ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with the richness, complexity and diversity of the city's musical history and contemporary music cultures. Margaret Blackman story begins with her father, Jack Blackman, and the music lessons that his mother sent him to when he was growing up in Liverpool as a young boy. The city became a stopping-off point for sailors, traders, tourists and touring musicians, and it was thus exposed to international musical influences, becoming a place where different social and musical groups met and musical sounds and styles were exchanged. It is clear from the discussion so far that Liverpool's role as a port had a huge impact on the social, cultural and musical life of the city. Liverpool's role as a port, for example, and its central position within the global economy, affected the musical infrastructure of the city and contributed to local music diversity.
