Prospective Ethnomusicology Students
Ethnomusicologists attempt to understand and interpret musical action and the interrelationship of musical and other social domains in world cultures. The fact that musical phenomena are constantly changing challenges the ethnomusicologist to provide continuing interpretations of the world’s various musics.
The overall aims of the Hunter College Graduate Studies in Ethnomusicology are to provide a theoretical and methodological foundation and to prepare individuals to develop new or adapt existing concepts for solving current problems. The curriculum, therefore, addresses a broad range of problems from a research perspective in which both humanistic and scientific considerations are integrated. The three core courses in ethnomusicology, along with the anthropology and musicology courses, are designed to enable the accomplishment of the central aims, while the variable topics seminars in ethnomusicology afford further preparation for the investigation of an issue or geographical region of individual interest. Ethnomusicology students have at their disposal the world-renowned Alan Lomax Collection and the Centro de Estudios Puertorriquenos.
Prospective Ethnomusicology students should contact Barbara Hampton or the Graduate Adviser to find out more about our program.
Degree Requirements for Ethnomusicology Students
MUS 70000 – Music Bibliography and Research Techniques
Earn at least 6 credits from the following:
MUS 72400 – Advanced Studies In Music Theory 1
MUS 72500 – Advanced Studies in Music Theory II
MUS 74000 – Seminar in Music Theory and Analysis
Earn at least 6 credits from the following:
MUS 75100 – Advanced Studies in Musicology 1
MUS 75200 – Advanced Studies in Musicology 2
MUS 76000 – Seminar in Musicology
Earn at least 3 credits from the following:
MUS 71000 – The Hunter Symphony
MUS 71100 – The College Choir
MUS 71300 – Chamber Music
MUS 71400 – Collegium Musicum
MUS 71500 – Jazz Ensemble
MUS 71600 – Jazz Vocal Workshop Ensemble
MUS 71700 – Piano Performance Class
MUS 71701 – Improvisation & Composition for Classical Pianists
MUS 71702 – Topics in Piano Performance, The Art of Transcription
MUS 71703 – Collaborative Piano
MUS 71800 – Vocal Performance Class
MUS 71801 – Opera Scenes
MUS 71802 – Vocal Ornamentation for Classical Singers
MUS 71803 – Creating Opera: A Workshop for Singers
MUS 71804 – Art Song
MUS 71805 – Oratorio: Arias and Ensembles
MUS 71806 – The Art of Cabaret
MUS 71807 – Opera Music Theater Workshop
MUS 72100 – Jazz and Popular Music Combos
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
ANTH 70100 – Foundations of Anthropology
MUS 75300 – Transcription and Analysis in Ethnomusicology
MUS 79800 – Thesis In Music History, Music Theory Or Ethnomusicology
MUS 77500 – Seminar In Ethnomusicology 1
OR MUS 77600 – Seminar in Ethnomusicology 2
Click here for the graduate catalog’s list of required courses for your MA-Music concentration
In certain cases, substitutions for these required courses may be made in consultation with the Graduate Adviser and the Director of Studies in Composition. A maximum of 12 credits transferred from other institutions might be accepted toward the M.A. Degree. For credits to transfer, the student must have gotten a B or higher in the class and the class must have occurred within the last four-five years.
The following is a description of the core courses in Ethnomusicology:
MUS 775 Seminar in Ethnomusicology I
Content: A history of the discipline; the development of theories and methods; selected problems.
Pedagogical Input: This course equips the student with skills necessary to describe and explain musical systems in various cultures. Seminars will assume the form of lecture-discussion sessions.
Student Requirements: Students are required to read assigned material relevant to theories which have gained currency in ethnomusicology, assess the theories and understand their place in the history of ethnomusicology. A written report of independent research on a topic relevant to ethnomusicological theory is required.
Potential Use: A knowledge of theories which have been advanced in the field of ethnomusicology prepares one for the formulation of new theories and for the testing and refinement of existing ones. The course prepares students for the interpretation of musical data from any society or historical period when the analysis is constitutive of a view of musical systems as cultural phenomena. The course further prepares non-ethnomusicology students to communicate with ethnomusicologists, anthropologists and other social scientists, both through the literature and verbally, in an age when interdisciplinary collaboration is becoming increasingly necessary.
MUS 776 Seminar in Ethnomusicology II
Content: Field research as a principal means of data collection and theory testing in ethnomusicology. Emphasis will be placed on research design, proposal preparation, application of data-gathering techniques, adaptation to the field, and methods of data analysis.
Pedagogical Input: This course attempts to transmit a knowledge of the specific data elicitation methods appropriate to both diachronic and synchronic musical studies. It also offers practical experience in working with documentary and oral data sources and management of computerized databases. Seminars assume the form of lecture-discussion sessions.
Student Requirements: Students are required to design and conduct independent field research projects at individually selected sites in the city and to report the results of that research. A research proposal and a term paper are required.
Potential Use: Students will find the techniques and methods covered in this course valuable to the conduct of inquiry into any musical or extra-musical problem, particularly in contemporary cultures. Students whose careers will involve music journalism and music criticism should find this course useful.
MUS 753 Transcription and Analysis in Ethnomusicology
Content: Critical examination and application of contemporary techniques of transcription and analysis to selected examples from various cultures.
Pedagogical Input: This course will be directed towards the development of proficient aural skills with respect to world music and the development of an awareness of the processes of structuring compositional units in a representative sample of world musical cultures. Current techniques of ethnomusicological transcription and methods used in the analysis of world musical systems will be introduced in a lecture-discussion format.
Student Requirements: Students will be required to transcribe compositional units from a representative sampling of world musical traditions throughout the semester and to transcribe and analyze a set of musical works (individually selected) as a term project.
Potential Use: This course will provide students with the critical tools for assessing the documentary requirements of particular musical situations, for evaluating and selecting from among current techniques and for implementing existing or formulating new techniques of transcription and analysis. This will include computerized techniques. Students will have the unique advantage of aural acuity with respect to musical products from world cultures and the ability to conduct a detailed examination of them.
For Frequently Asked Questions, see FAQs – Graduate.
