For Roberto Lucanero, ethnomusicology is not only about scientific research, nor is it just academic research, but a true journey that begins within the confines of his own place of birth. His studies at DAMS in Bologna were done in this light, with the enlightened guidance of the unforgettable Roberto Leydi, a “great rescuer of brains”, as Lucanero himself describes him. Recognising the personality of his student, the professor encouraged him to continue his research, even after obtaining his degree. And so he did. Lucanero dug deep into the history of his family, his people and his land. He did this using the invaluable experience of his work in a prominent accordion factory.

Lucanero’s way, then, was by doing, by researching live projects in the field. His long association with the last diatonic accordion players of the Marche is significant. Lucanero observes: “by associating with these diatonic accordion players and their music I understood immediately that I could not limit myself to documenting what they did. What I felt inside was a strong desire to learn from them how to play the diatonic accordion, to learn their repertoire and their techniques of playing. The fact that I became one of their disciples, having been the mere scholar that I was, gave me such a lot, artistically and personally. It was from them that I Iearned the right way to do things and to understand things by doing them”. It was this extraordinary experience that resulted in the subject of his degree thesis: “The diatonic accordion in central Marche”.