Why Do We Listen to Popular Music? - The Perspective of Resonance Theory

The first volume section – RESONATING – explores the ways in which (popular) music resonates with meaning, both by tuning in with subjective needs and desires and by mediating the constraints of social norm and structures. Yannik Ambrusits asks: “What makes us engage in music?” A possible answer is offered by way of German sociologist Hartmut Rosa’s theory of resonance. Resonance, in Rosa’s thinking, creates world relation and counters the forces of alienation. In close dialogue with Rosa, Ambrusits shows that the promises and problematics of resonance are at the heart of the popular music experience.