This volume brings together philosophical and interdisciplinary perspectives on improvisation. The contributions connect the theoretical dimensions of improvisation with different viewpoints on its practice in the arts and the classroom. The chapters address the phenomenon of improvisation in two related ways. On the one hand, they attend to the lived practices of improvisation both within and without the arts in order to explain the phenomenon. They also extend the scope of improvisational practices to include the role of improvisation in habit and in planned action, at both individual and collective levels. Drawing on recent work done in the philosophy of mind, they address questions such as whether improvisation is a single unified phenomenon or whether it entails different senses that can be discerned theoretically and practically. Finally, they ask after the special kind of improvisational expertise which characterizes musicians, dancers, and other practitioners, an expertise marked by the artist's ability to participate competently in complex situations while deliberately relinquishing control. Philosophy of Improvisation will appeal to anyone with a strong interest in improvisation, to researchers working in philosophy, aesthetics, and pedagogy as well as practitioners involved in different kinds of music, dance, and theater performances.

In this edited volume, contributors explore an essential element of the influential television series Twin Peaks: the role of music and sound. From its debut in 1990 to its return to television in 2017, Twin Peaks has amassed a cult following, and inspired myriad scholarly studies. This collection considers how the music and sound design not only create the ambience of this ground-breaking series, but function in the narrative, encouraging multiple interpretations. With chapters that consider how music shapes the relationship of audiences and fans to the story, the importance of sound design, and the symbolism embedded in the score, this book provides a range of perspectives for scholars of music and film studies, while giving fans new insight into an iconic television show.

Expertise in Jazz Guitar Improvisation is an examination of musical interplay and the ways implicit (sub-conscious) and explicit (conscious) knowledge appear during improvisation. The practice-based research inquiry includes: interviews and interplay with five world-class jazz guitarists, Lage Lund, Jack Wilkins, Ben Monder, Rez Abbasi and Adam Rogers; a modal matrix for analyzing structure, time and form in jazz guitar improvisation, and musical analysis based on cognitive theories. By explaining the cognitive and musical foundations for expertise in jazz guitar improvisation, this book illuminates how jazz guitarists' strategies are crucially dependent on context, style and type of interplay. With accompanying video provided as an e-resource, this material will be of interest to anyone fascinated by Jazz and Psychology of Music.

In this edited volume, contributors explore an essential element of the influential television series Twin Peaks: the role of music and sound. From its debut in 1990 to its return to television in 2017, Twin Peaks has amassed a cult following, and inspired myriad scholarly studies. This collection considers how the music and sound design not only create the ambience of this ground-breaking series, but function in the narrative, encouraging multiple interpretations. With chapters that consider how music shapes the relationship of audiences and fans to the story, the importance of sound design, and the symbolism embedded in the score, this book provides a range of perspectives for scholars of music and film studies, while giving fans new insight into an iconic television show.

There were only a handful of people in the world who still really believed in Suede at the time, and five of them were in the band. Brett Anderson, Suede. Suede were Marmite at the time, and I was expecting the press to trash them. Every meeting I had with the record company, I was told they were done for. Ed Buller, Coming Up producer. How did they do that? Comeback of the century. Select magazine cover, November 1996. Here They Come with Their Make-Up On examines in exquisite detail how Suede emerged from the chaotic, ruined remnants of their career and somehow managed to conjure up their most joyously evocative and celebrated album to date. Coming Up the extraordinary record in question stumped the band s most ardent critics and hit the jackpot, with sales that eclipsed those of their first two releases combined. As the band s publicist throughout that period, Jane is uniquely placed to reveal exactly how they did it. This book is also a personal journey into the heart of an album that Jane loves if not unconditionally then as a piece of work that has ultimately survived the ravages of time and the brutish, nasty, and not-so-short nature of the media scrutiny that had threatened to confine the band to the dustbin of history. In addition, it features yet more outlandish tales from Jane s time with Suede and those around them back then, as well as new interviews with band members Brett Anderson, Richard Oakes, and Neil Codling, and Coming Up s producer, Ed Buller.

Converging theory and practice, this book provides a unique analysis of Korean youth's attempts to become global celebrities within the growing K-pop phenomenon, which is rapidly becoming part of global media systems and culture. K-pop has become one of the most popular cultural forms in the global music markets, despite having a relatively new global presence. Its recent spread around the world suggests that K-pop exists as a local-based genre of music in global markets, including Western markets. Unlike other existing books on K-pop, which mainly focus solely on academic analyses or industrial perspectives, K-Pop Idols: Popular Culture and the Emergence of Korean Music Industry combines theory with industry and musical aesthetics. Following the idol group Nine Muses through a year-long chronicle, the authors portray the everyday lives of young girls relentlessly pursuing happiness, satisfaction, and the achievement of their dreams in the K-pop world.

Most know that the legendary English rock band the Who performed concerts at ear-splitting volume, smashed their instruments, and became one of the world's most influential groups. Their period from 1964 to 1976 saw the creation of such classic songs as "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" as well as the Tommy, Who's Next, and Quadrophenia albums. But how many know the stories of those fans affected by their music and live performances, or the angst and insecurities that drove bandleader Pete Townshend to new heights during this time? Who saw Pete Townshend handing his guitar from the stage to a grateful fan, and what happened next? Or who has seen photos of bassist John Entwistle being anything but the "Quiet One"? Or what happened backstage at Woodstock and the Monterey Pop Festival? This book offers what Pete Townshend himself describes as an "intriguing and extremely insightful take on the Who and myself". The reader will be thrown into untold stories, hundreds of previously unpublished photographs, and uncirculated recordings clarifying the misinformation, myths, and legends. It is a labour of love from a fan for fans that gives voice to a collective consciousness that might otherwise fall silent over time.

To date there has been a significant gap in existing knowledge about the social history of music in Britain from 1950 to the present day. The three volumes of Live Music in Britain address this gap and do so through a unique prism-that of live music. The key theme of the books is the changing nature of the live music industry in the UK, focused upon popular music but including all musical genres. Via this focus, the books offer new insights into a number of other areas including the relationship between commercial and public funding of music; changing musical fashions and tastes; the impact of changing technologies; the changing balance of power within the music industries; the role of the state in regulating and promoting various musical activities within an increasingly globalised music economy; and the effects of demographic and other social changes on music culture. Drawing on new archival research, a wide range of academic and non- academic secondary sources, participant observation and a series of interviews with key personnel, the books have the potential to become landmark works within Popular Music Studies and broader cultural history. The third volume covers the period from Live Aid to Live Nation (1985- 2015).

**THE PERFECT GIFT FOR BILLIE EILISH FANS** A celebration of Billie Eilish's refreshing outlook, creativity and independence. We all want a bit more Billie in our lives! Billie Eilish isn't up for conforming to others' expectations of what a young woman should look and sound like. This multi-award-winning artist lays down her own beat and refuses to be labelled, restricted or dismissed. She uses her platform to advocate openness around mental health and to work towards positive change in the world around her. With chapters on learning to be yourself, standing up for what you believe and dealing with haters, Be Bad, Be Bold, Be Billie explores Billie's incredible journey to stardom, providing hints and tips on how to adopt her poise and no-nonsense attitude to get to where you want to be.

Opening up the dialogue between popular music studies and aging studies, this book offers a major exploration of age and popular music across Europe. Using a variety of methods to illustrate how age within popular music is contingent and compelling, the volume explores how it provokes curation and devotion across a variety of sites and artists who record in several European languages, and genres including waltz music, electronica, pop, folk, rap, and the French 'chanson.' Visiting the many ways in which age is problematized, revered, and performed within Europe in relation to popular music, case studies analyze: French touring shows of popular music stars from the 1960s; Andre Rieu's annual Vrijthof concerts in the Netherlands; Kraftwerk and Bjoerk's appearances at renowned art museums as curated objects; queer approaches to popular music space and time; British folk music inheritances; pan-European strategies of stardom and career longevity; and inheritance and post-colonial hauntings of race and identity. The book works with the notion of travelling, across borders, genres, sexualities, and media, highlighting the visibility of the aging body across a variety of European sites in order to establish popular music through the lens of age as a positive methodology with which to approach popular music cultures, and to offer a counter-narrative to age as decline. This book will appeal to scholars of popular music, popular culture, media studies, cultural studies, aging studies, and cultural gerontology.

October 1982: ABC, Culture Club, Shalamar and Survivor dominate the top twenty when the Pogues barrel out from the backstreets of King's Cross, a furious, pioneering mix of punk energy, traditional melodies and the powerfully poetic songwriting of Shane MacGowan. Reviled by traditionalists for their frequently fast, often riotous interpretations of Irish folk songs, the Pogues rose from the sweaty chaos of backroom gigs in Camden pubs to world tours with the likes of Elvis Costello, U2 and Bob Dylan, and had huge commercial success with everyone's favourite Christmas song, 'Fairytale of New York'. Yet, the exuberance of their live performances coupled with relentless touring spiralled into years of hard drinking and excess which eventually took their toll - most famously on Shane, but also on the rest of the band - causing them to part ways seven years later. Here, their story is told with beauty, lyricism and great candour by James Fearnley, founding member and accordion player. He brings to life the youthful friendships, the bust-ups, the amazing gigs, the terrible gigs, the fantastic highs and the dramatic lows in a hugely compelling, humorous, moving and honest account of life in one of our most treasured and original bands.

In the first Beatles biography, Philip Norma has close working relationships with each of the Fab Four, having interviewed them many times since 1965 and observed first hand the events that led to the split during 1969-70. The resulting book contained insights into the rise of the Beatles, their final years, the chaos of Apple and the collapse of Hippy idealism. Fully updated, this book is for anyone with an interest in pop music, the Sixties and the pleasures and perils of fame.

An essential work for rock fans and scholars, Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll surveys the origins of rock 'n' roll from the minstrel era to the emergence of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. Unlike other histories of rock, Before Elvis offers a far broader and deeper analysis of the influences on rock music. Dispelling common misconceptions, it examines rock's origins in hokum songs and big-band boogies as well as Delta blues, detailing the embrace by white artists of African-American styles long before rock 'n' roll appeared. This unique study ranges far and wide, highlighting not only the contributions of obscure but key precursors like Hardrock Gunter and Sam Theard but also the influence of celebrity performers like Gene Autry and Ella Fitzgerald. Too often, rock historians treat the genesis of rock 'n' roll as a bolt from the blue, an overnight revolution provoked by the bland pop music that immediately preceded it and created through the white appropriation of music till then played only by and for black audiences.In Before Elvis, Birnbaum daringly argues a more complicated history and rock's evolution from a heady mix of ragtime, boogie-woogie, swing, country music, mainstream pop, and rhythm-and-blues-a melange that influenced one another along the way, from the absorption of blues and boogies into jazz and pop to the integration of country and Caribbean music into rhythm-and-blues. Written in an easy style, Before Elvis presents a bold argument about rock's origins and required reading for fans and scholars of rock 'n' roll history.

Florence + the Machine is the recording name of English musician Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists who provide music for her voice. Florence + the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul. The Sunday Times described Welch as "the most peculiar and most highly acclaimed female singer of the moment" Tells the story of her upbringing in South London to her thrilling rise to international fame as a singer and also a highly individual fashion icon. Her collaborations and working relationships with Chanel Creative Director Karl Lagerfeld, her manager Mairead Nash and her friend Isabella Summers who to this day forms part of 'the machine'. How her sense of style has captured the imaginations of fans and fashion editors the world over. The stories behind the glittering award ceremonies, TV appearances and international tours.

The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2021 gives biographical information and contact details for some of the most talented and influential artists and individuals from the world of popular music. Now in its twentieth edition, there are over 7,000 biographies charting the careers and achievements of artists in pop, rock, folk, jazz, dance, world, country music and much more. Key Features: - each entry includes full biographical information: principal career details, recordings and compositions, honours and contact information where available - each entrant is given the opportunity to update his or her information - spans the full range of the popular music industry, from rock to jazz and dance to country - provides information on established names as well as up-and-coming artists - a directory section provides details of music festivals, awards, organizations within the industry, and digital music sources - for ease of reference, the book includes an index of music group members. In one accessible volume this title offers users a vast collection of information on the most famous and influential people in the popular music industry.

Music, Sexuality and the Enlightenment explains how Mozart's music for Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and CosA fan tutte 'sounds' the intentions of Da Ponte's characters and their relationships with one another. Mozart, by way of the infinitely generative and beautiful logic of the sonata principle, did not merely interpret Da Ponte's characterizations but lent them temporal, musical forms. Charles Ford's analytic interpretation of these musical forms concerns processes and structures in detail and at medium- to long-term levels. He addresses the music of a wide range of arias and ensembles, and develops original ways to interpret the two largely overlooked operatic genres of secco recitative and finales. Moreover, Ford presents a new method by which to relate musical details directly to philosophical concepts, and thereby, the music of the operas to the inwardly contradictory thinking of the European Enlightenment. This involves close readings of late eighteenth-century understandings of 'man' and nature, self and other, morality and transgression, and gendered identities and sexuality, with particular reference to contemporary writers, especially Goethe, Kant, Laclos, Rousseau, Sade, Schiller, Sterne and Wollstonecraft. The concluding discussion of the implied futures of the operas argues that their divided sexualities, which are those of the Enlightenment as a whole, have come to form our own unquestioned assumptions about gender differences and sexuality. This, along with the elegant and eloquent precision of Mozart's music, is why Figaro, Giovanni and CosA still maintain their vital immediacy for audiences today.

Popular Music Pedagogies: A Practical Guide for Music Teachers provides readers with a solid foundation of playing and teaching a variety of instruments and technologies, and then examines how these elements work together in a comprehensive school music program. With individual chapters designed to stand independently, instructors can adapt this guide to a range of learning abilities and teaching situations by combining the pedagogies and methodologies presented. This textbook is an ideal resource for preservice music educators enrolled in popular music education, modern band, or secondary general methods coursework and K-12 music teachers who wish to create or expand popular music programs in their schools. The website includes play-alongs, video demonstrations, printed materials, and links to useful popular music pedagogy resources.

Popular Music Pedagogies: A Practical Guide for Music Teachers provides readers with a solid foundation of playing and teaching a variety of instruments and technologies, and then examines how these elements work together in a comprehensive school music program. With individual chapters designed to stand independently, instructors can adapt this guide to a range of learning abilities and teaching situations by combining the pedagogies and methodologies presented. This textbook is an ideal resource for preservice music educators enrolled in popular music education, modern band, or secondary general methods coursework and K-12 music teachers who wish to create or expand popular music programs in their schools. The website includes play-alongs, video demonstrations, printed materials, and links to useful popular music pedagogy resources.

An essential part of human expression, humor plays a role in all forms of art, and humorous and comedic aspects have always been part of popular music. For the first time, The Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor draws together scholarship exploring how the element of humor interacts with the artistic and social aspects of the musical experience. Discussing humor in popular music across eras from Tin Pan Alley to the present, and examining the role of humor in different musical genres, case studies of artists, and media forms, this volume is a groundbreaking collection that provides a go-to reference for scholars in music, popular culture, and media studies. While most scholars, when considering humor's place in popular music, tend to focus on more "literate" forms, the contributors in this collection seek to fill in the gaps by surveying all kinds of humor, critical theories, and popular musics. Across eight parts, the essays in this collection explore topics both highbrow and low, including: Parody and satire Humor in rock and global music Gender, sexuality, and politics The music mockumentary Novelty songs Humor has long been a fixture of the popular music soundscape, whether on stage, in performance, on record, or on film. The Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor covers it all, presenting itself as the most comprehensive treatment of the topic to date.

This book explores queer potentialities in the tribal folktales of India. It elucidates the queer elements in the oral narratives of four indigenous communities from East and Northeast India, which are found to be significant repositories of gender fluidity and non-normative desires. Departing from the popular understanding that 'Otherness' results largely from undue exposure to Western permissiveness, the author reveals how minority sexualities actually have their roots in aboriginal indigenous cultures and do not necessarily constitute a mimicry of the West. The volume endeavours to demystify the politics behind such vindictive propagation to sensitize the queerphobic mainstream about the essential endogenous presence of the queer in the spaces that are aboriginal. Based on extensive interdisciplinary research, this book is a first of its kind in the study of indigenous queer narratives. It will be useful to scholars and researchers of queer studies, gender studies, tribal and indigenous studies, literature, cultural studies, postcolonialism, sociology, political studies and South Asian studies.

'[An] astute reckoning with modern celebrity' - The Times 'A wild read' - The Guardian 'A well-researched, measured account' - The Sun Part biography, part social history, Being Britney pieces together a collage of stories, interviews, legends and fan experiences to construct a definitive portrait of one of the biggest stars in recent history. In her unique narrative, acclaimed music author Jennifer Otter Bickerdike provides a sympathetic yet objective re-examination of Britney's trajectory from girl next door to woman trapped by fame. Being Britney is the compelling account of a talented, troubled and talked-about modern icon, whose life, work and individual significance will be recognised for many decades to come. 'After years of being framed as a victim, Britney deserves to be celebrated as the fighter, inspiration and enigma she truly is.' - Jennifer Otter Bickerdike

The Eurovision Song Contest is famous for its camp spectacles and political intrigues, but what about its actual music? With more than 1,500 songs in over 50 languages and a wide range of musical styles since it began in 1956, Eurovision features the most musically and linguistically diverse song repertoire in history. Listening closely to its classic fan favorites but also to songs that scored low because they were too different or too far ahead of their time, this book delves into the musical tastes and cultural values the contest engages through its international reach and popular appeal. Chapters discuss the iconic fanfare that introduces the broadcast, the supposed formulas for composing successful contest entries, how composers balance aspects of sameness and difference in their songs, and the tension between national genres of European popular music and musical trends beyond the nation's borders, especially the American influences on a show that is supposed to celebrate an idealized pan-European identity. The book also explores how audiences interact with the contest through musicking experiences that bring people together to celebrate its sounds and spectacles. What can seem like a silly song-and-dance show offers valuable insights into the bonds between popular music and cosmopolitan values for its many followers around the world. From dance parties to flashmobs, parodies to plagiarisms, and orchestras to artificial intelligence, Another Song for Europe will be of particular interest to Eurovision fans, critics, and scholars of popular music, popular culture, ethnomusicology, and European studies.

Improbasen is a Norwegian private learning centre that offers beginner's instrumental tuition within jazz improvisation for children between the ages of 7 and 15. This book springs out of a two-year ethnographic study of the teaching and learning activity at Improbasen, highlighting features from the micro-interactions within the lessons, the organisation of Improbasen, and its international activity. Music teachers, students, and scholars within music education as well as jazz research will benefit from the perspectives presented in the book, which shows how children systematically acquire tools for improvisation and shared codes for interplay. Through a process of guided participation in jazz culture, even very young children are empowered to take part in a global, creative musical practice with improvisation as an educational core. This book critically engages in current discussions about jazz pedagogy, inclusion and gender equity, beginning instrumental tuition, creativity, and authenticity in childhood.