7.2 The Conductor as Facilitator of Learning (Kruse, 2007, p. 6) 129
Box 7.3 Rediscovering Lost Musical Possible Selves 134
Box 7.4 James’ Narrative of Musical Possible Self as a Mature-Aged
Adult136
Box 8.1 In Harmony Liverpool: Bringing Music into Community
and Family Life 149
Box 8.2 Musical Possible Selves Through a Music Programme in a
Juvenile Detention Centre 153
Box 8.3 Keys of Change 155
Box 9.1 An Autonomous Orientation to Promoting Invented
Singing with Young Children at Home 166
Box 9.2 Different Modes of Facilitating Practising at Home 170
Box 9.3 Bedroom (Professional) Musician Billie Eilish 173
Box 9.4 The Home as a Foundation for Musical Possible Selves 177
Box 10.1 Asymmetrical Peer-to-Peer Learning with Assistive Music
Technologies183
Box 10.2 The Challenges and Affordances of Peer Learning in
Ensemble-based Music Education 185
Box 10.3 Musical Peer Learning in Friendship Groups, Mapped to
Dimensions of Learning and Phases of the Development of
Possible Selves 188
Box 11.1 Contextualised Musical Meaning-Making 209
Box 11.2 Shaping and Changing Musical Possible Selves Through a
Self-directed Learning Opportunity 218
Box 12.1 Experiential Musical Learning and Participation with iPads 225
Box 12.2 Exploring Music with the Soundbeam 227
Box 12.3 Learning the Guitar Online 230
Box 12.4 A YouTube Creator 232
Box 12.5 Experiments with Musical Possible Selves 235
 1
Introduction

This book sets out a contemporary perspective on music learning and

participation, highlighting complex intersections between learner experi-
ences and dreams, and the informal, non-formal and formal practices and
contexts that they encounter. The role that these practices and contexts
play in supporting the development of musical possible selves is a central
theme of the book. At a moment when the boundaries between commu-
nity music, music in school curricula, lifelong learning and self-directed
musical learning and participation are increasingly blurred, we challenge
a ‘silo’ approach to understanding the diverse music education landscape
and its influence in shaping our musical possible selves. We propose
instead a multi-layered, ‘manifold’ model of musical learning, participa-
tion and facilitation that has relevance across a range of informal, non-­
formal or formal contexts. We argue that responsive, multifaceted music
leadership is key in supporting learners across the life-course as they
explore and experience new musical possible selves and rediscover lost
musical possible selves.
This introductory chapter sets out the origins of formal, non-formal
and informal learning designations. We discuss how these terms were
defined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

© The Author(s) 2020 1

A. Creech et al., Contexts for Music Learning and Participation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48262-6_1
2 A. Creech et al.

(OECD) in relation to different contexts for learning in the workplace

and how they have been developed since then, taking account of the way
that learning and teaching within those contexts can lie on a continuum
between formal and informal. We then focus on the facilitation of learn-
ing, exploring this through the lens of Heron’s (1999, 2009) model of
manifold learning. We consider the ways in which differing orientations
to facilitation and learning intersect with formal, non-formal and infor-
mal practices and contexts, in turn shaping the development of learners’
musical possible selves. We conclude with a detailed discussion of the
theory of possible selves, where we highlight the key principles of ‘elabo-
ration’ and ‘salience’ and propose that orientations to learning, facilita-
tion and participation have far-reaching implications for nurturing,
articulating and sustaining musical possible selves.

 he Emergence of the Concepts of Formal,

T
Non-formal and Informal Learning
In this section, we draw on the literature relating to adult learning and
the historical context with particular reference to the definitions pro-
posed by the OECD, as these form the basis for the designation of our
chapters. The OECD (2019) suggests the following:

• Formal learning is always organised and structured, and has learning

objectives. From the learner’s standpoint, it is always intentional: i.e.
the learner’s explicit objective is to gain knowledge, skills and/or com-
petences. Typical examples are learning that takes place within the ini-
tial education and training system or workplace training arranged by
the employer. One can also speak about formal education and/or
training or, more accurately speaking, education and/or training in a
formal setting. This definition is rather consensual.
• Informal learning is never organised, has no set objective in terms of
learning outcomes and is never intentional from the learner’s stand-
point. Often it is referred to as learning by experience or just as experi-
ence. The idea is that the simple fact of existing constantly exposes the
 1 Introduction 3

individual to learning situations, at work, at home or during leisure

time, for instance. This definition, with a few exceptions, also meets
with a fair degree of consensus.
• Mid-way between the first two, non-formal learning is the concept on
which there is the least consensus, which is not to say that there is
consensus on the other two, simply that the wide variety of approaches
in this case makes consensus even more difficult. Nevertheless, for the
majority of authors, it seems clear that non-formal learning is rather
organised and can have learning objectives. The advantage of the inter-
mediate concept lies in the fact that such learning may occur at the
initiative of the individual but also happens as a by-product of more
organised activities, whether or not the activities themselves have
learning objectives. In some countries, the entire sector of adult learn-
ing falls under non-formal learning; in others, most adult learning is
formal. Non-formal learning therefore gives some flexibility between
formal and informal learning, which must be strictly defined to be
operational, by being mutually exclusive, and avoid overlap.

Some authors have proposed different types of informal learning that

contradict the OECD model in some respects. For example, Eraut (2004,
p. 250) outlines a continuum of informal learning, comprising implicit
learning that results in tacit knowledge; reactive learning, which is “near
spontaneous and unplanned”; and deliberative learning, “for which time
is set aside”. Kaplan (1975, p. 26) would consider the latter “leisure activ-
ity”, whose core elements are “adventure, curiosity, play … and delight of
discovery”. Schugurensky (2000) identifies self-directed, incidental and
socialisation as three types of informal learning. Self-directed learning
(SDL) is both conscious and intentional, while incidental learning is
unintentional but conscious. The third type labelled ‘socialisation’ (also
referred to as tacit learning, and resembling Eraut’s implicit learning)
refers to the internalisation of values, attitudes, behaviours, skills, and so
forth that occur during everyday life, where the learner has no a priori
intention of acquiring values, attitudes, and so on and is not necessarily
aware when learning has taken place. In contrast, Marsick and Watkins
(2001) argue that informal learning is learner-led and usually intentional,
albeit not highly structured. Examples include self-directed learning,
4 A. Creech et al.

networking, coaching, mentoring and performance planning. They sug-

gest that incidental learning that comes about as an unexpected by-­
product of experience (such as learning from mistakes) can form part of
informal or formal learning and can function as an impetus for deliberate
and intentional reflection. In the next section, we consider how some of
these ideas correspond with learning and teaching approaches in music.

F ormal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning

and Teaching Approaches in Music
Historically, much music education has been framed with an emphasis
on a formal, hierarchical apprenticeship model that privileges practical
learning (Mark, 2013). Notwithstanding shifting patterns of engagement
with music, increasing cultural diversity and social change relating to
globalisation and technology, formal, prescribed and teacher-led music
education continues to dominate the landscape, particularly in the
domain of instrumental learning (Creech & Gaunt, 2012).
However, increasingly, music education researchers and practitioners
have turned their attention towards informal or non-formal pedagogies
that promote holistic, experiential learning (Hallam, Creech, &
Varvarigou, 2017; Ruck Keene & Green, 2017; Taylor, 2012). A specific
interest has emerged, relating to the ways in which imaginative and intui-
tive learning intersect with cognitive understandings and procedural
knowledge (Muhonen, 2016; Saetre, 2011).
Folkestad (2006) distinguishes between informal and formal learning
in music, arguing that formal learning involves activities that are pre-­
planned and directed by a teacher. This orientation to formal learning
may be understood as hierarchical, where the teacher functions as a gate-
keeper with responsibility for decisions about the ‘what, how, and when’
relating to learning. Informal learning, on the other hand, is thought to
encourage learner autonomy (Green, 2008; Jenkins, 2011), developing
naturally from musical activity and through the interaction of the play-
ers. In accordance with Eraut (2004), Folkestad (2006) and Green (2008)
argue that the true nature of the formal/informal learning relationship
 1 Introduction 5

might be better conceptualised as occurring between two poles of a con-

tinuum with complete formality at one end and informality at the other.
Folkestad suggests that in analysing the nature of formal or informal
learning other factors need to be taken into account: the learning situa-
tion, the learning style, ownership and intentionality.
Others have articulated the complex relationship between informal
and formal learning in music (Espeland, 2010; Jaffurs, 2006; Kastner,
2014; Rodriguez, 2009; Wright, 2016). The idea of a continuum in ped-
agogical practice is again reinforced by Kastner (2014). Focusing on the
ways in which primary school teachers applied formal and informal peda-
gogies in the classroom, Kastner identified two continua: the first repre-
sents the varying degree of control that can be exerted by teachers or
students, while the second refers to the varying degrees of teacher scaf-
folding. A slightly different two-dimension model of the formal/informal
positions has been proposed by Espeland (2010). Like Kastner, Espeland
proposes a teacher–student control continuum aligned with the organis-
ing principle of an activity (from sequential to non-sequential). This ver-
tical axis of the model intersects with a horizontal axis indicating the
setting or context (institutional or private setting), concerned with the
question of who provides or sets up the activity and where it takes place.
Green (2002, 2008, 2014) defines informal learning in music by con-
trasting it with formal learning in music education, including specialist
instrumental or vocal teaching; explicit curriculum, qualified teachers;
regular assessment, the habitual use of notated music and a canon of
works and pedagogical methods. Green argues that all societies have
other ways of learning music. These, she regards as informal. At the
extreme end of the continuum, none of the defined elements of formal
learning apply. Musicianship is developed through a process resembling
implicit learning (Eraut, 2004) or socialisation (Schugurensky, 2000), for
example, involving enculturation and immersion in music. Younger
members of the community may listen to, watch and imitate the music-­
making of older members, so that music is acquired in the same way as
language. In this sense, and as Eraut (2004) might suggest, there may be
some fluid movement along the continuum of implicit, reactive (noticing
particular facets of the music, forming impressions) and deliberate
(problem-­ solving, questioning, planning) informal learning. Green
6 A. Creech et al.

further acknowledges that ‘real life’ learning often blends formal and
informal learning.
Following Green (2008), Jenkins (2011, p. 195) favours informal
learning as the “ideal” way to learn, arguing that through active and self-­
directed ‘musicking’ learners construct musical identities that connect
directly with their real-world experience. Learners achieve this by making
“ongoing decisions in constructing simulations of real-world contexts”
(p. 195). Jenkins maintains that although formal learning also fosters
formations of self-identities, these are more likely to be “structured, rigid
and less autonomous” (p. 195) and “insensitive to a rapidly changing
world” (p. 188). Moreover, like Folkestad, he argues that “formal learning
almost always interweaves informal learning, even in schools” (p. 184).
He therefore proposes that both informal and formal learning should be
adopted to strengthen the formation of learners’ identities and agency
through engagement with music.
With a focus on the act of teaching, Folkestad (2006, p. 143) under-
lines that there is no such thing as “informal teaching”, for “as soon as
someone teaches, as soon as somebody takes on the role of being a teacher,
then it is a formal learning situation”. He stresses, however, that teachers
can facilitate informal learning processes. In this vein, Wright (2016, loc.
332) highlights that non-formal teaching, or ‘informal pedagogy’, does
not equate with the absence of a teacher, but, for the teacher, does “mean
that a period of standing back and observing is required … to understand
and empathise with student goals”. Similarly, D’Amore (2008) outlines
what she considers to be non-formal teaching, highlighting an inclusive
approach, a belief in group-based activities, a sense of immediacy and
exploration, a more democratic view of learning and opportunities to
develop a range of non-cognitive skills. Therefore, as Wright (2016, loc.
375) emphasises, “pedagogy has a crucial role to play in the detection of
whether a learning moment is formal, non-formal or informal”.
In this section, we have considered how some frameworks for formal,
informal and non-formal learning have been applied within contexts
where the focus is music learning and participation. While some differing
perspectives have emerged, there is also some agreement that formal,
informal and non-formal pedagogies and contexts intersect in dynamic
and complex ways. In the following section, we discuss a framework that
 1 Introduction 7

represents the complex and multifaceted intersection between contexts,

facilitation modes, dimensions of the learning-teaching encounter and
the manifold levels of learning.

 Framework for Manifold,

A
Experiential Learning
Across the spectrum of informal, non-formal and formal contexts, the
ways in which individuals and groups make sense of their musical learn-
ing and participation are influenced to a great extent by the ways in which
teachers articulate their values and beliefs about teaching, learning and
participation (see Folkestad, 2006). Heron (1999, 2009) refers to this as
facilitator style. The term ‘facilitator’ refers to a leadership role in creating
the conditions for awakening or reawakening the capacity to learn and
change. Supported with expert facilitation, learners are empowered
through the development of their capacity for self-direction and self-­
regulation, the celebration of the self and others, and social competencies
such as cooperation, communication and interpersonal awareness
(Gregory, 2006).
Heron (1999, 2009) proposes a nuanced model for facilitation of
learning, demonstrating the multifaceted ways in which learners can be
supported by practices that recognise the dynamic intersection between
individuals, groups, contexts and different forms of knowledge. Like
Folkestad (2006) who argued that a ‘teacher’ role always involves a degree
of formality, Heron suggests that the issue of authority is always present
in facilitation, by dint of the ‘facilitator-participant’ relationship. This
idea of authority is expressed in different ways that reflect the facilitator’s
competencies, values and personal characteristics. First, tutelary authority
is concerned with skills and knowledge, as well as competencies in com-
munication and the capacity to respond to learner needs. Secondly, politi-
cal authority refers to decision-making with regard to what the programme
of learning will comprise and who is responsible for curricular decisions.
Finally, charismatic authority refers to a facilitator’s ‘presence’, including
self-esteem, state of attention, willingness to confront resistance to learn-
ing, flexibility and respect for learners.
8 A. Creech et al.

Heron proposes three overarching modes of facilitation style, reflect-

ing distinct orientations to the three spheres of authority and the ways in
which authority is articulated in decision-making and teacher–learner
power relationships. First, the hierarchical mode refers to a style where the
facilitator functions in a didactic manner, taking decisions for others. In
contrast, in an autonomous mode, the facilitator is non-interventionist
and decisions are taken by others (the learner/participants). The function
of the autonomous facilitator is focused on creating the conditions for
self-directed learning. A middle ground is represented by the cooperative
mode, where decisions are taken with others.
These three modes of facilitation intersect with six dimensions repre-
senting the various areas of a learning-teaching encounter. Three of the
dimensions—planning, structuring and meaning—are concerned with
establishing what will be learnt, how it will be learnt and how this will be
made meaningful. Facets of planning include setting objectives, identify-
ing specific content and activities, defining the methods to be used and
necessary resources, making explicit any assessment criteria and proce-
dures and, finally, specifying how the learning experience will be evalu-
ated. The specific “situational realities” of learning (Heron, 1999, p. 250)
are conceptualised as the structuring dimension. Planning and structur-
ing can be undertaken in a hierarchical, unidirectional mode, or alterna-
tively may be student-led, differentiated and responsive, corresponding
more closely with cooperative or autonomous facilitation modes. The
meaning dimension addresses the question of how learners acquire new
knowledge and skills in ways that are personally relevant and deeply
understood. In a hierarchical mode, the facilitator may rely on demon-
stration, presentation, feedback and explanation. Conversely, the coop-
erative mode would involve negotiated collaborative activities, while the
autonomous mode would emphasise self-reflection, self-assessment and
peer-led creative learning groups.
A further three dimensions, labelled as confronting, feeling and valuing,
are concerned with the interpersonal processes and dynamics amongst
learners and facilitators. The confronting dimension is concerned with
resistance to learning and how that can be acknowledged and tran-
scended. The feeling dimension is focused on how individual feelings as
 1 Introduction 9

well as the emotional group dynamic should be handled, while the valu-
ing dimension focuses on how a climate of respect can be created.
On any one of these six dimensions, facilitators may take decisions
that correspond with either a hierarchical, cooperative or autonomous
mode, and in any single context, these orientations (modes) may shift
dynamically as learners progress and develop. Furthermore, Heron high-
lights that expert facilitation may involve the capacity to shift seamlessly
from one orientation to another, even within a single lesson or session.
Indeed, Heron argues that the most comprehensive model is one where
all levels of tutelary authority are exercised, whereby the facilitator takes
some decisions alone, the facilitator and learner participants take some
decisions together, and the learners take some decisions alone.
A holistic perspective on learning and participation underpins Heron’s
model. Learning, from this perspective, involves an interweaving of intel-
lectual, emotional and social development and embraces both task-­
oriented and process-oriented objectives and outcomes. Heron describes
an experiential learning cycle, naming it “manifold learning” (Heron,
1999, pp. 2, 299), which includes experiential, imaginal, conceptual and
practical levels. Experiential learning (also termed “affective” learning in
Heron, 2009, p. 130) forms the basis from which all other levels of learn-
ing emerge, focusing on feeling and what can be learnt in the moment of
encounter. Imaginal learning is concerned with metaphorical and evoca-
tive, imaginative visualisations of new ideas. Cognitive understandings
emerge from conceptual learning, while practical learning focuses on
skills and how they are acquired and physically carried out. Heron
explains that through experiential (affective) learning, each person
encounters the world and in so doing identifies patterns and forms (ima-
ginal learning). These patterns and forms become the basis for the devel-
opment of language and knowledge (conceptual learning), which are
later applied in a wide range of skills (practical learning). Heron proposes
that his model, which privileges self-direction and the idea of whole per-
sonhood, may be applied to any context where learning is through expe-
rience, action and practice, including gaining technical skills in a domain.
Figure 1.1 illustrates the fluid interplay between the four levels of
learning comprising the manifold learning cycle, the three facilitation
modes and the six dimensions of learning-teaching encounters. Heron’s
10 A. Creech et al.

Fig. 1.1 Dimensions, modes and levels of learning and facilitation (derived from
Heron, 1999, 2009). (Created by John Martzoukos—graphic designer)

model sets out the modes and dimensions in a matrix, entirely separate
from context. We have, however, conceptualised the interplay amongst
the levels, modes and dimensions of learning and teaching as being in
dynamic interaction with the continuum of informal to formal contexts,
which lies at the base of the model. Therefore, moving along this infor-
mal–formal continuum is a wheel, representing facilitation practices and
levels of the manifold experiential learning cycle. At its hub, the wheel
shows the six dimensions of learning-teaching encounters (planning,
 1 Introduction 11

structuring, meaning, confronting, feeling and valuing). These rotate in

such a way as to align with one or other of the facilitation modes (hierar-
chical, cooperative and autonomous) in a fluid manner. These two inner
circles are nested inside the cycle of manifold learning (experiential, ima-
ginal, conceptual and practical), again with the possibility of rotating in
a fluid manner so that the dimensions or learning-teaching, modes of
facilitation and levels of manifold learning can align in multiple differ-
ent ways.
In this section, we have followed Wright (2016) in highlighting the
crucial role that pedagogy plays in understanding the intersections
amongst informal, non-formal or formal contexts and orientations to
learning and facilitation of learning.
In the following section, we turn our attention to the ways in which
this dynamic model of experience, learning, facilitation and context may
shape the ways that learners visualise and articulate their musical self-­
stories, including their ‘possible selves’.

The Theory of Possible Selves

We argue, in this book, that the pedagogies and practices of musical
learning and participation across the life-course, be they encountered
through informal, non-formal or formal contexts, shape our musical self-­
stories or narratives of musical possible selves (Markus & Ruvolo, 1989).
Here, we begin by setting out the key ideas that frame the theory of pos-
sible selves.
The idea of ‘possible selves’ (Markus & Nurius, 1986) refers to ideal
and hoped-for selves or alternatively selves that are feared and dreaded.
These future-oriented selves have been described as the “motivational
component of the self-system” (Frazier, Johnson, Gonzalez, & Kafka,
2002, p. 308) and may be understood as being integrally interrelated
with other aspects of the self-concept (Erikson, 2007; Hock, Deshler, &
Schumaker, 2006). A possible self, according to Erikson (2007, p. 355),
“consists of a story we tell” consisting of “instantiations” of the cognitive
structures or self-schemata, which frame our understandings of how we
experience the world. In this sense, possible selves may be understood as
12 A. Creech et al.

being socially and culturally situated “conceptions of our selves in the

future … [which] get vital parts of their meaning in interplay with the
self-concept” (Erikson, 2007, p. 356).
Possible selves comprise an element of agentic, vicarious experience,
articulated as a personalised, insider perspective (Erikson, 2007). In this
vein, Erikson (2007, p. 349) highlights the idea of agency, arguing that
possible selves may be conceptualised as “concrete manifestations that give
personalized meaning to the more abstract strivings named life tasks”. Key
facets of these personalised, concrete manifestations are salience, referring
to personal investment in the possible self and the extent to which an indi-
vidual is engaged with the associated goals; and elaboration, referring to the
vividness, detail and emotionality of the narrative individuals can generate
when asked about their possible selves (King & Hicks, 2007; Rossiter,
2007). Ibarra (1999) suggests that salience is strengthened when possible
selves are constructed through the observation of role models, experimen-
tation with provisional selves and evaluation of new conceptions against
internal and external standards. In this way, highly elaborated and psycho-
logically accessible possible selves develop (Leondari, 2007).
Accordingly, possible selves perceived as being (1) psychologically
‘close’ rather than distant and (2) framed by elaborate, detailed action
plans, functioned as motivational drivers among university students
(Strahan & Wilson, 2006). Similarly, Oyserman, Bybee, Terry, and Hart-­
Johnson (2004) and Oyserman, Bybee, and Terry (2006), who explored
possible selves among low-income adolescents, added that the relation-
ship between possible selves and motivation was contingent upon elabo-
rate action plans accompanied by strategies to self-regulate one’s goals. In
this vein, Strahan and Wilson (2006) proposed that focusing on the pro-
cess of achieving goals instead of just setting an end goal or plan seemed
to be key in motivating people to accomplish this goal. In accordance
with these principles of salience and elaboration in relation to goals,
Hock et al. (2006) designed a six-stage guided programme with the aim
of increasing student motivation through linking conceptualisation with
realisation of possible selves. Students were asked to “examine their future
and think about goals that are important to them”, as well as set goals and
make plans towards reaching these goals (p. 211). The researchers con-
cluded that
 1 Introduction 13

1. individual goals must be valued and attractive to the learners;

2. the learners must believe that the goals are attainable with reasonable
effort and
3. learners must develop specific plans that lead to the attainments of
these goals (p. 209).

Possible Selves as Narratives

Possible selves are domain-specific, guiding action and influencing our
decisions with regard to what to expend effort on and what to abandon
(Smith & Freund, 2002). Possible selves are also dynamic and may be
narrative in nature (Erikson, 2007), in the sense that individuals are
thought to reframe their possible selves in response to life transitions
(Cross & Markus, 1991). For example, King and Hicks (2007, p. 626)
gathered responses to quantitative quality of life measures and analysed
written possible self-narratives from adults who had experienced major
life transitions. The potential “crisis of goal change” was conceptualised as
leading to “lost possible selves” with associated disengagement from val-
ued and cherished goals and a re-evaluation “of one’s place in the world”
(King & Hicks, 2007, p. 626). This idea of possible selves as narrative
opens the possibility to consider possible selves as being linked or nested
within past, present and future experience (Erikson, 2007). Narratives of
possible selves furthermore articulate personal agency and meaning mak-
ing within social and cultural contexts. In other words, research on pos-
sible selves stresses the importance of understanding the experiences,
assumptions and beliefs of each individual on their own terms and under-
scores that “self-stories are collectively our possible selves” (Freer,
2010, p. 19).
To sum up, possible selves may be understood as domain-specific,
dynamic, elaborate and salient narratives that are interdependent with
the self-concept. These narratives must express agency, in the sense that
they represent an “insider perspective” that could be derived from vicari-
ous experience. Finally, possible selves are located within social and cul-
tural contexts and are fashioned by the way we experience the world.
Accordingly, in the next section we explore the idea of a domain-specific
14 A. Creech et al.

musical possible self, proposing that this may provide a framework for
understanding the music learner perspective and the ways in which, as
learners, we are shaped by the music pedagogies, practices and contexts
we experience. We frame this next section with a six-stage sequential pro-
cess for developing possible selves (Hock et al., 2006), which Freer (2009)
applied in the specific context of his research with male adolescent choral
singers.

Musical Possible Selves

Musical possible selves may be conceptualised as musical self-stories
(Freer, 2010), woven in a cyclical process whereby situated interactions
(e.g. within particular contexts and framed by specific practices) shape
reconstructions of past musical learning and participation, interpreta-
tions of present musical experience and orientations towards future
musicking. Provisional musical possible selves may emerge within educa-
tional and community contexts where, through social interaction and
engagement with the pedagogies and practices within those contexts,
these “self-stories” acquire salience and are expressed in agentic ways. For
example, Schnare et al. (2012, p. 103) explored musical possible selves,
reporting that “from the Afro-Brazilian ukulele player to the cheeseball
crooner recycling classic rock songs, many participants described images
of themselves in future states”, including being creative, developing ver-
satility and technical expertise, engaging in musical performance and
being socially connected through music. Accordingly, our musical possi-
ble selves offer coherence in our musical lives, functioning as a link
between cognition and motivation by pulling us towards (or propelling
us away from) future experiences of musicking.
According to Hock et al. (2006), individuals can be guided in develop-
ing personally meaningful possible selves through a six-stage process.
Drawing upon this model and applying it to the development of musical
possible selves, Freer (2009) grouped the six stages in two categories,
namely conceptualisation (discovering, thinking and imagining) and
realisation (reflecting, growing and performing), mapping these stages to
the musical self-stories of young male choral singers. Table 1.1 describes
 1 Introduction 15

Table 1.1 The stages, questions and goals of the Possible Selves Programme (from
Freer, 2009, p. 343)
Phase Stages Questions Goal
Conceptualisation Discovering What are my The focus here is on
musical strengths current strengths and
and interests? interests
What am I already
good at doing?
Thinking Where did my Transition to thinking
musical interests about potential musical
come from? interests and activities
What music do I A structured
like, and what questionnaire or
musical activities interview about possible
do I like? selves might be given
Are there other during this stage
musical activities
that I’d like to do?
Imagining What are my Identification of areas of
possible musical musical strength and
selves? interest (present or
What can I be? desired) as related to
possible selves
Realisation Reflecting What possible Identification of obstacles
musical selves are towards achieving
easily achievable? possible selves.
Which are not? Determination of
What should be my whether obstacles are
musical priorities? fixed or changeable
Growing How do I get to my Development of action
musical goals? plans for achieving
musical goals
Performing How am I doing on Refinement of action
my journey plans based on progress
towards my towards musical goals
possible musical
goals?

the stages alongside the questions asked at each stage and the goals that
these questions achieve. Freer explains that the ‘discovering’ phase was
evidenced by his participants recollections of early musical experiences in
the home with parents or siblings, or “pivotal” early musical experiences
at school, “opening the door” towards deeply invested musical
16 A. Creech et al.

trajectories. The young singers talked about the ‘thinking’ phase in terms
of the key ‘knowledgeable others’ (i.e. parents, teachers, peers) who had
been influential in the formation of their musical self-understanding.
Role models also played a key role in the imagining phase, with one par-
ticipant explaining that “he imagined himself a singer similar to his
father, noticing how his voice change created similarities between his
voice and his father’s voice (p. 350)”. The participants engaged in the
‘reflecting’ phase, focusing on how they developed musical skills and
competencies, as well as thinking about effort and their learning strate-
gies. Growing and performing within and beyond their current choral
experience was discussed in terms of finding and meeting new challenges
and “achieving musical growth within communities of fellow musicians”
(p. 351). Overall, a coherent narrative was evident, with possible selves
expressed as “their previous musical experiences [contributing] to both
their present and future possible selves” (p. 351).
We propose that this sequential process of establishing musical possi-
ble selves (Freer, 2009) may be shaped to a significant extent by the ways
that we are facilitated in and engage with learning, for example, as repre-
sented by Heron’s holistic model of manifold learning (Heron, 1999,
2009), discussed above. From this perspective, the ‘discovering’ stage of
possible selves may emerge from key ‘in-the-moment’ experiential or
affective learning, with its focus on immediate responses to music learn-
ing and participation. The ‘imagining’ and ‘reflecting’ stages take the
individual into the realm of imaginal learning, projecting oneself into the
future and evaluating possible future selves, whereas the ‘thinking’ stage
is more closely aligned with conceptual learning, with its emphasis on
formulating cognitive representations of one’s relationship with music,
confronting resistance to losing cherished possible selves or reframing
new musical possible selves. Finally, the ‘growing’ and ‘performing’ stages
may be underpinned by practical learning, with questions concerned
with setting and regulating well-elaborated action plans.
At any one of these stages of development, possible selves may be fur-
ther influenced by Heron’s three modes (hierarchical, cooperative and
autonomous) and six dimensions (planning, structuring, meaning, con-
fronting, feeling and valuing) of learning-teaching encounters. For exam-
ple, applied to the context of music education, planning, structuring and
 1 Introduction 17

Fig. 1.2 Developing and sustaining ‘manifold musical possible selves’. (Created
by John Martzoukos—graphic designer)

meaning may be salient for the conceptualisation (discovering, imagining

and reflecting) of musical possible selves, representing the process of
making explicit music learners’ strengths, interests, hopes, expectations
and fears about music learning and participation. The realisation (think-
ing, growing and reflecting) of musical possible selves, conversely, may be
promoted or indeed constrained through interactions focused around
confronting, feeling and valuing (see Fig. 1.2 below).

Manifold Musical Possible Selves

Like Freer’s (2009) model representing the stages of the development of
musical possible selves, Heron’s framework for facilitation emphasises the
significance of raising individual and group consciousness on matters
connected to learning and participation, and both “celebrate the
18 A. Creech et al.

personhood of group members” (Heron, 1999, p. 6) within an environ-

ment that is empowering and respectful. Applied to music education
contexts across the life-course, we suggest that reflective facilitation
encompassing Heron’s three modes of facilitation intersecting with the
six dimensions of learning-teaching encounters may shape musical pos-
sible selves in particular ways. These facets of facilitation and learning, we
suggest, are at the heart of the manifold learning cycle and underpin
environments where participants have the scope to experiment with dif-
ferent musical possible selves and acquire the strategies that can act as
‘bridges’ (Markus & Ruvolo, 1989) or ‘roadmaps’ (Oyserman et al.,
2004) for personal growth, exploration and flourishing in music.
Our model of ‘manifold musical possible selves’ (Fig. 1.2) builds on
Fig. 1.1, showing a dynamic relationship between dimensions of learning-­
teaching encounters, facilitation modes, levels of manifold learning and
(now added) the development of musical possible selves. Here, the model
representing the dimensions, modes and levels of learning and facilitation
is positioned within the phases of development of musical possible selves
(discovering, imagining, thinking, reflecting, performing and growing),
which are aligned in a flexible way alongside the levels of manifold learning.
In this book, we argue that manifold learning, articulated within infor-
mal, non-formal and formal contexts as experiential, imaginal, concep-
tual and practical ‘musical know how’ and ‘know what’, presents a myriad
of opportunities and affordances, as well as challenges and constraints,
with regard to our emergent possible musical selves. Oyserman et al.
(2004) use the metaphor of roadmaps to describe possible selves, captur-
ing the non-linearity and the many alternatives routes via which possible
selves may be reached. Manifold musical possible selves, we suggest,
emerge from musical roadmaps representing how, when, where and with
whom we make music (Schnare et al., 2012). These roadmaps, traversing
anticipated as well as unforeseen landscapes, comprise contextual detail
including how we are feeling and how we perceive interactions with oth-
ers within those spaces. The extent to which we are able to access salient
and elaborate musical possible selves may be promoted or constrained by
the ways in which we and others perceive our musical potential or limita-
tions (Erikson, 2007). These perceptions, we suggest, may in turn be
shaped by the contexts, pedagogies and practices that form and inform
our musical learning and participation.
 1 Introduction 19

Outline of the Book

We have used the idea of informal, non-formal and formal contexts and
practices as the principal organisational structure for this book. Therefore,
we begin with a series of chapters that focus on formal music education
contexts: Early Years (Chap. 2), primary school (Chap. 3), secondary
school (Chap. 4) and further and higher education (Chap. 5). This is fol-
lowed by chapters focused on youth music learning and participation in
extra-curricular contexts (Chap. 6) and adult leisure learning in music
(Chap. 7). Chapter 8 is concerned with music programmes dedicated
principally to social aims, while Chap. 9 focuses on music learning and
music-making in the home. The final three chapters focus on peer learn-
ing in music (Chap. 10), self-directed learning in music (Chap. 11) and
music learning with technology and social media (Chap. 12). Within
each chapter, we explore the intersection of facilitation modes, dimen-
sions of learning and levels of the experiential cycle, highlighting the
implications for narratives of musical possible selves. We have selected
short case study examples to illustrate a range of experience within each
context. We conclude the book with our reflections and key messages
concerned with the complex and dynamic process of shaping and articu-
lating ‘manifold’, expansive musical possible selves.

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 2
Shaping Musical Possible Selves
in the Early Years

This chapter explores some musical activities that are typically offered in
formal Early Years settings for children 0–5 years old. We discuss the
facilitation of inclusive play-based activities, singing, movement with
music and creative exploration, and consider how these approaches may
be understood in relation to our proposed model of developing and sus-
taining manifold musical possible selves (see Chap. 1).

Nurturing Musicality
In ancient Greece, the term ‘music’ was used to describe “the complete
combination of poetry, melody, and dance, in one unity” (Stamou, 2002,
p. 3). Blacking (1976) reinforced this notion of music, reminding us that
all human societies use ceremonies where they combine song and dance
with the intention to communicate their state of being. Small (1998)
called this the action of “musicking”, referring to what humans do when
they take part in a musical act, be it listening, singing, playing or compos-
ing. Musicking plays a fundamental role in the lives of infants and young
children, whose “whole being is suffused with music” (Young, 2003,

© The Author(s) 2020 23

A. Creech et al., Contexts for Music Learning and Participation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48262-6_2
24 A. Creech et al.

p. 12) and who have the capacity for musical learning from the earliest
days of life. We argue in this chapter that these early musical experiences
provide the foundation for nascent musical possible selves.
Being ‘musical’ refers to the capacity of human beings to experience
and respond to musical stimuli (Young, 2018, p. 72). This underscores
that “musicality” involves different areas such as “singing, making music
with material sound-producers (objects, instruments, digital technolo-
gies), moving rhythmically and dancing, listening, discriminating and
responding to music, creating and improvising, and learning to use and
read forms of symbolic representation”.
The nurturing of musicality may begin early and can be embedded
within an environment that encourages imitation, invention and experi-
mentation (Kooistra, 2016). Young infants demonstrate musicality, such
as responding to the pulse, quality of sound and conversational nature of
the interactions that they have with their mothers, from as young as six-­
weeks old (Malloch & Trevarthen, 2009). This ‘communicative musical-
ity’ is articulated when infants use music to seek and experience a carer’s
companionship. Intimate communicative musicality between mother and
infant, characterised by elements of poetry, melody and dance, is a source
of poetic, musical and dramatic art (Dissanayake, 2000). Therefore, the
development of musical self-stories may have roots in our earliest cultural,
social and environmental experiences of ‘musicality’ and ‘musicking’.
Within early childhood settings, songs introduced during “formal
learning” time have been “taken up by children in subsequent free play”
suggesting that the interaction between structured and unstructured
learning may be key in promoting and nurturing musicality (Barrett,
Flynn, & Welch, 2018, p. 235). Accordingly, musicality may flourish
within creative, playful and enjoyable “culturally informed frameworks”
(Young, 2017, p. 268) where music learning and participation is experi-
ential (e.g. responding in the moment of the musical encounter), imagi-
nal (e.g. intuitively understanding musical sounds and rhythms),
conceptual (e.g. understanding the musical structure of a familiar song)
and practical (e.g. learning to sing together with others) (see Chap. 1).
Above all, the emphasis on nurturing musicality within Early Years set-
tings may be contingent upon the ways in which each child is motivated
to imitate, explore and participate in shared work.
 2 Shaping Musical Possible Selves in the Early Years 25

 urturing Manifold Learning in Early

N
Childhood Music Practice
Outside the home, there is widespread agreement among Early Years
teachers that music is beneficial for young children’s cognitive, emotional,
social and physical development; however, within formal and non-formal
settings, these same practitioners often report a lack of confidence in
leading singing and musical instrumental-playing activities (Barrett et al.,
2018; Nardo, Custodero, Persellin, & Brink Fox, 2006; Pitt, 2014).
Conversely, professional musicians who facilitate Early Years musicking
often have no specific qualification for working in early childhood con-
texts, as there is currently no such music qualification in many countries
(Pitt, 2014; Young, 2018).
Notwithstanding evidence highlighting the value of children’s inven-
tive and free play (Barrett, 2016; Niland, 2009), there seems to be a
tendency (as discussed further in this chapter) for adult-led activities to
dominate music in early childhood settings. In the following sections, we
provide examples of musicking in Early Years settings that lend support
for the idea that early childhood musical learning and participation may
be articulated through a more complex and nuanced pedagogy that
encompasses guided activities as well as free play, within a flexible struc-
ture. For example, informal and playful improvisation will involve auton-
omous or cooperative facilitation practices, yet may also incorporate
hierarchical approaches to planning and structuring specific musical
activities (Kooistra, 2016; Pitt, 2014).

 anifold Learning Through

M
Creative Approaches
Early Years music provision is often underpinned by a belief that music’s
role in the education of young children is to nurture creativity, a salient
human attribute that allows individuals and groups to engage in risk-­
taking and problem-solving (CCE, 2010). Creativity has been defined as
“imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both
26 A. Creech et al.

original and of value” (NACCCE, 1999). The UK’s Qualifications and

Curriculum Authority (QCA, 2000) highlighted the importance of cre-
ativity for young children’s overall development, emphasising that young
children should be given opportunities to explore and share thoughts,
ideas and feelings through art, design and technology, music, movement,
dance and imaginative role play. Eight core contributors to creative devel-
opment (QCA, 2000, p. 116) that could also promote the development
of musical possible selves include the following:

1. a stimulating environment that values creativity, originality and

expressiveness;
2. the inclusion of a wide range of activities through which learners can
stimulate many senses;
3. sufficient time for the children to explore, develop ideas and finish
working at their ideas;
4. opportunities for different types of representations of these ideas;
5. resources from a variety of cultures so that different ways of thinking
are stimulated;
6. opportunities for the learners to work alongside artists and other cre-
ative adults;
7. an inclusive approach to access to artefacts, materials, spaces and
movements for all children including those with disabilities such as
visual, hearing or communication impairments and
8. accommodation of children’s specific religious or cultural beliefs in
methods of representation and art forms.

The notion that musical creativity is not just ‘released’ but might
require facilitation with regard to careful planning, structuring and valu-
ing has been explored. For example, Burton and Pearsall (2016) investi-
gated the preferences of sixteen 4-year-old children for music-based iPad
Apps in a preschool setting. Analysis of videos of the children using 12
different iPad Apps revealed that entirely open-ended Apps did not attract
the interest of the children. Conversely, Apps that provided more oppor-
tunities for structured play such as through “menus that are easy to navi-
gate, a variety of ways to engage, visual stimulation, familiar musical
material, music that continues without manipulation, and animated
 2 Shaping Musical Possible Selves in the Early Years 27

characters” (p. 87) were most engaging. The researchers were concerned
that the Apps selected did not facilitate musically creative responses.
Nevertheless, these Apps provided a structure within which the children
could make connections with their existing ‘schema’ or knowledge and
then build and expand their creative ideas. This might suggest that
already, at this early stage, the children actively managed and selected the
Apps in which they could find reference points between the creative
potential of the apps and their nascent musical possible selves.
Questions concerned with the interplay between structure and auton-
omy, and how this might influence children’s developing creativity, were
further discussed by Niland (2009, 2017). Niland (2009, p. 20) advocated
that children will “become and remain music-makers throughout their
lives” when early musical experiences are structured, yet child-led. She
argued in favour of Early Years music curricula where (a) musical materials
are chosen in response to observations and interactions with the children;
(b) children have opportunities to extend and adapt known songs; (c) the
structure of sessions is malleable and responsive to children’s needs or inter-
ests and (d) children have opportunities for free, improvisatory musical
play. In a later paper, (2017) Niland described the Apple Tree community
music group, where children living with disability and their families par-
ticipated in shared music-making. Imaginative exploration and musical
creativity were promoted through opportunities for free play as well as
through adult-led songs familiar to the children, such as “If you’re happy
and you know it” (p. 284). These interwoven facets of structure and impro-
visatory free play contributed to inclusive and joyful musical experience.
In brief, children’s creative work in music takes place independently and
collaboratively and can be instigated by an idea—musical or other—in the
spur of the moment or through interactions with other children or adults.
This creative work draws on material from everyday lives and from the
cultural environment. The studies cited here support the idea that creativity
can be supported with free-flowing, child-led activities within a framework
of adult-led facilitation. Overall, there seems to be a firm argument for
responsive, cooperative facilitation that provides guidance and some struc-
ture, yet allows space for exploration and innovation. Such an approach, we
have argued, creates fertile conditions for young children’s musical possible
selves to flourish through engaging in creative work.
28 A. Creech et al.

 anifold Learning Through Listening, Playing

M
Instruments, Dancing and Singing
Listening

Klopper and Dachs (2008, p. 4) underscore the idea that ‘conceptual

learning’ is linked to listening experience, suggesting that listening with
understanding and comprehension “enhances all learning activities, and
should therefore become an integral part of early childhood learning cen-
tres”. They argue, for example, that through becoming sound-sensitive
(i.e. growing in awareness of necessary or unnecessary sounds, and cele-
brating silence), young children develop sonic safe practices that support
their long-term wellbeing.
In addition to wellbeing, Klopper and Dachs emphasise that good lis-
tening skills are fundamental to effective musical learning, promoted
through encouraging young children to engage in “purposive listening”
(Green, 2002)—listening for formal, representational, expressive, con-
textual and technical properties in the music (Wright, 2003, p. 82). In
this vein, music facilitators within Early Years settings and parents at
home can play a key role in motivating young children to participate and
practice the skill of listening, engaging young children in listening games
and listening for moving, for singing, for playing along with instruments
and for talking about the music (Wheway, n.d.).
What is more, listening to recorded music may be intricately linked
with “mastery of the physical self ” (Klopper & Dachs, 2008, p. 2) by
engaging the whole body in dancing, balancing, stretching and other
physical movements (experiential learning). These physical responses can
occur spontaneously alongside affective expression and creativity as chil-
dren vocalise along with the recordings, invent new songs or adapt exist-
ing songs, expressing feelings and relieving tension. However, a study by
Burton and Pearsall (2016) where four-year-old children were encour-
aged to actively self-select music to listen to through iPad Apps showed
that these young children mainly listened to the music and interacted
with the iPad rather than moving, singing or chanting along with the
music. By using listening as a foundation for imaginal learning, music
 2 Shaping Musical Possible Selves in the Early Years 29

facilitators could guide more holistic and embodied musical responses,

scaffolding young children’s exploration of their environment, of who
they are and of how to learn with and alongside others.

Dancing and Movement to Music

As noted above, listening and moving to the music often go hand in

hand. ‘Music and movement’ has been associated with many benefits in
relation to creative expression, as well as physical and social wellbeing in
young children. Dancing supports the development of kinaesthetic
awareness and balance and provides a means for emotional expression
and for social connection (Klopper & Dachs, 2008). The social benefits
of synchronous movement (i.e. moving in time with others and interper-
sonal synchrony), which include enhanced pro-sociality and bonding,
have also been highlighted (Trehub & Cirelli, 2018).
Action songs, found universally across formal, non-formal and infor-
mal settings, utilise choreographed or improvised dance. Infants and
young children move or ‘dance’ to both familiar and unfamiliar music.
Through child-led, playful music and movement activities, children con-
struct peer cultures, developing musical awareness and skills in elements
such as beat, tempo, form and pitch (Niland, 2009). Adachi and Trehub
(2012) highlight that it is a familiar environment rather than familiar
music that encourages infants and young children to engage in frequent
and varied movement to music.

Playing Instruments

Playing musical instruments is a core part of many Early Years settings.

Within non-formal settings such as live music events (Dionyssiou &
Fytika, 2017), musical instruments are often available for children to use
as accompaniment to the live music, for moving to the music or for per-
sonal expression. Within informal learning settings, such as the home,
musical instruments may be located at different areas and children have
opportunities to use them either as instruments (intentionally) or as toys
30 A. Creech et al.

to explore different sounds and ways of producing them. Musical as well

as physical, social, emotional and cognitive goals underpin activities such
as call and response playing, accompanying recorded music or songs, cre-
ating soundscapes inspired by a narrative and playing in pairs (Klopper &
Dachs, 2008).
Music educators have argued that instruments should be the best qual-
ity possible as these motivate the young learners to engage in music
(Young, 2009, p. 91). Similarly, making musical instruments by using
everyday material or by exploring natural material offered in outdoor
spaces could be invaluable in fostering young children’s imagination,
active exploration, thinking and reasoning. For example, such instru-
ments can be used to explore timbre and for making comparisons with
commercially produced instruments. Likewise, listening attentively to
the sound of different instruments and developing the capacity to recog-
nise specific sound qualities as well as “repeated passages, sequences and
patterns in the music” (Klopper & Dachs, 2008, p. 7) could stimulate
conceptual understandings. All of these salient experiences and increas-
ingly detailed understandings of making music with musical instruments
lay strong foundations for the development of these young children’s
musical possible selves.

Singing

Children’s songs can be found in most societies. Because of its immedi-

acy, spontaneous as well as intentional singing often accompanies the
lives of children and their families during home and family life and in
nursery or other Early Years settings (see Chap. 9, for our more extensive
discussion of singing in the home). Trevarthen and Malloch (2012,
p. 253) emphasise that “we are made to sing and dance together, and this
helps us to speak and manufacture together”. Just as listening and move-
ment are linked, singing and movement are nearly inseparable among
young children, as they rarely stand still when singing.
In various cultures around the world, lullabies, lap songs, rhymes and
popular children’s songs are preserved through aural traditions and on
 2 Shaping Musical Possible Selves in the Early Years 31

recordings, smart phones or other media. These songs are believed to

serve as means of communication, and for mood and social regulation
(Trehub & Cirelli, 2018). Music that is familiar, such as popular music
found in the home, has been found to attract the preference of young
children (Burton & Pearsall, 2016; Young, 2018). However, there is also
some evidence that a wide variety of popular or vernacular music might
elicit more expansive musical responses and interaction in Early Years set-
tings (also see Dionyssiou & Fytika, 2017).
Young children are extremely inventive singers (Barrett, 2016) who
can improvise on familiar songs or improvise their own songs without
having received any formal music training. However, singing is also a
learnable (and therefore teachable) skill (Saunders, Varvarigou, & Welch,
2010), and singing abilities may be nurtured by conditions ranging from
formal, teacher-led instruction to more informal student-led experimen-
tation (Niland, 2017). Firstly, young children need to be exposed to
models of singing—these could be their parents, carers and teachers, or
recordings (imaginal learning). It is frequently the case that teachers in
preschool and kindergarten settings—who often report having limited
musical training and confidence as singers (Barrett et al., 2018; Nardo
et al., 2006)—purposefully select commercially recorded songs to encour-
age the children to listen, respond through gestures and movement, and
eventually sing along (experiential learning). Secondly, when children’s
group singing is scaffolded (De Vries, 2005; Klopper & Dachs, 2008),
this can encourage conceptual and practical learning through imitation
of the different pitches, rhythms, dynamics and characters of singing.
Singing in small groups also allows the teacher to listen carefully to each
child and focus on elements of the song where individuals might need
more support (practical learning). Finally, within a more informal
approach to supporting singing development, songs could be used for
creative play (imaginal learning). For instance, by altering melodies or
words, the children could interact with one another and the teacher could
practise words that they are acquiring and could use movement to accom-
pany their singing.
32 A. Creech et al.

 arent and Carer Involvement in Shaping Early

P
Musical Experiences
The family home is where, most often, musical involvement and partici-
pation are initiated (see Chap. 9). Parents and carers of young infants use
music throughout the day for the facilitation of care routines, to calm or
reassure a distressed child or to engage children in social interactions.
Outside the family home, non-formal music programmes in community
centres or public venues offer the opportunities for musicking within a
wider network of interpersonal relationships: amongst parents and their
children, amongst the children who participate in the same sessions, and
amongst the music leader, the children and the parents.
A case study is presented below that demonstrates a process of multi-­
layered facilitation of creative musical exploration, using music as a vehi-
cle for supporting deep connection between parents and their children.
The Haringey Nursery Schools Consortium Lullaby project took place in
Tottenham, in the London Borough of Haringey, “where 88% of the
population live in areas classified as being within the poorest 20% in the
United Kingdom” (Barnes, 2016, p. 205). The project aimed at support-
ing the wellbeing of two- and three-year-olds and their parents by express-
ing their personal and family identities through creative song-writing of
bespoke lullabies.
In this project, parents created songs that represented their perceptions
of their children’s interests and characteristics, through a process that
could be described as co-creation of musical possible selves. The facili-
tated process reflected some of the core contributors to creative develop-
ment identified by QCA (2000). Children and their families worked
alongside artists, using resources from a variety of cultures. The music
facilitator created a stimulating environment that valued creativity, origi-
nality and expressiveness, where the conceptualisation and articulation of
emerging musical possible selves (Freer, 2009) could be observed
(Box 2.1).
 2 Shaping Musical Possible Selves in the Early Years 33

Box 2.1 Creativity for Wellbeing—The Haringey Nursery Schools

Consortium Lullaby Project
Angeline [the singer/songwriter facilitator] first meets the children’s par-
ent/care(s), and using props and photographs encourages them to talk
about their child [‘Discovering’]: her first words, funny phrases, what she
loves doing, pets, favourite toys, favourite relatives, toys, and activities. She
also asks if there is anything the carer really wants to say to their child
through the song [‘Reflecting’]. Conversations are polite, warm, and follow
the lead of the carer. Details are captured on a large ‘spider diagram’ dur-
ing the conversation [‘Imagining’]. Angeline next composes a song with
repeated chorus and culturally sensitive nuances, capturing as much of the
conversation as possible [‘Thinking’]. Pronunciations are checked as the
new song is sung through to the carer [‘Growing’]. Finally, the completed
song is sung with guitar accompaniment for the child, carers, key worker,
and other children [‘Performing’]. The lullaby is recorded, burnt onto discs,
and given to the family and children’s centre. Many parents make multiple
copies for home computers and send them to relatives and friends … One
grandparent said “If I had a song like this when I was a kid, it would have
changed my life [a lost musical possible self]”. (Barnes, 2016, p. 205).

Discussing another Early Years community music programme, Pitt

(2014, p. 300) described the musical instruction as “directive yet infor-
mal”. Typical activities in this non-formal parent–child group music-­
making included playing instruments, singing familiar songs and using
props. One of the music facilitators described the format of a typical
session (Pitt, 2014, p. 192):

Welcoming/hello song, then key favourites, action songs like Row, row,
row your boat, for attachment. Social song like passing the ball. Then, what
shall we do with a bouncy baby, Peepo, hiding games, lycra—Teddies on
the bed, children hiding. Musical instruments, ask parents for suggestions
of songs … End with a Goodbye song.

The leader used a great deal of repetition, which parents found beneficial
for building their children’s confidence. Within musical activities that
themselves were highly structured, the term ‘informal’ referred to the use
of language and interaction among facilitators, parents and children.
Here, a hierarchical orientation to planning and structuring was juxta-
posed with a more cooperative or even autonomous orientation to
34 A. Creech et al.

meaning-­making, feeling and valuing, whereby activities were inclusive

and play-based. Notwithstanding the emphasis on hierarchical structure, it
was also emphasised that musical training for Early Years practitioners was
vital in ensuring that musicking for young children and their families
allowed the scope for informal, child-led and improvisatory musical play.
In this way, a multifaceted approach to music facilitation, encompassing
formal hierarchical structure and planning intersecting with cooperative
interactive musicking and even autonomous improvisatory activities, could
frame rich, manifold musical learning and participation in the Early Years.
Pitt (2014) explored the value attached to these non-formal music
classes for parents with their children, reporting contrasting beliefs
amongst parents and practitioners (see also Pitt & Hargreaves, 2017a,
2017b). On the one hand, the parents participated in these sessions pri-
marily for the social and emotional benefits for their children that they
perceived could be derived from peer interactions and enjoyment. They
appeared to be less concerned about learning per se, or personal benefits
such as meeting other parents. Conversely, the practitioners emphasised
young children’s musical learning and development through active music-­
making, as well as social benefits for parents. Both parents and practitio-
ners perceived valuable links between the music group session and the
home culture. For example, parents reported singing more at home and
using songs in daily routines and for improving the child’s mood. This is
a significant finding because research evidence suggests that increased
music sharing at home can lead to long-term developmental outcomes
for children (Williams, Barrett, Welch, Abad, & Broughton, 2015).
Likewise, Abad (2017) undertook an in-depth investigation of parental
experiences of a Music Early Learning Programme (MELP) and the extent
to which musicking within this non-formal learning setting influenced
music-making at home. She argued that MELPs could “help parents iden-
tify with their musical selves, connect with a social support group they can
identify with, and support the child to develop their innate musicality”
(p. 56). Parents reported that music supported other areas of their chil-
dren’s learning such as reading and writing, vocabulary and memory,
movement and communication, active listening, emotional and social
skills, and technology skills. Box 2.2 illustrates the meaning attached to
 2 Shaping Musical Possible Selves in the Early Years 35

Box 2.2 Music Early Learning Programmes (MELPs)

The MELP provides a social and cultural community group environment
where families with young children can engage together in live and inter-
active music-making and learning with a trained group leader. The program
may be informed by music therapy, music education or community music
principles, or the combination of these.
Attendance at a MELP has provided reassurance they are using music well
in their everyday parenting, [‘Discovering’] and it has provided new ways
for incorporating music to help manage emotions, behaviour and early
learning [‘Thinking’]. It has also reassured them that even though they
don’t identify themselves as musically talented, they are musical parents
[‘Imagining’]. Attendance has actively shaped the way the family uses music
in the home, particularly in regards to confidence to make up songs, use
music to support learning, incorporate children’s repertoire into daily activi-
ties, and support the development of regulatory behaviours [‘Reflecting’
and ‘Growing’]. Sarah has used the content and structures from her MELP
to strategically reinforce her musical parenting and support the health and
wellbeing of her family [‘Performing’] (p. 117).

participation in the MELP. In brief, this parent’s narrative highlights the

conceptualisation and realisation of musical possible selves (Freer, 2009):
from “Discovering” that they are using music well in everyday parenting,
to “Thinking” about new ways of incorporating music, “Imagining” them-
selves as musical parents, “Reflecting” on efficient ways to use music,
“Growing” in confidence to do so and, finally, implementing MELP con-
tent and structures to reinforce musical parenting (“Performing”).
Abad’s study again demonstrated highly structured activities alongside
informal playful approaches, juxtaposed within a non-formal context. In
particular, the parents valued the use of live or recorded music that was
voice-led, for it gave them the confidence to imitate the voice-led strate-
gies at home. Voice leading was used throughout sessions for singing,
alongside dancing, playing instruments, exploring story books and relax-
ation time. Facilitated music-making for young children and their par-
ents therefore encompassed a dynamic interplay of formal, non-formal
and informal approaches and contexts, laying the groundwork for rich
musical lives.
36 A. Creech et al.

 eveloping Musical Possible Selves through

D
Learning and Participation
with Professional Musicians
Some early musical experiences are facilitated by professional musicians
in non-formal contexts. For example, many orchestras offer education
programmes with concerts for under 5s (CSO, n.d.; LSO Discovery,
n.d.). Such programmes typically combine live music with storytelling
led by a presenter. Activities such as dancing, using props and costumes,
often accompany the music-making, which aims at enhancing the young
children’s development “as life-long learners” (CSO, n.d.).
Once again, hierarchical facilitation is the norm in planning these pro-
grammes, although cooperative or autonomous modes may also be incor-
porated to create meaningful opportunities for learning. For example,
Greek university music students (i.e. transitioning to professional careers
in music) led a series of four concerts for young children aged 6 months
to 6 years old and their families (Dionyssiou & Fytika, 2017). The ses-
sions took place in a public library, a conservatoire and a national art
gallery, aiming to reach groups from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
Repertoire was purposefully selected to be contrasting: the first concert
focused on baroque music, the second on contemporary music, the third
included familiar popular music and the final concert was Greek folk
music. During all four concerts, Orff percussion instruments, coloured
scarves and painting tools were available for the children. In the first con-
cert, no instruction or guidance for the use of these materials was offered,
reportedly resulting in limited engagement with the materials. Conversely,
in the remaining sessions, the musicians interacted with the children or a
facilitator served as a link between the audience and the musicians.
Several interesting findings emerged from the study. Firstly, although
the children seemed to respond more positively to the popular and folk
music concerts—probably owing to familiarity with the music and (for
those who had returned to all four concerts) with the musicians and ini-
tiative as a whole, the children also responded very positively to unfamil-
iar sounds and instrumental combinations. Secondly, it was evident that
increased parental participation in any musical activity influenced the
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
juventud toda cuidando enfermos. Gil de la Cuadra, doña Fermina
Sarmiento y doña Robustiana, marcaban las fechas culminantes y
sucesivas de una existencia consagrada al alivio de los males ajenos
siempre con absoluto desconocimiento del bien propio.
Doña Robustiana sucumbió. Las buenas costumbres y el respeto a
las apariencias morales, que no sin razón auxilian a la mora
verdadera, no permitían que una joven soltera viviese en compañía de
un señor viudo. Fue necesario separarse. Don Benigno tenía una
hermana vieja y solterona, avecindada en Madrid, medianamente rica
y de cuya suavidad, semejante a la de un puerco-espín, tiene el lecto
noticia. Poseía doña Cruz Cordero un carácter espinoso, insufrible
inexpugnable como una ruda fortaleza natural de displicencia, artillada
con los cañones de las palabras agrias y duras. No se llegaba a
interior de tal plaza ni por la violencia ni por el cariño. No se rendía a
los ataques ni se dejaba sorprender por la zapa. El pobre don Benigno
apuró todos los medios para conseguir que su hermana se fuera a vivi
con él, a fin de constituir la casa en pie mujeril, y poder retener a su
lado a Sola sin miedo a contravenir las prácticas sociales. Pero doña
Cruz hacía tan poco caso de la voz de la razón como de las voces de
cariño, y se fortalecía más cada vez en el baluarte de su egoísmo
Todo provenía de su odio a los muchachos, ya fueran de pecho, ya
pollancones o barbiponientes. En esto no había diferencias: aborrecía
la flor de la humanidad, cualquiera que fuese su estado, y
seguramente se dudara de la aptitud de su corazón para toda clase de
amor, si no existiesen gatos y perros y aun mirlos para probar lo
contrario.
Si no pudo conseguir don Benigno que doña Cruz fuese a vivir con
él, logró que admitiese en su compañía a Sola, no sin que pusiera mi
enojosas condiciones la vieja. A tal época pertenecen los apuros de
don Benigno, su soledad de padre viudo entre biberones y amas de
cría, y otros ruines trabajos que hemos descrito al principio de esta
narración. La de Gil de la Cuadra ayudábale un poco durante el día
pero no en las noches, porque doña Cruz había hecho la gracia de irse
a vivir al extremo de la Villa, lindando con el Seminario de Nobles
rarísima vez visitaba a su hermano, y esto en horas incómodas.
Llegó un día en que la paciencia de don Benigno, como todo
aquello que ha tenido largo y abundante uso, tocó a su límite. Ya no
había más paciencia en aquella alma, tan generosamente dotada de
nobles prendas por Dios. Pero aún había, en dosis no pequeña, la
decisión para acometer grandes cosas: la bravura de la acción unida a
la audacia del pensamiento, que en una fecha memorable le pusieron
al nivel de los más grandes héroes.
So pretexto de una enfermedad grave, Cordero hizo venir a doña
Crucita a su casa, y luego que la tuvo allí, le endilgó este discurso
amenazándola con una gruesa llave que en la mano tenía:
—Sepa usted, señora doña Basilisco, que de aquí no se saldrá s
no es para el cementerio, siempre que no se conforme a vivir en
compañía de su hermano. Solo estoy y viudo, con hijos pequeños y
uno todavía mamón. Dígame si es propio que yo abandone los
quehaceres de mi comercio para arrullar muchachos, teniendo, como
tengo, dos mujeres en mi familia que lo harán mejor que yo... ¡Silencio
porque pego!... De aquí no se sale.
Doña Crucita alborotó la casa, y aun quiso llamar a la justicia; pero
don Benigno, Sola y el padre Alelí, que era muy amigo de ambos
hermanos, lograron calmarla, para lo cual fue preciso anteponer a las
razones la traslación de todos los bichos que en su morada tenía la
señora, añadiendo a la colección nuevos ejemplares que Cordero
compró para acabar de conquistar la voluntad de la paloma ladrante
Al digno señor no le importaba ver su casa convertida en un arca de
Noé, con tal de tener en ella la compañía que deseaba.
Desde entonces varió la existencia de Cordero, así como la de Sola
Aquel volvió a sus quehaceres naturales. Los chicos tuvieron quien les
cuidara bien, y todo marchó a pedir de boca. Crucita, sin dejar de
renegar de su hermano, de los endiablados borregos y de
insoportable ruido de la calle, se fue conformando poco a poco.
Pronto se conoció que el gobierno de la casa estaba en buenas
manos. Sola la encontró como una leonera y la puso en un pie de
orden, limpieza y arreglo, que inundaba de gozo el corazón de don
Benigno. Ni aun en tiempo de su Robustiana había él visto cosa
semejante. Ya no se volvió a ver ninguna pieza descosida sobre e
cuerpo de los Corderillos, ni se echó de menos botón, faja ni cinta
Ninguna prenda ni objeto se vio fuera de su sitio, ni rodaba la loza po
el suelo, ni subía el polvo a los vasares, ni estaban las sillas patas
arriba y las lámparas boca abajo. Todo mueble ocupó su luga
conveniente, y toda ocupación tuvo su hora fija e inalterable. No se
buscaba cosa alguna que al punto no se encontrara, ni se hacía
esperar la comida ni la cena. Los objetos preciosos no podían
confundirse con los últimos cachivaches, porque había sido
inaugurado el reinado de las distancias. El latón brillaba como la plata
y el cerezo tenía el lustre de la caoba. Don Benigno estaba
embelesado, y repetía aquel pasaje de su autor favorito: «Sofía
conoce maravillosamente todos los detalles del gobierno de la casa
entiende de cocina, sabe el precio de los comestibles, y lleva muy bien
las cuentas. Tiene un talento agradable sin ser brillante, y sólido sin
ser profundo... La felicidad de una joven de esta clase consiste en
labrar la de un hombre honrado».
La casa era grande, tortuosa y oscura como un laberinto. Había que
conocerla bien para andar sin tropiezo por sus negros pasillos y
aposentos, construidos a estilo de rompecabezas. Solo dos piezas
tenían ambiente y luz, y en una de ellas, la mejor de la casa, fue
preciso instalar a Crucita con las doce jaulas de pájaros, que eran su
delicia. No faltaba en el estrado ningún objeto de los que entonces
constituían el lujo, pues a don Benigno se le había despertado el amo
de las cosas elegantes, cómodas y decentes; y como no carecía de
dinero, cada día daba permiso a su diligente Hormiga para introduci
alguna novedad. Con las onzas de Cordero y el buen gusto de Sola
viose pronto la casa en un pie de elegancia que era el asombro de la
vecindad. Fue vestida la sala de hermoso papel imitando mármol, y
una tanda de sillas de caoba sustituyó a las antiguas de nogal y
cerezo. El brasero era como un gran artesón de cobre, sustentado
sobre cuatro garras leoninas, y con la badila y reja no pesaba menos
de medio quintal. El sofá y los dos sillones, que hoy nos parecerían
potros de suplicio, eran de lo más selecto. Las cortinas de perca
blanco con franjas de tafetán encarnado, tenían aspecto risueño, y se
conceptuaban entonces como lo más lujoso y elegante. No faltaban las
mesillas de juego con sus indispensables candeleros de plata, ni las
célebres y ya olvidadas rinconeras llenas de baratijas y objetos de arte
y ciencia, tales como cajas, caracoles, figurillas de yeso, algún jarro
libros y un par de pajaritos disecados. En el marco del espejo
apaisado, veíanse algunas plumas de pavo real puestas con arte y
simetría, como las pintan en las cabezas de los salvajes. En cuestión
de láminas, habíanse conservado las antiguas, que eran El león de
Florencia devorando a un niño, La desgraciada muerte de Luis XVI y
La caída de Ícaro.
 Vistos de la calle los balcones, presentaban el aspecto más alegre
que puede imaginarse. Los tiestos, con ser tantos, no eran bastantes
para quitar sitio a las jaulas, colgadas unas sobre otras. Interiormente
no cesaba la algarabía formada por el piar de algunos pájaros, el canto
de otros, el ladrido de los falderillos, el mayido de los gatos y los
roncos discursos de la cotorra. El esmero con que Crucita atendía a
cuidado y a las necesidades todas de su colección zoológica, hacía
que la existencia de tanto bicho no fuera incompatible con el perfecto
aseo de la casa.
Contentísimo estaba don Benigno del buen arreglo que Sola había
hecho en el gabinete donde él vivía. Sus ropas abundantes, tan bien
dispuestas que jamás notó en ellas rotura de más ni botón de menos
le recreaban la vista, así como la limpieza de su variada colección de
sombreros. No le cautivaba menos el ver libres de polvo sus
adminículos de caza (diversión a que era muy aficionado), ni la buena
colocación que se había dado a las estampas de Santa Leocadia y la
Virgen del Sagrario (ambas proclamando el toledano abolengo de
propietario), ni la acertada ordenación de los libros. Estos no eran
muchos, pero sí escogidos, y solo formaban dos obras: las de
Rousseau, edición de 1827, en veinticinco tomitos, y el Año Cristiano
en doce. Aunque alineados en dos grupos distintos, no por eso
dejaban de andar a cabezadas, dentro de un mismo estante, el Vicario
Saboyano y San Agustín.
Con el orden perfecto en la disposición de todo lo de la casa, corría
parejas la buena concordia entre sus habitantes, si se exceptúan las
genialidades de Crucita, que fueron menos molestas desde que Sola
adoptó el sistema de hacerle poco caso sin aparentar contrariarla.
Desapacible y brusca con los chicos, no consentía que se le
acercaran a dos varas a la redonda. No obstante, el frecuente trato
con ellos y la dulzura de su hermano y de la Hormiga fueron poco a
poco arrancando las espinas de aquel carácter endiablado, y al fin, sin
dejar de hablarles en el lenguaje más duro y desabrido que se puede
imaginar, manifestaba algún interés por los cuatro enemigos, ayudaba
a cuidarles, y aun se permitía contarles algún trasnochado y soso
cuento.
Los muchachos, a excepción del más pequeño, eran pacíficos
Primitivo y Segundo adelantaban regularmente en sus estudios, y en
cuanto a vocaciones, el tono especial de la época y los personajes de
aquel tiempo despertaban en ellos ambiciones varias. El mayor quería
ser Padre Guardián, para tomar mucho chocolate, dar a besar su
mano a los transeúntes y salir a paseo entre un par de duques o
marqueses. El segundo, que era vanidosillo y fachendoso, quería se
tambor mayor de la Guardia Real, porque eso de ir delante de un
regimiento haciendo gestos y espantando moscas con un bastón de
porra, le parecía el colmo de la dicha. Rafaelito era más modesto. No
le hablaran a él de figuraciones ni altas dignidades: él no quería se
sino confitero, para poder atracarse de dulces desde la mañana a la
noche y hacer bonitas velas para los santos. En cuanto a Juanito
Jacobo, aunque no hablara, bien se le conocía que su vocación era la
de gigante Goliat o Hércules, según lo que destrozaba, berreaba y las
diabluras que hacía andando a gatas, sin dejarse amedrentar po
cocos ni espantajos.
Tranquilo, feliz, gozoso del orden en que vivía, y que amaba po
naturaleza y costumbre, Cordero veía pasar suavemente los días. E
método en la existencia le encantaba, y la semejanza entre el hoy y e
ayer era su principal delicia.
Hombre laborioso, de sentimientos dulces y prácticas sencillas
aborrecedor de las impresiones fuertes y de las mudanzas bruscas
don Benigno amaba la vida monótona y regular, que es la
verdaderamente fecunda. Compartiendo su espíritu entre los gratos
afanes de su comercio y los puros goces de la familia; libre de
ansiedad política; amante de la paz en la casa, en la ciudad y en e
estado; respetuoso con la instituciones que protegían aquella paz
amigo de sus amigos; amparador de los menesterosos; implacable con
los pillos, fuesen grandes o pequeños; sabiendo conciliar el decoro
con la modestia, y conociendo el justo medio entre lo distinguido y lo
popular, era acabado tipo del burgués español que se formaba de
antiguo pechero fundido con el hijodalgo, y que más tarde había de
tomar gran vuelo con las compras de bienes nacionales y la creación
de las carreras facultativas hasta llegar al punto culminante en que
ahora se encuentra.
La formidable clase media, que hoy es el poder omnímodo que todo
lo hace y deshace, llamándose política, magistratura, administración
ciencia, ejército, nació en Cádiz entre el estruendo de las bombas
francesas y las peroratas de un congreso híbrido, inocente
extranjerizado si se quiere, pero que brotado había como un
sentimiento, o como un instinto ciego, incontrastable, del espíritu
nacional. El tercer estado creció, abriéndose paso entre frailes y
nobles; y echando a un lado con desprecio estas dos fuerzas
atrofiadas y sin savia, llegó a imperar en absoluto, formando con sus
grandezas y sus defectos una España nueva.
Perdónesenos la digresión, y volvamos a Cordero, del cual nos falta
decir que en los últimos años había prosperado grandemente en su
comercio. Pocas noches antes de aquel día en que suponemos
comenzada esta narración, el héroe estaba en su gabinete contando e
dinero de la semana. Después que tomó nota de las cantidades y
distribuyó estas cariñosamente en las cestillas de paja que servían
para el caso, llamó a Sola, y haciéndola sentar frente a él, le dijo así:
—Si no comunico a alguien lo que en este instante pienso
apreciable Hormiguita, reviento de seguro.
Sola sonreía, dando más luz al quinqué, que repartía en proporción
igual su resplandor a los dos personajes. Don Benigno se reía
también, y ya se acariciaba la barba redondita y arrebolada, como una
manzana recién cogida, ya se arreglaba las gafas de oro, cuya
tendencia a resbalar sobre la nariz picuda y fina iba en aumento cada
día.
—Pues lo que pienso —añadió— es que sin saber cómo, me
encuentro rico... es decir, no muy rico, entendámonos, sino
simplemente en ese estado de buen acomodo que me permitiría, s
quisiera, renunciar al comercio y retirarme a vivir tranquilo en mis
queridos Cigarrales, donde no me ocuparía más que en labrar e
campo y criar a mis hijos.
Sola le respondió a estas palabras con otras de felicitación, y e
héroe, que se sentía aquella noche con muchas ganas de charlar
continuó de este modo:
—Con usted no hay secretos. Sepa usted que ayer he pagado e
último plazo de esta casa en que vivimos: de modo que es mía, tan
mía como mis anteojos y mi corbata de suela. En los Cigarrales he
comprado ya más de cien fanegadas para agregarlas a las que heredé
de mis padres, y pienso comprar las del tío Rezaquedito, que saldrán a
la venta muy pronto. De modo que ya estamos libres de perder e
sueño por cavilar en el día de mañana; y si por acaso me da un
torozón (que no me dará), no estaré afligido en mi última hora con la
idea de que mis hijos tengan que vivir a expensas de parientes y
amigos, vea usted por dónde la Divina Providencia ha premiado m
laboriosidad, y nada más que mi laboriosidad, pues talentos no los
tengo, y en cuanto a picardías, ya se sabe que esa moneda no corre
dentro de mi casa.
—Dios ha querido que un hombre tan bueno y tan cabal en todo —
le dijo Sola— tenga su merecido en el mundo, porque si al bueno no le
da Dios los medios de ser caritativo y generoso, ¿qué sería de los
pobres, de los abandonados, de los huérfanos?
—No, no... —replicó Cordero un sí es no es conmovido—, no hay
aquí generosidades que alabar ni virtudes que enaltecer. Algo he
hecho por los menesterosos; y si alguna persona ha recibido
especialmente de mí ciertos beneficios, estos han sido menores de los
que ella se merece. Dios no puede estar satisfecho de mí en esta
parte... Que se han sucedido buenos años para el género; que los
cambios políticos, improvisando posiciones, han desarrollado el lujo
que las modas han favorecido grandemente el comercio de blondas y
puntillas; que la paz de estos años de despotismo ha traído muchos
bailes y saraos, equivalentes a gran despilfarro de Valenciennes
Flandes y Malinas; que el restablecimiento del culto y clero después de
los tres años trajo la renovación de toda la ropa de altar y mucho
consumo de encajería religiosa; que mi puntualidad y honradez me
dieron la preferencia entre las damas; que la corte misma, a pesar de
que son bien notorias mis ideas contrarias a la tiranía, no quiere ve
entrar por las puertas de Palacio ni media vara de Almagro que no sea
de casa de Cordero, y, en fin, que Dios lo ha querido, y con esto se
dice todo. Bendigámosle y pidámosle luces para acertar a hacer e
bien que aún no hemos hecho, y que es a manera de una sagrada
deuda pendiente con la sociedad, con la conciencia...
El héroe se atascó en su propia retórica, como le pasaba siempre
que quería expresar una idea no bien determinada aún en su espíritu
y un sentimiento oprimido en las fuertes redes de la timidez y la
delicadeza.
—Acabe usted, que me da gusto oírle —le dijo Sola sonriendo—
pero prontito, que hay mucho que hacer esta noche.
—Descanse usted un momento, por amor de Dios. ¿Siempre
hemos de estar sobre un pie?... ¡Oh!, por mi parte, Hormiga, estoy
decidido a descansar. Verdad es que no soy un niño. Tengo cincuenta
y dos años.
 Dicho esto, don Benigno miró como extasiado a su protegida, que a
su vez contemplaba fijamente la luz, a riesgo de quedarse
deslumbrada.
—Cincuenta y dos años, que es mucho y es poco, según se
considere —añadió el héroe con cierta turbación—. Todo es relativo
hasta los años, y yo, con mi constitución recia y firme, mis acerados
músculos, mi desconocimiento absoluto de lo que son médicos y
boticas, no me cambio por esos pisaverdes de color de cera de
muerto, que se llaman muchachos por una equivocación del tiempo.
—Es usted rico; goza de perfecta salud —murmuró Sola, cuyas
miradas, como mariposas, gustaban de recrearse en la llama—; es
además bueno como el buen pan; tiene buen nombre y fama limpia
¿Qué más puede desear?
Don Benigno dio un suspiro, y mirando al tapete, dijo así:
—Es verdad: nada puedo desear. Temeridad e impertinencia sería
pedir más.
Ambos callaron.
—¿Tiene usted algo más que decirme? —preguntó Sola
levantándose.
—Nada, nada, apreciable Hormiga —dijo don Benigno irradiando
bondad y sentimientos puros de su cara de rosa—. Nada más sino
que... Dios sobre todo.
Después que la joven se fue, Cordero tomó a Rousseau como se
toma el brazo de un amigo para apoyarse en él, y abriendo el libro po
donde estaba la marca, indicando sin duda capítulo, renglón o párrafo
de gran interés, se quedó un buen rato meditando en la extraordinaria
profundidad, intención y filosofía de la sentencia con que el ginebrino
encabeza el libro quinto del Emilio.
Dice así: No es bueno que el hombre esté solo.
 III

El día era de los mejores que suele tener Madrid en invierno, con
cielo limpio y espléndido sol. Los madrileños, que por su índole castiza
no necesitaban entonces ni ahora de grandes atractivos para echarse
en tropel a la calle, invadieron aquel día la carrera de las procesiones
regias que va desde las puertas de Toledo o Atocha hasta Palacio, vía
ciertamente histórica y muy interesante, por la cual han pasado tantos
monarcas felices o desgraciados, y no pocos ídolos populares. Si fuera
posible reproducir la serie de comitivas diversas que han recorrido ese
camino del entusiasmo desde la primera entrada de Fernando VII en
mayo de 1808, tendríamos una galería curiosa, en la cual muy pocas
pinceladas tendría que añadir la historia para hacer el cuadro completo
de las sucesivas idolatrías españolas. El quemar de los ídolos, cuando
estamos cansados de adorarlos, se verifica en otra parte.
Estas grandiosas comparsas tienen una monotonía que desespera
pero el pueblo no se cansa de ver los mismos lacayos con las mismas
pelucas, los mismos penachos en la frente de los mismos caballos, y
el inacabable desfilar de uniformes abigarrados, de coches enormes
más ricos que elegantes, de generales en número infinito, y e
trompeteo, la bulla, el oscilar mareante de plumachos mil, el fulgor de
bayonetas, y, por último, el revoloteo de palomitas y de hojas de pape
conteniendo los peores sonetos y madrigales que pueden imaginarse.
Aquel día de diciembre de 1829, el pueblo de Madrid admiró
principalmente la hermosura de la nueva reina, la cual era, según la
expresión que corría de boca en boca, una divinidad. Su cara
incomparablemente graciosa y dulce, tenía un sonreír constante, que
se entraba, como decían entonces, hasta el corazón de todo el pueblo
despertando ardientes simpatías. Bastaba verla para conocer su
agudo talento, que tanto había de brillar en las lides cortesanas, y para
prever las nobles conquistas que la gracia y la confianza habían de
hacer prontamente en el terreno de la brutalidad y del recelo. Jamás
paloma alguna entró con más valentía que aquella en el negro nidal de
los búhos; y aunque no pudo hacerles amar la luz, consiguió
someterles a su talante y albedrío, consiguiendo de este modo que
pareciesen menos malos de lo que eran. Fue mirada su belleza como
un sol de piedad que venía, si bien un poco tarde, a iluminar los antros
de venganza y barbarie en que vivía, como un criminal aherrojado, e
sentimiento nacional.
No ha existido persona Real a quien se hayan dedicado más
versos. Por ella sola se han fatigado más las deidades de Hipocrene y
ha hecho más corvetas el buen Pegaso que por todas las demás
reinas juntas. A ella se le dijo que si el Vesubio la había despedido con
refulgentes destellos, el Manzanares la recibió vestido de flores; se le
dijo que Pirene había inclinado la erguida espalda para dejarla pasar, y
que en los vergeles de Aretusa tocaba la lira el virginal concilio
celebrando a la ninfa bella de Parténope.
La hermosa reina fue también cantada por los grandes poetas; que
no todo había de ser ruido en las diversas cataratas de versos que
celebraron su casamiento, su entrada, su embarazo, sus dos
alumbramientos, sus días, sus actos políticos más notables, y en
particular el glorioso hecho de la amnistía. Don Juan Bautista Arriaza
que desde el año 8 venía haciendo todos los versos decorativos y de
circunstancias, la letra de todos los himnos y las inscripciones de todos
los arcos triunfales, echó el resto, como decirse suele, en las fiestas
del año 29. Quintana dedicó al feliz enlace de Fernando VII una
canción epitalámica que no quiso incluir en las ediciones de sus obras
y otros insignes vates de la época la ensalzaron en aquellas odas
resonantes y tiesas, algo parecidas al parche duro y ruidoso de una
caja de guerra, y cuya lectura deja en los oídos impresión semejante a
la que produciría una banda de tambores en día de parada. Con todo
en la corona poética de esta insigue reina se encuentran altos
pensamientos y graciosas imágenes, principalmente en todo aquello
que aparece inspirado por la seductora sonrisa,
que cuanto más se ve más enamora.
 Entró Cristina en coche acompañada de sus padres los reyes de
Nápoles. Al estribo derecho venía el esposo y tío, rigiendo
magistralmente su hermoso caballo. Era, según dicen, el primer jinete
de su época; verdaderamente nuestro rey tenía un aspecto tan
majestuoso como gallardo cuando montaba en uno de aquellos
apopléticos corceles cuya pesadez y arrogancia nos han transmitido
Velázquez y Goya. La alzada del animal, el corpulento busto de
monarca, su rico uniforme, su alto sombrero de tres picos, muy
parecido, según la absurda moda de la época, a las mitras o tinajones
que llevan en su cabeza los bueyes de la arquitectura asiria, daban a
la colosal figura no sé qué apariencia babilónica que infundía respeto y
algo de miedo supersticioso.
Pero la arrogancia de la majestad ecuestre, la misma riqueza
abigarrada de su traje de gala, no disimulaban en Fernando aquella
decadencia precoz que le hacía viejo a los cuarenta y cinco años. En
su rostro duro y de pocos amigos (por lo que se acomodaba
perfectamente al carácter) parecía que la nariz se había agrandado
impaciente de juntarse al labio belfo, el que por su parte se estiraba a
más no poder, como si quisiera echarse fuera de tal cara. Su color, que
era una mezcla enfermiza del verdoso y del amoratado, extendía po
sus mejillas como una sombra lúgubre, en la cual lucían mejor sus ojos
grandes y negros, por donde en ciertos momentos se asomaban, con
el instantáneo fulgor del relámpago, sus alborotadas pasiones.
Pasaron. Aquel río de morriones, pelucas, sables desnudos
entorchados, pompones y cabezas mil que se movían al compás de la
marcha de tanto caballo festoneado y lleno de garambainas; la
sucesión de tanto y tanto coche, semejante a canastillas hechas con
todos los materiales posibles, desde la concha y el marfil hasta e
cobre y la madera; el estruendo solemne de la marcha real y todo lo
demás que realza estas procesiones, tenían tan absorto y embobado
al pueblo madrileño, amante de estas cosas como ningún otro pueblo
del mundo, que si la corte hubiera estado pasando y repasando de
aquella manera por espacio de tres meses seguidos, no faltarían ni un
momento las grandes líneas de gente con la boca abierta, a un lado y
otro de la carrera.
Por la multitud de caras bonitas y la variedad de colores que en
ellos había, parecían babilónicos pensiles los balcones de las casas
En los de la de Bringas, que daban a la calle Mayor, hallábase don
Benigno con Sola y los chicos, amén de otras familias amigas del rico
comerciante que dio su nombre a los soportales cercanos a Platerías
Quiso la desgraciada suerte de Sola que le tocase salir al mismo
balcón donde estaba una señora a quien ciertamente no gustaba de
ver en parte alguna, y no porque la dama fuese de mal aspecto, sino
por otros motivos muy poderosos. Era de tal manera hermosa, que
cautivaba los ojos y el corazón de cuantos la miraban. Por singula
capricho de la naturaleza, el tiempo, que de ordinario es enemigo y
destructor de la hermosura, allí era su cultivador y como su custodio
pues la conservaba fielmente, y aun parecía aumentarla cada año. De
esta galantería del tiempo, unida a los adornos escogidos y a un
esmero constante y casi religioso en la persona, resultaba el boccato
di cardinale más rico que podría imaginarse. Para mayor gracia, había
tenido el buen acuerdo de vestirse de maja, lo mismo que otras
muchas damas que en aquel día clásico adoptaron el traje nacional
Llevaba, pues, falda de alepín inglés color de amaranto con abalorios
negros, chaquetilla de terciopelo con muchos botoncitos de filigrana de
oro, mantilla de casco de tafetán con gran velo de blonda, y peineta de
pico de pato, todo puesto con extraordinaria bizarría.
 IV

Cuando Sola se vio junto a ella, tuvo que disimular su espanto

obligada a recibir el saludo de la dama y a devolverlo cortésmente
Después hablaron las dos de lo bonita que estaba la carrera, de la
hermosura del tiempo, de los dichos y hechos que se contaban de la
reina Cristina y del excesivo número de personas que había en casa
de Bringas, las cuales rebosaban por los balcones como guindas en
cesta.
Ocupada la mejor parte de los balcones por las señoras, los
hombres poco o casi nada podían ver. Cordero paseaba de largo a
largo por la sala, charlando con su amigo don Francisco Bringas de
cosas sustanciosas y muy importantes, como la paz entre Rusia y
Turquía, la cuestión de Grecia, que pronto iba a ser reino
independiente, y las tristes nuevas que habían llegado de la
expedición americana, deshecha y rota en Tampico, con lo que parecía
terminada nuestra dominación en aquel continente.
Don Benigno, que leía diariamente la Gaceta y Diario, estaba a
tanto de todo, y sobre cada asunto daba juiciosos dictámenes. Los
impronunciables nombres de los puntos donde se batían turcos y
rusos salían de la boca de nuestro héroe con no poca dificultad, y
Bringas, que seguía con grandísimo ahínco el negocio de la nueva
Grecia, barajaba los nombres gatunos de los personajes de aque
país, y así no se oía otra cosa que Miaulis, Mauromichales y también
Kalocotroni, Maurocordato y Capodistria.
Pronto tomó la conversación otro rumbo con la llegada de cierto
joven de arrogante presencia, alto de cuerpo, agraciadísimo de rostro
con el pelo en rizos, las mejillas rosadas, el color blanco, los ojos
garzos, los ademanes desenvueltos, el vestir elegante. Respondía a
nombre de Salustiano Olózaga y era un abogado de veinticuatro años
medio célebre ya por sus brillantes alegatos forenses, y mayormente
por la defensa que había hecho ante el Consejo y Cámara de Castilla
de un pobre albañil inclusero condenado a muerte por el robo de dos
libras de tocino. La Milicia nacional cuando había Milicia, el foro
cuando había foro y la política siempre, consumían todo el ardor de su
existencia.
Era el campeón juvenil de la idea naciente; la Providencia habíale
dado, entre otras notables prendas, elocuencia, si no brillante, varonil y
sobria, con una lógica irresistible.
Los jóvenes de hoy, alumnos aprovechados del eclecticismo y de
justo medio, no comprenderán quizás el entusiasmo y valentía de
aquellos muchachos que sintiendo en su mente, por la natural índole
de los tiempos, una especie de inspiración sacerdotal, hablaban de los
déspotas y de la libertad como hablaría un romano de la primera
república. Y no se paraban en barras; aún deseaban martirios
heroicos, y se metían en las conspiraciones más absurdas e
inocentes, y osaban decir en pleno foro, delante de los consejeros
cosas que pasman por lo valerosas o intencionadas.
Desde que entró Salustiano no se habló más de Miaulis ni de
bueno de Kalocotroni. Alejados un tanto del salón principal, y reforzado
el grupo con otras personas, el librero Miyar, el ingeniero Marcoartú y
un comerciante de la calle de Postas, llamado Bárcenas, se
despacharon todos a su gusto, siendo Olózaga tan hablador y
contudente que no se paraba en pelillos, y con su lengua, que más
bien era un hacha, iba dejando muy mal parada a lo que ya se llamaba
la situación.
Don Benigno, que no gustaba de engolfarse mucho en política po
los peligros que pudiera traer, dejó a sus amigos para buscar en los
balcones la tertulia más grata y segura de las damas. La que vestía de
maja se había puesto a bromear con el marqués de Falfán de los
Godos, el hombre más mujeriego de aquel tiempo y también el más
fino y galante, si bien su persona, camino ya de la ruina, le ayudaba
poco en lo que él quisiera que le ayudase. A Sola, en tanto, le daba
conversación una señora muy impertinente llamada doña Salomé
Porreño, que a cada rato ponía los ojos en blanco y echaba suspiros
cual si no tuviera en el mundo otra misión ni empleo que estarse
lamentando a todas horas de una cosa perdida. Al lado de ella
campaba una joven muy bonita, casada y por añadidura en aque
interesante estado que anuncia la maternidad. La de Presentacioncita
que así se llamaba, debía estar ya muy próxima, según se echaba de
ver al primer examen. Era su marido un tal don Gaspar de Grijalva
con más riqueza que buen seso, y muy aficionado a meterse en
trapisondas políticas, por lo que Presentación se afligía mucho y
estaba siempre sobre ascuas temiendo que le ahorcasen. Esta señora
lo mismo que Sola, parecían tener muy pocas ganas de conversación
pero doña Salomé, colocada entre ellas como una especie de
mediador parlante, suplía la desgana de ellas con un insaciable apetito
de palique, y no cesaba de hacer preguntas y observaciones
poniendo en el discurso, como se pone la sal en la comida, los
suspiros y el incesante revolver de sus ojos.
Jenara, o sea la maja, hacia atrás volvía su rostro a cada instante
para responder a Falfán de los Godos, y en uno de estos dimes y
diretes habló así:
—Sí, hoy mismo he tenido noticias suyas. Pipaón me entregó esta
mañana una carta que es de perlas, por las muchas cosas ingeniosas
que me dice. Creo que en mucho tiempo no le veremos por acá. Me
anuncia que piensa casarse.
Jenara hablaba en voz muy alta; pero como Falfán de los Godos
era algo teniente, es decir, algo sordo, nadie lo extrañaba. Al mismo
tiempo la de Porreño daba con el codo a Sola y le decía:
—¿Pero no me oye usted lo que le pregunto? Tres veces le he
preguntado a usted que si conoce a aquel comandante que pasa, y no
me ha dado contestación... Por lo visto aquí todos son sordos... Se ha
quedado usted lela; ¿en qué piensa usted que está tan pálida?... ¿No
oye usted?...
—Sí, sí —replicó Sola, como se replicaría a las avispas, si la picada
de estas fuera, en vez de picada, pregunta—. He oído perfectamente.
La de Porreño, al ver que por aquella banda no sacaba nada de
provecho, se volvió a la otra y a Presentación. Después que la oyó
Presentación, que era muy maligna, dijo así:
—Aguarde usted. Mandaré a casa por la Guía de Forasteros, y con
ella en la mano le diré a usted los nombres de todos los comandantes
capitanes y coroneles que hay en España.
La de Porreño miró al cielo como si quisiera ponerle por testimonio
de tanta injusticia. Bueno es decir que no vestía de maja ni de cosa
que lo pareciera, sino a la moda pura y neta de 1822, con dulleta que
ella misma había trocado en pelliza, aplicándole los restos de un
capisayo antiguo. Su tocado era el llamado de turbante, guarnecido de
cordones que fueron de oro y unas plumas que más parecían de
escribano que de avestruz, como no pudieran aplicarse a uno y otro.
—También a mí me han dicho que piensa casarse —manifestó
Falfán de los Godos.
Entonces se oyó un murmullo, una voz sorda y general que, sin
decir nada, claramente decía: «Ya viene, ya viene, ya, ya...». La
multitud se agitó cual una gran culebra que pone en movimiento todas
sus vértebras, y en los balcones hubo un hondo suspiro de ansiedad
que corrió de un cabo a otro de la calle. Todos los ojos miraban a la
Puerta del Sol, por donde sonaba como el mugido de un mar, y al poco
rato se vio que se agitaba la superficie de cabezas, y que brincaban
saltando por encima de la gente penachos de caballos, plumas de
morriones y espadas desnudas. El murmullo creció, estalló la marcha
real como un trueno, y empezó a pasar la corte.
Sola no veía nada, sino una confusa corriente de colorines y
formas, caballos que parecían hombres, hombres que trotaban, y un
rodar continuo de formas y magnificencias, todo en tropel y
borrosamente, al modo de nube formada de la disolución de todas las
visiones humanas. Un cerebro que desfallece, permitiendo la
alteración de las sensaciones ópticas, suele producir desvanecimiento
y síncope; pero Sola hizo un esfuerzo, cerró los ojos, dejando pasar la
mareante comparsa, y así resistió, fuertemente asida a los hierros de
balcón. Cuando, pasada la corriente de abigarrados coches, solo
quedaban los escuadrones de escolta, principió a serenarse: pero
todavía su visión estaba perturbada, y las casas y balcones cuajados
de damas, seguían corriendo juntamente con la caballería.
Después de desfilar por delante de Palacio, los regimientos de
infantería pasaban por la calle.
—Ese, ese coronel, ¿quién es? —preguntó súbitamente la de
Porreño.
—Si no me engaño, es el moro Muza —replicó Presentación.
Diciéndolo, el caballo que montaba el teniente coronel señalado po
Salomé resbaló, y sin que el jinete pudiera sujetarlo, cayó
pesadamente, arrastrando a este. La caída fue tremenda. Oyose
inmensa gritería mujeril. Detúvose la gente, arremolinose e
regimiento, acudieron soldados y paisanos al infeliz jinete, magullado y
aturdido por la fuerza del golpe, y alzándole del suelo, le entraron en
una tienda para darle algún socorro. Era un hombre de cuerpo largo y
flaco, cara morena y varonil. Al ser levantado del suelo hacía recorda
involuntariamente la figura de don Quijote tendido en tierra después de
cualquiera de sus desventuradas aventuras.
En los balcones de Bringas agolpáronse todos para ver al caído.
—¡Pobre hombre! —exclamó Cordero.
—¡Y qué bien iba en el caballo! —dijo la de Porreño.
—Se parece al de la Triste Figura —indicó Bringas.
—Es el mismísimo don Quijote —observó Olózaga.
Jenara volviose prontamente, y con cierto tonillo de enfado dijo así:
—Pues no es don Quijote, señor discursista, sino don Tomás
Zumalacárregui, apostólico neto y con un corazón mayor que esta
casa.
Cuando poco o nada había que ver en los balcones, Bringas
obsequió a sus amigos con algunas golosinas acompañadas de licores
y agua fresca, y unos hartos de dulces, otros sin probarlos, empezó e
desfile. Don Benigno, con Sola y sus hijos, fue a recorrer las calles
para ver los preparativos de las grandes fiestas que empezaban aque
día, y principalmente para contemplar y admirar por sus cuatro
costados el templete, monumento de lienzo pintado de que se hablaba
mucho, y que con grandes dispendios se construyó en la Puerta de
Sol sobre la misma Mariblanca. Era la máquina más bonita que habían
visto los madrileños hasta entonces. Millares de personas la
admiraban sin cesar, formando un círculo de papamoscas, y a la
verdad, las columnas pintadas, las cuatro estatuas y el globo
terráqueo, que remataba la construcción como un bonete, harían cae
de espaldas a Miguel Ángel, Herrera y demás célebres arquitectos.
Todo lo fue examinando Cordero, y sobre todos los preparativos dio
opiniones muy discretas. En los días y noches siguientes llevó a su
familia a ver las comparsas e iluminaciones, y a admirar la gran
novedad del carro triunfal alegórico mitológico manolesco, dispuesto
por el corregidor Barrajón, y en el cual iban haciendo de ninfas varias
bellezas de Madrid, entre ellas Pepa la Naranjera, que, subida en e
escabel más alto, representaba a la diosa Venus.
La gente decía que iba vestida de Venus, de lo que resultaba un
contrasentido; pero el decoro de nuestras costumbres y la santidad de
los tiempos no habrían consentido que las diosas salieran a la calle
como andaban por el Olimpo.
 V

Entre las muchas sociedades más o menos secretas que

amenazaron el poder de Calomarde, hubo una que no precisamente
por lo temible, sino por otras razones, merece las simpatías de la
posteridad. Llamose de los Numantinos, y componíase de mucha y
diversa gente. Entre los atrevidos fundadores de ella hubo tres, cuyos
nombres ilustres conserva y conservará siempre la historia patria
llamábanse Veguita, Pepe y Patricio.
El objeto de los Numantinos era, como quien no dice nada, derroca
la tiranía. Los medios para conseguir este fin no podían ser más
sencillos. Todo se haría bonitamente por medio de la siguiente receta
matar al tirano y fundar una república a estilo griego.
Retratemos a los tres audaces patriotas, ante cuya grandeza
heroica palidecerían los Gracos, Brutos y Aristogitones.
El primero, Veguita, tenía dieciocho años y era de la piel de
Barrabás, inquieto, vivo, saltón, con la más grande inventiva que se ha
visto para idear travesuras, bien fueran una fiestecilla de pólvora, un
escalamiento de tapias, una paliza dada a tiempo, o cualquier otro
desafuero. Su casta americana se revelaba en el brillo de sus negros
ojos, en su palidez y en sus extremadas alternativas de agitación o
indolencia. Vino de América casi a la ventura. Su madre le envió a
Europa para educarse y para heredar. Si esto último no fue logrado, en
cambio su nueva patria heredó de él abundantes bienes de la mejo
calidad. Pertenecía a la célebre empolladura del colegio de San
Mateo, donde dos retóricos eminentes sacaron una robusta
generación de poetas. Antes de ser derrocador de tiranos fundó la
academia del Mirto, cuyo objeto era hacer versos, y allí, entre sáficos y
espondeos, nació el complot numantino; que en España, ya es sabido
se pasa fácilmente de las musas a la política.
 El segundo, Pepe, tenía quince años. Nació en un camino, entre e
estruendo de un ejército en marcha; arrullaron su primer sueño los
cañones de la guerra de la Independencia. Creció en medio de
soldados y cureñas, y a los cinco años montaba a caballo. Sus
juguetes fueron balas. Ya mozo, era mediano de cuerpo y agraciado
de rostro, en lo moral generoso, arrojado hasta la temeridad, ardiente
en sus deseos, pobre en caudales, rico en palabra, cuando triste
tétrico, cuando alegre casi loco. Educose también en San Mateo con
los retóricos, y desde aquella primera campaña con los libros, le
atormentaba el anhelo de cosas grandes, bien fueran hechas o
sentidas. Los embriones de su genio, brotando y creciendo antes de
tiempo con fuerza impetuosa, le exigieron acción, y de esta necesidad
precoz salió la sociedad numantina. También le exigían arte, y por eso
en la sesiones de la asamblea infantil, a Pepe le salía del cuerpo y de
alma, en borbotones, una elocuencia inocentemente heroica que
entusiasmaba a todo el concurso. Él no pedía niñerías; aspiraba nada
menos que a quebrantar las cadenas que oprimían a la patria
empresa en verdad muy humanitaria y que iba a ser realizada en un
periquete.
El tercero, Patricio, tenía, como Veguita, dieciocho años. Se le
contaba, por lo tanto, entre los respetables.
Era formalillo, atildado, de buena presencia, palabra fácil y fantasía
levantisca y alborotada. Sentía vocación por las armas y por las letras
y lo mismo despachaba un madrigal que dirigía un formidable ejército
de estudiantes en los claustros de Doña María de Aragón. También era
orador, que es casi lo mismo que ser español y español poeta. En los
Numantinos asombraba por su energía y el aborrecimiento que
mostraba a todos los tiranos del mundo. Insistía mucho en lo de hace
trizas a Calomarde, medio excelente para llegar después a la
pulverización completa de la tiranía.
Las reuniones se celebraban en una botica de la calle de Hortaleza
las más de las veces, otras en una imprenta, y cuando cundían olores
de persecución, toda Numancia se refugiaba en una cueva de las que
había en la parte inculta del Retiro, no lejos del Observatorio. Los
mayores de la cuadrilla no pasaban de veinte abriles: estos eran los
ancianos, expertos, o maestros sublimes perfectos; que, a deci