Frederick’s Story: A Portrait of an Adult Amateur Musician

The purpose of this study was to explore why an amateur musician decided to begin playing the flute as an adult, their motivation for devoting their leisure time to music making, and their musical identity. Serious leisure theory served as the theoretical framework for this study. Research questions that guided this study included: (1) Why did the participant begin music making in adulthood? (2) What motivated the participant to continue music making as an adult? (3) What is the participant’s identity as a musician within the professional-amateur-public (PAP) spectrum? Using a narrative research design, I collected data over a 16-month period that included interviews, informal conversations, and observations of the participant during a weeklong summer music festival. A system of coding helped to organize data, and two themes developed during analysis: (1) becoming a musician and (2) professional(ism). Findings from this study indicate that motivation played an important role in the participant’s musical journey and aided with sustained engagement in music making. The identity between amateur and professional musician intersected for the participant, who demonstrated professional-level standards with commitment, knowledge, and performance levels, but did not earn a living playing the flute.