Publication date:
24 October 2023Publisher
Intellect BooksDimensions:
244x170mm7x10"
ISBN-13: 9781789388022
In a world facing multiple existential crises, music might be seen as little more than a distraction. However, in this synthesis of ideas developed over a decade, a timely re-appraisal of the potential of musicing for human flourishing is presented, emphasising its role in the history of human evolution alongside its potential as a resource for sustainable development.
A holistic philosophy of music is outlined which recognises the complex web of meaning which spreads across complementary musical dimensions of performance and participation, whilst emphasising the ‘paramusical’ benefits which arise from both. Highlighting the notion that the social bonds which arise from musicing share much of the neurobiological underpinnings of attachment and love, musicing is presented as a resource with the potential for facilitating ethical human connection.
The humanistic values which are thereby materialised during musicing – love, reciprocity and justice – form the experiential grounds for inhabiting alternative social realities. The book addresses how such a holistic philosophy of music might be implemented in practice, drawing on the author’s professional praxis as a performer, educator, community musician, composer and researcher, in particular their experience of musician education at Sage Gateshead, Royal College of Music and Trinity-Laban Conservatoire in the UK.
Camlin has an uncanny ability to uncover and make visible the fundamental truths about musicing that we intuit from practice. Camlin’s quest to understand the phenomenon of musicing has led him to read widely from many different disciplines, which moves us towards a consilient understanding of why music is of such tremendous value now, more than ever. This book is a tremendous contribution to the discourse on what it means 'to music' and what music can mean for the survival of our species, and the planet.