Ethnomusicology

Intermediate

Ethnomusicology is the scholarly study of music from cultural, social, and anthropological perspectives. Rather than focusing solely on the structural or aesthetic properties of musical works, ethnomusicology examines how music functions within human societies, how it reflects and shapes cultural identity, and how it is produced, perceived, and transmitted across communities. The discipline draws on methods from anthropology, sociology, folklore studies, linguistics, and musicology to investigate the full range of the world's musical traditions.

The field emerged in the late nineteenth century under the label 'comparative musicology,' pioneered by scholars such as Alexander J. Ellis, Erich von Hornbostel, and Curt Sachs, who sought to document and classify non-Western musical systems. By the mid-twentieth century, figures like Alan Merriam and Mantle Hood reshaped the discipline, arguing that music cannot be understood apart from the cultural behaviors and beliefs that surround it. Merriam's 1964 book 'The Anthropology of Music' established the foundational framework of studying music as culture, while Hood championed 'bi-musicality,' the idea that scholars should learn to perform the music they study.

Today, ethnomusicology encompasses a vast array of research areas including globalization and music, diasporic musical practices, digital media, sound studies, applied ethnomusicology, and advocacy for endangered musical traditions. Scholars work in contexts ranging from rural fieldwork in indigenous communities to analysis of urban popular music scenes, addressing questions about power, representation, gender, postcolonialism, and sustainability. The field plays a critical role in UNESCO intangible cultural heritage initiatives and in efforts to preserve and revitalize musical traditions facing extinction.

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Key Concepts

The primary research methodology in ethnomusicology, involving extended immersion in a musical community to observe, participate in, and document musical practices firsthand. Fieldwork requires building relationships, learning local languages, and understanding the cultural context in which music operates.

Example

An ethnomusicologist spends two years living in a West African village, learning to play the kora from local griots while documenting the social occasions in which the instrument is performed and the oral histories it transmits.

A concept introduced by Mantle Hood in 1960 that advocates for ethnomusicologists to achieve performance competence in the music they study, arguing that embodied knowledge through playing or singing provides insights that observation alone cannot yield.

Example

A researcher studying Javanese gamelan enrolls in years of performance training at an Indonesian conservatory to gain an insider's understanding of the tuning systems, ensemble dynamics, and spiritual dimensions of the music.

Alan Merriam's foundational principle that music is not merely sound but a form of human behavior embedded within culture. His tripartite model proposes studying music through three interrelated dimensions: the sound itself, the behaviors that produce it, and the conceptualizations or beliefs about it.

Example

Studying a Navajo healing ceremony involves analyzing not just the melodic structure of the chants but also the ritual behaviors of the singer and patient, and the belief system that holds the songs to be spiritually efficacious.

A qualitative research method borrowed from anthropology in which the ethnomusicologist both observes and actively participates in the musical life of a community, balancing insider engagement with outsider analytical perspective.

Example

A scholar joins a Brazilian samba school for an entire carnival season, playing percussion in rehearsals and performances while keeping detailed field notes on the social hierarchies and creative processes within the group.

The systematic study of musical instruments, including their classification, construction, acoustics, history, cultural significance, and the social roles of their players. The Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, developed in 1914, remains the standard taxonomy.

Example

A researcher classifies the Australian didgeridoo as an aerophone in the Hornbostel-Sachs system and examines how its construction from termite-hollowed eucalyptus trunks connects to Aboriginal ecological knowledge and ceremonial practices.

The process of translating performed music into written or visual form for analysis. Ethnomusicologists face the challenge that Western staff notation cannot adequately represent many non-Western scales, timbres, ornamentations, and rhythmic structures, leading to the development of alternative transcription methods.

Example

Transcribing a Hindustani raga performance requires notation that captures microtonal inflections, characteristic melodic phrases, and the improvisatory unfolding of the raga, which standard Western notation cannot fully represent.

A concept developed by R. Murray Schafer referring to the totality of the sonic environment as perceived by humans. Ethnomusicologists study soundscapes to understand how musical and non-musical sounds together constitute the auditory experience of a place and culture.

Example

Studying the soundscape of a Balinese village reveals how overlapping layers of gamelan rehearsals, temple bells, roosters, and motorbikes form a culturally meaningful sonic environment distinct from the Western concert hall ideal of isolated musical performance.

A branch of the field that uses ethnomusicological knowledge to address practical social issues such as cultural preservation, conflict resolution, health and well-being, community development, and music education. It emphasizes collaborative and ethical engagement with communities.

Example

An applied ethnomusicologist works with a refugee community to establish a music program that preserves traditional Syrian musical practices while helping participants cope with trauma and integrate into a new social environment.

A UNESCO framework for recognizing and safeguarding practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills that communities identify as part of their cultural heritage. Many musical traditions are inscribed on UNESCO lists, drawing attention and resources for their preservation.

Example

The polyphonic singing of the Aka Pygmies of Central Africa was proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, prompting international efforts to document and sustain the tradition.

The study of how worldwide interconnection through migration, media, technology, and commerce transforms musical practices, creating hybrid genres, facilitating cross-cultural collaborations, and raising questions about cultural ownership, authenticity, and appropriation.

Example

The global spread of reggae from Jamaica illustrates how a locally rooted genre can become a worldwide phenomenon, adapting to diverse contexts from West African Afrobeat-reggae fusions to Japanese reggae dancehall scenes.

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Grade level

Grades 6-8Grades 9-12College+

Learning objectives

•Identify fieldwork methodologies used in ethnomusicology including participant observation, recording, and transcription practices
•Apply contextual analysis to examine how musical performances encode social identity, ritual meaning, and political expression
•Analyze the impact of globalization, technology, and diaspora on the transmission and transformation of musical traditions
•Evaluate ethical considerations in ethnomusicological research including representation, consent, and cultural ownership of recordings

Recommended Resources

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Books

The Anthropology of Music

by Alan P. Merriam

How Musical Is Man?

by John Blacking

The Study of Ethnomusicology: Thirty-Three Discussions

by Bruno Nettl

Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology

by Gregory F. Barz & Timothy J. Cooley (eds.)

Courses

Introduction to Ethnomusicology

CourseraEnroll

Music as a Mirror of History

edXEnroll

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Arts & Humanities

Musicology

The scholarly study of music encompassing its history, theory, cultural contexts, and scientific dimensions, examining how music is created, performed, and experienced across societies.

Intermediate

Social Sciences

Cultural Anthropology

The study of human cultures, beliefs, and social practices through ethnographic fieldwork and comparative analysis, seeking to understand the full diversity of human ways of life.

Intermediate

Ethnomusicology

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Adaptive Learn

Flashcards

Cheat Sheet

Glossary

Learning Roadmap

Book

Key Concepts

Fieldwork

Bi-musicality

Music as Culture

Participant Observation

Organology

Transcription and Notation

Soundscape

Applied Ethnomusicology

Intangible Cultural Heritage

Globalization and Music

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Grade level

Learning objectives

Recommended Resources

Books

The Anthropology of Music

How Musical Is Man?

The Study of Ethnomusicology: Thirty-Three Discussions

Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology

Courses

Introduction to Ethnomusicology

Music as a Mirror of History

Related Topics

Musicology

Cultural Anthropology