Ethnomusicology | Cultural Studies, Musicology & Anthropology

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Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. </div> <div class="label mt-20 mb-10">Select Citation Style</div> <select class="js-citation-format-select form-select"> <option selected value="mla">MLA</option> <option value="apa">APA</option> <option value="chicago">Chicago Manual of Style</option> </select> <div class="citation font-serif border rounded p-15 mt-20" data-authors="Bruno Nettl" data-title="ethnomusicology" data-published-date="2 Oct. 2016" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/science/ethnomusicology" > <div class="citation-text"></div> </div> <button class="js-copy-citation-button mt-20 btn btn-xs btn-outline-blue border shadow-sm pr-10" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="file_copy"></em> <span class="js-citation-status-text">Copy Citation</span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <div> <button class="js-share-modal-button js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal="[data-topic-id=194315] .md-share-modal"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="share"></em> Share </button> <div class="md-share-modal size-lg d-none qa-share-modal"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif d-flex align-items-center pb-15 border-bottom"> <em class="material-icons text-blue mr-10" data-icon="share"></em> Share </div> <div class="label my-20">Share to social media</div> <div class="md-social-toolbar-circle d-flex align-items-start inverted" data-value="share" title="ethnomusicology" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/science/ethnomusicology" > <a class="social-icon facebook justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>Facebook</span></a> <a class="social-icon x justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="x" href="https://x.com/britannica" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>X</span></a> </div> <div class="label pt-20 mt-20 mb-5 border-top">URL</div> <a class="font-serif text-truncate d-inline-block" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ethnomusicology">https://www.britannica.com/science/ethnomusicology</a> </div> </div> </div> <div> <button class="js-feedback-modal-button js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal=".md-feedback-modal"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="message"></em> Feedback </button> </div> </div> <div class="md-feedback-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom"> Feedback </div> <form method="post" action="/submission/feedback/194315"> <div class="my-20"> Corrections? 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you鈥檝e submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: comparative musicology</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Bruno-Nettl/2130" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Bruno Nettl</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Emeritus Professor of Music and of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Author of <em>The Study of Ethnomusicology; Folk and Traditional Music of the Western Continents.</em></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Bruno Nettl</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ethnomusicology/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Bela-Bartok" topicid="54394">B茅la Bart贸k</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Henry-Cowell" topicid="141260">Henry Cowell</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Zoltan-Kodaly" topicid="320927">Zolt谩n Kod谩ly</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Natalie-Curtis-Burlin" topicid="85495">Natalie Curtis Burlin</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Erich-Moritz-von-Hornbostel" topicid="271985">Erich Moritz von Hornbostel</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/science/cultural-anthropology" topicid="146165">cultural anthropology</a></dd> <dd><a href="/art/musicology" topicid="399284">musicology</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/ethnomusicology"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="165059" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="video" video-id="154555"><a data-id="154555" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/Gini-Gorlinski-associate-editor-dance-music-ethnomusicology/-165059"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/55/154555-138-D48D6383/Gini-Gorlinski-associate-editor-dance-music-ethnomusicology.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="What is ethnomusicology?" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/O7rQLfVa.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/55/154555-138-D48D6383/Gini-Gorlinski-associate-editor-dance-music-ethnomusicology.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/ipNYGlFD", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/MLtVJZ2f.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="154555">What is ethnomusicology?</span><span>Gini Gorlinski, associate editor of music and dance of <em>Encyclop忙dia Britannica</em>, discussing ethnomusicology.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/science/ethnomusicology/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref153928"></span>ethnomusicology</strong>, field of scholarship that <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="encompasses" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/encompasses" data-type="MW">encompasses</a> the study of all world musics from various perspectives. It is defined either as the comparative study of musical systems and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="cultures" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultures" data-type="MW">cultures</a> or as the anthropological study of music. Although the field had <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="antecedents" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antecedents" data-type="MW">antecedents</a> in the 18th and early 19th centuries, it began to gather energy with the development of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/sound-recording" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">recording</a> techniques in the late 19th century. It was known as comparative musicology until about 1950, when the term <em>ethnomusicology</em> was introduced simultaneously by the Dutch scholar of Indonesian music <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jaap-Kunst" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jaap Kunst</a> and by several American scholars, including Richard Waterman and Alan Merriam. In the period after 1950, ethnomusicology burgeoned at academic institutions. Several societies and periodicals were founded, the most notable being the Society for Ethnomusicology, which publishes the journal <em>Ethnomusicology</em>.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Some ethnomusicologists consider their field to be associated with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/musicology" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">musicology</a>, while others see the field as related more closely to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/anthropology" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">anthropology</a>. Among the general characteristics of the field are dependence on field research, which may include the direct study of music performance, and interest in all types of music produced in a society, including folk, art, and popular <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="genres" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genres" data-type="MW">genres</a>. Among the field鈥檚 <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="abiding" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abiding" data-type="MW">abiding</a> concerns are whether outsiders can validly study another culture鈥檚 music and what the researcher鈥檚 obligations are to his informants, teachers, and consultants in colonial and postcolonial <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="contexts" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contexts" data-type="MW">contexts</a>. Over time, ethnomusicologists have gradually abandoned the detailed <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="analytical" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/analytical" data-type="MW">analytical</a> study of music and increased their focus on the anthropological study of music as a domain of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="culture" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture" data-type="MW">culture</a>. With this shift in emphasis has come greater concern with the study of popular musics as expressions of the relationships between dominant and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/minority" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">minority</a> cultures; of music as a reflection of political, social-ethnic, and economic movements; and of music in the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="context" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/context" data-type="MW">context</a> of the cultural meanings of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/gender-grammar" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">gender</a>. <em>See also</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/anthropology/Ethnomusicology#ref236873" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">anthropology: Ethnomusicology</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/contributor/Bruno-Nettl/2130">Bruno Nettl</a></span> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":194315,"pageLength":297,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Ethnomusicology | Cultural Studies, Musicology & Anthropology | Britannica