The Sociology of Wind Bands provides a sociological account of this musical universe. Based on a qualitative and quantitative survey conducted in north-eastern France, the authors present a vivid description of the orchestras, the backgrounds and practices of their musicians, and the repertoires they play. Their multi-level analysis sheds new light on the social organisation, meanings and functions of a type of music. They propose an imaginative and balanced framework which, beyond the specific case of wind music, is an innovative contribution to the sociology of lowbrow culture.

Vincent Dubois is Professor of sociology and political science at the University of Strasbourg and Florence Gould member at the Institute for advanced study, Princeton, USA. He has published several books on social and cultural issues, including The Bureaucrat and the Poor: Encounters in French Welfare Offices, Farnham, Ashgate, 2010. Jean-Matthieu Méon is Senior Lecturer in media studies at the University of Lorraine. He has published extensively on censorship, low and popular culture, including comic books and pornography. Emmanuel Pierru is Senior Researcher at the CNRS (CERAPS, University of Lille). He has published extensively on the lower classes, unemployment and cultural practices. Translator Jean-Yves Bart specialises in social science translations from French into English. He is the translator of Vincent Dubois, The Bureaucrat and the Poor.

Contents: Preface to the English edition; Introduction; Part I On the Fringes of the Musical Field: Did you say 'lowbrow music'?; The wind band world. Part II The Ecology and Economy of an Amateur Practice: Musical Integration; The social life of the bands. Part III Perspectives on Cultural Autonomy: The transfer of social constraint; Social displacement and the 'musicalization' of the practice; Appendices; References; Index.