The Conference on Interdisciplinary Musicology

A Progress Report

Richard ParncuttTallinn, 14 August 2007

The Problem: Fragmentation

0

20

40

60

80

100

année

proportion

1600 1700 1800 1900 2000

systematic

ethnological

historical

Narrow definition of “musicology”

• music history of Western cultural elites

• sources: historical documents

• associated methods and techniques

• tradition since 19th Century

Methods and epistemologies

“Musicology” Ethnomusicology

“music” score part of culture

readership “musicologists” interdisciplinary

repertory lost disappearing

focus composer, score performance

concepts individual, idiosyncratic, history, development, musical autonomy, formal unity

culture, typical, tradition, change, social function, cultural uniqueness

authority scholar informants

Source: Jonathan Stock , Current Musicology, 1998.

Institutionalisation of subdisciplines

Usually within “musicology”:• music theory/analysis• music history• ethnomusicology

Often elsewhere:• music acoustics• music psychology• music physiology • music computing

Musicology under one roof?

Power structures in musicology

• Visible and invisible– definition of “musicology” in Grove, MGG etc.– use of “musicology” in conferences journals, societies

• Humanities in 21st-Century academe– generally:

• too little power (culture is important!)

– in musicology:• too much power (sciences and practice are important!)

The solution: Integration

Unity in diversity through interdisciplinary collaboration

• expertise and quality control• teamwork and collegiality

• balance of power

Integration at CIM

Promote• minority disciplines

– generally: humanities– in musicology: sciences, musical practice

• minority researchers– women– non-Westerners

Aims• productivity: quality and quantity• relevance

Definitions

“Conference”

“Discipline”

“Interdisciplinarity”

“Musicology”

“Musicologist”

“Conference”

• interest, relevance

• diversity, novelty

• quality, criticism

• enthusiasm, motivation

“Discipline”

Category boundaries• fuzzy, fluid• top-down, bottom-up

Interrelationships• hierarchies• networks

Size• expertise takes 10 years or

10 000 hours (Ericsson)

Criteria• unified theme• methods• qualifications• experts• conferences,

societies, journals• quality

“Interdisciplinarity”

• continuous parameter• matter of expert opinion• distance ~ difficulty

– epistemology– methodology

quality? collaborate!

“Musicology”

• all music

• all relevant disciplines– humanities, (natural) sciences, practice

• unity in diversity

• quality efficiency

• social relevance

“Musicologist”

• specialisation in one subdiscipline

• acquaintance with all subdisciplines

• interdisciplinary collaboration

An ethnomusicologist is both ethnologist and musicologist

A music acoustician is both musicologist and acoustician

Aims of CIM

Promote musicology• unity in diversity• quality and relevance

Promote music and culture• general values• emotion and rationality• interculturality: peace & productivity• quality of life

Methods of CIM

Content• background• aims• synergy• implications

Peer review• expert• interdisciplinary• objective• anonymous• constructive• transparent

CIMs

When What Where Who

04 - Graz Richard Parncutt

05 timbre Montreal Caroline Traube

07 singing Tallinn Jaan Ross

08 structure Thessaloniki Emilios Cambouropoulos

09 texture? France Michèle Castellengo

10 culture? Sheffield Nicola Dibben

Themes bottom-up unification of musicology

Next abstract deadline: 30 November 2007

Problems of CIM

• definition and use of „musicology“

• acceptance by different disciplines

• relationship aims ↔ procedures

• balance humanities, sciences, practice

Collegiality in interdisciplinary research teams

– common goals• research question• excellence

– democracy• equal value and rights of team members• mutual respect

– transparency• clear statement of aims• openness to evaluation

– quality control• evaluation within disciplines• realistic appraisal of individual strengths, weaknesses• mutual constructive criticism

Promotion of collegiality

• Examples and guidelines– not regulations

• Research– concepts of collegiality in different subdisciplines– strategies to overcome differences

Acknowledgments

In Tallinn:• Jaan Ross• Kaire Maimets-Volt• Tarmo Pajusaar

In Graz:• Manuela Marin• Christian Tschinkel