This book is a historical investigation into the social practice of Western music from Gregorian Chant to Postmodernism which advances an alternative approach to that of established musicology. Citing evidence from a range of authoritative sources, Michael Chanan explores the communal roots of the musical tradition and the effects of notation on creative and performing practice. He appraises the psychological wellsprings o0f music using the insight ofs of linguistics, semiotics and psychoanalysis. Tracing the growth of musical printing and the creation of a market for the printed score, he examines the transformation of patronage with the demise of the ancien regime, and draws on little-known texts by Marx to analyse the formation of the musical economy in the nineteenth century.The book assumes no specialist knowledge of music beyond an ordinary familiarity with common terms and an average acquaintance with the musics of different styles and periods. It is a fascinating commentary on the soundtrack of daily life in the metropolis of the late 20th Century.Good clean copy, one inscription inside front cover.