(Musical) Ethics Lab 6 at MaerzMusik

Music is not a “thing” – music is something we do. But what do we do when we make music?

Music-making involves a wide range of skills, from instrumental technique and theoretical knowledge to empathy and social awareness. To learn these skills is therefore to become a particular kind of person. And if you talk to a musician, it will soon become clear that making music is not simply an action but an identity, a way of being-in-the-world.

This way of being is something shared, because making music is always a social act – it takes place in a context with a distinct cultural and material history. This dimension becomes perhaps especially clear in the practice of experimental improvised music, where the diverse histories of each musician are brought into dialogue.

Our distinguished panel of scholars – drawing on their expertise in musicology, philosophy and cognitive science – will discuss how we use music to make sense of the world and each other, in this scholarly response to the “(Musical) Ethics Lab 6” featuring the Splitter Orchester and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra.

Focusing especially on the practices of free improvisation, they will explore how making music is an expression not just of aesthetic but ethical values.