Ethnomusicological evaluations with Bruno Nettl

Abstract

Musicology, is a discipline, based on investigation of specific problems of music with the various methods. Its research topics over time reached a multi-disciplinary dimension, and so its sub-branches have appeared. While musicology is focused on music, ethnomusicology, the first sub-branch of musicology, is focused on culture and it examines music as an element of culture. Research subjects of musicology and its sub-branches is sometimes intertwined, and this situation leads to ambiguities between the methods and study subjects of the disciplines. Although some (ethno)musicologists in the international arena and in Turkey has examined on methods and evaluation of musical researches, but there is not a certain consensus on the issue. Therefore, this article is based on the semi-structured interview with Bruno Nettl, one of the first academical ethnomusicologists, for the evaluation of all these issues. So the eleven semi-structured questions on various musical culture and methods were asked Nettl and his answers and evaluations were organized and interpreted by me with the various documents. As a result, he evaluated warily the musicological questions in this study within the ethnomusicological context, and it is seen that he is not interested in inter-disciplinary studies. However, Nettl emphasized that any musical culture or musical study can be investigated by various methods. All of the information, given by Nettl and me, in this article shows the difference of methods, approaches and assessments between musicology, ethnomusicology and the other sub-branches.