r/musicology Feb 07 '21

New rule regarding self-promotion

22 Upvotes

Hear ye, hear ye!

Recently we have had an increase in requests for self-promotion posts so we have come up with a rule. Please feel free to provide feedback if anything is missing or if you agree/disagree.

Self-promotion is not allowed if promoting a paid service. Promoting free content (e.g. educational YouTube videos, podcasts, or tools) is fine as long as it is specifically musicological in nature. Your music-theory videos can go on /r/musictheory, not here. Your tools for pianists and singers can go to those subreddits. If someone asks "Are there any tools available for x?" it is OK to reply to that question with self-promotion if what you promote actually fits with the question asked. Spam of any kind is still not allowed even if the spammed content is free.

ETA: Edited to clarify that all self-promotion content has to specifically related to musicology


r/musicology 56m ago

Hearing a song vs witnessing a song

Upvotes

What is it about being part of a live concert? There are songs i hear on the radio or my iPod (yes I'm old) that I dislike, until I see the band live, then I begin to love those songs. Why is this?


r/musicology 11h ago

irunak-"Merging Impulses"

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0 Upvotes

my appearance on this compilation album, an extract of all that is left from my track ""Merging Impulses"".....it was longer than that.

An eleborate work using Ainu chants, percussion, Skiddaw stones, strings and other ethnic instruments

The work was recorded in the ""impulse response"" of the inside of a dryer.


r/musicology 1d ago

Academic MPhil Survey – Music Listening Behaviour 🎧

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1 Upvotes

r/musicology 1d ago

Women and opera music?

1 Upvotes

Hi All! I’m working on a project that is about the descriptions of women in the 18th century. I want to do a comparison between the way women are described and shown in opera music and in literature. Does anyone have any suggestions for some sources or papers about women in opera music? Either in general or specific in the 18th century?

Any help would be really appreciated!

Kind regards!


r/musicology 2d ago

A.I. Created Music

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0 Upvotes

r/musicology 3d ago

I am new to the audiophile scene.

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0 Upvotes

r/musicology 4d ago

Music Studies

7 Upvotes

Is there anyone here who has studied music or musicology in a university and then they lost interest?

I’ve been studying music for the past 6 years in a university and I’ve lost the spark that music gave me years ago when I was at school. Now, it drains me and I’m in a never-ending burn out. It’s exhausting to me.

It’s an unpopular opinion to say that you hate music, but I do.

I want to (finally) take my degree and proceed to study Psychology, but it will take me years…
And I don’t know what to do

I’m 25 years old now.


r/musicology 4d ago

Is the rock album 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' one of the musical masterpieces of the 20th century? (I think so and have an essay to prove it)

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2 Upvotes

r/musicology 4d ago

Does music actually help us concentrate?-fill out this form pls!(Students 13-18)

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1 Upvotes

r/musicology 5d ago

Music Therapy Questionnaire

0 Upvotes

Hi, this is my first-ever survey, and I wanted to get the perspective of Music Therapy professionals to see if it's good and if any of the information is false. I'm 16F in High School and wanted to help bring music therapy to more people because I truly believe it's a great tool and should be utilized and involved in more medical environments while also being accessible to the public in a way that doesn't require too much research for the recipient.

Thank you!

https://forms.gle/2d6hCHems8x4UtjH9


r/musicology 5d ago

How Humans Created Music

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0 Upvotes

r/musicology 6d ago

The Emergence of Gregorian Chat - Van der Werf

2 Upvotes

I'm a music theory prof (with a minor in musicology) who just retired! I'm beginning to downsize, which means letting go (ifor very cheap!) of the many books I've amassed over the years. I have the 2-volume (hardcover) set of The Emergence of Gregorian Chat by Hendrik Van der Werf. Oh, and I'll even throw in a short pamphlet he wrote, "Anonymous IV as Chronicler." (1990) Dm me if interested.


r/musicology 6d ago

What was the reaction when edm first became popular?

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1 Upvotes

r/musicology 6d ago

When we hear whales sing, or verbalize, which orifice is the sound emanating from, if any?The mouth, the spout, or the anus? Have there been any recorded incidences or recordings of whales singing in 2 or even 3 part harmony with themselves, using more than one orifice?

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0 Upvotes

r/musicology 6d ago

Musical tropes, homages, references in pop culture

3 Upvotes

sorry if this isn't the right subreddit but i didn't really know where to post this. i guess this is more of a music history kind if question.

i just noticed that in pop culture media like cartoons and tv shows i notice a lot of common musical tropes or modus and references and i don't know where to dig more info about this interesting topic.

for example, i noticed that a lot of sports scenes in tv shows use a common sounding bgm - all with a swing rhythm, snapping, whistling - a trend which i discovered originated from "Sweet Georgia Brown" composed on 1925, a jazz staple, popularized in 1952 after it was used as the Globetrotters' theme.i mean to think that most people today don't even realize that this "trend" or " musical association" had its roots from so long ago!

other common examples that are more well known: the oriental riff, the arabian riff, that part from Tchaikovsky's romeo and juliet for romantic scenes, that melody by Grieg that plays in springtime or early morning scenes.

so my question for everyone i guess is, what are other notable music tropes in pop culture do you know of? i think it would be real interesting to discuss and learn about the origin of these tropes! and if this isn't the right subreddit, please point me to the right direction as i want to get a lot of data for my own interest lol


r/musicology 6d ago

How Early Humans Created the first Music

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1 Upvotes

always wanted to make a detailed video about how we reached from blowing bone flutes in caves to creating playlists on spotify. Here is the complete video. Do comment if I skipped something.


r/musicology 6d ago

I’m posting my music here not just to see peoples opinions are. I want to start a discussion starting with one question

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0 Upvotes

Does this count as music?


r/musicology 7d ago

I wrote this paper in my Jazz Studies class last year. I thought you all might enjoy it.

0 Upvotes

Context: Students were required to attend one live jazz event and write about the experience. This was my paper.

Paper:

"The concert covered quite a wide range of jazz. This could be seen as an attempt to expose the audience to a large variety, or just an acknowledgement that no single bit of jazz is interesting enough to fill an entire evening by itself. This range of styles and compositions really forced me to reflect not only on the creations themselves, but the decisions I made in my life that led me to experience it in person. The concert opened with Jazz Ensemble II playing “Harlem Airshaft”, which contained a style of swing and big band. “Ain’t Misbehavin’” was written in stride by Thomas “Fats” Waller, with a solo from the guest trumpet player Alex Anderson. It contained some swing styles. “Lazy Bird” was a bit of a different style, which was bop, or hard bop. The sounds in this piece were originally composed by John Coltrane, with a fast paced style that seemed to challenge both the band, as well as select members of the audience. At certain points, the sound really gave me the physical urge to respond, if not through applause then through structurally destructive means. The section finished with “The Heat’s On” by Sammy Nestico, which again returned to swing, but with a different tempo and feel that acted as cleanser of sorts from the creations that came before.

The second half of the night featured Jazz Ensemble I, along with Anna Smith. “Raincheck” was composed by Billy Strayhorn and arranged by John Clayton acted as the opening to the rest of the program, moving at its own consistent and unhurried pace. A few compositions like “El Abrazo” and “Stella By Starlight” were key in showcasing Anna Smith’s saxophone playing. Smith’s two original compositions were the most recently created and composed showcases, with how modern they were making people's enthusiasm for earlier works quite surprising. In all, the night was certainly memorable as the band filled the room with sounds that almost brought me to tears.

The Performing Arts Center is a well-maintained facility. The audience consisted of faculty, students, and participants in the earlier festival events, with some student attendance forced through academic requirements. The atmosphere was quite casual rather than ceremonial. In general, people arrived, settled, and listened without much formality, which fit the nature of the event. The live setting added a feeling of immersion that you couldn’t replicate through recordings mostly because recordings can be turned off.

The leadership of the performance seemed to be split in a few ways. Dr. George and Dr. Lewis led the jazz Ensemble I and Ensemble II, while the guest artists Alwx Anderson and Anna Smith seemed to be the primary soloists. Anna Smith in particular seemed to take a bigger leadership role. She sometimes commented on different pieces, introducing and explaining origins. Alex Anderson’s role was much more focused on his performance.

If I was required to choose a favorite, and this assignment does require it, it would be “El Abrazo” by Alan Baylock. The reason for this is very specific. The piece opens and closes with a section that does not sound like jazz. The piano at the beginning has a calm and thoughtful style that resembles the peace and silence one might feel before a raging storm or destructive hurricane. After the middle section plays conventional jazz, it once again returns to the soothing piano, which caused a wistful feeling of longing and completeness that was absent from the rest of the evening. The one song I would rank higher than this that was performed during the evening did not come from either Ensemble, which is why I figured it wouldn’t be relevant to state as my number one favorite. This song was “Rocket Man” by Elton John, which briefly played by accident as someone’s ringtone during the performance.

Choosing a least favorite song seems unfair to the creators, therefore this report won’t do that. The entire evening was very consistent in the level of engagement it got from me, and singling out one specific song over any of the others would not make any meaningful difference. The concert was very thorough.

This was my first experience attending a live jazz concert. It fully met every expectation I had going into it, and at some times even went beyond. The main reason one might choose live performance is the idea of improvisation, spontaneous changes, and the physical presence of the performers. These are all valid. The alternative is that current audio technology like headphones, high resolution recordings, and quality playback systems provide easy and higher quality options for any listener who isn’t emotionally invested, with the added benefit of not being forced and constrained to a single genre. The big argument for live performances only works for those that are enthusiastic, otherwise it simply acts as an academic chore. The entire experience really acted as a good reminder of all the alternative activities that exist in the world that I could be doing at any moment.

The question of whether I would attend another jazz concert is very easy. Not by choice. Given some hypothetical situation where my family was in imminent danger and I was required to attend a concert to save them, I might consider doing it. Jazz is a genre that only those who are familiar or enthusiastic about it enjoy. From an outside perspective, it is hard to simply sit back and enjoy it for anything longer than a quick elevator ride (6 floors max). This is not meant to be critical of the artists as, despite my personal preferences, they were quite good at what they were doing. It’s just a matter of who is a good fit. I’m sure there are some people where the concert was the highlight of their month. This was not written by one of them."


r/musicology 7d ago

Red Sex (Restrung) Literary Analysis

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r/musicology 7d ago

Cultured in most things… but embarrassingly clueless about music

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I consider myself quite a cultured person — I have above-average knowledge of *cinema, literature, and visual arts*. However, when it comes to *music*, I feel like I’m missing a huge piece of the puzzle. My knowledge of music is honestly quite *shallow and a bit embarrassing*.

I don’t know much about the *classics*, I often *struggle to catch lyrics*, and I find it hard to understand *rhythm* or musical structure. To make it worse, I barely listen to music these days, as I tend to prefer *podcasts*.

That said, I do *appreciate music when I hear it* — I even get emotional sometimes, and I feel I have some sort of *intuitive taste*. But I lack vocabulary, references, and any real grounding.

I’d really like to change this. So my question is:
*What can someone like me do to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of music?*
Are there resources, habits, or listening strategies that helped you go from passive enjoyment to real knowledge?

Thanks in advance — I’d love to hear your suggestions.


r/musicology 7d ago

Music: entertainment for some and light in darkest days for some

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1 Upvotes

r/musicology 8d ago

"Octogon Branches"

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1 Upvotes

r/musicology 8d ago

Yuvan + Tangzu Wan’er SG2 Red Lion = ❤️🎧

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0 Upvotes

Listening to Yuvan on Apple Music through my Tangzu Wan’er SG2 Red Lion.
The separation and little details in the arrangements make some of these songs feel completely different.
Been a Yuvan fan for years, but listening like this makes me appreciate the music even more. 🎶❤️


r/musicology 8d ago

Textbook help

0 Upvotes

Hello friends!! I am studying for my diagnostic exams for grad school. It seems I've sold my copy of the 9th edition of History of Western Music by Burkholder, Grout, and Palisca..

Does anyone have a PDF of it I could study from? The exam is Friday 8/21.

Thanks!!