Editorial

Abstract

This issue of the Malaysian Music Journal contains a range of topics that span a diversity of musical cultures, environments and practices. It is an eclectic compilation from six scholars, all of whom work in the university sector in Malaysia. Articles discuss research on the sustainability and cultural identities in a variety of Indonesian ensembles, music and locations; the impact of noise exposure in the Malaysian environment; the development of effective choral pedagogies in Malaysian communities; analysis of score and performance practice in works for guitar; and a reflective piece reviews the status and benefits of practice-led methods in music research. In the first article, Sustainability Strategies Among Balinese Heritage Ensembles, Made Mantle Hood contributes a robust discourse on heritage ensembles in Bali, on the instruments and repertoire, and the ways in which communities access and maintain them. Approaches to sustainability, community partnerships, industry and ritual are expounded through a perspicacious intersection of theory and practice.