Thinking Community Music

Abstract

Abstract Thinking Community Music explores critical questions concerning community music practice and theory. Themes include intervention, hospitality, pedagogy, social justice, inclusion, cultural democracy, music, research, and future possibilities. Written for community musicians, music educators, applied ethnomusicologists, music therapists, music creators, and cultural policymakers, the book seeks to encourage questioning, reflection, and dialogue. Shaped as provocations and presented as eight stand-alone essays, each ‘think piece’ comprises of critical questions, concrete illustrations of practice, theoretical explorations, and reflective discussion. Flanked by a historical map and a closing statement, the book provides a springboard for conceptual interrogation about participatory music-making. Supported by the lineage of poststructural philosophy, ideas emulating from Derrida and Deleuze provide a springboard for conceptual interrogation about community music practices and the broader parameters of social-cultural music-making and music teaching and learning. As a vital part of the music ecology, community music is a distinctive field and a critical lens to view other musical practices and the various political and cultural policies that frame them.