The Accessibility of Music
Participation, Reception, and Contact

Jochen Eisentraut's book provides a range of perspectives on why, and how, we engage with music.

Jochen Eisentraut (Author)

9781107024830, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 December 2012

336 pages, 3 tables
25.3 x 18.1 x 2.4 cm, 0.78 kg

Questions of musical accessibility are relevant to most musical contexts but what does this term mean, how do we make contact with music and how do we decide what music to listen to? In The Accessibility of Music Jochen Eisentraut argues that musical judgements are often based upon implicit attitudes to accessibility, which need to be identified and exposed. Surveying a range of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, aesthetics and cultural theory, Eisentraut investigates how and why music becomes accessible and the impact of accessibility on musical and social hierarchies. The book is structured around three major case studies: punk vs progressive rock, Vaughan Williams and his ideas on art and folk music, and Brazilian samba, both in situ and in a global context. These are used to reveal aspects of musical accessibility at work and serve as a springboard for discussions that challenge accepted ideas of musical value and meaning.

Introduction
Part I. An Outline Topography of Musical Accessibility: 1. What is musical accessibility?
2. Society, atonality, psychology
Part II. Accessibility Discourse in Rock, and Cultural Change: Case study 1
3. 'Prog' rock/punk rock – sophistication, directness and shock
4. Zeitgeist – accessibility in flux
Part III. A Valiant Failure? New Art Music and the People: Case study 2
5. Vaughan Williams' National Music in context
6. Art music, vernacular music and accessibility
Part IV. Accessibility, Identity and Social Action: Case study 3a
7. Accessibility in action – Bahia, Brazil
Case study 3b
8. Samba in Wales – how is adopted music accessible?
Part V. Themes: 9. Some key concepts
Postscript
Glossary of neologisms.

Subject Areas: 20th century & contemporary classical music [AVGC6], Music reviews & criticism [AVC], Music [AV]