The Hidden Musicians

by Finnegan, Ruth H.

• ISBN13: 9780819568533
• ISBN10: 0819568538
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-08-30
• Publisher: Wesleyan Univ Pr

Summary

A landmark in the study of music and culture, this acclaimed volume documents the remarkable scope of amateur music-making in the English town of Milton Keynes. It presents in vivid detail the contrasting yet overlapping worlds of classical orchestras, church choirs, brass bands, amateur operatic societies, and amateur bands playing jazz, rock, folk, and country. Notable for its contribution to wider theoretical debates and its influential challenge to long-held assumptions about music and how to study it, the book focuses on the practices rather than the texts or theory of music, rejecting the idea that only selected musical traditions, "great names," or professional musicians are worth studying. This opens the door to the invisible work put in by thousands of local people of diverse backgrounds, and how the pathways creatively trodden by amateur musicians have something to tell us about both urban living and what it is to be human. Now with a new preface by the author, this long-awaited reissue of The Hidden Musicians will bring its insights and innovations to a new generation of students and scholars.

Author Biography

RUTH FINNEGAN is a visiting research professor and emeritus professor in the faculty of social sciences at the Open University in the U.K.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. ix
Preface to the 2007 edition	p. xi
Preface	p. xvii
Acknowledgments	p. xix
List of abbreviations	p. xxiii
Introductory	p. 1
The existence and study of local music	p. 3
'Amateur' and 'professional' musicians	p. 12
Introduction to Milton Keynes and its music	p. 19
Musical worlds in Milton Keynes	p. 31
The classical music world at the local level	p. 33
The brass band world	p. 47
The folk music world	p. 58
The world of musical theatre	p. 71
Jazz	p. 78
The country and western world	p. 90
Rock and pop	p. 103
Contrasts and comparisons	p. 131
Learning music	p. 133
Performances and their conditions	p. 143
Composition, creativity and performance	p. 160
Plural worlds	p. 180
The organisation and work of local music	p. 191
Music in the home and school	p. 193
The churches and music	p. 207
Club and pub music	p. 222
Working at it: organisation and administration in music groups - the case of the Sherwood Choir	p. 236
Small working bands and their organisation	p. 255
Resources, rewards and support	p. 273
The significance of local music	p. 295
Pathways in urban living	p. 295
Music, society, humanity	p. 327
A note on methods and presentation	p. 342
Notes	p. 348
References	p. 358
Index	p. 371
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