The global expansion of musicology beyond Europe and North America in the latter half of the 20th century was shaped by several key factors. Alongside the structure of each country’s higher education system, its connection to the so-called West and engagement in Western-oriented modernization played a significant role. The presence of European music within a nation’s cultural landscape, as well as the distinct character and status of its own musical heritage, has further influenced developments. In this context, countries with direct historical ties to European musical and academic traditions–either through colonization or European immigration–generally aligned their approach with the European model of musicology. Conversely, former colonies without large European-descended populations primarily focused on studying their indigenous musical traditions, incorporating European influences only sparingly. This pattern was particularly evident in India and various Muslim-majority countries. In these regions, musicology evolved in response to national independence, secularization, and modernization efforts.
Countries that underwent partial Western colonization but embraced cultural Westernization centered their studies on Western music while also applying musicological methods to analyze their own music traditions. The selection of musical subjects in each region reflects the enduring influence of colonial history. In Western Europe and North America, ethnomusicology continues to engage with musical traditions from across the globe. However, in other regions, research tends to prioritize indigenous musical traditions, with Western music playing a role only when it is explicitly recognized as culturally significant.
In Latin America, the institutional development of musicology has followed diverse paths, with varying degrees of formalization. In its early stages, research primarily focused on indigenous musical traditions, aligning closely with ethnomusicology. It was not until the 1950s that academic musicology began to take root in universities, emerging sporadically as music history and ethnomusicology–first at the Universidad de Chile in 1952 and later at the Universidad Católica Argentina in 1959. This growth accelerated from the 1990s onward. Despite this progress, most universities typically offer only one level of an academic musicology program–either a licentiate (at conservatories) or a master’s degree (at universities). In many cases, musicological studies are embedded within interdisciplinary programs rather than established as standalone departments. Full doctoral programs in musicology remain rare, available at only a handful of institutions, such as Argentina’s Universidad Católica and Mexico’s Universidad Nacional Autónoma and Universidad de Guanajuato.
In India, university arts faculties with dedicated music departments provide opportunities to study both North (Hindustani) and South (Karnatak) Indian music. While theoretical, aesthetic, and academic perspectives complement practical training, they are seldom structured as standalone degree programs, despite India’s rich tradition of music and arts scholarship spanning over two millennia. One notable institution is Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, which established its musicology institute in 1966. This institute offers a doctoral program in musicology and has produced some of India’s most distinguished musicologists. Beyond universities, several other institutions contribute to music research, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi in New Delhi, founded in 1953, and the independent ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata. The Sangeet Natak Akademi plays a crucial role not only in promoting musical practice but also in documenting, studying, and funding research on Indian music.
The institutionalization of musicology in the Arab world, Turkey, and Iran remains relatively limited, with formal degree programs appearing only sporadically–primarily within Christian universities. One notable initiative is the Académie Arabe pour la Musique, founded in Amman in 1971 under the auspices of the Arab League. This institution organizes conferences, awards prizes, and actively promotes musical practice. Other music research institutes in the region tend to focus on national and regional musical traditions, serving primarily as centers for collection, documentation, and study.
This according to this month’s free article titled Musicology by Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann in MGG Online.
The image at the beginning of the piece is of students visiting the Gallery of Musical Instruments at Sangeet Natak Akademi in New Delhi, India.
