Process Philosophy and Musicking
"To music is to take part in a musical performance, whether by performing, by listening, by rehearsing or practicing, by providing material for performance (what is called composition), or by dancing."
-- Christopher Small, Musicking
What is music? For centuries, Western thought has treated it as a noun—a fixed object like a score, a symphony, or a song. But in Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening (1998), New Zealand musicologist Christopher Small proposed a radical rethinking. He invited us to consider music not as a thing but as an activity—something people do. To name this activity, he coined the verb musicking.
“To music,” Small wrote, “is to take part, in any capacity, in a musical performance.” With this simple shift, he opened up a wide field of participation. Musicking includes not only performing and listening, but also composing, rehearsing, dancing, stage managing, running sound, setting up the venue, and even selling tickets. All who contribute to a musical event are musicking. Music becomes not an object to be possessed or perfected but a shared process to be lived.
At the heart of musicking is relationship. According to Small, every act of musicking establishes a web of relationships—between performer and audience, among the performers themselves, between the music and the space, and between individuals and their cultural world. These relationships are not side effects; they are where the meaning of music lies. In this view, musicking is a form of social and even spiritual ritual, enacting values and exploring ways of being together in the world.
Small’s vision moves us from product to process, from object to event. It affirms that music is not just sound arranged in time but a deeply human act of connection. Whether in a concert hall, a church, a jazz club, or a kitchen, musicking invites us into relationship—into a moment where, through sound and silence, we become more fully present to one another and to the world.
I Look Up as I Walk
The "Sukiyaki" Song
上を向いて歩こう
After the Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami in March of 2011, a popular Japanese song began to be sung by people of all ages around the world. The song, “I Look Up as I Walk,” became a source of encouragement—offering hope, renewal, and a vision of caring community, not only for Japan but for the world at large.
What made this movement especially powerful was the willingness of people to sing together in a language many did not understand. It revealed the transformative capacity of music to unite and uplift. This practice of communal music-making is sometimes referred to as musicking, a term coined by musicologist Christopher Small to describe the full range of relational and participatory activities that make music meaningful.
From a process-relational perspective, musicking is more than a cultural expression—it is a creative act of becoming with others. It reflects the idea that all sentient subjects, including human beings, are not static substances but momentary centers of experience, constituted by their relationships with others and the world. In singing together, individuals do not merely express existing emotions; they co-create a new shared experience through sound, gesture, and mood. Each moment of musicking is an instance of what Whitehead called “the many becoming one,” where diverse perspectives and feelings are gathered into a felt unity, however temporary.
Musicking is a form of relational power—an expression of inspiration, empathy, and friendship rather than coercion, violence, or domination. It is power through connection, where influence flows not by force but by resonance. This kind of power builds and binds communities through shared feeling.
Using the “spiritual alphabet” developed by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, one can say that the communal singing of “I Look Up as I Walk” evokes many of the most life-affirming spiritual moods: connection, hope, hospitality, imagination, love, nurturing, peace, play, and, quietly but unmistakably, a deep love of life.
The power of the song lies not simply in its lyrics but in its sonic texture—in the tones, rhythms, and expressive contours that carry affective weight. Just as important is the meaning imparted by those who sing and those who listen. In process terms, these are acts of “feeling” or “prehending,” through which people take in the emotional qualities of an experience and respond with their own interpretive acts. In this sense, musicking becomes a spiritual practice—an improvisational weaving of beauty, solidarity, and shared becoming across time, cultures, and communities.
What made this movement especially powerful was the willingness of people to sing together in a language many did not understand. It revealed the transformative capacity of music to unite and uplift. This practice of communal music-making is sometimes referred to as musicking, a term coined by musicologist Christopher Small to describe the full range of relational and participatory activities that make music meaningful.
From a process-relational perspective, musicking is more than a cultural expression—it is a creative act of becoming with others. It reflects the idea that all sentient subjects, including human beings, are not static substances but momentary centers of experience, constituted by their relationships with others and the world. In singing together, individuals do not merely express existing emotions; they co-create a new shared experience through sound, gesture, and mood. Each moment of musicking is an instance of what Whitehead called “the many becoming one,” where diverse perspectives and feelings are gathered into a felt unity, however temporary.
Musicking is a form of relational power—an expression of inspiration, empathy, and friendship rather than coercion, violence, or domination. It is power through connection, where influence flows not by force but by resonance. This kind of power builds and binds communities through shared feeling.
Using the “spiritual alphabet” developed by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, one can say that the communal singing of “I Look Up as I Walk” evokes many of the most life-affirming spiritual moods: connection, hope, hospitality, imagination, love, nurturing, peace, play, and, quietly but unmistakably, a deep love of life.
The power of the song lies not simply in its lyrics but in its sonic texture—in the tones, rhythms, and expressive contours that carry affective weight. Just as important is the meaning imparted by those who sing and those who listen. In process terms, these are acts of “feeling” or “prehending,” through which people take in the emotional qualities of an experience and respond with their own interpretive acts. In this sense, musicking becomes a spiritual practice—an improvisational weaving of beauty, solidarity, and shared becoming across time, cultures, and communities.
MusickingJazz Style |
MusickingOriginal Pop Version |
LyricsUe o muite arukou |
About the Song (from Wikipedia)
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Translation of the Lyrics into English
I look up when I walk, counting the stars with tearful eyes, remembering those happy summer days. But tonight I'm all alone I look up when I walk. So the tears won't fall though my heart is filled with sorrow. For tonight I'm all alone. Happiness lies beyond the clouds. Happiness lies above the sky. Remembering those happy autumn days. But tonight I'm all alone. Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars. Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon. I look up when I walk. So the tears won't fall. Though my heart is filled with sorrow. For tonight I'm all alone.