Hey! I could really appreciate your help if you can suggest me some not super well known contemporary composers or pieces for inspiration! All composers and pieces I genuinely want to speak about have already been excessively researched I also appreciate piano pieces alot

Hi all,

I am seeking recommendations for texts on ornamentation within the French clavecin tradition. If possible, I would particularly appreciate resources that address the stylistic expectations surrounding François Couperin’s Pièces de Clavecin. Any suggestions would be most welcome, and additional insights into Couperin’s ornamentation practices would be especially valuable.

I'm considering applying to study there next year, and so far the 2eme cycle superieur seems amazing, but I'm searching for some imput that doesnt't come from the conservatoire's team. Anyone?

Hey!
So this might be a little confusing to describe as I am a little stressed because I have to prepare a lecture for my musicology class on thuirsday and want to talk about this topic but unfortunately dont have good examples yet.
I was tasked to talk about opera recordings (that are broadcasted) in comparison to operatic movies and live at the venue opera experiences (I chose verdis "rigoletto", the movie "rigoletto a mantova" (2010) and the recording form the opera Zürich on youtube).
One aspect I definietly want to talk about is the perception and the states of the audiences. MEaning:

-"how do people at the venue experience certain moments as they (ideally) dont have limited view because they choose what to focus on, they are probably familiar with certain operatic or at least some musical principles of that time, can be interacted with and experience the reaction of the other audience members which influences their own"

-how do people at home experience certain moments of the broadcast while being maybe a little less invested in this kind of music, being a bit less invested (usual TV-watching attitude) and attentive.

-how does the movie experience differ from the other two (as its way more detailed in terms of choreography, theres no stage and audience to be seen, the camera shots are closer etc.)

Im analyzing videos (counting püerspective changes, looking at interactions between actors and audience, who is the camera focus on in what moment and who isnt seen in some perspectives even tho seeing their reaction would matter more than seeing the other singer perform the aria (for example).
To include my fellow students I want them to create possible ways to challenge the audiences expectations and beliefs about a specific opera. For that I thought about letting them figure out certain situations where boundaries between diegetic and non diegetic music are destroyed. This could very well go in a brechtian direction for example:
A choir commentates and thus explaing the happenings and consequences of a certain scene that was very hectic. Normally that choir in its function would be not part of the operas happening but takes an exterior role (non diegetic). This time to one of the operas figures walks up to the choir and mockingly repeats and changes parts of it. Now the audience is confornted with the fact that their assumptions about the choir taking an exterior role might be wrong. This could turn them into more attentive viewers.

Example two:

Two people on stage, who havent been alone in the scene before discuss for example the next step of their plan. One seems very unattentive and repeats the melody of the last scene´s non diegetic orchestra music then brings his attention back to the discussion apologizing about it.

These are probably very poor examples but i wonder if youve seen or know about any scenes (you can find on the internet) where such tricks are used in order to activate the viewers more (showing examples is always a better idea than just talking possibilities and theory)

Sorry if this was a painful read; as mentioned im very stressed because I rlly didnt know what to talk about until ive got feedback from my professor today.
However I would highly appreciate any help and hope y´all have a wonderful day!

Hi all, I'm conducting a survey on audience participation in the concert space as part of my dissertation research. Please take it and share it if you're interested! Here is the link: https://lsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b8G2YnsGGkBDlt4

Hey everyone,

I am a sociologist of music and my research interest now lies in exploring the genre of noise music (and adjacent genres like power electronics, harsh noise, death industrial, noisecore etc.). The famous exemplars of this are works by Merzbow, Masonna, Whitehouse, Prurient and many others.

I’m not a musicologist myself, but I’ve been wondering whether there any musicological works analysing noise music? Has anyone tried to explore the varieties of timbres used, structure of composition (however weird that might sound in context of noise), any specific techniques? Are there any research trying to provide analytical classification of Noise?

From my experience as a researcher, musician and listener, I’ve come to a conclusion that noise genre is very diverse in terms of its sonic content (it usually does without melody or rhythm but sometimes has it, it is usually free-improv, but sometimes structured, etc.). So it is difficult to construct a comprehensive definition of what noise is and what isn’t.

I came across this paper (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/twentieth-century-music/article/laptop-composition-at-the-turn-of-the-millennium-repetition-and-noise-in-the-music-of-oval-merzbow-and-kid606/5D26A3AE0CD360C9E9DFB752F5BF9F36) analysing several electronic tracks, one of which is by Merzbow. However, the study doesn’t go deep into noise as a genre since it’s not its primary goal.

Could anyone suggest good analytical texts to read if there are any? Thank you!

I'm applying for the upcoming cycle to several schools, but I haven't received a masters. I took some time off after undergrad to both work and do some research with a highly regarded Prof of musicology. I'm a bit worried that I don't have ideal writing samples, as I didn't complete an undergrad thesis, and lost much of my undergrad papers. However, working for the aforementioned Prof, I completed a research paper I was assigned to which, while related to question related to music history, takes the form of an digital humanities/authorship attribution study and is as such mostly about using computational linguistics. My undergrad studies were interdisciplinary in nature, focusing on Music and a fairly broad liberal arts curriculum. I do, however, have a strong and unique area of research I would like to pursue (electronic/acousmatic music and the GRM composers), and have, I think, at least two very strong recommenders. Since I'm not sure if I will be out of the running due to my "unproven" status, I will be applying to some masters programs as well. Anyone have any advice or encouragement? Anything would be much appreciated.

https://www.harmonic-bytes.blog/vinyl-cd-and-that-annoying-friend-you-wanna-silence/

Can I have your thoughts?

Hello musicologists!

Very niche question here, but i'm doing research on 18th century timpani concertos, particularly Johann Christian Fischer's Symphony for Eight Obbligato Timpani (Symphonie mit acht obligaten Pauken) and I cannot find ANYTHING on the piece for the life of me. The composer is mostly known for his oboe repertoire and all writings on him seem to ignore or glance over the fact that he wrote the first known timpani concerto. If anyone knows of any articles written about the piece or the composer or have any information on the location and accessibility of the manuscript, please leave a link, I am desperate!

And if you don't know the piece, check it out here, it's a neat piece of timpani history!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIbOkLSE-hM&ab_channel=DiegoAndr%C3%A9sMontesOlivar

Thanks!

The story of Bob Marley's song 'War' has a super interesting socio-political context, not simply from its lyrical stance but how it's been reappropriated to adapt to different political causes over time.

Released in 1976 on his Rastaman Vibrations album, Marley's now iconic tune explicitly comments on racial inequality and discrimination of the time, but in fact - the lyrics are taken completely from a speech given at the UN in 1963.

Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I's address to the United Nations' General Assembly was a condemnation of colonialism, referencing the independence struggles of Mozambique and Angola at the time, and anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.

Later in 1992, Irish singer Sinead O'Connor infamously covered Marley's 'War' on US TV show Saturday Night Live, but flipped some of the lyrics to condemn the Catholic Church when numerous cases of child abuse came to light. The performance stirred significant controversy due to her on-air criticism of the Pope.

But Selassie's words, via Marley and O'Connor, have ultimately spoke truth to power as history has shown.

Around 92% of people listen to background music while working, studying, or doing daily tasks. Interestingly, background music not only helps but impairs productivity along with these tasks; therefore, it is interesting for researchers to study this topic in depth to come up with better recommendations.

The survey takes just 6 minutes to fill out, and your responses can make a huge difference in this research.

👉 https://forms.gle/7vDcSxms2NbLMNvx7

Thank you so much for your help! 🙌

Something I’ve come to notice a lot in my time listening to “classic rock” is the themes of medieval times. Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Heart, Patti Smith, etc all seem to focus a lot on medieval narratives during this time. Tales of pipers, kings and queens, archbishops, etc all throughout this time of music. I’m just curious why this was such a prominent theme during this time.

Hey everyone!

I’m super excited to be here! I’ve been working on something really close to my heart—an idea that captures those unforgettable moments when music truly connects us. You know that feeling at a concert when there’s this unspoken thread that ties everyone together, and for a moment, you feel like a part of something bigger? That’s exactly what I want to recreate—an online space where we can bond over the raw emotions and stories that music brings out in each of us.

I’d love to hear how music has shaped your life and what it means to you. If you have a few minutes, it would mean the world if you could take this short survey and help bring this vision to life: https://forms.gle/9WwD6CboBPCV7Lbo9
~ Bri :)

I'd really love to find recordings of his work that he was personally involved in to some degree.

If nobody can point me in the direction of something like this, though, then would anyone be able to recommend a particular compilation of recordings of Schoenberg's works that were: 1) recorded in the first half of the 20th century, and 2) are a good selection of pieces that represent his atonal period?

I've been thinking a lot as of late about thought relating to performance practice and I'd be curious to read about performance practices that push the bounds of performance in a specifically musical context. When I see people talk about experimental music, I see a lot of talk about notation practices, timbres, handmade instruments...but not as much about the specific performance practices. So I'm curious about work where the experimentation hinges on, or is greatly enhanced, by the performance practices. We tend to think of music as something listened to- and I don't think that's wrong, but I'm very curious about the visual aspects of music. I come from a musical background with a lot of punk, metal, and noise music, where there are of course more experimental performance practices, like Vomir's baghead, or Mayhem's choice to throw pighead's into the audience.

Hi all, I wanted to see if anyone has any book recommendations regarding musicology. I am thinking about going into musicology for a masters, possibly the University of Houston, so if figure asking here. If you are already in UH for musicology what books do you use? Thanks in advance.

I've become interested in the music of colonial America, and I was wondering if there are any online resources, book, manuscripts, etc. that would be considered a good place to start exploring? I'm interested in both sheet music manuscripts and historical info that's available.

Title says it all but perhaps with more of a focus on Western Art Music instead of popular music (although I am interseted to see what comes up for this as well. Obviously looking for works that touch upon music in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Must draw upon critical theory in some form, even if to critique or depart from it.

I'm looking for more information about this because I want to write one into a movement of my symphony. However, the Wikipedia page is sparse and most search results turn up Peruvian criolla.

Does anyone have any knowledge or resources on this genre?

I just transferred into Cal as an Interdisciplinary Studies Field major which means that I get to build my own major. I did this in part because I did not have the prerequisites for the Music BA and because Berkeley doesn't offer an ethnomusicology major, only a graduate program. Nonetheless, I'm very excited about my major. Anyway, I have to declare my Course of Study which must involve study from at least three departments. I chose Music and Anthropology for the first two (because initially I was just going to focus on ethnomusicology) and then broadened it to include Sociology and Psychology. My question is, should I focus on all four or just on three? I ask because I have to submit a proposal that will affect the focus of my senior thesis and I'm conflicted as to whether studying a paper involving four subjects will be more comprehensive or, conversely, unfocused. Anyway, I figured it would be good to ask people with some experience with musicology as I'm still relatively new to the subject. Thanks!

It fixed fretted instruments flaw. It must use equal temperament ? Or something else like just intonation or Well Temperament

Why aren't other instruments tuned to it like piano or DAWs ?

Hello everyone,

I’m working on an exciting research project titled "Eschatological Convergence: A Comparative Thematic Analysis of Christian Sacred Classical Music and Islamic Conceptions of Resurrection and Judgment." My goal is to explore the thematic connections between significant Christian sacred music works—such as Mozart’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2—and Islamic views on resurrection and judgment, particularly the concept of Yawm al-Qiyamah (the Day of Judgment).

I’m reaching out to see if there’s interest or anyone who would be willing to discuss this topic further. Specifically, I’m interested in:

• Insights from experts or enthusiasts in musicology, theology, or comparative religion.
• Recommendations for resources or literature on the intersection of sacred music and eschatology.
• Feedback on the research focus and potential methodologies.

If this topic intrigues you or if you have expertise in related areas, I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Feel free to reply here or send me a direct message. Thank you! - Azim

Heya for a school project i'm doing research as to what colour people associate with music. could you tell me what colour you think fits this song? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlcqnZeO3bQ Answer here please - https://forms.gle/uXS1QcQvaxNAMPbW7

I would like to see other peoples perspectives and differences when it comes to music and sounds, this is for a small research i'm doing for school, its for the whole album HiRUDiN from Austra, but this song is the front most and sets the theme for the whole album that's why it's the only song referenced. i do recommend the whole album however. thank you for reading and/ or helping.

I play bluegrass, old time, and Celtic music and a lot of these fiddle tunes have really long storied histories. But a lot of the information about these tunes online and from other musicians is heavily apocryphal

Are there any reference texts to learn more accurate information about all this repertoire?