Musicology

Musicology means “the study of music,” encompassing all aspects of music in all cultures and all historical periods. Musicology embraces different ways of studying music:  (1) form and notation, (2) the lives of composers and performers, (3) the development of musical instruments, (4) music theory (harmony, melody, rhythm, modes, scales, etc.), and (5) aesthetics, acoustics, and physiology of the voice, ear, and hand.

Musicology is divided in three main branches: historical musicology, systematic musicology and ethnomusicology. Historical musicologists mostly study the history of the so-called Western classical tradition.

Ethnomusicologists draw from anthropology to understand how and why people make music.

Systematic musicology includes music theory, aesthetics, pedagogy, musical acoustics, the science and technology of musical instruments, and the musical implications of physiology, psychology, sociology, philosophy and computing.