In this autoethnographic arts-based research, I return to the gift of music in my life and use it as the ultimate form of expression. I explore the process of navigating my own transgenerational trauma through composing and working with musicians from different musical and cultural backgrounds. Something like home explores the effect of finding common ground of love and compassion between my family members, especially those who have been navigating the traumas of war. I collected stories, memories, and impressions from my family’s childhood, and I composed music that is inspired by them. In the first sections of this work, I discuss some concepts related to the transmission of war trauma, and Bowen’s family system theory. Moreover, I relate to research and projects that have been concerned with trauma art therapy and dealing with cultural trauma through music, as well as presenting examples of composers who have been working with similar processes. 

In this project, I unfold my compositional process, and I present some possibilities of dealing with harmonizing traditional Arabic music, using partials from the harmonic series. I also share my process of collaborating with a lyric writer and a videographer who have helped me to bring the stories to life. 

Throughout the process, I discovered that engaging with the stories unlocked new artistic outcomes and some unexpected artistic practices, expressions, and results. 

 

 

 

Click on the pdf below to download the thesis. In several sections of the thesis, you will be led to the second page of this exposition which contains the supporting Audio and visual material. 

                                               Something Like Home

                                                                   Navigating transgenerational war trauma through transcultural music collaboration.