Ethnomusicology Review

Ethnomusicology Review
Title	Ethnomusicology Review
Discipline	Ethnomusicology
Language	English
Editor	Unknown
Publisher	Unknown
Country	International
History	21st century–present
Frequency	Variable

Ethnomusicology Review

Ethnomusicology Review is a scholarly resource addressing research on musical traditions, performance, and sound cultures across global contexts, connecting scholars, practitioners, and institutions. It synthesizes fieldwork, archival studies, and analytic perspectives to inform debates in museums, universities, and cultural organizations. The publication intersects with major figures, ensembles, and institutions in world music studies and cultural heritage.

Definition and Scope

Ethnomusicology Review publishes work that examines sonic practices associated with communities such as Bach, Beethoven, Afro-Cuban jazz, Carnatic music, Gamelan, Gnawa, Hindustani music, Ibrahim al-Khalil, Japanese gagaku, Klezmer, La Monte Young, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Noh theatre, Olivier Messiaen, Persian radif, Qawwali, Ravi Shankar, Samba schools, Taiko, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Voces del Sur, Wang Wei (poet), Xhosa choir traditions, Yoruba drumming, Zydeco. The scope includes comparative studies linking archives like the British Library Sound Archive, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Folkways, and institutions such as the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Oxford, Columbia University, Wesleyan University. Contributions engage with works and repertoires ranging from Adolphe Sax instruments to ensembles like The Kronos Quartet and composers such as Igor Stravinsky and John Cage insofar as their projects intersect with vernacular or transnational practices.

History and Development

The journal emerged amid expansions in ethnomusicology fostered by figures connected to institutions including University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Indiana University Bloomington, New York University, University of Tokyo, Australian National University, McGill University, and SOAS. Its genealogy traces to forums and societies like the Society for Ethnomusicology, the International Council for Traditional Music, and conference series at places such as WOMEX and ISME gatherings. Influential scholars referenced across its pages include Alan Lomax, Bronisław Malinowski, Mantle Hood, Clifford Geertz, Paul Simon, Hector Berlioz, Franz Boas, Eileen Southern, and Steven Feld, whose fieldwork paradigms and institutional affiliations shaped editorial priorities. The development reflects shifts evident in projects at centers like the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, the Getty Research Institute, and festival archives such as Newport Folk Festival.

Methodologies and Research Practices

Methodological apparatuses discussed engage ethnography practiced in locales like Accra, Beijing, Cusco, Dhaka, El Alto, Freetown, Guatemala City, Havana, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Kolkata, Lagos, Manila, Nairobi, Osaka, Prague, Quito, Reykjavík, Seville, Tehran, Ulaanbaatar, Venice, Warsaw, Xi'an, Yerevan, Zagreb. Methods integrate participant-observation linked to fieldnotes from researchers influenced by mentors at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, archival phonograph collections from Library of Congress, audio-visual documentation techniques found at BBC Archives, and digital ethnography practiced with platforms like YouTube for distributional analysis. Practices also draw on transcription traditions employed alongside computational tools developed at centers such as MIT, Stanford University, and ETH Zurich.

Theoretical Frameworks and Interdisciplinary Approaches

Theoretical orientations in the journal intersect with discourse from Structuralism, Postcolonialism, Phenomenology, Queer theory, Marxism, Actor–network theory, and debates originating from scholars affiliated with Princeton University, Yale University, University of Chicago, Goldsmiths, University of London, University of California, Berkeley, Rutgers University, and Duke University. Interdisciplinary dialogues link music research to studies in anthropology influenced by Claude Lévi-Strauss, linguistics associated with Noam Chomsky, media studies from Marshall McLuhan, and cognitive science represented by labs at University College London and Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.

Regional and Cultural Case Studies

Case studies in Ethnomusicology Review cover regions and repertoires tied to performers and traditions such as Annamite music, Balinese gamelan, Celtic harp, Dhrupad, Egyptian maqam, Fado, Galician bagpipes, Highlife, Iberian flamenco, Javanese court music, K-Pop industry, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Malian kora, Nigerian juju, Ottoman classical music, Peruvian Andean music, Quechua song, Romanian doina, Sami yoik, Turkish makam, Ukrainian bandura, Venezuelan cuatro, Welsh male voice choirs, Xian folk music, Yakamochi collection, Zulu maskandi; articles engage with archival artifacts from collections like Horniman Museum and field projects supported by foundations such as the Ford Foundation and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Ethical Issues and Community Engagement

The publication foregrounds ethical debates referencing frameworks from organizations like the American Anthropological Association, the International Council on Archives, UNESCO, and policies influenced by litigation in courts such as the European Court of Human Rights over cultural property. Discussions involve consent protocols practiced in collaborations with indigenous authorities such as the Māori, Aboriginal Australians, First Nations of Canada, Sámi parliaments, and community institutions like the National Museum of the American Indian. Issues include repatriation cases involving collections at the British Museum and participatory research models employed with NGOs and cultural centers including the Asia Society and Carnegie Hall.

Impact on Music Practice and Policy

Outputs influence programming at venues like Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center, and policy at ministries such as the Ministry of Culture (France), Ministry of Culture (Mexico), and cultural heritage work by UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The journal informs curatorial practice at institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Victoria and Albert Museum and shapes pedagogy in departments at University of California, Los Angeles Herb Alpert School of Music and Royal College of Music, while contributing to debates on intellectual property heard before bodies like the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Category:Ethnomusicology