Sociomusicology

Sociology of music is the application and development of sociological theories and methods to the study of social content, the social conditions of origin, reception and social effects of musical phenomena. Music sociology sees itself as a sociology, with other disciplines (eg, Musicology and Music Education ) conducts research in dialogue and develop theories.

The empirical sociology of music in the tradition of Alphons Silbermann is not about the music itself, while his opponent Theodor W. Adorno provides just the social content of the music at the heart of his music sociology.

Another direction of the sociology of music sees itself as an integral part of systematic musicology in addition to research areas such as the psychology of music, the aesthetics of music and ethnomusicology.

It examines the related field of music and society in the sociology of music. Priorities relate particularly to the structure and function relevant to the music business institutions (for example, opera, concerts, mass media) and the functions or the symbolic meanings of music in different social groups, times and societies. In addition, the layers, and gender, labor relations and forms of organization of musicians (including composers ) or music educators ( critics, agents and officials ), as well as the social composition, behavior, and the taste of the public are investigated. On the exploration of the social content of music mainly Max Weber and Theodor W. Adorno value have placed.

The Empirical sociology of music wants to make statements about reality socializing with music. These statements are to formulate refutable. Unlike some music sociologists who see themselves in musicology connected. You want to make a detailed presentation by a tangible sociological decoding of music with the sociology of music. Specifically, against this view is the observation of empirical sociology of music. You do not want to return the deciphering of musical codes on music immanent constituents. She tries to explain different uses in dealing with symbols around the social significance of the symbol system within a social structure.

Sociology of music is in comparison to other sciences a fairly new area of ​​work, which is why there is still no fully accepted definition of their approaches and methods until now. This view is contrary to the operation of the empirical sociology of music. It makes its research system in terms of the theory on the methodological foundations of empirical sociological research. She previously known methods used and developed to their questions methods, which in turn open to other empirical research projects with other questions.

For musicologists music sociology can be operated as an independent research approach, as also collaborate with other disciplines, and include suggestions for example, from general sociology, from cybernetics or from behavioral research, which they moved into the vicinity of a systematic science. Empirical sociology, however, does not want to move, it is a systematic science in which they are not engaged, and speculation alone, but hypotheses tested against reality. It is hoped that cybernetics brings a theoretical progress with strong declaration, refutable statements as not being justified.

History and themes

1921 Max Weber's writings were published in The rational and sociological foundations of music. This text is an assembly of notes and ideas that Weber had already written 1912/13. A year after his death they were forward-looking, because Weber practiced a synthesis of historical and systematic sociology and showed how historically handed facts to question its sociological significance and are therefore to be subjected to reinterpretation. He went in search of social regularities and the historical context and ventured a first step to explain the specifics of European cultural history. Relatively early he stated a program for music Sociology. You want to represent the musical and social context. In addition, Max Weber, who is a co-founder of German sociology tried to abolish the separation of musicological and sociological methods.

The efforts of many scientists considered the " ideal of a practical usage of sociology ", as Alphons Silbermann in 1957 formulated. Against this paradigm turns the direction of the so-called "critical sociology of music ", which assumed many sociology of music publications of the last time a lack of sociological significance. Instead, it calls for a music sociological orientation of self-reflection, self-criticism and renewal, and would like to offer a simple structural model with illuminating results. They will remain with these demands behind Alphons Silbermann, the presupposed this among other conditions, 1958 for an empirical sociology. Unlike the empirical sociology of music Critical sociology of music has been very restrained with the presentation of concrete empirical research results in the last 40 years.

The ratio of historical and systematic musicology seemed tense, especially as the most representative of the history of music felt challenged by the music sociology and the sociological point of view aside, designed as a non-musical. Therefore, appeared in 1957, the sociology of music not in the Fischer Lexikon. Volume 5: Music. Alphons Silbermann, logically enough, its basic idea in the Fischer Lexikon. Volume 10: Sociology presented under the heading of culture and states this: ( There remain ) statements about the work of art itself and its structure outside art sociological considerations.

The sociology of music was at the time, as an industrial revolution went through the music. The late 19th and early 20th century, new technical intermediaries emerged ( record, radio, and later television, tape recorder and cassette recorder ), which made it possible to record audio sources and sustainably save. In addition, the images could thus for the first time a large number of copies are produced, without suffering an excessive loss of quality. Widest of listeners could be addressed and won, which gave rise to a huge expansion of music production. It was quickly recognized that artificially " modes " can be brought about by consumption steering that followed getting tighter each other and thus maximized the profit of the company. The power of music has become a cultural and economic power. The technology is constantly perfected further, bringing new production conditions and changing compositional challenges remain. This changed the front desk, the listener. All this called for the musicology to submit their comments, they should also provide guidance. Here, however, denied the tools of classical musicology, which was only tested historically and the day's news could not provide. Only the new sociology of music offered to appropriate criteria and could help here. The sociology as an empirical science, however, offered no new criteria, but methods of empirical sociological research that are used and can be further developed. For this, a paradigm and a methodology that are open to new developments.

Today belongs enlightenment and awareness among the priority tasks of the music sociologists who come from the empirical field, such as Alphons Silbermann. You can help, for example with planning data, especially the music program managers to respond to listener requests and needs. However busy and here engaged in the sociology of music almost exclusively in bypass modes with popular entertainment music. Empirical sciences, it is also here first about what people do and not what they should do. The research therefore be preferred popular music, since they in the social life of most people has a high priority. That was Theodor W. Adorno, one of the most famous music sociologists of the last century, in 1958 an opportunity to set a limit mark here. In his opinion, the sociological interpretation of the large, autonomous music should relate, because it is in simple, regressive, trivial music, such as pop, questionable. Even though three years later the sociology of music recommended to set out the distance great compositions and autonomous music to society, he continued adherence to these large compositions determined as the actual objects of the sociology of music. Only faith, to interpret high-level music appropriate sociological, he was lost, and he was disappointed about the fact that the sociology of music did not let establish itself as a new musicological universal discipline.

Also at the Music Education was the industrial revolution in the music past its mark. Michael Alt formulated in 1968: " Educational considerations are always necessary when facing the education of a new historical situation ." The "new historical situation " was certainly given by the above- mentioned revolution, because the real conditions seemed to have changed fundamentally. Here should the sociology of music take over " control of the establishment of an overall plan for teaching music to all kinds of schools " ( Left, p 507), as a science, the days the given problems arises and beyond dares future forecasts. This dark vision of science as the final planning and decision-making authority has not become reality in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Different Directions

Tibor pinch differed in 1971 two directions of the sociology of music. On the one hand as a special sociology that refers to the Company and its appearance and in this case, the structure and functioning of the musical life. On the other hand it can serve as an auxiliary science of music history and thus contribute to more thorough understanding of music and music history. Pinch distinguished here two access options: first, on the part of society scientist who deals with musical questions, on the other side of the musicologist who gives himself societal issues and there trying to answer questions.

In addition, there are other approaches that may be identified by their respective representatives. Hans Engel, theater conductor and musicologist with professor in Königsberg and later in Marburg, in this case represented the musicological and music-historical approach. This approach was the most well-established, as it is immediately after the first impulse was given to a sociology of music ( the publication of Max Weber's " The rational and sociological foundations of music" 1921) concretized. Especially angels took care of the late 1920s, the sociology of music and deepened it in over thirty years of continuous research activity.

The epistemological and cultural- critical approach was represented by Theodor W. Adorno. This was a composer and music critic, and later became professor of philosophy and sociology in Frankfurt. Kurt Blaukopf was a music writer and later a professor of sociology of music at the Vienna Music Academy. He took the room acoustics and media-critical approach. Alphons Silbermann, after professorships in Sydney and Lausanne in 1969 Director of the Institute of Mass Media in Cologne was, was a representative of the empirical approach. These three latter approaches established in the early 1950s as a complementary and competing approaches, where competing individual directions of its peak in the late 1960s took place in the so-called positivism dispute. This was a common dispute in which it came to questions of epistemology and the correct methodology in the social sciences. Especially Adorno and Silbermann ( as is assumed ) tried to enforce a claim to absoluteness in their direction. Here Adorno had a clear argumentative advantage, since he had already published some writings music sociological nature. He helped through its dedicated cultural criticism not only themselves to a certain popularity, but also the sociology of music. The consequences of this widespread impact, which has the sociology of music to a fashion science can be, were uncomfortable for some scientists, and it was feared, among other things, that the sociology of music could be down to a science for dilettantes. This fear may be appropriate for the sociology of music as part of a critical sociology of music. In an empirical sociology of music reflecting and systematic work is connected with profound knowledge of contemporary methods of empirical research is vital.

Access via sister disciplines

Information about the specific directions also possible to specify sister disciplines in the field of systematic musicology access to the sociology of music to be found, what is the most popular way to musicological research. Here there are seven assignments.

• The Historical Musicology leads to Historiosoziologie, as Hans Engel to employ their representatives, for example, with social influences and dependencies in the formation and in the further evolution of musical genres and forms.
• The acoustics leads to Akustosoziologie, which deals with issues such as the " New Musical behaviors of youth". A well-known representative is the author of the same font Kurt Blaukopf.
• The psychology leads to psycho- sociology, according to Albert Wellek represents a further focus next to the historic and often " empirical sociology " with its main representatives Alphons Silbermann applies under the keyword.
• Theodor W. Adorno is one of the representatives of the Tonsatzsoziologie be assigned in music theory and sociology. Here an attempt is made to demonstrate sociological issues in the decipherment of music.
• The aesthetics of music leads to Ästhetosoziologie, researching their representatives, as Tibor pinch and also Theodor W. Adorno, for valid judgment criteria for music.
• The music education leads to the sociology of education, which is the extent not applied.
• A very extensive area, the social anthropology of music represents the assignment of ethnomusicology and sociology is treated among others in the United States as a separate scientific discipline.

These associations is primarily concerned themselves with a sister discipline together to work out similarities and differences make sense. Another way music sociological research is to obtain all seven areas to each other and combine, so a practiced " complex sociology of music ." In addition, there is the " autonomous sociology of music ", which examines only those topics which are not covered already by other sciences.

The sociology as an empirical science, however, are familiar, biological categories alien. She wants to do well no popular access, but systematically. You are not about sisterly, natural relations in science, but about competing policy paradigms with strong empirical theories that can consider and develop in their theorizing.

Current position of the sociology of music

Today, sociology of music by musicologists is regarded as a separate discipline within systematic musicology. Sociologists, however, see them as a part of sociology, which is about the music as an object ( especially to Max Weber and Theodor W. Adorno) and as activity goes.

In the German Sociological Association (DGS ) an AG was founded in music sociology in the Sociology of Culture Section 2004.