Ethnomusicology Summary

Ethnomusicology: a short introduction is about describing the growing discipline of how ethnomusicology researchers are going about studying different music from around the world, looking for perceptions in both humanity and music. Ethnomusicologists believe that all people are musical, not just people that label themselves as “musicians” and that there is music in all beings. This thinking causes a lot of debate in which ethnomusicologists argue that we must first study all forms of music such as its Geographic’s and history in order to answer any questions. Not only are traditional forms of music acknowledged but also more contemporary musical forms.

This small book opens up and engages the reader by having a short section labelled “Acknowledgements”.

This definition is very much appreciated by other researchers of the filed, and it clearly states in the first chapter that you must first study music, Rice then proceeds to explain how his definition is fitting for that. The very early pages of this book summarises Rice’s personal opinion of what ethnomusicology is and how in particular, John Blackings own definition of ethnomusicology in “How musical is man?” is partially indebted to John Blackings own definition in the summary of “The study of the music of all the world’s people’s as a path to understand human

In particular, Rice mentions different ethnomusicologists and gives detailed examples from these researchers. Examples are offered from his own research but also from other researchers such as looking at methods such as interviewing, learning through performance, transcription and property rights in international and intercultural contexts. Throughout this chapter, Rice does not teach us how to undertake these tasks; instead we are given information and evidence from his own personal research and what he has contributed to the field. As readers we are encouraged to take our fieldwork and to turn it into scholarly writings.

Chapter four titled “The nature of music” is a chapter where Rice primarily talks about the social and psychological side to ethnomusicology in which Rice has researched himself and from other ethnomusicologists. Research titles such as contacting supernatural forces, the passing of calendrical time and musical contribution to musical cohesion are all mentioned. Rice re-explains later on in this chapter how the social and psychological aspects of music partner together. The end of this chapter is devoted towards music as an art