The Shadow Side of Musical Composition: A Study of Library Music in Portuguese Academic Circles

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Despite being an international and powerful branch of the music and audiovisual
industries, library music has limited symbolic capital. In conservatories, academies, and higher schools, the very idea of functional, commercially oriented music composition is consigned to oblivion, as if this practice did not exist. Music students in academic contexts are strongly encouraged to pursue what is classified as art, classical, or vanguard music. This article discusses the relationship between specific academic Portuguese music circles and the practice, teaching, and learning of library music.
Our main question is: why, in the digital era, do the canons of music teaching still
exclude practices such as library music? This research uses qualitative data collected
from a group of respondents in the context of multi-method research. Respondents are music and musicolog y students, teachers and professionals in Portugal, all of whom have advanced practical and/or theoretical musical training.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)177-202
Number of pages25
JournalMusic, Sound, and the Moving Image
Volume18
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 8 Dec 2024

Keywords

  • Audiovisual industries
  • Musical composition
  • Contemporary music practice
  • Library music
  • Specialized Music Education;
  • Digital age

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