Ethnomusicology encompasses the study of music-making throughout the world, from the distant past to the present. Ethnomusicologists explore the ideas, activities, instruments, and sounds with which people create music.
European and Chinese classical musics, Cajun dance, Cuban son, hip hop, Nigerian juju, Javanese gamelan, Navajo ritual healing, and Hawaiian chant are a few examples of the many varieties of music-making examined in ethnomusicology. Ethnomusicology is interdisciplinary—many ethnomusicologists have a background not only in music but in such areas as anthropology, folklore, dance, linguistics, psychology, and history.
Ethnomusicologists generally employ the methods of ethnography in their research. They spend extended periods of time with a music community, observe and document what happens, ask questions, and sometimes learn to play the community’s types of music. Ethnomusicologists may also rely on archives, libraries, and museums for resources related to the history of music traditions. Sometimes ethnomusicologists help individuals and communities to document and promote their musical practices.
Most ethnomusicologists work as professors at colleges and universities, where they teach and carry out research. A significant number work with museums, festivals, archives, libraries, record labels, schools, and other institutions, where they focus on increasing public knowledge and appreciation of the world’s music. – Taken From ethnomusicology.org
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