In search of a musical identity

Abstract

The issues of musical identities formation and functions are being discussed within the sociology of music since the 1990s. However, today they still have not lost their relevance. In the current article, the review of sociological studies of musical identity is presented. The key works discussed in this article are the studies, made by S. Frith, T. De Norah, D. Hesmondhalgh, A. Hennion. We conclude that there are three main turns in the studies of musical identity. The first turn— biographical — is more inherent in interdisciplinary research, and considers musical identity genesis in the course of aesthetic self-reflection. Most of all, it is focused on the analysis of private music listening and everyday practices. The second turn considers musical identities in the context of such categories as gender, ethnic or national identities. At the same time, musical identity itself is described as a type of collectivity. The third turn, the most represented in the literature today, describes musical identity in the context of the theory of tastes. It also addresses issues related to social exclusion, cultural selectivity and omnivorousness.