Customer Reviews

Music, Society, Education (Music Culture)

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Speaking as a practising creative musician, I would say that no other book has had such a profound effect on me. I've re-read it several times.

Two of Christopher Small's many excellent points particularly struck me: 1) the glories of Western classical music (and I love Beethoven as much as the next fella) shouldn't blind us to the fact that it is but a tiny strand of the awe-inspiring diversity of humanity's music, and 2) much of our listening experience in the West takes the form of passive consumption of musical product, whereas for the great bulk of the world's peoples (in traditional societies, at least) music is about participation and the process of making music, rather than the end product.

First published in 1976 ( I believe- don't have my copy handy to verify this) I feel Small's appraisal of the entirety of music of the world, and the unjustifiably exalted place that Western classical music holds in the mind of the general public (not just in the West, either) was way ahead of its time. Keep in mind that he was writing well before the explosion of interest in so-called "world music" that we saw in the 1980s.

Small's treatment of the concepts of process versus product in music performance opened my eyes in ways that still resonate for me, two decades after first reading this book.

I said earlier that I've re-read it several times; to be more precise that was a while ago now, and I hadn't actually read it for ten or more years. When I recently did, I was particularly struck by Small's idealism, something that many in today's cynical times might scoff at, to which I simply say that now more than ever they could do with a good dose of such idealism.

Do check out "Musicking" and "Music of the Common Tongue", both also excellent (in fact I think "Musicking" may be his greatest book) but start with this one.

Want to know bit more about how the traditions of Western music connect with Newtonian science and our approaches to the scientific method and the development of technology? Interested in exploring the cultural relationships between music as an art form and the societies which produced it? Then this is the book for you. First appearing over 30 years ago. this has become a 'must' for all undergraduate music students as well as people with a general interest in the arts and how they relate to the societies they grew out of.
This is an 'ideas 'book par excellence. Sometimes quite a demanding read, it is, nevertheless, worth the effort. You are going to hear that Brahms symphony or Bach cantata in a different way once you have read this book. Julian Mincham.

Anyone with an interest in the emergence of Avant-Garde in Western classical music should read this book. Those with general interests in music -- in rock or jazz or "world" -- should also pick it up. Small's well-argued points about Western ideals and preconceptions of music -- especially its limitations -- are compelling. A classic in music scholarship!

Small makes a few valid points, but he seems too closed-minded. He critizes Western music too much and sometimes his arguments are just plain stupid.