The Study of Ethnomusicology: THIRTY-ONE ISSUES AND CONCEPTS [Paperback]

Bruno Nettl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0252072782 | ISBN-13: 978-0252072789

The first edition of this book, "The Study of Ethnomusicology: Twenty-Nine Issues and Concepts", has become a classic in the field. This revised edition, written twenty-two years after the original, continues the tradition of providing engagingly written analysis that offers the most comprehensive discussion of the field available anywhere. This book looks at the field of ethnomusicology - defined as the study of the world's musics from a comparative perspective, and the study of all music from an anthropological perspective - as a field of research. Nettl selects thirty-one concepts and issues that have been the subjects of continuing debate by ethnomusicologists, and he adds four entirely new chapters and thoroughly updates the text to reflect new developments and concerns in the field. Each chapter looks at its subject historically and goes on to make its points with case studies, many taken from Nettl's own field experience. Drawing extensively on his field research in the Middle East, Western urban settings, and North American Indian societies, as well as on a critical survey of the available literature, Nettl advances our understanding of both the diversity and universality of the world's music. This revised edition's four new chapters deal with the doing and writing of musical ethnography, the scholarly study of instruments, aspects of women's music and women in music, and the ethnomusicologist's study of his or her own culture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" ... thoroughly revised and rewritten version. In these 31 essays, read either separately or straight through, Nettl holds up a mirror to ethnomusicology. Theory and methodology are thoughtfully picked apart, questioned and viewed historically... Nettl tells his tale with a degree of modest pride, and it is in fact an academic success story."--The Wire, February 2006

Book Description

A landmark in ethnomusicology, expanded and revised

The first edition of this book, The Study of Ethnomusicology: Twenty_Nine Issues and Concepts, has become a classic in the field. This revised edition, written twenty-two years after the original, continues the tradition of providing engagingly written analysis that offers the most comprehensive discussion of the field available anywhere. 

 

This book looks at the field of ethnomusicology--defined as the study of the world's musics from a comparative perspective, and the study of all music from an anthropological perspective--as a field of research. Nettl selects thirty-one concepts and issues that have been the subjects of continuing debate by ethnomusicologists, and he adds four entirely new chapters and thoroughly updates the text to reflect new developments and concerns in the field.                    

Each chapter looks at its subject historically and goes on to make its points with case studies, many taken from Nettl’s own field experience. Drawing extensively on his field research in the Middle East, Western urban settings, and North American Indian societies, as well as on a critical survey of the available literature, Nettl advances our understanding of both the diversity and universality of the world's music. This revised edition’s four new chapters deal with the doing and writing of musical ethnography, the scholarly study of instruments, aspects of women's music and women in music, and the ethnomusicologist's study of his or her own culture.

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (December 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252072782
• ISBN-13: 978-0252072789
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Study of Ethnomusicology, April 12, 2010

By 

J. Holt (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Study of Ethnomusicology: THIRTY-ONE ISSUES AND CONCEPTS (Paperback)

Purchased this book (first edition) as part of a course on French music in Louisiana. I do not have a background in musicology, but decided to go back and read this book in its entirety because I'm interested in anthropology.

What this book isn't: if you're looking to read about variety of the musics of the world, this book does not contain many examples. This is not a music appreciation work or a "world music" volume.

What this book is: Nettl catches the reader up to date on the history of the academic endeavor of ethnomusicology and the issues it involves, prepares the reader for further academic research in the subject matter. Nettl is critical and self-reflective of his field and at the same time explains what it might be able to offer humanity. His writing about ethnography and research methods in anthropology towards the end of the book were very interesting and challenging to one's presuppositions; Nettl answers to those who ask whether one even has the right to study music outside one's own culture and advises on how we can avoid harming others with our curiosity.

Parts three and four were much more interesting to me, being more interested in anthropology at large and less so in musicology.

Overall recommend this book to those interested in musicology, ethnography, anthopology, sociology. Would not recommend this book to someone who wants to learn interesting facts about various musics of the world.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, August 3, 2011

By 

MDM "Apfelbaum" (Frankfurt am Main) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Study of Ethnomusicology: THIRTY-ONE ISSUES AND CONCEPTS (Paperback)

I found it an excellent introduction into the field of ethno-musicology, that has somehow turned from a "also-to-be-considered" outsider in musicology to a pace-maker in a diversified musical world of internet and globalization. Nettl is, it seems to me, deeply rooted in an old European philological tradition nevertheless, that positions its subject within the frame of the "masters" of musicology and ethno-musicology alike and stands apart from a lot of word-rich "cultural studies" blabla that is extensively published (less read, I suppose ?!) today. A great book !

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Time and Money Investment, July 2, 2011

By 

Eddie Molina (Woodside, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Study of Ethnomusicology: THIRTY-ONE ISSUES AND CONCEPTS (Paperback)

This book provides a wealth of information about ethnomusicology's history, central questions, its approach to an ever-changing (musical) world, and its role in academia. Bruno Nettl presents the facts about ethnomusicology -based on his own experience and past/present literature- in a non-bias manner, and he leaves it up to the reader to draw his/her own conclusions and questions. the author's written style is simple, engaging, and, while it has a somewhat academic feel to it, it invites the reader to participate in the "discussion." Without a doubt, this book is a must-read for anybody, especially for those who wish to better understand the field of ethnomusicology, its past, its present, its future, and the role that it plays in the study of Western and non-Western musics.