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The Hidden Musicians: Music-Making in an English Town
A classic ethnography reveals the worlds of amateur musicians. Back in print with a new preface.
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.
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.
- GenresMusic
400 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 14, 2015
Ethnographic accounts of music-making practices in Milton Keynes. Pretty solid effort.
Very simple to understand, with a lot less theory (THANK GOD)
Very simple to understand, with a lot less theory (THANK GOD)
May 18, 2021
The Hidden Musicians is a great ethnography that should be read from anyone interested in local music, amateur music-making and popular music studies. Ruth Finnegan's writing is realy easy to understand and realy approachable by anyone, since there is not a lot of theory in this book. The main focus is the practises of local musicians in Milton Keynes, "rejecting the idea that only «great names», or selected musical traditions are worth studying".
August 7, 2024
Fascinating academic insight into the music scene of my home town.
November 25, 2014
Very thorough and interesting insight into amateur music-making.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews