ABSTRACT
Philosophers of music have traditionally been concerned with the problems that Western classical music raises, but recently there has been growing interest both in non-Western music and in Western musical traditions other than classical. Classical music is primarily, as it has always been, a live performance tradition, and its recordings assimilate themselves to that tradition. Rock music is primarily a recording tradition, and its live performances depend partly on that tradition for their value. The work of art in rock is a track constructed in the studio. Tracks usually manifest songs, which can be performed live. A cover version is a track intended to manifest the same song as some other track. This ontology reflects the way informed audiences talk about rock. It recognizes not only the centrality of recorded tracks to the tradition, but also the value accorded to live performance skills.
