ABSTRACT
A society without music has never been discovered. But although music making is a universal feature of human society, it is by no means universally undertaken by every individual within a society. The more highly specialized is the division of labor generally, the more likely it is that music will also become a specialized sphere of action: listened to and enjoyed by many, but practiced by only a few. In Europe five hundred years ago, not only the church and court, but also the ordinary home, the street, the field, and the tavern all represented places where music was actively created by almost everyone, and in many non-Western societies music making has always been a normal part of everyday life. Nowadays, while technological developments have increased the availability of music for the listener, only a relatively small percentage of the adult population is engaged in active music making.
