Hausmusik

Hausmusik (house music, domestic music), German term for the performance of music in private circles, usually by amateurs but sometimes by or in cooperation with professional musicians. Initially typical of the musical activities in the houses of noblemen, Hausmusik was from the late 18^th century increasingly practised by the bourgeoisie and reached its peak in the salons of the Biedermeier era. The social crises of the first half of the 20^th century and the general availability of records, tape recordings etc. caused the decline of Hausmusik but not its complete disappearance. Even though musical performances in the family or in a circle of friends are also known in folk music, the concept is mostly associated with bourgeois society. Private study with tutors and/or the availability of public schools of music and the production of music requiring only moderate skills and a restricted number of players are indispensable prerequisites for the preservation of this valuable social and cultural phenomenon.