Games as multifaceted cultural artifacts have repeatedly intertwined with music. The article explores this relationship within European culture. Case studies from the tenth to the twentieth century outline the evolution of music’s conceptualizations and their manifestations in games. By examining this, the study not only suggests their influence on cultural and intellectual developments, but also underscores the significance of nondigital games in constructing and disseminating concepts about music as well as for a history of ludomusicology. Vice versa, it suggests that scrutinizing historical and cultural backgrounds and the socio-historical milieus that shaped play cultures enriches the understanding of historical and contemporary music games. Our tentative overview stresses the need for further dedicated studies on the history of music and games both in Western and in global cultures to uncover the ways in which these two domains interact and inform each other, and thus to broaden the scholarly conversation around music and games.
Introduction: Toward a History of Music and Games in Western Culture
Christoph Hust is Professor of Musicology in Leipzig, Germany. Previous academic positions included appointments and guest professorships in Mainz, Berne, and Kyoto. Current research projects include “Cultures of Home Computer Music in the 1980s” funded by the German Research Council (together with Prof. Ipke Starke and Prof. Dr. Martin Roth), “Game Music Cultures in Japan and Germany” funded by the German Academic Exchange Agency (together with Prof. Dr. Martin Roth), and a Digital Fellowship for “Theory Videos for Game Music” funded by the Educational Portal Saxony (together with Prof. Dr. Dieter Daniels).
Martin Roth is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences at Ritsumeikan University and a research fellow at Stuttgart Media University. His research focuses on videogames, digital culture, and Japan. His first monograph, Thought-Provoking Play: Political Philosophies in Science Fictional Videogame Spaces from Japan, is available open access from, ETC Press. For more information about Martin’s work, please visit http://www.asobiba.de/martin/.
Christoph Hust, Martin Roth; Introduction: Toward a History of Music and Games in Western Culture. Journal of Sound and Music in Games 1 July 2024; 5 (3): 1–18. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/jsmg.2024.5.3.1
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