Editorial

[Extract]
Growing interest in the link between music and identity during the past two decades has led to significant understanding of the ways in which music plays a role in our lives. Its role in development, health and well-being, education, social integration, and musical participation (to name just a few) have been discussed in numerous articles and in notable volumes such as Musical Identities by MacDonald et al. (2002), the Handbook of Musical Identities by MacDonald et al. (2017), and the Routledge International Handbook of Music Psychology in Education and the Community by Creech et al. (2020). The international profile of contributing researchers to these and other volumes emphasizes the global relevance of the topic.
After two decades of research on the reciprocal relationship between music, identity, and lived experience, in this Special Issue, we turn our attention to the ways in which we can, and the reasons we should, apply our knowledge in a range of complementary and global contexts. The authors examine the methods used to explore this diverse and complex subject from multiple perspectives, drawing on the work of international scholars to provoke rich and globally relevant debate.