Introduction / A.L. White -- The social character of music: Performance as ritual / C. Small. The social interpretation of modern jazz / A. Lewis. Towards a sociology of musical styles / J. Shepherd -- Words and music: Why do songs have words? / S. Frith. The price you pay : an introduction to the life and songs of Laurence Price / D. Harker -- Convention and constraint in working life: Popular music and the law--who owns the song? / A.L. White. A professional jazz group / A.L. White. Convention and constraint among British semi-professional jazz musicians / H. Christian -- Recording music: Technology in the art of recording / S. Struthers. Coda: making sense of the musical world / J. Blacking
Summary
This collection of essays provides a sociological treatment of many musical forms - rock, jazz, classical - with special emphasis on the perspective of the practising musician. Among the topics covered are the legal structures governing musical production and the question of copyright; recording and production technology; the social character of musical style; and the impact of lyrical content, considered socially and historically
