Holicipation: Prolegomenon to an Ethnography of Solitary Music-Making

Abstract

Solitary music-making for personal satisfaction is a widespread form of musical behaviour that has hitherto been neglected by ethnomusicologists and other students of music. By analogy with “participation” (taking part), this activity might be termed “holicipation” (taking the whole), in that, as the only performer and listener involved, the solitary music-maker personally experiences the whole of the musical event. This paper assesses the treatment (or neglect) of musical holicipation in a wide range of literary and audiovisual sources, and argues that a number of recent developments in the study of music call for a more serious study of holicipation, especially by ethnomusicologists.

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