This book provides an overview of the communicative processes that encompass the creation, interpretation, perception, and evaluation of the various phenomena constituting musical art. The numerous internal and external communicative links in the spheres of the composer, the performer, the listener and the musicologist-critic – links which constitute a complex system of the transmission of musical information – are considered from a socio-cultural perspective, which determines the high social role of the academic genres of music. The book will be of use to professional musicians and to all those interested in the acute problems of musicology, musical aesthetics, the sociology of music, and musical pedagogics.

"Bringing together leading researchers from a variety of academic and applied backgrounds, this book examines how music can be used to communicate, as well as the biological, cognitive, social, and cultural processes which underlie such communication."--BOOK JACKET.

Artistic expression is a longstanding aspect of mankind and our society. While art can simply be appreciated for aesthetic artistic value, it can be utilized for other various multidisciplinary purposes. Music as a Platform for Political Communication is a comprehensive reference source for the latest scholarly perspectives on delivering political messages to society through musical platforms and venues. Highlighting innovative research topics on an international scale, such as election campaigns, social justice, and protests, this book is ideally designed for academics, professionals, practitioners, graduate students, and researchers interested in discovering how musical expression is shaping the realm of political communication.

This introduction to communication theory offers an historical account of the development of all major theoretical approaches by summing up the range of existing theories, and explaining how and why the diverse currents of thought emerged.

A comprehensive, up-to-date introduction to the psychology of musical development in children and adults, from theory to research and applications.

Since the beginning of human civilization, music has been used as a device to control social behavior, where it has operated as much to promote solidarity within groups as hostility between competing groups. Music is an emotive manipulator that influences attitude, motivation and behavior at many levels and in many contexts. This volume is the first to address the social ramifications of music’s behaviorally manipulative effects, its morally questionable uses and control mechanisms, and its economic and artistic regulation through commercialization, thus highlighting not only music’s diverse uses at the social level but also the ever-fragile relationship between aesthetics and morality.

Life is a pilgrimage. For the Senufo of C™te d'Ivoire, life consists of following the kologo, that is the path, the road, or the way. As such, kologo is a key Senufo term that speaks of the directions people choose to follow in life. A central aspect of following the Christian pathway among Senufo believers occurs through music. Music serves as a major communication vehicle that speaks profoundly into the people's lives. Thus, Pathways in Christian Music Communication addresses the problem of contextualization of Christianity in Africa via the use of a people's indigenous music. It focuses on the significance of culturally appropriate songs for effective communication of the Gospel within the African context. In providing a history of the development of Christian songs among the Senufo, a musical analysis of the songs and music culture, identifying communication theory at work within the music-making process, and a content analysis of an emerging Senufo lyric theology, King shows the pivotal role that a people's cultural music plays in integrating a people's worldview and daily lives with biblical teaching. Finally, King examines the influence and effect of songs in communicating the Gospel by showing how the pathway of a song leads to changes of allegiance to the living God and transformed lives. Although set in West Africa, essential principles and guidelines for doing ethnomusicological studies within missiology lies at the heart of this work.

Communicative Musicality explores the intrinsic musical nature of human interaction. The theory of communicative musicality was developed from groundbreaking studies showing how in mother/infant communication there exist noticeable patterns of timing, pulse, voice timbre, and gesture. Without intending to, the exchange between a mother and her infant follow many of the rules of musical performance, including rhythm and timing. This is the first book to be devoted to this topic. In a collection of cutting-edge chapters, encompassing brain science, human evolution, psychology, acoustics and music performance, it focuses on the rhythm and sympathy of musical expression in human communication from infancy. It demonstrates how speaking and moving in rhythmic musical ways is the essential foundation for all forms of communication, even the most refined and technically elaborated, just as it is for parenting, good teaching, creative work in the arts, and therapy to help handicapped or emotionally distressed persons. A landmark in the literature, Communicative Musicality is a valuable text for all those in the fields of developmental, educational, and music psychology, as well as those in the field of music therapy.

Communication and Music in Social Interaction gives readers an accessible entry point into music as a form of communication and its impact on daily life. Organized into four sections, Section 1 introduces key ideas from the fields of communication and music and provides a guide to music terminology. Section 2 explores how the structural features of music convey hidden messages, the emotional and physical effects of music, and the role of music in social relationships and the formation of group identities. In Section 3 readers learn how music relates to other forms of communication including nonverbal, language, and forms of new technology. Section 4 is devoted to specific models connecting music and communication. Communication and Music in Social Interaction features numerous musical examples that illustrate specific points, as well as links to online videos and recordings. Dedicated to giving communication students, educators, and researchers insight into an often overlooked communicative form, Communication and Music in Social Interaction can be used in communication studies courses, as well as courses in ethnomusicology and the psychology of music. Jake Harwood earned his Ph.D. in communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Currently a professor of communication at the University of Arizona, Dr. Harwood teaches courses in intergenerational communication, communication and music, and research methods. He has authored or coauthored books on intergroup communication as well as communication and aging, and serves as coeditor of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Intergroup Communication. He has contributed articles to Communication Research, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and other notable journals. Dr. Harwood's research focuses on intergroup and intergenerational communication, and the intersection of music and communication.

In this book Shepherd and Wicke make a bold and original contribution to the understanding of music as a form of human expression. They argue that music is fundamental to social life. Music is not merely a form of leisure or entertainment: it is central to the very formation and reproduction of human societies. The authors pursue this argument through a wide-ranging assessment of some of the major cultural theoretical contributions to understanding music. Theories of culture, linguistic theories, structuralist and post-structuralist theories and psychoanalytic theories of music are carefully explained and critically examined. The authors then develop their own account of music as a non-referential yet material form of human expression which embodies and conveys principles of symbolic structuring. They emphasize the human body as a principal site for the musical mediation of social and symbolic processes. Music and Cultural Theory establishes new links between musicology and cultural studies, showing how each discipline can inform and enrich the other. It will be recommended reading for students and professionals in musicology, media and communication studies, cultural studies and the sociology of culture.