Should we be optimistic, hopeful, or neither? And does it actually matter in terms of what we do? In my recent book Musicking in a Relational Key, I present its central concept in terms of optimism: “Relational musicking and design is an optimistic credo for musicians because musicking is a meaningful action in a relational transition,…
I recently attended my second music retreat with Música do Círculo (circle music; MdC) in Bahia, Brazil. I wrote about my experience at the first retreat in my new book, Musicking in a Relational Key; it forms the first case study, in Chapter 3. I’m delighted to share today the perspective of another participant, Fernanda…
As you may have noticed (!), I just self-published my new book “Musicking in a relational key” on the platform PubPub: https://musrelkey.pubpub.org/. Have you had a look? What do you think about the platform, presentation, ease of use, etc.? I’d welcome any feedback, including suggestions for improvement. There are various reasons why I’ve gone down…
Musicking in a Relational Key: Music Education and Community Music for a Time of Metacrisis was published in June 2026 as an open access book (free to download) in three languages (English, Spanish, and Portuguese).
This book examines music education and community music through the lens of relationality. Engaging critically with prominent ideas in these fields and presenting case studies from Latin America, the book argues for a reorientation at a time of overlapping ecological, social, and political crises – or metacrisis.
Rethinking Social Action Through Music has been published in Spanish translation as Replanteando la acción social por la música (also open access, free to download).
Now also available in Portuguese translation here (free download).
A summary of El Sistema: Orchestrating Venezuela’s Youth in Spanish can now be found on the page El Sistema – key resources.
At present, I am Director of Research at Agrigento, emeritus professor at Royal Holloway, University of London, and a visiting research fellow at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. For further information, see my biography and publications.
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Geoff Baker 