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Humanities LibreTexts

Ethnomusicology

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Ethnomusicology is the study of music in relation to the cultural and social contexts of its creators and listeners. It explores the ways music intersects with cultural identity, social structures, traditions, and human behavior. This field combines theoretical and methodological approaches from anthropology, sociology, and musicology, examining not just the sound itself but also its material, cognitive, and biological dimensions. Ethnomusicologists analyze how music functions within societies, how it evolves over time, and how it reflects and influences human experiences across different cultures.

Thumbnail: Indian man playing a sitar. (Unsplash License; Saubhagya gandharv via Unsplash)


Ethnomusicology is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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