Studia Instrumentorum Musicae Popularis IV

The fourth volume of STUDIA INSTRUMENTORUM MUSICAE POPULARIS (NEW SERIES) is offering papers on two main themes presented during the 20th symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Musical Instruments held in Luang Prabang, Laos, from 10-13 June, 2015. The first theme is "Dance Instruments - Song Instruments" and considers that many local music traditions are complex and involve to a big part dance alternating with songs. The idea to deepen insights on instrumental functionality from the perspective of performative demands is, therefore, of some urgency, especially in times of increasing substitution of live music through fixed and pre-produced media items. Studies on the duality of performance functions, observed differentiation in playing techniques or repertoire, the physical inclusion of musical instruments in the performance and musical instruments as subjects in song texts or vocally represented in sound imitation might be some research fields that deserve to be looked at. The second theme is dedicated to "Emotional Implications of Instrumental Sound". This topic includes cross-disciplinary studies that investigate into instrumental sound with regard to music psychology, acoustics and social behaviour, dynamics of aesthetic norms within communities, ethnic labelling, gendering / age grouping of musical instruments according to sound qualities, or any associative structuring in the perception of instrumental sound. Further, new research topics are introduced and their first results are made available to a broader audience.