In this book Christopher Naughton combines the philosophies of Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche and Christopher Small with postmodern, ethnomusicological discussions about the concept of music, and employs this optic to discuss community samba in schools. He challenges central concepts of music education, and the western canon's sovereignty in defining music education. The book is relevant for music educators, music teacher educators and for music philosophers at many levels. It is an extensive project, and the book demands quite a lot from the reader. It is fully possible, though, to read non-chronologically, perhaps by starting with the more field-near chapters and then continuing with the philosophical outlines which appear at the beginning.

The book has four sections. The philosophical background is elaborated in the first part, with Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Heidegger as main references. In the second part, Naughton expounds his ideas using perspectives from musicology, ethnomusicology and music education. The third part discusses the two Freesamba school projects (in Exeter and in Auckland), and in the last part he re-visits Small, Nietzsche and Heidegger as related to these Freesamba projects. Naughton's discussions challenge norms and terms that are naturalised through the western canon and applied to music and music education in general, and touches contemporary discussions concerning values, essences, meanings and mandates in music and music education (Wright, Reference WRIGHT2010; Karlsen & Väkevä, Reference KARLSEN and VÄKEVÄ2012; Georgii-Hemming et al., Reference GEORGII-HEMMING, BURNARD and HOLGERSEN2013; Pio & Varkøy, Reference PIO and VARKØY2014). The book can be seen as a project that proposes more samba and samba-like music activity in school and society, and which supports an increased awareness of existential philosophy within music education and music teacher education.

A central question in the book is whether music can be considered as detached from culture. If music is seen as something culturally dependent, then also teaching and learning in music must be regarded as cultural practice; discussions about quality in music performance and music education cannot then be discussed in general. This is a substantial point for all music teachers, and cultural differences may then concern ethnicity, but also music genres and instrumental traditions. Naughton sees ‘the essence of music’ as contextual and social, and ‘music itself’ as a collaborative occurrence. His concept of music is influenced by British/New Zealand music philosopher Christopher Small, and as Small, Naughton points to how the Western canon in music education, and the tradition which creates and supports this practice, effectively devalues other musics and cultures by making itself the sovereign norm for quality. This is important to unveil, and there are good reasons to foster discussions about this for every music teacher.

If music is seen as an inclusive and participatory activity, then terms from the Western canon such as ‘individuality’, ‘musical talent’, and even ‘teacher/pupil relationship’ might not be the most appropriate descriptions. Terms extracted from one musical form might not be useful for discussing others. Terms derived from Western object-oriented concepts of music uphold a hierarchy of music and music education in which the West itself figures on the top. A strange thing though, is that Naughton never turns this mirror to employ his own critique of the Western back on his Freesamba projects. I fully agree with Naughton's reasoning, but this works both ways, and it seems as unfair to discuss music in classical, Western contexts with terms and norms from samba, as it is to discuss samba with terms from the Western, classical canon. The critique against naturalised views on music-as-object, and musical essentialism is growing, but so too is the meta-critique turned back on itself – that no place from which critique is exercised is more neutral than the other (Dyndahl & Ellefsen, Reference DYNDAHL, ELLEFSEN, Nielsen, Holgersen and Nielsen2009; Rønningen, Reference RØNNINGEN, Holgersen and Nielsen2010). Critique of Western classical music education, from a Samba-inspired context, could then fall upon the same critique itself.

The book is a version of Naughton's PhD thesis which offers a good departure for thorough and well-articulated considerations, but offers challenges for making these discussions accessible to a variety of music education readers. I turned the book backwards, and chose to start with Chapters 8 and 9, which relate to the two Freesamba projects. As all previous and later discussions relate to these projects in some way, I personally preferred the practical examples first. This approach allowed me to follow Naughton's philosophical and theoretical outlines which appear at the beginning and end of the book. Although the theoretical-philosophical perspectives could have been more focused and concise, these parts of the book are interesting in themselves – both in relation to the empirical material, as well as detached from it. The connections between the theoretical/philosophical and the empirical sections could have been clearer – but, in all its extensiveness, and with a clear table of contents – this book has relevance for a wide range of readers within the environments of music education and philosophy in music education.

Naughton employs Nietzche's antique concepts of Apollonian and Dionysian as a philosophical background for his arguments calling for unrestrainedness and celebration (Dionysian), and less structure, tension and control (Apollonian) in music education and music teacher education. I do agree with this, but I also suspect music education philosophers to question some of Naughton's interesting combinations, for example, the combination of the Dionysian focus and Heidegger. As I understand Heidegger's philosophy to be more concerned with contemplation than celebration, I am not convinced by how compatible Heidegger's philosophy and Dionysian thinking is. Heidegger actually expresses scepticism of the ‘aesthetic experience’, where non-committing ease can threaten the deep insights into being and living (Heidegger, Reference HEIDEGGER2000, pp. 97–98). It is also possible to question the combination of Heidegger and Small, as the first is a phenomenologist and the latter is not. In spite of these uncertainties, these are brave combinations that open doors to new ways of thinking about, and articulating, thoughts on music, musicking and music education. As a music teacher educator, I appreciate the book because it makes a good departure for discussions in music teacher education, particularly in relation to the language and terms we might use in such discussions.

Music, seen as a cultural practice, demands the music educator to have deep knowledge on the specific music and its origin (Lines, Reference LINES2003). For example, Balinese gamelan relates to performances in everyday life in Bali, not to Western concert halls with a European audience. If gamelan is played elsewhere, for example in a Western school project, it can still be the sound of gamelan but one might ask if it is really ‘the duty of gamelan’ that is taking place (Angelo, Reference ANGELO, Holgersen, Nielsen and Väkevä2013). Therefore, is it real, true Samba that happens in Exeter, and in Auckland, or is it only a shallow image? Music can be considered as something with its own autonomy, or as an impulse that inspires human beings to compose and improvise. In the latter, pluralism is harmless, and there exists no such thing as an untrue unfolding of music because music is seen as something deeply human and the experiences of making music then stimulates and engages humanity. Naughton discusses such questions, and emphasises how musical value is different if music happens within, or remote to, its original context. Heidegger's thoughts on art and on the knowledge form techné are employed to explain this, and to elaborate on the value of creating to be able to experience values other than utility. The value of samba is therefore different if the Samba schools are facilitated inside or outside of original Samba cultures, and although there is little discussion about what is lost in Samba schools in England and New Zealand, Naughton is clear on the values that are made and experienced, particularly in relation to participation, inclusiveness and collective processes of creation.

The title of the book triggers curiosity: The thrill of making a racket. The book lacks a good explanation of its title, and leaves me a bit bewildered about the connection between a racket, samba and philosophy. Reading the book still is a thrill; challenging, engaging and inspiring on empirical, philosophical and theoretical levels. The most important question in this book is whether the concept of music can be considered to be independent of culture. Music philosophers and ethnomusicologists may continue this debate, considering whether types of value have anything to do with music. These debates are exactly what this book tries to encourage, and I therefore leave it to students and teachers within music education, musicology and music philosophy to continue the discussion. Such debates are crucial, because they are about the fundamental value of music education in school and in society. I warmly recommend this book to a range of readers within music education societies and look forward to continued discussions about the multiplicity of ways to articulate and discuss quality in music education practices.