musicology

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musicology systematized study of music and musical style, particularly in the realm of historical research. The scholarly study of music of different historical periods was not practiced until the 18th cent., and few published efforts were rigorously researched. Notable exceptions include the works of two Englishmen, Charles Burney's General History of Music (1776–89) and J. Hawkins's General History of the Science and Practice of Music (1776).

In the 19th cent. the general interest in antiquity induced curiosity in older music and the key problem of understanding obsolete forms of musical notation. François Joseph Fétis (1784–1871) and August Wilhelm Ambros (1816–76) were among the first to publish satisfactorily researched overviews of the development of Western music. Their inclusion of transcriptions of unknown medieval and Renaissance pieces is especially important.

Today, the domain of musicology is defined by universities, where such study is centered, and includes study of form and notation, national, period, and personal styles, the lives of composers and players, musical instruments, acoustics, ethnomusicology, and aesthetics. Ironically, the study of musical compositions as such, as distinct from the study of data related to them, is not regarded as within the sphere of musicology but rather in the academically separate branch of study called music theory (see theory , in music).

musicology (Ger. Musikwissenschaft). Mus. scholarship. A 20th-cent. word taken into the Eng. language (from the Fr. musicologie), but the Ger. term Musikwissenschaft was coined by J. B. Logier in 1827. It may be said to cover all study of mus. other than that directed to proficiency in perf. or comp. Thus, a musicologist is one who is a specialist in some mus. study.

Among the divisions of musicology are acoustics; the physiology of v., ear, and hand; the psychology of aesthetics and, more directly, of mus. appreciation and education; ethnology so far as it bears on mus. (incl. folksongs, folk dances, etc.); rhythm and metrics; modes and scales; the principles and development of instrs.; orchestration; form; theories of harmony; the history of mus.; the bibliography of mus.; terminology—and so forth.

The International Mus. Soc. (IMS, 1900–14) had as its purpose the promotion of musicological study, and its post-war successor made its purpose clear in its name—‘Société Internationale de Musicologie’ (SIM, founded 1928, publishes journal Acta Musicologica). There are also nat. musicological socs. in many countries. A Brit. musicological soc. (The Royal Mus. Assoc.) has existed since 1874, and the Amer. Musicological Soc. was founded in 1934: both socs. publish journals.

mu·si·col·o·gy / ˌmyoōziˈkäləjē/ • n. the study of music as an academic subject, as distinct from training in performance or composition; scholarly research into music. DERIVATIVES: mu·si·co·log·i·cal / -kəˈläjikəl/ adj. mu·si·col·o·gist / -jist/ n.

musicology Academic study of music. The term embraces various disciplines, including the study of music history, the analysis of compositions, acoustics, and ethnomusicology. The study of music history began in the 18th century. Musicological research in the 20th century is responsible for the increased interest in and performance of early music.

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