Historical Perspectives in the Universe of Music Sociology [Sociomusicology] and Georg Simmel

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to underline the conceptual fields and interaction within the sociological thought universe regarding music created by Georg Simmel (1858-1918), a mysterious German sociologist, and to provide examples as to how the social processes of music sociology, together with musical discourse, can help us understand change in social structures. Music is a product of the circumstances out of which it is born, and it sheds light on musicology with auxiliary disciplines that contribute to it. Reflections on music or analysis of musical composition must always note the fact that music has a social language. Hence, music becomes an actor on its stage, not a mere spectator. For instance, ideological discussions in our text are not only a matter of political agenda but are also observed in the relationship between sounds in music. Approaches that specialize only in musicology are both technical and offer sociocultural trends. Defining sociomusicology as a scientific discipline, this paper discusses traditional musical patterns and institutions in terms of sound and aims to expound the discourse of new musical patterns from a sociological perspective and with a view to considering freedom as the most sacred of all values. The paper discusses the institutional relationship between sound and word, specifically in Simmel, and also along with Weber, Lukacs, Adorno, and other major thinkers who have contributed to other fields of philosophy and sociology.