Musicking Quadrant

It is somewhat embarrassing that I did not “discover” it before, but I only recently realized a striking parallel between the terms dancing and musicking. Music as a verb (“to music”) is only used by a small subset of music researchers, while “to dance” is universally accepted. Why? Musicking Christopher Small introduced the term musicking in the 1990s as a framework for understanding music as a social activity, using music as a verb (“to music”) rather than a noun (“music”). Though still not universal in musicology, the term has gained traction in music education and therapy, where participation in communal music practices is central. ...

One of the conclusions in my book Sound Actions is that the future of music technologies lie in musicking technologies. The term “music technology” is typically used to describe tools, instruments, and systems used to create, produce, record, and distribute music. This includes everything from microphones, digital audio workstations (DAWs), and synthesizers to streaming services and analysis tools. I think of “musicking technology” as a wider term than music technology. It builds on Christopher Small’s concept of “musicking” as the act of taking part in music-making of any kind. It also focuses on music as an active process, not a thing. ...

I am happy to announce that my book Sound Actions - Conceptualizing Musical Instruments is now published! I am also thrilled that this is an open access book, meaning that is free to download and read. You are, of course, also welcome to pick up a paper copy! Here is a quick video summary of the book’s content: In the book, I combine perspectives from embodied music cognition and interactive music technology. The approach is what I call “embodied music technology”. ...