A new monograph by Professor Simon Zagorski-Thomas of the London College of Music, University of West London which also launches the Bloomsbury Academic book series on 21st Century Music Practice of which he is the series editor.

The book deals with research into how to ‘do music better’ rather analysing how it is done. As such, it is directly relevant to the practical and vocational slant of contemporary music courses and a large slice of new music research. While of course, an analysis of how something was done can help in our understanding of how to do it better – Practical Musicology is directly aimed at understanding how we develop our ideas of ‘better’ and the strategies we need to achieve those goals. It is therefore something that goes to the heart of the modern university education.