Creating a Framework for Music Making and Leisure

Abstract

This chapter revisits the writings of music sociologist and educator Max Kaplan (1911–1998) to inform efforts to bring together the domains of leisure and music making in the twenty-first century. The chapter begins with a brief description of Max Kaplan’s life that explains his orientation to the social functions of music, sociology, and leisure studies, and that situates his contributions in the context of his time—the mid and late twentieth century. Following the introduction, the chapter is organized around themes from Kaplan’s published works and projects: patterns of development in leisure and recreation, 1900–1960; changing conceptions of leisure and recreation in the mid-twentieth century; a theory of recreational music; community as fertile ground for observing leisure in action; music making in the context of leisure; and moving forward with Kaplan’s vision.