ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book introduces a case study in the relationship between social and musical values and considers what the study of barbershop suggests for the study of other musics. It shows that the ritual of contest is structured so as to sustain and strengthen this empathetic mode of listening: the contest audience listens as if from within the performing experience because they too will have sung from the same stage at some point during the day. The largely theoretical debates about the relationship between intra- and extra-musical meanings contain within them the very practical and politically charged question about the relationship between musical styles and social identities. One cannot discuss the cultural politics of musical participation without returning in due course to the politics of knowledge.
