Narrowing of Socio-Economic Access and Participation in the Traditional Music of Ireland and Scotland
Simon McKerrell and Helen Lawlor
Published in: Ethnomusicology Ireland 9 (2024), pp. 1-10.
ISSN 2009-4094
Abstract
The core objective of this special issue introductory article is to better understand current evidence of the socio-economic profile of traditional music access and participation in Ireland and Scotland. The article sets out the available detailed survey, sociological and ethnographic evidence from both countries, to demonstrate the contemporary context for socio-economic class in traditional music education, transmission and participation in Ireland and Scotland. Data on educational attainment as it relates to traditional music is also mobilized to analyze the relationship between cultural capital and musical participation. The article also benefits from some detailed ethnographic evidence that develops the understanding of contemporary participation and the impact of the professionalization and formalization of traditional music in Ireland. The evidence demonstrates that the socio-economic profile of traditional music in Ireland and Scotland is narrowing and presents some of the barriers to access. It concludes by suggesting that the popular conception of traditional music as egalitarian and open-to-all has not been true for some time and in order to secure a more inclusive future for traditional music, the community of practice must consider the socio-economic barriers to participation that now exist.
Keywords: traditional music, Ireland, Scotland, socio-economic class, participation, access