An inter- and transdisciplinary exploratory review of the intersection of music and sustainability, exploring how the social experience and practice of music may contribute to the cultural dimension of sustainability, points at key characteristics of resilience related to musical practices, which bear relevance for organizational cultures.
The emerging insights from this review suggest that the experience of, and especially the practice of music, hold potential functions for advancing cultural sustainability and cultures of sustainability, in human communities and within single organizations. Generally, music is a double-edged sword that may advances cultures of sustainability through aesthetics of complexity, while music's emotional potential may instead be deployed to reinforce prejudice and simplifying worldviews. Within a human group, musical practice enhances group cohesion, and especially musical improvisation trains social creativity which is an important resource for organizational resilience.