Music is out of time, ambiguous and inexhaustible. However, music has its specific basis in a located, historically and socially based human experience and meets specific meta-historical needs in a particular time and place.
This book is the outcome of a field research carried out in a multilingual context, South Tyrol, with two perspectives, a sociological perspective and a musicology perspective on traditional music approaches of the three groups living in the area.
The book itself goes through three major issues when talking about music and society: the field bound research on the use of music in tradition, the cultural debate and political implications in all music expressions, the question of didactic of music in relation with social changes. It is a multidisciplinary book and thus it is a step towards a deeper sociological awareness on the different levels of implications music has with and in society itself.

Ilaria Riccioni is assistant professor of General Sociology at the Free University of Bozen. She works with theoretical classical concepts of general sociology and qualitative methodologies for contemporary social research in the areas of: Avantgarde art as sign and anticipation of social change; Social action and creative/artistical action from classical thinking into a contemporary perspective; Field research on social cohesion in bilingual contexts, multiculturalism, arts and music as factors of possible cohesion in multicultural and multilingual contexts. Some publications: Futurismo, logica del postmoderno. Saggio su arte e società (La Mandragora, 2003); Depero. La reinvenzione della realtà (Solfanelli, 2006); Comunicazione, cultura, territorio (a cura di, Mimesis, 2008); Multiculturalismi a confronto (a cura di, BUP, 2009); Bolzano, città di frontiera (Carocci, 2012).
Paolo Somigli is tenured researcher of Musicology and Music History at the Free University of Bozen, where he teaches Musicology, music and didactics. He is PhD in musical disciplines (University "La Sapienza", Rome). He specializes in contemporary European music, in Popular Music (in particular, Italian Popular Music), and in Music Education. Among his recent publications, the volumes La Canzone in Italia: strumenti per l'indagine e prospettive di ricerca (Aracne, 2010), La Schola fiorentina (Nardini, 2011) and articles on music education and youth music culture. He is pianist.