Music: Why It Matters - Hardcover

Cook, Nicholas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1509542396 ISBN 13: 9781509542390

Publisher: Polity, 2023

Synopsis

As countries went into lockdown in 2020, people turned to music for comfort and solidarity. Neighbours sang to each other from their balconies; people participated in online music sessions that created an experience of socially distanced togetherness.

Nicholas Cook argues that the value of music goes far beyond simple enjoyment. Music can enhance well-being, interpersonal relationships, cultural tolerance, and civil cohesion. At the same time, music can be a tool of persuasion or ideology. Thinking about music helps bring into focus the values that are mobilised in today’s culture wars. Making music together builds relationships of interdependence and trust: rather than escapism, it offers a blueprint for a community of mutual obligation and interdependence.

Music: Why It Matters is for anyone who loves playing, listening to, or thinking about music, as well as those pursuing it as a career.

About this title

About the Author

Nicholas Cook is Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Cambridge.

Edition details

• Publisher: Polity
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1509542396
• ISBN 13: 9781509542390
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176