The social impact of music making

Abstract

This Special Issue of Musicae Scientiae focuses on the growing field of music projects that seek to have a positive social impact. Research in this field is gaining significant momentum as musicians across the world are increasingly working on initiatives that feature a strong social dimension (see Sloboda et al., 2020). For example, these musicians are using participatory approaches to music making that facilitate conflict resolution, explore issues of racism, empower women’s human rights and build resiliency in youth (see Hesser & Bartleet, 2020). This burgeoning field of socially engaged practices encompasses projects of international reach, outreach programmes of arts organizations and local grass roots initiatives (see Bartleet & Howell, 2021). Despite the increasing numbers of musicians working in this realm, there are still major gaps in our understanding as to how and when music can operate as a mechanism of social impact. While the field is growing, more systematic research that brings together practitioners, scholars and participants is needed to keep up with the expansion of programs and practices worldwide. This Special Issue seeks to make important empirical and methodological contributions to this field by featuring articles that showcase emerging key contexts, practices, research approaches, findings and dimensions of social impact. It features six articles from scholars who have presented at meetings of the international research platform Social Impact of Music Making (SIMM) (www.simm-platform.eu). This international SIMM platform was developed in 2017 by a group of academics and practitioners from seven different countries, in order to develop and recognize this new multi-disciplinary field of research. The specific aim of the organization is to support critical research on the potential role that learning and making music can play in social and community work. SIMM is grateful to Musicae Scientiae for publishing this Special Issue. For a comparatively young field such as ours, perhaps not quite yet ready for its own journal, we have relied on the open arms of Musicae Scientiae, with its broader remit, being willing to embrace this work that falls somewhat outside the journal’s normal focus. This Special Issue presents research on social music practices that are occurring across a wide range of contexts, such as detention centres, traditional music festivals, culturally diverse communities, cities affected by war and impoverished and violence-stricken urban neighbourhoods. Most of the authors are active themselves as practitioners, offering a distinctive view of the intentions, creative processes and outcomes of these practices in concrete terms, as well as unique perspectives from those participating in these social music programmes themselves. The articles in this Special Issue illuminate the wide range of methodological possibilities that can be 1015465 MCS0010.1177/01634437211015465Media, Culture & SocietyEditorialeditorial2021