Ethnomusicology

Ethnomusicology: A Very Short Introduction describes this growing discipline, showing how modern researchers go about studying music from around the world, looking for insights into both music and humanity. Ethnomusicologists believe that all humans, not just those we call musicians, are musical, and that musicality is one of the essential touchstones of the human experience. This insight raises big questions about the nature of music and the nature of humankind, and ethnomusicologists argue that to address these questions properly, we must study music in all its geographical and historical diversity. Ethnomusicologists today not only examine traditional forms of music, but also explore more contemporary musical forms.